#Sister probably did leave the option for him to move up room-wise but I doubt he’d feel comfortable taking her old room

[ficandkaboodle]

Gonna go ahead and headcanon that the in-universe reason why Copia’s room is. That Way. Is because it genuinely wasn’t meant to be a bedroom at all (duh).

We don’t exactly know when Sister finally made contact with Copia or how, or when it was decided that she would help him ascend. But my guess is that she was best at planning out how he’d get there — not on decidedly smaller things like room and board. That, or she reasoned that she’d have to be inconspicuous about it and not play her hand so that the nepotism was that obvious.

It was just a sort of sitting room in a section of the Ministry not dedicated for living, thus making Cardi’s “room” the furthermost room. They simply reoriented stuff enough to toss in a futon and put little “welcoming” touches like the “Hang In There!” poster, and hoped it worked.

It apparently did since Cardi doesn’t seem that pressed about it. So either he’s easy to please or he didn’t feel he was in any position to look that gift horse in the mouth.

I think if the Papas’ rooms were any better, he theoretically could’ve had one of them cleared out for himself but ultimately chose not to, probably because he’s grown accustomed to the little room. It’s snug.

[cjsmalley]

Diana's Daughter: Part II

When Diana returned to Wayne Manor, not even a week later, she was holding a baby girl who would fit right in with the Waynes.

The family crowded around her, all clamoring to see their newest member, but parted like the Red Sea for Bruce and Alfred

Bruce bent slightly, looking at his newest daughter; Diana had a Master’s touch it seemed for the baby girl was perfectly formed and proportioned. She would pass as a naturally born newborn easily.

“Have you named her yet?” he asked quietly, looking up at Diana.

“Yes,” she nodded, smiling down at her daughter, “Ophelia.”

“I have made room in the nursery for Miss Ophelia,” Alfred spoke mildly as Bruce stood and took his daughter into his arms for the first time, “and of course, your room is ready, Miss Diana. Will the young Miss need formula?”

“Yes,” Diana nodded, “I have been feeding her goats’ milk, as Mother fed me, but I’ve heard formula is a better option.”

“Very well,” Alfred inclined his head briefly, “when was the young Miss last fed?”

“Oh, it’s nearly time.”

“Very good. If you will excuse me, I’ll see to her bottle,” Alfred took his leave, hurrying to the kitchen.

“Ophelia,” Bruce was murmuring, “Ophelia Prince-Wayne. Perhaps Martha, as a middle name? For my mother?”

“That would be lovely, Bruce,” Diana agreed warmly.

Bruce was still taking in the baby—black hair and when her eyes opened, they were Wayne blue.

Ophelia looked up at the man holding her serenely, not making a fuss at the stranger.

“Hello, Ophelia—I’m your daddy,” Bruce said softly, “oh, baby girl, it’s wonderful to meet you…I do have to warn you, though, I’ve never raised a baby before but…Clark, come here please.”

Not five minutes later, Clark and his boys joined them; Chris was in a little carrier on his father’s chest.

Clark saw the baby and muttered softly, “Goodness.”

Then he raised his voice ever so slightly, “Bruce, Diana, is that really—?”

“Your goddaughter, Ophelia, yes,” Bruce murmured, giving Ophelia back to Diana before moving to take Chris; Jason beat him to the boy, hefting the toddler up onto a hip, “Got him, Ol’ Man.”

Clark took Ophelia into his arms and chuckled, “Well, convincing the world she’s a Wayne won’t be an issue. Look at her; Diana, you did magnificently. You really should be a sculptor if this’s the quality of your work!”

“I have Miss Ophelia’s bottle here,” Alfred returned, bottle standing on a silver platter with a folded washcloth.

“Diana, may I?” Bruce asked softly and she nodded; he took his daughter from his friend and Alfred and Dick guided him through feeding and burping a baby.

Bruce already knew how, but he was glad for the reminders.

As Ophelia ate, the adults spoke quietly.

“So, I’m her godfather,” Clark began, “who’s the godmother?”

