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aliceinborderlandsquidgame · 2 days ago

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We meet again | In-ho x Fem!Reader | PT4

Summary: It was only one night for fun, you never thought you would see him again. Even less in a place like this one.

P1 P2 P3

Warnings: S2 Spoilers - Canon violence - Pregnant!Reader - Non canon background for In-ho - Use of (Y/N) - Heavy Angst - Protective!In-ho - Panic!Reader - grammar mistakes -

"You must be joking" Were your first words after listening to Gi-hun's plan. "Do you even know how many guards are out there? Or how prepared they are?"

After another round of voting things had ended in a tie. Not much time after it a fight had occurred inside the men bathroom. Gi-hun had said how most likely the ones who voted circles would attack the X group during lights out.

And while it scared you to no end, specially for your dear baby, his plan was still something your mind could not get. If they had all the power to make so many peopel vanish and also kill them off like it was nothing...what chance did they had against them?

In-ho who knew very well how much that plan would fail (even if he was not inside the games) was only worried over you.

Since the talk during the last game he had got protective. He was by your side, making you be behind him and having a protective grio on your arm or hand.

The rest did notice but no one commented a thing, besides it would only make the athmosphere uncomfortable.

Jun-hee was the only one who had asked you during one go to the restroom. She was not judging, her own baby's father was here after all. She was just curious on what was the story of you two. Why you two seemed to be so apart at the start and now were close.

"Its almost a story you would read on a book" Jun-hee said as you cleaned your hands and laughted.

"Barely, it all started as a one night thing. Then I was so stupid that I forgot the pill. We did not see each other for months and now...we are here"

"But he cares. He cares so much. Really I can see it on how he looks at you!! Even before the migle game"

"Yeah...I do care for him too. I want us to get out and try to live together or be a real couple..."

"Well, we may be able to leave but the plan of Seong..."

"Its crazy. We wont make it. I- I cant even help them"

"I cant either, only thing I can do its hide once the lights go off" Jun-hee tried to make you feel better. "Its better like that, we need to think not only for ourselfs but our babys"

"You are right, but Jun-ho wants to help..."

"You are worried for him" She indicated "Thats cute"

"And a pain, I wish he would have said no to that plan"

"Maybe he is thinking in you and the baby. Maybe he wants to leave really badly and sees no other way out"

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~

Once you two returned the place seemed to be under lots of pressure. There was a tension, how some circles would look at Xs and back. It was unnerving and maybe even worse than the games themselfs.

"Can we talk?" In-ho came towards you "Alone" He added seeing Jun-hee besides you who nodded and went with the rest of the group.

In-ho moved so you two were away from everybody.

"Its this about Gi-hun's plan?" You asked and he nodded.

"Yes, it is. You should hide when the lights go off and not participate when we go for the guns" In-ho said in a serious tone. Even if the guards would never (if they liked their lives) put a hand on you unless he said so, the rest of the players were out of his control.

"I know, I cant do much anyways" You responded touching your belly "Why did you end saying yes ? We could win tomorrow ...."

In-ho took a deep breath. The reason were multiple ones. On one part this would be a good chance to get himself and you out from the games. If he did things right. And on other part he did not want to risk on tomorrow voting. Even if during the night Xs fought and lived nothing did for centrain said they would not vote circle next day.

"I believe in him" He lied "I understand its a dangerous move on our part, but I dont trust the others, not for tonight and not for tomorrow's voting"

You wanted to tell him to back off from it. You did not want to lose him in case the plan went wrong. But his next words shattered you.

"And I want you two out of here. Another game would cause you much stress, its not good for you our the baby...the little one has been strong so far but there is nothing like being safe and out of here"

When he said "little one" there was a small soft smile on his face, you could see how his hands wanted to reach and caress your belly once more but he held himself back.

"Hide well, I mean it. I dont trust any of them"

"I will, please dont worry about me"

Impossible. You and that baby are the most precious things to me right now.

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○

In-ho insisted on staying besides you when the lights went off. Just in case.

He had one hand wrapped around your waist and had pushed your head into his chest. He told you to close your eyes and ignore all of it, that if someone even dared to come near the bed where you two were hide then he would kill them. Of course he did not use these exact words in order not to scare you.

The screams of pain were terrible to hear, In-ho tried to shh you and tell you that it would soon end while also keeping a watchful eye.

Finally it was time, he kissed your cheeck on impulse and told you to not intervene. He went out just as the guards started to get inside the room.

You saw one coming towards him, but before it could even check the infamous chip inside his neck (as Gi-hun had explained earlier) he took them with force and in a clean move ended their life while also taking their gun.

The next was a small exchange of bullets and screams, the guards were finally leaving but one was left behind. Even if you saw them as nothing as monsters...their seemed scared.

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~

"Stay here, no matter what you hear. Stay here with Jun-hee. It will be safe" He assured you, like he knew more than what he was letting out.

"But what if you- what if something happens to you?" You asked him with tears already falling, not knowing that he would be safe.

It broke his heart to see you like that. So worried over him when there was nothing to be worried about. But he could not tell you, not here.

"Shh, I will be fine. I promise you" After a small pause he added "I promise both of you" His hand resting on your belly.

"In-ho, its time" Gi-hun said softly when he saw the exchange, part of him felt bad for interrumping the sweet moment. And was feeling guilty already, he knew he could not let In-ho die.

"Yes, on it"

"I love you, both of you" In-ho softly said finally leaving.

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○

The gunshots would be hear from the room, you flinched everytime, worried that one of these was mean for In-ho.

"Breath (Y/N)" Jun-hee reminded you when she saw you starting to panic. "They will be alright"

"Jun-hee...dont tell me things you can guarnate" You whispered hugging her and she just held you there. It was true, she could not be sure if they would make it.

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~

In his mind this part was supposed to be easy, trick Gi-hun into thinking that he and the rest had died. But it would mean making you believe that he was dead as well.

He pressed his lips on a thin line, worried over you and the baby. His little one. The only good thing was that he would be able to pull you out from the games but-

But you would have to believe that he was indeed dead.

"Take player 344 from the room, bring her to my room and call the Doctor too. Do not harm her" He ordered to one of his most trusted square guards.

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~

Once more the guards entered, pulling everybody to their knees and demanding them to be under control.

You started to tremble not because of the imposed figure of a saqueare guard over you, saying something about you having to go back with them. Your mind was working on In-ho..was he? Was he really?

Jun-hee despite the protest of player 333 went towards you and the guard to try and keep you there saying how you had nothing to do with the attack. But the guard only pointed their gun to her, that broke your somehow dazed state.

"I will go, just let her be"

"No (Y/N)!" Jun-hee tried to go towards you but was held back by Player 333.

"Dont worry Jun-hee" You said giving her a sad smile.

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○

You had no idea where you were being taken. The guard did not say a word but also kept a slow peace like he was taking care over you.

You two made it a elevator, all black inside. The guard urged you inside and pushed some buttons till it started to move.

The doors opened revealing a dark corridor the guard guided you towards a big black door, he opened it revealing a big screen now turned off and a black couch. But there was another guard, however this was only had his face covered by the black fabric only his eyes were seen.

You took note of a few medical tools and you started to get nervous.

"Stay calm, I was told to check on your health and your baby, please sit here. We can move you to the bed to examine your baby"

Now you were confused, why check your health? What about Jun-hee?

"But there is another woman who-"

"I was only told to check on you. Please" He said tone incredible soft.

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○

After the examination the Guard (who told you he was a doctor) said that the baby was healthy, but that you needed rest and more food.

Both guards went to leave, but you stopped them.

"W-wait, im not going back?" You asked confused.

"Player 344, you have been eliminated from the games" Was the only response you got and were left alone in the dark room.

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~

"Sir, player 344 has been examinated and left in your room" The guard said to their Boss who just nodded back.

"I will be there soon"

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~

Hours passed, you were scared. You stayied on the bed, too tired to move, this bed was too confortable too, and after listening to the Doctor's words you imagined this was good for your baby.

Even if you still felt bad.

You had been crying for the last hours, not beliving that In-ho could be dead, no in fact part of you refused to believe it.

And Jun-hee your friend...the one who was in the same desesperated situation as you. You could not believe she was still there...

Outside the door stood In-ho in his Front Man clothes, he was scared of your reaction, would he tell you it was him ? What was he supposed to do ?

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~

The doors opened making a sound, you had fallend asleep after crying. One hand on your belly like you were protecting it even in your sleep.

In-ho felt his heart go down and up, the sight was...beautiful in a strange way. Why could things dont be easier? You could wait for him like this everyday, the three of you could live together and he would be such a good father.

His gloved hand went to touch your face, slowly tracing your cheeck. Your tears broke his heart.

Your eyes started to move, and he pushed himself away. Not wanting to scare you.

Once you finally woke up you saw a dark figured, a black mask, you moved away against the wall.

"W-who are you?" You tone was evident, you were scared and confused.

"Im the Front Man, player 344 you have been eliminated from the games and will be sent back"

"What? Wait, does this mean I-"

In-ho held up his hand dont wanting you to continue, things were already too difficult for him.

"Your situation was analyzed and so decided that you wont continue"

"But- there is another woman! Jun-hee, player 222, she needs to be out as well" You exclaimed getting up and going closer to him.

"Player 222 will continue in the games. Thats final"

"B-but why?"

"Should you not be happy for you and your baby?"

"Im, but im not a hearthless person, if I can get out because of my situation then she can too"

In-ho took a deep breath, he could not believe how even now you were thinking in others.

But he that was part of your charm as well...

"Its a final decision, besides you are soon to give birth. That was what the Doctor said, we cant let that happen in here"

Without thinking his gloved hand went to your belly, one more time, he needed to feel it just one more time-

"Dont touch me" You said in grith theeth taking his hand and pushing it away. In all honestly I hurted him more than any pain he had endured before.

"You are a monster, you- You keep the games going and let others die. You are nothing but a piece of shit"

In-ho knew you were nervous, scared, angry and much more. But your words cut deep, his soul breaking.

"You will be send back home soon. I recommend you dont try to talk about this to others. Nothing good will come from it" These were going to be his last words for you when he turned back.

"W-wait, player 001, In-ho...is he"

"Player 001 has been eliminated" Were his final words, he did not turn when he hear your cry, knowing he would not resist going back and comfort you.

No, instead he went away. Blocking your cries. Outside a guard stood still waiting for orders.

"Check on her, make sure she does not hurt herself and that she eats her food tonight. All of it"

A bittersweet goodbye

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○

Final note: An epilogue will be out !! 💜

~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○~○

Tags:

@maria-trisha @blueyesuguru @imenekiki @victorie767 @futuristicdefendorfart @heyitsmefall

@love-you-louise @fantasylovestoryme @sleepyycatt @nightdark-dreamdark @lindsay00000 @ourlovesarang @smally97 @zigmasstuff @aleemendoz @the-disaster-in-waiting

@ilovequeen978 @sc4rrc @sylviavf @l4venderia @blueeclipsepaperstudent @annasnape7 @llawlietluv @florgenegrastuff @luv1ze @jspidey5

@moonoteru @saaraahnger @hope4rain19 @soniiyi @angelmoneter @skywalker0809 @ashsallyblue2 @realrintaro @bellstwd @tojisrealwifey @otterluver05 @yuan1819 @spanish-delulu-23 @lisaannwalterlover @yodayyy @tenzko @tinylawyerbluebird @istanstraykidss

I could not tag some of you 😔

#squid game x y/n #squid game imagine #squid game imagines #squid game x reader #in ho x reader

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svetamillss · 3 days ago

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Headcanons: their jealousy❤️‍🔥

Featuring: Kang Sae Byeok x Reader(f), Cho Hyun Ju x Reader(f), Ji Yeong x Reader(f), Kim Jun Hee x Reader(f)

A/N: Orders are always open for you!

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Kang Sae Byeok

She's not the girl who will be jealous. And it's not even about the trust you've been building with her for a very long time, it's that she knows her worth and understands that you won't leave her for someone else.

But instead of jealousy, she has a huge malice towards some people, namely to men who like to flirt with you when she goes somewhere for a short time. And then she has two options. The first option: she will calmly ask they to leave you alone. The second option: if they don't listen, she'll hit them.

The second happens more often, because the men think she's just joking.

- God, you broke his nose! - you said in horror when the two of you ran away.

- There's nothing to touch someone else's. I said him, but he didn't listen. That's why it's his own fault. But now I won't leave you, it will be safer that way. - she said the last sentence with a slight smile.

You understood, even if she is not jealous of you to others, it does not mean that she does not love you.

Cho Hyun Ju

Your girlfriend may be jealous, but not because she doesn't trust, she just often thinks that you deserve more than her.

And every time you have a nice conversation with your friends, she looks at it with a slight irritation and you immediately feel it.

- Did something happen, Hyunnie? - you ask when you finished the phone conversation with your friend.

- No, everything is fine. It's just that you talked so sweetly with your friend. - she said, sulking slightly on you.You approached her and buried your face in her chest.

- You're jealous, Hyunnie.

- Not at all! What did you get it from! - she said nervously, which made you laugh from her.

- When you lying, you blush.

- I blushed from your actions, not from lies, baby. - she tried to get out, but under your eyes she gave up and admitted that she was jealous.

- My dear Hyunnie, you know that I don't need anyone but you and I love only you. - you said, gently kissing his face, you knew that it was a good way to calm a girl down.

- I know, but I can't help myself.

- So all evening I'll be proving to you that you don't need to be jealous. - you answered teasingly and it seems that she understood.

Ji Yeong

Your girlfriend is not jealous. Again, it's not about trust, but about the fact that she doesn't need it at all. After all, you spend all your free time with Ji Yeong, only your work distances you from each other.

You don't have many friends like she does, so you're always with a girl.

And when you sit in a cafe and a guy appears on the horizon who looks at you for a very long time, your reaction will make her laugh a lot.

