#I’m just starting chapter 7 of 8 and I know I need to save it until tomorrow but I want to play it now so badly

[starkidlabs]

Playing a video game you really love is so difficult sometimes. On the one hand you want to play through it as quickly as possible because you’re so excited to see what happens next, on the other hand you know you need to play it slowly so it isn’t all over too quickly.

[saveyourblood]

Pretty Boy - Ch 10 (Buddie x Reader)

Summary: You can feel Buck staring. When your eyes meet his, you realize he’s staring at your hand, which is still on Eddie’s knee. You slowly retreat, which makes Buck turn his attention to your face. You smile softly. He just looks out the window. The one where you’re an advanced paramedic, Buck and Eddie are firefighters, and you think you might be in love with both of them.

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9

Chapter Summary: You and Buck have a few realizations about a certain someone... but it might be too late.

Word Count: 3.7k Warnings: Mentions of blood/violence

You and Buck are finally back at work together — the balance in the universe has been restored. It sounds dramatic, but you swear Hen shed a few happy tears when you returned. Even Chimney spared you a hug.

Once everyone disperses, you see Eddie leaning against the dinner table.

“Hey,” you say, approaching him.

“Hey,” Eddie returns.

Before you lose courage, you wrap one arm around his neck and the other around his waist, pulling him into a hug. It takes Eddie a moment, but he reciprocates.

“What’s this for?” He asks, voice muffled by your shoulder.

You pull back enough to look at him but keep your hands where they are. “For saving my life. I never thanked you. So… thank you.”

“Anytime,” he says, setting his hands in the crooks of your elbows. “Seriously.”

You smile sweetly.

You’re starting to see what Buck was talking about. You didn’t entirely believe it at first, but now that you’re staring into Eddie’s eyes, you can see it; he’d move the Earth for you. You swallow the lump forming in your throat. What are you supposed to do with this knowledge? It doesn’t mean Eddie loves you, and it doesn’t mean you love him.

Doesn’t he, though? And don’t you?

Does it even matter?

“Babe,” Buck says, setting a hand on your shoulder.

You spin around, probably a little too quickly.

“Bobby needs us, something about paperwork,” Buck explains.

“Sure,” you nod once, then turn back to Eddie. “I’ll see you around?”

Eddie looks you up and down, then nods slightly. The corner of his mouth turns up; you wouldn’t exactly call it a smile.

Buck wraps an arm around your back, guiding you to Bobby’s office. You reciprocate the gesture. As you walk, he smiles down at you. You smile back at him.

This. This is what matters. For the first time in your life, you’re in a healthy, long-term relationship. You love Buck, and you know he loves you back. For fuck’s sake, you just finished moving into his apartment. This relationship is the only thing you should be thinking about; you shouldn’t be doing anything to jeopardize it. Besides, you already know that you love Eddie — as a friend. His friendship means the world to you, and you know Buck can’t live without him either. Acting on a potentially fleeting whim could devastate everyone, including yourself.

“I love you,” you whisper to Buck as you walk.

Buck furrows his eyebrows in confusion, but he smiles anyway. “I love you too.”

You bump your hip against Buck’s as you dry a plate. Well, he’s so much taller than you that you actually bump your hip against his thigh. Still, he bumps you back with a soft chuckle.

Although you haven’t been living together for long, you’ve fallen into a routine of making dinner together and washing dishes together. It’s a weird, domestic ritual that you only partake in once, maybe twice a week since your shifts don’t always fall on the same days.

Buck glances over at you. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything,” you say, partially as a joke but partially sincere.

“Promise you won’t get mad?”

“Buck, haven’t you learned never to ask a woman that?”

Buck doesn’t say anything. He just continues to wash the plate.

“I’m kidding,” you say softly, gently taking the plate from his grasp and setting it down. “What’s going on?”

Buck sighs, taking a few steps backward until the small of his back rests on the kitchen island.

You stand in front of him, slipping your hands into your back pockets. “I won’t get mad. I promise.”

At this, he smiles softly.

“What’s on your mind, Pretty Boy?” You ask, nudging his leg with your foot.

Buck wets his lips, only to bite the lower one. “Did you have a crush on Eddie?”

You think you feel your heart skip a beat. “What?”

“Before we got together, I mean. Did you like Eddie? As more than a friend?”

The spit in your mouth has turned into sand. You swallow, and it feels like razor blades scrape their way down. How the hell are you supposed to answer this question? Do you lie, say, ‘Of course not, why would you even suggest it’ ? Do you tell him half the truth, that you liked him at some point but not anymore? Or do you go with the full truth: that you liked him then, and probably love him now?

“Before we got together, Eddie and I… had a moment,” you settle on saying.

“A ‘moment’?” Buck frowns. “What kind of ‘moment’?”

You cross your arms over your chest. “We had a tough call; a woman in her 30s coded after giving birth. It was an amniotic fluid embolism, the same thing that killed my mom. We got her back in the ER, and when I stepped out of the trauma bay, I… lost it a little bit. Eddie comforted me, and… we almost kissed.”

Buck nods, taking everything in. “Almost. So you didn’t.”

You shake your head. “No, we didn’t.” You pause, biting your lip. “I did tell him something, though.”

“What’d you tell him?”

“Buck, you have to remember that this is before, okay? I mean, we were still fighting at the time.”

“It’s okay,” Buck says with a slightly forced smile. “I understand.”

You take in a deep breath. “We were leaning in to kiss, and I remembered Shannon. He said she wanted a divorce, but I said that he’s still married and I’m not that type of girl. When we pulled away, my exact words were, ‘I’m not saying it can never happen.’ ”

“You left the ball in his court,” Buck summarizes.

“In a way, I guess,” you cede, rubbing your hands together nervously. “And then you and I got together, Shannon’s accident happened, and, I don’t know… it hasn’t come up since.”

“Have you thought about it?”

“Buck, I love you.”

“I love you too,” he says, reaching out and rubbing your arms. “I won’t get mad. I promise.”

You smile faintly, but your heart is still running a marathon in your ribcage. “I’ve… thought about it, I guess. I’ve thought about if you and I had never met, that maybe Eddie and I would be together. I’ve wondered what would’ve happened between Eddie and I if you and I never got together. They’re all just… thoughts, though. What-ifs. They don’t matter.”

Buck’s hands trail down to your hands. He takes his in yours. “Do you love him?”

“Buck.”

“I know you love me,” Buck continues, playing with your fingers. “You know I love you. But I’m asking if you love him .”

You feel your eyes well up with tears. It’s getting harder to catch your breath. “Evan, I need to know that whatever I say does not change our relationship, okay? Because you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and if this changes something, I will never recover.”

“Hey, nothing’s gonna change,” Buck promises, pulling you into a hug. “I just… need to know.”

You wrap your arms around him, holding on for dear life. “I don’t know,” you finally cry. “I mean, I think I do. But I’m not sure.”

You feel like a little kid running to someone for comfort. It’s embarrassing. If anything, you should be comforting Buck. You just told the man you love that you might also be in love with another man. And he’s comforting you.

Buck presses his lips to the top of your head. “We’ll figure it out.”

It’s you and Eddie in the rig today, and you can cut the tension with a knife.

He obviously doesn’t know about the conversation you shared with Buck, but for the past 72 hours, it’s been the only thing on your mind. Really, it couldn’t have come at a better time — the morning after, Buck started a 48-hour shift, and when it ended, you were starting a 24. He got in late, so he kissed you goodnight, and when you left, you kissed him goodbye. You haven’t spent enough time around Buck for things to feel awkward.

With Eddie, on the other hand… the last 8 hours have felt nothing but awkward. You’ve tried brushing it off, pretending that the air around you both hasn’t shifted. But it has. And you have no idea how to shift it back.

It’s like you’re back at the start of things, when you were first getting to know each other. Long, quiet pauses are interrupted by the occasional sound or text message. When you’re driving, Eddie will bring up Christopher and talk about how he’s doing in school. When he’s driving, your phone barely leaves your hand as you obsessively check for any contact from Buck. There isn’t any. You hate this; it’s miserable.

“Are we cool?”

You look up to see Eddie tapping the stirring wheel. It’s the only sound in the rig.

You look back at your phone. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I did something.”

“You didn’t do anything, Eddie.”

“Then why can’t you look at me?”

You set your phone in your lap and turn your head towards him. Eddie spares you a glance, and you see his jaw unclench.

“Is something going on between you and Buck?” He asks, eyes fixed on the road.

You place your elbow on the door, resting your head in your hand. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll work it out,” he says simply. “You two are made for each other.”

You tap your fingers against your cheek. “You believe that? Not about me and Buck, per se, but in general. You think two people can be made for each other?”

“Growing up, I was taught it was God’s will, that He brings people together for a reason. These days, I tend to believe in what I can see. And I can see how happy you make each other.”

You settle your hands in your lap, considering this. “Do you think someone can be made for more than one person?”

“What, like in a ‘different people for different phases’ type of way? Yeah, I could buy into that.”

“No, I mean, like, do you think someone can be in love with two people at once? Do you think that’s possible?”

Eddie turns his head to you, looking you up and down.

“RA 118, requesting medical assistance at 2749 Elmer Avenue for a PNB victim,” The radio interrupts.

PNB — pulseless, non-breather. Eddie flips on the lights and sirens.

You pick up the radio. “Dispatch, this is RA 118 responding. Is CPR currently in progress?”

“10-4, by victim’s son. 118 rescue is also en-route.”

Momentum pushes you back in your seat as Eddie picks up speed.

“10-4, RA 118 clear,” you say before hanging up the radio.

You and Eddie are first on the scene. You make your way into the house and quickly see a young boy, no older than 10 years old, doing chest compressions on his mother.

“Hey buddy,” you say, kneeling beside him. “We’ve got it from here.”

“No, the 9-1-1 lady said I have to keep doing this,” he protests as he continues compressions.

“And you have done a great job, but your part's done,” Eddie assures, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Now it's our turn.”

As the boy steps away, you place two fingers on the woman’s neck. “No pulse, continuing compressions.”

Eddie quickly cuts her shirt, places the defibrillation pads, and then moves on to bagging. When you come up on two minutes, you hold compressions for a pulse check.

“She’s in V-fib,” Eddie says, observing the monitor. “Clear!”

He delivers a shock, and the woman’s body jolts, but you still don’t feel a pulse.

“Resuming compressions,” Eddie says, swapping out with you.

You go a few rounds, switching roles so you don’t tire too quickly. After a third round of CPR and a fourth shock, she converts to a normal sinus rhythm. Thankfully, the rest of the 118 crew on shift has arrived, so they help you and Eddie load her onto the gurney and into the rig.

When you drop the patient off, by some miracle, she’s stable. The ER doctor thinks the cause of arrest was a heart attack, but all you care about is that she didn’t code in your ambulance.

Walking out to the ambulance bay, you see Eddie sitting on the rig. The door is closed, so he’s sitting on the ledge just in front of it. He’s resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

“Everything okay?” you ask.

He perks his head up, and the tear tracks on his face are unmistakable.

Your heart rate picks up as you set a hand on his shoulder. “Woah, what happened?”

“It’s nothing,” Eddie tries brushing you off with a sniffle.

“It’s not nothing,” you argue softly. “What’s going on, Eds?”

He runs a hand down his face. “You know how long she was down for?”

“For us? Well, three rounds of CPR is about 6 minutes, but including shocking and pulse checks, it was probably closer to…”

“...7 minutes,” Eddie finishes.

“I was down for 7 minutes,” you whisper.

He nods. He knows that better than anyone.

You take a seat next to him, setting a hand on his knee. “I can’t imagine how terrifying those 7 minutes were. If it were you or Buck, I’d be…”

You trail off, the weight of your words slowly catching up to you. They’re starting to sink in for Eddie, too, because his hand slowly trails up to yours. You turn your hand over so your palm is facing upward. Eddie laces your fingers together.

You somehow feel insurmountable guilt and relief at exactly the same time. Guilt because it feels like you’re betraying Buck. Relief because, finally, Eddie knows, and evidently, he feels the same way you do.

But… does he know?

“You know, I was talking to Buck the other night,” you say, still holding Eddie’s hand. “He said that he and I will figure it out.”

“Figure what out?”

“How we can be in a relationship when I also have feelings for you,” you say, voice barely audible. “Because I do. I’m in love with Buck, but... it feels like there's something between us, too. I didn’t even think it was possible at first, but…”

The two of you sit in silence for a few moments. Your interlocked hands are starting to feel like a bomb waiting to go off, but neither of you dare to break away first.

“Well,” Eddie eventually says, “whatever you two figure out, let me know. Because no matter what it is, I’m there.”

You hold in a sigh of relief. “Really?”

Eddie squeezes your hand, smiling softly. “Really.”

You can’t fight the smile that blooms across your face.

Things are definitely different between you and Buck. He said they wouldn’t be, and you’re sure he’s trying his hardest, but it doesn’t change the fact that something between the two of you changed.

You can’t remember the last real conversation you had with him. Granted, your shifts have been mostly opposite of each other, but even then, you used to at least text. Now, you can be sitting in the same room for hours on end without a single word being spoken.

After about two weeks of radio silence, you’ll finally be working a shift together. Buck doesn’t say anything when you’re sitting in the passenger side of his Jeep. He doesn’t say anything as he pulls out of the parking lot, either.

“Are we breaking up?” you ask, no longer able to avoid the question. “Because I’ve never been good at taking hints. So if this is it, you need to just say it.”

“Of course we’re not breaking up,” Buck argues. “I told you, nothing you said changes anything between us.”

“It already has, Buck,” you retort. “It’s changed everything. It doesn’t even feel like we’re friends anymore, let alone dating.”

Buck lets out a sigh, leaning his head back. “Okay, you’re right: things are different. But it’s not because of you.”

You frown. “...What?”

“You realizing your feelings towards Eddie has made me realize some things about myself. I’ve been working through those things, but I shut you out. I’m sorry.”

Your head is spinning. “Buck, pull over.”

“We’re gonna be late if—”

“This is more important. Pull over.”

Buck finds a random parking lot and pulls into it. You click off your seatbelt so you can fully face him. He’s still staring straight ahead.

“What have you been working through?” you ask. “And why couldn’t you do it with me? It’s what I’m here for, Buck.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

You take one of his hands. “You don’t have to keep apologizing. Just… talk to me.”

Buck bites his lip. “I just didn’t want to make things even more complicated.”

“Okay…” you say slowly. “What would make things more complicated?”

Whatever it is, he doesn’t want to say it. His jaw clenches and unclenches a few times, and his brows are knitted together. He’s playing with your fingers as a distraction.

“Evan,” you prompt softly. “If you can keep loving me after everything about Eddie, then I can keep loving you after whatever you’re about to say.”

He finally looks at you, and his eyes are red. His tongue darts out to wet his lips, which he then presses together. It breaks your heart to see him like this.

“I, uh…” He croaks out. “I think… I think I might be… Bisexual.”

You can practically feel the weight lift off of your shoulders. “That’s it?”

“Not exactly.”

You nod but stay quiet, waiting for him to elaborate.

“When you talked about what might’ve happened had we never got together, I… started thinking too. About the ‘what-ifs’. They’re the same as yours.”

You said that if you and Buck didn’t start dating, you wondered if you and Eddie would’ve ended up together.

You lean in a little closer. “You’ve pictured yourself with Eddie.”

It takes him a minute, but Buck starts nodding slowly.

“You love Eddie.”

Despite his frown, Buck laughs. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

You set a hand on his cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I’m… terrified. Terrified he won’t feel the same way.”

A stray tear falls on his cheek, and you catch it with your thumb.

“I have seen the way that man looks at you,” you say quietly. “He loves you.”

“What if he doesn’t? What if he loves you, and not me? I can’t watch you both be happy without me.”

“This is what you’ve been worried about?” You ask, moving your hand to run it through his hair.

He nods slightly.

“Evan Buckley, listen to me,” you say, taking his face in both of your hands. “If we’re going to do this, it’ll be all or nothing. Either both of us love him, or neither of us do. I would never hurt you, and if me and Eddie together would hurt you, then it isn’t gonna happen.”

“I want you to be happy,” Buck whispers, a few more tears falling.

“I’m happy with you — it’s one of the only things I’m sure of. I can live with the unknowns and the ‘what ifs’, but I can’t live without you.”

You and Buck make it to the station right on time. After parking the Jeep, he waits by the door as you make your way around. He extends his hand; you take it. The two of you walk in wordlessly.

You’re barely in the garage when you see Eddie walking out of the locker room. He’s already dressed in uniform.

“Damn, you’re early,” Buck remarks. He squeezes your hand before letting go.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Eddie replies. He looks at you. “You remember the mom the other day?”

You frown. “Sheila? With the sick kid?”

You took a rescue call with Hen, Chim, and Bobby towards the end of your previous shift. A woman, Sheila, fell through her rotten patio. She has a son, Charlie, with an autoimmune disease. Once Sheila was rescued, you took her to the hospital while Eddie stayed behind to look after Charlie.

“He's not sick, not really. She's making him sick. Probably has been for years.”

You raise your eyebrows. “Munchausen by proxy? That's a heavy accusation, Eddie.”

“All signs point to it,” Eddie continues. “The nonspecific autoimmune disease, the revolving door of doctors. He's frail, he's weak, he's always throwing up. She's poisoning him.”

“Poisoning him?” Buck interjects. “With what?”

Eddie’s phone rings. He sighs in frustration, but his expression changes when he sees the caller ID. “Charlie? Are you okay?”

You and Buck look at each other.

“Okay, just stay put, alright? I’ll be right there.”

You pull up to the scene in the Captain’s truck — B shift is still on a call, and it was the only vehicle available. You and Buck didn’t even have time to change before leaving, so you’re still in your street clothes.

When you get to the apartment, you find Sheila unresponsive and Charlie holding an empty bottle of eye drops. She’s been dosing his food with them for years, and Charlie wanted to see what would happen if she got them for a change.

After a good sternal rub and some fluids, Sheila perks up. You get her and Charlie into separate ambulances.

They’ll both be okay but never together again.

“Wish I’d gotten here sooner,” Eddie says, shaking his head slightly.

You’re leaning against the engine, Buck beside you.

“Hey, that kid is just lucky he met you,” Buck says.

You nod in agreement. “Seriously, Eds. It was a good call.”

“Diaz, you wanna ride with the kid to the hospital?” A paramedic interjects.

“Yeah, that would be gr-”

A sharp sound cuts Eddie off. You feel something splash on your face and instinctively close your eyes. Your eyes are barely open again when Buck is tackling you. You both collide with the side of the engine and fall to the ground.

There’s a lot of screaming and shouting. Someone is radioing that shots were fired, and a firefighter is down. You spare a glance up at Buck. His face is splattered with blood. You reach a shaky hand up to your own cheek, and your fingertips come back stained red.

You look across the way to see Eddie lying in the street, a flood of crimson underneath him.

It’s Eddie’s blood on your face.

[msschemmenti]

under one roof 🏠

an installment in the girl next door universe

summary: an unwelcome guest pushes JJ and Emily to ask their girlfriend to move in with them.

a/n: just had to work this into the girl next door universe somehow– shoutout to my fav-- @nikoniclove -- for inspiring me to use my lived experiences in this one. that being said, this is essentially based loosely on a true story. dropping this here while i work through the last chapter of girl next door.

Y/n’s lease was ending pretty soon and she was pretty much all set to sign for another year. Yes, she’d been officially dating Emily and JJ for about 8 months now, sleeping with them for longer, and knowing them for almost a year and a half. This was definitely the longest she’d waited in a relationship to move in but this was also the first relationship she’d seriously been in with an established couple. So there was a bit more to think about when establishing new living arrangements. As of right now, she liked her space, and JJ and Emily hadn’t outright asked her to invade their space so she wasn’t pushing it. Even if most of her things were over there and she spent almost all of her time over at their place. But at the current moment, she really saw no reason to give up her space just yet– until there was a reason.

“Hello,” Y/n sang down the phone as she turned her vacuum off to answer the call. It was the first Saturday of the month and she always used this time to clean. JJ and Emily had been gone for the last week in Nevada and had returned late last night after Y/n had fallen asleep. Per their agreed-upon routine, the morning call was expected by now. What wasn’t expected was the sheer panic and chaos that filtered down the line. There was some frantic breathing, what sounded like moving furniture, and maybe even a battle cry of sorts.

“You have to get over here,” Emily spoke grimly, fear clear in her voice.

“It’s 7:35 am, there’s no way you wanna have sex right now–” Y/n started with an exasperated sigh.

JJ’s voice was next, “I mean if there’s a will there’s a way. But that’s not what we called for. We really need your help.”

“Oh hush, you,” Y/n chuckled at the older woman’s words but got serious at Emily’s fearful wiper. “Now, what’s the deal sugar booger? Are y’all finally reorganizing your office or something? Or going through Em’s shoe closet?”

Emily huffed indignantly, “No, we were trying to have a sleep in but there’s something in here with us.”

Y/n’s eyebrows rose in confusion as she slipped into a pair of shoes by the door, “What do you mean something is in there with you? If there’s a person in your house right now, I think you’re both well within your right to shoot ‘em.” 

“Not someone, something. It won’t stop whining and I’m not going to see what it is. But I need it gone now.” Emily practically whined. 

JJ’s voice sounded from farther away, “We’re in the bedroom and Em won’t let me open the door to see what it is. Whatever it is, has to be up here with us. It sounds pretty close.” 

“Right right, I’ll be right there,” Y/n replied fighting to contain the laugh fighting to break through. As she headed for the door, she thought enough to turn back for a broom and then headed to her girlfriends’ house to hopefully save the day. Letting herself in and disarming the alarm, the professor scanned the first floor for signs of anything out of place. She’d been in and out during the week to retrieve certain things and she’d even popped in to clean a bit while they’d been gone. Everything seemed in order as far as she could see but just as she made it to the second floor she heard a whaling whimper from the hallway. 

“There it is again!” Sounded behind the closed bedroom door. Y/n shook her head and turned her head down the hall. The sound was familiar enough for her to recognize it was an animal, probably a baby, and they were most definitely in distress. She saw a flash of gray fur skirting across the hall to hide behind an end table and sighed. 

“Okay don’t freak out,” Y/n called through the door. 

“Too late!” Emily groaned. 

“What is it?” JJ opened the door a crack. 

“I think it’s a baby squirrel.”

“A squirrel?! Do you know how many diseases they carry?” Emily all but shrieked from the bedroom. 

“I definitely think I said ‘don’t freak out’ Em and it sounds like you’re freaking out, dear.” Y/n chastised through the door as she watched the squirrel duck its head out to look at her. 

“How else should I act while you’re out there with a wild animal? I don’t understand why you’re so calm right now.” Emily replied, her brown eyes appearing in the crack in the door.

“I’m calm because I know how to follow instructions, unlike you. I also have a bit of experience evicting scared baby animals. So you’re in luck.” Y/n grinned up at the older woman through the cracked door. Emily huffed in annoyance as both JJ and Y/n laughed and her brown eyes disappeared from the doorway. “I’m gonna open this window and go look for a box. Make sure you keep your door closed so it doesn’t confuse it for an exit.” JJ saluted through the crack and watched as the younger woman got to work. She turned to face Emily and fanned herself a bit. 

“Gotta say– she’s sexy as hell when she’s all Bossy Steve Irwin.” JJ hummed flopping on the bed dramatically.

Emily, completely ignoring JJ’s libido-driven musings peaked out the window impatiently. “All I know is if she gets that squirrel out of here– she’s never going home.” Over the last few weeks, both JJ and Emily had found themselves lamenting about how great it felt waking up to Y/n every morning. How right it felt when having work to make dinner or breakfast in their kitchen. How easy it was to start putting her things away in their closet. How well she fit into their lives. Obviously they knew she lived about as close as someone could without living with them, but every morning they spent without her only made them want her there all the time. So while they’d been heading back from Nevada they both decided they’d plan a special date to ask Y/n to move in once her lease was up. But apparently this little intruder was shaking things up.

JJ laughed, “I thought we were going to plan a whole thing? A little squirrel’s got you ready to abandon all that?”

Emily shrugged, “Absolutely. If she gets that thing out of here, I’m never letting her go.”

-

It was about thirty minutes later when Emily and JJ’s bedroom door creaked open. “You can come out now, your squirrel problem has been solved.” Y/n smiled leaning against the doorframe. 

“Our hero,” JJ was first on her feet and draping her arms around the younger woman eagerly. “Our very bossy and sexy hero.” 

“Bossy, sure. Sexy? Jen, I’m in bunny slippers and yoga pants right now.” Y/n rolled her eyes but leaned into the older woman’s body. 

“Bold of you to assume that I wouldn’t find your bunny slippers and yoga pants extremely sexy. Especially after you saved poor Emily from having a heart attack.” At the mention of her name, Emily scoffed loudly and made her way over to both of her girlfriends. She wrestled JJ’s arms away from Y/n and pulled her into her side possessively. 

“You’re sure it’s gone? Not just hiding somewhere in the house?” Emily asked, lips pressed against the younger woman’s temple. 

“Yep, Tracy the squirrel is back outside where she belongs.” 

“You named it?” Emily asked incredulously. 

“Yes, Tracy was struggling to get out the window so I ended up luring her into a box and took her out by the tree in the backyard. Her mom came out pretty quick and snatched her up so I think you’re all good.” Y/n motioned toward their bedroom window before reaching to pull JJ over to her other side. 

“Well, what if there’s more? Or if this Tracy you speak of comes back? What are we supposed to do then?” Emily hypothesized. She locked eyes with JJ over the professor’s head and winked discreetly– keying JJ in on where she was going with all of this.

“Yeah,” JJ piped up. “What if they come back and bring more? What do we do then?” 

Y/n looked between them both curiously, “Call me the same way you did today? But I doubt they’d come back. With the way Em was acting, I’m sure Tracy’s already warned all the squirrels in the neighborhood against breaking into this house.”

“Ha ha ha, you’re so funny.” Emily rolled her eyes and pinched Y/n’s side affectionately. “Seriously, the time it’d take you to get over here could be detrimental to one of us. The squirrel could bite one of us.”

“What? It took me maybe 2 minutes to get over here…” 

“Too long, we can’t risk it. We need you closer, right Em?”

“Absolutely. I was thinking right about here.” Emily said pulling Y/n toward the bed and pushing her to sit at the edge. Y/n eyed both Emily and JJ suspiciously and paused at their hopeful expressions.

“Is this y’all asking me to shack up?” 

“God, how old are you? That saying is at least 60 years old.” JJ teased. Y/n scoffed and readied herself to respond to the blonde’s words but Emily sent them both pointed looks. “Yes, we’d like to shack up with you,” JJ confirmed. 

“We know your lease is up in a little bit and it’s not like you don’t spend most of your time here anyways. And who will protect us from the animals outside when they break in?” Emily reasoned logically. 