“One of Mother’s most favored generals, Philippus. She has been a second mother to me,” Diana paused, before admitting, “I am also hoping to ask the Ghost King and Queen. If anything happens to Themyscira…To all of us…”

“I did the same for my boys,” Clark assured, “if something happens to you, me, Bruce, nobody else can raise them. Kon would probably be fine with Lois but Jon and Chris…their powers…”

“Exactly,” Diana agreed, “her abilities…Bruce or you would be able to handle her but if we’re all gone, I doubt she could be fostered by a civilian human.”

A portal bloomed open beside them and out came the Ghost King and his Queen; they were carrying their own toddler.

“I got him,” Kon called, grabbing Anakin so Danny and Sam could be read in on the situation.

“Of course we’ll take her in,” Sam said after being asked, “if Damian’s comfortable with it.”

“I am, Mother, Father,” Damian agreed, “it is not her fault she will be raised by Uncle Bruce despite not being of his blood and the plan for her safety is wise. She is my sister as much as any Wayne is my family.”

“That’s very mature, Dami,” Wally praised.

“It is only sensible,” Damian shrugged, “she is just an infant. Miss Diana, you have my word that if the worst comes to pass then she will be told of Uncle Bruce and the Waynes. I will personally ask the Lady Pandora to tutor her in the ways of the Amazons.”

Diana knelt and clapped a hand to the boy’s shoulder, “That relieves many of my worries, Damian. Thank you.”

Everyone old enough took a turn holding Ophelia and cooing at her after she was fed and burped; even Damian did so but he sat down first.

Alfred, with the help of some ghostly cooks from the Realms, made a small feast to welcome Ophelia to the family.

Diana and Ophelia stayed at the Manor for the requisite six weeks it would take a human woman to recover from childbirth. During that time, Clark got an exclusive from the Waynes to introduce their newest member to the world and spread the story they had all decided on.

Diana’s Paris’ friends, her civilian friends, all welcomed her daughter with joy, wondering at how they hadn’t known Diana was pregnant until she went on maternity leave a mere week before the birth and why hadn’t she told anyone.

Diana explained her family had a history of miscarriages and stillbirths so she hadn’t shared the news when she didn’t need to; athletic women were, after all, less likely to show until late in pregnancy.

Her civilian friends held a belated baby shower, as did the Justice League; the Waynes, of course, had prepared as soon as they were informed of the plan.

Even the Amazons, overjoyed at a new child born to one of their own, had celebrated with feasting and gifts.

It was at the Justice League held shower that Kronos—now Clockwork—made an appearance; he was being escorted by the King and both carried gifts.

Blankets made by masters of the craft, similar to a blanket it Phantom child had; it was woven with protective spells.

Batman and Wonder Woman had profusely thanked them but had Zatanna and Constantine double check them.

And so began the story of Ophelia Martha Prince-Wayne, the next Wonder Woman.

Wished Away 9

Tylers meet Phantoms:

“Christ, Mum,” Rose said as she took in how Jackie, Pete, and Tony were dressed, “we’re just meetin’—”

“Royalty!” Jackie squeaked. They were all done up like they were meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace itself!

“Honestly, Mum, they don’t care,” Rose rolled her eyes, grabbing her mother’s wrist and tugging her through the console room and to the wardrobe room, “I told ya ta dress casually. Let’s just hope the Ol’ Girl has clothes fer ya.”

It took about an hour to get everyone redressed, in things much more casual but still nice, before Rose led them back to the console room.

Jackie was clearly anxious, “Are ya—”

“’m sure, Mum. Danny an’ Sam don’t do formal unless they have ta. Unless you’re an annoying subject or someone threatenin’ war, ya don’t even have ta call ‘em by their titles. They’re just Danny an’ Sam ta family.”

“Lookie what I found,” Jenny bounded from the innards of the TARDIS, holding a tiny bike helmet.

She went to her toddler uncle and put it on him, making sure it fit right, “Landings in the Realms are worse than normal ones. The TARDIS does Her best but the Realms give her…nausea? A headache? She just doesn’t do good.”

“Oh, goody,” Jackie said lowly, hugging a strut for dear life already.

“Let me protect Anthony,” Bad Wolf came out, holding out her arms; without hesitation, Pete handed his son over.