- Honey, that guy at the next table has been looking at you for a long time, it even seems to me that he will hypnotize my girlfriend soon. - she says with a pretend resentment.

- It's strange, I don't see anyone here except you. - you answer, without even looking around, just looking into the girl's eyes.

- That's why I love you.

- I know, my love.

Kim Jun Hee

Your girlfriend is jealous, but not very much, you almost always spend time with her and her child. She even gets ashamed sometimes when she is jealous of you to your friends or work colleagues, because you are the perfect girl.

You are more jealous in your couple, especially to her ex-boyfriend Le Myung Gi, who often revolves around her and the child, although there is nothing to be surprised about, the child is from him.

The girl feels it and explains to you that she doesn't love him anymore and will never come back to him.

- Honey, I'm talking to him only because of the child, so I would have stopped communicating with him a long time ago. - she said hugging you when she saw jealous looks from you.

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

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revelboo · 1 day ago

Note

Who is your favorite Cybertronian to write for? If you don't mind me asking!

To write for? I think I’m having the most fun writing the Scavengers right now. I like dysfunctional group dynamics, but the Trine’s probably my second favorite group. For a single Cybertronian? Probably Wasp 😆

I’m so sorry for this- but I have weird ideas early in the morning and couldn’t help but think there’d be a reality out there where the war ended before it reached Earth. That maybe Earth gets discovered by Swindle and a few other opportunists. And he’d just be scooping up humans by the handfuls to sell as ‘pets/toys.’

18+

No Strings

Rainmakers x Reader

• “Nova’s just under a lot of stress lately and I’d heard that you-” Words faltering as Acid Storm follows Swindle into the back of the ship and his optics slide up to the video screens playing above the rows of cages. Wings flicking slightly at the sounds, the whimpers and moans. “Ah.” What was he saying? When he’d heard about Swindle’s operation, he’d laughed at first. Because it had sounded like a bad joke. But then he’d kept thinking about it. Gotten curious.

• “Nothing better for stress than a good frag,” Swindle says, grinning and gesturing to the row of cages. “And fragging is pretty much all these things do. Why they’re separated. They may take some breaking in and training, but I’ve got all the supplies you’ll need.” Turning to watch the Seeker bend to look into a cage, frowning when the human scoots to the far side. “They’re a bit skittish at first.” Why he’d paid Shockwave to synthesize him doses of what Swindle had affectionately dubbed Playtime. A little chemical pheromone, that when added to their water guaranteed not only cooperation, but enthusiasm. And a continued source of shanix after the initial sale as his buyers returned for more.

• “They look kind of like squishy, little Cybertronians,” Acid Storm mutters as he taps the front of a cage to send the little creature inside scurrying to the back, chattering at him. Is it speaking? “Are they sentient?” Drifting to the next cage, his wings flick. Keeps getting distracted by the vids.

• “Of course not. Smart enough to train, though.” Folding his arms behind his back, Swindle watches the Seeker wander around the room to inspect the pets. “That said, all sales are final and no sampling the merchandise.”

• Stopping at a cage with a pet curled into a back corner, he taps the door. Frightened eyes lift to stare at him, but you’re not leaking like some of the pets at least or screaming. Seem docile enough as you turn your little face away, hair brushing your shoulder. Submissive might be fun. “Can I see this one?”

• They’re back. When the monstrous robots show up, someone gets taken away. And they’d stopped in front of your cage. When you’d woken up confused and frightened here, you’d tried to talk to the guy in the cage beside yours only to realize you couldn’t understand each other. Hadn’t been able to yell loud enough over the damn porn looping on the screens to be heard by anyone who spoke your language either. And the robot acting as caretaker either can’t understand you or doesn’t care. When the familiar one opens your cage door, you make a doomed attempt to avoid that big hand and cry out when you get pinned to the side of the cage and grabbed anyway. As they talk about you in their growling, alien gibberish, you try to wriggle free before realizing how high up you are. Don’t know what they want with you, but given the porn? You’re have a pretty good idea and you sincerely hope you’re wrong. Because there’s no way you’re meant for that with these giants.

• Venting softly as Swindle lifts you free and places you in his hands, Acid Storm can feel the rapid beat of your heart against his servos as he strokes soft skin. And you go still and docile in his grip, breathing rapidly. Afraid or cold? You’re shivering against him. Running a servo up your frame to tip your chin his way, you grab on with both tiny hands. Head lifting from those pretty eyes when Swindle brings over a little harness and carefully puts in on you, attaching a length of leash. “That’s too short,” he says and Swindle just grins.

• “Not when you’re mass displaced. Trust me, you’ll want it for training them to take a spike.” Filling a crate with food, water, and blankets, he holds up the bottle of Playtime. “Before you try to frag them, dose them. Just make sure not to exceed the recommended dosage.” Otherwise their little hearts can stop, but he keeps that to himself, seeing the Seeker already frowning. “They can be a bit skittish the first time. You’ll want this.”

• Frowning as Swindle adds the tiny bottle to your supplies, he runs a servo over you and glances up at the screens. “How much for the pet?”

#transformers x reader #acid storm #Acid Storm x Reader #rainmakers x reader

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nanenna · 3 hours ago

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No one: Absolutely not a single person: Me: TIME FOR SAD DANNY HOUR! 8D

✨Bad Ending✨

CW: Major character death, child death, dead dove

Seriously, I know the Phandom plays around with death themes a lot but this isn't some cutesy for fun temporary undeath. A child dies permanently, irrevocably, and does not come back in any shape or form. So if that's not your cup of tea please do not click that readmore.

---

Danny had been telling the truth… mostly. He was a clone of Batman (of Bruce), his blood definitely had something wrong with it (it came out of the centrifuge with a green layer), and his DNA was even worse (it nearly bricked the analyzer). But the sample wasn’t degrading like Danny claimed it would. The green layer dissipated quickly, but the rest of his blood simply stayed there and didn’t change while they read over the information he’d provided and ran tests. As many tests as they could, anything to stall Danny for as long as possible.

Danny seemed to feel it, growing ever more anxious the longer it took to get an answer from them. “Just yes or no, you’ve read everything I gave you, you’ve run so many tests, just tell me if you’re willing to give a sample or not.”

“Why a sample? Why not let us help you?” Batman asked.

“Because… because you can’t. You don’t know… he’s the only one…” Danny huffed in frustration. “Please, just… please!”

Batman sighed, but nodded. Danny looked so relieved, Batman truly did believe Danny needed his blood to save a life, just not Danny’s life. Clones are rarely made one at a time, afterall. And when it comes down to it Batman’s goal is always saving lives.

He watched as his sons surreptitiously tossed trackers of various kinds at Danny’s back. Nightwing came over to offer Danny support and give him a slip of paper with a phone number on it, and slipped a tracker under Danny’s hood when he patted him consolingly.

Batman slipped a tracker onto the underside of the stopper he put on the vial full of his blood. Enough to stabilize a clone, hopefully not enough to make more. He sighed, it definitely would be, he just prayed whoever Danny was getting help from didn’t want more clones. “Here.”

“Thank you,” Danny said sincerely, then took off the bag that had been slung across his body and lowered to squat on the floor. From within the bag he pulled out a small styrofoam container, he opened the lid to reveal a small bed of shaved ice. Batman squinted, was the ice tinged green?

While Danny concentrated on carefully nesting the vial in the ice, Batman watched three different trackers sail from across the room to land in the bag. A fourth hit the lip of the bag and bounced off, Red Robin hissed in disappointment.

A phone started ringing.

Danny’s eyes went wide and his lip started trembling. “No,” he whispered harshly. Then with trembling hands he pulled out a phone and stared in horror at the screen. Danny sucked in a breath as he attempted, then finally managed to answer the phone. “Jazz.”

Danny listened for a moment, then fell backwards to sit on the ground, hunched forward as he stared down at the ground between his legs. “No, Jazz please, she can’t be. The ecto-...” He trailed off as he sucked in a shaky breath, the hand not holding the phone came up to cover his eyes. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Bruce looked away, suddenly feeling guilty for how long they’d spent giving Danny the run around.

“I’m not coming back,” Danny said hollowly.

Bruce looked back over, Danny was still sitting slumped on the floor, the hand that had been over his eyes now laying limply on the ground between his akimbo legs.

“No, Jazz, why would I go back? Vlad couldn’t keep up his end of the deal, I have no reason to keep mine.” He paused, clearly listening to whoever was on the other end of the line. “So what? I’ll figure it out later… No Jazz, YOU don’t understand. It doesn’t matter!” Danny’s legs folded to sit under him, his hunch turning into him leaning forward to be held up by his arm. “I’m not going back, I have nothing to go back to. I’ve lost everything! My home, my friends, and now Dani. I never want to see his face again, if you choose to stay there that’s on you.” He sat up and ended the call, then rose up onto his knees and held the phone up like he was about to smash it. He seemed to think better of it and instead tucked the phone back into his pocket.

“Danny,” Batman started gently, stepping forward.

Danny picked up the little styrofoam box and threw at the wall, it shattered on impact, sending blood, ice, and shards of glass across the floor. The bag followed, hitting the stone with a resounding thwack. He threw his head back and opened his mouth to reveal a wicked set of fangs as he started yelling, one long drawn out note.

A layer of frost splashed across the floor in a circle around Danny. He somehow continued to yell despite not stopping to breathe, the sound somehow twisting into something ear piercing.

Batman stepped back and instinctively covered his ears.

Danny leaned forward, eyes squeezed tightly shut as he continued the yell, something dark flicking from his mouth to little red freckles across the building frost. Blood. It was little droplets of blood. Danny was shredding his own throat in his grief.

Batman rushed to Danny’s side, kneeling on the floor next to the boy and pulling him to lean against his chest. This close he was certain Danny’s yell was going to damage his ears, Bruce only hoped it wouldn’t be permanent.

Danny turned his face to press against Batman’s chest, the yell turning into heart wrenching sobs, thankfully without the power the yell had had. Danny clung to Batman, claws tearing through the cape and armor covering his back. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, freezing Danny’s face to the bat symbol. Bruce started rocking, just letting Danny cry and cry and cry.

💚🦇👻🖤

The next morning Bruce checked over the report he’d made on Danny’s situation to make sure everything made sense and there weren��t any embarrassing typos, then finally sent it to Jim. He leaned back in his office chair and turned to stare out the window. Danny had cried until he’d fallen asleep the night before, sitting on the frozen cave floor as Bruce held him. They’d put the boy to bed after that, but they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since. Understandable, it seemed like he’d been under a lot of stress for quite some time, but with as late as the morning had gotten Bruce was beginning to worry.

With a heavy sigh he got up headed for the family wing, Alfred had wisely prepared a room for him after Danny received his news last night. If what he’d said while drowning under that first wave of grief was true then he had no where else to go. And even if he did Alfred would likely keep that room just for him now, just as Dick and Tim and Jason still had rooms in the manor.

Bruce gently knocked on Danny’s door. When no response came he eased the door open and peeked in. The bed was a mess, blankets tossed aside and half falling to the floor. Danny’s shoes were still on the floor next to the bed, the clean clothes lent to Danny were still sitting folded neatly on top of the dresser, untouched. Bruce leaned in a little further to look behind the door, Danny was sitting next to the window, staring listlessly out it.

Bruce cleared his throat, “Good morning, Danny.”

“It’s not,” Danny replied hoarsely.

“No, no I suppose it’s not.” Bruce cringed internally, buried memories of just how raw the world felt when his parents died, what little wasn’t just a long blur. If the other clone, the other Danny was raised next to this one as a twin he can only imagine how that would hurt. He let himself into the room, softly closing the door behind himself. He walked over to the desk and picked up the chair, gently setting it down just across from Danny. “Do you want to talk about him? The other Danny?”

Danny snorted, “It’s Dani with an i, short for Danielle, though she hated being called that about as much as I hate being called Daniel. Guess she got it from me.”

Bruce felt a chill run up his spine. “Got it from you?”

“She wasn’t your clone,” Danny finally looked away from the window, turning his hollow gaze on Bruce, “she was mine.”

Bruce closed his eyes. An original’s relationship with a clone could be very complicated, if they’d been fully aged up they would usually settle on siblings, but if the clone was any younger, and sometimes even if they weren’t, parental feelings could get mixed into that. Danny hadn’t lost a twin, he’d just lost a child.

“It’s how I found out I was a clone, actually, she was so unstable. So were the others, but she was the only one stick around.”

Bruce sat back in his seat heavily, but nodded to show he was still listening.

“It was awful, watching people with my face melt.”

Bruce’s eyes flew back open, melt?! That was not normal!

Danny had gone back to staring out the window, cheek leaning against a hand propped up on the armchair’s arms. “I always thought Dani’d be okay though, even if she also almost melted once. I thought the ecto-dejecto cured her, but it turns out it was just a stop-gap. She wasn’t as old as the others though, guess Vlad stopped aging her when he realized she wasn’t going to be his “perfect son” and all.”

“Rapid aging has been known to cause health problems, but no one who’s had it done to them have lived long enough to know what the long term side effects are.”

Danny nodded. “She was so bright and full of life, so excited to go experience the world.” Danny paused, hand curling into a fist in his lap. “She came back to Amity to celebrate her first birthday…”

Just a baby, even if she were aged up she was still just a baby.

“... and that just happened to be when everything went to shit.”

Silence fell between them then. Bruce wasn’t sure what to say, so like always he simply said nothing. There was a lot they still had to talk about, did Danny really have no home? What were those powers he displayed last night? Who had tried to clone him? Would he please stay? Bruce found himself hoping the answer to that last question was a yes, but he knew logically that Danny needed the support of people he actually knew right now. Bruce could suggest Danny take a shower and change, come downstairs and eat, go outside and get some fresh air, talk and interact and continue living, but Bruce couldn’t bully him into selfcare the way Alfred did for Bruce. Whoever Jazz is might, whoever belonged to the other names in his phone might, but from a practical stranger like Bruce it would only cause Danny more stress.

