#I'm just fearing it's not gonna end with a bang but with a whimper

[that-spider-fan-over-there]

No because the more I - and many, many others think about it, why five chapters to wrap everything up? I keep thinking of reasons and only one makes sense to me, but.

BNHA is considered a world-wide best-seller, being WSJ's 6th most sold manga (last I checked, which was a few months ago). So many mangakas and artists taking notice and praising it, its big demograohic getting bigger because of its 10th anniversary in two weeks (!), more people are inclined to see it through the end. Hell, even taking out worldwide demographic, it's still very beloved in Japan- they had an entire tour event for the manga, for goodness' sake. It's a weird decision from a financial and commercial standpoint.

From a creator standpoint, Horikoshi likes taking his time writing his arcs down to the most ridiculously minimal details- the most likely possible positive outcomes is that Horikoshi is either planning a sequel or changing publishers but that's a whole leap in logic-

1. A sequel implies we aren't following the Hero Academia like stated by 424's release; and there's a whole bulletpoint of things that need to be addressed; a sequel wouldn't make sense because why tackle everything in a different part of the story?

I've seen people suggesting another MC, but. Remember BNHA as of now took place in the span of 2 years in-universe, but in real life, 10. Izuku's story isn't finished and we have another character (which now I'm certain it's Tenko) to meet, that would be more cluttered than the PLFW Arc.

Others mentioned a possible spin-off, or a time skip, but that's a another can of worms because that's a new world/POV with missing development from the characters we know, which would be interesting but. Again, a whole list of plot points to address; why not address here and now? Surely that's not what we imagined when 424 said "we need to go even further beyond" the end of the story, right? And one more thing: Volume 41 still does not have enough pages to fill in a tankobon unless the page count is huge and that's why we got a two/three-week break. Even then it doesn't fully solve the problem.

2. Publisher changing is another story, because it implies WSJ is falling on hard times, cutting corners, Horikoshi's contract wasn't renewed, or someone offered a better deal, but once again, big money-maker. Which we know it's BS. Not to mention the amount of legal jargon and time it'd take for that to happen behind the scenes for this to be possible- a month ago we got Hori saying he didn't know how long it'd take to reach the ending, and all of these complications would delay, if not officially put the series on a hiatus similar to OP, right?

And then there's the "five chapters is a long epilogue" or the argument, which I do agree, unfortunately. But this is why I'm so baffled; the amount of shit that needed to be addressed in the story- Todofam, Himichako, Spinner, Rooftop Trio, Hitoshi in Class 2-A (Class 2-A in general, really), Izuku and Katsuki's state, future and relationship, societal rebuild and re-evaluation of pro-heroes, what happens to Toshinori now, if OFA is really gone or not, Hero Commission, Mr. Compress's fate, Hawks being Quirkless now, the mystery man from 425, the list goes on and on. Nothing about hero society in BNHA was shown to change, then what's all that talk of long epilogue for if we can barely focus on five of these? So much to answer and not enough time for all.

IDK, there are more "positive"* theories of Horikoshi ending the "Academia" part of Boku no Hero and focusing on the more ambitious part of the manga in a part two, a la Chainsaw Man, but even that feels like wishful thinking- especially because of so many second series being. A mess, to put it lightly.

Horikoshi does deserve the break from writing and drawing, don't get me wrong, ten years of pumping up a story of this quality is not an easy feat, but it's so weird considering all the loose ends. If he did decide to end on his terms, well. His decision, I guess, even if it still feels off. But it is the only explanation that makes sense, in my opinion. Especially with the amount of breaks he needed to get because of health conditions- Shonen Jump is very harsh on their mangakas after all.

*I say "positive" because he said he didn't want it to be a long runner, and he did say he's interested in a BNHA spin-off and elevating the light novels. And that he'd "see us again in Jump" on the countdown announcement, so. There's that, take that as you will.

Maybe I should try and be positive as well, there is a chance this is not the end of the main series yet, and we're getting, Idk, a rebrand of sorts? Maybe Horikoshi will show up at Jump Festa and be like "surprise I got more tricks up my sleeve". Back to the beginning, but not quite the same. Hell imagine if he decided to go to the actual beginning: Boku No Hero one-shot from 2008. Call it Boku no Hero Agency or something like that. Hah.

Won't erase that I am feeling shitty about this right now- but, what do I know, I wanna choose hoping for something as wishful as this until the end of the ride rather than dwell on the doomerism of it all. Just wanted to talk about it. Makes me regret I chose to get into BNHA late in the game, but I'm still glad I got to ride in at all. I hope this "final bow" isn't gonna feel as incomplete as I fear it will.

I. Guess we'll have to wait and see with fingers crossed then. *sigh* So, with that said.

I guess I wanna hope for the handhold, at least.

[luveternals]

pairing: none (because I don't know who to put since is 5am) rating: mature, MDNI. cw: a bad man tries to do bad things to a minor (or failed attempted SA), don't worry you save the day and there are no details. reader isn't human. incubi (or demons feeding on desire). a/n: I don't know what vibes the warnings give you but it's probably not that bad. probably. It 5am and I slept 3 hours, it's proof read, but I'm out of touch with the world. oh and yeah, this blog isn't dead :) heads up, i'm not gonna be active like at the start. what a surprise! i'd spend my life writing cringe in here if I could, but I need money. ~ ~ ~

It's past midnight, when you find yourself standing deep in the alley; the scent is so strong, you can smell it out here. You breath in and swallow the thick taste of sweet and spice that invades all your senses. Your tail twitches behind you, sharp and lethal, then slaps the floor, showing your growing tension. You step forward and shove back the sudden urge to slam the door open. The scent is stronger now, reaching deep inside your core and promesing a delicious meal.

It makes your skin crawl.

You stab your claws into the door handle and twist your hand, separating the cheap metal from the old wood with a single, smooth flick of your wirst.

The moment you push the door open, it creaks and your stomach growls. Hot desire and sweet arousal dominate the room latching deep into your hunger and pulling you closer, saliva pulling into your mouth. It tempts you to follow your instincts, to let your nature guide your will.

Disgusting.

There's a bang against a wall, on the floor above you, then someone groans. And your body moves before your brain can register the action. You rush up the stairs and bursts in the room at the end of the hallway. The scent is at its strongest here, and you see red.

There, deep in the room, a man stares at you from where he's hunched over a boy. You hiss at the sight and, with only a few quick strides, tear him away from the boy. You throw him across the room and onto the floor and bares your teeth at him. "You dare touch what's mine?" you growl.

He scrambles back, eyes wide in fear. The color has drained from his face, arousal and delight turned into terror and confusion. There's blood dripping on the floor under him. A similar, smaller stain dripping from your claws.

"Get lost! I see you again and I will make you choke on the very joke you have between your legs."

The filth stumbles onto his feet and runs out the door without a single word, pale and sweaty. When you know he's rushing down the stairs, you hope to hear him trip and fall and never get up.

You almost follow to make true of your threat, when a shaky breath from behind you catches your attention.

Your mind clears in an instant and the moment you whip around a thin body crashes into your chest, arms flying around your large body.

"I've got you," you whisper gently. You arms circle around the boy's frail form to pull him closer.

"I didn't mean to," he whimpers as he clings onto you.

"He's gone," you tell him as you caress his back with careful strokes.

"I didn't," he sobs, "mean to!"

"Hush, little one. I know," you pull away, just enough so you can cup his face with your hand, "it's okay, I know."

He lean against your touch, tears wetting your hand.

"Let's go home. Shall we?" you lean down and kiss his forehead.

He nods and, finally, finally, the two of you leave that hell of a place.

The boy is silent for most of the trip back, holding onto your arm for dear life. You arrive home and he climbs in your bed and you only wrap your arms around him and pull him in a tight hug without protest.

From that night on, you don't let him out of your sight. The boy goes on with his days as normally as he can, but his struggle to keep in control is as clear as day.

One morning, you find him hugging tightly at his pillow, squirming against it. He whimpers and humps against the pillow, eyes shining in shame when he notices he's not alone. He scrambles away and hides his face in his hands, when you step in his room and sit at the edge of his bed.

"I'm sorry," he sobs, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

You lean over the bed and reach for him to place a gentle hand on the top of his head. The boy flinched at the touch but doesn't pull away, "no, little one. This is who you are, now," you say. "Come here," you add and pat your leg.

The boy shifts and rubs the back of his hands over his eyes, wiping away the tears. He blinks up at you as you lifts him up and seat him on your lap. He leans against your chest and rest his head under your chin.

You hug him for a short moment, before you feel him shift restlessly. You stroke his hair and plant a kiss on the side of his head, "lay back in your bed," you whispers, "don't fight it. I'll come back in a bit to check on you."

The other shakes his head and grips on the front of your clothes, "I don't want to."

"The more you fight against it, the worst it'll get, child. Are you sure?"

A single sob slips out of his lips and he barely nods his head, "stay."

You try to shift but the other clings onto you with an iron grip. You coo at him and pet his head, then move again to lay down on the bed, with him on your chest.

The boy squirms and trembles against you as you two lay there until his body just gives up and he falls asleep, exhausted.

You cuddle him close, his small form pressed firmly against your chest. His body still has a long way before it stops developing, and you fear he might not get through it.

As an incubus yourself, you know how overwhelming and dangerous the hunger can be, and you can only imagine how it is for him. You were born a demon, while he has only just been turned into one against his will. He lived his life as a simple human and now he's going through his first hunger. Being a teenager doesn't help, the boy's hormones are unstable. You can only guess how his body was affected by it all.

He nuzzles his face against your chest in his slumber, a small whine coming out of his parted lips. You watches him sleep, caress your knuckles against the boy's soft cheek, and think. You know you will have to teach him how to feed on people's lust eventually, but you also know the other won't take it well. The boy is a child with a naive and innocent heart, and the thought of hurting or using people for his psrsonal needs scares him to no end.

The following days go on quietly. His hormones seem to settle and he is able to keep them at bay, for most of the time. You help him through the night, when his hunger grows stronger. You don't do anything but hold him close against your chest, whisper reassurance again his ear and and draw invisible lines against his back, but this, at least, seems to help.

Incubi feed only on human energy so the arousal of another demons doesn't affect them. But, the boy is not a pure-blooded, and this makes things different. He's not as tempting as any other pure human, but you make sure to feed yourself full before getting anywhere close to him, especially at night.

In the worse of the hunger, he would just hump a little against you. It shows you he has better control than you first imagined, so you simply stare at the ceiling and endure it for him. Because this is worse for him than it is for you. It's awkward and it makes you sick in the stomach, neither of you has the strength to face it, but it helps and you're not going to starve him. Human food helps only to a certain point.

During the day, the two of you travel with your heads bowed as you hunt down for the monster that ruined this poor boy's life. You have to keep away from the crowd, hiding in the woods or creeping through dingy alleys. You can see the frown on his face as you stir him away at the sound of people. He doesn't say, but it hurts him. You know. You can see it in the way he throws subtle glances over his shoulder, feel it in the way his feet's stumble when you guide him away from the voices. The loneliness that emanates from him tastes raw and bitter, and the desire in him is sickening sweet.

You slip a hand around his shoulders as you guide him gently to turn the corner, away from the people, away from the world.

Incubi don't hunt solely in the night, some people can't contain themselves even in the brightest of hours. You don't want another innocent person to turn into a lust-hungry leech because of him. You don't think the boy could survive the guilt.

× × ×

You tie a cloak around your neck but stop in the mid of adjusting the hood at the sight of your tiny companion.

"Get ready, child. It's time for us to leave," you say and pull the hood over your head.

"Okay," his soft tone has your full attention on him.

You sit next to him on the bed and place a gentle hand on top of his head, "I know this is more than overwhelming, but we need to be strong if we want to put an end to it."

"I can't do this," the boy whisper with a broken whimper, hands going up to wipe at his eyes.

"We will. I'm here to help you," you say, petting his head, "we'll find them and put an end to this all."

When he looks up at you, you are met with bright green eyes staring up at you. You have to look away for a moment, the sight somehow too overwhelming. When you turn back to him again, his gaze has only gotten more intense and you cup his face in your hands. "I will burn the world for you if I have to"

The smile that spreads across his lips is small and cautious and yet, but the hope that shines in his eyes makes his expression the spit image of the irritating grin his father flashed you the moment your growl meant for him was out of irritation and not of hatred.

You can almost hear his words ringing in your memories, "I know you care for me, pet."

You take the cloak that hangs from the back of the chair and pull it over the child's shoulder. You tie it around his neck and give him the tiniest smile, "remember what I told you the day after the accident?"

The child sighs but nods.

"We'll stop the bad guys from doing this to others and save the kingdom from doom. Make your father proud."

"Was he really a hero?"

You can't help but huff a chuckle. "The stories you hear about your father are not just fairytales. I should know, I was there."

"You fought in the Great War?" the boy blinks, "you never said."

You give him an hesitant nod and stand, your mind rushes with the memories of those days. A dark year for the kingdom. The end a painful millenia for you.

Your eyes fall onto the distracted and fidgety figure sitting on the bed. Your freedom came with a price.

"Hey, uncle," he says when he notices your eyes on him.

"Again with the uncle?" you sigh, exasperated.

"When will you show me it?"

You pause and look at him with an unreadable expression, "no."

"I'm not a child anymore and— and—"

"You're not a monster," you say, with a firm tone, tired of this conversation again, but ready to defend him from his self deprecating mind, again and again and again.

"Neither are you!" he shouts, only to sink in himself, eyes wide with horror at his own outburst. He drops his gaze onto the floor. "Neither are you…" he repeats softly, his voice no louder than an hesitant whisper. "I don't— I've never… I just want to see the real you."

His words render you speechless, but the moment the silence stretches for a minute too long, you turn to hide your money pouch inside the internal pocket of your cloak, only so you don't have to meet his gaze. "No."

He drops the topic as he always does. He's quiet, pensive and slightly pouty, but follows you out the room and out the building without protest.

You fetch your horse from the stables build on the side of the small tavern where you slept the night before, and have him climb on it as soon as you're out the gates.

A soul is like a compass for an incubus. The moment it makes a wish, desire sparks inside it and a demon like you can latch onto it and never let go. This is what made you dangerous during the war, what had people seek you and repel you in equal desperation. When an incubus is free to roam the lands no place is safe to hide.

Unless you can control yourself.

It's a rare skill, but it exists and you grit your teeth when you scent the air. The lead you've been following is faint either from distance of lack of strength. You're loosing them.

"Are you okay, uncle?" the boy asks and reaches as hand to grab the fabric covering your shoulder.

"Again with the uncle?" you ask, but it's soft and you reach up to give his knee a reassuring squeeze. "This way."

You lead his horse westward, the rising sun shining at your backs as you leave it behind.

~ ~ ~ comment, reblog and/or follow. this blog feeds off feedback, don't just like or it'll die again!

[f1-birb]

Pando 18

18. things you said when you were scared

"Lando?" When there's no response, he rubs at his eyes, sitting up straight and shaking away the grogginess of sleep.

All Pierre can hear from the other end of the call is ragged breathing and a spike of fear shoots through him. He's suddenly very, very awake.

"Lando? Amour?"

"Pear?" It's a frantic little whisper, barely audible with the poor sound quality, almost as if Lando has the microphone too close to his mouth.

"What's wrong? It's two in the morning, what's happening?"

There's a crash on Lando's end of the line, shattering glass and wood breaking against wood. Pierre's heart lodges in his throat and he's moving to throw on clothes and boots without hesitation. Lando whimpers and the sound kickstarts his brain again.

"Hum once for yes, twice for no, is someone breaking in right now?"

Immediately there's a singular hum, and Pierre has three weapons attached to his person as he bangs on Charles' door. He's moving down the hall, kicking at George's and then Max's doors too, and he's never been more grateful they all live in the same apartment building.

"I'm coming, Lando, I'm coming. I'm gonna just text the others now I've woken them up but I'll be right back on the call, okay?"

There's another panicked little hum and Pierre winces when there's another crash, louder this time, closer to wherever Lando's hiding. He's in his car, engine started as he sends an emergency text to the group chat. He gets several responses immediately, and he breathes a tiny sigh of relief that Lewis is already in the area and can be at Lando's café in less than ten minutes.

He revs the engine as he pulls out of the garage, switching back to his call.

"Lando, you still there baby?"

"I'm scared, Pierre." The confession is soft, a barely there whisper, and he feels tears well up in his eyes. "I'm so fucking scared, I don't know what they want, they're just trashing the place."

"Lewis is on his way, he'll be there in less than five minutes, just hang on baby." He can hear the panic that coats his own voice.

"If- if something goes wrong, and you or, or Lewis don't get here in time-"

"We will Lando, we will, we-"

"Just let me say it. I love you, Pierre. I love you."

Pierre wants to close his eyes but keeps his focus on the road. He has to get to Lando.

"I love you too, so fucking much."

There's another bang, more glass shattering and the sounds of a struggle. The familiar rhythm of a fight, fists against flesh and the thump of a body hitting the floor, and then terrifying silence.

Pierre doesn't dare to breathe.

"Lando?"

He's never been so grateful to hear Lewis' voice. Lando's safe.

ok so I'm like 90% sure this was for the things you said list, so I apologise if this was actually for the abc prompt list 😅

send a pairing and a number from the things you said list

[beezoobledoodles]

Safe And Sound (BIA Chap: 7)

Undyne paced nervously as she bit at her fingertips, her fins folded downward "i cant believe i lost the squirt!-" she groaned in more fear than anger "now hes lost in your lab! what am i gonna tell pap?!" she waved her hands frantically "sorry pap, we lost your brother and now hes nowhere to be seen!!" she panted hard as she laid her forehead against the wall. Alphys gently pet her hands in a calming circling motion "i-it'll be okay u-undyne, c-cmon lets go down there and see if we cant find him-" the short yellow dino held the captains hand gently in her claws as she lead her to the elevator. "....i hope the lil dudes okay.." undyne rubbed her arm gently "i-i'm sure he is- th-there shouldnt be anything dangerous down there" with the press of a button; the elevator descended.

-

through small curious eyes, wandering the halls. The pitter patter of his little blue sneakers hitting the greying teal tiles echoed off the walls.  it was dark, only to be illuminated by the occasional luminescence of the florescent lights above him.  The small skeleton held his hands close to him as he adventured further and further down the hall. he felt his little tummy rumble, the soft sound of humming wracked his skull as he bounded toward it, he stared as a vending machine came into view, it was filled with chisps and soda- he gently tired to shake the machine; whimpering when it did nothing, only to try harder and harder.