Bad Wolf settled Tony in her arms, against her chest and shoulder, and then spread her feet and crouched slightly, clearly bracing for impact; she stayed steady even as the TARDIS began Her flight.

Everyone else was thrown about the console room, the Doctor and Jenny barely holding on to work the console, but Bad Wolf and Tony did not move an inch.

The landing was rough, just as Jenny said it would be, throwing even the Time Lords to the grated floor before the TARDIS stopped quaking.

Jenny recovered first and stood up, rubbing her shoulder, to peek out the doors, “We’re in the Palace. Uncle Danny and Aunt Sam are waiting…”

Slowly, everyone picked themselves up and Rose reemerged, straightening with some popping from her knees.

Jenny led the procession out, racing to hug a man and a woman, “Uncle Danny, Aunt Sam! How’re you?”

Danny and Sam chuckled and hugged her as one, “Good, doing good. You?”

“Perfect!”

She let go of them to drag Jackie, who was hesitant, forward, “This’s my Gran, Jackie. Mum’s side, duh. Completely human. He’s my step-granddad, Pete, and Mum’s holding my uncle, Tony.”

“Yer Majesties,” Jackie tried to curtsy even though she was in trousers, “an honor ta—”

“Oh, enough,” Sam chuckled, “didn’t they tell you? We don’t do formalities with family.”

“Family?” Jackie’s eyes were wide, “I know Rose said—but—”

“We count Clockwork as family,” Danny explained, “and he’s claimed the Doctor as family. The Doctor and Jenny. Rose’s basically married in by this point. Common-law, you understand. That makes her family our family. Welcome to the Palace, your home in the Infinite Realms.”

“My god,” Pete muttered, somewhat disbelieving.

“Not a god, not yet anyways,” Danny winked.

“Where’s Dani?” Jenny burst out, “Is she still in school?”

Sam grinned, “With Anakin, in the nursery. We let her stay home today.”

“Oh, Gran! Can I introduce Tony to Anakin? Please!” Jenny nearly begged.

“Anakin’s our youngest,” Danny explained kindly, “around Tony’s age, actually. We also have a nanny looking after them, Nanny Clara. He’d be perfectly safe.”

“Well…” Jackie looked to her husband, who nodded, “if you’re sure.”

Jenny cheered and took Tony from Rose, dashing off with him deeper into the Palace.

“Jenny knows the Palace as well as anyone,” Sam assured, “and if she gets lost, she can flag down a servant for help. She’s heading directly for the nursery. It’s the most defensible part of the Palace.

Danny stood up, helping Sam, “C’mon, we can talk over food; stay close, Tylers. Doctor?”

“Rose and I can bring up the rear,” the Doctor agreed, taking Rose’s hand as they began walking.

The Palace was a gothic masterpiece, in a very literal sense, though even Sam had wearied of all the gloom and had sought artists and artwork to fill the halls, soft, plush carpets and tapestries to keep the warmth, glassworks to fill the once barred windows. Statues and busts dotted the hallways, some classical, some avant garde

Masters had given their masterpieces, their magnum opuses; they were paid handsomely of course, in either coin or material.

Oils, watercolors, acrylics, textiles, glass, all created for Her Majesty the Ghost Queen. For His Majesty the Ghost King.

It wasn’t yet a riot of color, nor would it ever be, but it was more alive.

Jackie gasped and the group stopped, turning as one to see what had captured her attention.

“When they said the family was huge…”

Ah, it was the most recent family portrait; all the children were gathered around Danny and Sam, all in formal wear.

“We…sometimes people sell the souls of children to me,” Danny started, causing her and Pete to whip around to him in horror, “I know, it’s horrible, isn’t it? But anyways, we adopt the kids. Only Dani—Danielle—isn’t adopted.”

He pointed out each child and gave their backstory.

“Good Lord, you were young!” Pete said at Damian’s story.

“Old enough to be king,” Danny shrugged helplessly, “it…it wasn’t easy, we had help, so much help, and we made mistakes…”

“All parents do,” Jackie told him softly.

“So we’ve been told,” Sam smiled just as softly, “and we’ve learned and made new ones with each kid.”