Y/n fought the laugh that sat at the back of her throat as she pretended to think over Emily’s words. “Hmm, sounds like y’all have really thought this through. I mean with the animals and all.” She rubbed at her chin in thought a bit longer, really milking the pause for as long as she could. By now the women knew her well enough to know she was prone to be more dramatic, and after the first couple of seconds, JJ’s lips twitched up in a knowing smirk. Once Emily’s face mirrored JJ’s the younger woman dropped the facade and grinned. “Alright, I’ll be your live-in animal control. My favorite form of payment is kisses.”

“Well, I personally think it’s time we compensate you for your work–” JJ started already moving to rid the Y/n of her top. But when Emily leveled her with an unimpressed look she hurried to amend her statement. “And celebrate this milestone in our relationship!” 

[sinnabarmoth]

Worthy of Devotion (5/9)

Pairing: Sea God|Rafayel x Worshipper|Reader (fem)

Summary: An encounter in the library leaves Reader and Rafayel reeling with emotions they don't know how to maneuver.

Content Warnings: Adult language.

Length: 2k

Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (6) (7) (8) (9)

Read on AO3

~~~

“You really need to take better care of yourself.”

“For goodness sake, Raf, it was one bad fish. You’re acting like I intentionally poisoned myself.” You were back up and moving but still taking things slow since you still needed to replenish all the fluids you lost during your unfortunate vomit festival the other day.

“You might as well have. I thought you were smart enough to know when a fish was rotten.”

“It didn’t look rotten! It didn’t taste rotten. I thought it was fine. How many times do we have to go over this?”

“I just think that you should still be resting.”

“I’ve been resting for days. If I stay in bed any long I am going to go insane. Besides, you say you want me to rest but what I think you mean is you want to use me as a pillow so you can take a nap.” You were currently in the library reordering the books. The previous system these tomes and scrolls were categorized in was baffling. Did the previous followers just stuff them wherever they could find an open slot?

Rafayel was following behind you with a stack of books in his arms. “You have proven surprisingly comfortable.”

“I think you just like that I play with your hair.”

“That as well.” he handed you another book to put on the shelf. “So what do you say? Quick half an hour nap?”

“Maybe after we finish reshelving this section.”

“Ugh.” he dropped the books and plopped himself on the ground. “All you ever do is work. Do you hate fun or something?”

“If you’re going to be dramatic can you not take it out on the books? I had those already ordered.” you sighed and started picking them back up.

“Stop working.” he grabbed you by the arm and pulled you down onto the floor with him.

“At the rate you want me to go I’ll probably have this temple rebuilt and reorganized in a couple years instead of a couple months.”

“And what’s so wrong with that? A couple years away from the noise of civilization. Just the peace and the quiet.”

“Peace and quiet? Am I supposed to get that here because there is this very whiny god that keeps coming by to disturb me.” you gave a little flick to his nose.

“And what god could this be?”

“Well he’s tall, wears a lot of jewelry, pretty lazy, doesn’t like cats--”

“Ethereally handsome?”

“Actually I was going to say he can’t win a game of Jumping Shrimp to save his life.” you smirked at his annoyed expression.

“I think maybe this god is just letting you win at Jumping Shrimp.”

“No, he’s too competitive to hand me wins. Although, with how well he plays he might as well be.”

“Hmph,” Rafayel rolled over so his back was facing you.

“And he also loves to pout.” you poked the back of his head. “Raf, come on. I was just teasing.”

He scooched along the floor to put more space between you two. You rolled your eyes and scooted after him.

“Rafayel. Look at me. Please.” you poked him again. He didn’t turn.

“If you don’t look at me I’m gonna start being formal again. So turn around.” Again he didn’t move. “Rafayel. Your Radiance. Oh God of the Seas and bringer of storms. Will you please bless your devout follower with your gaze?”

Nothing.

“You big baby, will you look at me?” you pulled on his arm to get him to turn but he went rigid and pushed back so you couldn’t move him. “Oh how very mature. I’ll get you to look at me one way or another.”

You hovered over him trying to get a look at his face. He kept turning and turning until his face was flat against the floor. You groaned. “Rafayel! You’re just doing this to piss me off now.”

“Is it working?” he muttered into the stone floor.

“Yes!”

“Good.”

“You absolute--” A torrent of blasphemy waited on your tongue to be unsheathed so you could cut this childish god down to size.

You grabbed him and shoved him with all your might until he was flopped back on his back. “Ha!” He flopped back onto his side the second you got him on his back. “Oh no you don’t!”

You grabbed him again. The two of you began rolling around on the floor as you tried to get him to look at you. You had a leg hooked over him and was trying to get him under you so he would be forced to look at you.

“Raf, can you please just--ow!” you tugged your arm free of him. “Did you bite me?”

“Maybe.”

“You want to play dirty? Fine then.” You grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go!” he tried to pry your hands off.

“Not until you look at me!” You tugged his head back but he rolled again, like an alligator rending its prey. “Damn it, Rafayel! We are not doing this all day!”

With a final bout of strength you flipped him to his back, grabbed his wrists, and pinned them to the floor. You sat straddled across his waist, breathing heavily. Finally! You had him! You looked at his face but he had his eyes shut tight. You dropped your head. “Do you think you’re funny?”

“I don’t know. According to my “most devout follower” I’m a big lazy baby that can’t win a simple game of Jumping Shrimp. She said nothing about being funny.”

“It is a wonder that you are considered a god.” you muttered. “But fine, you win. Don’t look at me. Never look at me again. Who am I to deserve his fishy-ness’s holy gaze. That just means you don’t get to see me give you your apology. I was going to say I was sorry but since you won’t even look at me I don’t see the point. Oh well. I guess we are to be strangers from now on.” You let go of him.

It was then he decided to open his eyes. You turned your gaze away. Rafayel sighed.

“Hey,” he said. “Look at me.”

“No. If I am unworthy to be looked upon by you then I am surely not worthy to look upon you either.”

“Yet sitting on me doesn’t seem to be an issue.” he tried turning your face to him but you squeezed your eyes shut like he had.

You felt him shift as he sat up. You tried to move off his lap but his arms circled around you, keeping you in place. His hands had decided to settle on your hips. They burned through the thin material of your clothes as if you wore none at all. “Clownfish, look at me.” he crooned.

“No.” You weren’t looking at him for an entirely new reason now.

“My little human,” he said, his voice a gentle whisper. “I’d like it very much if you would open your eyes now.”

You shook your head. You prayed that he couldn’t hear how hard your heart was beating.

He grabbed your hand and crossed it over your chest to cover your heart. “I can’t hear a thing. I promise.”

Damn it! Stop praying!

“I’m sorry for angering you and for making you uncomfortable…and for biting.” You could hear a hint of humor in his voice. “That’s not the type of god you deserve.” You felt a gentle brush of his lips against your cheek.

You forced your eyes back open and found his intense gaze settled on you. “It’s alright…” you mumbled, “I’m sorry for teasing you and wrestling you and pulling your hair. You deserve a better follower than that.” He seemed to be waiting for something.

Your hands were still resting over your racing heart. You leaned forward, your eyes traitorously drifting to his lips for just a moment. When your gaze flicked back to his that blazing fire was back in his eyes. Your breath caught.

“Cor meum…” he murmured, his face so close you could feel his breath brush against your lips.

You turned your head and kissed his cheek before leaping off his lap and grabbing a random armful of scrolls off a nearby table. “I need to go shelve these before I lose the afternoon light!” you shouted over your shoulder and fled. Fled like a coward.

~~~

Rafayel was stuck to the floor, helplessly staring in the direction you ran away.

By the tides…what was he doing?

He touched a hand to his lips. The feel of your skin against them was burned into his memory now. So was the way your legs felt straddled across him. The way your hand gripped his hair, even if it did hurt. Then to feel your own lips press to his face…

He had thought for a moment that you had a different target in mind when he saw you leaning in. He didn’t miss the way your eyes flicked to his mouth. Had he been too eager? Had you seen something that frightened you? Maybe all of it frightened you. Maybe whatever this was becoming, these feelings that grew every day between you, they were all too much.

You hadn’t asked for any of this when you decided to leave the mainland. You hadn’t expected to actually meet him or to be stuck on this island for weeks. Closer to months now. He certainly hadn’t expected to keep returning. He could have sent a number of emissaries from Lemuria to deliver you food and clothes and other needed supplies. He didn’t need to stop by almost every day to see you, talk to you, play with you. He shouldn’t have been. There were duties in Lemuria he was shirking every time he came here.

Yet the days he stayed away were the loneliest yet. All he wanted was to return to the temple and find you. To be greeted by your smile and your cheerful voice. To lay next to you, his head in your lap as your hands ran through his hair, expelling all the worries that came with running a kingdom.

When you said that he was keeping you from working, that at the rate he kept you at you wouldn’t be done repairing the temple for years. He wanted it. He wanted to keep you here. The thought that in a short couple months you could just be gone, this temple empty once again, haunted by your presence…

Cor meum.

It had just slipped out. You were so warm in his hands, smelled so sweet, and he just wanted to keep you there forever. Cor meum. My heart.

[hivemuthur]

What was that? - Ch. 4.

viktorxfemale!OFC mature! (for now, I will mark later chapters as explicit when the time comes

friends to lovers, co-workers, sexual tension up to the wazoo, pinning and banter that got me frustrated when I was writing it, attempt at humour, some angst and a slow burn with a happy ending and a classic Viktor for once

Ch.1. | Ch.2. | Ch.3. | Ch.5. | Ch.6. | Ch.7. | Ch.8. | Ch.9. | Ch.10. | Ch.11. | Ch.12. | Ch.13. | Ch.14. | Ch.15.

word count: 3,7K

tag: #what was that

summary: They have their first fight :')

author’s note: Beta reader: @rennethen

Cross-posted on AO3

—

The lab was unusually quiet for a Thursday afternoon, save for the steady hum of the machines and the rustle of papers as Renly flipped through a research file. Bent over the table, her mind was entirely absorbed in the task at hand when she sensed a subtle shift in the atmosphere. A presence at the door—a student, no older than twenty, with a shy but oddly confident grin.

Renly didn’t notice him immediately, her focus locked on her work, but the soft clearing of his throat drew her attention.

"Excuse me, Professor Huxley, I—" the young man began, his tone polite but with a faint attempt at charm.

Renly looked up, startled for only a moment before recovering with a polite smile. She recognized him—Ezra, a first-year student. Cute, a little too bold with some of the staff, though often forgiven because of his evident promise.

"Ezra," she greeted with a nod, keeping her tone professional. "I’m not a professor yet,” she smiled at him politely. “But what can I do for you?"

Ezra stepped closer, a little too close, his gaze lingering on her face as if memorizing every detail. "I was hoping you could help me with a project I’m working on," he said, his voice dipping just slightly. "Maybe after hours? I could really use your expertise."

Renly raised an eyebrow, holding back the instinct to step away. "I’m afraid I’m busy, but you can get started on your own. You know where the resources are," she replied evenly, the words polite but firm. She wasn’t one to let professionalism slide, especially with students. The last thing she needed was whispers of impropriety—not after John, and especially not with Viktor, well… unapproachable.

Ezra, however, didn’t take the hint. His eyes flickered down, lingering a beat too long before returning to hers, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "That’s a shame," he said smoothly. "I really value your insight. More than anyone else on the staff."

Renly held back a sigh. His boldness might have been admirable under different circumstances, but now it was just exhausting. Before she could form a response, Viktor’s voice sliced through the room with chilling precision.

"She’s not interested."

Renly turned, startled to see Viktor standing in the doorway, a stack of papers in hand. He didn’t spare Ezra so much as a glance, his gaze fixed somewhere in the middle distance, his tone cold enough to send the student reeling.

Ezra’s smirk faltered as he stumbled over his response. "Right. Well… sorry to bother you, prof... Miss Huxley." He cleared his throat, his confidence deflating as he turned on his heel and all but fled from the lab.

The door clicked shut behind him, and the silence that followed was as sharp as Viktor’s words had been.

Renly blinked, caught between surprise and something close to amusement. "What was that?" she asked, her voice light but tinged with curiosity.

Viktor had already moved toward his desk, setting the papers down with a controlled precision. He didn’t look at her as he muttered, "The boy’s an idiot. Driven by... stardom."

Renly crossed her arms, leaning against the table. "You’re not usually so… blunt."

Viktor adjusted his glasses, his expression unreadable. "It was obvious."

"Obvious?" Renly tilted her head, her brow arching. "Obvious that he was flirting with me? I thought that was normal. Students try to impress their instructors all the time."

His lip curled faintly, the closest he came to a frown. "Normal? Perhaps. But pointless."

"Pointless?" she echoed, caught off guard by his sharpness.

Viktor’s gaze flicked up briefly, but he didn’t answer right away. His fingers busied themselves with the settings of a machine, though his movements were a fraction too deliberate.

Renly studied him, her amusement giving way to intrigue. "Why, does it bother you?" she asked, her voice softening.

"It doesn’t," Viktor said too quickly, the edge in his tone betraying the lie. "It’s simply unprofessional."

"Unprofessional," she repeated, a small, knowing smile tugging at her lips. "Right. So, what was all that about ‘she’s not interested,’ then? That didn’t sound so indifferent."

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, Renly thought he might snap back. Instead, he turned his attention back to the machine, his shoulders tense.

"Fine," she said gently, relenting. "But next time, just let me handle it."

Viktor’s lips pressed into a thin line, and his silence stretched on longer than she expected. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter, almost hesitant.

"I wasn’t… trying to intervene."

Renly blinked. "Could’ve fooled me," she teased, though there was no malice in her tone.

He finally looked up, his expression unreadable but his eyes softer now, as if the tension had ebbed. "Perhaps I was," he admitted, so quietly she barely heard it.

Renly’s smile faded, replaced by something gentler. "Thank you," she said softly.

Viktor gave a faint nod, his attention drifting back to his work. But the way his fingers moved, slower and more deliberate, suggested he was less absorbed in the task than he appeared to be.

“Are you going to chase away every man that approaches me from now on, or only those you don’t like?” Renly tried to test Viktor a little more.

“That’s a… difficult question. And it would be a futile practise, as the number of men I like is very low.”

Renly’s ego was tickled enough by her young admirer, so she decided she is ready to be humbled by Viktor. She folded her arms, leaning back slightly, her tone half-teasing. "Alright, Viktor. Let’s start with an easy question then. What drives a man like you—curiosity or conviction?"

The edge of Viktor’s lips curled upward in a near-smile, though his gaze stayed thoughtful. "An easy question, you say? You begin with a false dichotomy, expecting me to commit to one truth while dismissing the other. Is it not possible to be convicted by curiosity itself?"

She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head as though examining him under a microscope. "So, conviction born of curiosity. That's convenient. But where does it stop, hm? At what point does pursuit cross the line into obsession?"

"Obsession, you think?" Viktor countered, his tone gaining a playful sharpness. "Perhaps it is simply dedication mistaken for obsession by those with lesser stamina for inquiry." He paused, his gaze meeting hers with quiet intensity. "I wonder, Renly, how would you define the difference? Or would you prefer to leave such questions unanswered, for fear of what they might reveal?"

Renly’s laugh came quick and light, though her eyes flickered with thought. "That sounds like something someone on the edge of obsession would say."

"Then you would know me better than I thought," Viktor replied, the barest flicker of amusement touching his words. "But tell me, what edges do you tread on in your work? Or are you content to stay safely within the boundaries?"

She leaned forward slightly, her smile equal parts challenge and intrigue. "Boundaries are subjective. I'd argue it depends on who’s watching—and whether they understand the lines in the first place. You, of all people, should appreciate that."

For a moment, Viktor said nothing, simply studying her. Something in her expression—the sharpness of her wit, the unflinching confidence—stirred an uninvited flicker of admiration. He cleared his throat, deciding to ground himself in the debate. "Then we are both trespassers, by your definition. Or would you deny me that camaraderie?"

Renly's grin widened, and she tilted her head. "You? A trespasser? Never. But if you’re offering camaraderie, who am I to refuse?"

The words hung between them, the air alive with the friction of intellect and something unspoken beneath it. Neither looked away, each silently daring the other to make the next move.

Renly broke the gaze first, though it felt more like a retreat to gather ammunition than a concession. Her fingers traced the edge of the workbench idly, an outlet for the quiet energy buzzing between them. "Camaraderie only works when both parties trust each other, you know. Do you trust me, Viktor?"

Viktor's brow lifted ever so slightly; his expression unreadable. "Trust is a peculiar thing, isn't it? It is granted freely to those who least deserve it and withheld from those who do."

"Sounds like a very Viktor way of saying 'no,'" Renly quipped, though her voice had a softer edge to it now.

"Perhaps," he allowed, his tone carefully measured. "But consider—trust is not the foundation of progress. Scepticism is. It sharpens the mind, ensures the work holds under scrutiny."

"So you're saying progress is worth more than trust?" She arched a brow, daring him to commit to his own argument.

Viktor hesitated, his fingers tapping the head of his cane in thought. His inner voice chimed in, slightly annoyed at the vulnerability her question exposed. She’s clever, sharper than most—but that sharpness is double-edged. Finally, he answered, "I am saying they are not mutually exclusive. But trust without merit is a dangerous luxury. Wouldn't you agree?"

Renly leaned back again, her arms crossing, and her lips quirked upward as though savouring her next move. "I might, if I hadn't spent all this time proving myself to you. Are you saying all that effort was wasted?"

The question struck deeper than he expected, though her tone was light. He realized, uncomfortably, that he did trust her in ways he rarely trusted anyone. Not entirely, not yet—but enough to let her slip past certain defences he usually kept up. That thought alone made him wary. "I suspect you are very aware of your abilities, Renly. One might even call you... persuasive."

Her laugh was immediate, bright and genuine. "That's the most backhanded compliment I think I've ever received. I’ll take it.",

"You should," Viktor replied dryly, though there was a faint glint in his eye. "After all, you seem to thrive on recognition."

"Who doesn’t?" she shot back. "Even you, with your grand speeches about scepticism, you can't tell me you don't enjoy hearing Jayce talk you up to anyone who’ll listen."

His lips twitched, but he didn’t confirm or deny. Instead, he looked at her, truly looked, as if trying to find the angle she wasn’t showing. Her confidence was real, but so was the curiosity burning beneath it, matching his own in intensity if not in focus.

"I think," he said slowly, deliberately, "you are more ambitious than you let on."

"And I think you're deflecting," she shot back, smirking.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps I am... curious."

The echo of his earlier words lingered in the air between them, this time carrying an undercurrent of something neither dared name. Renly tilted her head, her smirk softening into a quieter smile.

"Then it seems," she said, her voice quieter now, "we both have a lot to learn about each other."

Viktor inclined his head slightly, his gaze steady. "A mutual experiment, then. I imagine it will be... enlightening."

Renly's laugh was softer this time, and she shook her head as she turned back to her work. But her heart, traitorous thing that it was, drummed a little faster in her chest. Whether it was from his words or the way he watched her, she wasn't sure. She decided not to think too much about it. For now.

***

The acrid smell of burnt chemicals filled the lab as Renly muttered a curse under her breath, waving away the thin plume of smoke rising from her workstation. The concoction in the flask had thickened far too quickly, bubbling into a viscous, tar-like mess.

"Wrong proportions," Viktor observed, his voice calm as he approached. Despite the tension that had hung between them for days, he leaned over her shoulder with no hesitation, studying the failed experiment with practiced ease.

"Thanks for the insight," Renly shot back, trying to keep the bite out of her tone.

Instead of rising to it, Viktor merely smiled faintly. "Viscosity," he teased, echoing an earlier joke that had become an inside reference between them. "I told you. Proper fluid dynamics are crucial."

She glanced at him, momentarily disarmed by the faint amusement in his eyes. "Alright, professor. Where did you learn so much about chemistry anyway? I thought you were more gears and circuits."

Viktor straightened, his expression turning thoughtful. "There was a man," he began, his voice measured, as though weighing how much to say. "A tutor of sorts. Back when I lived in Zaun."

Her curiosity piqued, she set the ruined experiment aside. "What kind of tutor?"

"A chemist. An inventor. You yourself have called him an ‘evil wizard’," Viktor said, a faint smile touching his lips. "His name was Singed. He… taught me much. He kept my mind alive when my body could not follow."

Renly stiffened at the name. Her brow furrowed, confusion flickering across her face before it gave way to something sharper—disdain. "Singed," she repeated, her tone flattening. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her eyes narrowed, her gaze distant as if recalling stories she wished she could forget. "The madman who experimented on everything he could fathom? That Singed?"

Viktor’s faint smile froze, then faded completely. The familiar pang of defensiveness flared in his chest, like a shield hastily raised to deflect an oncoming blow.

"He was more than that," Viktor said, his voice quieter now, but firm.

Renly’s expression hardened further, her disbelief etched into the set of her jaw and the tight line of her mouth. "More than that?" she echoed, her voice rising slightly, incredulous. "Viktor, he’s a monster. He—"

"Stop." The sharpness in Viktor's voice cut her off. She blinked, startled by the sudden steel in his gaze.

"I know what he has done," Viktor continued, his tone low and clipped. "I am not blind to his actions. But you do not understand what he was to me. He was the only one who saw potential in a crippled boy who could barely walk across the room. The only one who taught me to think, to question, to create."

Renly hesitated, the weight of his words sinking in. "I didn’t mean to—"

"You did," Viktor interrupted, his grip tightening on his cane. "It is easy to condemn when you have never been desperate. When you have never had to take scraps of kindness from people you might despise, because no one else would bother."

Her stomach twisted with guilt, and she opened her mouth to argue—but what could she say? He was right. For all her hardships, she had never been utterly alone. She had grown up healthy, with parents who cared for her, in a community that taught her to read and write. She had lost much, but Viktor had started with nothing.

"You think I admired him because I approved of his methods?" Viktor asked, his voice softer now but no less intense. "I admired him because he gave me the tools to escape the Undercity. To stand here, today, as your equal."

The words struck her like a blow. "Viktor," she said quietly, regret threading through her tone. "I wasn’t trying to belittle you, or your choices. I just—"

"You spoke without thinking," he finished for her. His tone was not unkind, but there was a weariness to it that stung more than anger. "It is fine, Renly. I hold no resentment."

But the way he turned back to his workstation, his shoulders taut, told her otherwise.

She swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling heavily in her chest. "It’s not fine," she said, almost to herself.

Viktor didn’t look at her. "Let us not dwell on it."

But the words felt hollow, even to him. His grip on the edge of the workbench tightened, his knuckles whitening as he struggled to suppress the knot twisting in his chest. Why did her words cut so deeply? He had always known the world’s judgment of Singed—of Zaun, of him—but hearing it from Renly stung in a way he hadn’t anticipated.

Her condemnation echoed in his mind, louder than it had any right to. Monster. He bit the inside of his cheek, forcing his expression to remain neutral, but the resentment stirred beneath the surface. How easy it was for her to dismiss, to condemn from a place of safety—of relative privilege.

You do not know what it is like to have no choices, he thought bitterly. To rip the opportunities out from wherever you can find them, even if it comes from a broken hand.

And yet, a part of him recoiled at the anger surging within him, ashamed of how quickly it had come. This was Renly. She hadn’t meant to hurt him—he knew that. But knowing didn’t dull the sting. It only made him feel more foolish for letting her words affect him so deeply.

He inhaled slowly, forcing the air into his lungs as he tried to steady himself. “It does not matter,” he murmured, as much to himself as to her. But it did matter, and she had seen the way his shoulders tensed, the flicker of something raw in his usually composed expression.

The finality in his voice left no room for argument. Renly bit her lip, frustration bubbling beneath her guilt. He was letting her off the hook, but the unspoken tension between them remained, a chasm that she didn’t know how to bridge.

The lab fell silent again, but this time the quiet was heavy, uncomfortable. Renly glanced at Viktor, his face unreadable as he worked, and she wondered how much of himself he kept hidden from her—and why she had never noticed before. She turned the radio on, as quietly as the dial would allow, and started humming in the hope of making herself feel slightly less small.

***

Renly sat on the edge of her bed, running her fingers through her hair, trying to shake the tension from her shoulders. This day was hard.

She reached for her bag, intending to grab a notebook, but as she moved it, a crumpled piece of paper fell out. She picked it up, her heart sinking as she unfolded it. The words VISCOCITY!!! were scribbled in Viktor’s familiar handwriting, sharp and urgent.

Her fingers lingered on the page, and for a brief moment, she closed her eyes, her mind flashing back to their earlier argument. How could I have said that? she thought, guilt gnawing at her. She could almost hear Viktor’s voice, the tension in his words when he’d defended Singed. She never meant to hurt him, but the words had come out before she could think, and now, as she held his note, she realized just how little she knew about his past.

*

Viktor stood in his cramped apartment, absentmindedly turning the gears of a mechanical ship he’d built as a child. The one that lured him down Signed’s cave. An evil wizard.

He stared at the small ship, its intricate design almost mocking him. Singed loved this, Viktor thought. A sharp pang of anger swept through him. Renly’s condemnation echoed in his mind. How dare she judge him; how dare she think she understood what it was like to be trapped with no one to turn to?

Viktor’s hand clenched around the ship’s hull. What was it that Renly had said? “The madman who experimented on everything he could fathom? That Singed?” Her words cut through him like knives, pulling him into a memory that was better left forgotten. Same day they talked about trust.

He wondered, for a fleeting moment, what it would’ve been like if he and Renly had met as children. Would they have gotten along? Would she have condemned him then too, or would she have seen the same potential in him that Singed had?

He looked down at the mechanical ship, the twisting gears a perfect reflection of his own life—complex, unfinished, and always shifting. Would they ever truly understand each other? Or would he always be locked in a cycle of missteps, of words unsaid, and of pieces of his past that could never be erased?

*

The viscosity note still clutched in her fingers; Renly tossed it back into her bag with a sigh. She stood up and walked to the window, staring out into the dimly lit streets of Piltover. She could hear the muffled hum of the city outside, but all she could think about was Viktor. How could I have been so careless? she thought, watching a pair of figures in the distance, their silhouettes barely visible in the haze.

She wondered what he was doing right now, if he was thinking about her, or if he had already moved on. He had so many layers, so many walls, and just when she thought she was close to understanding him, he pulled away again. Debatable before, in this moment absolutely certain—Viktor definitely didn’t trust her.

Still, she couldn't shake the pull she felt when he was around. The tension, the way his presence seemed to seep into every part of her, had been growing for weeks. And now, despite their argument, she wanted to reach out, to apologize, to explain that she hadn’t meant to hurt him. But how could she when she didn’t even understand him?

*

Viktor placed the mechanical ship down on the table, the soft click of the metal pieces coming together echoing in the stillness of the room. His mind drifted again to Renly, and the thought of her softened his harsh thoughts. She doesn’t understand, he admitted to himself, his chest tightening. Maybe I don’t need her to.

He couldn’t deny that her words had hurt, but he also understood the instinct behind them—she was trying to protect herself, trying to understand him. It’s not her fault, he thought, his hand hovering over the ship again. It’s mine. I’ve never made it easy for her.

He let out a slow breath. Maybe they would get along as children, Viktor mused. But that was a different time, and he was a different person now. The weight of his decisions, his past, hung heavily on him. He had grown, he had learned, but some parts of him would always be chained to that place, to those choices.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. Maybe she’ll understand one day, he thought. But for now, the silence between them was all that remained, and it was maddening.