“You’re welcome to stay here,” Bruce eventually said after the silence had stretched on. Danny blinked owlishly at him. “You didn’t choose how you were born, so far as I’m concerned you’re my son just as much as Damian.”

“I guess,” Danny replied listlessly, turning back to the window.

Bruce stood up, “I know you probably don’t feel hungry right now, but you should eat.” He held a hand out to Danny.

Danny stared at Bruce’s hand for a long moment before finally taking it and standing up, then he allowed Bruce to keep hold of his hand as he led the boy down to the kitchen. It may not seem like much, but it was a start.

Gut Feeling

DPXDC

Commissioner Jim Gordon meets an odd kid in the precinct.

“Come on, you really don’t have a way to directly contact Batman?”

Jim smiled. Kids came to the station and asked that all the time. Usually, it was just curiosity and showing them the signal was enough to get them to sign up for the Junior Police program. This one looked a little older than most, teenagers were often “too old” to believe in Batman, but again, give them a little faith now and they’ll never loose it.

“Lookin’ for the Bat, kid?” Jim asked, knowing he was about to make this kid’s –

Jim froze. The kid turned to face him and it was Bruce Wayne. Not playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne, but freshly a teenager Bruce Wayne. The Bruce Wayne who Jim had checked in on time and again from age eight until he ran off on a globetrotting trip to find himself. The little Bruce Wayne with too pale skin and dark bags under his eyes, and not enough love to make up for all the grief weighing him down. And he didn’t look like Damian either, where Bruce was obviously his father but there were distinct traits from his mother. This was a carbon copy of a boy Jim remembered vividly.

“I am.” He even sounded like teenage Bruce. All business, like he was on a mission.

“I might be able to help you, but it’ll take a while.” Jim said and the officer the kid had been talking too gave him an odd look. He waved her off and told the kid to follow him to the commissioner’s office. Normally, he’d be more dramatic, put on more of a show for the kid, but his gut told him this was different, this was important. He offered the kid a styrofoam cup of water then closed the door behind him. “So, what do you need to talk to Batman for?”

“It’s personal. I need to talk to him in person.”

Jim took a sip of coffee from his cup. “He doesn’t appreciate me calling for no reason in the middle of the day.”

“So you do have a direct line?” The kid nearly jumped out of his seat. “If he’s upset, it’ll be my fault, just call him, please.”

“Who should I say wants to talk to him?”

The kid hesitated. “He doesn’t know me, but I have to talk to him.”

Jim frowned. “What’s your name, kid?”

He swallowed and looked like he wasn’t going to answer for a moment. “Danny.”

“Danny…?” Jim wanted a last name but Danny kept quiet. Jim sighed, “He’s likely not going to show up until sundown.”

“I can wait, as long as you guarantee he’ll show.”

“And you’re not going to tell me why you need Batman?” Jim just got a glare in response. “What about one of the other heroes?”

“Only Batman, no one else can help.”

“You sure about that? Not even Superman?”

“Not unless Superman can get me in the same room as Batman.”

“Why’s it so important that you meet him in person?”

“It’s personal.”

Jim liked this less and less by the minute. “Do your parents know you’re here?”

Danny looked away but right when it looked like he wouldn’t say anything he mumbled. “They wouldn’t care anyway.”

After another moment to give the kid time to reconsider, Jim pulled out the Bat-phone. It was a normal Wayne-Tech cell phone, but Jim had been given very specific instructions on how and when to use it. The phone listed all the Gotham Vigilantes without visible numbers so they couldn’t be copied and handed out. He pressed the one for Batman.

“Stand outside, would you?” The kid gave him a look, but followed the request. Jim could see his shadow in the door’s window, not so subtle eavesdropping.

It rang a few times, and Jim sat there awkwardly with a teenager listening to his every move. Finally, a familiar voice picked up the other end of the line. “Commissioner Gordon.”

“Sorry to call you out of the blue Batman, but I’ve got a kid here who needs your help.”

“Who?”

“Says his name is Danny, that you’ve never met him but you’re the only one who can help him.”

“Why?”

“Refuses to tell me.”

“What’s your best guess, Commissioner?”

Jim looked at Danny’s shadow, it looked like he was straining his ears to try and hear what he was saying. Danny had given him almost nothing to work with. Just his name, that he’s never met Batman but needs to talk with him in person. But Jim was here because he listened to his gut. A feeling like when you see a random rock on your neighbor’s doorstep but you’d never go in without an invitation. A feeling like you know what’s in the present and are preparing your surprised face. A feeling like when you cheated on your wife and you know she knows.

“He looks like Bruce Wayne.”

A beat of silence. “What?”

“Danny looks exactly like Bruce when he was a teenager. Exactly the same.” Jim hoped Batman would get it, feel in his gut what Jim felt.

“And he wont say why he’s there?”

“No, and he demands to see you in person.”

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

“10-4.” The line cut off before Jim had finished saying it. He called Danny in again. “He’s on his way.”

Danny glared at him. “If he’s not, if you called some social worker or something, you’ll regret it.”

“I’m sure.” Jim sighed and downed the rest of his now cold coffee.

The sun hadn’t set, but only just barely. Jim ended up taking Danny up to the roof in the end after all, if only to save his window from being broken into. The kid had a red hoodie on, but he was still shivering in the autumn chill and it was just going to get colder by the minute as the sun made its way behind the horizon.

Jim checked his watch and, at exactly an hour from when he called, he acted surprised when Batman and Robin appeared out of nowhere. “Bats.”

“Commissioner.” Batman greeted but his eyes went straight for Danny. “Danny, I assume.”

“Yeah, I…” Danny hesitated, looking at Jim and Robin.

All it took was four words from Batman. “What do you need?”

The kid held out his hand with a flash drive in it. “I’m your clone. My par- The people who made me wanted to make a stronger version of you, but they got ahead of themselves. My DNA is degrading and I’ll die if I don’t get your DNA to stabilize me.”

Holy cow.

“You don’t expect us to believe that, do you?” Robin sneered at him.

“The flash drive has all the info on it. All the data about the cloning process and the, uh, relevant experiments after that.” Batman gave the kid a look. “I didn’t want to waste time on unnecessary data.”

“If what you’re saying is true, why are you here, alone? Are they working on a different solution?”

Danny’s shoulders hiked up. “I’ve been a failure for a while now, I’m not worth the resources and they’d learn more from an autopsy.”

Oof, kid. Jim looked at Batman who seemed to feel the same… if Jim was reading him right.

“So, you wont object to a DNA test?” Robin asked with a cocky head tilt, at least he was relatively easy to read.

“You can try.” Danny said, and then realized what that sounded like. “I mean I wont stop you, but my DNA degrades faster outside my body. You’ll have to take me to whatever lab you plan on using.”

“Then we will.” Batman said and jerked his head towards where they’d probably parked that ridiculous car of his. But then he looked at Jim with a nod. “Commissioner.”

“Batman.” Jim returned the nod. “You’ll tell me how things turn out, yeah?”

“I’ll give you a report.” Batman joked – Jim could tell, it was gut feeling.

#dpxdc #danny phantom #dc comics #batman #sad danny hour #nenna writes

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itsnesss · 19 hours ago

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Do you write for nam gyu?

𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 | nam-gyu (player 124) × fem!reader

summary | amid the chaos of squid game, Nam-gyu shows his softer side only to you, offering rare moments of comfort before the next deadly challenge

warnings | fluff, mentions of violence, survival themes

word count | 1.8 k

author's note | it would help me a lot if you liked, commented and reposted so that more people read what I write and don't forget to follow me, thanks ᡣ𐭩

The atmosphere in the room is tense, weighed down by distrustful glances and the echo of orders barked by emotionless guards. But you've learned to make yourself small, to find spaces where the air feels a little lighter, even if just for brief moments.

Tonight, the dimmest corner of the makeshift dormitory is your refuge. Your back rests against the cold wall as your thoughts drift between distant memories and the uncertainty of tomorrow’s game. You have no idea what new horrors they’ve prepared, but the constant threat of not waking up the next day keeps you on edge.

“Are you hiding again?”

Nam-gyu’s familiar voice cuts through your thoughts like a sharp blade, but there’s something in his tone that makes you smile despite it all. You turn your head to see him approaching, hands shoved into the pockets of his uniform, an expression that mixes boredom with curiosity.

“Aren’t you doing the same?” you reply.

“I don’t hide,” he says, letting his weight fall beside you. “I’m just taking a break from the circus of idiots in there.”

You let out a small laugh, though you know he’s not entirely joking. Nam-gyu has no problem making it clear how little he cares for the other players. His sarcastic, sometimes cruel attitude keeps almost everyone at a distance.

“Sometimes I think you enjoy being the villain,” you tease, half-joking, half-serious.

He glances at you out of the corner of his eye, a crooked smile tugging at his lips.

“Maybe. But you seem to be the only one who’s not afraid of me.”

“Maybe because I know you’re not as bad as you want people to believe,” you say confidently.

Nam-gyu doesn’t reply right away. The silence stretches between you, comfortable, almost soothing.

“Do you think tomorrow’s game will be worse than today’s?” you ask, your voice trembling slightly.

“Probably,” he admits bluntly. “They always find a way to tighten the noose.”

His words should scare you, but instead, there’s something oddly reassuring about his brutal honesty.

“Did you ever think you’d end up in a place like this?”

Nam-gyu lets out a bitter laugh.

“Suppose so. When you make enough wrong choices, you end up in places like this.”

The honesty in his words surprises you. It’s rare for him to show anything beyond his arrogant front.

“What about you?” he suddenly asks, his tone softer than usual. “How does a girl like you end up here?”

“Debts,” you reply bluntly. “Not too different from most people here, I guess.”

Nam-gyu nods, understanding without needing more details.

“Look, I’m not good at this whole ‘being nice’ thing,” he admits, “but if I’ve learned anything, it’s that surviving doesn’t have to be a solo game.”

You look at him, surprised by the unexpected confession.

“Is that your way of saying we’re a team?”

He lets out a dry laugh.

“Guess so. Just don’t expect me to be nice to the rest of those idiots...”

As days pass, Nam-gyu remains an asshole to nearly everyone — except you. While he snaps at or ignores the other players, he’s surprisingly tolerant, even protective, when it comes to you.

One afternoon, when another player tries to intimidate you, Nam-gyu steps in without a second thought.

“If you’ve got a problem with her, then you’ve got a problem with me,” he says, his voice low and dangerous.

The other man quickly backs off, making it clear no one wants to cross Nam-gyu.

When you return to your corner, Nam-gyu follows, his expression still hard.

“You didn’t have to do that,” you say softly.

“Yes, I did,” he responds without hesitation. “I won’t let anyone touch you.”

Time seems to freeze for a moment. You know his defiant attitude puts him at risk, but the way he stands by you, regardless of the consequences, fills you with something close to hope.

That night, the tension in the room eases a little. The players, exhausted by the constant struggle, finally drift into restless sleep. You and Nam-gyu sit together, your shoulders nearly touching.

“You know, when we get out of here,” you begin, “we should go dancing.”

He lets out a genuine laugh, something rare and precious in this grim place.

“Dancing? You and me?”

“Sure. You said you hate dancing, but I think you might surprise me.”

“Don’t expect miracles,” he says, but there’s a spark in his eyes you can’t ignore.

“And you? Do you imagine anything after all this?” you ask softly, lowering your voice as if afraid to break the fragile moment.

“Never thought I’d live long enough to imagine it,” Nam-gyu admits. “But... maybe with you, I can.”

His blunt sincerity makes your chest tighten. You know nothing is guaranteed, not even making it to sunrise, but in this dark corner, the two of you find a fleeting sanctuary.

And though the uncertainty of tomorrow’s game still looms, here, next to Nam-gyu, a small breath of relief feels possible.

#squid game 2 #squid game #squid games #player 124 #nam gyu #nam gyu squid game #nam gyu x reader #player 124 x reader

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radbelinda · 8 hours ago

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One of the things that strikes me about the whole Neil Gaiman thing is that people really want to portray Amanda Palmer as being a remorselessly complicit figure, when a lot of things that are very obviously fucked up and menacing when you put it next to the actual assaults going on - are perfectly normalised and accepted within poly/ENM world. All of these things are fucked up and menacing, but the bubble of pseudo-feminist poly world is incredibly effective at making you totally oblivious to the fact that you're opening the door to abuse and emotional damage.

The thing of 'oh we just slept together and I took a consensual nude of you, now can I have your consent to send it to my husband' is a feature of poly culture, not a bug. Suggestive and inappropriate comments to a woman about how hot your husband will find her are completely normalised. A statement from your husband like 'I don't get to play with my Dom side with you, so I need to be with other women who are natural subs' (which I suspect is the reason he gave when he kept having affairs when she was eight months pregnant, after agreeing to be monogamous) is something that culture will expect you to be completely Cool Girl about. Being blasé when a woman comes to you and says 'your husband made a pass at me' is also the expected Cool Girl reaction. Bringing women into your circle that you think your husband will find hot is completely par for the course in those mindsets and part of being a good and fun and sexy partner - no one doing that in poly culture thinks of themselves as 'feeding him women to rape' or grooming. Lots of people seem to find Amanda telling Neil that he couldn't hit on Scarlett, but still leaving him alone with her, to be jawdropping - but, as someone who has had people in ENM relationships exhibit poor boundaries around me and try to insinuate me into their sex lives in inappropriate ways, I know that that kind of thing is seen as due diligence and an appropriate way to navigate a situation. My experience of people immersed in that kind of culture is just this general assumption that words and agreements are magic - that all you need to do is communicate and agree terms and everything is fine, and if an agreement is violated you just need to communicate more and agree terms and everything is fine, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

What a lot of people want (and have wanted all along when they were making jokes about how understandable it was for Neil to 'fly across the world to escape having lockdown with her') is for Amanda Palmer to have been a truly abhorrent person, when the truth is that the whole culture around poly/ENM/open relationships - not necessarily the stated rules everyone claims to be abiding by, but the actual culture itself - encourages this stuff, especially from women.