Danny coughed and continued to point out kids and tell stories, until all had been covered and then they moved on.

As they neared the dining room, Danielle and Jenny joined them with each holding a toddler.

“Oh my,” Jackie said, taking in the Anakin Skywalker; she knew who he grew up to be, or would have if he had not been adopted.

“We’re hungry, Dad,” Danielle said.

Danny waved them into the dining room where the smaller table was already set for a meal; there were two chairs with booster seats and Jenny and Danielle put Tony and Anakin in them before sitting beside them and helping them get food.

The group chatted over the meal, Jackie and Pete slowly relaxing at how easy going the Royals were, and generally had good cheer.

After the meal was done, Jenny asked, “Do we put their photo up on the family wall now? I know you’ve got me, Dad, and Mum…”

Danny chuckled, “We can, if they’re okay with it.”

“Family wall?” Pete questioned.

“We keep walls of pictures of the extended family,” Sam explained easily, “you know, like Rose, the Doctor, and Jenny. Harry’s and Neville’s parents. Damian’s paternal birth-family. The Royal Portrait is just the immediate royal family. The walls are for everyone and everything else.”

Danny and Sam led the group out of the dining room and down another hallway; the walls were plastered with photographs. Some were professional, most were candid and amateur.

A common camera sat on a small round table; a high-end camera but nothing too expensive or professional.

Danny picked it up, saying, “If Jackie, Pete, and Tony don’t mind—”

Jackie decided it would be a family photograph and dragged the Doctor in; Rose and Jenny came without complaint.

Danny took a set of pictures.

After that was done, it was decided it was time for the Tylers to leave, taking pity on the still disgruntled TARDIS.

They were, however, invited to the next family gathering.

[velvetsehun]

Born to Die| OSH| 04

pairing: Oh Sehun x Reader genre: Mafia!Sehun rating: 18+ warnings: violence, gun use, mature language, smut (in future chapters), slow burn. words: 13.1k summary: a collusions of worlds is supposed to kill, but what if it can do something else? A/N: So here we are... chapter four already! this was a wild ride to write and but i’m sure it’ll be a wild ride to read! now as always enjoy the chapter, get comfortable cause this is a long one! but also while you’re here.. If you really enjoyed it then i suggest you leave me some feedback, lets chat about it, now.. enjoy my babies ;)

TW// Warning this part contains some material that might be sensitive to readers as it depicts scenes of intense violence and gun use and possible suffocation, readers discretion is advised. Masterlist| Next

“Let’s talk Sehun…”

Sleep was not going to come any easy to Sehun now, but as he felt her lips brushing against his own, he figured that a distraction might - because if there was anything that Park Jeonghwa was good at, it was being a distraction. His hand left her wrist, he opted to hold onto her shoulder pushing her back just a fraction so he could speak without her mouth pressed to his unmoving one.

“Talk?” He clicked his tongue, “This doesn’t seem like talking.” She smirked at him, a smirk that only someone that had something to say held.

“We can talk later, my love,” Her voice twinkled, a gleam in her eyes as her nails trailed up the arm that was holding her shoulder, “I’ve missed you.”

“Missed me?” He questioned, an eyebrow quirked at her, “I’m afraid I can’t say the feeling was mutual, my love.” He mocked her tone slightly, watching the frustration build up in her eyes, but he quickly spoke before she could voice her discontent.

“How did you get in.” He demanded slightly, Sehun had a rough morning he wasn’t about to find another breach in his security.

“Yixing, he drove me” Jeonghwa rolled her eyes at him, straightening up slightly, “I told you already, I want to speak to you.”

“Willingly?” Sehun quizzed, ignoring her – Jeonghwa merely scoffed at him.

“Yes, willingly,” She drawled, looking at her hand as she continued to draw shapes on his bare torso, “I am quite convincing when I want to be.”

“Annoying more like,” Sehun said in his head as he rolled his eyes at her.

Park Jeonghwa was a lot of things, and while convincing to a certain extent was one of them – she was also notoriously vicious when she didn’t get what she wanted, Sehun knew sending Yixing to deal with her was going to piss her off, but if he could keep his contact time down to the bare minimum he would.