-

Papyrus hummed with satisfaction as he finished his plate "thank you metta. for such a wonderful night, now i must get back home-" he informed as the robotic entertainer nodded "of course darling! i enjoyed our little evening as well- but family matters most of course!!" he waved him off- the buzzing of the tall skeletons phone viberated in his pocket- digging the cellular device from his pockets, he answered- "hello?"

it was undyne-

"heeeeeey paps-''

"undyne? what a pleasant surprise! how are you?" he smiled cheerfully.

"uhhh doin' okay..."

she didnt...seem to sound okay? he didnt seem to not notice how her voice seemed to shake. "well, hows sans? i dont suppose my brother has given you a hard time has he?"

-

undyne held the phone in her hand as the elevator dinged "hes uh- doing alright- lil squirts just uh playin hide n seek is all!" she gave a laugh, hoping to dissway him.

"ahh yes well. im on my way to collect my brother"

he what?

"on- your way? like here? or?"

"well i mustve figured at somepoint youd be bored of snowdin-"

"righht- yes- uh- well- it uh- just so happens i'm heading on my way back to waterfall as we speak- im just stopping by alphys- real quick to grab some insta noods ya know?" she gave a slight nervous chuckle, sweat almost beginning to bead down her face "well ill see you back in water fall paps. see ya later-"

"wait undyne-"

-

'beep' 'beep' 'beep' 'Call ended'

papyrus sighed softly "something is wrong and i can feel it.." he started making his way through to hotland-

-

big fat tears rolled down his little cheeks, his tummy growled angrily with hunger, he banged his little fists against the glass, angry at the failed attempt, he wanted his big brother, he fell to the floor, buring into his jacket.

a soft gentle hand(?) placed itself on his little head, he slowly lifted his head up to loo, a figure stood, kneeling infront of him as they smiled softly, it was almost trying to comfort him? they gave a soft smile, their face was droopy, almost as if it were melting? their eyes were a solid black, almost hollow if it werent for the two small white eyelights-

the sounds of the elevator dinged- the figure paused, it looked at the smaller body infront of them and disappeared-

sans paused, very confused as he heard the familiar voices of his aunts bounce off the walls-

"there you are squirt!!" undyne brushed out the concern in her voice as she lifted him into her arms and carried him back upstairs "next time, dont wander off on your own kay? save your aunty a heart attack-" she joked.

-

papyrus huffed as he leapt from the ferry, he rushed toward the lab and gently knocked "Alphys??" as amazed as he was, the door opened miraculously- undyne smiled softly as she took in a sharp breath "lil slugger can hide good," she thrusted the baby bones back into the elders arms "ah- th-thank you undyne-" the captain nodded "any time paps, next time we'll just stay in my house-" she whiped the sweat from her brow as papyrus started to head home.

-

papyrus sighed contently, nestling sans onto the couch "i'll make you something to eat, i know you mustve been hungry playing hide n seek with aunt undyne-"

sans gave a little giggle, papyrus furred his brow in slight suspicion "she says it was hide n seek-" he held a small plate as he prepared crabapple sauce, soft warmed dinosaur egg oatmeal with noodles and sea tea. he gently feeds his brother "after your done we'll give you a bath and head to bed-"

-

setting sans down in his bed, he watched him for a moment "all nice and tucked in?" the baby bones nodded softly "alright, good night sans, i love you, i'll be downstairs if you need me-" he turned on his night light, and very quietly closed his door.

papyrus gently rested against the couch as he sighed "...ughh..today was a long day-"

he let out a soft breath, turning the TV on; letting his eyes fall, letting them grow heavier and heavier- till he had fallen asleep.

[n0tm3g]