[tgmsunmontue]

Season to Taste - 38/42 WIP

Explicit Hangster - Celebrity Chef Bradley and Naval Aviator Jake Seresin who have a relationship spanning the globe before they realize how tightly bound they are to one another.

PROLOGUE/1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (interlude) 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (interlude) 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 (interlude) 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

CHAPTER THIRTYEIGHT

                Time speeds up and drags at the same time, the way it always does for him when he’s flying and hyper focused on achieving all the goals laid out in front of him. They manage to hit the target, get up and over and then it’s an utter shit show that makes him fairly sure he’s not going to be able to cope with any fireworks for a couple of years. Then Maverick is covering him and going down and all he hears on the comms is the scramble to see a parachute and the denial to go back. Orders to return to the carrier.

                God fucking damn it. He might not like the man very much, but he does respect his skill.

                Can’t leave him exposed like that.

                Can’t have that on his conscience.

                And he’s disobeying orders to do it as well.

                Fuck this is maybe the most stupid thing he’s ever done.

                He manages to shoot the helicopter out of the sky, blows out a breath and pulls at the throttle, has a sinking feeling in his gut because he’s already out of flares and unlike him, the others are likely closer to the carrier than they are to him. Without any air cover, the sheer number of SAMs along with other bogeys in the air he’s already pulled the ejection handle when the SAM hits his jet. It doesn’t stop the blast from hitting him, propelling his body further away. He feels the heat from the explosion and hopes like hell he still has enough altitude to safely land without his body crumbling in on itself or leaving him with broken legs and incapable of doing anything.

                “Fuck. I’m so sorry baby…”

                The landing is rough, branches of trees scratching him up as he falls through them, but he doesn’t care because they assist a little in breaking his fall. A miniscule amount.

                He’s alive.

                It’s not all that matters but it’s better than so many alternatives.

                It’s a miracle. Not one of the ones Maverick had listed off, but a miracle all the same. But he’s alive and well and actually… well is probably a stretch. He’s in enemy territory with no way out. His survival training kicks in and he starts stuffing his parachute back into its bag. The material may come in handy later but he also doesn’t want to leave out a giant fucking flag to any aircraft that might be around as to his location. He pulls out an empty pouch and fills it with snow, seals it and shoves it back into a side pocket of his flight suit, knowing it’ll melt and give him something to drink soon enough.

                First things first.

                Find Maverick.

…            …            …

                He doesn’t need to look very far, because the man is running and looking at him frantically and Jake holds his hands up in supplication.

                “I’m fine. All in one piece.”

                Then Maverick unceremoniously shoves him to the ground and Jake just stares up at him.

                “What the fuck?”

                “What were you thinking!”

                “That I didn’t want you to die on my watch. Sir.”

                “I saved your life! You’re meant to be back on the carrier. Safe.”

                “Well. I’m not. I’m here…” Jake provides, clearly stating the obvious but feels like it needs to be said as he stands back up and brushes snow off himself. Maverick is frowning and Jake recognizes that look. “You got a plan old man?”

                Maverick huffs in annoyance and Jake shrugs, because he’s alive and that’s still better than he thought he’d be ten, fifteen minutes ago. He doesn’t get why the old man is angry at him, he saved his fucking life, and if he makes it out alive from this he’s probably facing disciplinary action at the bare minimum. Well, he can always work on the farm and Leo will make sure he won’t starve at least.

                If he makes it home.

                He sucks in a breath then and refuses to think about any scenario where he doesn’t make it home. It’s defeatist and it’s not his normal thought pattern, so easy enough to ignore. For now. They walk through the trees, using them as cover but also the snow is lighter and any tracks they leave are intermittent at best, although not for an experienced tracker. He can tell Maverick wants to talk, has been trying to talk to him since that first day. There is no-one else out here though, no one that Jake can use as a distraction, so he’s going to have to just grit his teeth and make nice.

                “You married Lieutenant?”

                The question surprises him and he finds his hand go to his tags where Leo’s ring sits.

                “No sir. Am engaged though.”

                “Hmm. What’s their name?”

                “Leonardo. Leo for short… Going to make him a Seresin.”

                Maverick stops walking and turns to look at him, frowning at what he’s said and Jake doesn’t have time to get in his face about any homophobia the man might have. Leo’s well rid of him if he is.

                “Uh. Is your… head feeling alright Lieutenant?”

                “I… yes sir?”

                “You did just get shot down…”

                “So did you sir.”

                “Hmm.”

…            …            …

                Ice’s face and name flash up on the screen of his phone and he swallows, already nervous because Ice doesn’t call, not without good reason. Or bad reason. It hurts to talk but if there’s bad news he will be the one that will want to break it to Bradley.

                “Bradley…”

                “Ice…”

                “You… sit down.”

                “Oh god… Jake.”

                He wasn’t sitting, but his knees give out and he hits the floor

                “And Mav.”

                “What?”

                “They… fuck… classified.”

                “Who are you going to get in trouble with?”

                “President.”

                “Oh.”

                “They’ve both been shot down…”

                .

                .

                .

                Everything is dark.

                .

                .

                .

                “Bradley… Leo… svegliati…”

                .

                .

                .

                He throws up.

                Can’t stop shaking.

                “You look like shit.”

                .

                .

                .

                “Come on, we’re going to North Island. Your zio bought us tickets…”

                .

                .

                .

                He doesn’t know what Vi gives him, but it knocks him out.

                Makes the whole world feel hazy.

                He doesn’t care.

                He’ll wake up when the nightmare is over.

                Or he just won’t wake up.

…            …            …

                Maverick is fucking insane.

                Jake’s worried about concussion and whether the man can even remember how to fly.

                Then again, if Maverick’s only lost his short term memory he probably remembers how to fly a plane older than Jake.

                Okay.

                Insane but also a man who deserves the legendary reputation he has.

                Jake wonders if Leo will forgive Maverick because he’s saved Jake’s life.

…            …            …

                “He’s alive. They’re both alive. I think your Uncle Tom wants to kill them both, but they’re alive and back on the carrier and apparently apart from some mild scrapes, sprained ankle and a little concussion they’re both fine.”

                He’s shaking again, and this time the tears are of relief, he feels like he has been put through an emotional wringer non-stop. While he cries Vi holds him and eventually he falls into an exhausted sleep.

THIRTY NINE

[madamechrissy]

But it's Better if you Do

ৎ୭ Pairings ৎ୭ Nanami Kento x Fem Reader

ৎ୭ Warnings ৎ୭ MDNI- This chapter- Explicit sex, dirty talk, talk of bdsm

ৎ୭ Word Count ৎ୭ 6.1k

ৎ୭ Summary ৎ୭ Every weekday for a year, Nanami Kento comes into the coffee shop you work at, and he orders the same damn thing. You have it bad but are too nervous to do more than doodle on his cups. You have a double life, because you're also 'Foxy' a featured dancer at a strip club once a week. A bachelor party for Satoru Gojo has you dancing, and he's there. Nanami fucking Kento. You end up both in a VIP room, awkward, nervous, but then... it's your chance. He doesn't know it's you, right? What harm can a lap dance do? Surely won't be awkward the next day...

Chapter 7 -- Masterlist

Chapter 8

The next Wednesday

You barely see Nanami all week, reduced to the little kisses every morning that grew hot and heavy. At one point he had showed up after work on a Wednesday, exhausted, and had just come to make out with you. Lazily, shocking you when he showed up at your door.

“Nanami…” You moan against his lips, and shut the door, he’s still in his business suit, a dark blue one that fits him like a glove.

“One kiss was not enough today.” He murmurs, and when you see his eyes, you see how exhausted he is, lines on his handsome face under his eyes. You gently rub the dark circles, making him exhale. “That feels good.”

“You work too much.” You whisper, and he laughs a bit, looking at you with those hazel eyes.

“Says you.”

“But I’m not stripping now. Honestly, I have a lot saved… I may get a new place?” You peer around at the tiny apartment.

“Hmm… you could… I was thinking of getting a house.”

“Oh shit, really?” He nods, and it’s quiet. It’s too early to speak on such things, so you two awkwardly stand there in your living room for a moment.

“Yeah. But for now, I just want to kiss you.” You wrap your arms around him, leaning your face up to meet his.

“I want to kiss you constantly.” You whisper, then his lips descend on yours, starting to eat them up, kiss after kiss, then he has you pressed against the wall, moaning, grabbing your ass. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, fuck…”

You hiss as your aching cunt is against his thigh, you shamelessly grind against it, hands gripping his shoulders, clutching the suit material. “Kento… I need you.”

“It can’t be long though…”

“It doesn’t have to be.” You eagerly unsnap his pants, and he reaches up your skirt, twisting your panties to the side, sliding a finger in your wetness, making you tighten around it, pleasure hitting hard.

“You sure, darling? I don’t want you to feel like I’m just here for that.” You swoon at how fucking sweet he is, cupping his face, staring up into his eyes.

“Nanami, I know we share more than sex. But, I really love having sex with you, so I’m fine just doing this. Promise. Mmm.” Your breath catches, as he hits that spot, as you feel his hard length in your hand.

“You know I like to make love, darling.” You giggle at that.

“Just fuck me on a wall again.” At that he has your legs around his hips, and thrusts into you, you gasp at the sensation of him filling you, without as much play, he gives you a moment to adjust.

“Too fucking tight.” He growls the words through clenched teeth, you tremble, cock filling you so deep it makes you throb around him. “Are you all right?”

You nod eagerly, clutching to him, kissing him, rocking your hips up, he starts fucking into you, against your cervix, tongues sloppy as you both drink in each others moans. His grip on you is tight, his cock is so thick it’s stretching your delicate skin in the most delicious way, and you’re already close, shaking as he brings you closer, closer.

“Kento! Mmm. Love… this… so…” You can barely speak, as he enwraps you in his grip, as he further shoves your back and head into the wall, harder, his gaze is fucking hungry when he meets yours in the dim room.

“Cum for me, pretty girl. I can feel she’s close.” He practically purrs that, and you instantly do it, as if on command, walls tightening as hot wetness slides out of you, making his entry easier in your tight cunt. “That’s my perfect girl.”

“Kento, fuck.” You can’t take it, it’s all too good, his words, his cock, how he holds you so sure like you weigh nothing, his scent, his kisses…

His breath is ragged in your ear now, his hands on your hips, grinding you against the wall, your nails digging into his fancy expensive fucking suit. He thrusts, and thrusts, hitting that spot in you again, and you’re cumming a second time, his lips finding yours in a desperate kiss, his tongue lapping up your cries. His hips slam into you over and over.

You can feel it building, the pressure in your core, the heat pooling low in your belly, how you wonder, you’ve cum twice in minutes, and you could goddamn near cum again, shaky and losing it as you fall into him. He’s getting thicker, you feel his cock twitching inside you, so deep, you scream, throwing your head back, baring your throat for his kisses.

“You feel so good around me.” He whispers, shoving in hard and holding it there, making you pant, your breasts heaving, he yanks your top down, lavishing your nipple as he presses you against the wall, groaning softly. “I’m close, mmmnh.”

“Then cum for me, please.” You whisper, his eyes lock on yours, lidded with desire, lips red like yours from your kisses. “Push it deep in me.”

“You want that, huh? You want it all, sweet girl?” You nod eagerly.

“Yes, please, Kento, please.”

He slams into you one last time, his hand fisting in your hair, pulling your head back with a harsh tug, thrusting hard, so deep, sucking on that spot on your neck that drove you fucking crazy, as his cock hits that perfect spot in you that makes you writhe, your body shaking. His hot cum spills into you, painting your insides, filling you up, making you weak as you cum around him.

He growls, his hips stilling, kissing you in gentle little pecks as you pulse around him still, trembling with the aftershocks of how good it feels. He then slides out of you, a slick trail of his cum and yours following his cock, and leaving you empty and aching, your legs unsteady as he helps you stand.

You look up at him then, your eyes half-lidded, face flushed, lips swollen from his kisses, you look so beautiful, you felt so good around him he never wanted to leave your tight cunt. Your desire is all over him. Nanami catches you when you sway, his hand on your hip steadying you, the other cupping your cheek, thumb stroking your lower lip.

“So good.” You whisper, you hang on him limply, snuggling to his chest, he holds you tightly, never wanting to let go.

“So good.” He agrees, and you tremulously smile, looking up at him, as his cum is sliding out of you, as he’s still in his three piece fucking suit and you’re a wreck.

“I wish you could stay.” You whisper, and he exhales, nodding, holding your face so gently.

“Me too, darling. I already know I’m gonna be exhausted already.”

“Maybe you should… have clothes here? In case you ever want to during the week? Too bold?”

“Not at all. I’ve been thinking the same for you. And a toothbrush, so you stop stealing mine.” You giggle at that, rolling your eyes.

“Am I so special I’ll get a toothbrush?” You tease.

He gently caresses your face, and you help adjust his pants, peeking down and smirking at the sight of him slick with your wetness. “You’re much more special than that, I’d say. I think you deserve so much.”

“Aw, Kento. I’ll cry.” You blink back emotions.

“I’ll get horny, so don’t.” He teases, kissing your nose. You giggle again.

“Freaky Kento. Mmm.” You all kiss, over and over, and he sighs. “You have to go already, huh?”

“Unfortunately. Thank you for… this.” He muses, rubbing his hands down the curves of your body.

“Thank you for this.” You all are kissing, over and over, you keep saying goodbye, but it’s just kisses after kisses, whispers after whispers. You want to say ‘love you’ bad, but you just keep kissing.

“Good night, my darling.” He kisses your forehead sweetly, you sigh happily, leaning into it.

“Good night, my… Kento.” He grins at you.

“ Your Kento hmm?”

“You are mine. Text me when you get home?”

He nods, taking your hand, kissing it gently, and you stand in the doorway, watching his broad shoulders, he turns and smiles at you before he gets in the elevator, and you gently shut the door behind you, sighing, leaning against it. Your heart is still pounding, and you want nothing more than to just hold him. It hurts him even going home, and it scares you a bit.

***

Friday afternoon came, Nanami took off work early, and you all went to your mom’s house, along with Yuji and Nobara. You come and hug your mom tightly when she opens the door, inhaling the comforting scent of her perfume she’d worn since you could remember.

You ease back with a grin, then Yuji and Nobara come in and hug her too. They were damn near her other children, you all had been friends since high school. Nanami comes up next to you, handing her a bouquet of pretty flowers. They were a mix of sunflowers and tulips, bright and beautiful.

Your mom flushes, looking at you and whispering. “He is so gorgeous!” You flush too, nudging her with your shoulder.

“I know!” You whisper back. “Mom, this is Nanami Kento. My boyfriend.” You say, and she comes to give him a hug, throwing him off kilter for just a moment. You, Nobara and Yuji giggle as he awkwardly pats her back.

“We are huggers.” She says, and he laughs good naturedly, easing back and smiling charmingly. He was donned in a black dress shirt and slacks, a little more casual, without his signature tie, standing so much taller than all of you it was a little ridiculous. Like a damn tree you constantly wanted to climb.

“I am noticing this. It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” He pulls back, kissing her hand, and your mom mouths at you again. You giggle. “I see where she gets her beauty from.”

“Oh god, just be my son in law already.” You all laugh, but Nanami is flushed at that, you come and hug him.

“I told you he's perfect.” You kiss his cheek.

“He is, it’s not fair for the rest of us.” Yuji says with an eye roll.

“Oh, Yuji, you know I love you too. I always thought you’d get with her back in high school.”

“Mom!” You shout, embarrassed, Yuji grins deviously.

“She was in love with me, it’s true.”

“As fucking if!” You shove at him, then you all settle in your mom’s house now, wide open and cozy, the sun filtering through the kitchen and dining areas.

“What about you, Kugisaki? Any love interests?” Your mom teases her, she is also bright red now. Your mom pulled no punches.

“None but 2D ones.” You giggle, wrapping an arm around her.

“Hmm, didn’t you and Yuji go to a movie? A double feature ?” She smacks your hand away, glaring.

“You’re saying that as if it’s something dirty! You’re the one all sexed up. Oh!” She covers her mouth, but your mom just laughs.

“Finally. She seems so much less bitchy.”

“Mom!” You’re all laughing again, except for Nanami, who has now buried his head in his hands. You rub his back, making him look at you. “We are all fucking crazy, you see?”

He smirks at you, taking off his green shades, hazel eyes glimmering in the filtering sunlight. “I see this, it’s where you get your lack of filter.”

“It really is.” Your mom starts pouring mimosas for you all, you hold your glasses out and clink them together, shouting cheers.

You love having all your best friends together, including your mom and your boyfriend, Nanami fucking Kento. Because he was not just a boyfriend, he was also now your best friend. Best friend that you are falling in love with more and more. You were sitting at the table, the mimosas flowing, and the conversation between them all was nothing short of hilarious.

Nanami seemed to be really enjoying himself, laughing at your mom's goofy jokes, and even teasing Yuji about his high school crush on you, one you actually didn’t even find out about until years later and cringe thinking of. Yuji was like your annoying brother.

It was nice to see Nanami so relaxed and comfortable around everyone, he just fit right in. Your mom glances at you, and then back at Nanami, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. She's really taken with him, you can tell. How could anyone not be?

“So you’re meeting his friends tonight, hmm?” She asks, and you nod, grinning at the thought.

“I know a couple of them already! I think it will be so fun.” Your hand goes to his thigh then, and he covers yours gently, enwrapping it in his warm grip.

“It will be. They already love her.” He winks at you, you swoon. You think everyone in the room swoons, actually.

“Let’s eat, hmm?”

***

“Let me help you clean up, Mama.” You say, and you two go into the kitchen, letting the three of them go to the living room, chatting away still. You and your mom begin to gather the dishes, falling into a comfortable side by side.

“I missed you!” She says softly, and you kiss her cheek.

“I missed you. I should have more time soon… I’m only having one job now, I have quite a savings.” You murmur. She frowns a bit at that.

“I am so sorry about the school, angel. I promise you’ll succeed in another way with dancing.”

“I know Mama. Nanami brought up kicking the Tiktok and Youtube videos up, trying to get more out there?” Your mom looks over her shoulder at Nanami, smiling softly, and you see he’s watching you.

“He’s good for you. You’re so bright and happy.” You flush at that, smiling as you scrub a plate.

“He’s the best mom.” You murmur softly. “Like… I kind of am falling hard? It’s really scary.”

“It was scary for me with your dad.” You sigh at that, you both miss him a lot, it had been a long time since he passed away. “We instantly had such a good connection, it was intense. Of course, I love your Step dad so much, but ours was more a friendship that was built.”

“Well, we knew each other for a year. But you know. Awkward.”

“Nothing awkward about you, silly girl.”

As you look at him again, you catch him looking at you. His eyes meet yours, and something warm and electric passes between you. It feels like the air in the room shifts, and for a moment, there's only the two of you. He smiles, a slow, lazy curve of his lips that makes your heart skip a beat.

“You’re not falling, you fell, huh?” Your mom asks, and you nod, shyly looking down and sighing.

“Yeah. I kind of have told him? But then I just… It’s still new, it’s only been a few weeks. Am I rushing things?”

“No. Not at all. And you know, your dad would have really liked him.” You feel tears threatening now, wiping them with the back of your arm, then you realize Nanami is behind you, and heard that.

“Oh, hey Nanami. I’ve got the rest of this, you two go talk.” Your mom nudged her head for you all to go, you dry your hands on the towel, taking Nanami’s hand, leading him out back to the pretty little patio your mom had.

“Come sit, Sir.” You tease, patting the white wicker seat next to you, he does so, holding your hand still, running little circles along the back of it. “You heard some of that, hmm?”

“I came to ask if you all wanted help. But… I did.” He kisses your fingers, gently, you smile a little sadly.

“My dad died like seven years ago or so. I miss him a lot. He was really sick, though, and in a lot of pain.” You hear your voice crack a bit, and he has yanked you in his lap, holding you tight.

“Oh darling, I am so sorry.” He murmurs, and you snuggle into him, clinging to him tightly, feeling little tears slip.

“It’s okay, really. Thank you.” You kiss his cheek, nuzzling him. You feel so safe and good in his arms, you never want to leave.

“I didn’t know you…”

“Yeah, I don’t like to talk about it much. Mom actually remarried, but he is out of town. He is really awesome, but it’s not the same. You’ll meet him soon.”

“I imagine it’s not the same.”

“Mom is right though, he would have just loved you. Swear.” You peek at him, into his hazel eyes, grinning, and he’s very serious as he studies you, hand gently rubbing up and down your arm.

“You’re so strong, you know.”

“Me? You’re the weightlifter here.” You tease. He shakes his head.

“You are very strong, I see it all the time. I guess I wish I could ask for permission to …” You both pause, breathless, and your stunned eyes meet.

“To court me?” You manage to tease, breathless, and he chuckles, dark and husky, sighing.

“Hmm.” Is all he manages, just watching you.

“Am I fucking dreaming lately?” You mumble, Nanami smirks, kissing you softly now, your body pressed against his tightly.

“I ask the same thing.” His hand travels down your waist, to your thighs, and you shift a bit, aching as always for him, even on your damn Mom’s patio. He seems to notice, cocking a half grin at you. “You’re such a little horny brat.”

“A horny brat?” You demand, he just grins, and he looks so breathtaking, you cup his face, sighing. “You’re so fucking handsome.”

“You’re so fucking beautiful.”

“Mmm.” You’re kissing him, soft, and everything feels so good, so right, you think as you sit in your childhood home, with your mom, best friends, and him.

You adore him.

***

You and Gojo’s wife are throwing darts back and forth, switching off between Nanami and Gojo, who were competitive as fuck to say the least. You all were at what was apparently their favorite pub, along with Nanami’s friends and coworkers, Shoko, who was fucking hilarious and sarcastic, Geto, who you’d met, extremely charming and sweet.

And of course Gojo and his wife. You and her were becoming fast friends, especially after the lap dance situation, which was quite the talk of the group. Shoko looked at you and smirked as they spoke.

“Okay, I want one!” She says, and you giggle, looking at Nanami, who rolled his eyes at her.

“Maybe. We’ll see.” He determines, and she throws a wadded up napkin at his head, you all laugh.

“It was too hot. I can’t handle it again.” Gojo says dramatically, wrapping an arm around his wife, kissing her cheek sweetly. She was literally glowing, looking at him with such love in her pretty expressive eyes.

“You barely handled the first minute.” She teased, tapping his lips with her fingertip, he bites them, growling.

“God, get a room.” Geto rolls his eyes, and you all laugh at them. You notice Nanami has a hand on your thigh, and you place yours over his, smiling.

“They’re paired up now, you need a girlfriend, Geto. And you, Shoko.” Gojo says, grinning at them.

“I need a girlfriend?” She teases with a smirk, and you all laugh again.

“I’m finding some hot Island girl on my trip. No worries.” Geto muses with a smirk, brushing back his long hair and wiggling his brows.

“You better come back.” Gojo’s wife pouts. Gojo rolls his eyes.

“Just find someone so you stop hitting on my mom.”

“What?” You ask, and they go on to tell you the details, you all fall into easy conversations, one after the other.

“You all are cute together.” Geto muses, looking at you, and you both flush, looking away. Gojo laughs.

“They’re so awkward too, it’s perfect.” Mrs. Gojo, as he liked to call her, smacks his shoulder. “What? It’s true, you know.”

“Not awkward. Just not outrageous like you.”

“Outrageous?”

“Mmhmm.” They start bickering, playful, and then he notices she has not drunk her drink at all. “My tummy hurts.”

“You okay?” He asks, concerned, and you all continue talking while he’s cupping her face, staring at her intently. He was so clearly obsessed with her, you were so happy for them. You look at Nanami, thinking for a moment.

“So are you thinking it’s getting serious?” Geto asks, and Nanami clears his throat, looking at you.

“It’s serious.” He murmurs, and you smile, exhaling.

“Yeah. It is.” He kisses you softly, to the oohs and aahs of the table, and then Nanami and Geto go walk off to the bar for more, hunched together, talking seriously, then they call Gojo over too.

“What are they up to?” Shoko muses, lighting a cigarette and inhaling, peeking at the curiously.

“Talking about manly things?” You ask, she just laughs, and then peeks at Gojo’s wife, frowning in concern. “Hey, you okay, love?”

She nods, but she’s getting a little pale. You reach over, feeling her forehead. “Not clammy. Hmm. Want some water?”

“Please.” She smiles gratefully, and you head up to the bar.

“I need your help in the near future, Gojo.” Nanami says, then curses when he sees you coming up to the bar, luckily you’re not in ear shot in the loud bar.

“Aha, I always knew you’d come to me.” He says, cocky, grinning, Nanami rolls his eyes.

“No really. You’re like a diamond expert?” They both look at each other, conspiratorially, and then look back at Nanami with raised brows.

“Fuck, you’re thinking of proposing?” Geto whispers, and Nanami peeks over at you, luckily you’re already back at the table. He nods.

“Yes but not just yet. I’m thinking of it. It’s probably too soon… But I wouldn’t mind checking them out.”

“You’re saying this in front of me, when I proposed to the woman who literally couldn’t stand me in two weeks.” Gojo says, with a big white grin.

“Yeah, well, you’re kind of unhinged Satoru.” Geto muses, and Gojo shoves at him, flailing his arms. Gojo couldn’t handle a drink for shit.

“I mean, but it was the right call. You all are made for each other.” Nanami says softly, and Gojo grows serious for a moment, unusual for him, putting his hand on Nanami’s shoulder.

“I have never seen you so happy. Fuck, you aren’t even boring now?” 

“Fuck off Gojo.”

“No, really. He’s right.” Geto cuts in, and Nanami rolls his eyes. “You are becoming more yourself I think.”

“Plus, she’s a hot fucking ex stripper? Like the lap dances, unlimited!” Gojo waves his arms wide, Nanami sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose, Geto is just laughing at you all.

“He has a point. She’s like your personal stripper, put a ring on it.” Geto chimes in, and Nanami turns his head, looking at you.

You’re so beautiful.

You smile at him, softly, lighting up your face. You fit right in.

“You’re in love, hmm?” Gojo leans his arm on Nanami’s shoulder, he grimaces, nodding. “You said it yet?”

“No. She… kind of did.”

“You didn’t respond?” Gojo frowns at that, and Nanami rubs the back of his neck, looking down at his whiskey. “Well… fuck.”

“Yeah, we haven’t brought it back up. I didn’t know what to say.” Geto comes to pat his shoulder now too.

“Just be yourself.” He says, smiling.

“Damn we’re having a whole brotherly love fucking moment.” Gojo says, then he hugs Nanami and Geto, they snort in laughter. “I fucking love you guys!”

“Oh God, he’s drunk.” Geto sighs. “You’ve had two drinks hmm?”

“Two yummy drinks.” He’s swaying a bit. “Gonna drink my wife tonight.”

“Oh God, go on.” Nanami and Geto shove him back.

“He’s sauced.” Nanami comes back with Gojo leaning on him, and his wife is now holding her tummy, wincing. Gojo comes to his senses quickly, running to her and pulling her against him. “Are you okay?”