“Do you not want to see me?” She pouted slightly in a mock act of innocence, something she was very good at.

“Not particularly, no” He drawled out, swiping her hand off his stomach, “Hence why I sent Yixing.” She merely smiled a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“That not what you were saying a few weeks ago,” She hummed, sliding her jacket off – she was dressed in her usual low-cut blouse and short tight skirt, “I do remember us having a lovely evening after that charity gala.”

“I remember a lot of alcohol and not a lot of coherence,” Sehun’s eyebrow plucked up as he sat up against his headboard, she smirked at him as he did so.

“Hm… Really?” She questioned him, tapping a steady rhythm on his leg with her fingers, “I’ll remember that next time you come crawling to me for comfort” She was playing with him.

“Comfort” His mouth ticked with a mocking smile, “I’d find more comfort tossing myself into a lion’s cage than with you.” Jeonghwa laughed at him but it was empty.

Sehun wasn’t a man that sought-after comfort, not anymore; and while he did remember their night together, one of many, he also knew that there was nothing between them – because Park Jeonghwa was a lot of things, but she wasn’t for Sehun. She might have fitted with him family and social wise, being the daughter of one of his more leading associates– but that’s where the similarities ended. Jeonghwa wanted a lot of things, but from him, she wanted a partner for life, but that not something Sehun would ever be; she wanted the idyllic crime syndicate family – rich man that marries a rich wife and they live together with the rich kids while withholding the fact that they’re both miserable. He’d watched it happen to his own family, and he had no doubt that’s would happen with her – if he ever showed any interest to begin with. Because along with that, if Jeonghwa craved anything – it was Sehun’s attention, he’d seen the look in her eyes for years; she held more feelings for him than he’d ever hold for her.

Sehun and Jeonghwa had come across each other numerous times over the years, families like theirs mingled all the time; they knew each other through even the most awkward of teen years, but Sehun never held any feelings towards the girl – she was a typical crime family daughter; she liked expensive things and had a bite that was worse than her bark, and he knew that she’d run him to the ground if she could. He also knew that probably if his family had still been around he would have been married off to her when they were both of age, they’d had heard murmuring of it when they were children but to him, she wasn’t a friend, she wasn’t the perfect match for him like he’s heard his mother suggest; she was someone he just knew by association. They had been coupled off together throughout the years, attending parties and such together, but that’s where their “togetherness” ended, she warmed his bed sometimes and he filled the void she had for him - that was it.

“Why are you here Jeonghwa?” He continued, she was busy looking around the room, but those eyes flicked to him soon enough.

“Can’t an old friend visit?” She plainly said. She had her head tilted in a challenge to him, “Plus, word on the street said you shot up a bar last night, took a little gift with you” He only rolled his eyes.

“How long did it take you to get that out of Yixing?” He tutted, looking her dead in the eye, “Green isn’t your colour Jeonghwa, especially not now.” It was her turn to roll the eyes, a puff of air passing her lips in a huff.

“Everything is my colour, Sehun” She smirked slightly before dropping it, “Yixing mentioned you were having a few troubles with your guest,” She hummed, tapping his leg, “If she’s not speaking, I’d be very happy to talk to her…” She glinted in her eyes.  

“Our guest is co-operating just fine without your assistance,” Sehun challenged her slightly to say something else, “But I’ll ask again, why are you here?”

“I refuse to speak to your men,” She grumbled, “If I send a message saying I want to speak to you, I expect you to turn up.” Sehun really didn’t want to deal with this.

“I was busy,” He told her, which wasn’t a lie; he was busy dealing with his escaped captive, “Yixing was the next best option, or would you have liked Baekhyun instead?”

“Keep that idiot away from me,” She scoffed turning her nose up, she took a second before she continued, “Wouldn’t you have liked to know what Byung-Chul was doing with your money?” She smirked at him.

“What do you know?” He gritted slightly, annoyed with her already.

“More than you want me to know,” She giggled, “I’ll tell you, but it comes with a price” She grinned at him.

“A price?” He quizzed, with a quirked brow, “A price for information that directly involves me and my syndicate?”