Devadas royalty au my beloved

King!Deva x Prince!Das

Let the story begin~

~~~~~~~~`~`~~~`~~~`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the young prince was going to be wed. He figured he'd be married to a wonderful or smart or kind prince. He didn't expect to be married to a prince-to-be-king who was nothing but a brute. A handsome brute. Prince Das and was considered one for the most naive and smart prince in the whole kingdom, and for him to be wed to a to be king who caused nothing but trouble. Das didn't like that one bit. He sat pouting every single day hoping that his parents would change their mind. See how disapproving he was to the decision. BUT NOPE. Guess parents do become blind after they've set their mind on something. Das had tried many times. Trying to convince his father to give him some time. To think about it. But his father's response had always been. "Das, this is your chance to prove yourself to be the perfect prince. listen to me...you have always made us proud. One more time is all I ask."

The prince would almost tear up at this and lose his confidence immediately. And the worst part was. HE DIDN'T EVEN SEE HIS TO BE HUSBAND'S FACE. To be honest the maids had tried to show him the pictures but he was just too bratty and stubborn. The prince sighed. He made his way to the window sill and stared out. His "husband" was supposed to arrive at the castle 20 mins ago, the king had sent Das back into the room so that he didn't have to feel bored. But Das felt anxiety instead. He didn't know why. Was he actually looking forward to this ? Pfffttf must've been the lunch. He did a looot of stress eating. He bit his lip. Nope that wasn't it. Das paced the room wiping the sweat off his forehead. He needs to get the hell out of this place. Slowly he made his way towards his bedroom door and pulled it. It didn't open. One more time. Fuck. His father locked him in. Das let out a frustrated scream. "DAD OPEN THE DOOR. DAD GODDAMIT I SWEAR. DAD" He banged on the door with all his might. "Stupid stupid why must he do this to me? I hate everything! I HATE EVERYTHING!" He screamed as he threw his crown onto the floor. He stood there panting. Trying to calm himself down. The window. THE WINDOW. Das looked around to see the window still open. "YES" he screamed. "TAKE THAT MOTHERFATHER." He grabbed a few of his clothes tying one end to another. "YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THIS" He laughed in success as the long makeshift rope reached the bottom. Das quickly fastened the cloth and got ready to leave the foresaken place. Then it hit him. His fear of heights. "Hah..." Das whimpered as he looked down. "Atleast 20 feet" he gulped. Suddenly he felt lightheaded, stumbling back he tried to gather himself. "If I stay here... I'll go mad" Das breathed out. "If I go out I'll die" He looked down again. The grass below was mocking him. Humming at how stupid das looked at the moment. The prince let out a deep breath. "I can't stay here" He decided. Slowly he put one leg out of the window sill, resting his leg on the knot of the cloth, hoping that it won't untie itself. He then, using the support of his hands put the other leg and grabbed the cloth ladder with his right hand while his left hand held the window sill. "Oh god" Das whimpered "I'm gonna die." He slowly left the sill and let out a loud yelp while grabbing the cloth. He felt tears pricking his eyes. This was too much for him. Too much. This is NOT what he asked for. "No time to panic das" he assured himself. "I HAVE to get down now." Slowly he put his other leg down. And that's when it all went south. His leg slipped making him scream in terror and leave the only thing that was keeping him alive. The fucking cloth ladder had been useless. Well not if you COUNT HIS DEATH. He felt the wind rushing against his ears and his tears made his way. "So this is how I'm going to die" Das pathetically thought. "A sad loser virgin boy"

He was dying. He's dying. He's dy- with a small fwump he felt himself come to a soft landing. He looked up in panic. Oh. His breath stopped. Underneath him was a man. Eyes blazing and he was panting slightly still holding das on his chest. His hands around Das's waist. "What were you doing?" The man rasped out. Das almost whimpered out loud at that voice. "I-i think it's pretty clear what i-i w-was doinG" he managed to stutter. The man looked at the cloth ladder and back at him. "You're fucking dumb for being known as such a smart prince" the man scoffed. Das could feel the man's muscles ripple as he let out that scoff. Fuck. He was still on top of him. He quickly scrambled away from the man. Heat rising to his face. "I- well...I..um" Das started. His mind was malfunctioning and he still was in shock. He trembled slightly. Wondering how he was still alive. The strange man must've noticed him. He was quickly wrapped in a satin cloth making him snap out of his thoughts. The man kneeled infront of him, making him blush once more. Shit the man was too handsome. Hair swept aside, those sharp eyes. His everything. "You're okay now" the man comforted, pulling das forward. "I saved you, you're fine" Das nodded. In a daze. He fell forward onto the man's shoulder. The sane him would have never done this. He never had the courage. But not now. He felt warm next to this man. He wanted to stay with him. Call him idiotic. But he loved how the man held him gently, patting him on the head. "Would you like to get up?" The man husked. Das nodded. The man stood up first and held out his hand for the prince to take. Das hesitated, but joined their hands. In a flash the handsome man pulled him up against his chest. Das squeaked, holding onto the man's shoulders. "Careful love" the man whispered. "Don't want you getting hurt" Das looked up to see the man standing at him in fondness. He blushed, adjusting his glasses in an attempt to calm himself. "what's...your name?" Das asked loving how he didn't stutter. The man looked at him and smirked. "Deva .. it's king Deva. Prince Das"

Fuck

Das was screwed

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

I hope you liked this. Chapter 2 may or may not come out because I have commitment issues with my books and shit. So this could be a one-shot or a novel kind of thing. Honestly I haven't decided.

[dancingazaleas]

𖨆. 02 / all for us

summary: you’ve finally decided it was time to eat and bathe, but now that you aren’t worried about starving to death, you’re getting homesick. maybe a cup of tea and a movie is the best.

note: i, now, have a taglist for this series especially!! here’s the taglist form!! it will also be posted on the series masterlist!! much love <33

word count: +3.0k

warnings/notes: starvation, manipulation, abuse, slight panic attack, thoughts of suicide

IT'S been five days since you've had anything to eat.

your body is so weak from the lack of nutrients that you can't stand up on your own. your head is constantly aching from lack of food and you keep getting dizzy.

you feel like you're on the brink of death now, you can't even get out of bed to get yourself water out of your sink, shortening your life span if you keep this up. you feel yourself crying as you roll your body off of the bed and onto the floor.

hissing in pain, you dig your nails into the spruce hardwood floor.

"you are not weak for this. you're surviving," you whisper to yourself as you push yourself forwards with your arms.

it's so painful with the bruises. they rub up against your clothing, already irritating them a bit more than before, and now it's having pressure added onto it. your tears are blocking your sight, but you push on anyways. the door has never felt so far away.

you almost perk up when your nails scratch at the door. with weak fists, you bang at the door and call for one of the men that has captured you. your tears are dripping on the ground below you, forming a small puddle as they all bunch together.

"please," you croak, "please..."

the door is being unlocked and you feel as if all of your strength has been used at that moment. you lay still as your breath falters from your sobbing.

the door bumps against your head, shooting a sharp pain through your head. you can't find strength to care about it.

"so you're finally ready to listen. you look pathetic," you don't have to look up to tell it's levi speaking to you.

he calls out to erwin, telling him to fix you small and easy meal and to get you new clothes. he squats down and takes you into his arms bridal style.

if you weren't crying and letting out weak sobs, he would think your dead. you're so limp in his arms and your eyes are empty and droopy as they stare right through him. and it creeps him out.

he takes you into a bathroom with a tub, setting you gently on the toilet. he doesn't bother locking the door behind him, you're too weak to run away right now. levi's preparing you a bath, walking back and forth as he gets towels and soaps and checking the water.

you hiccup as you watch levi starting to remove that collar and chains around your neck, and you feel like a weight has been lifted off of your chest, literally. he's undressing you, obviously trying to avert his cold eyes away from your body. you're gently laid in the bath, head resting against the rim.

levi's quiet as he pours a warm cup of water over your hair and face, squatting down to reach your level.

"stupid," he scoffs as he lathers up shampoo in his hands. he washes your hair gently.

"this isn't mine and erwin's fault," he shakes his head while he pours water over your head, "it's your fault. you refused our care."

you don't argue back, too tired to even think of a comeback. you also don't feel like getting beat any more than you already are. your eyelids are getting heavy, immediately shutting them as soon as you feel the pressure on them.

levi stares, mouth slightly parted as you breathe in and out through your nose. your cheek was sprinkled in the color crimson, his own handiwork made him cringe. he just sighs, now brushing through your locks of hair with conditioner coated on his hands.

he rinses his hands off, letting the conditioner stay there just for a few seconds so it can soak in. his eyes trail down your body, stopping at your bruised breast. he didn't even realize he hit you there.

he shrugs it off and gathers water into the small cup in his hand, pouring it over your head. he expects you to jump up at the water over your head but all you do is mumble. he wants to wash your body, specifically your underarms, but with you half asleep and barely able to stand on your own without him holding onto you, he can't.

he clicks his tongue and pulls out the cover up blocking the drain. he grabs you by the arm, ignoring the whimper of pain that you let out, and pulls you up onto your wobbling feet. he helps you step out of the tub and wraps a fluffy pink towel around your shoulders, carefully sitting you onto the toilet again.

the bath water is a little murky and levi cringes at it because he knows it'll leave a ring around the tub. he'll clean it up later.

erwin's opening the door, a pile of clothes in his large hands.

"she's all tuckered out," he chuckles, handing off the clothes to levi.

"yeah. don't know how, she's barely done anything. must be the hunger or something," levi shrugs and watches the folded clothing come undone as he holds the hemline between his fingers.

"maybe we were too harsh on her."

"no, we weren't. we can't trust her. believe it or not, but forks can hurt whenever you put force into them when you stab someone. she could've hurt one of us or herself," he folds the clothes over his arm and holds out a hand.

erwin hands him underwear, "i suppose you're right."

"i'm always right," levi carefully puts on your underwear for you.

erwin rolls his eyes at levi's comment, "make sure to dry her hair."

"i know what i'm doing," he snaps, "go put her food in her room."

erwin complies, swinging the door shut behind him as he goes to fetch your food.

you've barely processed their conversation, too focused on levi's hands putting you in a satin light grey nightgown that ends just below your knees. the bishop sleeves keep your arms warm and cold at the same time, in fact, the whole material of the dress does as well. the neckline is a v-neck, not that you mind too much because of the risk you might get too hot.

"do i...," you manage to mumble, "do i have to wear this to sleep...?"

"yeah, unless you feel like sleeping in just underwear. i don't think you want that though," he scoffs as he towels off your damp hair.

you don't reply, far too tired to even say a 'whatever' to him. you let your forehead come into contact with his hip, taking in the cold temperature radiating off of his body. you want to nuzzle into his hip, but thankfully you have enough will to not do so. it reminds you of your friend, pieck, and her cat like tendencies. the memory has you letting out a pained laugh.

levi can feel his face getting warmer at every movement you make with your head, but he manages to play it off because of the towel blocking your view. he throws the towel into the basket by the tub, hand silently stroking at the back of your head in comfort.

it doesn't give you comfort. but you don't let it show.

levi's grabbing a hair brush, a clean and new one, and running it through your (hair type) locks. there are far too many tangles from the lack of care you've been giving your hair, but not enough to make a knot.

levi then pulls out a block of deodorant from the cabinet below the sink. it's unused and you can smell the scent of flowers on it as he brings it closer. his hands slide up your dress with caution, trying to avoid coming into contact with your bruised body.

he manages to put on the deodorant easily. he picks you back up with a grunt, eyebrows furrowing at your pained expression. he's placing you back onto your bed in just a matter of seconds, throwing the covers over your legs.

erwin's sitting at the edge of your bed, holding a fork with food already on it. your eyes are droopy while you look at erwin.

you don't eat a lot, they're in fear that you might throw everything up if fed too fast. you don't blame them, you haven't eaten in five miserable days. it's best to be cautious.

"scooby...," you manage to whisper out, eyes fluttering shut.

"she wants to watch scooby doo even though she's already asleep," levi huffs with the shaking of his head, grabbing the tray from erwin's hands.

erwin follows after levi, closing the door behind the both of them and locking it.

"she seems to be getting adjusted," erwin notes while standing behind levi and watching him wash the dishes.

"only because she was on the brink of death. let's just hope she learned from it," levi's aggressively scrubbing the plate with a sponge.

————

you lay in your bed a few days later, the feeling of homesickness is eating you up inside. did no one care? did anyone even notice you vanished? where was everyone? what were they doing?

you think of zeke. the man you were sort of dating, it's complicated. well, it was. now, it's just nonexistent.

zeke was out of the country for a bit, something to do with work. he left you with a kiss on the forehead and a hug. you wonder if he's texted you.

you think of pieck. oh my god, she's had to have noticed by now. she's your best friend, she lives with you. but the memory of the two of you fighting right before you were kidnapped comes flooding back, and you deflate. if you weren't in the house then pieck would probably think it was normal.

what about porco? reiner? your guys friends who act like guard dogs towards you. where were they? did they notice? surely they had to, you never not text them back.

bertholdt? your close friend that you also worked with him. he was a music prodigy and he texted you almost everyday. did he notice?

you're breathing erratically as you sit up and clutch your hands over your ringing ears. where were they? where even was your phone?

you're gonna get killed before you can tell any of them that you love them. the thought has you crying and tugging at your hair. you were so mean to pieck before you were kidnapped. you hadn't talked to zeke since the day of your kidnapping, who probably wasn't worried because he was busy with work.

when will you see them again? will you ever even get to see them again?

'maybe after death,' you think, eyes darting up to the mirror on your vanity.

you slap yourself upside the head, slapping away the thought. you struggle to get onto your feet, but when you do, you're banging at the door for levi and erwin again.

you have to know if they're okay, to know if they know you're gone. you step away from the door at the sound of keys jingling and their footsteps.

"what are you freaking out about now," levi's being followed by erwin.

"my friends... did.. did you tell them i was okay," with a boost of confidence, your gripping at levi's biceps.

"get your filthy hands off of me," he smacks them away.

"yes, we did tell them you were going away. we said you decided on a vacation," erwin speaks and watches your eyes dart back to the mirror.

"fuck," you whisper to yourself. everyone would believe you'd go on vacation, you had been stressed with your job for the past month.

"levi's gonna make you some tea and then we can all chat, we were about to do so anyways," erwin's hand rubs at your back as he pulls you close to him.

levi leaves the room, following the orders of erwin. erwin, on the other hand, is cooing at you.

"no one's going to miss you," he whispers in a sweet tone and it gives you goosebumps, "no one at all."

you know it's not true. it can't be true. zeke would miss you. reiner would miss you, pieck, porco, bertholdt. they'd all miss you.... right?

"we're the only ones who care, no one else cares," his grip tightens.

"want to know what that girl said," you hear the arrogance in his voice, and you can't do anything to stop it since he's buried your face in his chest.

"she said she was glad you were on vacation. she said that it was good that she didn't have to see you," yoy hiccup against his chest, pieck couldn't have said that, right?

he pulls away finally, satisfied at your expressionless face—if you overlook the tears. you can't give in, pieck would never say that. never in a million years would she say that, even if she hated your guts.

right?

levi comes back in, hands holding a tray that has teacups and a pot of tea on it. levi goes to the area with three chairs, setting the tray onto the coffee table and sitting himself down in one. erwin follows behind him, leaving the chair in between them open for you to sit.

they stare at you expectedly, it makes you uncomfortable so you decide to just deal with it and sit with them.

"what tea is this," erwin asks while levi pours everyone a cup.

"earl grey, what else do we have," levi hands a cup to erwin and then to you.

you hold it by the handle, silently admiring the cup's delicate and intricate design. you try to ignore the voice in the back of your head to break it on the ground and slash your neck open. you want to drink it too, it smells absolutely perfect, but if you hold it any longer you might just listen to that voice.

you set it back down, left hand immediately grabbing at your right wrist. you didn't trust yourself to make a move on your own, if you did you fear it might end up with a shard of glass at your throat.

erwin's ice eyes stare at your wrist and hand, taking in how your knuckles were white and the skin on your arm was reddening.

"just say if you want handcuffs," erwin sips at his tea and looks away.

"what," you flinch at his voice interrupting the quiet that was once there.

his comment has you looking at your hands, which you let go of at the sight of the irritation.

"sorry," you shrug and lean back in your chair.

"good. can't have you hurting your hands," levi comments, eyes staring outside of the bay window.

"speaking of that," you sigh, "why do you always leave my hands alone. you've shown no mercy to my arms, so why my hands?"

"when you're good enough, you'll be allowed to play the piano," erwin crosses a leg over the other, ankle resting on his knee.

"play? for who? there's no one in this empty house but us," you scoff and cross your arms.

"me. and there's more people here than you think," levi's giving you a small smirk, "you're just separated from them."

"it's hard to believe that you have friends, levi," you mumble loud enough for them to hear. your comment has erwin chuckling and levi rolling his eyes.

"i have friends, believe it or not. watch your attitude," he's putting his tea back onto the tray.

"i don't have an attitude," you sound like a child arguing with their parent.

erwin butts in the conversation before levi can get mad, "anyways, we will allow you to play if we think you've been good enough. levi likes the piano, remember?"

you bite down on your tongue to stop the words 'no but i remember getting kidnapped!!' from coming out of your mouth.

"when can i leave this room, it's too stuffy in here?"

"did you not just listen to erwin? he said when we feel you've been good enough. you've got to start by loosing the attitude," levi snaps his fingers irritatedly.

"how am i supposed to act?!"

"obedient," erwin's now standing over your chair, hands gripping the arms as he leans over you.

"like a dog," you look to levi at the sound of his voice, you try to make yourself smaller.

"you have on a chain and collar for a reason, don't you," erwin smiles gently, hand taking ahold of the chains while he stands up straight.

you choke when erwin tugs the chains towards himself, head knocking right against his stomach while the chains swing in the air and curl around his arm. his other arm swiftly grabs at jaw and forces you to look up at him with your chin pressed to his body.

erwin feels himself harden at the sight, your eyes are widened and your mouth his agape and panting because of the sudden cut off of air.

"just like that," he strokes his thumb along your jaw while you wonder what's caused a sudden change in him these past few days; he used to be so gentle. oh right, kidnapping.

his words have you turning hot, embarrassment hugging you from behind. it wasn't like you easily complied, you were forced to do so. you're also embarrassed because you can feel his hard-on against your sternum, and while you haven't thought about it before, you realize that erwin is fucking hung. you hope that you're not too good for them.

you're saying prayers in your head whenever levi speaks up, "i thought we came in here to watch a movie or something."

erwin lets you go, chains dropping from his arm as he does so. you sigh in relief as erwin grabs the remote from your bed and turns the tv on. you huff while you flop onto your bed and crawl up under your covers, knowing that you'll probably just fall asleep as you watch the movie.

unfortunately, this gives off the impression that you would like to be cuddled. levi's sliding under the covers with you, chest pressing against your back with arms wrapped around your waist. erwin follows soon after, inserting himself in your arms as he scrolls through the different movies at his disposal on the television. you're slightly frustrated at all of the physical contact, but you know that if you reject their advances it'll end up bad for you.

"put on heather's, please," you ask, which erwin obliges to.

as the movie goes on, you hope that they get the message.

you'll be veronica, and they'll be jd.

[julyarchives]

Tendae (텐데) || (M) Teach Me pt.4

You realized that Wooseok is the one person that can bring you comfort whenever you two are together, and the holiday spent alone with him only intensified the tingly feeling inside that scares you so much.

→ Pairing: Wooseok x Reader

→ Genre: Smut

→ Words:  4.5K

→ Contains: Smut; Friends To Lovers; Virgin!Wooseok; fingering; there is a small anxiety attack at the beginning; lots of touches; conflicted feelings

→ A/n: So, this chapter incorporates 2 requests that have been recently sent to us, thank you so much to the people who've done it, it was really nice to imagine Wooseok in these situations and turns out we are a sucker for him (can you blame us tho?). Anyway, we hope you guys like it! (Also, yes, the title is inspired by Bobby's song, because that has GOT to be their theme song, it's perfect)

→ Index: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

You tried to sleep, really. You put on some calming music and the tv was on to keep the room dim light but it was no use. Tossing and turning in bed was something that became a habit after you had to deal with your life choices. You got yourself in a really tiring situation, between babysitting your best friends and dealing with two simultaneous educational courses, you barely had time alone to just relax. To make it worse, the rain started to pour heavily outside and you sighed, it was only a matter of time for the nightmare to begin. Sometimes even you forgot how scared you were of thunder and storms, they didn't occur often and when it rained, it was light but you just knew that an anxiety attack was on the way when the first loud thunder resonated. Covering your head with the blanket, you sank into the mattress and wished for it to go away. There was only so much you could deal with by sighing and wishing for the best. The noises got louder and the light music was no longer catching your ears, tears now threatening to fall and your fear only growing bigger. It seemed like a couple of minutes went by you figured, even though it felt like hours to you and there was no sign of the storm stopping. A somehow even louder bang caught your attention and you jumped, how the hell did it thunder inside your room?