I'm not suggesting Amanda is a victim in anywhere close to the same way as any of the women profiled in the reportage, and I do think her learned obliviousness enabled her complicity in creating a situation like Scarlett being left alone with Neil, but she has clearly been manipulated as well. Think of how insanely manipulative it was for him to wait until she was in late-stage pregnancy to start violating the terms of their marriage, how he surprised her with a lot of 'dark' elements of his personality after they were already married with a child, how we don't even necessarily know how much control she had over the marital pursestrings, how (as covered in the Tortoise podcasts) he would pressure the woman who lived on his estate into sexual activity by saying that Amanda, not him, wanted to sell the house and kick her out - and that if she kept him sweet he'd be her advocate against his evil wife. He is so clearly a profoundly manipulative person and it's just lunacy to suggest that none of that manipulation will have been targeted at Amanda.

#neil gaiman #also: that her being silent about this is almost certainly for legal reasons to do with custody battles #and I think everyone can agree that however problematic you find her as a person #however much this makes you scream and cry to admit #the best option is very very clearly for her to get sole custody of that child

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playfullypastelpupper · 2 days ago

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CW/TW- Kink Mentioned ---------------------------------- --------------------------

I agree on not villainizing and trying their events if you feel safe. There is a lot of sfw members in those communities. I for one was in those communities as sfw before I knew regression. But like others said- PTSD and minors are in our community. They can't go to these events. We also got to keep in mind regression can be involuntary and can be outside of an adult headspace. Are they excluded for not being able to give consent in the moment? Are most of these events accommodating? We also got to keep in mind littles apart of DID systems. What if they go to a panel that seems safe but includes kink terminology and roleplaying and then the systems have to explain. In regard there are many people there who are in an adult mindset and may talk about adult topics even if you don't consent to it nearby. It can knock the agere out of their safe mindset or trigger PTSD in that moment. For PTSD it can be scary to approach or even consider attending. They deserve a space as much as anyone. A place their own. I understand going out and trying things. The conventions are really nice for nostalgia and having fun. But I can't say it's completely sfw for a regressor as someone who also watched the cons and interacted with the community. It can have subtle small flags that may send an age regressor into turmoil who feels unsafe. For example a food panel could end up with suggestive roleplaying. Or someone may bring up kink exploration during a meetup. Even a playroom could have NSFW conversations hinted at. Its fair they'd want their own space as much as its fine if you want to explore these events yourself. Everyone cares for their safety and wants differently. Saying they should go and try this while treating others feelings as something to be mad about is unfair. I get agere can be hard to duals and kink. I've seen some strong words said. I know people hurt by it. People who felt excluded and guilty for who they are. I agree. Yes we can tone down our own emotions to be kinder. We can, especially through understanding. There is nothing wrong with feeling that way or different expressions of age regression that don't fit in neatly. I'm glad people can relate. I'm glad they have the opportunity to do this if they are comfortable. It's a great way to regain some childhood back or self grow. But separation as a community exists for a reason. Some of these policings happened because of the past harm peoples been through and the fear of it happening to others or even to themselves. If you're hurt at someone not wanting minors seeing kink content or ending up in kink spaces due to crosstagging. (Which mind you duals tend not to crosstag because they understand.) Age regressors not wanting to be kicked out of their own spaces, which has happened, and turned into a dating/NSFW space. Or kicked into a bad space because of seeing something that may remind them of trauma. All because you don't care for separation. And Without separation looking for a Caregiver can turn dangerous. Then maybe you need just as much understanding for other age regressors experiences as much as sfw kink. Because even if they are SFW they are still in a Kink Space. History is important here. We have a whole history on why we stay apart as communities online. What I'm trying to get at.. Don't undermine experiences or concerns. You can't rise a group up and then beat another down. You can dislike something but you should be careful with the impact you speak of. You don't have to understand for them to have an opinion on their boundaries. And I'm sorry to any age regressors that read this post and saw them calling those above an embarrassment for simply being uncomfortable with kink in their space. I understand being hurt by mean words like calling someone 'icky' for existing. That hurts people too. Just bare in mind there is also no excuse for calling someone names. You are just as wrong. Either one can be mean and guilt causing toward that person. Just stay safe and love who you are. Take care kiddos

Stealing these photos from a K!nk convention because these looks like so much fun and I wish I could have this environment for non-sexual agere littles.

#agere #kink mentioned #discourse

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fandomobbsessedb · 3 days ago

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Your Favorite Players Favorite Player.

Young-Il/ Frontman / In-Ho/ Player 001 x Gi-Hun's Sister Reader)

Chapter 3 : Childs Play

Warnings: Guns, Blood, Swearing, Violence, Some up close and personal moments.

Words that look like this are inner thoughts.

Opening the small container they gave us for lunch, I found an egg, rice, some kimchi, and other vegetables. It looked a lot like the lunches Gi-hun mom use to make for me. It didn’t look exactly the same but it was strikingly similar. After taking a bite I set it down to look at how others were fairing with their lunches. Gi-hun wasn’t eating, instead a whole bunch of O’s were surrounding him, and he had this desolate look on his face. With a sigh of annoyance I picked up my food and made my way towards them all. I came around the back and sat in the middle of the stairs so I was a comfortable distance from Gi-hun, but close enough that anything I said was still relevant.

“We had to pick out one of the four shapes.” He sort of half mumbled.

“So of those, which one was the easiest to do?” Jung-Bae spat, with a mouth full of food.

“Triangle” my brother answered.

“And the hardest?” He asked again.

“OH MY GOD don’t you people have better things to do, I’m trying to eat in peace over here. Everyone wants to fucking win so bad but they chose to stay-“ I mumbled at the end of my exclamation.

Turning around Gi-hun gazed at his sister, wondering how long she had been sitting there and trying to eat. He looked down at his half eaten egg and cup of rice and decided he couldn’t eat anymore, just thinking about his future inside the building and his sisters, and passed her the rest of his meal. She looked down at it before grabbing the box, nodding at his subtle gesture. A silent understanding seeming to have grown between them since their argument the previous day. She returned to her curled up position near the top of the stairs and continued to eat.

After finishing her tin, and the leftover of her brothers she finally tuned back into the conversation.

“You were in the marines?” Jung-Bae asked inspecting Dae-Ho’s sleeve.

Jung-Bae simply chuckled and called at ease. As the two of them slapped and yelled around you noticed your brother turning to look at you with a “wtf” face. You matched it shrugging and went back to tuning them out.

“What are you doing over here?” I asked, resting my head on one arm and looking at 001.

“I had some questions for 456 here.” He said slightly gesturing to Gi-hun as he went back to watching the two marines.

“What about you?” He turned to meet your gaze again. “I thought your bed was on the other side?” He questioned. Weird he knows where your bed is.

“I just came over because-“ you caught yourself mid sentence not really sure what to say, you didn’t want to out loud admit why, but you also didn’t have a good knack for lying. “I wanted to… wanted to see the commotion and shit.” Gi-hun listened in, you may be here to play games, but he’s not.

“Is that really why or did you need something jamae?” He said with a stern yet soft tone. You looked back at him from 001 and rolled your eyes.

“Ugh nothing, again why are you always in. My. Business.” You punctuated. Angrily slamming your trays down, and starting to walk away, when a fight on the other side, near your bed, caught your attention. Two guys beating up player 333. It captured your attention and paused your angry leave. As you were stuck watching you felt a gentle hand on your shoulder, lead you backwards to stand farther away from the danger. Shifting your gaze you saw 001 walking towards them.

“Hey, kids. What makes you think you can behave like that? Especially while people are eating. And in front of your elders and ladies too. It's bad manners, not to mention it's two against one. Shame on you guys.” He said loudly grabbing the rooms attention.

You sat and watched as the two started talking to him. They went to pounce when effortlessly, he grabbed Thanos by the neck. As the other one was coming up he simply shot his leg out kicking him down. You watched him turn Thanos onto the ground in anger.

Woah that… is really hot, whaaaaat the hell.

Just watching that I felt my heart beat pick up, my face feels kinda warm too. I applauded with the rest of the room but found him walking back making direct eye contact with me. When he got back the group started questioning him as I just sat and examined him like some scientist observing an animal, now that I noticed him closer I saw where his sweat suit clung tighter to his muscles, and I realized I could now see his face. His dark brown eyes holding a darkness behind them, like a dingy basement, and I wanna go down the stairs.

————

Lights out will begin in 10 minutes.

As I settled into my bed, I took my shoes and jacket off and set them next to my mattress, I heard footsteps coming my way and looking up I saw Gi-hun standing near my bed, just a step down.

“What do you want?” I tiredly mumbled.

“Come and sleep on my side of the room, it’s not safe to be alone at night.” He said with a more airy tone, like he asked it as a question but meant it as a statement.

“What would I need to be safe from?” I responded. He took a look around the room and at other of my bunk mates.

“Just, in case someone tries something, we’re in a room full of strangers, who knows what any of them could do.” He whispered now close to me. I look back at him like he was a crazy man.

“Gi-hun I’m fine, nobody has anything against me in here, the only girl who did is currently dead. I’ll be fine right here.” He looked around me and with a curled lip he nodded.

“Alright, I’m right across the room if you need anything.” He nodded and started walking back, with an exaggerated sigh I stopped him.

The lights had shut off and the only thing we had was a giant piggy bank for a nightlight, and the glowing symbols on the floor.

“Gi-hun.” I waited till he looked back at me, “goodnight.” I nodded, he nodded and wished me sweet dreams as well, as sweet as they could be in a place like this. He stopped once more before descending the rest of the stairs.

“I love you (y/n)” he finished walking the rest of the way down.

Under my breath I whispered my response hoping he heard enough of it.

“I love you too”

————

Gi-hun stood in the front of the triangle line, (Y/N) right behind him, and 001 behind her. He took his metal tin and turned, going to show his sister the shape first then the rest.

When he opened the tin, he was met with an insanely complex triangle with no lines, just corners. A wave of nervousness flushed over him.

“What is it?” (Y/N) said, tilting the tin for her to see the shape. “Gi-hun what the hell?” She said looking back at him, his eyes met hers worry sewn into his features. 001 gently took her shoulders and moved her behind him shielding her from his gaze, he looked at the cookie then peered at Gi-hun through his eyelids.

“Wait, wait, wait, what? What the hell kinda shape is that? Even an ex-Marine couldn't get that out!” Jung-bae exclaimed.

“Really? This one's the easiest to get out?”

“You said you won! You said you’ve done it!”

“What are you going to do, take responsibility for this?”

“Do something!”

“We’re all gonna die and it’s this guys fault.”

“It’s your fault!”

Taking a breath and feeling all the air come back to his lungs, Gi-hun woke with a start. Running a hand down his face he took another deep breath trying to control his breathing. He sat up and looked around the room until he spotted his sister, still laying sound asleep in her spot. Her blanket curled up to her chin and her eye brow twitching every now and again.

————

Attention, please. The second game will begin momentarily.Please follow the instructions from our staff.

Sitting up I stretched and began putting my shoes and jacket on. I looked down at Se-mi waking up as well.

“How can this game be right after we wake up?” She asked looking at me.

“I have no clue girl, better wake up though because I can’t see “sleepiness” boding well in the games.” Walking down the steps, I saw 001 reaching the ground at the same time I did. I felt my face start to warm at seeing his stiff body move around and wake up.

“Hi” I shyly said, feigning being extra tired. He smiled back. “Hello, how did you sleep?” He softly asked back. I shrugged and looked around us to see what other people were doing.

“I was a little cold I think, I woke up clutching my blanket like a new born.” I chuckled, I was about to ask how he slept when I saw Gi-hun coming down the stairs. I didn’t want him babysitting me in whatever game was next so I quickly excused myself and hid in the crowd.

————

In-ho, had a new understanding of Gi-hun and this other player’s relationship, decided it would be better to simply watch rather than try and include himself….. of course listening to his conscious didn’t get him where he was today. Listening to his conscious wouldn’t get him to Gi-hun. He knew… NOT listening to his conscious, would get him closer to her, and through her, Gi-Hun.

————

“Welcome to your second game.This game will be played in teams. Please divide into teams of five in the next ten minutes.”

I had entered the room before my brother did, I was pushed by the group way over to the wall. I saw player 120 walking around trying to join groups. I took a deep breath hoping she wouldn’t mind if we partner, and went to talk to her.

“Do you want to partner?” Se-mi cut me off, grabbing my arm and stopping my path. With a quick glance at 120 I saw her talking to someone, figuring she had joined someone I turned back.

“Sure” I smiled.

“Great” she smiled back, “now we just need three more pep-“

“Señorita’s excuse me.” Thanos spoke from behind me. I turned to see him and stood shoulder to shoulder with Se-mi. “Let’s play the game together.”

“Well, why should we?” Se-mi asked.

“Don’t you know who he is? He’s Thanos, the rapper. ‘I’m gonna kill half of humanity With my raps’”256 explained. With a sneer I looked to the other two taking the attention away from that one.

“Does that pickup actually work for you?” I asked sarcastically.

“Hang on, girls? We don’t know what the game is.” 124 interrupted.

“I, Thanos the great, will protect you.” Thanos explained.

“Right, Thanos. So have you got all the Infinity Stones?” Se-mi asked jokingly.

“Of course.” He responded flicking his hand out. “I’m going to destroy anyone who gets in my way! Just stick with me, and you’ll be safe. Okay?”