“Well…” She teased, “Maybe if you had met me as I asked, I wouldn’t need to bargain your precious information” Her voice dropped into a mocking tone towards the end.

“Jeonghwa.” He gave a warning, getting fed up – he just wanted to rest.

“Sehunnie…” She merely pouted mockingly at him. He merely glared at her for a second before she eventually sighed with a tepid smile, the glint in her eyes was back.

“One kiss.” She smirked, holding up one finger, “One kiss and the information is yours.”

Sehun couldn’t roll his eyes hard enough, looking at the girl he gave her a passive look but he complied anyway, grabbing the front of her blouse he drew her lips to his – Jeonghwa let out a muffled moan of shock before she eased into it with a grin, her cold hand wrapping around his neck as she pulled him more towards her. This was her game, but Sehun wasn’t about to lose it; tapping her chin slightly, he pulled back.

“Information, Jeonghwa.” He spoke lowly, she tried to capture his mouth again, but he moved back slightly; regardless if he felt her nails digging into his neck to keep him there. She merely huffed looking at him, her dark eyes swimming with mirth.

“I’ll tell you what I know.”

Admittedly, Chanyeol left the guests room feeling slightly different than he did before, his gutting churning with a funny feeling as he practically bolted from the room – he wasn’t isolated by his job by any means, but it was generally safer to try and converse with people that rotated in the same circles as himself, talking to you was something he didn’t expect to hit him like it did. Normality is what he would call it, you were no means involved in the same world as any of them but listening to you reprimand him for the way he chose to live hit close to home.

“I’m not above surviving,” You said quietly, “I’m above the means you took to get there.”

He could feel his skin crawling with disgust at himself, it was different hearing someone tell him that the stuff he did was horrible – he was very much in a circle of people that only ever congratulated him on his wrongdoings, and Chanyeol knew that he had done a lot of wrongdoings. He was by no means a nice man, he wasn’t a demon in disguise, but he wasn’t an angel either – he had done some horrible things to some horrible people, and like his brothers his hands were stained with so much red that sometimes when he thought about it, he might just have been a devil, he had shed the blood to be. The disappointment laced in your tone did remind him of his sister, another person he let down in his life, but as he stated before – he was merely doing what he could to survive.

The compound had a serenity settled over it, much different from the chaos it had been before, and he could feel the exhaustion fusing with his DNA as he slammed the metal tray he had brought down from the room down on the counter – the metal clang running through the empty kitchen. Tiredness had made Chanyeol unobservant, otherwise, he would have noticed Baekhyun leaning on the door frame.

“Don’t damage Kyungsoo’s kitchen now, he’ll have your head.” He could hear the teasing tone in his friend’s voice, but he merely just grunted in response, too tired to say anything. “Cat got your tongue, Yeol?” He smiled his impish smile, sitting down at one of the bar stools.

“Something like that,” Chanyeol sighed slightly, turning around to lean on the counter, facing his questioning friend, “Long morning.” Chanyeol would have chuckled at the state that Baekhyun was in if he had the energy.

His companion was a mess of ruffled hair, dried blood, bruised face, and clothes that looked about 2 days old – he probably didn’t look much better, they’d been working for a few days, but still, Baekhyun looked rough.

“Hmm, I’d say less a cat…” Baekhyun faked being in thought, tapping his chin for effect, “And more a guest that’s got to you.” Chanyeol merely rolled his eyes.

“She hasn’t got to me,” Chanyeol stated clearly even if it was a lie, “She’s got nothing to get to me about.”

“I may have been hit on the head but I’m not deaf,” Baekhyun rolled his own eyes, leaning his face on his palm, “I walked past earlier, the two of you have gotten cosy, haven’t you?” He teased, “She’s been here what? 2 hours? And you’ve already got it bad.”

“Got it bad?” Chanyeol scrunched his nose up, “I cleaned her up and we spoke, that was it – there’s nothing to get, was I supposed to do it in silence?”

“I’m just saying,” Baekhyun grinned, “You got the hots for the guest that on you, she’s cute – even I’ll admit that.”

“Don’t you have a job to be doing?” Chanyeol rolled his eyes, “You know, doing what Sehun asked you to do instead of trying to create a situation that isn’t there?”