"Y/N?", a desperate whisper was heard by the door and you cautiously peeked from under the covers. Wooseok was standing by the door with a pillow under his arm and his hand holding his chest as if to catch his breath. "I was asleep, the thunder woke me up. Sorry it took me so long to come", he said, still whispering, maybe to not scare you even more.

You nodded without being able to speak, you just knew the tears would fall if you tried. Wooseok closed the door behind him and even jumped lightly when another thunder filled the room. That spurred him on, quickly moving to gently pry the blanket from your head and you scooted over, making room for him, only to have him settle quickly with his own pillow and pull the covers back up, covering both of your heads. He smiled sweetly at you and opened his arms in invitation, one which you gladly accepted. The moment your head was against his chest you cried, feeling protected like this after the overwhelmed fear you felt so strongly was too much and you felt Wooseok hugging you stronger. Your small sobs were barely audible because of the thunder but you knew he felt how your body moved as you cried and you were thankful he just hugged you in silence. You heard him hum to some tune and you wondered if he could hear the music you had put to sleep.

"Y/N?", Wooseok called you and you moved your head back to look at his face, "are you still crying?", as he asked it, you let out a sniff, making you both chuckle.

"Does that answer you?", your voice wasn't sounding normal and even then you knew it was okay because he understood it.

"I remember when I didn't get much screen time at a tv show and you found me crying in my room…".

You remembered that. It was at the beginning of the friendship, he was reserved and shy but when they guys showed up looking awkward and Wooseok just walked past everyone, you had to follow him. He was under the covers and you heard the small whimpers of crying and you didn't think twice, your instinct told you to slip into the mattress with him, you laid down to watch a wide-eyed Wooseok who was sniffing and trying to control his crying. You understood how he must have felt, not good enough because the editing and the hosts ignored him almost completely. You needed to show him he was so much more than that but he was too reserved for you to know what to do, so you just held him and he quickly hid his face in your neck and cried until he fell asleep. Since that you always shared a bed and got so much closer.

"I remember that too", you said, your crying slowing down. "I'm glad you let me stay that day". He sighed, holding you closer.

"I'm glad too". He shyly kissed the top of your head and went back to humming a song. Paying attention to the vibration of his chest and his warmth, you soon fell asleep even as it still poured outside.

Waking up was the hardest part since it was a while that you slept so well. Moving a bit you noticed that the blanket was no longer covering your head but Wooseok was still next to you, hand-holding close by the waist. He was soundly asleep and you sighed, torn between wanting to stay with him and needing to start your day. The struggle didn't last long as you needed to go to the bathroom, so you wiggled a bit so he could let go of you but you ended up being pulled closer against him, his hand possessive around you. He groaned in his sleep, displeased that you were moving and you chuckled silently, now taking his hand in yours to move it away from you. For a second you let your fingers intertwine and you smiled, a warmth you knew all too well invading your chest but as always, you decided to ignore it and move away.

The house was abnormally quiet and you did your morning hygiene quickly and surprisingly in peace. After choosing a comfortable slip-on dress, you got into the kitchen which was also weirdly empty. Usually, at least one person was rummaging around for snacks and you made sure to look around to search for any of the boys. As you made your favorite breakfast food and drink, you noticed the fridge covered in small notes in all different colors and shapes, each of them from one of the boys letting you and Wooseok know that they'd be out. Some would be traveling since it was a holiday, others would be visiting their families and you frowned, you didn't even know it was a holiday, studies were taking up most of your time and all you knew was your deadlines. Opening the group chat for the house, that featured all the boys, you typed a quick text wishing them a good holiday break and resumed eating.

After finishing, you slightly debated if you should go to your own home to study but with a sigh and a shy amused smile, you got up and went to the empty room they reserved for you so you grab your notebook. The boys going to the army was something not very pleasant but at least you got a bed and a room to yourself, lucky two of them went almost together.

You got inside quietly and tiptoed around the bed so as to not wake up the giant asleep on the bed, his feet almost completely out of it. Your backpack was at reach and you took it with you as silent as you could. With your back turned to the bed, you made sure to look twice to see if you forgot anything.

"Tell me you made breakfast", a raspy sleepy voice resonated behind you. You jumped and your backpack almost flew away from your hands.

"Don't do that, Wooseok! Warn me before talking!", he laughed at that, arm resting on his face.

"Sure, I'll squeak before talking so you don't get scared", he was fully laughing and you watched him fondly.

"Shut up", you slightly pouted and he sat upon the bed, moving so you could almost stand between his knees. "There is breakfast but I should eat it myself for that".

"I just woke up, Y/N. Give me a break", he smiled and gosh, wasn't he charming, hair all messy, voice deep from sleep, made you remember all the times you two shared touches, your cheeks feeling warm.

As if sensing where your mind was going, Wooseok slowly moved his arms and placed his hands on your waist, barely touching it. Your first answer was to drop the backpack and place your hands on his shoulders, moving closer. When he stretched his upper body, your body knew what to do before you even registered the action. You moved lower and your foreheads touched, such an intimate touch and yet so innocent. Both of you whispered good morning shyly and like waking up from a dream you almost flinched away, grabbing your things from the floor and clearing your throat.

"There's food ready. I'm gonna study, alright?", he nodded a bit stunned by your sudden change. "Everyone is away and it's just the two of us today", and with that, you walked away.

The morning went by without a single problem, you focused on your studies while Wooseok watched something with headphones or just played on his phone. Your only breaks were bathroom breaks and you were almost certain that you wouldn't even drink water if Wooseok didn't leave a bottle there every half hour.

Lunchtime came and you got up your chair to stretch and rummage through your phone, sitting next to Wooseok. Part of you noticed how there was a full empty large couch and two chairs available but you still sat on the two-seat couch thigh to thigh with him. You shook your head physically to get rid of these thoughts and quickly opened the food delivery app, nudging Wooseok to check it with you.

It wasn't a hard task to decide on lunch since you two knew what you liked and soon enough the food arrived. The small chit-chat was alien even to you and part of you knew that it was because you fled his embrace earlier. That scared you because even though you started whatever you two have it shouldn't be affecting you this much. Of course, he was your best friend and you knew everything about each other, and yeah, knowing a girl at work was coming onto Wooseok was bothering you and staying alone with him like this made you nervous like never before but hey, if you ran away it'd go away sometime, right?

After eating, Wooseok took care of the dishes and you laid on the big couch, closing your eyes for a moment to at least pretend everything was normal. After a few minutes of you being completely still, you felt a presence in the room and then the external lights went missing and the dark of your closed eyes got even darker. You opened one eye and fought back a smile to see Wooseok standing and looming over you curiously.

"What", you breathed out.

"Checking if you didn't die", he seemed serious and that made you crack, sitting up while laughing hard after he stepped back and he sat next to you, his arm going to your shoulder like it was natural. Did you two always do stuff like that? You weren't even sure but you let yourself enjoy the moment for a bit before going back to reality. "Seriously, you looked dead".

"That was my soul you were seeing", you smiled at his horrified face and you held it with both hands. "I'm joking, silly. I'm just too tired". Without thinking straight, the impulse to feel the moment was too strong and you left a peck on his mouth, quick and yet it made a small sound. "Gonna go study", you rushed over your words, getting up like a lightning bolt and running to the table. If you looked back, you could see a blush spreading on his face, him watching you, face torn between amusement and shock.

It wasn't before three hours went by that Wooseok showed up at the table you were studying on and threw a bag of chips on it.

"Not hungry", you mumbled, a very important part of the analysis you were writing was being refined and you were so close to finishing it that you barely looked up.

The sound of the chair next to you being pulled didn't bother you, neither did the sound of a bag being open. Somehow not even Wooseok sloppily placing a chip on your mouth didn't bother you either. What did bother you was his face showing up between you and the computer screen.

"Move!", you said rather loudly. He didn't answer and moved, thankfully. Some minutes went by and the chips kept coming for which you were thankful.

As you finished writing and started proofreading what you wrote, you felt the ghost of a hand touching your thigh. You frowned and looked at him, who was casually scrolling on his phone with the hand that was away from you, even though you noticed his cheeks being red. You took a deep breath and resumed reading, only to have your thigh gently squeezed by him.

"What are you doing?", you said through your teeth. Since when does he have the nerve to touch you like that?

"I'm checking my phone", he showed you his phone, looking at you as if you were crazy and his actions were obvious.

"Wooseok, I'm busy right now".

"Oh, I know, Y/N". The hand squeezed harder and you shuddered. Shit.

You decided to see how far he could take this and honestly how far could you rest it, so you just ignored it once again. Your mind was on the verge of shutting down but you were almost finishing so you pushed forward. All the time you read, his hand went further on your thigh, reaching your pelvis but not really touching you. It was driving you mad and the way he pretended he did nothing was somehow attractive.

When you finished reading and started closing the software, his hand got braver and touched you through your panties, rubbing lightly, long fingers teasing the extension of it. The tension of his hand on you this whole time was taking all your attention and you bit your lip to not smile as you closed everything. Truth is, there was no way you could focus on anything other than Wooseok with his hand on you like that and you knew how shy he was, so you read your work as sloppy as you could, not paying attention at all, just to make him stay a bit longer.

Your back fell on the chair and you groaned, his finger insistently massaging your clit through the panties. You looked at him then, his phone forgotten on the table, his other hand gripping his pants' leg enough to turn the knuckles white. His eyes were trained on you, his mouth slightly parted and breathing irregular. He looked as affected as you were and you were the one being touched, you reached to his nape and caressed the hair gently, hoping to get to him how grateful you were for him.

The action spurred him on, his hand moving to touch you inside the panties and that got you surprised. You'd be lying if you didn't think he never looked hotter than now, the hand caressing his locks now gripping it. He groaned when he felt how wet you already were for him and moved his hand harder on your clit, getting small whimpers from you. Your hips moved on their own accord, his other hand now touching himself above the pants and you noticed.

You snapped when he flicked your clit perfectly as he gripped his member and hissed, the stimulation being too much for you. Moving fast, you got his hand away from you and straddled Wooseok fast enough to surprise him. Luckily he caught on quickly and held you, hands firm on your ass. You kissed him with fervor, hands making a mess of his hair and it almost seemed like no matter how close you were it wasn't close enough.

You moved your hips almost too desperately and he matched your rhythm, giving as good as he got and you moaned, the whole thing too hot. All the times you two had together flashed through your mind and it only spurred you further, lust overpowering anything else.

"Y/N", he whimpered as you moved just right on top of him, his hips stuttering. "We can't do this here", he panted out.

You stopped and looked at him. His eyes were dark and he was out of breath, his hands never once relenting his grip on you, his hair was a mess and his lips were red and plump from kissing. The pang on your heart almost made you back out, get up and leave but his face was watching adoringly, also lust-driven, and he started leaving small kisses on your neck. You knew you lost the fight.

"Since when you know how to be so bold?", you chuckled and he followed, the humming feeling good on your skin.

"You taught me", was his simple answer, kissing your mouth gently. "We can go to my room if you want or we can go where you're sleeping".

"Your room. It'd be too weird to do this in Jinho's and Hui's room, right?", you smiled and he answered in kind, helping you get up at once and holding your hand during the walk upstairs.

You were very nervous out of a sudden and you didn't even know why. It wasn't your first time with anyone and you knew what you were doing. You taught him after all. But when you felt his hand slightly shake when you reached the room it finally dawned on you. If things went where you felt they would, it would be the first time with him. It would be his first time when it came to actual sex.

Wooseok opened the door and waited for you to enter so he could close and lock it behind you. Even though you were alone in the house, you knew it was better to be safe than sorry here. As you expected, he was nervous and stood there looking at you with his hands on his sides. You smiled fondly, your heart taking leaps on your chest and you touched his face gently.

"It's okay. It's just me". He smiled, kissing you slowly, savoring the moment just like you were. "We don't need to do anything else, reall-"

"I want it", he cut you off eagerly. Then he laughed shyly and gave you a peck. "If you want to, that is".

"Of course I do", you felt a sudden calm wash over you, and that made sense. Not knowing where stood and now having sure he wanted this as much as you made you feel better.

You took a step back and took your dress off, leaving you in your undergarments. He did the same seconds later, standing there in his underwear. Holding his hand, you took you both to his bed and since it was a tight fit, you laid him down and sat on top of him, gently laying down to kiss him and moved with it. That seemed to ease him into it again, this was something you did before and he excitedly followed, rubbing his hard member on your clothed core.

The moans coming out of your mouth were needier than you intended but your body needed him badly and you knew he was the same. You didn't waste time getting up and losing the rest of your clothes, staying naked in front of him. You fought your own shyness back as he stood again and took off his underwear. Wooseok stared at you for a second and then smiled, kissing you tenderly and laying back on the bed. You followed and laid next to him, touching him just like the first time, him nervously watching you only this time was during broad daylight and he was more confident, his own hands traveling across your body, feeling your breasts, your stomach, your arms, everywhere he could reach.

"Do you have any condom?", you whispered.

"Yeah, top drawer". Honestly, you didn't know what answer you expected but you raised your eyebrow at him as you got up to get it.

"Can I ask?", you said coming back.

"One of the guys gave it to me when a girl at work invited me out", Wooseok answered shyly, barely looking at you.

You scoffed and straddled him, letting his cock fit on your slick slit and you moved lightly.

"Too bad you'll be using it with me, isn't it?", you said with more intensity than you expected. "I heard about this girl before", you kissed his neck teasingly, he could stare at you and hold onto your waist. "What was she thinking? That she could take you away from me?", jealousy waking over, and even you were surprised. The first time you heard about the girl you got mad but apparently it was bottled up so nicely inside you that you only noticed now.

"N-no", he stuttered as you bit his neck, hips never stopping its movement. "I kept it because I wanted to use it with you". You stopped. Did he want to do this with you? Wooseok was hoping to get you alone and go all the way with you. It was different hearing it directly from him and you were stunned. He saw it and smiled, it was his turn to kiss you, his upper body more sat up than laying down. His hand caressed your cheek and he looked deeply into your eyes. "I want you".

You could have sworn time froze and your heart stopped. He was staring so intently at you that you felt frozen, only remembering to answer when he changed from intense to doubtful and you were quick to kiss him and hoped that the kiss would tell him everything you couldn't. After you came up for air, you quickly sat next to him and put the condom on for him, which he watched attentively.

"I want you on top of me", you said in a small voice. After all you said, somehow you felt pliant, needing his proximity to deal with it.

Wooseok obliged and you quickly adjusted on his bed, his frame towering over you. Your hands were on his face, thumbs caressing it gently while he supported himself in one hand and aligned himself with the other. You nodded when he faltered, waiting for your approval. As he entered you, two things were registered by your lust hazed brain. The first one was how deliciously he stretched you, you enjoyed his dick before but now you just knew you were doomed. The second one was how lost in pleasure he already looked when he got inside inch by inch. He was dragging the movement to get inside, going slowly and you didn't think it was for you. His mouth was open and a long groan escaped him.

He looked at you a bit desperate, needing to move as quickly as you'd let him and you almost chuckled. You settled for a smile and moved your hips up, indicating he could move. He started slow, going almost completely out before thrusting inside hard. His pace was driving you mad, hands now roaming on his back while his face was buried on your chest, kissing and licking his way all over it.

You endured it as much as you could because it was so good and he seemed so lost in pleasure but it got unbearable and with a hushed "please go faster" you pleaded. Usually, you were vocal during sex but somehow you were so lost in pleasure and in feeling his body all over yours, his cock moving so perfectly inside that you seemed lost for words. Wooseok quickly changed his pace with a grunt and his noises started to come out. Your mouth was open while you tried to keep your eyes open as well but failed many times. You could see he was trying the same but more often than not he got lost in your chest or closed his eyes in pleasure.

You knew neither of you would be able to last longer and it felt like heaven to feel him getting closer to his orgasm with you, his body moving fast and him gripping the sheets while he supported himself on his upper arms. You were sure his back had a few scratches because it was just too good to know you were marking him, his noises while you did that didn't help at all. Wooseok didn't need to say anything to you. Neither you did to him, you were in sync even then and he gave you space to touch your clit, which you gladly did. He tried to warn you but he couldn't, he came with a shout mid-sentence, body trembling as much as yours. Your orgasm followed his, watching him being too much to handle and the overstimulation was perfect.

You two kept moving even after, riding off both of your highs, and all the while you stared at each other's eyes. His stare was so full of feeling that you felt breathless a bit, you closed your eyes, relying on your orgasm to blame if he asked, even if you knew he wouldn't. He awkwardly laid next to you because he could barely fit and you laughed, moving to the side so he could fit. Wordlessly he took the condom out and tied it, placing it next to the bed and you made a mental note to not forget that there.

Laying facing each other you didn't know what to say so you giggled, amused, nervous, and happy at the same time and so did he, possibly for the same reasons. Wooseok moved so you could lay on his chest and so you did, even though you wiggle up in the bed to lay your head on top of the pillow, body seeking support on his. You kept staring at each other until he moved to give you a peck and a small nudge nose to nose. Butterflies invaded your stomach and you felt yourself holding on for dear life inside.

"Do you feel as fucked as I am?", Wooseok said.

"What sense of the word are we talking here, Wooseokie?", you laughed with him.

"You know what I'm talking about. You know, the stares and stuff", his way with words made you smile. You were thankful you didn't feel it alone.

"Yeah, then I feel as fucked as you are…", you kissed him and caressed his hair again, earning a noise almost like a purr.

"Hm. What do we do?", he asked while caressing your hair as well.

"I don't know. Decide what's for dinner?".

"Easy. Pizza", he answered naturally and you snuggled closer.

"Then what we do is call the pizza place". You said quickly and he agreed with a hum. "But now we nap".

"Nap first, pizza later", he said almost asleep and honestly you were the same, the atmosphere too cozy and nice to not succumb to sleep. Maybe you were fucked but at least you were with your adorable dork.

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 30

First time reader click here

TRIGGER WARNING! This chapter is a horror movie. There's blood, gore and psychological horror elements. Lemme know if it was actually scary - I'm desensitized to this shit. This was written to come out on Halloween but I was too slow with writing.

Wooden floor creaking behind me, I couldn't feel the cold of it, not even a single splinter piercing the arches of them, I ran like my life depended on it. The darkness behind me was alive; it breathed, pulsated, spreading along the walls of the hallway like mold. The hallway seemed to be endless.

As soon as I realized that, I noticed that it, in fact, did have an end and not a door was in sight; that quickly proved to br also just a trick of the eye - there were doors, the hallway was riddled with them, each one dark, identical and placed neatly about five feet apart. With shaking hands, I turned the knob, slamming the door behind me with a loud bang.

Panting, I let myself slide against the door, eyes closed, sheet landing in a puddle of white fabric on the floor around me. First five seconds passed quietly; then, a noise interrupted my panicked thinking and my eyes flew open as the scene in front of me produced more confusion.

The familiar scene of the pond behind my grandparents' stables, the poppies - a splash of blood red against the dull greens and browns - swaying in the breeze. A Dora the Explorer bucket hat and a six-year-old me, hair in pigtails, poking at a spot of moist soil with a large stick.

I knew where this was going yet I couldn't pull my eyes away from the scene that was going to unfold. A stallion my parents had recently bought, ill-tempered and moody, jumping over the low fence and galloping noisily right at mini-me. The terrified animal was screaming yet I was oblivious to it's distress, too busy trying to fish out earthworms out of the wet ground. Almost in slo-mo, mini-me noticed the running, screaming animal and bolted for safety, its hooves missing my little body barely by a feet.