She shakes her head, smiling apologetically. “No, my tummy just hurts really bad. I feel a little queasy.”

“Let’s get you home baby?” Gojo murmurs sweetly, she sighs, nodding, turning and giving everyone a hug. You hug her tight, kissing her cheek.

“Let me know when you get home safe?” You ask softly, she nods, kissing your cheek back.

“Of course, Kiyotaka is taking us. Poor thing.” She teases, then hugs Nanami next to you. “I’m so glad you both are here.”

“I am too.” He hugs her back, then pulls back and frowns. “Hey, you take care please, you really look pale.”

“I will be okay, promise.” She goes to hug Geto. “Ugh I’ll miss you!”

“Not even two weeks, princess. I’ll be back soon. Satoru, take care of her please, she does look pale.” Geto frowns, and you all worry now, including Gojo, who is tense as can be.

“Call me if you need anything.” Shoko kisses her too.

“I’ll be fine you guys, promise.” She smiles, beautiful despite looking all pale and now a little sheen of sweat, like it took effort.

“Later, guys.” Gojo throws the peace sign, as he leads her out the door, they don’t even get to the entry and he’s picked her up, cradling her gently. She leans her head on his neck, and you all watch them.

“I’m worried.” You murmur, and then you gasp. They all look at you. “What if she’s… pregnant?”

“Oh shit!” Shoko exclaims, then gasps. “Listen, she was fucking glowing before she felt sick, right?”

“Yes! And Gojo said he was trying to get her pregnant.” Nanami looks at you curiously.

“Oh fuck. There may be a baby Gojo huh?” Geto muses. Nanami smiles.

“We are speculating, but that would be so cute.” Shoko says, hand on her chin, lighting another cigarette.

“It would be.” Nanami agrees, and you feel him wrap an arm around you. You peek up, smiling, kissing him.

“Fuck, you all are having babies next.” Geto says, and you all blush, you have no clue how Nanami would feel about that. You peer up into his hazel eyes nervously, sipping your drink.

“Cute babies.” Shoko says with a wink.

“They would be.” You murmur, and Nanami stares at you, eyes unblinking and serious, it grows a little tense and you wonder if he has different thoughts on things than you do. It’s something you all hadn’t got to yet.

“We’re embarrassing them again.” Geto teases, and Nanami clears his throat, changing the subject smoothly. You all end up easily having fun for a little longer, until you say your goodbyes.

Nanami takes you to his car, he has a driver again, and you slide in the back next to him, snuggling close. He kisses your head sweetly, and it’s quiet on the ride, both leaving a lot unsaid, just listening to the sounds of the night as you ride through the lit up streets.

“I had so much fun today!” You say softly, he grins, looking at you, cupping your face gently.

“I did too. I loved spending the day with everyone. But… I have to confess, I am more eager to have you to myself.” He murmurs, seductive and hot as fuck, and you feel it hit between your thighs quickly, embarrassingly fast actually.

“Are you now?” He nods, kissing you, leisurely, possessing your mouth, tongues dancing together, lips smacking gently, teeth nipping. It sends desire through every inch of you. “Mmnh…”

“You taste so good.” He whispers, kissing you deeper and deeper, hands running across your breasts, aching for his touch.

“Kento?” He eases back, peering into your eyes.

“Yes, my darling?”

“It’s stupid early to ask, but I have to, I guess, so that I know if we are on the same page. Would you ever… want kids? Like not now. But…” You trail off, and see he is tense then. “Is this not a good time for this conversation?”

He exhales, brushing your hair back gently, studying it, you watch his Adam's apple bob up and down. “Um… I never thought about kids before.”

“Really? Never?” You ask curiously.

“No, never. I’ve not had relationships that weren’t just sex, you are the first one that’s grown very serious. I didn’t even meet the other girls’ parents or anything.”

“Oh… would you…”

“Yes, I think I’d like to.” You exhale, nerves released a bit. “You?”

“Yes. I would.” You all clutch each other’s hands tightly. “So only sex relationships before?”

“Yes, I’ve always just had a particular relationship.”

You frown. “What kind of relationship?”

“Mmm…” He runs his fingers down your cheek, your neck, making you gasp in pleasure at the light touch. You struggle to focus. “They were just sex, as I said. But moreso, they’d be submissives.”

“What!?” You ask wildly, taken aback. He sighs, tensing, as you study him incredulously. “You mean like, you were their Dom?”

“Yeah.” He runs a hand through his hair.

“Like… like some freaky fifty shades shit?”

He snorts. “No, that’s a shit representation of Dom and Sub agreements.”

“Oh… well… like why the fuck aren’t we doing that? You got upset that you left a damn bruise on me!” He grabs your arms, shaking his head.

“Because you’re so delicate to me, and special. I always worry if I’m hurting you, especially-”

“That’s why you like spanking me.” He flushes in the dark car. “I’m kind of upset you don’t want to do that with me? Is something wrong with me?”

“Fuck no. No.” He grabs you tight, shaking his head, kissing you deep, but you turn your head, confused. “Darling. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me.”

“But you can’t be a freaky Dom Kento with me, hmm?” You glare up at him, he rolls his eyes with a smirk.

“You’re not very experienced, I figured we would get there if you ever wanted. It’s not something I need.”

“No? Then why have Subs?”

“It was something I desired, single that is. It’s just different with you. I’m happy just doing anything with you.”

“But like, not telling me this is kind of…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to think bad of me.”

You frown then. “How would it be bad?”

“Well, only having sexual relationships isn’t the best past.”

“It just means I’m super fucking special.” He smiles.

“You surprise me all the time.” He kisses you again, a little more aggressively, nipping your lip, and you fall into it, crying out into his mouth, tasting the whiskey sweet on his tongue. You moan, but ease back, glaring up at him, he smirks down at you. “You’re cute when you’re mad.”

“I am mad. Very.” He tilts his head back, rubbing his face.

“I never meant to hurt your feelings by not telling you. It just… it’s still new and alot of our time on the weekends is spent fucking.”

“Perfect time to bring it up.” You shove at him, he snatches you up, laughing now, and you get madder. “Do I not seem subby enough?”

“No, you’re a damn brat. A cute brat.” He kisses your nose, you shove him off you, furious at his amusement.

“I can be subby!”

“You? No. Disobedient.” The way he says it sends shivers down you, and you feel that need inside you building.

“Okay, so why don’t you teach me? Daddy ?”

“Ugh, this is what I mean, a brat. ”

“Hmm… make me submissive then. If that’s what you like.”

“I like you . I don’t need you to change for me.” His voice is a little hoarse, and you can feel his irritation.

“But what if it’s fun? You don’t want to try?” He exhales, running a thumb along your lower lip.

“Of course, I fucking do. I’d love to strap you up, whip that nice ass with a real whip and not my hands, edge the fuck out of you till you’re crying.” His voice makes you halt, you’re trembling. “Leave love marks all over you. Tell you what to do, punish you when you don’t listen. Are you kidding me?”

You gulp, lips parting. “Why the fuck are you hiding some red room of pain shit from me, Kento?”

“That book is so not it. Please stop.” He’s smirking though. You’re just soaking wet as you picture it.

“I knew you were a Dom. Hiding in some gentlemanly body!”

“Not hiding, darling, I just enjoy making love to you, and that’s not something I have really done either. It was all sexual, not… loving.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

You both sit and stare at each other, breaths mingling in the night as the lights flash through the windows in the car. “Loving, hmm?” You trail a hand down his chest, over every button, slowly, he exhales, his arm tightening around your waist.

“Yes. Loving.” Your eyes fly to him, seeing the emotions and desire mirrored in his hazel gaze.

“So be loving and tie me up, Daddy. ” He laughs again. You keep scowling up at him. “I’m serious.”

“I see this. Your nose is scrunched up, all cute you know.”

“Fuck off.”

“Ooh, and she’s angry.” You turn your head again as he tries to kiss you, then he grabs your jaw, squeezing your cheeks. “Ah-ah. Stop avoiding my kisses.”

“What are you gonna do about it? I’m not subby, so.”

“You’re ridiculous.” He kisses you, smashing his lips on yours, and you wriggle, about to open your mouth, when he has you under him, back pressed into the back seat of the car, kissing you deeper. He possesses your mouth, tongue tasting you, drinking in your little cries.

“No distracting me with your kisses.” You shove up at him, he yanks your arms down, gripping both your delicate wrists in one of his big fucking hands.

“See, a brat. ” His free hand slides down your breast, cupping it, and you moan, arching your back, nipple hard against his palm. “Do you want to do this?”

“What, you think I can’t handle you daddy?” He bends down low, pinching the fuck out of your nipple, making you cry out in pain and pleasure.

“If you don’t like it…”

“I’ll tell you if I don’t, then we will go on to normal.” He sighs, letting go of your wrists and gripping the back of your hair, pulling at the nape of your neck, you’re soaked through your panties now, as he dominates you. “This reminds me of the strip club.”

“Does it, Foxy ?” He whispers, lips a breath above you. You whine, arching up for more of him.

“You’d have made Foxy a sub but not me.”

“You’re asking for something to shut this mouth up.” You gasp, biting your lower lip hard, desire making your gaze fuzzy as he is above you, shadows casting along the planes of his face.

“There he is, Daddy Kento.”

“Why don’t you come to my place, so I can properly shut these pretty lips up.” His voice is dark, his grip on your hair tightening, and your mind goes fucking insane.

“Yeah?” He nods. “Okay, I need to feed Sebastian and grab clothes.” He laughs softly, as you all end up at your place.

“I’ll wait here.”

“Okay, I’ll get a toothbrush too.”

“I bought you one.” You flush, looking up at him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Go on now, don’t make me wait long. I’ll be displeased.”

“Fuck.” You rush out, your entire body on fire, mind going a million miles a minute, what on Earth did he have in store for you?

The thought of him Dominating you was like some wild fucking dream, you pet your angry cat for a moment, before feeding him, then snatching up your clothes and toiletries, putting them in a little bag. You rush back down, eager to not make him wait any longer, and when he’s waiting in front of the car door, casually leaning on it, hands in his pockets…

You melt.

“Ready, brat?” He asks, and you grin, sliding in.

“Not ‘Darling’?”

“You’re also my darling. Usually. Tonight it’s brat.” You giggle, but it’s quieted as he grips your hair again, sliding his hand up your jaw, you’re moaning in anticipation, biting your lip.

“Fuck you’re hot.” He looms over you, taking over your senses.

“How’s your stamina?” He asks softly, and your eyes widen.

“What?”

Chapter 9

Ao3 chap:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56003029/chapters/144391000

[yparkwrites]

MR. DETECTIVE S.JY FF

Pairing: Detective Jake x Female reader (Y/N)

Content warnings: explicit content (smut), blood, murder, killing and more to be added

Word count: 27.6k

Synopsis: Jake is a known detective, as they transfered the case to his unit of a serial killer, Y/n a police rookie will arrive to find the truth about her brother's death and unbeknownst to them, the serial killer has been with them from the start.

Publish date: January 6, 2025

Comment for tags.

NOTE: LONG WAIT IS OVER IT IS FINALLY HERE. CHAPTER 1 -9 ARE NOW OUT ON WATTPAD. TUMBLR UPDATE WILL BE ONCE A WEEK.

Son of the mob P.SH FF Completed

MR. DETECTIVE S.JY FF COMPLETED

Chapter 6 on tuesday

Chapter 7 & 8 on friday

© 2025 Y. PARK WRITES. All Rights Reserved.

tags: @strxwbloody @dreamiestay @fancypeacepersona @heeaxvhhoon @jakeswife @evjirvninvitnvrnvirivn @candypopinluv

CHAPTER 4

1

“Find me information about that Park Y/n,” Eunyeok said, entering his newly built mansion from the money he got from the drug dealings. 

“Yes sir.” His assistant said, watching him go inside his office. 

As Eunyeok went inside his office he found his brother, waiting for him. 

“Oh Lee Heeseung, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen you here.” Eunyeok said, greeting his brother. 

“Leave Jay’s little sister out of it.” Heeseung said, not wasting any time.

“Why not, it’ll be fun, besides we need someone to spy again.” Eunyeok replied, pouring whiskey on his glass. 

“Not her, she’s just 21, she’s basically still a little girl.” Heeseung argued. 

“Oh baby brother, not the girl, Jake.” Eunyeok replied back, offering a glass of whiskey to Heeseung to which he declined. 

“I don’t drink whiskey, and what do you want Jake for,” Heeseung replied. 

“To spy, I can use Y/n to make him say yes,” Eunyeok responded, taking a sip of his Macallan 1926 whiskey.

“You think Jake will say yes, if you threaten him with Y/n?” Heeseung asked, confused.

“Don’t you see it? The way he looks at her, the way he’s protecting her and the way he took her as his rookie after declining offers for 3 years just because he saw her.” Eunyeok said, smirking.

“Whatever it is that you’re thinking, you’re wrong, he must’ve promised Jay something,” Heeseung argued. “And besides, how will you threaten him? He knows a lot of things, he can threaten you back.” He added. 

Eunyeok chuckled, putting down his glass of whisky on his work desk. “Heeseung, I’m the general of our department for some reasons, and how will I threaten him? I’ll put his rookie in our prosti circle and threaten to sell her to our dealers.” He replied.

“You’re fucking crazy, and ours? It’s yours, I don’t want any of your dirty money.” Heeseung argued.

“You might be forgetting something, I made you into a chief, you should be thankful.” Eunyeok said. 

“You know what, I'd rather kiss someone’s ass than be the chief of that stupid paid department, no wonder we can’t solve that serial killer case.” Heeseung argued back as he slammed the door shut, going out of his office. 

2

It’s 3am yet Jake’s mind is still alive. He tossed and turned, but sleepiness is just not taking over him. Jake sighed, facing Y/n’s side. Smiling as he saw her sleeping peacefully, mouth a little open, soft snores coming out of it. Removing strands of her hair from her face, he observed her sleep peacefully. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save your brother.” Jake whispered silently, making sure he didn't wake her up. “I told him I’ll protect you once he accepts the job.” He added. “I should’ve told him I’ll pay for it, instead of assuring him I’ll protect you.” Jake sighed, pulling Y/n closer towards him. “You know, when you were like 5 years old, I saw you cry because Jay isn’t going to the same school as you and to make you stop crying he told you he’s getting you a plushie.” Jake said quietly. “After senior highschool, I thought we were going in the same university, but instead he wanted to take care of you, his little princess, I moved out, far from him and years later we met again, and he told me that you get sick easily, he needed money for your school, and later he told me you’re really sick and needed money for your surgery and I told him to take the job, I wished I never told him that, I felt like I failed as his trainer, I let him take the dangerous job and I wished I didn’t, I wished I told him I’ll cover the surgery and be with you.” Jake recalled. 

Jake put his arms around her and pulled her closer to his chest to hug her. “I’m sorry,” Jake whispered, apologizing, kissing the crown of her head as he remembered how much Jay had cared for her. Soon tiredness took over him and he fell asleep, hugging her tightly. 

3

Jake woke up early in the morning as he heard his alarm ringing, looking beside him, Y/n’s in the same position as last night. Turning off his alarm, he tried removing Y/n’s arms around his waist, making Y/n groan in her sleep as she kept mumbling something. Jake listened to her carefully as he tried putting his ear near her, it broke him as he heard her clearly. 

“Jay, don’t leave.” Y/n mumbled. 

“Hey little one, wake up.” Jake said, shaking her to wake her up. But she just kept mumbling for Jay not to leave her. Jake controlled his tears that’s threatening to fall, he stayed like that until he heard her snoring softly again. 

Getting up from the bed, he grabbed clothes from his closet before going inside the bathroom. 

Y/n woke up, hearing the shower running from the bathroom. Sitting up. She dreamt of Jay again, covering her face with her hands as she tried not to cry. She stayed in that position until the bathroom door lock clicked, and Jake came out of the shower. 

“Goodmorning, little one.” Jake greeted, smiling at her.

“Goodmorning,” Y/n said, getting up from the bed, to grab her towel. And as she’s about to grab her clothes, she glances at Jake’s shirt from the closet. 

“You can take any of my shirts, if that makes you feel comfortable and come to the kitchen right after you freshen up I have to ask you something.” Jake said, ruffling her hair before coming out of the room.

Jake went to the kitchen and saw Sunghoon making breakfast. 

“Who told you to move around?” Jake asked. 

“Goodmorning to you too, I’m making breakfast, your fridge is full.” Sunghoon replied, smiling.

“Take a seat, I’ll do it, you’re in pain.” Jake told him.

“No, I’m not in - ouch, what the fuck was that for!” Sunghoon retorted, looking at Jake with wide eyes.

“See you’re in pain, now sit your ass down before I poke it harder.” Jake warned Sunghoon.

“It’s been awhile since I saw your fridge full and there’s a lot of apple juice.” Sunghoon said, taking a seat as he drank his coffee.

“Yeah, Y/n insisted.” Jake replied. 

“Have you thought about what I told you last night?” Sunghoon asked. 

“What did you tell him last night?” Y/n asked as she came out of the room, drying her hair.

“Oh maybe you can drive or maybe you want a place for yourself.” Sunghoon replied, looking at Jake teasingly.

“I can drive, but a place for myself? No thank you.” Y/n replied. 

“Great, you can take my Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG,” Sunghoon responded, taking another sip of his coffee. 

“I don’t think that’s a great idea.” Jake said, interrupting the two as he handed Y/n a glass of her apple juice. 

“That’s actually a great idea.” Y/n said, nodding her head.

“See she likes it,” Sunghoon said, still teasing Jake.

“The car is way too big for her.” Jake said.

“Are you saying I’m small?” Y/n asked, glaring at Jake.

“No, it’s just that,” Jake replied, trying to think of an excuse.

Sunghoon chuckled. “Don’t worry Jake it’s not my car, it was actually Jay’s,” he said, saying the last sentence as quietly as possible. 

“Then I want it.” Y/n said, looking at Jake.

“Fine, just don’t drive recklessly.” Jake replied.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Y/n exclaimed happily as she jumped on Jake hugging him happily. 

“You know I’m still here,” Sunghoon said, reminding them that he’s also there.

4

As Jake leaves for work, Sunghoon takes Y/n with him, so she can take Jay’s car.

“What happened to you last night?” Y/n asked, breaking the ice between her and Sunghoon.

“Nothing, I got into a fight,” Sunghoon replied, focusing his eyes on the road.

“Doesn’t seem like a fight if you got a big cut on your stomach,” Y/n affirmed, looking at Sunghoon who’s only focused on driving.

“It’s really just a fight.” Sunghoon argued. 

“What was it that you dropped?” Y/n asked, making Sunghoon divert his attention to her.

“What?” Sunghoon asked, confused.

“Last night, I heard it, before I closed the office door.” Y/n informed him. 

“It’s nothing,” Sunghoon replied. 

“Jake said, you’ll get it back.” Y/n argued. 

Sunghoon didn’t reply or argue any further as he continued driving. 

Arriving at his place, the gate opened automatically. 

“You’re rich.” Y/n said.

“I’m not, my father is.” Sunghoon asserted. 

“But it’s your place.” Y/n argued.

“Yeah, but I don’t stay here, not anymore. Too big to live alone here.” Sunghoon said.

Sunghoon guided Y/n inside. It’s a big mansion, marble tiles, white and gray tone walls, leather sofa and family portraits could be seen. 

“I can see myself living here.” Y/n said, smiling brightly.

“I would’ve offered you this place, but I know Jake isn’t gonna let it happen.” Sunghoon responded, looking at her.

“Why not?” Y/n asked. 

“Cause you put yourself in Lee’s radar, now follow me.” Sunghoon told her, walking towards the car garage with Y/n following behind him.

“Who is Lee?” Y/n asked.

“It’s better you know less, don’t dig your grave deeper than it already is, Jake will do anything to protect you, if he has to catch a bullet for you, he’ll do it no hesitation, I don’t want to lose my friend so you better stop asking about him, just focus on the case.” Sunghoon told her.

As they reached the car garage, there’s a lot of car models, ferrari, BMW, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Jeep, Chevrolet, Tesla, Porsche and more, including her brother’s Mercedes-Benz. 

“Where did you get all this?” Y/n asked.

“They’re not mine, it’s my deceased father’s cars, he got it from his drug dealings, he’s an ass, dirty money, that’s why I don’t like this place, the only reason I stayed here was because of your brother, he stayed here during the time he had to take that dangerous job.” Sunghoon responded, looking at her.

“Where’s his car?” Y/n asked.

“It’s that one,” Sunghoon informed her, pointing at the Mercedes-Benz. 

Y/n went near it, touching the car, she never remembered getting in this car, not even once, she never saw him drive it. 

“I know Jake will get mad at me for this, but I can give you the last files Jay worked with, if you’re really curious about it, and Jay left a lot of his clothes here, do you want it?” Sunghoon asked, approaching her. 

“I want all of it,” Y/n responded, as she continued to look at the car. 

“Just tell me if you want a place to yourself, I can get it, I can get the keys to your brother’s house.” Sunghoon said, making Y/n divert her attention to him.

“He doesn’t own a house,” Y/n said.

“He does, the keys are in his drawer. I can get it for you, and give you the directions, just tell me.” Sunghoon replied.

“I want everything that my brother used to own.” Y/n stated, looking at his eyes.

CHAPTER 5

1

Jake arrived at their department and everyone greeted him with a smile and he did the same thing. 

“Good morning Mr. Sim, is Y/n not coming?” Jungwon said, greeting Jake.

“Don’t be so formal, you can call me Jake, and Y/n might not come today.” Jake responded, smiling at him. A smile they haven’t seen in 3 years.

“Oh why?” Jungwon asked.

“She just has to work on something,” Jake responded. “Anyways I have a meeting to attend, if you’ll excuse me.” He added, before going inside the meeting office.

As soon as he entered he was greeted with Eunyeok’s smug grin, a smug grin he wished he could snatch away from his face.

“Ms. Y/n isn’t here today,” Eunyeok said, looking around.

“She’s not coming, I gave her work to do.” Jake responded, coldly. 

“Yeah, what type of work?” Eunyeok asked.

“That’s none of your business, now can we get to the meeting? I have important work to do after this.” Jake said, irritated. 

“Okay, so a new dead body was found this morning, at a park, and we have a weapon.” Eunyeok said, chuckling. “That serial killer finally made a mistake, Heeseung, send this to the lab,” Eunyeok said as he handed the weapon to Heeseung. 

“So where are we?” Eunyeok asked, as the meeting continued about the serial killer. “So any questions?” Eunyeok asked before ending their meeting. 

“So Y/n was right, wasn’t she,” Jake said, looking at him. 

Eunyeok chuckled, and said, “So?” 

“Apologize,” Jake said, standing up from his seat to take his leave.

2

“Y/n? What are you doing here?” Jungwon asked, seeing Y/n entering their department building. 

“Oh, I just forgot some stuff and I have to print documents,” Y/n responded.

“Y/n?” Jake asked, surprised to see Y/n.

“Hey, I have to grab my laptop and I have to print out some documents.” Y/n said, before she gets interrogated by him.

“Oh Ms. Y/n you’re here!” Eunyeok exclaimed as he saw her after coming out of the meeting office. “You were right! You’re as brilliant as your brother, why don’t you come with me and we can have a talk,” Eunyeok added. 

Y/n smiled, that soon turned into a glare, “Why? So you can get me killed or so you can put me in your prosti circle?” She asserted, approaching him slowly. His smile faded. “Don’t fucking play with me you dirty general, I’m not a weak girl, so how about instead of sending someone to tail me around, work on your case and maybe you can solve the serial killer case.” She added, Jake holding her back. 

“You know nothing you cunt,” Eunyeok said, glaring at her.

“I know a lot, that’s why your assistant is in the hospital for trying to break inside Sunghoon’s mansion.” Y/n said, shaking Jake’s grip on her arms before leaving them there speechless. 

Jake followed Y/n, “Y/N!” Jake called out. Stopping and turning around, she faced him, “I’ll make sure Sunghoon gets back what’s his.” Y/n said only loud enough for him to hear. 

Y/n left Jake speechless, as he stood there frozen. His fist clenched, what did Sunghoon tell her? 

Y/n drove back to Sunghoon’s mansion as soon as she got what she needed. Entering the mansion she saw Sunghoon cleaning the mess from earlier. 

“What are you doing here?” Sunghoon asked, confused as to why she’s back there and how she remembered the directions.

Y/n threw the evidence in front of him, the evidence she stole from their department lab. Sunghoon’s eyes widened, looking at her shock.

“I don’t know what you’re up to, but whatever it is, stop it, that’s the thing you dropped.” Y/n said, turning around to take her leave. 

Y/n started the car engine as she started driving again, towards her brother’s house. 

3

Jake stormed inside Sunghoon’s place, slamming the door open and slamming it close, startling Sunghoon who’s still cleaning the mess. 

“What the fuck happened?” Sunghoon asked, shocked to see a very mad Jake.

Jake grabbed Sunghoon by his collar and asked, “what the fuck did you tell Y/n?”

“Calm the fuck down, I didn’t tell her anything,” Sunghoon replied to Jake calmly, as he tried removing his tight grip on his collar.

“She fucking knows about Lee, more than she’s supposed to know.” Jake argued, finally letting him go.

“What?” Sunghoon asked.

“She knows about him, more than she’s supposed to, she knows everything.” Jake said.

“She was here, she knows about what happened the other night,” Sunghoon informed Jake.

“She was the one who opened the door, of course she knows about it,” Jake replied.

“No, she knows about my knife, she fucking stole it from the lab,” Sunghoon said, Jake looking at him with wide eyes.

“What do you mean?” Jake asked.

Sunghoon showed Jake the evidence Y/n had stolen from the lab, a pocket knife inside a plastic bag. 

“Goddamit, now where is she,” Jake said, ruffling his hair in frustration. 

“She’s on her way to Jay’s house,” Sunghoon replied.

“Jay doesn’t own a house,” Jake replied, looking at Sunghoon confused.

“He does, it’s somewhere far here, inside a garden, he left me the keys, and I gave it to her,” Sunghoon informed him.

Jake sighed, massaging his temple. 

“This is why she doesn’t need a car,” Jake said. “Now tell me about the assistant,” Jake said.

“Oh, Lee’s assistant, he's in the hospital, Y/n broke both his arms and maybe his nose,” Sunghoon said calmly.

“Say what now?” Jake asked him with wide eyes.

“Yeah, she almost killed him, she’s a tough one, like Jay,” Sunghoon claimed.

4

Lee slammed his office door open, seeing a file on his desk, he went to get it and read it. 

“Goddammit!” Lee exclaimed as he threw the file on the floor.

“Park Y/n who the fuck are you?” Lee asked himself, as he poured himself some whiskey. 

“Sir,” 

“What the fuck happened to you?” Eunyeok asked his assistant, seeing him all bruised with broken arms.

“That little girl did it,” his assistant informed him, as Eunyeok looked at him with wide eyes.