“Sehun also wouldn’t like you playing with his guest either, but here we are,” Baekhyun smirked widely, “Plus I cleaned his car, what more does he want?” Chanyeol merely shook his head at him.

“Plus, Yixing called,” Baekhyun scoffed slightly, “He’s bringing home a guest, I was going to tell our loving boss, but we all know he hates being interrupted when he’s trying to rest.”

“A guest?” Chanyeol quirked his brow, “Who is it now?”

“Park Jeonghwa,” Baekhyun made a fake gag noise while rolling his eyes, “Apparently she didn’t love that Sehun sent Yixing, so she demanded to speak to him.”

“Looks like no one’s getting sleep,” Chanyeol looked disgusted.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Baekhyun hummed, toying around with his pocketknife, “You’re not the only one giving eyes to the new girl.”

“I’m not making eyes,” Chanyeol gritted out, glaring at his friend, “Will you stop that?”

“Look, all I’m saying is that Sehun is too touchy-feely,” Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol as he spoke, “I’ve known him a very long time, Sehun doesn’t do touchy-feely.”

“Well Jeonghwa seems to be an acceptation,” Chanyeol hummed, turning around to pour himself a glass of whatever, “She’s been making trips around here for years.”

“Jeonghwa,” Baekhyun began with a raised eyebrow, “Want’s something she’ll never have, Jun and I have watched for years as she’s pinned for him” Chanyeol frowned at that, it was rare he heard much about their younger days – Baekhyun, Jun, Yixing and Sehun had known each other since they were kids.

Syndicate families stuck together closely, that much he knew, they meandered in the same circles and worked together – from what he knew, Sehun’s father was the head of it all until his untimely passing. He didn’t know that much about the Byun family either, only that Baekhyun didn’t really speak to them and he’d occasionally see his brother when the older one wanted something from him – everyone around him had difficult family lives, for some it was part of the job, but he often wondered what I was like to have your family be the difficult part of your job. It was no secret that any syndicate that fell under the Oh Family was a powerful one, the Oh’s had a reputation in the underground for their extensive “businesses” but it seemed to Chanyeol that everyone prioritised that over any form of a loving relationship – something he’d never fully grasped. Chanyeol knew he was called the baby of the group for a reason, even though it had been 6 years, he was much more naïve to their life than the rest of them, the ones that weren’t born into this world included; he had the doe eyes of someone who was just starting, not the hardened canvases of his much more experienced brothers, they often joked how he rose the ranks so quick.

“And Sehun’s never seemed interested…?” Chanyeol quizzed.

“Never.” Baekhyun shook his head, “Not even when he was a lanky little teenager, she’s never caught his eye” Baekhyun looked like he was recalling those days, a fond smile on his lips, “He knows she’s pretty, gorgeous in fact, and that not the reason he doesn’t like her.”

“What’s the reason then?” Chanyeol asked curiously, crossing his arms over his chest, “She’s pretty, rich, affluent, understands his life, what else could he want?” Baekhyun shrugged.

“Your guess is as good as mines,” The latter said, “I suppose he doesn’t want to be like everyone else in his family or any of our families” He had a look in his eyes.

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asked with a raised brow.

“Bound to someone you’ll never love,” Baekhyun stated like it was the simplest thing in the world, “This job doesn’t allow you to love someone.” There was a brief pause before he continued.

“Look at my father – he married my mother and when his wrongdoings got her killed,” Baekhyun looked uncomfortable for a second before he sighed, “He married someone else as quickly as he could a few weeks later, no grieving just business, you don’t marry for love – you marry for allies and power” Chanyeol looked at his brother sympathetically, but Baekhyun kept talking like this wasn’t something difficult to talk about.  

“My father never loved my mother, he liked her because he was supposed to, but he never loved her…” Baekhyun had distance in his eyes as he recalled the woman, “I was 7 when she was shot, right in the foyer of our home, all because my father let a guns trade go sour and the goods were never delivered” He sighed looking at the marble counter.