I felt the cold water of the pond on my skin. It was dirty and blooming at the time, musky smell assaulting my senses, murky water choking the life out of both versions of me. In the distance, I noticed a much younger and slimmer dad sprinting full-speed towards the splashing child in the pond. He was screaming something and I leaned in, trying to hear him better.

The scene vanished into thin, wispy smoke. My head was once again clear and the suffocating dread and panic subsided, letting me take in several deep breaths and try to assess the situation calmly. I had survived that accident, even successfully overcame my fear of swimming later on.

Hands shaking and heart fluttering like a frightened bird, I recoiled from the locked door when it began to rattle, the noise deafening in the eerie quiet of the house.

The shadows were taunting me. Trapping me in my worst fears, making me relive my worst memories. The artifact needed something from me - what was it? I wondered, tucking the sheet in some semblance of a toga and standing up to explore the room. Save for a few outdated pieces of furniture, it was cold and empty, void of life. Nowhere to hide.

I paced the room, coming to a halt next to the heavy, thick velvet curtains. Expecting to see a window behind them, I was surprised with another old wooden door with a bent handle that had gathered an impressive layer of dust. With rattling behind me increasingly growing in volume, I had no other option but to press it down and quickly dart into the next dark room.

Clint. Lifeless eyes wide open, his body laying at my feet, sheet-white and rust coloured stains adorning his mouth, nails black and broken as if he'd been clawing at the dilapidated wooden floors. I backed away from him, further into the room - the archer's body began to move and tremble, tiny little gashes appearing on every inch of exposed skin. The thing that was breaking out of him glowed, pale blue and sickly.

"That's not..." I whispered to myself. "Clint is alive," As if I had been doused with cold water, the images of MAFS incident seeped into my mind, the what-ifs of my past actions weighing heavily and clouding my mind with guilt.

"Come on, we don't have much time," Steph's voice appeared behind my back, loud and out of nowhere. I was rightfully sceptical about the reality of him - while his face was the usual, tense expression of boredom, he stood differently. I couldn't describe the difference if I tried; it just felt wrong. Like a puzzle piece was missing.

"I don't think so, demon dude," Squaring my shoulders once again, I prepared myself for the inevitable pain.

"Who?" The copycat asked, faking concern surprisingly well. "It's the artifact. It's making you see things that aren't real," With a wave of his hand, the door flew open, exposing the hallway filled with the void that was chasing me previously.

"Oh what I saw was real alright," I countered, tilting my head to examine the entity. Unknowingly, it had given itself away - Stephen's magic always glowed gold and orange, in the sense that he wasn't like Loki - Strange's spells were always visible. "I'd rather you kill me then spread your vile disease beyond this... Space," With none of the bravery I actually had, bluff came surprisingly easy. Perhaps, I really was ready to die so my friends and family could live.

Not-Stephen tsked and grinned maliciously, once again waving his hands about. "Killing you? So barbaric and an absolute waste of potential." The shadows pushed something into the gaping hole of the doorway, something curled up in a fetal position and whimpering. The entity picked up the man by the shoulders, forcing him to kneel in front of it, teary baby browns staring back at me, wide with terror.

Tony. My feet took an involuntary step forward, where my Tony was trembling, whimpering in the creature's grasp, unseeing eyes looking straight forward. As if I wasn't there.

"Submit and I will let him go. Right now, he's relieving the worst memories of his life," The entity raised an eyebrow, a mock imitation of Stephen's expression. I could hear Tony mumbling faintly, something about his chest and Afghanistan and bombs and Obadiah.

It pissed me off. Firstly, how dare this wannabe-Pennywise, this LOST-fog-monster-reject to lay his filthy metaphysical fingers on my Tony. And secondly, for the sloppy intelligence job - I had been woken up by Tony's nightmares more than enough to know his biggest fear wasn't Afghanistan. It wasn't Obadiah and it wasn't Bucky killing his parents, it wasn't even the vast, consuming black emptiness of the space behind the wormhole.

Anger burning my throat, I lunged at not-Stephen with a bloodcurdling scream, feeling my nails dig into the cold, clammy flesh of the thing's throat. Taken by surprise, both of us stumbled, falling into the abyss of the hallway, me kicking and scratching and screaming all the way, fingers squeezing deeply into the lifeless imitation of flesh. His screams mixed with mine and Tony's into a shrieking cacophony.

The darkness was laughing, cackling, noise sharp like nails on a chalkboard. It hurt, but the thing's grip on me hurt even more. "He'll never love you like you expect him to. They don't care about you. The mage said he'd help you and now you're dying here, alone," Black smoke began leaking out of the impostor's mouth along with the words, both acrid and venomous.

My head was pounding as more and more of the stuff came into contact with my body. My vision swam, bordering on unconsciousness. "If I'm dying, I'm taking you with me, bitch," I screamed out, squeezing and squeezing and squeezing until I exploded together with my surroundings, in a short of white, blinding light.

And then, there was darkness. My limbs were once again filled with concrete, mouth dry and skin burning like I'd been branded with a hot iron.

I opened my eyes to the familiar sight of the room with the fireplace. The fire was roaring, crackling and and shooting noisy sparks, accompanied by heavy breathing to my left. Disregarding the nausea that followed my every movement, I hung my head over the side of the car coming to witness both sorcerers laying haphazardly on the floor, a thin river of blood seeping into the carpet from Wong's head.

Confused, disoriented and terrified, I called out for them, voice barely audible and terse. Had I been screaming?

The sorcerers' chests rose and fell rapidly; my panic subsided but not by much. I crawled out of the cot only to land ungracefully on my face, body refusing to cooperate and feeling about as well as after I'd ran a marathon. Inch by inch, I crawled over to the chair I had left my things on, fighting with my body for every movement I made.

Fumbling, l pulled out my phone and pressed the green call button on the one person one would call in this situation. My best friend.

"Yes, dear?" His baritone was tense but nonetheless calm.

"Help, some-something happened," I managed to say, no louder than a whisper. "Sanctum," I clarified, hearing a noise of things falling over and several distressed voices shouting in the background.

"I am coming, do not end the call," Loki replied immediately, barking out several commands I didn't quite catch. There were more noises of distress as I obediently stayed on the phone. "Darling, can you tell me what happened?"

"I- Killed?" I tried to articulate my thoughts, tongue becoming more and more uncooperative by the second.

"Oh my God, who's dead?!" I heard Bruce yell, probably, right in Loki's ear.

"The Thing," I clarified, hoping to calm him down.

Loki cursed in his native language, I heard him trying to wrestle the phone from someone - unsuccessfully so, I might say, as Tony's distraught voice was the next thing I heard. "Princess, listen to me. Are you okay? Where's Strange? We're gonna be there in 10 minutes. We're coming."

An avalanche of information for my overtaxed brain and aching body, I struggled to keep up with Tony's rambling and filtering out Loki's screeching in the background. So much noise. My head hurt. "No, Steph and Wong are down. Alive." I managed to convey the most important part, a terrified sob leaving my chest burning. "Please, talk," I begged Tony, not wanting to be left in that terrifying, consuming silence ever again.

And Tony talked. He babbled nonstop, things that I didn't really catch neither care about, having enough strength to give a hum of approval every few seconds or so. It appeared to be as calming to him as it was to me, I didn't hear any more complaints from the team, only brief increase in volume as one of them got closer to the phone. A part of me conceded I should've made at least one joke about being put on loudspeaker, however, my brain was exhausted.

Burnt out, rather. The emptiness settled in my bones, chilly, like the blood had been sucked out of me, making my body just a vessel for the darkness that stalked my nightmares. I dug my nails into the soft flesh of my bare thigh, feeling none of the pain, just the relief when blood seeped through the cuts, crimson and warm.

That's how they found me. Loki threw open the door, breaking one of the hinges, eyes immediately darting between me and the laying sorcerers, as he swiftly cast a bright golden spell on the room, warming us from the inside out. Carefully stepping over the two men, Loki kneeled in front of me, green eyes staring right into mine.

I heard cursing and thudding but all I could focus on was the shining emerald of Loki's eyes. "Oh, child," He whispered, reaching out with both arms to pull me into his chest. I couldn't have resisted even if I wanted to, my body was utterly drained of fight.

"What happened?" Tony asked, a hysterical pitch to his voice.

"I can assume there was a failsafe left behind by the artifact, it took out both sorcerers and attempted to finish the job it started," Loki spoke up, hand gently petting my hair, still clutching my limp body like I was dying. "She fought it off, I don't know how, but she fought it off. It has entered a dormant state again."

"What do you mean took them all out?" In his distress, Tony seemed to have lost all sensibility. "What happened to her?!" He was getting impatient, angry.

"With an artifact like that, it's a blessing they are still alive. It is ancient and unpredictable," Loki explained patiently, none of his usual vitriol present. "And she... You could say she was mind-raped," He stated, quieter.

I groaned in protest. Loki's spell of gold did what felt like a wonder: the light was slowly coming back into the room, into me, filling me with warmth I didn't know I could lack. "As if," I slurred. "As if that Pennywise wannabe could ever," My body was, nonetheless, exhausted. "I've swallowed more kids than he could ever," My eyelids dropped, the comforting noise of Tony's and Loki's combined chuckle amplifying the surplus of warmth within me.

Last thing I saw was Tony's watery smile, tears crinkling at the corners of his eyes as he lifted me from Loki's arms, hot rod red of his suit saturating the room with color. Feeling safe for the first time in what felt like forever, I let my eyes close voluntarily, a smile crawling onto my face. I was right. Tony was alright, it wasn't really him that was getting tortured in the nightmare-verse.

"What..." I heard Stephen croak from somewhere. "Baby?!" His voice raised a whole octave; Thor's fond chuckle followed the rustling of fabric and a few stronger choice words from the sorcerer as Loki briefed everyone on the situation at hand.

"How is she, Tones?" Bruce asked quietly from above me.

"Pretty out of it but on her way back to health," Tony replied with another watery laugh. "Cracking jokes and whatnot clownery."

Bruce exhaled in relief, stroking my face with the side of his fingers. It was almost palpable, the general atmosphere of respite in the room, the sudden free flow of oxygen to my lungs.

"I am so sorry," Stephen's whisper was more felt than heard by me; the spice of his cologne and copper of blood reached my nostrils, burning them, keeping the warmth from leaving my body ever again.

My fingers weakly held out to him, finally coming to grasp his more-than-usual shaking hand. "Not your fault," I breathed. "Persistent cursed box," Were my last words before my consciousness gave out. Sleep sweet sleep.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps ​@pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby @cutenessloading @romeo-the-cactus @jelly-fishy-babie @mikariell95

[amane-by-together]

Hanafuda || Amane Yugi

(Part 2 of 10)

genre: fluff, school, slice of life, modern au (where all wonders live)

warnings: cursing, grocery puns

summary: amane yugi spends his school days skipping classes until he meets [name] [surname], a student from the other class, who was also skipping classes and eventually the two of them formed a platonic friendship. cutting classes and playing hanafuda together strengthens their friendship but soon unexpected feelings blossom between the two.

[name], for the first time in weeks, finally decided to take just one class for the sake of her attendance. In Amane's case, he almost forgot where he was seated but thankfully he remembered that he sat behind Yashiro Nene.

“Why the hell do I have to go to class, cheese and fucking fries.” [name] grumbled under her breath. “Just one whole class for this day and the rest I'll skip,”

“[surname]-san!” [name] frowned at her guy classmate (or does she even remember him) who was standing in front of the entrance blocking her way. “It's a rare thing for you to come to class.”

“Mind your fucking business you person I don't bother to remember.” [name] wore a distasteful expression to the guy so that he will know that she ain't interested in playing with him. “First thing in the morning and I'm already pissed as hell.”

[name] lazily made her way to her designated desk and sits down. Everyone stared at [name], who was currently confused why they had their eyes on her. She suddenly became uncomfortable. “What?” she said in a cold tone. “The fuck are you all looking at?”

In fear, everyone turned their heads back and continued what they were doing. [name] rolled her eyes, she didn't have any time to deal with their shit.

‘I'm gonna go out after lunch, I hope Amane-kun was there, otherwise it'll be lonely...’ [name] rests her cheek on top of her palm, looking at the board with an unamused expression. ‘I've been hanging out too much with Amane-kun, if only we're both classmates—’

“[surname]-san.” [name]'s thoughts were interrupted by her teacher's voice. She tilted her head waiting for another word. “Someone wanted to see you.”

‘Who tf—?’ The annoyed female stood up from her chair, she let out a small sigh. Who would want to see [name] in the middle of the class? Well maybe that someone would return something to her, the thing is, she didn't lent anything amongst the hundreds of students in the school. Then, who could it be?

“Sir, may I ask who?”

“Yugi from Class A.”

[name] blinked. “P-pardon?”

“He wants to give you something.” [name] swore she saw the teacher smirk at her. The whole class looked at [name] again but this time they were mentally teasing her.

Tsukasa's eyes widened in pure shock, he glanced over to [name] and smiled brightly. “[name]-chi is Amane's girlfriend?”

And soon everyone started to fangirl loudly. [name] facepalmed really hard muttering “Shut the fuck up.” under her breath multiple times. Her ears started to burn because of embarrassment. “You all must be mistaken.” she chuckled nervously. “We're not dating.”

“Hmm, then explain why I always saw you two together during lunch?” Tsukasa asked with a teasing glint in his eyes. [name]'s eye twitched in annoyance now that the younger twin seems to be supporting the idea of she and Amane being together.

“Uh, can I go now?” [name] pointed at the door wincing to escape the situation. “I can't let him wait that long.” She walked out of the classroom and saw Amane waiting for her outside with his hands on his back. Was he hiding something?

“Amane-kun.” The said boy had his head perked up to her direction, [name] went over to him and shot her hand up. “Yo.”

“Why is everyone staring at us?” Amane pointed at his finger towards the group of classmates peeking over to the two teens.

“Don't mind them.” [name] swats her hand. “Anyways, why did you call me?”

Amane gave her a small paper bag. [name] blinked twice and gently grabbed the bag. “What's this?”

The choppy haired boy's cheeks turned red and started talking in pout while looking away. “It's a bracelet...” he murmured. “They're matching bracelets, I'm currently wearing mine.”

“You bought this for me?” [name] resisted the urge to hug Amane, if only her classmates weren't watching her. She smiled, pink dusted upon her cheeks. “Thanks Amane-kun.”

“I-It's no big deal, really, but I'm glad you like it.” Amane sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck while grinning.

[name] placed her hand on his shoulder, stood on the tips of her toes slightly and whispered something on his ear. “By the way do you want to skip classes after lunch?”

“I kinda plan to do that so I guess it's a yes.” Amane whispered back at her.

“Yeah, we're definitely skipping again.”

The two of them broke down in a fit of giggles as they pulled away from each other. “Hey [name], do you have plans later?” he asked.

“Not really, why'd you ask?”

Amane's cheeks started to burn again, he gained a little confidence and looked at [name] in a flustered state. “Well, why don't we go somewhere else after school? Just the two of us?”

“Of course.” [name] answered. Amane let out a sigh of relief and smiled back at his female friend.

“I gotta go back to class.” Amane patted her shoulder before dashing off towards his classroom. “I'll see you later!”

“You too,” [name] had her hand slightly raised up. She let out a small chuckle and looked at the paper bag. “Amane-kun, you really are a wonder...”

She quickly switched back to her aloofness and glared at her classmates. “The fuck are you all looking at?” she asked as her classmates hurriedly went over to their desks. “Honestly, when will they learn not to meddle in a private conversation.” she murmured right before she entered the classroom

“I don't fucking get this projectile motion.” [name] was in a state of existential crisis remembering the physics lesson that they tackled during class. “Did I really skip that much?”

“In my case I only understood Earth and Life Sciences.” Amane changed his school shoes and placed them inside his shoe locker. [name] waited for him, placing her hand on her waist and whistled a little bit. After that the two of them started to walk next to each other. “[name]-san, did you notice that everyone was staring at you?”

“You didn't think it was you who they were staring at?” [name] scratched her head, her silver bracelet was twinkling against the sunset.

“Nope.” Amane answered. “It's definitely you, must be because you're pretty.”

[name] lets out a weird sound of disbelief and shock. Amane stopped on to his tracks as he realized what he had said. “I-I mean, yeah you are pretty, n-not gonna lie t-though.” he stuttered with a blush forming on his visuals.

“S-sorry.” It was [name]'s turn to blush, she looked down on her feet as her bangs were covering her eyes. “I-It's just no o-one h-has ever called me p-pretty before.”

“I-I always f-find you pretty so...” Amane can feel his whole face burning like embers. The two of them made eye contact and it felt like time had stopped between them. “If you like, I'll gladly call you pretty everyday...”

“Amane...” [name] covered her whole face to muffle her words. She felt so flustered and she didn't know what to do. Amane averted his gaze from her and blushed. “Screw you—”

“I'm sorry but I'm not lying.” Amane cleared his throat, an evident blush was still on his cheeks. “Let's go to the mall, do you want to eat some donuts?”

“Yeah dude!” [name] tries to lighten up the mood so that it wouldn't be awkward anymore. To be fair, Amane was on the attractive side in her opinion, she doesn't really find herself pretty but people have different perspectives anyways.

[name] wouldn't deny it though, Amane has nice visuals and...hands, they looked really soft and warm, she sometimes imagine what would it be like if they held hands. Other than that, he is an affectionate and sweet, then he turns into a sadist and a tease sometimes. “I never got to ask you this [name]-san but are you going out with someone?”

“I never had a boyfriend or a girlfriend.” [name] replied. “No one really confesses to me at some point so basically I'm single, must be nice having one though..” she mumbles the last part.

“I guess everyone must be blind...” Amane muttered to himself before walking ahead, leaving [name] clueless, and then she catched up next to the choppy haired boy.

“Amane-kun, I hope you don't mind but I'm gonna buy some groceries along the way.” [name] puts her hands behind her back. “After that, we can get some donuts and roam around.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Amane reluctantly agrees with her. [name] wrapped an arm around his shoulders and grinned as he uttered an 'oof' from his lips.

“I love your gift by the way.” [name] raised her wrist in front of Amane to show her that she's wearing the bracelet. Her eyes widened in joy and pointed out the matching bracelet around his wrist. “And we're matching~!”

But then [name] flicked his forehead. “Ow!” Amane held his forehead while slightly whimpering. “That hurts.” he pouted. [name] let out a plfft sound from her lips, she reached over to rub his throbbing forehead.

“That's for excusing me out of class and my classmates started to tease me that you're my boyfriend.” she chuckled, then she switches to an annoyed tone. “Then your brother called me Nee-san just to tease me.”

Amane stifled a laugh. [name] puffed her cheeks at him angrily. “Oi! It's not that funny!” she harrumphed. She looked like an angry pouting mochi rather than an angry person.

“Hmm~?” Amane cheekily smirks at the latter, he leaned next to her to continue teasing her. “Nee-san~?”

“Don't call me Nee-san you idiot!” An irk mark appears on the side of [name]'s forehead as she reached over to pinch his cheek. “Honestly, you're such a tease.”

“Only for you~” Amane ruffles her hair making it messier than it is. [name] sighed asking how the hell did she end up being friends with Amane who is one hell of a tease.

After a few minutes of teasing and cheek pinching, the two teens arrived at the mall. [name] and Amane went to get some groceries first. “All of these bananas but you can't even notice my peelings.” [name] faked a sniff while putting the bunch of bananas inside the basket that Amane was holding.

“I don't understand why you needed six cans of sprite, can't you buy 7up instead?” [name] silently wheezed as she smacked his shoulder, earning a laugh from Amane.

“Shut up, I don't have—thyme for that.” [name] puts some spices inside the basket. She grabbed some bread from the bread aisle. “I also knead bread too.”

“I also have a grocery joke but aisle tell it later.” Amane added while laughing. [name] bursted out giggling, clutching on to her stomach. “Okay we better stop, the old couple beside us were giving looks of suspicion.”

“O-kale then.” [name] and Amane entered one of the aisles. “Grate minds think alike.”

“Do you live alone [name]?” Amane asked all of a sudden. He doesn't know any much about [name]'s family or background, heck, he doesn't even know if she had siblings.

“I live with Yako-neesan and my little brother.” [name] places some products inside the basket. “Why?”

“Just asking.”

“You seem curious about my family background.” [name] laughs softly while putting two carton of milk in the basket. “My parents are both abroad, my little brother and I lived in Yako-neesan's apartment, which is our cousin.”

“You're an older sibling?”

“Well yeah,” [name] beckoned Amane to follow her to the next aisle. “Maybe you can come over and play with him, he doesn't mind talking to older guys.”

“Did I mention that he wanted to meet you though?” [name] tilted her head towards his direction with a pack of strawberries on her hand. “You two will definitely get along.”

“What was Tsukasa like in class if I may ask?” Amane asked again, sure, even though the younger twin has a life of his own, he can't help but to be concerned with him.

“How the fuck should I know?” [name] raised her eyebrows and tossed the pack of strawberries in the basket. “I skipped a lot of classes so I didn't really pay attention to Tsukasa-kun.”

“It's like you skipped a lot than I did.” Amane sheepishly chuckles but he deadpanned afterwards. “But I can't get a damn thing about Maths.”

“I think we crossed the whole list.” [name] tells Amane with a thumbs up. The two of them went to the lane with few people. [name] whipped out her wallet when it was her turn to check in. “Omigod. Do I really have to carry them all?”

“I could help you carry them.” Amane suggests. [name]'s heart suddenly skipped a beat, she nodded slowly meaning that she needed his help to carry them.

“There sure were a lot of people in the donut shop.” [name] sighed in a low spirited tone while holding the paper bag filled with donuts. Currently, Amane and [name] were eating donuts with their backs against the wall. “Here's yours Amane-kun.”