I looked to the right of me seeing this little guy sort of wandering around, I beckoned him over with my hand. I looked to the left of me and saw player 120 now paired up with three other people. That team looks way more stable than this one.

“What’s your name?” I asked the other player who walked up to me.

“I’m Park Min-su” he responded shakily.

“Cool, I’m Seong (y/n) wanna take my spot on this team?” I asked with a smile, he looked confused but before he could answer I stuck him where I was standing and just said “great.”

When Se-mi turned to ask me something I shoved him in my spot.

“Ladies this is Park Min-su, he is me now, I’m going somewhere else.” I rushed out to give them no time for questions. Se-mi looked at me weirdly. I just pat her shoulder and walked towards my desired team.

Approaching the team I noticed there was a much smaller girl, an older woman and a man.

“Excuse me.” I spoke up, causing them to turn to me. “Could I possibly join your guys team?” I asked looking at all of them, hoping my charm was enough for them to let me in. The old lady looked at the others before nodding her head.

“Yes, yes of course.” She smiled. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Dae-ho had followed me for a second.

“Excuse me Miss, would you join our team, we need one more?” He asked politely.

“Oh sorry I already have a team.” I replied taking a step back to be more in group with my team.

Time for team selection is up. The game you will be playing is SixLegged Pentathlon.

You will start with your legs tied together. Each member will take turns playing a minigame at every tenmeter mark, and if you win, the team can move on to the next one. Here are the minigames.

Number one, the Ddakji.

Number two, Flying Stone.

Number three, Gonggi.

Number four, Spinning Top.

Number five, Jegi.

Well none of those are dallgona…

Your goal is to win all the minigames and cross the finish line in five minutes. Please decide players for each minigame.

As my team decided it finally came to my turn to choose.

“I’ll do spinning top, I was pretty good when I was little.” I shrugged turning to the next person.

As we all sat and watched the teams go we occasionally started cheering as players passed, until their time ended.

Your time is up.

The ring of the gunshots so close shook me on the inside. They were right in front of us too. 5 minutes… the end of our lives is five minutes long… the whole group was begining to get shaky. Hyun-ju gave us a motivational speech and we felt a little better. I learned everyone’s names and decided that if I were to die today, these would be my new best friends, there where certainly worse people I could die with.

As I stood there getting my ankles locked up, and not in a way I’d like, I looked around the room, hoping to see my brother’s face once more before I possibly died, our eyes found eachother as I nervously exhaled. He looked back at me and mouthed you can do this. I nodded back facing forward again, but not before locking eyes with 001. Seeing his unrelenting look I felt my stomach settle in a bit more. Only to shake up again when I noticed how long he was looking at me.

As they shot the starting gun, Hyun-ju kept us walking with a basic pattern.

One, two, one, two, One, two, one, two, One, two, one, two.

We got through the first three games, it was kinda weird when Geum-ja pictured the gonggi like hair, remind me to never get on her bad side.

One, two, one, two, One, two, one, two, One, two, one, two.

In the moment, as I wrapped the top, I kept failing, even with all the cheering going on around us, I couldn’t focus. Some of my sweat fell onto the top, making it even harder to wrap. Hyun-ju grabbed the top, wipped it on her jacket, and handed it back to me.

“Don’t worry don’t look at the clock, you still have plenty of time.” She encouraged, lightly patting my back.

The tension was so thick you couldn’t even shoot through it with one of those guns the guards had, I had sweat dripping down my face, and my hands shaking like an earth quake. Tears were beginning to fall down my face the more times I failed at wrapping it. The crowd was trying to help encourage us along but the shaman lady was… man she was really distracting.

“Give up now! The gods have abandoned you, your fate is sealed here. It was as I said, decided when you were born. You will die here!” She shouted from standing right next to Hyun-ju. Hyun-ju turned away from me and grabbed that bitch’s shoulders.

Smack

I looked over to see the woman’s face beet red.

“Stop distracting her! It’s okay you can do it, just take a deep breath.” She guided me. I looked from her to the shaman whose nose was bleeding from how hard Hyun-ju smacked her, my gaze scanned the room, looking at everyone around us who was watching me.

Their all gonna watch me die

My eyes met 001’s. If I was gonna die I was gonna die looking at something attractive. He made a deep breath motion with his hands and his chest. Something about it snapped me out of it as I nodded my head back. I copied his actions and suddenly felt strength in my weakened hands. I took a breath and wound up the top. I threw my hands in front anxious to see if it would go. Watching the top spin in the bloody puddle in front of us I stared at the disgustingly poetic moment. My team started marching even though I wasn’t mentally there. All I could do was march along with them.

We got to Jegi and all stared at Hyun-ju waiting to watch her play. I held my breath waiting to hear the pass from the PA. You could hear a pin drop it became so quiet in the room. The shiny tassels of the Jegi swishing around, I counted under my breath the taps from Hyun-ju’s foot.

1…2…3…4…5…

When Hyun-jun cheered we turned back around to see the guard holding his arms up in an O, we all happily cheered and quickly stepped towards the finish line, as we crossed the finish line I couldn’t help but sink to my knees in relief. We were all so caught up in our victory we didn’t take notice of the opposite team.

Fail

I looked over to the other side of the room, they were still on the spinning top game and everything felt slow motion.

Your time is up

I looked as they pleaded for longer, to only be denied by bullet. The gunshots echoed the room as the bodies fell to the ground. I closed my eyes just in time, as I felt the blood splatter onto my face. Reaching my hands up I wiped my eyelids down, seeing the blood smear my hands. My group had mostly been hit in their clothes, but Geum-ja noticed my face.

“Oh, oh dear, come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” She said, helping my stand. I looked down and noticed our ankles had been unlocked, but I was still coming off the high from the top. My hearing felt fuzzy, I couldn’t focus on anything going on around me. I got tunnel vision, needing Hyun-ju to help me walk. As they escorted us out of the room, I looked over my shoulder to see the crowd going back to their business, only Gi-hun and 001 where watching me as I left. I kept staring at them before we turned the corner and left the room.

————

I remained quiet the rest of the game time. We were back in “our” room and I couldn’t help but distance myself. The rest of our group sat at the bottom of the stairs while I resided at the top. Watching more and more players come in, I hadn’t seen my brother or 001 come in yet. My stomach turned sickeningly. I bit at my fingers as my eyes darted around the room, checking and rechecking to make sure I hadn’t missed him.

“Hey, (Y/N) are you okay?” Young-mi asked, placing her hand on my shoulder. I simply nodded my head remaining silent. Geum-ja climbed the stairs to meet us near the top.

“Why don’t you come to the restroom with me, we’ll wipe that blood off your pretty face.” She said swiping at my cheek with her thumb. I simply nodded at her as I felt a tug on my elbow.

“Cmon, I’ve got you.” Hyun-ju mumbled, helping me to my feet.

————

I felt Geum-ja using a piece of toilet paper to wipe me off. The cold startled me out of my daze a little. She softly smiled at me and apologized for the temperature.

“No no it’s okay, it feels good.” I told her bringing the paper back up to my face. She wiped the dripping water off my chin and walked us out of the bathroom.

————

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made the last kick.” Gi-hun said to 001, before seeing him turn to 222.

“Are you feeling alright?” He asked her, she nodded her head and went to reply when a running sound caught their attention. Gi-hun looked up to see his sister running at them like she had 10 seconds left in “Red Light Green Light.” He stood from his spot and met her at the bottom of the stairs. As soon as she got close enough she jumped into a hug. Mostly holding herself up but Gi-hun held her at her waist to help. A shaky breath left her chest as she clung tightly to her brother.

“I thought- I thought you, you didn’t make it past the- the game.” She sniffled, holding tightly to Gi-hun.

“It’s alright, I’m okay, we’re okay. Everyone on our team made it.” The small group was now watching the interaction with interest. Gi-hun wiped the few tears that had escaped her away and looked up to see Geum-ja and Young-sik watching them as well. When she sniffled he looked back down at her. “I’m ready to go home now Oppa.” Her lip wobbled. He nodded and looked back.

“I’ll be right back, I’m not going far.” He told her. Gently helping her sit on the step right below 001, as he left to speak with the mother son duo. The small group went back to talking about their win, but 001 place a light hand on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He asked slightly nudging her to look at him. With a swipe on her cheek, she replied, and took another shaky breath.

“That top game really got to you.” He said, lightly rubbing her back now, she nodded and nervously twisted her hands around. “I got stuck there too.” He admitted

Looking at him with wide eyes, (Y/N) blinked away the rest of her worry. “You did?” She asked. He nodded and sighed.

“I kept throwing it without enough force to get a spin going, I got really upset at myself but then I remembered how you threw it and just copied the way you did it.”

With confusion she asked him, “how I did it?” She repeated. He nodded and used his hands to copy what she had done. “You’re the one who helped me do that.” She softly smiled looking at him in disbelief. He let out an amused huff before looking down again. Gi-hun had come back from thanking the other two for their care of his sister, and sat down right next to her, taking her attention away from 001.

Gi-hun wrapped his arm around (Y/N) holding her close to him as she wrapped herself in her arms.

“Listen. Perhaps we should learn each other’s names. I still don’t know your names, gentlemen. Or yours, Misses.” Dae-Ho announced, looking at the group. “I’ll start. I’m Kang Daeho.“Dae” means “big,” “ho” means “tiger.””

“Wow. “Big tiger.” Cool name. My name is Park Jung-bae.” Righteous” and “twice.” My parents wanted me to be twice as righteous.” Jung-bae shared, lightly laughing to himself. The group turned their attention to the first female.

“My name is Kim Jun-hee.I don’t know what it means though.” She shrugged.

“Jun-hee, when you get out of here, go see a doctor right away. You’ve been under a lot of stress. You need to get yourself checked out.” In-ho suggested, causing the siblings to look at her and nod in agreement. She nodded back in affirmation.

“I’m Oh Young-il.” 001 shared, pointing to his number on his jacket.

“Young-il?” Jung-bae asked curiously.

“Yes. “Young-il” sounds like “zero one,” and that’s my number. Easy to remember.” He smiled. (Y/N) tentatively reached a hand up and felt his jacket number.

“Young-il, it suits you.” She smiled at him. “Your number 1.”

“Oh, that’s true! Your name is your number.” Dae-ho exclaimed, he turned to Gi-hun. “ Oh, Gihun. What’s your last name?”

“My name is Seong Gihun.” He said “This is my younger sister. Seong (Y/N).” The girl looked up from playing with her O patch, she nodded and went back to what she had been doing. The trill of the money filling the piggy bank drew her attention back to the room around them. As she watched the bank fill with the money of the now passed on players she couldn’t help her shaking hands.

One of those 100,000,000 could be me next, it could’ve been me.

She unconsciously grasped Gi-Huns arm tighter, not even realizing she held it in the first place. Gi-hun looked at his sister who now had tears shining in the corner of her eyes again. She softly cried, she clung tighter to him as they watched people become enraged.

In-ho looked at the girl from where he was, watching her sobs. They dripped down her face and shined like stars in the sky. The golden light from the piggy bank illuminated her face, making the salty wetness glimmer. He wasn’t sure what sort of feeling he was having, spite, anger, nay… jealousy? Didn’t matter. He was going to get to Gi-hun, and if he had to rip her apart with his bare hands and re build her in his own image, that’s what he would do…

————

“This time, the vote will begin with Player 001. Player 001, please cast your vote.” The guards spoke, you all watched as he walked down the aisle to press the big red X button. Looking back at your group he made a thumbs up and went to stand on the X. As more and more people voted you watched the sides slowly fill up, when more O’s started being pressed than X’s.

“Are you all out of your minds?You still want to keep going after watching all those people die? Who’s to say you won’t die in the next game? We have to stop. We’ll all die if we keep going! Come to your senses, and leave with that money.” Your attention hooked onto Young-il watching his brave statement. Someone from the O side shouted even louder.

“What do you think we can do with a mere 70 million?”

The old man spoke up. “I don’t know how much you owe, but for most people here, that doesn’t even cover 10% of their debt. If we play one more game, the prize will be at least 240 million!” With everyone shouting at once your currently very fragile mental state couldn’t take much more of it as you started letting small sobs out. Your own crying got interrupted by Young-mi who started begging to vote to leave, that she didn’t want to die in that awful place. You watched her from where you stood, unaware of another pair of eyes in turn watch you.

“These games aren’t actually hard, they’re just kids games, you’re iver thinking it.” Someone shouted, that did give you a bit of false hope, till you saw Young-mi crying again and snapped out of your own worry.

“Just kids games, not that hard? How about we bring in the bodies of the already two hundred plus dead players and you tell them that yourself, that they were simply failures at kids games?” You huffed, seeing Young-il nod at you from the corner of your eye. Around you people started cheering for one more game as if what you said didn’t even matter, that they weren’t thinking about the already dead players.

When your turn finally came around, people started chanting again, only to be met with the sound of a barrage of guns cocking. The square gaurd spoke.

“Let me repeat yesterday’s statement, we will not allow disruptive processes to the voting process.” You stared at them in confusion as they hadn’t stopped the rioting earlier, but now did? You took a deep breath and made your way down the walk, you didn’t even hesitate to press the X button, and ripped off your patch, knowing your vote wouldn’t make a difference in the almost twenty extra vote split. You walked over to the X side as you watched your brother take his vote.

“You cast your vote and that’s what matters.” Someone whispered in your ear. You jumped a little bit, startled. “sorry” Young-il whispered putting a hand on your back.

“Oh, yeah I guess so.” I shivered. I wasn’t chilly for long though, feeling Young-il’s hand on the lower of my back sent warm, electric chills up my spine. I turned to look at him hoping he would move his hand away at the motion but didn’t, he held strong. With a curled lip I faced him, “I’m… I’m really scared.” I confided, something about him just made me feel safe, warm, happy.