“What do you mean a 21 yr old did this to you? Are you fucking lying to me!? She’s a fucking tiny girl! How will she do that to you!?” Eunyeok yelled, throwing his glass of whiskey on the floor. “And what the fuck are those files!? There’s nothing!” Eunyeok yelled. 

“Sir, there’s nothing to find about Y/n, that’s all, she was in highschool and she joined the academy after her brother’s death,” His assistant replied to him. “It looks like Jay had left her something that we don’t know, that’s why she knows a lot,” his assistant added. 

“That could be something, but how is she as strong as Jay,” Eunyeok said. 

5

Y/n arrived at the place. It's a medium sized house in the middle of a garden. 

She unlocked the door, it’s a cozy home. Looking around she remembered about the time her brother asked her about her dream home.

“Princess, what's your dream home?” Jay asked as he cuddled Y/n closer to him.

“Hmmm, I want a cozy home.” Y/n replied enthusiastically, making Jay chuckled at her cute behavior. 

“Cozy home?” Jay asked, looking at her.

“Yeah, you know, not so big, but not small either, and the walls should be gray, the tiles blue, the couch beige and then there should be a nice kitchen, nice bedrooms, then on the walls family portraits, then I want a bathtub in the bathroom.” Y/n described, smiling at her brother.

Looking around the house, her tears pooling in her eyes as she realized that it’s the same description she gave her brother. 

Her tears streamed down her cheeks like a river as she saw a picture of him and her, taking the frame in her hands, she put it close to her chest as she sobbed, she remembers everything.

“It’s 8pm and your brother is still not here?” Her friend asked her.

“He must be busy,” Y/n replied sadly.

Y/n waited for her brother to come, it’s her 18th birthday. 12am when there’s a knock on her door. Y/n opened it happily, just to see Jake.

“Jake? Where’s Jay?” Y/n asked.

“Can I come in?” Jake asked, and Y/n nodded, letting Jake in.

“It’s my 18th birthday, but Jay is still not here, he told me he’ll be home by 6pm but he’s still not here,” Y/n uttered quietly.

“Happy birthday,” Jake greeted, smiling at her.

“It’s 12am,” Y/n said. “Where’s Jay though? Is he parking the car?” Y/n asked.

“Something happened during work,” Jake informed her, and she just looked at him, waiting for him to tell her what happened. “Jay was shot, during work,” Jake blurted out.

“But he’s fine right?” Y/n asked, it happened before, Jay survived during that time.

“Y/n, he was shot multiple times,” Jake said.

“Yeah, but he’s fine right?” Y/n asked, tears pooling in her eyes.

“I’m sorry Y/n, we rushed him to the hospital, but he didn’t make it, he’s gone.” Jake announced.

Tears streamed down her face, shaking her head, mumbling no’s. 

“Jay, I’m sorry,” Y/n said, hugging the frame closer to her chest as she continued to sob. 

“It’s not your fault, little one.” Jake said, hugging her from behind as he looked at Sunghoon.

“I’m gonna make them all pay for what they did,” Y/n stated. 

[theidiotwhowritesthings]

TAKE CARE OF YOU [7]

Sugar Daddy!Joel Miller x Female!Reader

Overall Warnings: slow burn, angst/comfort, power imbalance, age gap, possessive tendencies, eventual smut, #daddyissues, independent reader learns to let go and relax, emotionally constipated Joel Miller learns to be vulnerable; (more specific warnings to be added to individual chapters if necessary)

Chapter Word Count: 2,800

Summary: You spent your entire adult life supporting yourself and barely getting by. It’s why a life of ease offered to you by a mysterious stranger sounded so foreign and unbelievable. Joel Miller, dressed in flannels that had seen better days, didn’t look like the kind who could promise you the world on a plate, but he seemed desperate to help out. All he asks is that you let him take care of you. That wouldn’t be so hard. Would it?

[a/n: this one is on the shorter side, but I didn't want to leave y'all with nothing (ironically I wrote this while on a plane to my conference/vacation). The Las Vegas trip will all be one large chapter (someone asked if I was gonna split that into parts, but I won't). Part 8 will just be viva las vegas the entire time, baby.]

07: BEING VULNERABLE SUCKS ASS

"i don't have an explanation as to how you pull me in, you just do. you've always had a gravity that i've never been able to overcome." -JmStorm

The cost of a mani-pedi never seemed worth it to you in the past. You saved your money for other more necessary things like bills and groceries. Sitting in the padded chair with your feet resting in the heated water of the foot bath, you realized how much you had been missing out on. 

“I can’t believe that bitch showed up where you work.” Nima scoffed. She sat in the chair beside you with her feet in her own bath. You had used Joel’s money to pay for her to get a mani-pedi as well and that made you happier than the treatment itself. Over the years, Nima would pay for meals and drinks and times the two of you went out and she always did it nonchalantly and in a way that never felt like charity. It felt good to be able to buy her something for once. “How did she even find you?”

You shrugged, “No idea. Sugar baby grapevine?”

“Bitches do be talking.” Nima hummed. You chuckled and leaned back in your seat. This spa offered mimosas and you held your empty flute. Nima picked up her phone to shoot off a message before turning to look at you. “So? Viva las Vegas, baby. You excited?”

“Yeah,” You nodded once then tilted your head with a slight wince, “Well, I mean, I’m kind of nervous too. This is my first time going away with him. He’s stuck with me for a full 72 hours.” Once you started talking you found all your bottled worries spilling out. “What if he thinks I’m annoying and gets tired of me? I’m too scared to ask him if we’re staying in the same room or a different room because I don’t know what I want the answer to be. If he says no then I’ll be disappointed and worry that he is getting sick of me, but if he says yes then I’ll panic⏤ Is he not the man I thought he was and he’s expecting something from me? Or what if it is innocent and he got me a second bed, but then he hears me snore and thinks it’s gross?” You paused to catch your breath and realized Nima was just blankly staring at you with a raised eyebrow. “What?”

Nima shook her head. “Nothing.” She looked past you and raised a hand to catch the attention of an employee. “Hi! Yes, we need more alcohol please. As soon as possible.” You groaned and hung your head. Nima let out a low whistle. “Is that what your brain sounds like all the time? Jesus, babe.”

“I know I’m overthinking.” You admitted. A woman came by with a champagne bottle and you thanked her after she filled your glass⏤ turning down the juice she offered with it. You took a long sip. “I like him.” Nima’s eyes widened. “Yeah, yeah, you were right, okay? I… I like him. A lot.” A hand drifted up to hold the sunflower charm on your new necklace between your fingers. Tomorrow morning you’d be boarding a private jet with Joel and you’d be spending the weekend with a guy you were seriously crushing on. “I know it’s so stupid to start falling for a guy who is literally paying me to hang around him…”

Nima sighed, “Oh, babe.”

“This is the first time I’ve felt like this since… since Nathan.” You said. At the mention of you ex-boyfriend’s name, Nima’s eyebrows furrowed in pain. You didn’t often mention him, hardly said his name, and it was in part because just the thought of him hurt. Whether he meant to or not, Nathan made you feel like you had not been enough. Joel made you feel worthy. You hadn’t even realized that the hole Nathan left in your heart had been so deep until Joel began to fill it with care. “Maybe I shouldn’t go…”

Nima reached out and grasped your wrist. “No. You have to.”

“You told me liking him was a bad idea.”

“I know, but…” Nima shrugged. “You seem happier these days. Relaxed. I can’t tell you if this is going to end well or not, I have no idea, but… even if this is just some kind of emotional rebound, I think it’s good for you.” You gave her a small smile and Nima squeezed your wrist. “Nathan was a tool. You deserve to be happy. Even if happy comes in the form of a cowboy sugar daddy.”

You chuckled at her phrasing. Joel did make you happy. The negative, anxiety riddled part of your brain screamed that being a sugar baby was hardly the same thing as being loved. However, for the first time in your life you were choosing to ignore the logistics of the scenario and just focus on how you felt. 

“I keep telling myself to just be like you.” You admitted and Nima’s eyes widened. You chuckled and shrugged. “You’re never scared, Nima, and I feel… I feel like I’m always scared. You just explore love, guns a’blazing, and I wish⏤ I wish I could do that.”

Nima turned so fast in her seat that water sloshed out of the foot bath. She frowned, “Are you kidding me?? Of course, I’m scared! Loving someone, opening up yourself to be loved, is the scariest thing anyone could ever do.” Her lips pressed together and she reached out so both her hands held tight to yours. “So, don’t stress yourself out over it. How you feel is totally normal. Being vulnerable sucks ass.”

You shot her a firm smile as a few employees came over to discuss any specific nail styles you may want. Worrying about it too much would only ruin the trip. You had already come this far⏤ may as well keep jumping in head first.

It had been ages since you’ve flown, literal years, and never had it been in a private jet. Standing on the tarmac watching part of the flight crew roll your bags to be loaded, you just stared. Eventually, a large hand settled in the middle of your back. Joel saddled up beside you and he offered you a small smile.

“You gonna board or just stare at it all day, darlin?” He chuckled. He wore one of his suits, but he had already stripped of his coat. 

You nodded, “Yeah, sorry, I just can’t believe I’m about to board a private jet.” Without preamble or question, Joel’s hand slipped from your back to slide down your arm and tangle his fingers with yours. It was almost a habit now for Joel to take your hand. He led you toward the jet. “Do you always ride in style like this?”

“Not always.” Joel replied. “But I will say that ridin’ like this has spoiled me of public airlines.”

“No kidding.” You chuckled and Joel motioned for you to walk up the stairs to the jet’s door first. He followed only a step behind, hand not leaving yours. The inside of the jet was simple but luxurious. Couches rather than single seats and one side had a booth like table. “I can’t imagine going from this to Spirit airlines.”

Joel snorted behind you and stepped around you so he could lead you toward one of the couches. “If you think I’m ever gonna let you fly Spirit, sugar, you’re crazy.”

You sat down and your eyebrows lifted when Joel walked toward the back rather than sit beside you. He briefly disappeared from sight, it sounded like he was speaking to an attendant, and you took that time to gaze around the plush interior of the jet. This was your life for now. It felt like a dream.

Joel walked back and he had two champagne flutes. Your lips pulled up into a grin as he settled right beside you and offered you a flute. “For the pretty lady.”

“Why thank you.” You chuckled. The two of you lightly clinked your glasses together before sipping at it. Despite the jet having, ample space, Joel sat close enough to drape his arm over the back of the couch behind you. “How long is this flight?”

“A little over an hour or so.”

“Oh, that’s not bad.” You hummed. “Is anyone else flying with us?”

Joel shook his head. “Tess is gonna meet us there on day two, and Tommy never comes to the Vegas conference.”

“Why?” You asked then paused. “To both situations.”

Joel chuckled. “Day one is kind of pointless for us to be there. All the work and meetings my company is involved in starts day two.”

You raised an eyebrow, “Then how come we’re going for day one?”

Joel shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “I figured it’d be fun to sight see together? If you’re interested that is.” You always loved watching him grow slightly nervous when asking you something like that because the smile he shot you after you inevitably said yes was damn near radiant. You nodded in excitement and Joel’s eyes lit up in response. “Good, and as for Tommy,” Joel gave a little shrug, “He’s got a history of gettin' involved in shit he shouldn’t. He’s got his head straight on now, mostly, but it’s just safer if keeps away from the temptation altogether.”

The pilot poked his head in to let you both know he was ready and suggest you strap in. You glanced around to see if there was a place you could set your flute down but the closest table was on Joel’s side. He set his own flute down briefly and reached out. You thought he’d take the flute, but instead Joel reached down to click your seat belt around your waist. It was such a simple motion yet you felt a warmth fill your cheeks.

“Thanks.” You mumbled. The plane taxied out to the runway and you quietly sipped at your champagne. You felt a rumbling underfoot as the plane picked up speed and when it began to rise your stomach lurched. Startled, your hand shot out to steady yourself on the closest object which just so happened to be Joel’s thigh. 

Before you could even fully comprehend how awkward this could be, your hand squeezed as the plane continued to rise— your only focus on the sensation of taking off. As the plane leveled off, you were able to feel other aspects around you, such as how thick and firm Joel’s thigh felt under hand.

He cleared his throat and peeled your hand off his thigh. Embarrassment flooded your soul, but Joel kept your hand in his. He laced his fingers between yours, shifting closer so his thigh was pressed against yours, and lifted your hand to his lips to set a soft kiss at the back of your hand.

“Are you alright, sugar?” Joel asked with nothing but concern.

“Sorry.” You shook your head. “It’s been a while since…”

“Don’t apologize. I should’ve asked if you were a nervous flyer.”

“I didn’t think I was.” You chuckled and swallowed the lump in your throat as the plane hit a patch of turbulence and wavered. Joel continued to trace circles against the back of your hand with his thumb and you focused on that alone. Somehow, his presence alone was enough to soothe your frayed nerves. You leaned your head against his shoulder and Joel shifted so you’d be able to rest in a comfortable spot. You really did like this way too much. 

Joel hummed, “Lemme know if you feel sick. We got a first aid kit on here somewhere with some motion sickness patches, I think.”

“I’m okay.” You replied, loathing the idea of him getting up or anything right now, “Where are we staying in Vegas?”

“The Wynn.” 

“Is that where you usually stay?”

“No, actually.” Joel said. “I usually stay at Mandalay Bay, but I thought you’d like the Wynn better.”

You were glad you were resting your head on his shoulder so he couldn’t see the absolute stupid smile that crossed your features. He had changed his usual routine and picked a hotel that specifically made him think of you⏤ one he thought you’d enjoy best. Maybe the bar was just on the floor from your last boyfriend, but it was no wonder you were falling for Joel Miller when he did such sweet, considerate things. 

“Why?” You asked.

“It’s real pretty. You’ll see.”

The two of you continued to chat idly and you listened to Joel tell stories about past conferences and the things he was looking forward to and wasn’t. Your stomach had mostly settled now that the plane was smoothly soaring at its cruising altitude. So, you figured now was as good a time as any to use the restroom. You excused yourself and cautiously walked to the lavatory. As you finished up and washed your hands, your eyes glanced up in the mirror at yourself. You may as well have been glowing. For the millionth time, you thanked your lucky stars that Joel had somehow found you.

At the thought, you paused. This entire time you wondered how Rosalind randomly found you at work, but what were the chances that Joel Miller would randomly walk into a failing bakery and see you behind the counter? You shut off the water, dried your hands, and walked back out. Joel was using the plane phone when he spotted you.

“Yeah, we’ll see you when you get here.” Joel stared at you as he spoke, his gaze soft. “Just call me if you need anythin’. Mhmm. Right. Bye, Tess.” He hung up and set the phone aside. “All good, sugar?”

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Course.” Joel nodded and you settled back in your seat beside him. 

You didn’t lay your head on his shoulder and turned just enough so you could face him while the two of you spoke, “How did you find me?” Joel raised an eyebrow in confusion. “At the bakery. Were you just passing by and saw me through the window? Or were you coming in for baked goods randomly?”

Joel suddenly looked sheepish. He cleared his throat, “It’s… Alright, this might not sound too good or flatterin’ toward myself.” You furrowed your own brows in confusion this time. “That week I was at a work site a few blocks down from the bakery. I had stepped off site to take a call and… and I saw you.” Joel rubbed the back of his neck, but he didn’t break his gaze. “I recognized you from the coffee shop, figured you were going to work, and I… I followed you.” Joel closed his eyes and shook his head at the admission. “Jesus Christ, you must think I’m the biggest creep. I swear I didn’t mean to. It was like… I was movin’ before I even knew it. I nearly followed you right into the bakery, but I stopped and came to my senses.” He reopened his eyes and there was regret and shame in his brown eyes⏤ two emotions you didn’t like seeing there. “I’m so sorry, darlin’. I know it was stupid and I tried to stay away, but I… I couldn’t get you out of my head. I broke down a few days later and came in. Told myself I was just gonna pay you back for the coffee and be done with it, but once I got to talkin’ to you…”

“It’s okay, Joel.” You said softly.

“No, it really isn’t.” He shook his head. There was a firmness in his words that echoed the shame he felt. “I should’ve told you much sooner than this and definitely not on a plane 40,000 feet in the air where you can’t even run from me.”

“I’m not gonna run.” You chuckled. Maybe you should be more concerned than you were, but Joel had been nothing but respectful the entire time you had known him. Besides, the only thing you could grasp from his words was the fact that it seemed Joel felt drawn to you the same way you felt toward him. It could just be naive optimism or a delusion, but you began to wonder if it were possible that Joel liked you as much as you liked him⏤ as more than just the sugar daddy and sugar baby ties between the two of you.

You turned in your seat to lay on his shoulder once more. Joel seemed mildly startled by the motion, but he was quick to wrap his arm around your shoulders to hold you in place. You reached up to play with his hand. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

Joel chuckled, “I’m never gonna lie to you, sugar.”

The pilot came over the intercom to announce he’d be starting the landing process soon and you wondered if Vegas was going to be the start of a new chapter of your relationship with Joel.

taglist (closed):

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[previous][next]

✨J.M. Masterlist✨

[armoricaroyalty]

When historians wrote about the sixteen short years he spent on the throne, they would characterize it as a short preamble to Rosalind's reign. He would be remembered primarily as her father, his name a mere footnote in her biography. He could accept that.

Previous | Chapter Start | Beginning | Next

Transcription under the cut.

ELISE | You have to speak with her. ANDRE | :/ ELISE | She’s your heir, she needs to know. ANDRE | Now? What about the boys? ELISE | Now, Andre. ANDRE | [ sighs ] You’re right… ANDRE | Do you remember the time we came here when you were little? ANDRE | You must have been…six or seven? ANDRE | We went for a walk, just the two of us, and ended up right here. ANDRE | It was the first time I told you that you would be queen someday. Do you remember what you said? He looks at her for a moment. Flash back to Rosalind, Age 7 or 8. ROSALIND | Yeah, Daddy. I already know. The present. ANDRE | And then you started telling me all about your big ideas. You were so excited. You said that when you were Queen, you were going to end world hunger and close the hole in the ozone layer. You were going to save the world. ANDRE | [ heavily ] Rosalind…what I’m trying to tel you is…it’s…I’m.. ROSALIND | Dad? Is something wrong? ANDRE | I’m not mad at you. ROSALIND | What? ANDRE | [ exasperated ] Life is too short, Roz. I’m not going to waste time being angry about your girlfriend or what some stupid reporter said in some stupid magazine. ANDRE | [ exhales ] ANDRE | Look…I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my time. ROSALIND | Dad— ANDRE | Let me finish! ANDRE | When you’re queen, you’re going to have to do things your own way. You have to be a leader. You can’t dither, you can’t sit on the fence…you have to be decisive. ANDRE | You can’t let fear hold you back. [ beat ] ROSALIND | I love her, Dad. I’m going to marry her. ANDRE | You feel that strongly about her? Despite everything? ROSALIND | She’s everything to me. ANDRE | [ he looks at her intently, searching her expression. She’s serious. ] Well…I’d say that you and Mary have waited long enough, haven’t you? ANDRE | You tell her to pick out a ring. And tell her to pick a good one. ROSALIND | Dad! ANDRE | It has to be good. Good enough for a queen…

[quack-quack-snacks]

Star Crossed - Chapter 5

| Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |

The Star Crossed Masterlist

My All Of Us Are Dead Masterlist

My Navigation and Masterlist

Warnings: Normal AOUAD things, the Gwi-nam and Cheong-san fight scene, etc. Word Count: 5,441

Everyone nodded in agreement when Joon-yeong took in a deep breath and ran back into the recording studio while plugging his nose which you and Hyo-ryung slightly giggled at. Su-hyeok looked down with a smile at the sound but you didn’t notice it from how you leaned forward to talk to Hyo-ryung. You also didn’t notice the questioning looks that On-jo passed back and forth between you and Su-hyeok.

It had been a while since everyone had gone to the bathroom and there had been meaningless chatter passed back and forth between each other. When yawns started to make themselves present across each of you, you decided to speak up.

“I think we should all go to sleep. No matter what we decide to do tomorrow, we’ll need to save our energy for it.”

You saw a couple nods and heard a few ‘yeah’s spoken through yawns that just proved your point. Everyone moved to the spots they were claiming for the night. Nam-ra, On-jo, and Hyo-ryung decided to use three of the chairs and the table as their sleeping places while Wu-jin and Joon-yeong used Dae-su’s outstretched arms as pillows on the floor. Ji-min used a blanket of hers along with two chairs as a sleeping space and Cheong-san walked over to another - the last - chair to use as his, deciding just to sit up instead of laying his head down on the desk that was next to him. Nam-ra saw how you looked around for a spot to use and was just about to offer up her chair when you were yanked backwards by an arm around your waist. You let out a sound of surprise before the person behind you shushed you.

“Just me,” Su-hyeok told you and your heartbeat calmed while you lightly slapped the arm wrapped around your waist, ignoring how it gave you butterflies.

“Jerk,” he laughed at your insult and pulled you backwards, sitting down so he was leaning against a wall and you were sitting in between his legs. He used the tips of his feet to push off his shoes and you squealed while trying to get away but he just held on tighter. “Bare-su, let me go! I don’t wanna sleep next to your smelly feet all night!” You teased and he whined at the use of the nickname.

“(Y/n/n)! Why do you have to be like that, come on, I just wanna snuggle!” He teased back and you felt your cheeks heat up but ignored it as you were able to scoot out of his arms.

“No, go snuggle with Dae-su and them!”

“Bare-su, if you come over here, I’m throwing you out the window,” Wu-jin threatened with a laugh that the rest of the group joined in on.

While you were laughing, you got yanked back into Su-hyeok’s arms and squealed as your head hit his chest with a soft thud. His grip this time was much tighter and you would happily die in his arms if you weren’t so flustered. “Just shut up and go to sleep,” he whispered against your head while placing his blazer around your shoulders. You were facing sideways in his arms with your face resting against his chest and his cheek pressed against the crown of your head. You shifted in his arms to get more comfortable and he tightened his grip as if scared you were going to try to leave again. He relaxed when he felt you stop. “Yo, Joon-yeong, can you turn off the lights?”

The boy groaned from his place on the floor but got up and complied with his wishes, knowing he wanted them off as well.

Although Su-hyeok would never say it to you, at least not yet, having you in his arms was like the hit of a drug and he felt himself falling for you even more with every passing second. He never wanted to let you go.

The next morning, you woke up, still in Su-hyeok’s arms, to the sound of the group talking quietly.

“-an put up a sign for help,” On-jo said and you looked around, confused and with your eyes squinted at the morning light. Su-hyeok cooed quietly at you and you raised one hand to smack the side of his head and the other to rub at your eye as you yawned.

“How?” Ji-min asked from her spot at the window.

“I remember my dad taught me a signal that’s used internationally,” On-jo said, sounding confident.

“What is it?” Hyo-ryung asked.

On-jo paused for a second as she thought. “It was red and blue arranged together to create some sort of a pattern,” as she talked she slowly got less confident and her hands which had been moving to indicate the pattern she was talking about had fallen to her lap.

“What are we talking about?” You asked with a yawn and Dae-su looked over with a disappointed frown.

“Aw, Bare-su! Why’d you have to wake her up? She was so cute when she was sleeping!” He whined and you scoffed with a smile.

Su-hyeok raised one of the hands he had wrapped around your waist in mock surrender. “It wasn’t my fault you all were talking too loudly! (Y/n) woke up completely on her own.”

“We’re talking about a way to signal for help, (Y/n),” Joon-yeong helpfully answered your question.

“Why don’t we just put up a curtain that says ‘SOS’ or something like that?” You suggested.

“Yeah, that might be better,” On-jo agreed.

“Yeah, let's do that,” Hyo-ryung announced her agreement.

You wanted to sit up and go over to the table but every time you tried to move, Su-hyeok would just let out a small whine and pull you closer to his chest. You rolled your eyes and scoffed but your heart fluttered every time.

Ji-min moved to sit beside the two of you when she got tired of standing at the window and you gave her a small smile which she returned weakly.

“We can't last long, anyway.”

Everyone looked over to Nam-ra when she spoke, including you.

“Three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, three weeks without food,” she continued.

“What’s that?” Su-hyeok asked from behind you.

“That’s how long a person can survive for. Once those run out, you die,” you softly explained in Nam-ra’s place.

“It's only been a day, you know. We have to try the best we can,” On-jo tried to remain optimistic but Nam-ra just said more things to bring that hope down. You couldn’t really blame her though, it was hard to stay optimistic in a time like this.

“We'll show signs of dehydration today, and we won't be able to move by tomorrow.”

“What are you trying to say? Are you saying we should go out, or… are you saying we'll die, anyway, so we shouldn't bother doing anything?”

Nam-ra looked away from On-jo, unsure of how to answer.

“I don't know.”

“Then don't say anything,” Ji-min spoke up from beside you and you looked over to give her a harsh glare. It was a strange and hurtful sight to watch how the fear she had of you all came flooding back in that moment. You knew throughout the interactions you had with this group in the past day, they had lost some of their fear of you and your brother from how you’ve shown your loyalty but apparently that wasn’t enough.

You turned back around and pressed your head against Su-hyeok’s chest, wanting nothing more than just to cry at that moment but refusing to let yourself do so in front of everyone.

Su-hyeok, who had noticed your distress having been in similar positions before, ran one hand up and down your back to comfort you, the other one holding you tightly by the waist, while stepping up to defend your best friend in your stead. The lump in your throat made it hard to speak so you couldn’t do it yourself.

“I think the prez means we should think about anything else that we can do,” he looked over at her for confirmation and her eyes traveled up from the table to him, down to you, then back up to him with a softer and more concerned look in her eyes.

“No,” she shook her head faintly.

“No?”

“We don't know anything at all. We need to know something before we can make plans,” she countered what Su-hyeok said.

“What more do we need to know?” Ji-min interrogated.

“What Nam-ra means is-”

“You don’t know what she’s saying, either.”

Su-hyeok shook his head in agreement before burying his nose in your hair in slight embarrassment. “No, I don’t.”

You leaned up and off of Su-hyeok’s chest to turn towards the group, your emotions calmed and the lump in your throat no longer present. “I’m guessing what Nam-ra is actually saying is that we need to understand the situation in order to take action. Not knowing anything will end up in us getting killed or put in a more dangerous situation than the one we’re already in,” you turned your head to face the class president with a curious smile, wondering if your bestie telepathy, as you’ve heard Hyo-ryung describe it a few times, was correct. You internally had a mini dance party in celebration when she nodded with a smile.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, I totally agree with that,” Cheong-san stepped in to also defend Nam-ra and put in his own input. “We need more information to decide whether to wait, run, or get out.”

“What can we find out about this situation, and also, how?” Dae-su butt in, asking the question that everyone was thinking.

“We can check online if we have a cell phone,” Cheong-san told his solution.

“But we don't,” Su-hyeok stated like it was obvious.

“Wait, what? Yeah, we do,” you looked over at On-jo for help with your case but saw her looking down in shame. “Right?”

On-jo looked at you with her eyes somewhat watery and shook her head.