Amane took a bite of the plain donut and started munching on it. They were freshly cooked so that's why it tasted good. “So [name], are you going to class tomorrow?”

“I was gonna plan to attend one whole class in one week.” [name] answers while eating her cream-filled donut. Truth to be told, she didn't feel guilty about skipping classes, it was only her escape from pressure and stress in school. “How about you?”

“I guess I'll skip tomorrow.” Amane took out a piece of his donut and showed it to [name]. “Want some?”

“Sure. Thanks.” [name] opened her mouth waiting for Amane to plop the piece of donut inside her mouth. He blushed at the thought of his fingers might brush against her lips. Amane plopped the bite inside her mouth which [name] ate it gratefully. “Here have some of mine in exchange.” she says while handing him the donut.

Amane takes a bite of the cream-filled donut. He glanced over to [name] and saw that there's a bit of cream near her lips. “Hold on,” he pointed at her face. “Um, you got some cream on the side of your lips.”

“Huh? Here?” [name] pointed at her face. Amane shakes his head since she can't see where he was pointing. He sighed and reached over to wipe the cream off her lips using his thumb and quickly licked it.

Amane smirked slyly at her. “The cream does taste good.” he said in a playful way. [name]'s face grew red at the sudden action that he did, he decided to tease her a little bit so he moved his face closer to hers. “You seem a little flustered~ hmm~?”

[name] leaned back and averted her gaze from him. “Well, that looked like an indirect kiss.” she protested while pouting slightly. Amane let out a light chuckle and smiled.

“Sorry, I can't help but to tease because you're so cute.” He said with a slight smirk and he reached over to lightly pinch her cheek. “Your cheeks are red~”

“Ok, that's enough.” [name] pried his hand off her cheek and rubs it a little. Amane stares at her in a lovestruck awe, the way she blushes and pouts made him feel like he just wanna hold her protectively in his arms. “I finished my donut, let's get going now.”

The two of them got out of the mall. The skies were as pink overlayed with an orange color that the sun was setting. Amane stared at [name]'s hand, he blushed at the thought of hold it. “[name]-san...” he came to a halt.

“Yeah?” [name] said.

“Can...I...?” Amane looked down while mumbling incoherently. [name] tilted her head in confusion as he waits for him to speak. Amane must have looked like a strawberry right now. His eyes meet hers as he gains a bit of confidence. “C-Can I hold your hand?!” he asked with a hint of embarrassment.

[name]'s cheeks turned red at the sudden request. She stared at her own hand and then his hands, for some reason his hand looked warm. “T-that was a strange thing to ask, I'm sorry—” Amane swats his hand in denial.

“Sure...”

“I'm sorry, what?” Amane's eyes widened. [name] turned away from him and blushed intensely, he looks at her hand. “You don't mind right? Me holding your hand...?”

“Mhmm...” [name] brushes her hand against his so that Amane would know that it's okay to hold her hand. Amane laced their hands together, tenderly holding her hand. [name] can hear her heartbeat hammering inside her chest. “You really like being coddled, huh?”

‘Her hand feels soft.’ Amane looked at their hands linking with each other. ‘They fit so perfectly with mine...’

“Shall we continue?” Amane asked with a shy smile. [name] hummed in agreement as the choppy haired boy gripped on to her hand softly, grinning at the female. “Let's take you home then~”

The two teens started walking together hand in hand, feeling each others warmth till the tips of their very own fingers. Amane mumbled something under his breath.“I love you,”

“Eh?” [name] didn't quite hear what Amane just mumbled.

“I meant your hands!” Amane blushed that he accidentally slipped that out but thank god she didn't hear it. “I love your hands——They're really cute!”

“Well your hands are pretty much gorgeous than mine, you have long fingers...” [name] raised their intertwined hands together in front of Amane and smiled softly. “See, our hands pretty much fit together.”

“Yeah...” Amane smiled contently, hoping that this moment will never end. If [name] continues to act like this around him,

Then, he would most likely to fall for her even more.

-end of part 2-

thank you for reading, be sure to like and reblog if you love this part~!

taglist: @closetwaffle @closetweebsmh

[bettabluetown]

~A Memory Away ~

(since I don't feel like making a new ao3 account, I'm just gonna post this stuff here. Oh btw, I tried something a little different with the perspective since I haven't written in forever. Another side note, the reader is non-binary.)

[tw: mentions of suicide]

Ch.1

With every breath, pain followed. Blood spilled into the soft blanket of snow beneath torn boots. Vision blurry, nose bleeding, fingernails encrusted with red and speckled with dirt.

The crash.

Dry, drawn out heaves echoed into the breeze. Air kissing every open wound-- their right leg ripped and mangled making it unrecognizable. Snow buried into a fingerless, burgundy oozing hand as it grasped at the ground. Every blink becoming more and more unbearable as the hole where an eye used to be started to fester and burn.

The man.

Ice cloaked stones pressed into aching feet. Sensitive, bruised skin flinching with each tickle of scarce grass. Another bated breath. Another slow, painful movement. Steady.

The journal.

Control. Breathe. Blades of dead grass had brushed under each and every tear. The closest thing to comfort being the chilly touch of wind caressing exposed flesh. They closed their eyes; death was on the horizon, they were ready to give up. They felt trapped, wanting to let go but the fear of what came after made them hold on.

A house appeared just a few inches away. Its door torn off the hinges and buried in dirt. They approached cautiously, stumbling inside and slamming against the interior. Old wooden, abandoned walls propped them up, the fingerless hand hugging the violently ripped apart muscle and tissue that was once their leg. They were lost, far from home, no memory of why or how they ended up in such a place. Dying. All that barely scratched the front of their brain were recent events. The car crash. The man and his chains. The journal.

Agony and anger ran through their veins, knuckles paling, palms bleeding from too much pressure. They gritted their teeth, banging the wall in defeat with a clenched fist. No one wants to die...Not like this anyways.

Soft, warm, tear drained lids slowly closed. The cold had never felt so welcoming like it did in that moment. Giving up wasn't so...bad, if the pain went away then maybe...something clicked in the distance. Loud static echoed in the withering house they sat in. The sound of a radio buzz and a cleared throat snapped their (working) left eye open.

It felt like a fever dream. Some kind of strange saw scenario that they just so happened to get stuck in the middle of. Something began to rumble through; a thunderous, exhausted, showy voice crackling out of the speaker.

"You're tough kid, I'll give you that." The audio stuttered, the sound peaking every so often. The voice that grated pass the radio sounded tired and pained, a forced theatrical tone painted over it.

"You know, I thought you were as good as dead when mega bitch got her hands on you." The voice, it was clearly a man's; It was rough and sounded like it hadn't been used in ages. They suddenly grew worried, the realization that someone or something was watching their every step. "Wh-who..-" They groaned out, the words coming out more painfully than they expected, deciding it'd be better to cut the question short. The decrepit floorboards had creaked with each movement; wood groaned as they assiduously dragged their body to the other side.

Their bloody fingers collided with the desk, smacking the surface as they tried to reach for the radio.

Everything hurt, each bone cracked and shifted; blood had flowed like a river in a storm. A harsh wind hit the decaying house, their body cringed from the chill, a whimper escaping ice cold lips.

"I'm feeling generous, pipsqueak." it sounded like he talked with a grin, like this whole situation was just a normal event for the week; "Make it towards the woods just past that little village you're in and follow the trees with yellow paint. Quite simple isn't it?" Exhaustion and panic grew in the pit of their stomach from those words. The sick game that the man was trying to play illustrated a terrible outcome.

"I- how can I tr-trust you?" An amused chuckle ensued, a pleased response followed. "Well I'll leave that to you, trust is a gamble after all." His smile could be heard with each word that passed him. "Remember, follow the trees with yellow paint..there should be a little surprise waiting for you there." The radio crackled, static cutting abruptly, the sound of his entertained chortle faded with the noise. The silence waded in like the snow outside.

Small clouds of warm breath pushed through purpled, frozen lips; teeth grinding against one another. It took one step--one movement and then the motor could start. Sliding up the wall, they whimpered and held down the anguished groans that were desperate to break free from the confines of their throat. Blood spilled down their chin, dull teeth Nibbled in concentration, the soft flesh of their mouth breaking. Just One step. Another.

Their ankle screamed with each step, the bone Grinding aloud. Snow covered their exposed toes, one hand gripping onto the splintered door frame that welcomed the outside.

Despite the lack of an eye, they could just about make out where the forest stood. A low, dead tired sigh escaped them. The journey was long and to be realistic, they most likely wouldn't survive the trip-- sheer luck and willpower would be the only things that keep them alive. So with a sharp inhale, they began to walk. They weren't even sure if the whole idea was smart, but death was knocking at their door and they decided in that moment that they weren't quite ready to open it.

←–––→

The woods held an untamed darkness. They stood just outside of it, the entrance luring them in with the hushed sounds only the trees could make. Yellow paint smeared on the nearest tree being the only indicator that someone had braved the forest before them. Wind whispered through the dead branches, crows cawed in the distance, and echoed low growls dripping from starved predators waiting for their prey.

Blood smacked the ground. It spilled from every wound they could see. They panted, clouds of breath painting the air. Everything was slowly becoming harder and harder to see. Through half lidded eyes, they could barely make out the next yellow mark, their good hand gripping whatever tree that stood nearby.

The enticing idea of giving up slowed the journey. They entertained the thought the whole way there; thinking that whatever waited for them at the end of the paint trail, might just be as bad as falling to their knees and letting death's cold digits steal away the final breath. It was a serious thought, a question that would be left unanswered, for a soft orange light reflected off the snow. The sun was beginning to set and, like luck being the wonderful bastard it is, a cabin appeared in the distance. A can of yellow paint resting just outside of the little home.

Upon reaching the small cabin, it looked pretty old, made sturdy with care by most likely whomever lived inside. They knocked, cautious. They awaited a trap or rather hoped it was just a hallucination. If it was real, then meeting the homeowner might not be for the best. Although, once bloody knuckles rapped against the aged door, it opened without much hesitance-- it was as if a force pushed the door open for them. There was no turning back, no doubt would cloud their mind anymore. With careful breaths and a final glance back to the forest, they stepped in, the aged cabin door slamming shut as soon as they entered.

[indianamoonshine]

Solo’s Copilot

*I don’t know whose gif this is so please let me know!*

SUMMARY: Ben Solo is a smuggler. You're a weapon's expert for the Resistance who hates flying but loves cocky bastards.

Against your better judgement, you accept Ben's invitation to be his copilot as he smuggles dangerous cargo around the galaxy - cargo that includes Hutt merchandise.

RATING: M/E

CHAPTER: 1

This is a bad idea. This is a bad idea. This is a bad idea.

You'd punish yourself for agreeing to this later. You hated flying. Space travel was simply not meant for human beings - this you were convinced of. Your feet belonged planted into the ground. Space was no place for someone like you. It was cold, desolate, and terrifying. You avoided it whenever you could, even if that meant attending meetings through holograms. Sure, it put a damper on your work, but at least you wouldn't risk choking to death.

Ben liked to the fly. A lot. And you liked Ben. A lot.

"Do you think it's ready?"

Poe Dameron, general of the Resistance, could never say 'no' to a challenge even if it meant breaking protocol. Late last night, just before the cycle began again, Ben had gotten finished with putting the finishing touches on Poe's beloved X-wing. Somehow, some way, he'd managed to create something no one had ever succeeded to do before. He'd attempted to explain the process to you, but you were an expert on handheld weapons - not starfighters. Nonetheless, you tried to follow his commentary, even if it sounded like he was speaking a different language.

"I'll bet you ten credits it is," Ben says proudly. "Chewie wouldn't let me use the Falcon as a test rat if it weren't."

The giant and hairy Wookie roars from the weapon's crate he's leaning against. You can't speak Wookie, but he doesn't sound as convinced as Ben had let on. Chewbacca gurgles something in his native tongue - it seems like he's reasoning with Ben - and then huffs through his nose when he's ignored.

Poe shifts in his stance dubiously, arms crossed against his chest, and teeth gnawing at the inside of his cheek. You really didn't blame Poe for being skeptical. Ben was a great mechanic, but his "experiment" was reaching. If successful, however, he might have discovered a new way to train pilots. Personally, you hoped it worked; the news of beginners crashing to their fiery deaths was becoming too frequent.

The general understood the severity of this test. He shook his head, defying his better judgement. "Alright. Fine. But I wanna make it more interesting."

Ben raised an eyebrow, long fingers reaching for his jacket he'd draped across the crate next to Chewie. "Like...?"

Poe smirks a little. "A bet. We race from here and back again within ten parsecs."

Even Ben is taken aback. Chewie voices a forceful concern from behind, raising his arms in the air. But after a moment of deliberation, he shrugs with nonchalance.

"Alright. Bet," he says, reaching out to shake Poe's hand. They do, their grips tight around one another. You know Ben is showing off the strength Poe doesn't have by the way the general flinches when they pull away.

Ben turns his chin to you. "Come on, Petals."

Petals. The name gives you a warm, tightening feeling in your belly, sort of like if you'd just drank a shit ton of wine. You follow, grabbing the hand he's offered to you, and resist the urge to lean against him. But your eyes widen in shock when he lifts your intertwined hands and kisses the back of palm with closed eyes.

"What was that for?" you ask with a smile, blush creeping into your cheeks. So embarrassing.

He smirks a grin that could melt ice. "Does there have to be a reason?"

You blink away the lewd thoughts creeping into the shore of your conscious. The thought of him raising that same fist above your head and pinning you to the mattress, warm and plush lips sliding their way down your body as you moan his name in a whiny, almost pornographic, whimper...

That hadn't happened yet, you reminded yourself.

The two of you step inside the Falcon and he releases your hand. You almost whine at his separation, your palm growing cold without his warmth, but you keep quiet. It was still too early to pout like a touch-starved girlfriend. Even though you were touch-starved. Too touch-starved for your own liking. And he was right there; the man who wetted your dreams was right there and you hadn't even seen him naked yet.

Disappointment clouds your vision, but you walk to the cockpit anyway.

Nimble and long fingers dance around the controls you couldn't name if your life depended on it, and the Falcon roars to life. A button on the wall flickers and spits out a choking beep, but when Ben slams his fist against it, it stops. It was almost as if everything he does once seated in the chair is an instinct, like he was possessed by some all-knowing entity.

And while you had confidence in Ben, the fear of flying did not dissipate, even if drowning in a sea of lust. You raise your knees to your chest, the chair being so large that you had more than enough room to fold yourself in it, and begin to chew on your fingernails.

Ben looks over at you. "You don't trust me?"

But he's smiling. It's one of those cocksure smiles that feels objectifying, but still knots your stomach anyway. Maybe that's why it knots your stomach.

You nod your head. "I do," but it's shaky.

Ben hums in disagreement. "Then why do you look like you're headed to your execution?"

He was probably right. You couldn't see yourself, so maybe you did look a little too wound up from another perspective. Still, it was unavoidable.

"You know I hate flying," you say softly. "I belong on the ground."

Ben gazes at you for a moment, eyes twinkling with something you'd never seen in him before, and then leans over to whisper in your ear. "Petals, you belong among the stars..." his hot breath tingles your spine and you shiver as he buckles you in.

Fuck. The cockpit spins, air heated with desire. Your fingers curl into the meat of your palms and this time it's not from fear.

A switch is flipped and Poe's voice filters through the speaker - it jolts you back to reality. Suddenly, Ben isn't the only being in the entirety of the galaxy. "Solo, are we gonna go or what?" he complains.

Ben leans into the mic. "Yeah, ready to go."

The falcon lifts into the air and you flinch, eyes squeezing shut, and muscles turning to stone. This can't be happening. How stupid could you possibly be? You hadn't flown in years. It doesn't help when your ears pop as you reach the stratosphere, and then finally to the mesosphere where the base below turns virtually microscopic. Ben pulls a lever, which you can only assume is the thruster, and the ship lurches towards the blackness of space. Within two minutes, you're off the planet completely, but your nerves have somewhat calmed almost unnaturally. You allow yourself to open an eye and peer out the window, but gasp at the bleakness, and hide your face into your knees again.

"I think you underestimate how good I am at this," Ben chides, but it's playful somehow. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

You peek at him through your lashes. "Promise?"

Something in Ben softens like marmalade. Maybe it was the pathetic way you squeaked, or the way your cheeks burned in humiliation, but he found something endearing enough to crane his neck over and kiss you gently on the lips. It's soft, warm, and it leaves you wishing it were more as he pulls away with one last peck to your temple.

"Promise," he mumbles in your hair.

Another forbidden image flickers through your head: Ben whispering gently in your ear as he rocks into you with tantalizingly slow thrusts, but deep enough to cause you to sob desperately beneath him.

Shit. Shut the fuck up, you berate internally while attempting to rebuke the scenario.

The speaker filters Poe's voice again. "Ready when you are."

"You trust me?" Ben says then, holding your gaze with his own.

You did. "Yeah."

He nods and faces the viewport while gripping the thruster and then says, "Hang on tight."

You knew the Falcon was fast. You'd been told of its legendary speed and noticed how people gawked like it was a living, breathing thing itself. People were enamored with the "hunk of junk" (as others so famously called it) and you'd never understood why. People liked the rush. People liked the stories. People liked the power. You'd felt this with weapons before; a few guns had really excited you over the years, but it was never on the scale of which the Falcon did for others. The Falcon was a war machine, riddled with battle scars from the Empire and the First Order. It was somewhat of a deity.

But to experience it was another thing.

You're jostled into the depths of space, body stumbling forward, but the restriction of the seat belt saving you from plummeting to the floor. Ben was enjoying this immensely, his face bright with exhilaration and fingers bracing for anything.

"Alright, you gonna hit me or what, Dameron?" Ben shouts to the speaker.

There's no reply from the other end and all is silent before there's a sudden...

Bang!

You shriek, desperately clinging to the arms of the chair, and peer out the viewport for any sign of Poe's X-wing. You hadn't even noticed how flawlessly Ben's ingenuity had proved until the general glides beside the Falcon with a thumbs up and a goofy smile. It'd worked. The stun blasters had succeeded on a ship for the first time in history. The controls of the Falcon have frozen, lights blinking erratically, but reported no damage to the hull. Within a few seconds, all the switches on the dashboard sputter back to life.

Ben lets out a joyful holler and presses the intercom again. "Fan-fuckin'-tastic! It worked!"

Poe laughs along with him. "Great job, Solo. You've just saved a lot of lives."

"Happy to be of service," Ben replies, still clutching the thruster. He turns to you and finds you've relaxed, legs now dangling off the edge of your chair. "How about that race now, Dameron?"

You gulp. Oh shit. You'd forgotten about that.

There's no warning before Ben jumps to lightspeed.

You may have not done much flying, but you knew this wasn't how lightspeed worked. At least, not when human decency was involved. Worlds whizzed past the viewport within seconds, the stars of the galaxy stretching into view in-between them. You scream, grasping onto whatever you could find, and wait for death. Ben's skipped to at least ten planets by now and it hadn't even been a couple of minutes.

You don't even think it's ever gone this fast before.

Ben chuckles a hearty laugh, something like a maniacal teenager would muster up, while skipping through the infinity of space-time. Landscapes of all imagination and color had dissolved in front of you, but when a water planet with a massive wall of a wave appeared before you, there was nothing that could stop you from screaming Ben's name in sheer terror.

But, of course, Ben had everything under control. Like breathing, his hands reached for the proper controls, and the Falcon managed to evade the mountain of ice water.

"BEN!" you yell, resisting the urge to slap him even when in lightspeed. Your hands tremble and you prepare for the next jump, praying to the Gods or the Force or whatever it was that controlled your fate, to arrive back home in one piece.

The Falcon rolls on its side, thrusting into another planet once more, until finally - finally - Ajan Kloss sweeps into view.

Ben looks more than satisfied. In fact, he looks like a lotha cat who got the cream. The smugness on his face is apparent, smirk lopsided while looking steady as ever. He folds his hands behind his head and leans back against the chair as you catch your breath, heart thumping randomly in your chest.

"It's never gone that fast before. I just beat my father's run. I can't bel...-"

Before he can even finish, you've pounced on him, desire coursing through your veins. The rush of adrenaline from a near death experience pools arousal between your legs while you swing them on each side of him. Gods, this man was going to kill you one day, and fuck all, if you'd let him. His calloused hands roam up your sides and then down to your ass to scoot you closer.

Your fingers weave through his thick locks, pulling him deeper into the kiss, and when you part your lips, his hot tongue slid against yours. It took everything - everything - in you to not tear off your shirt in that moment. And you would've, had Poe not interrupted so rudely.

"You son of a bitch. I can't believe you pulled that off!"

You growl at the intrusion, refusing to let Ben go. He smiles against your mouth, hands still cupping the meat of your ass with both hands; hands big enough to almost palm it completely. "You owe me ten credits!" Ben chuckles. You kiss against his neck with a hunger that felt foreign, still so heated from moments before. If Poe found you straddling Ben like this, so fuckin' be it.

Sure enough, Poe arrives next to the window and peers in. When he finds Ben meeting your open mouthed kisses, he groans in disgust.

"Get a room, you two. I'm going back to base."

Ben doesn't separate his lips from yours as he raises a hand in Poe's direction. He hums, "Mmm hmm..." against you as a reply. You allow a giggle that you'd been suppressing bubble from your mouth; Ben swallows it.