“It’ll be okay.” He whispered back, reaching around you to give you a gentle hug. You reciprocated it, feeling like a tiny doll, loved and cared for by a little girl held safely in someone’s arms. Of course, you where one once, but now your a woman with… other feelings. His hand on your back now felt like a red hot iron, heating you up, churning your liquid insides.

Even though you’d be there for about two or three days now, and none of you were in the least bit clean, he smelled divine. His natural man musk doing something to you. He was just embalmed with this smell like he hadn’t been running and sweating with the rest of you. You couldn’t name it but it filled you. Your legs itched to press yourself closer to him, feeling the rest of the world melt away. As though you were the only two in the whole room.

————

In-ho felt the mood of the hug shift… intentionally… he went from a simple hug to something much more. He moved his arm from your back slowly lower and lower. His hand resting just above your behind. Using the palm of his hand he pressed you closer to him still. His other hand up near your neck, gently brushed the hair away as he thumbed at the back of your neck.

The voting had ended as everyone dispersed, Young-il kept his hand in your lower back as you snapped out of it. With a shy smile, you looked away from him as he led you away.

Gi-hun, upset at the vote results, went to find you to comfort you, only to be met with the sight of you walking away from him… with Young-il.

————

You sat down, in front of your brother and Young-il. As everyone was eating the small amount of food they had been given you shouldn’t help but blush thinking about what happened. Jung-bae was trying to justify his earlier decision of choosing O, and scooted over to where you and Jun-hee sat.

“Jun-hee, (Y/N). I’ll make sure we survive the next game.” As you went to snip back at him Gi-hun did it for you.

“The next game”? In the next game, we might have to kill each other.” At his answer you got startled, your hands squeezed at your milk carton causing a bit to splash out.

“ Gihun, that’s a bit much. There’s nothing we can do now, so let’s try to stay positive.” Young-il said, leaning in front to hand you a handkerchief to wipe off with. “We should eat, pull ourselves together, and try our best again. Here, Y/N. You can have my milk. Hang in there until the next game.” Looking over your shoulder you were met with his soft face handing you a milk.

“Oh no it’s okay, I didn’t spill that much.” I said looking into my lap.

“Take it, I don’t drink plain milk, if you don’t I’ll just give it to Jun-hee.” He said nodding his head towards her. You shook your head again as you lifted up a second carton of milk.

“I’m already covered for seconds, thank you though.” You nodded in return. Passing the milk to Jun-hee she looked at your milk in curiosity.

“Gi-hun can’t have plain milk either, it gives him a tummy ache.” You said in a condescending voice, switching to baby voice at the end as you reached over to pat his stomach while he finished his piece of bread. With a huff he tried to push your hand away.

Jung- bae offered his bread to Jun-hee who happily accepted, right as Dae-ho asked if his milk was on the table too. You chuckled and finished the little bit you wanted from your brothers container, you passed it to him stating that you where full. You stood taking your trash to one container they had sitting in the middle of the room. You walked past you the group you played the six legged game with.

“Unnie your beautiful” you heard Young-mi say as you walked up.

“I don’t know if I could say “beautiful,” but I’ve spent some time with you now, and I think you look fine.” Geum-ja said in addition. Young-sik felt the need to add on, “You said she was unsightly?”

His mother flipped his cup up while she was laughing, you giggled from the stairs as you came up, Young-sik and Hyun-jun looked at you with ashamed looks.

“I’m not upset.” You admitted. They looked at you in confusion. “We all need money for things, it’s essential to living in todays world, I’m just sorry that you both are under so much stress from it that you feel you need to be in a life or death situation for things to be right again.” You started with Hyun-ju, leaning down to give her a hug. You wrapped her in your arms and tried to push your acceptance through your fingertips. Then you went to Young-sik who didn’t look like he wanted a hug, so you gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. That got his lips wobbly. You said your goodnight and went on your way back to your beds.

————

Lights out in ten minutes. Please prepare for bedtime.

The lullaby that played gave you some comfort. You looked around the room to see some people already asleep, and some pretending to be. As you were mentally drifting off you lost attention to the world around you and screamed as you felt a pair of arms lift you up.

“AHHH OH MY GOD” from behind you Dae-ho chuckled and set you on your mattress. Young-il picked up the back end of the mattress as Dae-ho took the front.

“Allow us to escort you to safety milady.” Dae-ho joked, jostling the mattress around a bit. As you sat above they started rocking the mattress side to side. In between your laughs and little screams you managed to get out what you were saying.

“Don’t you- AH- don’t you dare drop me.” You laughed out the fake threat. As Dae-ho grabbed your pillow he started hitting you on the head with it.

“AH! AHHHH oh my gosh, stop I can’t see.” You giggled out, turning into a chortle kind of laughter. Of course your brother just had to ruin the light hearted mood.

“Once it’s lights out, we need to take turns keeping watch. I’ll take the first watch. You should decide the order for the rest.” He remarked, setting his pillow and blanket into place. Young-il look at you and you simply shrugged at his gaze. As you heard the countdown start you couldn’t help but become a bit nervous at the ominous sound.

About midway through the night, you heard Jun-hee shifting in the bed next to you, she slowly sat up causing the bed to creek, in turn waking you.

“Mr. Seong.I need to use the bathroom.” You heard her whisper.

“It’s too dangerous to go by yourself.” He hushed, he looked around to wake someone to help her when you hopped off your bed.

“I’ll go, now that she mentioned it I really have to pee.” You said quickly slipping on your shoes to go. He shook his head and looked for someone else, not trusting you two alone.

“We can go together!” Geum-ja whispered excitedly. You nodded at your brother who in turn gave you both the go ahead.

As the two of them pestered the triangle guard to let you go, you stepped up from the shadows to try your hand at negotiation. The guard shut the window again then re opened it asking for your player number.

“Uhh, I’m 432?” You replied confused, you looked at the other two who just shrugged. The window closed and the door opened almost instantaneously. “Maybe it’s some kinda number lottery?” You suggested walking through.

“Can I come too?” Hyun-ju popped up from behind you. You jumped in shock and grabbed the arm of the nearest gaurd, who let you steady yourself before escorting your group to the bathroom.

When you got in you didn’t even have time to register what the others were doing as you raced to the toilet. They let you go after games but that milk thought right now would be a great time to make a reprise. After you finished you walked out to see Geum-ja and Hyun-ju comforting Jun-hee.

“Uhh did I miss something?” You inquire. Jun-hee sniffled at you and told you she was okay. You smiled back as your group finished washing their hands and leaving.

————

Looking around you where quietly swearing at the predicament you where now in. Jung-bae was currently on watch. Gi-hun was asleep under the bed on the left, Young-il was asleep under the right, an empty bed space on the right sat wide open but the space between there and the two bodies resting around it would require you to wake someone up. To get into that corner. Deciding you would rather wake Young-il up over poor pregnant Jun-hee, you took your chance and started slowly crawling around him.

You were almost under the bed and in your spot when your foot slipped on a loose edge of his blanket. With a hiss down you went.

————

He didn’t know how he got to wake up to this… but he did…

(Y/N)’s chest directly in his face… or should I say ON his face. Her stomach pressed against his chest, in his hands he could feel the softness of her skin from under her shirt.

Again…

He doesn’t know HOW he woke up to that but…

He’s not complaining.

————

Feeling Young-il’s breath on my boobs made me want to curl in on myself in embarrassment. Especially now that he was awake, and… really really warm. His forehead resting on my clavicle felt like lava.

“Oh Jesus, sorry, lemme just-“ I whispered trying to get my way off him.

“here let me help you get unstuck.” He whispered trying to guide my hips over and down so I was on the floor and could easily roll.

“hold on if i can just.” I whisper shouted back, slipping on the blanket as I tried to regain my balance and my legs got entangled with his. Feeling my knee against a hard surface I pushed up trying to shove myself forward when Young-il grabbed my ribs, holding me impossibly still. I heard him quietly suck in a breath and pulled my torso down till he could tilt his head back and reach my ear.

“Do. Not. Move.” He groaned, he started with my legs, he grabbed my thighs with a vice grip, and lifted me over the left of his body. As he picked up my leg, I felt it meet with his inner thigh. Wait… was I pressing on the floor or on his-

He grabbed my hips, which, his thumbs somehow got under my shirt… and… I think I died a little inside. Effortlessly like I weighed nothing to him, he positioned my hips to the side of his body.

Do it again

He made a move for my ribs around my breast. With a much gentler touch he moved me down to the left side, gently pushing my shoulders down so that I now laid next to him.

With a stern look in his eye he addressed me.

“what where you doing?” He asked. His hands still resting on my shoulders.

“uhhm, sorry, I was trying to climb into the bed and I slipped on your blanket.” I admitted, bringing my hands up to try and hide my cheeks.

“no no, none of that.” He said gripping my wrists now, keeping my hands down. “ you’re going to answer me. my way. Why didn’t you just wake me up?” He asked. With a deep breath I felt like a bomb just went off in my chest.

“I, I didn’t want to… wake you…” it felt silly saying this as we were now in this position. He sighed out and let go of my wrists. He titled his head up then looked at me again.

“my turn to watch starts in a little bit, and trying to get back there looks really uncomfy. Why don’t you just stay here?” He asked moving over.

“oh I don’t want to take your spot, it’s okay really.” I insisted reaching up for my blanket, his arm beat me to it though and pulled it down.

“Please, I insist.” He repeated, handing me his pillow and settling me in. I abashedly accepted and sighed out feeling the sleepiness over come me.

“hmmmm, thanks young-il” I whispered, drifting off into sleep.

I quietly heard him reply but couldn’t make out what he said.

But Gi-Hun heard him…. He heard it all…

AN: AHHHHH RABBLE RABBLE sorry this took so long, this is the longest chapter I think. I’ve read and re-read this so many times to try and make it perfect for ya’ll. ENJOY!!! The mingle scene is next and it is…… actually pretty tame so far, but WORRY NOT, I SHALL DELIVER US TO A HIGHER PLACE, LIKE WHEREVER THANOS WAS THE WHOLE SHOW.

Yours truly

~FandomObbsessedB

Me when I spend three days on a chapter and finally post.

TAGLIST: @blacksnape123 @newtsniffles @missmollya @watasinekoru @justaproudslytherpuff @jamiewritesfanfiction-blog @tinylawyerbluebird @connorsandroids @foulbreadpaenut

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mybworlds · 1 day ago

Text

Alive

Pairing: jackson!joel miller x f!reader (no use of Y/N)

Summary: You, after a very long trip alone across the country, arrive in Jackson. Joel is a very lonely man and after Ellie broke up with him, he's even more alone and grumpy. Tommy and Maria decide that you're going to stay at Joel's house for a while, at least until more houses are built. Will your cohabitation be easy? Or will it be more complicated than everyone thinks?

Warnings: use of you, use of alcohol, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempt, a short story about sexual assault that occurred in the past I won't go into details, another SA in the present days, violence, blood, lots of sexually explicit content, use of petnames, dirty talk, fluff elements, mutual pining, the main characters spy on each other for a while, the image of the female character has the sole purpose of representing the character, but you can imagine her however you want, no physical description of the female character except for long hair often gathered in a ponytail or braid, she wears a bra and jeans (most of the time).

Extra warnings for this chapter: spoilers about the second season and an important event that characterizes TLOU2.

Masterlist

follow @mybworlds and turn on notifications to get notified when I post new fics

Thx for the dividers @saradika-graphics

You avoid Joel.

You know he had nothing to do with what you lived again, he helped you, made you tea, prepared food, tucked you in.

You know he had nothing to do with it. You've been telling yourself this for days and days, but you still can't leave your room.

Yet, you stand looking out the window all day, you're scared.

Again.

The snow continues to fall heavily and covers the ground around the house.

You are back to observing the city and its inhabitants from afar. You feel like an intruder again to everything that happens around you.

Joel knocks on your door twice. It's a conventional sign that Joel has adopted to tell you that he's brought you something hot to eat.

It seems like he cares about you, but you know he doesn't. He told you so clearly that he doesn't care about you.

You turn towards the door and you go to open the door. When you open it there’s Joel only.

His look is unreadable.

He opens his mouth as if to say something, but then he reconsiders.

You stay like this. Motionless, one hand on the doorknob and the other at your side.

His hazel eyes bore into your. You gulp.

Then, he seems to regain a hint of control, "Um, I'm about to go on patrol, you have to come." he says hastily.

You swallow, "I have to?"

He nods, "Yeah. Are you coming?"

You sigh, "What about Jesse? Tommy? Vasquez?"

"I need ya." he replies, but shortly after saying it he realizes the manner and words chosen. He clears his throat, "So?" he asks you impatiently "Will you come?"

You sigh, “Okay.”

Joel nods before to walk away, you hear him go downstairs, while you stare at where Joel was standing a moment before, he's so weird.

You shake your head, deciding to ignore everything and focus on the patrol. You put on your scarf, gloves, hat, snow boots and jacket and head down. You take your bow and arrows and you reach him.

The door of the house is open and Joel is there in front: his hands on his hips and his gaze turned outwards, his rifle askew.

"Ready." you say alongside him.

He turns to you, looks at you, you lower your gaze and look outwards, then back at him "Shall we go?" you ask him.

He nods with a poorly concealed smile.

When you leave the house, you reach the horses and Joel asks you "Do you wanna help?"

"No, I'll handle it myself." you respond by mounting your steed.

You tighten the reins, observing the horse's mane, feeling a vice in the pit of your stomach. You know he's just trying to make you understand that he's there, but you don't want to be treated differently. You would feel even worse.

You join the others in silence, "Hey," someone greets you, others give you a look full of compassion that makes you look down. You don't want to be treated like a victim. You couldn't stand it.