“Oh…” you let out, this being the first you heard of the situation. You let out a little laugh despite the seriousness, “Well at least now I’ll have an excuse when I get back home to get a new phone,” you joked and On-jo seemed to brighten up at your lightheartedness. “Thank’s On-jo,” you gave her a genuine smile that you hoped portrayed that you really didn’t find her at fault for the loss of the cellular device and it must have worked because she gave you one back, her tears being wiped away and her mood lifted.

“The teacher’s office,” Cheong-san said after a moment of thinking. “They take our phones first thing in the morning and then take them to the teacher’s office every day, they should be in there.”

“But how will we get there?” Hyo-ryung asked in her usual soft, somewhat timid, voice.

Cheong-san shot up out of his seat and walked over to the window, jumping onto the ledge. You shot up right after him.

“Cheong-san,” On-jo called out nervously. “Stop being so stubborn.”

He turned around from his crouching position on the ledge and you wince at how risky he was being, only holding on with one hand. “Two rooms across and one floor down at the teacher's office.”

“You shouldn't go,” On-jo insisted but Cheong-san continued to ignore her protests.

“If I can't make it, I'll just come back, you know? Don't worry about me.”

“I’m not worried about you. I’m pissed off,” she told him but anyone could see and feel the worry and anxiety waving out of her like ultraviolet rays from the sun.

“Sure,” he said and rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Why would you worry about me?”

You rolled your eyes at their stupid argument and jogged over to On-jo. You grabbed her arms and squeezed them gently with a reassuring smile. “I’ll get him back safe, yeah?”

Before she could answer, you jumped onto the ledge, carefully following after the stubborn boy.

“Be careful, Cheong-san,” you warned and he nearly fell off at the sound of your voice behind him. You quickly grabbed a handful of the back of his shirt and pushed him towards the wall where he quickly regained his balance. “I said be careful, not to fall off, dumbass.”

“It’s not my fault you have the footsteps of a ninja!” He shot back to defend himself as he continued moving down but you just laughed.

“Be careful, guys!” Su-hyeok appeared behind you and you had to shoot your hand out again to catch Cheong-san when he jumped again. You gave him a lighthearted, mainly worried, glare before turning to give Su-hyeok your most serious one.

“Go back,” you demanded.

“No way. I’m not letting my two… best friends go off by themselves at a time like this. You’re stuck with me,” he hesitated when saying ‘best friends’ but you just brushed it off as you scoffed at his protests.

“I have no problem pushing you off of this ledge, you know?” You threatened, knowing that it wouldn’t have any effect on the boy. It never did.

He grinned. “Wouldn’t that be counterintuitive?”

You rolled your eyes before focusing back to your right where Cheong-san had gotten a few feet ahead of you.

“Why are you following me?” Cheong-sn grunted out as he stole a short glimpse back at you.

“If I didn’t, I know this one,” you pointed your head back at Su-hyeok, “Would. I also know you’re too stubborn to let me be the one who goes instead so why bother arguing. Following you was the least energy wasting option,” you explained.

“You could always just stay behind with the group,” Su-hyeok recommended.

You glared back at him. “Fuck off. I’d never leave you guys to do something like this by yourself. I’ll always follow.”

Cheong-san chuckled at your stern tone. “Alright, whatever. Just… you better stay close,” his tone turned concerned and you gave him the same reassuring smile you gave On-jo along with a nod.

He turned back to the right and focused on getting past the pillar separating two of the windows.

“Careful!” Su-hyeok warned as he saw Cheong-san slip slightly. The two of you stayed on the other side of the pillar as Cheong-san looked through the window and into the classroom to see if it was safe.

“Can we go in?” You asked and he shook his head with a definite no.

“Come back,” Su-hyeok told him and the both of you scooted down so he had enough room.

“What are you gonna do?” Cheong-san asked, momentarily lost.

“Let’s hang by our hands and go across-”

“Let’s make a run for it-”

You and Su-hyeok spoke at the same time and you smacked his arm. “We can’t make a run for it! There’s zombies in there. What if they come running towards us and run through the window? That’s too risky.”

“And hanging by our hands isn’t?” He retaliated. “All it would take is one wrong move and we would fall.”

“Falling is better than zombies!” You argued.

“There are zombies on the ground!” He argued back incredulously.

“Both of you be quiet!” Cheong-san broke up the argument and you rolled your eyes but smiled at the two of you’s banter. It had been a while since you’d done something like that. “I didn’t mean that,” he continued after the two of you had quieted. “I heard On-jo told you that she likes you. Are you going to go out with her?” He quizzed with an imperceptible jealous undertone.

Behind you, Su-hyeok’s eyes flickered from the back of your head to Cheong-san, something that neither you nor Cheong-san caught onto. “Is that important right now?” He reached behind your head and lightly pushed him, knocking him forward slightly before you reached your own arm forward to stop him from falling.

He retaliated by hitting his shoulder and you groaned when you had to grab onto Su-hyeok’s blazer to keep him from falling. “I'm not asking because it's important. I'm just curious. That's all.”

“Why? Do you think I should?” Su-hyeok asked with a teasing tone that you couldn’t tell what it was for. He brought the edge of his shoe over, meaning to knock it against Cheong-san but it ended up being against yours and you almost fell forward until both Choeng-san and Su-hyeok scrambled to catch you.

“I swear to fucking god, if you two don’t stop trying to kill each other, I’m going to kill you both myself,” you groaned, out of breath from the sudden death scare.

“Sorry,” Cheong-san apologized to you before his gaze settled back on Su-hyeok. “But, why would you even ask me that? Do whatever you want. Who cares?”

“What do you think?” Su-hyeok asked again, still teasing but now with an arm in front of your body, keeping you from falling. It made your heart flutter before you remembered what the conversation was about.

“Go,” Cheong-san told him but he didn’t respond. “Go,” he said again but in a whinier, more desperate voice.

“Cheong-san, you have to go. You’re in front of us,” you gently told him and his eyes lit up as he realized you were right. His cheeks turned a slight pink in embarrassment before he turned around and got down so he was hanging by his hands. “Be careful!”

“Shit, we’re really going to hang by our hands?” Su-hyeok asked from behind you, his voice breathless with disbelief.

“Oh stop being a baby. Just don’t fall,” you gave him a playful wink before hopping down yourself, less carefully than Cheong-san and definitely less carefully than Su-hyeok would’ve wanted you to do. He rolled his eyes but followed after you regardless.

All three of you slowly made your way across the ledge and arrived at another copper pipe that you all used to slide down onto the small little platform where you put your feet.

You suddenly could hear screams and wails coming from somewhere in the halls and Cheong-san stood back up from his crouching position to look down through the window. He held his finger out in front of his lips in a shushing motion until the screams died down. He crouched back down and slid open the window. It made a slight banging sound and all of you held your breath as you watched to see what the zombies would do. They all looked around before running in the opposite direction. You all saw your opportunity and jumped through the window to kneel down and crawl on the floor. Suddenly, you all heard sounds of something being crushed and stopped in your movements.

“What is that sound?” Su-hyeok questioned.

“I don’t know. Let’s go see,” Cheong-san replied and you rolled your eyes.

“Usually when someone hears something strange in a horror movie, they die when they try to find out what it was.”

Both of the boys ignored your sarcastic quip and inched forward to see where the sound was coming from.

You inched forward yourself, curiosity getting the better of you, and saw a girl who you knew hung out around Myeong-hwan and his little posse. You knew she was one of the victims of their bullying but couldn’t do anything. Any time you tried, you would always be pushed away by your brother.

“Gwi-nam… I’ll kill you…” You heard her mumble and you immediately tensed up. “Sending that video around… of that fucking girl pouring milk on me… I’ll humiliate you like you humiliated me in front of the whole cafeteria!”

You knew exactly what she was talking about. Despite your brother’s warnings, you had followed her into the girls’ bathroom that day and gave her the uniform you stole from the lost and found on the way there. You’d decided that her comfort and mental stability at that moment was more important than your status as a good student.

Suddenly, one of the phones she was crushing got knocked over to where the three of you were and Cheong-san slowly inched forward to grab. Just as he had grabbed ahold of it, the crushing sounds had stopped. You all held your breath as the girl turned to look at him.

“I'm gonna kill you!” She screamed and then launched herself at Cheong-san. “Give it to me, fuck! I'll kill you!”

Su-hyeok dashed forward and threw her against the cabinets to get her off of the boy and then the both of you helped him up as you saw the horde of zombies coming in.

You turned around to see if Cheong-san was behind you but saw him looking at the broken phone in his hand. “Shit!” You whispered as he ran off to find another one.

“I’ll get him back safe, yeah?”

You remembered your promised words to On-jo and kept them in mind as you sprinted forward and charged into a zombie that was headed straight for him. Su-hyeok tried to follow the two of you but the path got blocked by a few zombies and he was cornered.

“Su-hyeok! Go!” You screamed at him as you threw an oncoming zombie into the wall.

“You go! We’ll meet you there!” Cheong-san added on as the two of you fought off the monsters but were cornered against the classroom’s door.

“(Y/n)!” Su-hyeok called out desperately to you.

You looked at him with a mournful look, grieving for the life you might lose. “Tell On-jo I intend to keep my promise!”

You shot a last longing glance toward Su-hyeok before Cheong-san grabbed your hand and pulled you with him out of the classroom and down the hall.

You both ran and ran until you suddenly came across another horde of zombies that made Cheong-san lose his grip on your hand.

The two of you got separated by the mass of monsters.

“Go! Cheong-san go!” You screamed at him and started running down the corridor while he got stuck on the path of the stairs.

You ran and ran, dodging zombies left and right and occasionally kicking them backwards so you could jump over them. Out of breath, you looked around frantically for anything or anywhere you could find that could protect you for the time being and just to your luck, there was a zombieless classroom just to your right. You dashed in, shutting the door behind you and crouching down so the zombies wouldn't be able to see you. You covered your mouth as you waited for the sounds of the groans and growls to go away. Eventually, they did and you settled down, sitting against the wall parallel to the door and just breathing away your anxiety. Thank god you knew how to run.

~With Cheong-san~

Cheong-san kept running, narrowly avoiding the zombies as they chased after him on the dirt covered roof. He jumped through the open window to return back to the school’s corridors only to sigh in exhaustion as he saw more coming from the other direction. Pushing an oncoming zombie into the herd, slowing them down in the process, he ran into the door labeled Principal’s Office and rested his head against the door when inside. He turned around as he heard rustling and saw the high school’s gopher - your brother - and the principal in a precarious predicament. Gwi-nam was standing on top of the table while the principal lied down, his hands being tied behind his back by the younger boy. Both of them looked at Cheong-san as he came in and they stood there in silence for a moment as they examined each other.

“Is that the principal?” Cheong-san asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Get this jerk off my back!” The principal yelled and struggled against the bonds holding his wrists securely. “Get this psychopath!”

Gwi-nam leaned down so he was right next to his ear and yanked his shirt back. “Shh!”

“What the hell, Gwi-nam?” Cheong-san asked, his eyes wide with apprehensiveness and astonishment.

“Cheong-san,” Gwi-nam said to him with a dangerous tone. “Come here and tie his arms, the bastard won’t stay still.”

“Hey! What are you doing?” Cheong-san stood still as he watched his new-founded friend’s brother tying up the principal with not an ounce of guilt written on his face.

“Come and tie him up,” Gwi-nam said again, more annoyed this time.

“You're finished. Do you hear me? I'm expelling you! Untie me now!” The older man demanded once again but Gwi-nam rolled his eyes and grabbed the knife placed on the table to point it at his back. The man whimpered and Cheong-san took a step forward.

“Gwi-nam! Stop that!”

“Stop what? This fucking guy…” as he got off the man, he waved the knife around to gesture to him. “Tried to kill me,” he then pointed the knife towards himself. “He said to go out and get his car!” He jumped back onto the table and placed the knife against his neck in anger. “You call yourself a principal,” Gwi-nam scoffed before looking up to see Cheong-san bring a phone out of his pocket and aim it at him, filming his doings. He quickly hid the knife behind his back and backed away from the principal.

“That’s right! Good idea!” The man praised Cheong-san as he saw what he was doing.

“I’m filming everything. Let go, or I'm gonna send this to the police immediately.”

“You little…” Gwi-nam took a few steps towards the boy with the camera and grit his teeth. “I will kill you!”

“Just stop acting like human garbage. No one respects you just because you act tough,” Cheong-san scolded.

“I'm the new boss of this school. Don't you get it?” The blood stained boy told him cockily.

“Don't make me laugh,” Cheong-san spat out between gritted teeth. “You're just a fucking loser who will serve bullies for his entire life.”

Gwi-nam’s faux innocent face dropped and the knife fell from behind his back back down to his side. “Yeah? Say that again.”

“I feel sorry for (Y/n). Being related to you must be abominable,” Cheong-san confessed and Gwi-nam grit his teeth while taking a threatening step forward.

“You fucking keep her name out-” He started but got interrupted by the principal behind him moving. He turned around and swiftly slashed the knife across his neck, making his choke on his own blood before the life left his eyes.

He turned back around and tilted his head slightly, walking towards Choeng-san and wiping his knife on his white undone button up shirt. “So am I…” he took another step forward. “Still a loser?”

“Are you with me or not?” He asked intimidatingly and held his hand out. “The phone.”

“You just murdere-” Cheong-san stated in disbelief as his arms slowly dropped to his sides.

“Give me the phone!” Gwi-nam leaped forward to slash at him with the knife but he dodged down and Gwi-nam ended up slicing at the door. He kicked him back and Cheong-san landed on the ground with a groan, the phone falling out of his hand in the process. Just as Gwi-nam leaned down to grab the phone, he charged at him and tackled him away from it. Grabbing the phone, he rushed out the door and down the hallway, Gwi-nam following not far behind. “Damn it!”

With heavy breaths, they both ran until Gwi-nam was held back by a zombie coming from nowhere and tackling him. He stabbed it in the neck, scarcely avoiding the monster’s teeth and turning back to where the other boy had been running, seeing him far ahead. He quickly sprinted as fast as he could towards him and threw the knife at his back.

~With the group~

Su-hyeok returned to the broadcasting room, alone, regret hanging over his shoulders like a weighted blanket.

“Su-hyeok!” Dae-su exclaimed as he rushed forward to help him through the window.

“Hey, Bare-su,” Wu-jin said, also rushing to help him.

“Are you okay?” Joon-yeong as everyone looked back at the window, seeing neither of the other students sent out with him following behind him.

“Where's the phone?” Hyo-ryung questioned before On-jo followed closely with another one, her voice filled with worry.

“And Cheong-san?”

“Where’s (Y/n)?” Nam-ra asked worriedly as she ran up to Su-hyeok, trying desperately to catch his eye but failing as he remained looking away.

On-jo ran up to the door and called out each of your names. “Cheong-san! (Y/n)!” She turned around slowly. “Su-hyeok…” Her eyes filled with tears as she couldn’t hold back her emotions. “Where are they?”

Everyone looked at Su-hyeok as he turned back around to face her.

“We got separated in the teacher's office,” He looked at her remorsefully and tried to reassure her. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“Are you serious? Oh, shit!” Dae-su uttered as he went back to looking out the window with no success.

“(Y/n) said something about keeping her promise,” he started and On-jo somehow simultaneously looked relieved and devastated. “I'm sorry… for coming back alone.”

~With Cheong-san and Gwi-nam~

The knife thrown by Gwi-nam at Cheong-san hit his back. Thankfully, it was only the dull side and caused a bruise at most. They kept running when Cheong-san ran into a zombie and practically did a front flip from the impact, losing the phone in the process before quickly getting up and grabbing it as he continued to run. Gwi-nam had lost the knife after throwing it so he ended up just running after him with no weapon besides his fists.

He ran until he found the library where there were zombies scattered everywhere. Noticing there was a boy on top of one of the shelves, he started racing towards them in order to do the same thing while Gwi-nam followed closely behind. He jumped up onto the shelf when the boy next to him started frantically asking questions.

“Were you bit? You were bit, right?”

“No, I-” Cheong-san tried to defend himself but the boy had grabbed his shoulders and pushed him off the shelf onto, luckily, the non-zombied side. He looked up at the boy just to see Gwi-nam get up there and pull the boy off into the crowd.

Both boys scrambled and dodged zombies left and right as they tried to survive, almost dying each time and letting the adrenaline lead their movements. Cheong-san jumped up onto a bookshelf but was caught when his leg got pulled on by the zombies below, each one desperate for a chance to rip into his flesh and carve out his heart with their teeth. Finally kicking his way out of their grips, he was safe but not for long. One zombie got up onto the shelf and he jumped over to the one beside it, ducking down as the beast pounced on him only for it to fall to the ground when it hit the hanging light.

Not getting a moment's rest, he saw Gwi-nam was also able to get up onto the shelves and was glaring at him. They ran around, Cheong-san trying to avoid Gwi-nam while Gwi-nam was actively trying to kill him.

“Cut it out,” he demanded and held out his hand again, giving Cheong-san one last chance to give up before he would just go through with his plan of killing him. “Give me the fucking phone.”

“You killed the principal. You're a murder,” Cheong-san protested and refused.

“You made me kill him, you shit!” He blamed him. “You wanted proof I wasn't a coward.”

“You're insane…” They both stood up and before Gwi-nam could do anything, Cheong-san ran along the tops of the book shelves up until the other boy leaped towards him and caught his foot, sending his crashing against the bookshelf and falling to the floor where he scrambled to get away from the zombies chasing him.

Finally getting up onto another bookshelf, he was quickly kicked in the stomach by Gwi-nam and they engaged in a fight that ended with Cheong-san trying to push him off with the light but ending up unsuccessful while Gwi-nam threatened to throw him to the zombies.

“Should I save you?” He asked mockingly while Cheong-san groaned, his hair being pulled by the zombies below. “What do you say? Beg for your life. Come on.”

“Screw you,” He denied and Gwi-nam was quick to punch him twice. He closed his eyes, pretending to be unconscious as Gwi-nam took the phone out of his pocket. He suddenly snapped his eyes open and slapped the phone out of Gwi-nam’s hand into the air before talentedly catching it with his other hand that was being held right above the zombies.

Gwi-nam gasped and reached across, trying to get the phone from him then putting both hands around his neck and choking him when he realized he couldn’t. Cheong-san plunged the edge of the phone into his left eye and he screamed in agony. While distracted with his pain, Cheong-san followed his instinct and threw him into the mob below.

Please forgive me, (Y/n)...

~~~

| Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |

~~~

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[detectivestucks2]

Escape with the Cursed King II

Pairing: F!Reader x Sukuna

Summary: After surviving the mission you begin to feel confused about your savior. Questions about why you were saved overwhelm you and you seek out answers but that's not the only time you seek him out.

Warnings: public touching, struggles with being revived from the dead. Mostly fluff.

Word Count: 4.2k

Art Credit: @akirasukuna

Chapter 1 I Chapter 3 I Chapter 4 I Chapter 5 I Chapter 6 I Chapter 7 I Chapter 8 I Chapter 9 I Chapter 10 I Chapter 11 I Chapter 12

Chapter 2

A knock can be heard at your front door and you drag yourself out of the warm comfort of your bed. With hazy eyes you stumble to the door and slide the chain latch open wondering how it relocked itself after last night’s intrusion. You hardly cared in the moment as you were more annoyed at the prospect of who was disturbing your slumber. 

“Rise and Shine Sweetheart!”

“Saturo, it’s a school day. What are you doing here?”

“I could say the same about you.”

“I already hired substitutes for the rest of the week. What excuse do you have?”

“You think I left without arranging substitutes?”

“Considering how many of our classes got canceled cause of your missions…yes.”

“Well maybe I canceled class to come see you. Is that a crime?”

“No but it’s silly to do so. I’m fine.”

“You died.”

“And now I’m alive.”

“But Sukuna-”

“Saved my life.”

“It’s more than that. He overtook Yuji’s body. If Sukuna has plans for you, you’re not safe. Yuji can’t contain him.”

“If he had plans for me, he would’ve let me die but he didn’t. He revived me and mended all my wounds. Whatever Sukuna’s deal is, I no longer think he’s coming to hurt me.”

“Just yesterday you were freaking out about being near him and now after he went on a rampage you’re suddenly okay with his fixation on you?”

“Just yesterday you thought Sukuna was harmless inside of Yuji’s body and now after he saved my life you suddenly think it’s not okay. How is that any different?”

“Cause, you didn’t see or hear what happened after you died.”

“I saw the aftermath.”

“So you can gather how violent it was.”

“I can, but he didn’t harm anyone on the team. Plus it seems he has a need to protect me, not harm me.”

“But what if that need to protect you spreads to more than just curses or life threatening circumstances? What if he views anyone who threatens you or so much as upsets you as a reason to level the entire University?”

“Then I will give Yuji a wide berth so he doesn’t have to witness anything.”

“What if gossip gets back to him? You know how college students are. They make mountains out of mole hills every day.”

“Similar to what you’re doing.”

You know it was snippy, but you were starting to get annoyed with his persistence. You were tired and didn’t ask to have a heated discussion before so much as a cup of coffee. 

“I am not making a mountain out of this. I am being completely reasonable.”

“It sounds like your pride is hurt. You couldn’t save me when Sukuna could.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The next words fall out of your mouth before you can stop yourself. You’re not sure what snapped in you but something just gave.

“It means you’re jealous. Don’t act like you haven’t been flirting with me. I’m not stupid.”

“You are just–” Gojo growls with annoyance. “You’re letting this go to your head.”

“And you’re acting like a jealous boyfriend. Which you’re not.”

“I know I’m not your boyfriend, okay!”

“Then stop acting like it!”

“Fine! You want me to stop caring, then have a good day.”

“Fine!”

Gojo slams down the coffee he brought you and strides out of your apartment with only a few steps of his long legs. Once the door closes you exhale and small purple vapor-like daggers clatter to the floor before disappearing.

You aren’t even sure why you provoked him like that. Are you feeling defensive of Sukuna? The monster just saved your life and killed the Special Grade curse running amuck in the process. He even came over to check on you after the fact. Maybe he isn’t as bad as the legends say. 

The spinning sensation of too many thoughts returned. A feeling you were growing more and more accustomed to over these past 24 hours. 

You wanted to see him. Talk to him. You had to know why. What was he thinking? What about seeing you lifeless brought him strength to overpower Yuji and destroy the Cursed Spirit? Was the warm embrace actually Sukuna hugging you? Holding you as he healed your body? You had to know.

You sit down on your living room couch, sipping the macchiato Gojo provided. You whip out your phone and cashapp him for the drink with a note: ‘Sorry. Thank you for the coffee.’

A short moment later you receive a text from the blue eyed man: ‘I forgive you.’

Once you felt yourself fully awake you get dressed and ready for the day. Without realizing it, you put a little more effort into your appearance than usual, layering on extra mascara and curling your lashes after tying your hair up in a twisted updo, pulling out a few strands to frame your face. 

You left your home in search of Yuji and figured you’d start with his dorm room. You step up to the door and lightly rap on the wood. 

A sleepy Megumi cracks open the door before pulling it all the way open upon seeing your face. 

“Professor, What are you-”

“Is Yuji here?”

“No, he left for the quad.”

“Thanks Megumi”

“Professor, are you sure it’s a good idea to go looking for him?”

“I need answers Megumi. Surely you can understand.”

“I guess, but it seems like it could be dangerous to entertain Sukuna.”

“It may be equally as dangerous to ignore him.”

Megumi shakes his head as if to say ‘your funeral’ before wishing you luck and closing the door.

You turn on your heel and head towards the campus quad. You pass several students, many of whom smile and nod at you. A few even cat-calling you, reminding you of why you don’t normally dress nice. Yuji looks up to see what the commotion is about and upon seeing you he turns away.

“Yuji, wait!”

“Professor no. I shouldn’t”

“Please Yuji, I need answers.”

“It’s not safe. You don’t know the things he thinks.”

“I want to though. Help me understand.”

You can see on Yuji’s face that his is upset. He wants nothing more than for you to heed his warning and run.

“He can’t be trusted. Don’t believe the words he says.”

“Then tell me, what are the things he thinks?”

A rosy tint emerges on the boy’s cheeks and you can tell he is not liking the turn of this conversation one bit. With a deep sigh he gives in.

“He…he thinks you’re beautiful.”

You’re almost floored by this news but after a moment you realize that last night he did call you princess. So you guess it’s not far fetched plus you know you’re cute. You just got whistled at as you walked here.

“Is that a bad thing? It’s not like it’s unheard of for a guy to think I’m pretty.”

“Yeah but, it's not always appropriate. Sometimes it's really…messed up. The things he thinks…about doing…to you.”

You snort with laughter. “So he’s a kinky curse. Got it”

“It’s not funny! It’s twisted.”

“...aaand a little funny.”

“Not if you knew.”

“So what else?”

“He is constantly trying to take over my body to be near you.”

“How come?”

“Probably to sleep with you. Which I’m a student so that’s a hard no.”

Despite your amazement that the mighty Sukuna was infatuated with you, you laugh again. “Last I checked, you don’t save someone’s life just so you can sleep with them. There has to be more. Why me?”

“Yeah, yesterday was…it was scary. I had no control. I felt this fury inside of me that I had never felt before. It was like he wanted to scorch the earth and when he held you in his arms… my arms, it-it was like nothing else mattered. I couldn’t stop him. I tried. I thought he was going to kill us all to save you. Megumi, Kugisaki, Gojo, all the prisoners, the guards, and the curse. It was amazing that any of us survived.”

“Something tells me he wouldn’t do that. Kill everyone I care about.”

“As his vessel, I assure you he would.”

You bite your lip refusing to believe him. You pause for a moment before you finally ask, “Can I talk to him?”

“Willingly let Sukuna have control of my body?”

You hesitate and lower your gaze, realizing how selfish and potentially stupid it was to ask to let the king of curses have free reign of his vessel.

Suddenly a mouth appears on Yuji’s cheek and you hear a voice shout your name.

“Princess! Let me talk to her, you sack of flesh.”

Yuji slaps his hand over the mouth trying to silence it. Only a second later he yelps in pain, “Ow! You bit me!”

“Yeah brat. How dare you try to muzzle me!”

“I’m not letting you out.”

“The lady wishes to talk.”

“And you just incinerated a prison yesterday!”

“So you know I can take over by force!”

Yuji huffs and looks towards the sky as if asking for strength. He closes his eyes and slowly tattoos bleed onto his ivory skin. A deep husky voice greets you as he grabs your hand to kiss the back of it. “Princess.”

“Sukuna.”

“You seem rested.”

“I am, thank you.”

An all too charming smile graces his face and you feel a twinge in your chest. He seems to notice but he doesn’t comment. 

“Sukuna.”

“Your King.”

“Huh?”

“You will address me as your King.”

“I uh-as you wish. My King-”

“Much better.”

“Why did you rescue me?”

“Because there is potential in you.”

Your suddenly more confused. You’re talented, yes, but you thought he saved you cause he liked you. What the heck is he talking about, potential? You do your best to cover your confusion with your next statement.

“There is potential in many.”

“Not like there is in you. Even the discerning eyes of Saturo Gojo have seen it. You are unlike any other sorcerer of your age.”

“Yet one would consider Gojo and Geto to be much stronger.”