"I don't think you're afraid of flying anymore," he mumbles against you, eyes half-lidded, and then squeezes one of your ass cheeks roughly; you let out a yelp. "I think it turns you on."

You shake your head against him, pressing your knees upon the chair to raise yourself over him. More leverage. You needed more leverage. "No. You turn me on. How the fuck can you fly like that?"

"You've got a dirty mouth, don't you?" he teases, tongue entering your mouth once more. Gods, how you wished that tongue were in your pussy instead.

You hum against him as he'd done to you. "Just for you."

He laughs and pulls away from you, though by the way he hesitates you know he doesn't want to. You'd have to get home somehow, you suppose. Still, you weren't flying. Might as well continue indulging in something that doesn't happen very often. The excitement of being caught in an embrace, of being catapulted from one world to another at a dangerous speed...it was a rush.

Ben suppresses a deep laugh - how could he make a laugh sound sexy? - and starts up the falcon again.

[curiousconch]

Exit

Chapter 6 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis: Heather is taken hostage, but by whom? And she isn't alone. Rafael and Bryce set tries to find the missing link.

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x MC (Dr. Heather Song) | Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song)

Words: 1.4k+ | Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / violence, language

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for taking time to read this series. Please let me know if you want me to include/remove you in the tags list. Also, disclaimer: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song and an OC Jordan Anderson.

Heather was due for another week in Johns Hopkins. So even though she didn't feel up to it after last night's fiasco, she forced herself to pack her clothes from the washer and clean out her temporary room.

She snuck glances to Bryce's bedroom door, trying to muster up the courage to face him and apologize. She was drunk last night. Drunk people make the lousiest mistakes, especially when that person is an emotional wreck. Long kept secrets of the heart creep up to the surface, often loaded with regrets like ticking time bombs inevitably blowing up the next morning.

In the end, she decided not to tell him her impassioned speech about nothing good ever happens after 2am, a reference from their shared favorite sitcom. Instead, she washed and cleaned and packed, and when the time came, left without a single word. She thought it was best to leave him be, giving them both space to process what they've just revealed. They'll just deal with it after she's done with her commitments in Maryland.

So she booked a car. And with one silent goodbye, she stepped out into the empty hallways. Her steps felt heavy against the carpeted floors, feeling more and more rueful with each. She was about to turn to the elevator bay when the fire exit flew open behind her.

Before she could turn around to see, an arm grabbed her by the waist while a piece of cloth covered her mouth and nose, muffling her shouts for help. Her head began spinning almost immediately. It wasn't long before she completely blacked out.

***

When Heather came to, she only saw darkness. Her immediate reaction was to scream, only to whimper after realizing she was gagged. Panic rose within her chest, as she struggled to think straight. She tried to blink to no avail. She was living in a nightmare, and she badly wanted to wake up. So she had two choices - either be a victim or be a survivor.

She chose the latter.

With that, she began to assess her surroundings, using her limited capabilities. She could tell that her eyes were covered, and by the tingling pain in her wrists behind her, she knew she was tied up. Strangely, her ankles were free. While most of her senses were restrained, those that weren't became magnified.

Her back felt the hard floor, she banged her head against it, confirming her theory.

Concrete? Uneven. Unfinished?

She tried to stand up, her legs felt weak, almost like jelly. She tried another time, and succeeded on kneeling. She balanced herself and used her legs to stand up, one after another.

She heard the sound of plastic rustling in the wind, and the cold night air brushing against her face.

Seems like I'm somewhere cold. Is that wind coming from large windows?

All of a sudden, she heard voices. The sounds were inaudible, but she observed intense shifts in the faint conversation.

Two voices, another room? Are they arguing?

She tried to direct herself towards the voices, taking caution not to make a noise. The volume gradually increased, aiding her to understand the conversation clearly enough.

"You're one hour late and you didn't bring enough."

"Such a whiney brat. Did you get that from juvy?"

"It's a mystery why someone haven't punched you and your perfect teeth."

"Some guy already did. But you? I bet ten grand you wouldn't. You're just a piece of shit without my funding."

"Right, without your pockets lined with cash, what are you?"

"Uh, free man with lots of connections?"

The words didn't make sense to her, but the voices that threw them around sounded familiar. She strained to get closer, trying to think who they could possibly be. Before she could hear more, she stumbled, her body making a noisy thud as it quickly planted on the ground. She felt something hard scrape against her cheek, a warm liquid trickled after, then pain.

Blood.

She shifted her head sideways, her legs dangling over something she couldn't quite figure out from the thick fabric of her jeans. Then it moved.

She gasped and retrieved her legs, her mind racing.

Who is it? Bryce? Rafael?

Her anxiety rose as she struggled with the mere possibility that she wasn't the only one kidnapped. The danger of the situation suddenly becoming more grave.

Then the body elicited a groan, a sound similar with her failed attempt to scream earlier. She heard it grumble once more, and then again. It was in the third time that Heather finally figured out who the voice might belong to.

Senator Ed Farrugia's.

Like a bucket of ice, a bone-chilling realization came to her. If they went all this way to hostage the senator, what's gonna stop them from killing her?

Her panicked thoughts were invaded by the sound of steps approaching. In an instant, she felt that she was shoved upright in a sitting position. The same person grabbed her by the collar and dragged her body back to where she came from, making her bare feet blister and bleed against the rough surface. Her face touched edges of plastic as her body followed the steps of her attacker. She tried to swallow her screams in an attempt to preserve energy, but the hairs at the back of her neck gave her fear away. She was then banged against a wall, followed by silence.

A set of steps receded, probably of the person who just dragged her back to her original place. This was quickly replaced by another set of steps, producing a distinct tapping. Different shoes, different person. First one seems like running shoes, this one sounds like leather.

Without warning, her hair was pulled backwards, making her wail beneath the cloth in her mouth. She smelled the scent of cigarettes.

"You just won't go down without a fight, eh? Well good for you, doctor. This will be all the more enjoyable."

Finally giving in on her fears, she shivered. She knew that voice anywhere. It was a sound so despicable that she hated it ever since the first time she heard it. The one man who mocked her, brought her down since her intern year. Arrogant, ambitious and immoral. All the curse words in the world couldn't describe this person. It belonged to a man she never wanted to see, hear, nor be in the presence of ever.

It was the greatest scumbag of all time.

Declan Nash.

***

Rafael was in full blown recon mode for Senator Farrugia's disappearance when he learned that Heather was also missing. Elijah called in to check if she has contacted him for the last 12 hours, he wished she did, but he told him no. When he got off the phone, the conference room he was in suddenly felt crowded.

"Dr. Song is apparently missing too," he reported to the rest of the team working on the Farrugia case. "Let's find where and when she was last seen, and start from there. I have a hunch she's going to lead us to the senator." He called IT to extract Heather's phone logs and location pings before he stepped out for a moment to process this new information. He found himself slumping in the fire exit stairwell, feeling an urge to punch the wall.

When he was about to act on it, his phone rang. It was ADA Lahela.

"Have you heard?"

"Yes, I just got off the phone with Elijah."

"And Senator Ed?"

"Yes, we're trying to find leads for the past 3 hours since we were notified."

"Okay, have you checked her phone records?"

"IT is working on it now."

"Okay. She supposedly left the condo around 4am this morning. I heard her leave. That might be a good starting point."

Rafael made a mental note.

"I'm going to meet Perry. He's in the front and center of this thing. I'll let you know as soon as I come up with anything." Raf heard Bryce say, after which the line ended.

He felt like an idiot, a sinking feeling of regret drawing him in. But he couldn't wallow in it now. Not until they find her.

There's time for that later. Right now, Heather needs me.

Fired up with resolve, he went out of the desolate stairwell and worked. He immediately followed up on Heather’s phone logs and available electronic records. He also called up field agents to go down at Bryce's complex for a copy of CCTV footage for the past 24 hours.

Once the instructions were handed over, he focused on Travis Perry. He helped himself to a cup of black coffee, willing his mind to stay sharp. He pored over Perry's file, searching for anything they may have missed.

He sighed, pushing back his emotions to the back of his mind. It's quickly becoming one of the longest nights of his life.

Author’s Notes 2: When I wrote this, I thought of merging this with the next. I just felt that they're best read together. So instead of combining the two, I've decided to publish both chapters simultaneously. Both is packed, I know, even I got dizzy writing it. But I hope you'll enjoy the roller coaster ride as much as I did. Appreciate it if you could share your thoughts!

Taglist: @ramsey-lahela @eleanorbloom @choicesficwriterscreations

[smileyoongle]

Come Back Home (A Kim Taehyung Mafia AU) // Part 8

Summary: You were dead. Or at least that's what Kim Taehyung thought. But love never dies. A myth, yes. And maybe that's why when he finds out that you are alive, he may have already lost you.

Pairing: Mafia!Taehyung×Reader

An unopened bottle of whiskey sat on the cherry coloured coffee table, it's expensive label glinting in the dim lights of the messy bedroom. Taehyung stood by the french windows, overlooking the empty lawn at the front of the mansion. His eyes mirrored the vacant garden, not a swirl of emotion evident in them. No doubt, it was because you weren't standing beside him but Taehyung never thought he'd be so weak. For the first time in forever, he felt as if a part of him had been ripped away.

Life was a bitch. That much Taehyung could tell without any hesitation. 

He sighed, moving to open the bottle of Glenfiddich that called out to him. The only time Taehyung didn't think about you was when he was drunk. His sobriety was a problem that he wanted to permanently get rid of. Too bad, he had to stay a little hopeful incase the universe decided to have mercy on him. 

A low buzz cut through the silence of the room, Taehyung's head jerking towards his phone that sat on the bed. He frowned, wondering who was calling him this late. His long ring clad fingers wrapped around the silver mobile, lifting it up with ease. To say that Taehyung was pissed was an understatement because there was no way to describe the sourness that filled his being upon seeing Minho's name flashing on his screen.

Your fake boyfriend.

Taehyung's teeth grinded together, his finger swiping across the screen before he placed the phone next to his ear. He was ready to spew a number of profanities but he opted for a better approach. This call could be related to you. 

"Hello…" Taehyung said into the phone, placing a hand on his hip and pushing his jacket towards the back. With every passing second, Taehyung's patience was wearing thin. For a minute, he swore he could hear the heavy breathing of someone on the other end. 

What the fuck is happening? 

And then, just as Taehyung's mouth opened to snap at Minho, your shaky voice hit his ears.

"Taehyung, help me…" 

It was like a breath of fresh air but not for too long. Your voice was the most beautiful sound in the world, Taehyung always thought that. But this time, his heart didn't flutter, it sank deeper and deeper into a black hole of never-ending worry and panic. Because that's what it sounded like. Your voice was heavy and strained and all the bad things that Taehyung could think of. 

"Y/N? Are you- Did something happen?" He asked, his eyebrows knitting together as his heart throbbed in his chest. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He could sense the discomfort you were in and he just wanted to swoop you into his arms and tell you that no one was going to touch you. Not again.

Your whimpers had Taehyung running down to the living room where the other members were engrossed in different activities. Once Taehyung put the phone on speaker, everyone's attention was on him.

"I came to this club, it's close to Yoona's house. She was really drunk and we had to pick her up but…" 

Taehyung's mind immediately clicked, his eyes lighting up in recognition of the place you were talking about. That club was his favourite ever since he first saw you. He used to lurk around Yoona's house and watch you everyday, not being able to understand why he was so infatuated with you. Now that he knew all the answers, he lost you.

"Go on, love. But?" Taehyung prompted, his eyes meeting Jungkook's, who was ready to run outside and start the car. In a matter of seconds, all the members were scattered around the room. Some calling for backup. Some loading up their guns. Hoseok noticed the redness around Taehyung's eyes, concluding that he was sleep deprived along with being a little drunk. He had to be. There was a certain stagger in the way he walked and anyone could tell that he was trying to lose the alcohol for you. 

You really made him a better man.

"...there were these men with guns, shooting people and looking for someone. They caught Minho before I could do anything but they weren't looking for him. They were looking for me."

The crack of your voice made jungkook's heart clench, his body moving towards the door to get the car running. There was no way he was gonna let you suffer anymore. Taehyung was too shocked to think properly but he couldn't exactly refuse when Jin pulled him outside behind him. His lungs burned, anger pouring over every inch of him. He didn't know what to say. Someone was looking for you? 

Taehyung mentally reminded himself to bring you home this time. Obviously, Minho and Yoona weren't capable of taking care of you. They were immature and stupid. What was Taehyung even thinking when he let you go with that two faced excuse of a best friend? 

"Tell me where you are right now." Taehyung said, his fingers tightening around the phone as he sat in the passenger seat of the car, nudging his head towards the road ahead for Jungkook to start driving.

"The bathroom. Please hurry, I think they know I'm here." Your voice was softer now, accompanied by your heavy breathing. You could feel the panic rising in your chest, your vision blurring with the onslaught of tears that refused to stop. It was a miracle you were even conscious, considering the way your head was spinning. 

You didn't want to go through all that again. The torture, the beatings, the emotional breakdown and the blood. Your food was begging to be let out, bile rising in your throat.

Just then, a loud bang echoed through the bathroom, your eyes immediately falling at the locked door. You saw the shadows from the little space beneath the white door, a number of voices filling your ears along with a flood of sobs wracking through your body. 

"Open the damn door and I'll take it easy on you!" A gruff voice yelled, your lips quivering and your heart ready to jump out of your chest. You staggered to the closest bathroom stall and shut the door, pushing yourself at the farthest wall and crouching down.

"Taehyung! They're trying to get in, please please hurry." 

Taehyung clenched his fists, glancing at Jungkook, silently telling him to step up. Jungkook's hands were burning with how hard he was gripping the steering wheel. The air in the car was dense, Hoseok and Namjoon sitting at the edge of their seats. A couple other cars joined the black camaro, Jungkook's eyes narrowing at Jimin in the car behind. They were almost there, Taehyung could see the familiar streets he used to walk on, the emptiness of them making him feel queasy. 

"Y/N, listen to me. Don't leave the bathroom, okay? We're almost-"

A loud scream filled the car followed by a click, Taehyung's eyes widening in worry. If you were to get hurt by any chance, Taehyung was straight up gonna burn himself alive.

He closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat, clasping his hands together and praying, for if there was a god in the universe, he was willing to become a believer for you.

The tires screeched against the asphalt as Jungkook took a rough turn, Taehyung's sad whispers going unheard.

"Please be okay ...I promise I'll take you home this time."

💔🖤💔🖤💔🖤

Your knees were pressed against the smooth tiles of the lit up dance floor, your head hung low with your hands tied behind your back. There was a sharp pain in your forehead from when you were hit with the hilt of a gun, only to be dragged out of the bathroom after that. Minho's phone was crushed in front of your eyes, fear taking over you on being away from Taehyung's voice.

He was holding you together all this while, his voice was like a barrier, keeping you away from all the problems coming your way.

And now that he was gone, you weren't okay. Your vision was clouded and blurry, distraught images flashing in your mind, all tainted red. It scared you, your blood running cold as a whimper left your mouth.

Minho was a few feet away from you, crouched in the same position as you. He felt useless for not being able to protect you but he wasn't really expecting you to come inside the club. For now, all he knew was that if everyone left this place alive, then Taehyung was definitely not gonna trust him around you anymore. And somehow, he was okay with it. 

A man with a black cap walked over to you, his cold hand gripping your jaw and pulling your face closer to him. You could smell the smoke and alcohol in his breath, his mischievous grin sending shivers down your spine. Whatever was going to happen, you could tell you were going to have nightmares about it for the next year.

Unless... Taehyung came to save you on time. You trusted him, for a reason unknown to you, you trusted him more than any of the people around you.

"So this is the girl boss wanted to get a taste of…" you winced, the stranger's fingers digging into your cheeks and making your lips turn pouty. His disgusting breath fanned your face, your hands hopelessly squirming behind you in an attempt to get rid of the ropes tied around your wrists.

"... I don't blame him. She looks like a gem, maybe I should get a taste before taking you to him." He taunted, your eyes frantically looking around for anyone who could help you. He leaned in closer, a cry escaping your mouth at the proximity.

Tae...where are you.. 

As soon as you thought of him, a gush of warmth overwhelmed your senses, the sound of rushed footsteps invading your ears. 

"Get your hands off of her or I'll fucking end you."

A sigh of relief escaped your mouth upon seeing him standing with the rest of his men at the entrance, his jaw clenched and his eyes red with anger. Taehyung had every single person's attention, the man in front of you letting go of your cheeks and standing up straight. You sensed the hesitation in his stance, your own feet picking you up and taking off in Taehyung's direction, your eyes now shedding happy tears. 

Taehyung's anger was gone when he saw you running towards him, his lips breaking into a small smile. But that was gone as soon as he saw the man behind you lifting his gun to aim at you, Taehyung's breath hitching and his eyes glaring at him daringly.

All of Taehyung's men had their guns up, ready to blow everyone's brains off. 

"Don't shoot until she's with me. I don't want her to see any of this." Taehyung mumbled, loud enough for his members to hear. Those words were easier said than done, Jungkook's throat tightening with every step you took.

This was a game now. A game of who gives in first and Taehyung knew he was gonna lose. If at all that man decided to pull the trigger, everything was over.

Yoongi's fingers tightened around his gun, his eyes widening when he saw the slight twitch of your attacker's gun. Yoongi ran towards you, waiting for you to go behind him so that he could take care of this and as soon as your feet were beside him, he fired, his bullet hitting the man in the shoulder. You closed your eyes on hearing the loud gunshot, throwing yourself into Taehyung's arms immediately. 

Taehyung wrapped his hands around your body, pressing you closer to him before turning around to protect you from any bullet coming his way. He closed his eyes, burying his face in your hair as you sobbed into his chest. Your hands were still tied behind you and you ached to hold him, his scent calming you down and letting you know that you were gonna be okay now. 

A series of gunshots echoed through the club, your erratic breathing making Taehyung realize that he needed to get you out of the building. He rubbed your back, looking over his shoulder to see bodies of the men who had threatened your life. Well most of them anyway. In the middle of it all lay Yoona with Minho trying to sober her up. Taehyung's expression turned sour, his eyes showing the disgust he felt towards your best friend. 

"Tae, we got this. You can go." Jimin announced, glancing at Taehyung before shooting another wannabe down. Taehyung firmly nodded, turning back to you and placing his hands on your cheeks to make you look at him. The sight he saw was absolutely heart wrenching, your eyes red and teary, your forehead bruised at the corner and your lips quivering uncontrollably. You looked so fragile, Taehyung was afraid he'd let you go and you'd fall. 

"Love, we need to get out of here, okay?" He explained, leaning closer to you and looking at you with the most gentle eyes one could muster. You inhaled deeply, sniffling and nodding while trying to bring your hand at the front. Taehyung saw the ropes digging into your skin, another wave of anger washing over him. How could someone treat you like this? 

He wrapped his arms around you, his head resting on your shoulder as he peeked down at your hands, shielding you from the bullets that came your way. He quickly untied the ropes, taking hold of your hand and leading you outside.

You stared at his back and then your intertwined hands, forgetting all your worries for a moment. The cold night air nipped at your skin, your heart beating normally again. You didn't care what was going on inside, your attention was only on Taehyung. There was a certain air of familiarity around him and you knew there was something more to the missing pieces of your brain. The way he had held you, was enough to tell you that he wasn't just your best friend. You needed to get over with your diary tonight. No matter what.

Taehyung stopped in front of his car, opening the door to let you in when he felt your arms around him, holding onto him as if your life depended on him. Taehyung's heart skipped a beat, his lips parting in surprise at the words that left your mouth.

"I mean a lot to you, don't I?" 

Taehyung looked down at your hands that were wrapped around his stomach, his fingers grazing over your skin as he replied.

"More than you'll ever know."

Taglist: @min-t-posts @annoyinglyunabashedangel @bringitseijoh @kpopgirlbtssvt @jeonjello @shadowstark @bangtanniexxx @wendyiiwl @imlostindarkness @sinnersblogg @jazzytfw @lovestrucked-again @hopetookmysoul @angelwolfexorcist @taes-strawberry @ireallylikefoodandyoutube @annoyingpessimist @hajimaoppaa @atwoodscott @kawaiimusiccollection @byeolizzie @sleepysavya @sensiblebutch @maiden-mars @soundofwonderland @the-fangirl-lorax @btsarmysvtcarat @youthandtears @novelread000 @glitterytreephantom @chocolatemilk1221 @cookiemonstermusic258 @iamcrazyforkdramas @luckyzipperscissorsbat @kpop-is-life100 @entitledtolove @somewhereinthestarss @vertueuxeuse @anothermisspark @xanny91 @mayumioutloud @rulz0821 @bbangtan-ddaeng @got7-yeah-got7onmymind @kassandravictoria @flowersgirl02

Why can't I tag the people that I normally tag....this is annoying. I'm sorry if I missed out anyone else. Also, Tumblr just became ugly. So...what did you think about this chapter? Let me know if you wanna be tagged! Happy days are coming...lol.