Jesse places a hand on your back getting your attention, “It's going to be okay.” you nod with a small smile, then he says “Okay, this time Joel, you and Tommy are going to the valley. Stone and Clark towards the mountains, you and me instead" he says turning his gaze towards you "in the woods."

You nod as Joel approaches you.

"Jesse, I thought she and I could go together," you first look at Joel dumbfounded, then you and Jesse exchange looks.

"Um, Joel, you know that area so well and so does Tommy. It's for the best. We'll meet back to the radio tower in four hours." he adds, addressing all of you.

Joel looks down, almost looking disappointed.

Jesse walks away and that's when you turn to him, "Joel?" he looks up "I'll be fine." he nods, resting his eyes on yours, "Promise." you add placing a hand on his forearm before to leave.

"What was that?" Tommy asks his brother.

Meanwhile, the two brothers head towards the valley, always keeping an eye on the area around them which is quiet for the moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Joel replies despite having understood exactly what his brother is referring to.

"Don't get vague with me. I recognize that look and I haven't seen it since... before Sarah was born."

Joel sighs, looking left and right. His love life has always been a disaster and even before the birth of his daughter, after his mother left them, he no longer had anyone other than sporadic encounters once or twice, but then he returned to Sarah and she was the only one to whom he had dedicated himself completely.

"I'm serious, Joel," Tommy continues, "if you were to finally start a new life, I'd be happy and I'd give ya all my support."

Joel mutters to himself. You are pretty, sweet, you are fragile even if you do everything to hide it, you are brave, but that's not the point. The point is, he doesn't know if he's really ready to take off that armor and show himself for who he really is. Although he himself has difficulty understanding who he is now, who he has become.

"Think about it." Tommy says.

"There's nothing to think about! I can't stand her!"

Tommy sighs, "If you want to prove that you're a tough one, don't do that. You'll just risk pushing her away." Joel's gaze is blank "If you don't want to get teased about that, it's different!"

"Stop ranting, move!" Joel snaps.

Tommy chuckles shaking his head "Okay, heart of stone, let's move our asses!"

The vegetation is covered by a thick blanket of snow, the horses pass two fallen trees, a fence and the remains of a house. They can only hear the footsteps of their horses in the snow and their breathing. The two siblings look around and apart from a few infected people and a couple of hares they find nothing else.

"There's nothing here. Let's join the others at radio tower." says Joel making the horse turn around.

When the two brothers reach the meeting point, Stone and Clark are already there preparing a fire, Jesse is carrying a bunch of blankets and handing them out to Clark and Stone who are already there.

The Millers get off their horses and approach the others, Joel looks around perplexed, where are you?

"Jesse?" the boy looks up "Where is she?" Joel asks looking around.

"She said she wanted to be alone a little longer," he replies.

“And you did?” Joel continues looking around in hopes of seeing you.

"Joel, relax and then don't crowd her."

"I don't wanna crowd her." he clarifies "It's just..." after everything you had to suffer "she's been through a lot."

“I know,” both Joel and Jesse are silent for a few moments, “that's why you should give her some space and time.”

"I'm just worried that she's alone somewhere. This world is dangerous." Joel continues although he realizes that this excessive concern of his may sound ridiculous.

“You're a good roommate,” Jesse says, patting Joel on the back, “if she's not here in half an hour, I'll go look for her.”

Joel looks around.

No, he'll come after you.

You and Jesse found some canned food, bottles of water, and some wood. You can return to your meeting point.

It reminds you of when you grabbed everything you could just to survive, you remember how scared you were after escaping from the QZ, you remember constantly looking over your shoulder.

You were so afraid.

"All in all, it turned out nice." Jesse comments with a smile.

"Huh? Yep! Yes, indeed." you reply, but you're distracted.

Jesse is silent, as you.

Then you dare to ask him, "What happened to those two guys?"

Jesse doesn't need to know who you're referring to, he knows.

"The next day the council met and they were expelled. They won't be able to hurt you anymore." he tells you in a complacent way.

You nod. So, they're out here. Somewhere. Maybe alive or maybe dead or maybe infected.

You swallow and think if those policemen had listened to you in that QZ, you might not have done what you did, maybe you wouldn't have run away.

Your head is spinning and you're starting to break out in a cold sweat, you feel like your arms and legs are paralyzing, you choke.

"Are you okay?" Jesse asks you, coming next to you.

“Mhm, mhm” you moan “You go ahead, I'll catch right up."

"It's not a good idea."

"I insist, go. It's not my first time alone, Jesse. It's okay." you say feeling your breath getting shorter.

Well, actually, it's not.

Jesse tells you something like he's going to start moving forward or something like that before to leave, you feel paralyzed.

You can't breathe or think. You're terrified. The anxiety is growing more and more inside you, it's becoming unbearable. Your heart beats so hard, it feels like it's going to explode in your chest.

You remember that evening when you left the QZ, you remember your only three surviving friends who told you not to leave the quarantine area, but instead you did with a backpack on your shoulder and as many supplies as you could bring with you. You had just killed the man you thought loved you who instead raped you. You're a killer and it doesn't matter why you did it, but that you did.

You didn't even realize you'd fallen off your horse and been submerged in the snow. You breathe hard, you move your eyes left and right, unable to move.

Everything you've ever felt is eating you alive.

What you lived, what you did will never change.

Never.

He had to pay for it, but did you have to do it?

You're a murderer.

"Hey, hey, hey," Joel grabs your shoulders making you re-emerge from the snow that had partly covered you and making you sit down "breathe, breathe slowly. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth."

“I can't breathe,” you tell him in a strangled tone of voice moving your eyes only.

"Yes, you can. C'mon, kiddo." he says positioning himself behind you making you rest your back against his chest "Do you feel my breathing? In and out. In and out."

You're shaking, “Joel,” you say, gripping his jeans in your fists, “I… I…”

"Sssh, sssh, it's okay, even if it doesn't seem like it. Don't worry. Breathe."

You continue to convulsively tighten his trousers, while the nature around you slowly regains shape and color.

"It's okay," he continues, holding your shoulders with a firm grip "In and out, in and out." he's silent for a few moments "I don't know what triggered it, but everything's fine. The past can hurt. But it's not here. Sssh, can you feel it? It's already better." he whispers in your ear touching your shell with his lower lip, "Come on, again."

You close your eyes and you do as he told you and very slowly the grip on his jeans loosens until it's completely loosened.

He doesn't speak, he still holds you in that position, then when he feels that your breathing has returned to normal he loosens his grip.

"How you feel?" he asks in a murmur in your ear.

You nod, “Good.”

"Okay." he says getting up and offering you his hands which you grab and standing up too "Let's go." he adds and together you go to the field.

Evening comes and you and Joel are on watch, secretly observing each other.

You want to ask him why he behaves so differently. He would like to tell you that he knows what haunts you about your past, but he knows that if he did, you might get mad at him. And you wouldn't be wrong.

You are almost next to each other again in front of a broken glass window, it's cold that evening too.

You wrap your arms around yourself, massaging them to warm yourself up a little despite the jacket.

"Cold?" he asks you.

"Freezing." you answer trembling.

He stands up and hands you a blanket that it enveloped him, “No, what about you?” you ask him questioningly.

"I’m fine." he answers you, but his red cheeks and nose tell a whole different story.

"Sure?"

"Yep," he mumbles moving away from you, but staying close to the window.

You visibly relax under that blanket thanking Joel with a look.

"Have you already participated in other patrols of this type?" you ask him curiously.

"Yep."

You nod, staring at the darkness outside, "How did it go with Tommy?" you ask him.

“Good,” he says nodding.

“Um, you and Tommy…” you don’t know if you can ask.

“What?” he asks you, frowning and narrowing his eyes.

“How is your relationship?” he tilts his head to the side “Do you get along?”

"Well, let's say that every time we're together we end up fighting each other."

You look at him, "But you love each other."

"Yes. Well, I guess we have a typical sibling relationship."

"I guess so."

Joel watches you, you are thoughtful. As always. He would like to help you, but he knows that it's impossible.

“Do you have brothers?” Joel asks you, looking at your face. “Or sisters?”

“No, I was an only child.” you take a short pause “But I had a friend who was like a sister.” Joel listens “She was my best friend. We were always together. We were together when it all started,” you tell him, you stop for a moment thinking about her "Joel?" you ask looking up at him finding his eyes already on you “Why?” he cocks his head to the side “Why do you treat me differently? I thought you considered me a burden, or someone to get rid of at the first opportunity."

Joel doesn't answer right away, he looks at you for a long time and when you think he won't answer you, he instead replies "What happened to you affected me a lot."

You tsk, you knew it. Now he feels sorry for you. What you didn't want. You have always hated those words like 'it must have been terrible' or 'poor thing' or those looks with which they make you feel worse and feel a broken piece that needs fixing.

"So, for you too I'm someone to keep under a bell jar, to treat as if it could break at any moment, right?" you retort him.

Joel quirks an eyebrow, but doesn't answer. At least not right away, he observes an unspecified point and then says, "What happened reminded me of how self-destructive mankind is." you stare at him waiting for him to make a comment about you, but he doesn't "I did some horrible things that I'm not proud of. I’d say that I did it to save my ass and the few people I cared about, but deep down I know that I'm not a good one." he tells you by opening up to you for the first time.

You look at him and see him still stare into space. His facial features are tense, you can see him grinding his teeth, "What did you do?" you ask him in a low voice.

Only then does he look at you, "I've seriously injured and killed, stolen, looted corpses, sold contraband, beaten innocents and not ones, I drank until I forgot who I was. The prototype of the good guy, y'know."

You purse your lips, lowering your head and huddling in the blanket.

"You must have done it for a reason," you just say although you ain't convinced by what you say. You don't want to judge him, after all you don't know him and you too have done horrible things to get there.

"You believe?" he tsks before approaching you, you remain still. You gulp and look up at him “What if I only did it out of pure selfishness?” he looks at you “Is this a good reason too?"

“You did it to survive.” you reply quickly "I'm sure of it."

"And you didn't?" You look at him, "Didn't you do it to survive? I mean, whatever you did." he adds looking you in the eye.

You lower your head, stare at your feet, with those words Joel seems to have sucked the air out of you. You bring the edges of the blanket closer, holding them to your chest. You close your eyes and breathe deeply through your nose, then open them again.

"Our stories are different."

He nods "That's not much, but for sure," he comments "but there's the same epilogue, don't you think?"

"If you say so." you reply, looking at the darkness outside.

For a while you stay in silence, the only sound in the background is the chirping of crickets and the hooting of owls, every now and then you hear small movements around you, you make sure that they are only small animals and so nothing to worry about.

Jesse, Tommy, Clark and Stone continue to sleep blissfully.

You know you should keep watch and be vigilant, but your eyes are so heavy. You do everything you can to fight this pressing sleep, but in the end you give in.

You almost feel like you're being pulled upwards as if invisible wings were levitating you in mid-air and you feel so light. For the first time in many years you have a complete head emptied, free from any thought. It's so beautiful. You find yourself smiling in your sleep, how much you wish your life was this warm and soft too.

When you open your eyes, you immediately sit up, fuck, you were supposed to be on guard with Joel and instead you're there wrapped between two very heavy and soft blankets on a couch not too far from your lookout point and you look like an idiot. You cover your eyes in shame, now you've given Joel Miller another excuse to fuck with you. How stupid!

You expect giggles or mocking digs and instead all you find is Tommy drinking what looks like coffee outside the building "Morning," he says hearing you behind him looking at you sideways.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep," you justify, rubbing your eyes and then looking around, "where’s everyone else?" you ask, looking for other faces nearby.

"Everyone's back except Joel and me." he replies by rubbing his hands to warm up, you are about to ask him where he is, but Tommy precedes you "He heard a noise and he went to check."

"And you let him go alone?!” Tommy looks at you and at that moment the look is identical to Joel's "Relax, ma'am, he's a grown man and he can stand up for himself and then he practically forced me to stay with you." you do your high ponytail again and immediately go inside and grab your bow and arrow, "Hey, where are you going?"

"Looking for him, which direction did he go in?" you ask him, slipping the bow over your shoulder.

"Don't be ridiculous! It's imprudent to venture out alone!" Tommy exclaims.

"Your brother is out there and I'm going to see if he's gotten into any trouble, will you come with me or will I go alone?" you reply using a tone that doesn't allow any replies.

Tommy rolls his eyes, "So stubborn!" he whispers shaking his head "Okay, let's go!" he exclaims, taking his rifle and following you.

Maybe you overreacted, but you almost felt a duty to do so. He came looking for you and helped you in a moment of great difficulty.

As you walk following the footprints Joel left in the snow, Tommy says "I have no trouble understanding how you get along with Joel! He can be very stubborn at times too." for a few steps he's silent "You would have gotten along with Ellie too if you had met her as she was a few years ago."

You turn to look at him for a moment, "I actually met her a while ago, she seems like a good kid, even if shy and angry at the world,"

"Not with the world, but with Joel!" Tommy exclaims as you frown and stop looking at him. Tommy has the expression of someone who talked too much and shouldn't have.

"What happened?" you ask him curiously.

"I can't talk about it, Joel would kill me!" He says before starting to walk again.

You raise your eyebrows with a surprised expression, but decide not to investigate. If he wants to talk about it, he will. Or maybe not.

Walking in some places is extremely difficult, it amazes you that Joel made it this far.

"There are footprints that lead in one direction and others in another, what do we do?" you ask uncertainly, clutching your bow.

"You go right and I'll go left," Tommy offers.

"But you said it was dangerous to separate!" you blurt out.

“Do you have a better idea?” he asks, as stupid as it sounds, you shake your head "Good! Then you go right and I'll go left," he reminds you before walking away from you.

You walk slowly hoping not to run into any trap, a light but cold wind picks up and you find yourself shrugging your shoulders and at the same time tightening your grip on your bow. You wonder why you are interested in someone like Joel, a person who did nothing but keep you away and push you away, but at the same time tries to keep you around.