“They may be, but you walk amongst them with grace and intelligence beyond your years.” You hold your breath as you feel his fingers lift to trace your face.

“If I was so intelligent then why’d I get myself killed yesterday?”

“Cause that idiot Gojo left you alone with a special grade.”

“I’ve killed special grades by myself, you know. That’s how I received my rank and earned my position.”

The tattooed man chuckles at your defiance.

“No need to be offended. Not all Special Grades are equal. For example, I myself could not be killed by just one sorcerer. Not even the mighty Gojo.”

“You say that like it’s a challenge.”

“Maybe it is.”

“Careful now, that’s one of my best friend’s you’re talking about.”

“He wants to be more than friends. I see how he looks at you.” There is anger in his voice and you realize he is jealous.

“So? You seem to want to be more than friends too.”

“And you? What do you want?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“You want Saturo?”

“No! I don’t want Gojo. He’s my friend.”

“So it’s me that you want.”

“...I…uh.”

Sukuna continues his smug chuckling

“What’s so funny my King?” you say emphasizing the last two words.

“You.”

Your face twists into a look of distaste at being made fun of in such a way which only serves to further humor him as a booming laugh fills the back corner of the quad.

“It’s not funny!”

His laughter echoes louder and you can’t stop yourself from lightly shoving him to get him to stop. His laughter ceases as his arms quickly grab you by your biceps and he squeezes hard enough that a small whimper of discomfort passes your lips.

“Careful doll, just cause I saved you doesn’t mean you can do what you want.”

“Sorry my King.” you say meekly, realizing the mistake you made. You can’t treat this man as if he’s Gojo. He most decidedly is not. He is far from your friend.

He hums happily at your response, pulling you close to his side and wrapping an arm around your waist.

“I think you’re afraid to admit that you want me.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“Cause clearly you want me.”

You scoff and turn away to which his finger hooks your chin and turns your head to face him. You can’t stop the way your breath hitches and becomes shallow as you look into his eyes. 

“Am I wrong?”

Your gaze falls to his lips as he speaks the words. He was not wrong. You wanted him. But that’s crazy. To yearn for a Curse. To feel this need for him. To desire a dangerous being such as him. You are a fool to feel this way. 

“You’re wrong.”

“Don’t lie to me, Princess.”

“I’m not lying.”

He slaps your face and once more your breath hitches as he tugs your jaw closer to his face. 

“I said don’t lie.”

You start to close your legs, trying to provide some form of relief to the sudden need in your core. 

“I-”

“Yes, Princess”

“I can’t”

“You will.”

“But… I shouldn’t”

“Is that going to stop you?”

You feel dizzy from the heat flooding your body. You drop your head to his shoulder, hiding your blush.

“You can’t hide from me Doll.”

You bury your face in his neck in response, eliciting another chuckle from the man.

“I’m not hiding.”

“There we go with the lying again. Do I need to punish you?”

You gasp and lift your head off his shoulder. A mischievous grin spreads between his ears.

“My King, we’re in public.” you whisper as your panicked eyes dart around.

“Yes, and you’re lying to me here in public. I can’t let these onlookers see me let you get away with such behavior. What kind of King do you think I am?”

The tips of your ears grow hot. 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you wanted to be punished here in front of your precious students.”

“No my King. I have no desire to lose my job.”

Sukuna’s hot breath fills your ear as he whispers seductively “That’s what your mind is saying but your body is saying something different.”

“Please stop” you quietly plead, feeling hot all over. You rub your legs together and turn away from him.

“Don’t run, Princess.”

Sukuna pulls you back towards him by slipping his hand between your legs and cupping your heat as he slides you back to his side. A heated gasp escapes you and you hide your face by turning your head away. His fingers begin to rub circles around your nub and you plead for him to stop. Your fingers wrap around the edge of the bench and you fall forward from the stimulation.

“Will you promise to stop lyin to me?”

“Yes, my King.”

His speed increases and you feel yourself clench, your back arching.

“Good girl.”

Sukuna withdraws his hand and you catch your breath. A derisive sigh cuts through the air before the pink haired man laments,

“The brat is screaming to come back out.”

You turn to gaze at his face. “Will I see you again.”

A low chuckle comes from his mouth, “Who’s gonna stop me?”

A smile of relief tugs at your lips and you feel stupid for even being excited about seeing this monstrosity but something about him has you wrapped up in his spell and you are happy nonetheless.

“See you soon, my King.”

He simply smiles and traces your cheek with his thumb before the tattoos fade and an apologetic Yuji returns. 

“Professor! I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it Yuji, really.”

He gives you a questioning look and you place your arm on his shoulder to reassure him.

“Thank you Yuji, for letting me get my answers. I deeply appreciate it.”

You get up and walk away feeling satisfied but albeit flustered by your conversation with Sukuna. Yuji sits on the bench behind you confused by what just happened but relieved that you are alright.

Though Gojo is more suspicious than ever, constantly on high alert, worried about Sukuna,  Yuji starts to be a little more at ease around you. He no longer avoided you like you had the bubonic plague but he did look more exasperated than ever.

“Yuji, are you okay?”

“Yeah Professor, I’m good.”

“You look a little tired”

“It’s nothing. He’s just been more demanding than usual.”

You giggle with a small blush, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault.” You catch him on the cusp of rolling his eyes when he makes up an excuse to shuffle off to class. 

You’re left feeling a bit victorious with a twinge of guilt. You love knowing the effect you have on one of the most powerful beings to ever exist but feel bad that poor Yuji is caught in the middle.

You still love going to your weekly coffee date with Gojo but they’re different than they were before. He used to be more light hearted and while he still carries himself with child-like wonder, it is tainted with an undertone of worry and stress. He is extremely concerned about Sukuna’s interest in you and he did not like that you were taking the situation so lightly. He especially didn’t like that you seemed to enjoy it. 

How could you be so naive to let your guard down around a special grade that can level an entire city with a snap of his finger? It was unlike you to be so wreckless.

“How are your classes?”

“They’re going well. I’ve got a couple first years who think they’re hot stuff but it’s nothing a nice Grade 1 curse can’t fix.”

“That wouldn’t have ever worked on me.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah” he says with a stretch, “I was just that awesome. No one will take me on.”

“Really…I’ve heard differently.”

“You have?!”

“Mhm” you nod

“Liar.”

“A certain name comes to mind…a Toji I think.”

Gojo’s face drops and he looks to his lower right. “Megumi’s dad.”

You spit out your coffee in surprise. “THAT’S Megumi’s dad?!?!”

“Indeed. He told me about his son as he bled to death from the hole I carved into his chest.”

You’re stunned into silence. 

“He was a powerful man. Quick and invisible. I almost lost my life”

His eyes pan back up to meet yours.

“But, I’m here and he’s not, so it all worked out good.”

The quick shift in his attitude back to his usual chipper self almost gave you whiplash. You blink a couple times to mentally catch up.

“Is that when you took Megumi in?”

“I sought him out after that. He didn’t want to come with me but I stopped by plenty. Kinda like a fun uncle.”

“Well isn’t that sweet of you.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah”

A flash of a smug grin runs across his face and his usual spirited demeanor returns.

“Thanks Sunshine, but it was the least I could do. It’s not like it’s a big deal.”

“Says you.” This leaves Gojo blushing and you start to realize that Sukuna was right, maybe there is more here than friendship but that’s not what you wanted. He was your professor and now your colleague. He has become your best friend. You don’t want to ruin that with a silly date that you’re not even sure you’d enjoy. 

You paint a pleasant smile on your face as you take another sip of your latte and redirect the conversation back to your classes while your mind continues to wander in the background about what Sukuna might think of your weekly coffee trips. 

Asleep in your bed you dream of a warm embrace, a strong hand tracing your forehead and cupping your cheek. The feeling of a certain cursed being reviving you from the dead. You were dead…actually dead… You wake up with a start at the memory. 

Heart pounding with an empty feeling filling your chest and gut, you look around the empty room deciding what to do. Your fingers sink between the fabric of your blanket as you pull it up to your chin, tucking your knees to your chest. You feel alone and out of place all the sudden.

I shouldn’t be here. I should be dead.

It was a dark feeling that you couldn’t shake. As if by existing you have altered the timeline and the future is uncertain. 

“Sukuna really likes to play god, doesn’t he…” You mutter sarcastically into the darkness

As you think of the inked man you can’t help the flutter in your stomach. You start to remember his smirk and the way he touched you. How he likes to take charge and how dainty you feel by his side. The flutter turns into a twist as you realize your need for him is increasing and you can’t believe what you’re thinking of doing. 

You slide your covers off and reach in your nightstand to pull out a pair of fluffy socks. You slip them on and your toes touch the floor. You grab your robe off the hook on the back of your door as you swiftly walk towards your apartment entrance.

Opening the front door, you step into the hallway of the dorm, tiptoeing to the floor where the second years stay and glide down the corridor towards Yuji’s dorm room. 

This is wrong. This is wrong. I’m really doing this but it’s wrong.

You can’t stop the internal dialogue full of panic in the back of your head but you also couldn’t stop yourself from seeking him out. You get to Yuji’s room and unlock the door with your masterkey. 

The lights are off and complete darkness blankets the room. You’re relieved to hear light snoring from the second year so you feel confident to whisper into the room, “Sukuna…Sukuna, you there?”

You squeeze your eyes shut at how ridiculous this entire course of actions is. You’re insane, legitimately insane. You are trying to summon a dangerous special grade who may even kill you for demanding anything of him, including asking for his presence. Furthermore you broke into a student’s dorm room which is completely inappropriate, and what if Yuji wakes up and not Sukuna? How would you explain yourself? What if he gets uncomfortable and reports you?

Just as you decide this is a bad idea and you turn to leave, you hear the deep commanding voice of a king respond. *Enchain*

“Ah, she seeks me out again.”

You stand up straight and turn around, bumping into Sukuna as he approaches you. 

“My King…”

You feel his hands reach for your arms and slide up your shoulders and neck, before cupping your cheek in the most endearing touch you’ve ever felt in your life. You exhale and relax completely as you stand before the cursed being. 

“Is everything okay, Doll?”

“I was feeling…out of place. Like I no longer belong cause I was supposed to die.”

“So precious. You were meant to live, Princess. If you were meant to die, you would’ve stayed dead. Come sweet girl.”

You lean your head into his hand, letting its weight rest in his palm before he steers you towards the bed and has you lie down before he gets in next to you. You can’t believe how he’s holding you. The terror of generations, pulling you into his chest, laying next to you and allowing you to sleep in his arms. 

“Sukuna?”

“Yes my Princess?”

“Have you cuddled before?”

“A long time ago.”

“Did you like it?”

“Not enough to do it with anyone else.”

“And now?”

“Shh, relax Princess.” His voice was comforting but you didn’t understand.

“Why me?”

“You know why.”

“My potential?”

“Yes.” he says with a soft pet of your hair, lulling you into a stupor, no longer worried about how walking among the living is impacting the events of the universe. The insanity of the idea that you were sharing a bed with the mighty Sukuna completely wanes as sleep tugs at your lids. All you are left with is the blissful feeling of strong arms coveting you in their clutches. A feeling that pulls you into the swirling vortex of blissful sleep.

The next morning you once more wake with a start, terrified that you fell asleep in a student’s dorm bed, cuddling with them while they were unconscious. You would absolutely lose your job if Yuji woke up before you. But as your body sits up, the sunlight streaming in from the window next to your bed serves as a reminder that somehow you are in fact between your own sheets. At some point Sukuna must have carried you back to your own home. It surprised you that he would be so considerate but you were starting to learn that when Sukuna cares for someone, he will treat them well. 

You hug your knees to your chest and rest your chin on top of them as you gaze out your window at the squirrel running up the tree and bounding along its branches. You must be going mad. Why else would sleeping in Sukuna’s arms bring you so much comfort? You were diagnosably insane. There was no other explanation. You went from fearing this man above all else to seeking him out when you needed comfort. 

…this is not gonna end well. I just know it

Chapter 1 I Chapter 3 I Chapter 4 I Chapter 5 I Chapter 6 I Chapter 7 I Chapter 8 I Chapter 9 I Chapter 10 I Chapter 11 I Chapter 12

Masterlist

[jessicaloons]

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince:

Chapter 1

Masterlist - Previous - Next

Miss Americana

May 2019:

"And you’re sure you can handle it? I mean working here and college?" Peter Hastings was a nice, middle aged man, looking for a new nanny for his 6 year old son, Gabriel.

"I’ll wake him up at 7:15. Make breakfast and get him ready for school, drop him off at 8:30 and go to my classes. At 3 I’ll pick him up. Help him with his homework. Soccer on Monday and Wednesday. Piano lesson on Tuesday. Prepare dinner. Make him bed ready and then you’ll take over. Monday till Thursday. Fridays I’ll pick him up at 12. We’re going to the park, museum, zoo whatever. Have lunch and I’ll bring him home by 4, where you take over. And if you need a babysitter on the weekends, you’ll call me." Rachel repeated the schedule Mr. Hastings had presented her with, hoping he would hire her.

"Impressive. Well your report looks great, I understand why you’ve got a scholarship for the MCPHS. I’d say you’ve got the job." Mr. Hastings smiled at the girl.

"Thank you, Sir! Really!"

"Gabriel liked you, you have strong ambitions. I think you’re perfect. Now let’s talk money, shall we?" he clapped his hands and Rachel nodded.

With a full scholarship and a well paid job that still gave her enough time for her studies, she could start saving up money to get the hell out of Woburn, after graduating from college with her nursing degree hopefully.

"I know this was not what you applied for, but I’ll ask anyways, if you say no, you’ll still keep your job starting in fall!" her new boss said and she looked up "My current nanny, well she left, family emergency, so I would need someone from now on, during the summer until you’ll take over at the end of August. I know, you just graduated and probably already planned your summer, but I thought I ask anyways. Again, feel free to say no, the job is yours regardless. It’s only one more month of school and then it’s… well a full day job, I’m off for the entire August, but before that I’m loaded with events here and there…"

"I’ll do it." Rachel said immediately, every reason to leave Woburn earlier was a good reason.

"Yeah? You sure? I mean like I said, you don’t have to!" Mr. Hastings said but the girl shook her head.

"No it’s fine. Really. I have nothing planned. And like this I can get used to Boston."

"You can stay here. Our old nanny has her own studio in the backyard. That way you don’t have to drive every morning from Woburn to here."

"Are you sure? It’s no problem for me to drive!"

"With traffic in the morning you’ll be in the car for an hour or longer. That’s ridiculous. Come on I’ll show you the studio. You could even stay there when you start college. Thinking back to my college times? The dorms weren’t the nicest place to stay." he laughed and got up, leading the young girl outside through the kitchen.

"I mean. I haven’t seen my dorm yet… but from what I’ve heard, yeah, not the nicest place to stay indeed."

The studio was clean and modern. A kitchenette, a table with two chairs. Sofa, TV and a bed. A little bathroom. It was definitely more quiet and private than any dorm at her college.

"Are you sure it’s okay?" the girl asked.

"100%. It’s yours if you want it. Free of charge. You just have to keep it clean yourself. And if you want to bring friends over, just give me a little heads up."

Free of charge. The money she would safe. Only paying the tuition fee. The rest of her scholarship could go into her savings as well. She could leave home earlier than planned. It couldn’t get better than this.

"I guess I’m moving in then."

November 2021:

Rachel always dreaded driving home. The rare occasions over the past 2 years where she had driven home were all proof why it was better to stay away. But something in her father’s voice when he asked her if she would come home for his birthday gave her the chills. When she parked her car in the driveway of her rundown childhood home, she felt the pit in her stomach grow. Calming down her nerves she opened up the door, walking inside. The house smelt rancid. A mix of liquor, smoke and bleach.

"Dad?" the girl walked inside the dark living room when suddenly the light got switched on. She flinched looking at the man sitting in the armchair facing her.

"If it’s not Miss Americana fresh off of college." Tony.

"Where’s my dad?" her voice not as strong as she hoped.

"Come." he got up and dragged her outside with him.

"Stop. Tony! Let go of me!" Rachel tried to get away from him.

"Get in the car. You can do it on your own or I’ll make you." his jaw clenched.

The girl got inside. Shaking.

"Where’s my dad?" she repeated.

"Your dad… he pissed off a lot of people… he was a capo once… but his drinking? Mamma Mia… he became useless the day your mother died… fallen from capo to soldato… and now? A shame really…" he sneered.

"What did he do?" Rachel asked with a shaking voice.

"Oh bella, you know I can’t tell you. Otherwise I’d have to kill you. And I really don’t want to kill such a pretty girl." he laughed and the girl swallowed hard "Just know that he owes a lot of people a lot of money…"

They drove to Winchester and the girl knew immediately where they were going.

"When was the last time you were here? When your mother died?" he asked, although he didn’t sound one bit empathetic "A long time ago… then again, it’s never a good sign if you have to go to Winchester… our family parties are usually held somewhere else…"

The driveway up the hill to the dark manor made Rachel’s insides churn.

"Get out." Tony parked the car and she did as told, following him inside.

"Oh Rachel! Mia bellissima ragazza! Look at you! What a beautiful, beautiful young lady! You should look for a girl like her, Anthony, not the skanks you’re going for." Rosaria Romano pulled Rachel in her arms, before kissing her cheeks "The last time I saw you was before you left for college and now look at you! You’re skinny! Don’t they feed you well at college? All the money they take and then not feeding their students? Che cavolo! You’re staying for dinner! Anthony, tell your father I’m feeding this sweet girl first, before he can talk to her!"

"Mamma! She’s not here to eat!" Tony grabbed the girls arm, but he shrugged away under the cold, hard gaze of his mother. He rolled his eyes, walking away, cursing in Italian.

"Now come, mia ragazza, you can help me with dinner." Rosaria lead her into the kitchen where already a handful of women were cooking away "Here, put that on. We don’t want your beautiful outfit to get stained with pomodori!"

The next hour Rachel cooked together with the ladies, told them about college and how her life was going. She knew all too well that she couldn’t tell them everything. Giving away too much was dangerous, so she lied mostly.

"And what about the boys at college? Someone special there for you?" nonna Viola asked right as Tony came back.

"She’s coming with me now." he grabbed Rachel’s arm, pulling her with him. A muscle ticked at his jaw. His hold on her arm made her whimper in pain.

"Anthony! You hurt her! Stop! Don’t make me swing my mattarello at you!" nonna Viola raised her rolling pin and Anthony let go of the girls arm "There you go, stupido!"

"Come." he glared at the girl who took off the apron, handing it Rosaria.

"When the men have finished whatever their having to talk about now, we’re finishing our conversation, Rachel." she smiled and Rachel nodded.

As she followed Tony down a long, dark hallway the bad feeling she had, since hearing her father’s voice on the phone earlier that day, only intensified.

When they stopped in front of a big oak door Tony pushed Rachel hard against it, caving her in. His nose rubbing down her cheek. His breath reeked of smoke and liquor.

"You won’t like what’s happening next and let me tell you, I understand you. But then again… mhhh look at you." he whispered in her ear, making the girl shudder "My mother wasn’t that wrong, I should go for a girl like you…"

"Anthony?" Don Vito’s cold voice rang out through the door.

"We’re here, papa!" Tony said with a sadistic grin.

"Bring her in then. We have a lot to do."

January 2022:

"Miss Lombardi? Miss Lombardi!" the screeching voice of Professor Cullers made Rachel flinch "Ah great. You are with us again… well, do you know the answer, to Miss Edwards question?"

"I- umm… I don’t. No." the girl looked at her professor "Sorry."

"Maybe stop daydreaming then and start listening to what I’m teaching you."

"Yes, ma’am." she nodded.

The rest of the class Rachel kept writing down everything Professor Cullers said, listening carefully and when the bell rang she was one of the last to leave.

"What’s going on with you?" Stuart asked, waiting at the door for her.

"What do you mean?" they walked side by side to their next course.

"You’re absent. Pretty often. For weeks now…"

"It’s nothing. I’m fine. I promise." Rachel faked a smile and Stuart sighed.

"Ok, cut the crap. What’s going on? Since you left for your father’s birthday a couple of weeks ago, you’re acting strange… what happened at home Rachel?" he looked at her and she took a deep breath, shaking her head.

Stuart was the only friend she made in college, he didn’t talk much, but there was a sense of understanding between the two after she accidentally overheard a conversation between him and a stranger behind the cafeteria one day. Rachel since knew that their backstory was similar and that he broke off all ties to his old life. He would understand her, if she told him what happened. But then again, she knew that she might endanger him if she told him too much.

"How hard was it? Leaving everything behind? Cutting off all ties to your family?" she asked instead and Stuart contemplated his answer for a moment.

"It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure. But I had to do it, so I powered through…"

"But I mean… how did you do it? Where did you get your new identity from? What happened to your old one?" the blonde girl pressed.

"I know a guy who knows a guy… but it costs a lot… also, starting a new life somewhere new isn’t for free either."

Rachel thought for a second, all the money she saved from her scholarship so far, because she only had to pay for the tuition fee and work materials. All the money she saved from working for Peter, which she barely had touched. It was a nice little sum and should keep her afloat for a while.

"Why are you asking me all this? What happened?" Stuart asked again and Rachel sighed "You can tell me, Rach. Nothing you can say will scare me away… I know how you grew up… I know how it is… so come on, tell me."

"I need to leave. Like for real… I always planned on moving to Boston after college, but they won’t let me… I only have time after graduation and then my old life will catch up with me again… I will be pulled into this mess that my life is if I don’t run away." Rachel almost whispered and her friend looked at her wide eyed "They wanted me to leave college immediately but I managed to convince them that a nurse with a degree and all qualifications is more helpful, more useful for them, so they agreed, but as soon as I graduate they will take me back to Woburn or rather Winchester… I can’t go back, Stuart…"

"And you shouldn’t have to go back, but Rach this is a dangerous thing to do? Killing off your old self, start a new life… it’s going to cost you more than just money…" Stuart said and Rachel nodded.

"I’m willing to do whatever it takes…" the young girl said determined.

"Then I’ll help you. But it won’t be easy…"

"Everything is better than staying here…"

"I need to make a few calls, then we’ll see." Stuart smiled at her.

"Thanks Stu. You’re a good friend." Rachel squeezed his hand.

"I’m currently your only friend… so that’s that."

"True…"

April 2022:

"Rachel? There’s a letter for you!"

"Thanks, Peter!" the girl took the letter from the counter, while stirring the pasta sauce "Waterman and Krieger? What is that?" she asked when she saw the sender of the letter.

"They’re a law firm. Inheritance law if I’m not mistaken." Peter looked up from his newspaper.

"Inheritance law?" Rachel ripped the envelope open, unfolding the letter. She went silent, staring at the letter, the pasta sauce bubbling.

"Rach? Hey? Rach?" Peter grabbed the sauce pan and shoved it off the stove top "What happened?" he looked at the girl worriedly.

"My- umm… my mom… she left me some money…" Rachel said slowly, looking at Peter "They write that mom set up a trust fund for me before her death. I have access to the money when I turn 21. Which is in three months."

"Oh wow…" Peter squeezed her shoulder "Do you need a moment? I can finish up dinner and I’ll send Gabe to get you when it’s ready?"

"Is that okay?" the brunette asked and he nodded "Thank you."

Back in her studio she looked at the letter and saw that there was also another smaller envelope inside. She knew the handwriting immediately.

My sweet Rachel,

when you read this letter it means I am no longer around to gift you with my last treasure.

Every money I earned from winning beauty pageants and later from working and that wasn’t needed, I put aside for you.

I know you’re a smart girl and every college would offer you a full scholarship, but just to make sure that if not, we have the money.

I never told your dad about this money, I was too afraid that he would use it. Your father is a great man and I love him dearly. But he’s surrounded himself with the wrong people, they poisoned his mind. And over time he had to drink more and more to forget what he had to do daily for Don Vito.

Please don’t tell him about the money. Keep it to yourself. It’s enough for a fresh start, if you know what I mean.

I’m sorry, that I couldn’t be by your side for longer. That I couldn’t give you the home that you deserved.

Promise me to live a good life. Go live your dreams. But please never forget that I love you, my little Miss Americana.

Love always,

Mom

Rachel leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes. When her mother died, she felt lost, didn’t know how to move forward, didn’t know how to continue with her life. Her father lost himself in alcohol, maybe even drugs. He disappeared for days, just to be laid down on the front porch by some of the men he worked with and for Rachel to get him inside, making sure he wouldn’t choke on his own vomit. She knew what he was doing. She knew who he worked for. From the day she was born she was part of a world she never wanted to be in, as she later realised. Movies and pop culture didn’t do this life justice. It wasn’t glorious or mysterious. It was scary and dark. Where other kids her age went to school and made new friends Rachel always had to stick to the kids from the family. To make sure she wouldn’t spill anything about her father’s work. Her mother had to fight hard with her husband to allow her to take Rachel to beauty pageants, after the little girl watched her mother getting dolled up for numerous pageants herself and wanting to be just like her when she was older. Rachel was talented, just like her mother. Her beauty apparent from a young age and it didn’t take long for her to win her first pageant. She loved competing in pageants. But what she loved even more was the time she spent with her mother. She was always so carefree and happy at the contests, a stark contrast to her usually quiet and almost depressed personality at home. She was always trying to not show Rachel how sad and worried she really was, but unfortunately it didn’t work out and Rachel had asked her more than once what was going on and why she was so sad.

"It’s nothing, my little Miss Americana, grown up stuff, nothing to worry about for you, my pretty girl." she had always said, followed by a kiss on Rachel’s forehead and a "I love you, my Rachel."

But with every year she got older she figured out more and more why her mother was so sad. And why the only times she was happy, careless and free, was when they went to pageants together. Because for a short while she could forget in what danger she was living with her daughter. What her husband did for a living. And the fear of the day where she, or worse Rachel, would have to pay the price of her husband’s job.

Ultimately she paid the price. After Rachel won the Miss Teen USA pageant in September 2016, and she had floated on cloud 9, her mother decided she deserved a treat and on the way home from Boston, where the pageant was held, she stopped at a little diner.

Rachel remembered how her mother ordered a strawberry milkshake and fries, she herself got a chocolate milkshake and fries and as soon as their food had arrived her mother looked around, a big grin on her lips before she nodded.

"No one’s watching… go!" she chimed and began dipping her fries into her milkshake.

Rachel laughed but did the same. Her father was always grossed out when his wife and daughter did that, laughing at them for their craziness, saying they better watch out or the food police would arrest them.