-XX

[sandstimegender]

The Darkest Night

Hey guys, this one shot deals with a suicide attempt, so please don't read that part if you aren't comfortable.

It starts at "She locked herself in the bathroom," and ends at "Her hand thumped against the bathroom floor."

Thanks to my dear beta reader, @bigprincess-energy!!

Please read and enjoy!

It was the darkest night of the year for her. Eurydice wasn't feeling well, and she hadn't gone to school the entire week. No one will miss you.

She thought of it as a mental health week, although it hadn't helped a bit. Useless.

Biting her lip gently, she set the pen down gently on top of the note she had written.

"I'm sorry Poet." She lent down to kiss Orpheus' forehead. "I can't do this anymore." 

They don't care.

 Whore. 

Go jump off a roof.

 Even better, kill yourself with one of his razors.  

She whimpered softly, intent on doing that anyway. Locking herself in the bathroom, she grasped one of the brown eyed boy's razors, and sat against a wall, slashing her wrist. 

The blood welled up, splashing onto the floor quickly. 

She did the same to the other one, the handle slicked with the bright red blood. 

She knew she was losing blood quickly.

 Eurydice smiled, whispering a soft "Orpheus." She wanted to think of him last. As her sight faded quickly, her hand thumped against the tiled floor. 

****

Orpheus awoke to the sound of something heavy hitting the bathroom floor. 

"'Dyce, can you go check it out?" There was no answer from the other side of the bed. "Eurydice?" He opened his eyes and saw three things. 

One, the bed was empty. 

Two, there was a note on the desk.

 Three, the bathroom light was on.

 He knew right away what had happened. 

"Nonono!" He whispered, panicked. Running to the bathroom door, Orpheus banging gently on it. 

"Lover, can you open the door?" She didn't respond, he tried to open the door. Locked . "Eurydice!" No!  

He forced the door open, to the horrible sight of her on the floor, wrists slashed and bleeding. His stomach dropped in fear. "'Dyce..." 

His eyes darted around, looking for something, anything to stop the bleeding. His eyes finally settled on the towel Eurydice had set out for her bath night. He grabbed it quickly, clamping it onto her wrists.

The blood seeped into it slowly enough, so he could grab the first-aid kit and wrap them in heavy bandages.

 Orpheus bit his lip, which was a habit he shared with Eurydice, the copper and iron taste filling his mouth.Should he call Ms. Flores or Mister Hermes? 

  He decided on Mister Hermes, as he was closer. He scrambled for his phone, which he had left on the nightstand. As soon as the man had picked up, he started talking, quickly.

“MisterHermes!Comeovernow!It’sEurydice,she’sslashedherwrists,Ijustfoundher.Comeover.Please” 

“Kid? It’s like, 2 am. What do you want? I can't understand you. Talk slower.”

“It’s ‘Dyce! She’s-” The realization set in, and a harsh sob broke through his throat. "Come over. Please."

Hermes seemed to know he wasn't joking.  

"I'll be right over Poet." The rustling of blankets from the other end and feet running through the cafe calmed the young man down slightly. 

Orpheus ended the call, running back to his songbird. 

"Please wake up. Please, please." Kneeling, he traced Eurydice's palm with his fingers, feeling the small bumps and ridges. He kissed it softly, and held it between his own. 

A soft "Orpheus?" Came from the doorway. He recognized Mister Hermes' voice.

 "Help her." The gray-haired man scanned her over, noting the blood, heavy wrappings, razor, and small smile on the girl's face.

"You did a good job, wrapping her wrists. She now needs to go to a hospital." Orpheus drew back in shock. 

"But-how's she gonna pay for it? She definitely won't take her father's money, and she won't take it from her mom, I know her too well!" 

"You seem to forget that her employer is Persephone." 

The singer blushed, and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. He picked her up gently, carrying her to Mister Hermes' car. He sat the unconscious girl gently in his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. 

He kissed the top of her forehead, unaware that she had done the same action about 10 minutes ago.

 "I'll take care of you, just please don't leave me."

They pulled up to the hospital, Orpheus rushing inside, clutching her to his chest, and keeping pace with the man next to him.

***

Eurydice awoke in a bed, her hands resting on the bed sheets, her wrists bandaged. 

"Where-?" She whispered, turning her head to gaze around the room.

Orpheus was in a plastic black chair next to her bed, passed out. We don't have a chair like that in the apartment.

There was an IV drip in her arm, she noted, along with the clip that connected to the heart rate monitor. I must be in the hospital. "But who-?"

"Songbird." Persephone was leaning against the door frame, with a flask in her hand. She took a swig. "You're awake."

“‘Seph! What’s going on? The last thing I remember was-oh. Oh." 

"You gave us quite a scare, Eurydice."

"Is Orpheus okay?"

"Physically, yes. Emotionally and mentally? No. He's not. Songbird...You almost died, and Orpheus found you." 

"...I wanted to die." She gripped the sheets tightly, afraid of what she would say. Persephone rested her hand on her shoulder. 

"I have too." What? The green dressed woman sighed, and pulled up her skirt.

 It was just enough so that Eurydice could see the faint scars along her thigh. "But I talked to someone. You have to talk to someone." She glanced at Orpheus.

"But-!" At 'Seph's glare, she quieted and looked away. "It's so hard . I don't want to worry him, and I doubt he cares."

The older woman checked her watch, and cursed when she saw the time. 

"I've got to go. We will talk later." She walked briskly out of the room, her dress disappearing around the corner.

A loud yawn sounded from the chair Orpheus was slouched in. She turned her head carefully, and saw him shifting in his seat.

He sat up, emotions flitting across his face. Shock, worry, sadness. 

"Eurydice?" He said it so softly, as if he was afraid she wasn't real. 

"Hi?" She offered, not expecting for his eyes to well up with tears, as he hugged her tightly.

Her arms hovered over his back in shock.

"You-when I found you, you were bleeding out. I don't wanna feel that helpless again. Please, talk to me. Let me help you."

"You care?" Her voice wavered.

"Why wouldn't I?" He questioned, drawing back. 

"Because no-one else has." 

Orpheus breathed out, tracing her hand with his.

"Oh...Eurydice, I care. I'll always care."

"You will?" He nodded, brushing her hair away from her face, and tucking it behind her ear. 

"Yeah. I will. I can't promise you a kind road to walk, but I'll work with you, I promise." He kissed her wrists gently, looking up at her with the softest expression on his face. 

"Poet? Who's paying for the hospital bill? I'm not taking money from father, and I don't want to take any from momma." 

"Miss Persephone is paying for it." Eurydice was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"She'd do that? For me?"

"Yeah. I think you're her favorite."

"You really think so?" 

"I know you are." 

Orpheus bit his lip, perhaps in nervousness. "I love you." 

She laughed brokenly. "You still love me? After I almost died? Even though I wanted," and still want . She added silently. "To die?"

"I do." He rested his head gently on hers, and held her. "I love you Eurydice. And I will always love you."

Tears sprang to her eyes, and she cried into her lover's shoulder.

"Thank you. Thank you." 

[rubys-art-blog]

I'm In Love (Angst Edition) - R!Bluespartanz (F&A)

Requested by @/unhappy_lemon on wattpad

A.N : im very sorry, this got kinda out of hand, but it's... -mostly?- a tiny bit fluffy, and quite long

Warnings: a slightly steamy make out sesh, screaming, panic attacks, swearing, self hatred voices, fear of rejection / abandonment, seriously don't read this if you've ever had "the depression voice(s)", blood, unintentional self harm, (seriously, this chapter has it all)

Henry's pov

I woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling, but once I remembered where I was, a burst of happiness surged through me.

I sat up and stretched, reaching for my phone.

It wasn't on my side table, odd.

I must've left it downstairs.

I got up and slipped on some shorts and a fresh tee shirt.

I brushed my hair, put it into a ponytail, and slipped on a beanie after using the restroom.

I wandered downstairs to find it pretty quiet. I checked a clock and saw it said 10:12 am.

"Good morning." Came a voice from behind me.

"WHA- oh." I jumped and turned around, my tail sticking up.

"What, is my hair that bad?" Brandon asked.

He was wearing a tee shirt and.. no shorts, you could see his thick tail behind him.

I blushed slightly and turned back to the kitchen reaching for a coffee cup.

My ears twitched as I heard him move behind me and pour some cereal.

"So are we going anywhere today?" I asked, putting a tea bag in my mug.

"Uh, I think Diesel wants to go out for dinner with all of us." He said, a drawer opening and closing.

I turned around while the hot water poured into my cup. "So, we're the first ones up, eh?" I said, feeling a little awkward.

"Yeah, I guess we are." He scratched the back of his neck, causing his shirt to ride up.

I walked over to him, my tail swishing behind me and my ears perking in interest.

"So, we're alone then?" I smirked, standing in front of Brandon.

I may be shorter, but I can make him flustered.

"U-uh, well yeah, I guess we are." He stuttered.

"You gonna do anything about that?" I bit my lip and looked to him.

He blushed and stepped forward to cup my cheek, his scales cool against my face.

I quickly nuzzled into the touch, feeling his soft scales against my face and purring softly.

I looked back up to him to see his reaction, he was blushing harder.

"How are you so cute?" He mumbled under his breath.

I thought about responding, but decided to close my eyes and purr louder.

My ears twitched as I heard Brandon move around.

A hand lightly rested on my waist, I could feel the heat radiating off of Brandon.

I reached up, my hands coming to find his chest, I gripped his shirt and stepped forward.

He sighed lightly, wrapping his hand more around my waist before kissing me.

His lips were slightly rough, a welcome texture against my smooth lips.

"Mmnn..."

He took the lead, backing me up towards the counter.

I put my hands back to brace myself on the counter, tilting my head for a different angle.

His hands shifted, feeling around my body before settling on my bottom.

He squeezed slightly, lifting me up to be on the counter, I could feel his dulled claws through my shorts.

I wrapped my arms back around his neck and leaned towards him.

He moved his arms from around my waist to my thighs, spreading them and moving forward to stand in between them.

I shivered at the stimulation, my tail curling around and flicking.

He licked at my lips, one of his hands moving to pet my tail, which was moving around and occasionally touching his arm.

"Hhng- hah" I panted, opening my mouth to aid breathing.

Brandon waited a moment for me to catch my breath before diving back into my mouth, tongue tasting mine.

His tongue was strange, it was smoother than a human tongue, and shortly forked.

I moaned and my hands scrambled for purchase, intending to go for his hair but ending up with his horns.

He groaned, pulling me closer to the edge of the counter.

We had probably knocked things off the counter at this point, but I was too focused to notice.

My ears were drooped, flat against my head as Brandon pulled back.

My eyes were still closed when he spoke. "You shhould ssee yoursself, absolutely beautiful." He sounded raspy and out of breath, his tongue flicking as he talked.

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking a couple times before looking towards Brandon.

His lips were red and covered in spit, his hair still fluffed up from sleeping, face a soft red.

I was slowly breathing through my nose, my tail still twitching behind me.

He reached up to cup my face, fingers threading into my hair, which had partly fallen out of my ponytail.

I couldn't help but softly purr, my eyes closing halfway.

He giggled slightly, a noise I absolutely love, I smiled unconsciously.

He gently scratched my scalp with his blunted nails.

Normally, a Lizards nails would be sharp and pointed, made for digging and catching food. However, modern day Lizards don't need to catch their food, therefore most Lizards get them dulled once a month so they don't tear clothing or scratch phone screens.

I shuddered, my ears twitching.

Brandon sighed. "I love you."

I froze, my eyes snapping open.

<><><>

Brandon's pov

"I love you." It slipped through my lips so naturally.

I regretted it immediately after though.

Henry's soft purring came to a halt, his eyes opening, pupils wide.

I backed up from the counter, internally facepalming.

"I- I'm ssorry I didn't, I didn't mean to- to.." I trailed off, tears threatening to make an appearance.

Henry just sat there, staring at me.

I turned to leave, my scales feeling colder than usual.

I walked out of the kitchen. "Brandon-"

I didn't want to hear it, I always mess everything up.

I walked faster, dashing up the stairs and passing a sleepy winged boy on my way to my room.

"Huh?" Tyler asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

I quickly shut and locked the door, tears forming in the edges of my eyes.

I sat on the bed, placing my head in my hands and sniffling.

It always goes like this doesn't it?

Everything is fine til I do something and fuck it up.

My sadness turned to anger, the voices in my head shouting and shouting, and shouting, and shouting..

"Stupid idiot he was only pitying you in the first place!" One screamed.

"You always do this, get way too attached way too fast." Another yelled.

"He wouldn't care if you were gone." A third one said, more forceful than loud.

I felt like punching something, or screaming til my voice gives out.

I pulled my legs up on the bed with me, literally holding myself together.

"All you do is whine and whimper, like a baby needing attention."

"He hates you."

"You're just a burden."

"He hates you."

"Crybaby."

"He hates you."

"You should just stop trying so hard."

"He hates you."

"He hates you." It repeated on a loop.

"He hates you." Increasing in volume.

"He hates you." Getting more and more aggressive.

"HE HATES YOU." The voice kept roaring, drowning out any other thoughts.

I whimpered, almost as if the voice was a person in front of me.

It kept going, and going, and going, chanting endlessly.

I wanted to scream, to hide, to kick something.

Anything to just. make. it. Stop.

I put my hands over my ears, claws digging into my skin.

It kept going.

I tightened my grip, my claws digging even further into my skin.

It didn't stop, it wouldn't stop.

I screamed, letting all my emotions out, louder than the voice.

All I could think was

"Make it stop."

"Make it stop."

"Make. It. Stop."

I screamed for what felt like an entirety, but in reality was probably a minute or two.

My voice slowly tapered off, leaving me to quietly mutter to myself. "Make it ssthop, make it ssthop, make it ssthop.."

There was a loud bang, someone pounding on the door. "BRANDON"

There was a thud, like something big hitting the door.

"Brandon please." Henry's voice came from the other side of the door, soft and worried.

My ears were ringing and I felt something drip down my face.

I slowly took my hands away from my head, wincing at the pain as my nails left my skin.

I opened my eyes I didn't realize I closed, and looked down at my hands.

Blood.

My blood, drying on my scales and coating my claws.

I almost screamed again, but my throat was too sore and I didn't want to worry anyone.

"Brandon please open the door." Henry called, sounding like he was on the brink of either crying or kicking the door down.

I slowly stretched my legs out, standing up.

I walked over to the door, hesitating.

I'll have to talk to him at some point, better to just get it over with.

I reached for the doorknob before remembering the blood. I wiped my hand off on my night shirt, staining it red.

I slowly unlocked the door and turned the handle, taking a deep breath, I opened it.

Henry was leaning against the door frame, upon noticing the door was open he looked up.

"Thank god I-" He stopped in his tracks, looking me over.

"Brandon! What the fuck happened?" He asked, trying not to be loud but failing.

<><><>

Henry's pov

He opened the door, finally.

"Thank god I-" I stopped, looking at him.

His face was covered in dried tears and blood, which was also smeared on his shirt.

His eyes were red and glossy, I looked further down to see his hands were also coated in blood.

"Brandon! What the fuck happened?"

"I'm fine." He croaked, trying to crack a smile as if to prove his statement.

"Fine? Fine!? I think you are anything but fine!" I was mad at myself.

He flinched away, picking at his scales. I sucked air through my teeth.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Can I.. can I help you?" I asked, reaching out towards him.

"Why?" He mumbled quietly.

"What?" I didn't hear him.

"I said, why?" He spoke, looking down.

"Wha- Brandon, what do you mean?" I asked.

"Why would you want to help me? I mean, all I've done is cause issues and annoy you.." He replied quietly, coughing slightly.

I was taken aback, I had no words.

"Brandon, just let me help you." I said firmly.

He nodded. "Okay."

He moved and I walked past him, into his room.

"Okay.. let's see, new shirt, bandages..." I mumbled a list to myself.

I walked around, gathering the items I needed and then shoved Brandon into the on suite bathroom.

I dumped the stuff I needed onto the counter and turned to Brandon, who was sitting on the closed toilet.

"Alright, let's clean you off first." I said, picking up the washcloth I grabbed and rinsing it with warm water.

I gently cleaned his scales, occasionally rinsing the blood off the washcloth.

"Alright, lemme see these." I cupped his jaw and turned his head to see his right ear.

I extremely carefully wiped the dried blood off of his face and hair, taking some shampoo and using it to get the blood out of his hair.

I continued to his left side and once he was all clean I rinsed the washcloth and put it up.

He sat still and quiet while I pat dried his head. "I'm not upset you know." I said, pulling out the first aid kit.

"Really?" He rasped.

I found the Neosporin and squeezed some out onto my fingers.

"Really." I brushed his hair out of the way to apply the Neosporin.

"Even thhough.. thhe sscreaming?" He asked, his tongue flicking.

"Even though the screaming." I repeated, finding the roll of gauze.

"These cuts are in a bad spot, so I'm gonna have to go all the way around, okay?" I said, rubbing his shoulder.

He nodded slowly.

I began wrapping the gauze around his head, being wary of his horns.

Once I was done and had taped him up, I was closing up the first aid kit.

"Hey, uh, I know thhat you probably don't want to, you know, date, anymore? A- and thatss perfectly fine, uh, but can we sstill be friends?" He stumbled around his words.

"Or- or not, thhatss okay too.." He said, voice cracking.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" I said turning towards him.

He looked up confused, but before he could say anything I kissed him.

"I love you too."

<><><>

2150 words

yeET that was a fucking rollercoaster

sorry about that

i uh, yeah

Ruby out ~

[the-governors-sweetheart]

The Road to Woodbury

Chapter 1: “The end of the world"

„Sorry, Mr. Blake, we did everything we could.“ Philip heard the voice on the phone say, but he was unable to process, what he just had been told. His shaky hand was still clutching the phone, seconds after the doctor had hung up already. Time stood still as he was staring into space. This can't be real, there must be a mistake – he had thought, but the doctor made it clear. His wife had been in a car accident. She was dead, by the time she has arrived in the hospital. Just like that. Gone. Philip was in shock to say the least, his gaze was glassy and empty and his mind was absent. The angry voice of his boss woke him up from his trance-like shock. “My wife is dead,” Philip was interrupting yet another angry speech full of shit from his ass of a boss. For the first time the young man was out of words and just stared at him. Philip got up from his chair, grabbed his coat and left his work, walking out of the office quietly and calmly, leaving everything on his desk as it was. His face was a blank mask, ignoring everything and everyone on his way, until he was inside his car, where he had a breakdown. He began to sob and cry and hit his fists against the steering wheel, unable to comprehend his emotions. His whole body was shaking as he asked himself one question over and over again: Why?

He rose up from his bed, shaking and covered in a thin layer of cold sweat. His breathing was labored, his blanket was sticking to his body. It took him a moment to understand, where he was. Eighteen months have passed, since he lost his wife, but he still dreamed about her. It was mixed nightmarish images, which wasn't difficult to come up with these days. He checked, if his daughter was okay, before he left their bed. Brian slept tightly on the floor next to them, he was used worse in the Army. Philip walked over to the window, peeking out into the night. Maybe he'd see them again. Headlights of a truck, he had noticed the night before. There was nothing. Just a wandering figure in the distance. Philip was scared to death. Each day was a struggle, even in this house. He didn't want to admit it to his brother, but he didn't know how to handle these… things. “What's wrong?” He heard Brian whispering behind him. “N-nothing,” he whispered back, before turning around to face him. “There's nothing. You've probably dreamed that last night. Go to bed,” Brian ordered him. “I saw it,” Philip answered, as he went back to bed. He watched Penny in her sleep for a bit, gently brushing back her bangs from her forehead. Seeing her, made him even more desperate. Cold fear crept up his back, he knew he can't protect her on his own and he was scared because of that. They've already lost one of their friends. Brian was the only one, who was strong enough to defend them, while Philip stayed back with Penny, hiding in closets or their car. Despite his worries, Philip fell back asleep, he was too exhausted to stay up.

After the short night, the next morning came fast. Philip has overslept, while the others were already up. He woke up and got dressed. On his way to the living room, he could hear Nick and Brian arguing over food and where they should go to find some. But Philip was only worried about his girl, who was curled up on the couch, sucking her thumb. She has never done that before, it was just getting worse. “Hey, baby. You okay?” He asked her softly. She barely nodded her head. Philip sat down next to her and gave her a hug. He felt just as helplessly as she did, as they both watched the two men fight over a plan. “For fucks sake, Nick! We have to! You think these two last cans will last forever or what?? I'm goin', now you three can stay here and hold hands, while I do what has to be done!” Brian barked angrily at Nick, before stomping out of the room and slamming the door shut behind him. Penny whimpered, she was terrified. Philip pulled her closely and kissed the top of her head. “It's gonna be okay, baby. Don't worry. Daddy is here,” he told her and she hugged him back. Nick rolled his eyes at Brian and went to the kitchen, leaving the two alone in the living room. Noises came from outside and got louder. Shuffling and moaning right at the front door, followed by a loud thud. Penny gasped and was even more shaking. “Remember what I've told you, Penny.” She nodded her head, before squeezing her eyes shut and whispering: “Away.” If he only could do the same. He was staring at the front door, scared of what might get through any second now, but to his relief it was his brother Brian. Blood was smeared on his shirt. He had killed the biter outside, who had been there since last night, while Philip was too scared to even leave the couch. He felt useless and like a coward. “You good?” Brian asked, as if Philip was the one, who had just killed that thing. “Yeah,” Philip answered quietly. “Good, cause I need your help.” Philip looked at him, than at the corpse on the porch. Everything inside of him wanted to resist, but he knew his brother wouldn't accept a “no". “C'mon. What's the matter, Philly? Get over here,” Brian told him, rolling his eyes. Philip got up and did as he was told. “We need to get rid of it. The odor will draw more of ‘em,” Brian explained as Philip stared at the dead biter. “Why?” he asked. “Because I said so. Besides, I think that's why they gather at some places. Stop asking questions an' help me, will ya?” Brian pulled the biter by its shoulders, while Philip took the feet. They carried it just over to the other side of the street.

[To be continued...]