Someone from behind pulls you away an instant before a trap snaps at your feet and you find yourself crushed against this person's chest. His hands hold your shoulders firmly, your coat is gripped tightly in his fists. You turn around only to see who saved you, it's Joel.

His expression is serious and breathless as if he ran to catch you so you don't end up with a broken ankle.

"Joel?!"

"What the fuck were you doing?" he asks sharply, taking his hands away from your coat.

"I came looking for you." you reply and his expression changes from serious to surprise. The expression in his eyes softens although the stern expression on his face has not yet disappeared "Sorry, it was stupid." you add lowering your head before look elsewhere.

"Yeah, it was. If I hadn't been here you could have bled to death or maybe eaten by wolves," you breathe through your nostrils, clutching your bow convulsively, he sighs "Let's go."

Not that you were expecting a thank you actually, but you feel a strange weight in the pit of your stomach as if you'd just been punched. In fact, perhaps receiving it would have hurt less.

It's late morning when the three of you return to Jackson. Maria and Dina welcome you and Tommy warmly, the two only nod to Joel as if he was a monster to be kept away and this different reception makes you feel really bad for him even though he treated you badly before.

You see him out of the corner of your eye, Joel leads the horse into the stable with heavy steps. You swallow, you are about to tell him to join you, when Dina drags you away inviting you to have a drink together to warm up in the freezing temperatures.

That morning, you see Ellie again at Tipsy Bison. She stands in a corner aside, you glance at her fleetingly, having a hard time reconciling what you see with the description Tommy gave you of her. Tommy's words resonate with you, she's mad at Joel.

Why?

You know it's none of your business, but you still wonder what could have happened between them that was so serious to cause such a break.

"Earth calls Moon!" Dina calls back to you, making you jump and blink several times before to answer her.

“Sorry, what were you gonna say?”

Dina rolls her eyes before smiling and saying, “I'd like you to meet Noah. He's a bit eccentric, he loves to party, but maybe you could like someone like him.” you giggle awkwardly “I’m serious. He's very cute and I think you'd get along well. I don't want to force you, but I've arranged to meet him here tonight.”

“Oh, thanks for respecting my time!” you exclaim, rolling your eyes.

“I didn't tell him he has a date with you, let's say I told him about the party here tonight and so...” she gives you a knowing wink, you roll your eyes again.

“I don't know,” you sigh.

“Try! Maybe you'll like him!”

You scratch your neck in an embarrassed gesture, “Okay. . .” you sigh, sipping your drink.

For that unusual evening, Dina insisted that you wear a dress of hers that a friend had made for her a while ago, but which she said was now too small for her. The dress itself is very simple and elegant, unusual for you. You don't particularly like this kind of clothes because they draw too many glances at you and you feel uncomfortable.

You walk into Tipsy Bison and look at how they've decorated that place. You've never seen so many lights illuminate it. It's amazing. You find yourself smiling as you look around and see Dina dancing and having fun with a guy who seems to be a great dancer. When she sees you, she waves her hand and walks away from the dancer.

“You did!” she exclaims “You’re beautiful!” she says smiling at you and you smile back shyly “This dress definitely looks better on you!”

“Thanks,” you look around nervously, “has the mysterious man arrived yet?”

“Oh yes, it's him.” she replies, turning towards the boy she was dancing with until a moment before.

You don't have time to say anything else because Dina waves the young man closer, “Hi.” He greets you. He has short brown hair and a light beard, green eyes, a warm voice and a big smile on his face. He's cute, you think.

“Hi,” you reply a little less warmly.

“So, um. . . Are you Dina's friend?” he asks you embarrassed.

“Well, I'm going to get something to drink,” she says, taking her leave.

You both look at each other sheepishly, “I'm sorry,” you tell him “I'm not used to these things.” you add, shrugging your shoulders.

“Me neighter.” he says, scratching the back of his neck “I haven't had a real date since before the outbreak,” you smile weakly “I'm Noah,” he introduces himself, stretching out his hand which you shake while saying your name.

“How long have you been here in Jackson?” he asks you.

“A few months. And you?”

“A year. It's weird that we've never seen each other before.”

“Well, I'm not a people person, I’m a very private one. I think it also depends on the fact that I was alone for a long time.”

“You don't need to say anything, what we lived has changed all of us.” you nod “The things we did to survive transformed us,” you gulp “let's not think about it now, come I'll offer you what you want.” he tells you smiling.

“A soda,” he nods “better not to drink.” you add, clearing your throat. Instead he takes a slightly alcoholic drink and then you sit down, you're both uncomfortable at first, then you find yourself talking about horse riding and playing the piano and so you have something to say to each other and actually start exchanging opinions, while there’s a gentle music in the background and someone is slow dancing. Including Dina and Ellie.

You look first at the two girls in surprise, then at Noah who smiles and looks back. “They're cute, right?” Noah asks you.

You nod, “I thought she was with Jesse, I didn't realize. . .”

It's an instant and the situation goes from being tender to tense as Seth, the owner of the place, uses an absolutely rude tone and manner towards the two girls. To make everything worse, Joel intervenes and, from what you understand, he isn't well received here. He chases Seth away from the two, or rather from Ellie, and Seth reacts to this behavior.

Luckily, Maria and Tommy intervene and separate the two men. You watch Maria and Tommy go out with Seth who blurts out about Dina and Ellie's indecent behavior towards the families and children who are in the club, but then your attention focuses on Joel and Ellie.

You don't hear what they say, but you observe the contrite look of the man who looks at the young woman and then also leaves the room. He doesn't see you, but you see the tears fly down his cheeks before he walks out of Tipsy Bison.

You feel so sorry for him that a part of you wants to run after him, but you're sure he won't thank you so you don't.

After that moment of great tension, the music starts again and everything goes back to how it was before. All in all, your evening was calm and pleasant, Noah and you discovered other passions in common and you therefore spent a pleasant evening. It hadn't happened to you for a long time and you even managed to relax a little.

When you come home, however, the scenario is anything but serene. You hear the fire crackle and find Joel in a deep state of despair, he can't stop drinking. You look at him worriedly, “Joel,” you groan sadly, you are thinking about what to say.

“Fuck off, I don't want your pity!” he blurts out, pouring himself another glass of amber liquid and gulping it down “Go away!”

“No, stop.” you desperately try to stop him, but he snatches the glass and bottle from your grasp dropping some on the ground “I don't feel pity for you, but understanding.” you breathe heavily “You know what, I want forget it too!” you blurt out, heading towards a cabinet where he keeps wines and spirits.

The bottle of whiskey is thick and heavy, you open it a little clumsily “Don't be stupid!” Joel exclaims as he approaches to snatch the bottle from your hands, but you precede him and drink from the bottle moving away from him.

“No!” you protest “I suffer too, Joel. But I don't drown it in a glass of vodka or try to forget who I am so I don't suffer. Fuck, it doesn't work like that!” you say, taking another sip of whiskey feeling the tears in the back of your eyes and feeling your throat and insides burning.

“Then, why are you drinking?” he asks you.

“So there will be two of us who will forget. You can talk to me and I won't remember a thing about what you confided in me.” you tell him, staggering closer to him without stopping to swallow that drink.

“You're crazy, you know?” he says, taking the bottle from your hands and placing it on the kitchen island. You nod.

Suddenly Joel no longer seems so clear nor his voice hoarse to your ears, everything seems to echo and the edges blur.

You don't even know how you ended up on that couch in his living room, half intertwined, he talks non-stop and you laugh about what he says or you simply find yourself snuggling closer against him. Your hand wanders along the open edges of his shirt, he stops your hand on more than one occasion, but you always find a way to start stroking the edge of his garment again until one of your fingers doesn't end up caressing the base of his neck and this time he completely wraps your hand in his and you look into each other's eyes without saying anything.

“Don't.” he tells you calmly after what seemed like minutes to you.

“You scared?” you ask placing one leg delicately between his and letting the dress show your legs and almost all of your thighs.

“‘bout what? You?” he asks, you smile weakly shaking your head “So what about?”

“That you can't have a normal life anymore. Do you ever think about your life and what it would have been like if the world had never ended?”

He breathes deeply, “To be honest, I dunno what I would have done with my life.”

“Try,” you encourage him.

He clicks his tongue and stares at the ceiling for a few moments, “Maybe… I would have started my own business company.”

You hum, “Were you in the sector?” he smiles faintly, putting an arm behind his head and in that light he doesn’t even seem that old.

“I was a contractor.” You nod. “I was pretty good, y’know.”

“I’m sure you still are, why don’t you build anymore?” you ask him curiously.

“Well, no one feels safe entrusting the construction of a house to a drunk,” he confides in you and you, in a fit of tenderness, or perhaps due to the alcohol, rest your head in the crook of his neck and close your eyes. He moves his arm again and this time places it on your back, which he caresses absentmindedly.

“Don’t be sad, lil’ one,” he tells you, almost mumbling and with a tone that perhaps was meant to be a reproach, but which instead moved you even more.

“I'm not,” you tell him, gently caressing his neck with your nose, while he brings his other hand to your thigh.

You flinch at that contact, you remember the last guy, oh it was a long time ago and the moment was anything but intimate.

Now you're with Joel and this moment has suddenly become anything but weird. It's probably the alcohol, but being with him has become pleasant and intimate. Even though he's constantly angry and sad, you know, you sense that he will never do anything that may hurt you.

His hand caresses you so gently that you shiver, every now and then you feel his nails tickling your skin and you find yourself swallowing emptyly. You close your eyes and savor that sweet touch reverberating throughout your body. You like it.

You let out a longer sigh, you feel him smile, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Joel?”

“Uh?”

“Have you ever been married?” you ask him sincerely curious.

“I was. For a while.” he tells you caressing the outer side of your thigh as slowly as before.

“I like it.” you say with a sigh.

“What? That I was married?”

You smile, “No, dummy. I like the way you caress me.”

He smiles, “You’re taking advantage of me because I’m very tipsy.”

Your smile widens, “I think you’re doing it too,” you mumble, pressing yourself a little tighter against him, inhaling his strong scent of musk, wood, leather, mint and alcohol.

Alcohol has always bothered you in terms of smell, but on him it becomes pleasant.

“I had my own opinion about you,” he suddenly tells you, opening and closing his eyes.

“Not a good one, I guess.”

He smiles, opening his eyes, “Of course not.”

You find yourself smiling and absentmindedly caressing that portion of chest that peeks out from the edges of his shirt.

“What now?” you ask him.

“I dunno.” he answers you in a vague tone.

You chuckle, “You are beautiful.” You blurt out before you can even think about it.

“This is what you think of me?” you smile at him, snuggling into his neck and kissing it gently “Whatcha doing?” he asks you as you feel him holding his breath.

“I like your scent,” you admit, deeply inhaling his scent.

You rest on one of your forearms, getting up slightly and finding yourself looking at his face that you now find decidedly pleasant.

He reaches out to your face, moving a large strand of hair out of the braid behind your ear and start caressing your cheek. Oh, his hand has such a soft, gentle touch even though it's calloused and chapped!

He caresses your lower lip with his thumb, you get the shivers without even knowing exactly why.

“You know, no one knows about these panic attacks of mine.” You pause. “I think that’s what I have, I’m not sure. Anyway, you’re the first and only one who’s been there for me. Thank you.”

He caresses your cheek with an unusual and disarming tenderness and intimacy, “Anytime.”

“Maybe it’s the alcohol, maybe it was this first real conversation of ours, but I almost feel like I don’t feel broken, but good. Alive, maybe. Yes, I feel alive,” you confess to him.

You are eye to eye. Those hazel eyes almost seem to turn honey-colored in the fireplace light.

“Joel?”

“Uh?”

“I want to kiss you,” you answer him with your eyes downcast, feeling almost suspended.

“Don't.” he says placing a fingertip on your lips.

You lower your head, “Sorry that was stupid.”

“It's not that. It's. . . Um, I don't think I remember how to do it,” he adds sheepishly.

You smile, reaching out to cup his cheek, “I trust you.”

He smiles weakly, “Is that why you drank with me?” you nod “What if I had attacked you? What if I had hurt you?”

“You couldn't. I know.” you reply caressing his right cheek.

He places his hand on yours, “You're wrong. You know nothing ‘bout me. I've done so many horrible things and if you were smart enough, you'd run away.” he says.

“And what did you do that was so horrible? You did what we all had to do to survive.” you tell him “I don't judge you.”

“And why you do?” he asks you.

“Because…” you fell silent for a moment with your head down “I killed, but not just to survive,” he looks at you in silence, slightly increasing his grip on your hand, “I killed the man who raped me. I can't stop seeing that scene before my eyes, but I can't regret what I did.” he doesn't comment on what you said, but lifts your hand from his cheek and brings it to his mouth, more precisely he brings your wrist to his mouth and kisses it delicately “I tried to kill myself. There was a moment when I felt like a monster and...” the words die in your throat.

He kisses your wrist even more intensely “Thank you.” you look at him perplexed “For coming looking for me. You were reckless, but thank you.” you smile at him.

“It took you a long time!” you tease him “I know you're sweet, but hardened by everything you've had to endure.” you add.

“Well, I think it's the same for you too. In short, you fought and even if. . . Um. . . broken, you are...” he appears unsure of the words to use “shit, I don't even remember how to give a decent compliment!” he curses, making you smile.

“Do we blame the whiskey and vodka?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So can I blame the whiskey for what I want to do?” he nods, looking into your eyes.

You place your lips on his once, twice, three times, on the fourth he kisses you back placing his hands on your cheeks and deepening your kiss. “We'll regret it, you know?” he asks before he starts kissing you again and holding you tightly to him while you sink your hands into his grayish curly hair.

You feel so good, you look into each other's eyes for a long, long moment, then everything goes dark.

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