They were so happy that evening, her mother saying a million times how proud she was of her and what amazing and exciting times were ahead now for Rachel. But that happiness was gone in an instant when 2 men entered the dinner and her mother’s face turned to stone. She stopped laughing and looked at her daughter, shaking her head. To not draw any attention to them she silently held up her hand when the waitress looked over to them, signalling for her to come over. Paying in silence Rachel’s mother took her by the hand, guiding her outside, back into the car where she locked to doors immediately, starting the engine. She remembered how her mother called her father, telling him that two of Volkov’s men were at the diner. But before she could say anything she looked into the rear view mirror, her face turning pale when she told her husband that they were being followed. It didn’t take long for her mother to speed down the main road leading into Woburn, faster than ever before in her entire life. On speaker Rachel’s father telling her that their men were already on the way. But it was too late. She felt her mother grab onto her hand, clutching it tightly in her own, when the car was hit with something and soared through the air. She closed her eyes, holding onto the grab handle, listening to the sounds around her, when a searing pain shot through her left thigh. The pain was mind numbing and she tried her best to not focus on it. She tried to listen to the sounds around her but after a short while she only heard her own blood rushing into her ears. Then she felt her mother squeezing her hand and she opened her eyes, her first look was on the bright digital watch in the dashboard, then her mother squeezed her hand again and Rachel turned her head a little, looking at her.

"I’m so sorry, my beautiful Rachel. I love you so much." her final words as Rachel later had to find out.

After that night her father was never the same again. After that night Rachel was never the same again. She had to stay in the hospital for a couple of days, the doctors all confident that with the right care the wound on her right thigh, caused by an open break of her femur, would heal without leaving a big scar, so she could still compete in beauty pageants. But to her it didn’t matter. Without her mother she didn’t plan on continuing. And because of her not responding to any of the calls, mails or letters from the Miss Teen USA committee, regarding her upcoming tour through the United States, they stripped her off her title 6 weeks later, appointing her runner up, Caitlyn Summers, as new Miss Teen USA 2016.

Rachel absentmindedly rubbed her thigh, feeling the scarred skin through the thin fabric of her leggings. A reminder of the night that changed her life forever. That destroyed her life forever. She had to blink away tears, wiping her cheeks when Gabe knocked on the door, making her flinch.

"Rach! Dinner is ready!" his happy voice sounded through the door and the young girl cleared her throat.

"I’m coming in a minute Gabe!" she replied and listened to the sound of his steps on the gravel.

Rachel got up and looked into the mirror, wiping away the last remaining tears. It had been a while since she thought back to that night. The memories still too hurtful and real. After a minute of composure she followed Gabe back into the main house trying her best to not show the emotional turmoil she was feeling.

When Rachel went to bed that night she felt exhausted, drained, but also determined. Determined to escape her life in Woburn. Or Winchester. Escape her family. Live a happy life, just like her mother wanted her to. She would honour her mother’s last wish, give her all to do so. No matter what.

Chapter 1 - and that’s it. First chapter done. I tried something new this time, writing this story from a third-person perspective and also switching between Miss Americana/The Heartbreak Prince centred chapters. I hope you like it! Let me know what you think! 🩷💜

Please leave a comment/ like/ reblog/ message and tell me how you liked it! I'm dying to hear your thoughts!

If you want to be added to the taglist, drop a comment!

Last but not least, English is not my first language and although I tried my best: please excuse any mistakes I made!

Taglist:

@glitterquadricorn @lottalove4evelyn @janeh22 @itsjustkhaos

[gotham-ruaidh]

Little Bit Better Than I Used To Be

Catch up: Chapter 1 (Starry Eyes) || Chapter 2 (Save Our Souls) || Chapter 3 (Dancing On Glass)|| Chapter 4 (Merry-Go-Round)|| Backstage (1) || Backstage (2) || Chapter 5 (Danger)|| Backstage (3) || Chapter 6A (Love Walked In) || Chapter 6B (Without You) || Backstage (4) || Chapter 7 (Stick To Your Guns) || Chapter 8 (Time For Change) || Backstage (5) || Chapter 9 (Take Me To The Top) || Backstage (6) || Chapter 10 (Home Sweet Home) || Backstage (7) || Chapter 11a (Nightrain) || Chapter 11b (Nothing Else Matters) || Chapter 12a (Handle With Care) || Chapter 12b (I’m So Tired of Being Lonely) || Chapter 13a (Angel) || Chapter 13b (She’s My Addiction) || Chapter 13c (Patience) || Chapter 14a (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14b (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 14c (Where Do We Go Now?) || Chapter 15a (Dreams) || Chapter 15b (I Sing A Song of Love) || Chapter 15c (You Can Do This If You Try) || Chapter 16 (Let That Feeling Grab You Deep Inside || Chapter 17A: Never Tear Us Apart || Chapter 17B: It’s Tough To Be Somebody, And It’s Hard Not To Fall Apart  || Chapter 17C: I’m Wishing, Lord, That I Was Stoned || Chapter 18: Turn The Page || Chapter 19A: When You’re Alone, Do You Let Go? || Chapter 19B: Heading For A Spin || Chapter 20A: I Don’t Need Nothing When I’m By Your Side || Chapter 20B: I’m Walkin’ Down This Rocky Road || Chapter 20C: You're The Only One Who Gets Through To Me || Chapter 20D: Together We Can Make It A Dream ||| Also posted at AO3

Chapter 20E: My Main Objective Is To Get You To Turn Your Mind Around

You are in my system Got me right down to the wire You are in my system Help my equilibrium You are in my system…

 -- “You Are In My System,” Robert Palmer (1983) [click here to listen]

North Carolina || February 1989

Raymond scribbled on a fresh sheet in his notebook. Absently running his hand through his hair. Clearly thinking.

“All right,” he said, after a while. “Before I walk you through my plan – I need to ask you something. Both of you.”

“Anything,” Claire replied instantly.

“I need you to commit to this. To therapy. To getting better and stronger, as individuals and as a couple.”

“Of course,” Jamie breathed.

“Yes,” Claire echoed.

Raymond tilted his head, just a bit. “What I am going to ask of you will be a significant commitment of time and energy and effort. Obviously we’ll need to modify things to account for travel, but you need to agree to prioritize this.”

“Yes, I agree.” Jamie reached across the table for Raymond’s notebook. He flipped to an empty page, wrote I commit to Raymond’s plan, signed his name and wrote the date. He pulled back to let Claire sign her pledge and name as well.

“You don’t know what you’re agreeing to yet,” Raymond said quietly.

Jamie met his skeptical gaze. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here for a reason. I – we – want your help. So whatever you recommend, I will commit to doing.”

“Me too,” Claire added, pushing the notebook back across the table.

Raymond cleared his throat. “Well then. On typical days I’d like to have three sessions. Half an hour with each of you individually, and then an hour with both of you together. With the individual sessions taking place before our group session.”

“We can definitely do that.” Claire gripped Jamie’s hand on top of the table. “What do you think?”

Jamie nodded. “Yes. We will make it work. This is important. And you’ll of course be available if we need more time?”

“Definitely. To the extent you want time with me, I will make myself available. Nobody else – not your bandmates, Colum, not anyone on the crew – will be a client. I will quite literally be on call for you, 24/7. Jamie, if you start to have a panic attack, I don’t care what time it is or where we are, if you’re comfortable with me being there then I want to be there to help you.”

“And to support Claire,” Jamie added. “I won’t put all of that burden on her. It’s not fair to her.”

Claire squeezed her husband’s hand.

Raymond pivoted to face Claire across the table. “And Claire – I’m here for you in equal measure. I know you’re still adjusting to your sobriety. And I doubt you’ve worked through all of the trauma associated with your ex-husband.”

Claire swallowed. Jamie pulled her a little closer.

“So – if it ever feels too much, and especially if you start feeling like you’re losing a sense of yourself, when you’re so far away from home, and so out of your element…I want you to come to me. I want you to talk it through with me. And when you’re ready, we can talk with Jamie about it.”

She nodded, grateful.

“This goes without saying, but I’ll need you to continue to be as honest and open with me as possible. Our therapy isn’t going to work, otherwise. I’ve had clients in the past who struggled to be honest, and it ended up undermining their recovery. Especially the addicts.”

Claire poured a fresh glass of water for Raymond. He drank it all at once. Clearly choosing his next words very carefully.

“I will never judge you for anything you do or say – about your past or present selves. But the more you share, the more I can help you. And nothing you say to me will ever make its way to anyone else. Not Colum, not Ian and Angus, certainly not the crew. Definitely not the press. I’m bound by my professional code of ethics. And of course I’d never put you in that position.”

“Thank you,” Jamie breathed. “I want so hard for the most important things in my life to stay private.”

“But,” Raymond added, “If something comes up in one of our individual sessions that I think would benefit being discussed in our group session, I hope you’ll give me your permission to raise it. You’re already very open with each other, which makes my job easier. But I’m sure that both of you have things you haven’t told the other person about. So, I want you to know that if I bring up something one of you told me, in the presence of the other person, it’s purely because I want to get to the heart of a topic. To prompt a fruitful discussion.”

“I’m all right with that. I want to get better.” Jamie looked at Claire. Raised their joined hands to his lips, for a kiss. “I want us to get better, and stronger.”

“All the more reason to be honest with each other, and with me. Because as my favorite medical school professor told us – honesty has room for secrets, but not for lies. Do you agree?”

Jamie and Claire nodded.

Raymond smiled kindly. “I am so glad to have this opportunity to help and support you, at such this pivotal moment in your lives.”

Jamie laughed. “Don’t thank us yet. See how you feel in August, when you’ve been on the road for four months and you’re in bumfuck nowhere in Scandinavia and the blackout curtains won’t work in the hotel so that you can sleep.”

Raymond flipped to a new sheet in his notebook, smiling. “I’m going to recommend you do something, Jamie. Earlier we were talking about how it’s good to get a little separation sometimes.”

Jamie nodded, curious.

“I’m suggesting that you go out to L.A. in two and a half weeks, but on your own, with Claire staying here. She may fly out, let’s say, the final week. Or maybe not at all. What would you think about that?”

Jamie pursed his lips. Jaw clenching.

“I know why you’re suggesting it, Raymond. But…”

Raymond let the moment stretch. Watching, with Claire, Jamie process his thoughts.

“I want to say, no, I’ll never agree to that. I can’t go that long without having Claire with me.” He dropped Claire’s hand and crossed his arms.

“Why?”

“Besides the fact that I’ll miss her every second we’re apart? Because when I’m on the road, and doing industry stuff, and playing gigs, I know I’m going to see the things that I’m addicted to.”

“And you’re afraid that you’ll slide right back into that life, if you’re by yourself?”

Jamie heaved a deep breath. Raymond watched Claire hold herself back from giving her husband even the gentlest, most reassuring touch.

“Do you think he’d do that, Claire?”

She shook her head. “No way.”

Jamie huffed skeptically. “You have too much faith in me.”

“You should have more faith in yourself!” She stood, hands on her hips. “You’re so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, Jamie. Why don’t you see that?”

He covered his face with his hands, breathing deeply. “I know what I can do, Claire, when I lose control.”

“So do I, Jamie. But I know what you can do when you keep control. I know what you can say no to. Do you not remember that party in New York? It was hard, so fucking hard, but even though people were drinking all around us, and that model was doing coke two feet away from you,you were fine!”

Raymond kept his voice steady. “Do you really believe that at the drop of a hat, you’d forget your vows to Claire, Jamie? That you’d forget your commitment to sobriety?”

He nodded.

“But that’s never happened.” Claire lay a calm hand on Jamie’s shoulder, squeezing. “And just because I won’t be right next to you, or in the hotel room waiting for you, doesn’t mean that you will forget your promises.”

She rubbed his shoulder, so gentle.

“And, Jamie – to be honest, I could use the time here. To get to know the people at the clinic a bit better, get to know what kind of support they need. Obviously I won’t be around when we’re in Europe, and maybe not even after that if I come home pregnant. But I want them to get to know me, and I want to get to know them. And the best way I can do that is by spending time there, on my own. I can’t do that if I’m in L.A.”

Jamie pulled back to look up at his wife. She smiled down at him, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

Raymond gave them a moment before speaking. “When I suggested you go to L.A. alone, Jamie, you mentioned how you would feel, but you didn’t mention how you thought Claire would feel. Does what she wants not matter to you?”

“Of course it matters to me.” Jamie sounded a bit hurt.

“But you didn’t use those words to say that,” Raymond replied. “And you didn’t ask her what she thought about my idea. Claire does have a life beyond being your wife. She’s trying to find her footing. And she needs more space to do that. Has she ever told you that?”

Jamie looked directly at his wife. “Not like that,” he said softly. “Am I being too selfish?”

“You can be, sometimes.” Claire took a deep breath. “I know we’re both still healing, and figuring out how we live our lives together when everything is so complicated. This life we have together – it’s so wonderful, but it’s also so overwhelming. I want a family with you, Jamie – but I also want my career back. I know it won’t look like it did before, and I don’t want it to. And not right this instant, maybe not for a few more years. We have time to talk about it and figure that out.” She smiled at him. “That’s why I’m so glad that Raymond is here. Because he’ll give us the space to talk about these things.”

“Creating that space helps. So does re-framing a situation.” Raymond shifted in his chair. “Consider this: instead of feeling loss that you’re not together when Jamie is in L.A., or being afraid of what the world is like without the other…think of it as, two or so weeks of building new memories to eventually share. Two weeks of anticipation, to the buildup to being back together.”

“I like that,” Jamie said quietly. “And I see what you’re doing, Raymond. Turning something that could be negative, into something positive.”

“He’s not wrong, Jamie.”

Jamie sighed. “I know, Claire. I need time for me, and you need time for you. But I’ll still call you every day. Probably annoy the hell out of you.”

She laughed. “Of course you will. I want you to.” She turned to Raymond. “Can we start our sessions with you while he’s in L.A.?”

“Of course. We can do it all over the phone. But we can start tomorrow, if you like.”

Claire turned back to her husband. “Raymond asked us to be honest, Jamie. So when you speak with him, be honest. And when we have our session together, be honest. This is why we need his help. If you feel like you’re cracking, you need to fucking tell us. Do you understand?”

Jamie nodded. “I love you,” he rasped.

“I love you,” she laughed. “It’s just a few weeks, Jamie. Then we’ll be in Europe. You’ll get sick of me.”

He laughed, and it transformed his face. “Not possible.” He turned to look at Raymond. “I think you’ve got your work cut out for you, Doc.”

Raymond closed his notebook. “Well, you two will certainly keep things interesting.”

[ladykailitha]

Well Met By Moonlight Part 10

Hello! If you haven't seen it yet, I've got a set schedule for what story posts on what days now (as seen here) and this one as well as Icarus, Batshit Soulmates, and Never Hold Back Your Step... will still be posting just on rotation until I can finish some of my WIPs. (I may be stretching myself a bit thin having six going at the same time.)

In this chapter Steve gets a migraine dealing with his pack, Eddie and Wayne try to get a little deeper into the mystery of the town, and Robin has a big decision to make.

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @redfreckledwolf @emly03 @itsall-taken

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

****

While things were getting better outside the pack, things weren’t going as well inside the pack.

Someone was riling up the older pack members to fight Steve on every decision.

“Joyce,” Steve growled warningly. “I won’t tell you again. I’m not taking Nancy as bondmate. Nor do you want me to. Not unless your son has broken up with her recently. So recently I don’t know about it.”

Joyce rolled her eyes. “Of course not. But in the history of this pack, the alpha female has always been bonded to to the alpha male. It’s tradition.”

“Which pack are we talking about?” Steve snarled. “The one where Hopper was alpha and didn’t notice two families being abused by their father because he was drunk off his ass all the time? Or are we talking about the one that threatened to rape and kill my mother for accidentally walking into compound as a mortal woman and was only saved by Wayne Munson passing by? Or the one where Clarence Harrington founded the pack back in the 1800s?”

Joyce took a step back in the face of his rage.

“Maybe it’s time to see traditions aren’t working out for the pack and to move forward,” Steve said baring his teeth.

She looked him square in the eye, daring him to make a move.

“Submit,” he snarled, using his alpha voice. “Or be banished for this lack of respect you have shown me since I became alpha.”

There had been pack members milling around when they started arguing and more had gathered.

They all gasped when Steve threatened banishment.

“Do. You. Submit?”

She gulped and lowered her head for the first time in his presence. She kept her eyes on the ground and murmured, “Yes, alpha.”

He turned to the gathered pack. “Anyone who doesn’t respect my authority as alpha is free to go, no judgment. But I will not stand for willful and flagrant disobedience just because the person is older than me. Do I make myself clear?”

The assembled all nodded, making noises of affirmation.

“Good,” he said and then waved his arm. “Now scram!”

They all fled including Joyce.

Jonathan came up to him after everyone else had gone.

“You going to question my authority, too?” Steve snapped, a migraine starting pulse behind his eyes.

The other boy shook his head. “Nah, man. I know you’re cool. It’s just hard on my mom because Hopper would still be alpha if he hadn’t been kidnapped and she doesn’t know what to do with you being alpha so young.”

Steve sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “Yeah, it’s not normal, but we have to change if we are to survive. The world is moving fast. Faster than anything this pack has ever dealt with and if we don’t move with it, it will kill us.”

Jonathan nodded. “I’ll talk to her. See if I can’t get her to be at least not as antagonistic toward you. Because since you’ve become alpha things are really starting to change around here, for the better, too. She just needs to acknowledge that.”

Steve clapped Jonathan on the shoulder. “Thanks, man. Because you can get her to calm down...”

“Then Hop will do the same...” Jonathan continued.

“And hopefully Murray will follow after,” Steve finished. “And while that won’t miraculously fix all the packs problems...”

“It make it easier for to focus on the things that still need fixing.”

He nodded. “Right in one.”

Jonathan gave his shoulder a squeeze and then walked away.

****

Steve lay on his bed as Robin stroked his hair gently.

“All I’m saying is that a lot problems would be solved if you became pack,” Steve mumbled into her side.

His migraine had taken control of his body and he was in agony. No one was sure why things like headaches, period cramps, and cancer were immune to the werewolf’s ability to super heal, but it really sucked that there were.

“And a whole lot more problems that would crop up if I did,” she reminded him.

He sighed deeply. At the moment he didn’t care about the problems, only the solutions and he told her so.

Robin sighed. “I want to. But I don’t want to alienate my family if I do, you know?”

Steve struggled to sit up. Robin protested his moving but was helpless to stop the much stronger alpha.

He tucked his knees under him and took her hands gently in hers. “This decision is only one you can make. But believe me when I say you have to make it for you. Not me, not your parents or friends. Not even that pretty siren girl you like. You. What do you want to do?”

Robin hung her head. “Can I think about it?”

He squeezed her hands. “Of course you can. I can’t do anything until you’re eighteen anyway and that’s a few months away. But I want you to make a choice that’s best for you.”

She nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

****

It wasn’t like Gareth straight up laughed in Eddie’s face when he asked about moon days. But it was a near thing.

“I’m a gwyllgi,” he said. He pronounced it like g-with-gee. “It’s like the English Black Dogs, only cooler. I can transform at anytime or place, but my family tends to be groundskeepers for cemeteries and graveyards.”

He shook his head. “All these years playing together in a band and you never knew I was a supe.”

Jeff scoffed. “In all fairness, he was the only human for a number of those years.”

“That’s true,” Brian agreed, “and it’s not like gwyllgi have a scent to them the way werewolves do. Cut him some slack.”

Eddie cocked his head to the side as he scented the air. “I don’t think that’s quite true.”

The three other boys stood stock still as Jeff and Brian sniffed.

Jeff looked to Eddie. “Is that the smell of freshly overturned soil?”

Brian sniffed a little longer. “A bit of death, too.”

Gareth grinned, jumping up and down. “I was wondering when you guys were going to figure it out.”

They all turned to him and cocked their heads.

“Graveyards. You smell like a graveyard!” Brian said. “That’s I was having trouble placing it. Sirens bury their dead at sea.”

Gareth shuddered. “Sirens are weird.”

“How are you friends with two vampires?” Eddie asked. “Aren’t gwyllgi supposed to protect graveyards from entities like Jeff and me?”

Gareth tilted his head to the side and Eddie was struck by how dog-like his friend was.

He shrugged. “My parents vetted all of you before I was allowed to hang out with you guys. If my parents think you guys are cool, what the fuck do I care what you eat?”

Jeff and Eddie looked at each other and huffed out a laugh.

“Yeah, okay,” Eddie said ruffling Gareth’s hair. “Will you take notes during the next moon day and find out what they are teaching kids these days? Because Steve is really worried. Crosses and werewolves have never been a thing.”

Gareth nodded solemnly. “Yeah, even my parents are worried about what that might mean for the gwyllgi. They might decide we’re werewolves and come after us next.”

Eddie winced. That was a real possibility that he really didn’t want to think of right then. But he filed the thought away to talk to Wayne and Steve about later.

“What about you, Bri?” Jeff asked. “You hear anything in your neck of the woods?”

Brian shrugged. “People don’t like being friends with sirens so we tend to be shunned when they know what we are. It’s why I didn’t tell you guys for years.”

“It’s only when you sing though, right?” Eddie asked. “The compelling people to do shit, right?”

Brian shrugged again, fiddling with the tuning pegs on his base. “All sorts of rules to, too. But they don’t care. They think just talking to me will force them to do stuff.”

Eddie frowned. He knew he was new to the supernatural world being a bitten vampire, but there was so much bullshit that he wasn’t sure he could navigate through all of it.

“Well, siren or no,” he said fiercely. “You’re our friend and if anyone gives you hell, just point them me and Jeffey’s direction.”

Brian nodded still looking at the floor. All three other boys came over and hugged him.

“Thanks, guys.”

****

Wayne watched as Jason and Patrick toiled in the midday sun. The work was hard and more than a little tedious, but if they were working, they didn’t have the energy to cause trouble.

Patrick was already starting to shift his beliefs just from talking to Wayne and listening to his stories about fighting for the Union in the Civil War, about this town’s heritage.

Jason, he knew was going to be a tougher nut to crack. Jason was far too used to being spoiled and given everything he wanted when he wanted it to bend to Wayne’s will easily.

But Wayne had his ways and the first thing he needed to do was earn the boy’s trust.

“Did they kick you two off the team?” he rumbled.

Both boys looked up at him and then each other. They stopped what they were doing and leaned on their shovels.

Patrick snorted disdainfully. “They probably should have, but that would have meant removing their entire starting line and Principal Higgins wasn’t about to do that.”

“I got removed from being captain, though,” Jason said bitterly. He kicked at clod of dirt viciously with his foot to show his frustration.

“Who’s the new captain?” Wayne asked gently.

“Dirk Garroway,” Patrick said, glancing over at Jason. “He’s the younger brother of a former member of the team. A lot of the team isn’t happy about it.”

“That’s because he’s afraid of his own fucking shadow,” Jason sneered.

Patrick hid his wince well from Jason, but Wayne noticed nonetheless. “He’s always playing it safe. He doesn’t take risks. Which is great if you want a middle of the road team, but not one that’s going to win championships.”

“That’s certainly true,” Wayne said warmly. “Tell me what happened in the most recent game.”

Jason sneered. “Why would you care?”

Patrick looked panicked. He didn’t want to antagonize Wayne and was always afraid that if Jason mouthed off then Patrick would get the blow back.

“I’ve seen the rise of many a sport here in this country,” Wayne said with a smile. “But basketball and baseball are my favorites.”

That brought Jason up short. He straightened his spine and looked at Wayne with interest. “So you seen all the greats?”

Gotcha! Wayne thought with a grin.

“Sure have seen quite a few of them at any rate,” Wayne said sagely. “Who are your favorites?”

Jason launched into his inspirations and what his aspirations had been before he made the stupidest mistake of his life.

Wayne looked over at Patrick and winked. The other boy blushed, but was starting to finally relax.

It would take some time, but it was now only a matter of how long before Wayne got his answers on why they thought killing the Harrington Pack alpha would solve this town’s woes.

Because Steve was right.

There was something rotten in this town just below the surface. Below what he could see.

And wasn’t that just a terrifying thought.

****

Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @goodolefashionedloverboi @bookbinderbitch @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @bookworm0690 @tinyplanet95 @littlewildflowerkitten @vecnuthy @scheodingers-muppet @just-a-tiny-void @potato-of-the-lord @goosesister @she-collects-smut @irregular-child @y4r3luv

[narcissarina]

Darkened Desires

Prologue and Chapter 1: The sun || Chapter 2: The moon || Chapter 3: The moon || Chapter 4: The sun || Chapter 5: The sun || Chapter 6: The moon || Chapter 7: The moon || Chapter 8: The sun || Chapter 9: The sun || Chapter 10: The outsider || Chapter 11: The moon || Chapter 12: The sun || Chapter 13: The sun || Chapter 14: The moon || Chapter 15: The sun

Pairings: Mafia!Scaramouche × Barista!Reader

Word count: 579

Thank you for making it this far!

EPILOGUE

I got back at working on my usual, had to company and assure my mother that everything’s under control and that I am fine (haven’t recovered from that experience but I’m making progress) my friends scolded me and got worried, I’m actually fine right now since I know a man who would go lengths just to come to my aid and rescue.

The same man who stalked me, kidnap me even then gave me a tour of his own home. Sharing his stories and experiences as I take in that we live in different worlds—yet he choses to be with me. Opposite attracts, right?

He lives in the dark, and I’m in the light.

Like how the moon loves the sun, that’s why every once in a while there’s an eclipse.

Funny how he was the obsessed one, I won’t be lying that he isn’t good in bed.

It’s been a few months, I still go to therapy because Scara refuse to stop paying for my sessions, he still believes that I still need it. “what do you mean that I don’t have to pay for your therapy?” he said and give me a judgmental look.

I even ask Ajax about it and he said he can’t do anything about it, and that Scara gets snappy when Ajax talk to him on my behalf.

The Tsaritsa has been doing good and her health was improving when I’m around (she thinks I’m her daughter but I really don’t mind) she would give me gifts on many occasions, I still remember she almost bought me a car, since my old one is shit.

The more I know them like friends, the more I forget that they’re wanted criminals. My mind drifting off that they’re old friends when they’re literally a dangerous and powerful mafia.

Behind the café counter, I take orders for my customers and work on the usual routine that I normally had. But this time, something different—after taking the last order, I move my neck as it cracks some of my stiffen muscles.

I go over and clean the counter top, then made a bitter black coffee, just how he likes it.

Ding—

The sound of the bell of the door opening. I greet that customer with a smile and present him his usual.

“Welcome, here’s your usual.” I greet and hand him his bitter black coffee, “did you make sure you made it with extra love?” Scara teases, as his hand brushes over mine as he takes his coffee from my hand.

I could only chuckle at his remark, he leans in the counter—coffee in hand as he took my hand with his free one, “date at three?” he kissed my knuckles, I roll my eyes and nodded.

He smirks and got to his table to drink his coffee and wait for my shift to end.

My friend pops out of nowhere and gave me a scare, “jesus!” I yelp, she cock a brow and look at me up and down, “y’all better behave.” I chuckle at her and wink.

I watch the man who sat beside the door, drinking his coffee and reading—the same man who has dangerous connections, who is morally grey. The same man who saved me, obsessed with me.

I smile, knowing that my safety will be in his hands.

Assured that he’ll give me the future that he and I vision.

The same man I didn’t knew I fell in love with.

A/n: Hello! This series has finally comee to an end, thank you for reading and for sticking around 😭😭🙏 I appreciate you reading my works, comments were really appreciated and motivates me to write more stories!

Started writing this at March 1, 2024

Finished writing this day, March 22, 2024.

Thank you for sticking with me!