“I’m sure people do find love in this world, Yixing’s parents were forced together but look at them now, they love each other,” Baekhyun was tapping at the counter, “But the reality is, no one truly loves in our world, we tolerate and make gain from union – I loved my mother, but my father didn’t, and now she’s dead and some imposter is in her place.”

“Baekhyun…” Chanyeol started, seeing the pain in his brothers’ eyes.

“Jeonghwa seems right for Sehun because of her social stature, but that can’t build a relationship, no matter how hard she tries or begs for him.” Baekhyun said honestly, “I get it, I don’t exactly want that for myself either, but I can’t go around loving someone and live in constant fear that one day they’re going to get shot as well”

“Sehun doesn’t want to end up like his father, Jeonghwa would only make his life that way,” Baekhyun sighed, “They’d have the “perfect” syndicate family, while Jeonghwa’s father tries to ruin us from the inside out, she’s the epitome of everything he doesn’t want in life.”

Chanyeol realised for a second how blessed his life before all this was; he was treated like the apple of his parents’ eyes; they lived a beautiful life where love flooded the house and they never had to wonder for a second if they loved each other. Although he was difficult as he got older, Chanyeol still knew his parents loved him dearly because they had created him out of their love. His heart burned for a second seeing the pain on Baekhyun’s face, he’d known that he’d lost his mother young, but it wasn’t something he ever talked about, he only ever complained at what a witch his stepmother could be.

“Some advice Chanyeol?” Baekhyun said breaking Chanyeol’s thoughts and standing up from his chair, “Be with someone you don’t mind losing at any moment, cause you’re not going to get more than that in this job.”

“It’s not a life is it?” Chanyeol spoke honestly looking at his friend in earnest.

“It’s not,” Baekhyun said, “But it’s a life that’s comfortable, despite how uncomfortable it is.”

“You’ve never thought of changing it…?” Chanyeol lowered his voice slightly, “Not for one second?” Baekhyun merely chuckled a bit humourlessly.

“We’ve thought of changing it, but we can’t,” Baekhyun said with a tone to his voice, “Be very thankful you didn’t grow up like this, that’s a whole other can of worms.” Baekhyun chuckled with no convection to it. He watched with a look at he went to leave a small mumbling of getting back to work gracing his lips.

Chanyeol often wondered if growing up like them would have benefited him in any way, to have that crime life constantly around you to the point that you knew it better than you knew the back of your hand – but it was no lie that the ones that did grow up in it lived a very rough life. Money couldn’t by a parent’s love, the boys were taught to shoot and plan while the girls were prepped for a husband and a “perfect” life, it was a very classic lifestyle that wasn’t with the times – everyone knew that, but they kept traditions. Chanyeol had remembered a few years ago when a son of some syndicate under the Oh family had broken a marriage contract with another family and the turmoil it caused, turf wars and revenge riddled the syndicate for a while; he vividly remembers having to deal with a few stragglers than tried to side with the son. While Sehun didn’t agree with banishing the son, if he wanted to keep his business intact, he’d agree with whatever lined their pockets.

Baekhyun’s words were truthful but they were painful too, although he tried not to care – he could see the pain lining his eyes at the thought of his poor mother. But for some reason, his mind also drifted to you, you were as normal as it went, what was your life like? Your friends? Your parents? Did they miss you? Your face was all over the news at the moment as missing. It reminded Chanyeol that he grew up in normal, and still craved it time to time, chatting to you had granted him that small feeling normalcy he loved – and despite what Baekhyun said, you weren’t anyone to him, just a reminder of someone he knew. You weren’t permanent here, everyone knew that, but somehow Chanyeol could feel his heart clench at the thought of sending you back to your normal life – he enjoyed the feeling you gave him and it was selfish but if busting Byung-Chul took a long time, he’d gladly keep you here to keep chatting to him.

For a brief second, Chanyeol wondered if Sehun thought the same as him – the look he gave you twisting in his mind, he’d known Sehun for a long time and what he told you was true, you were alive by Sehun’s hand, he’d seen his boss shoot someone for lesser than what you’d done, so why were you alive? It took a mere few seconds for Chanyeol to realise he was still standing in the empty kitchen, and with a shake of his head, he looked at his watch with a sigh.

“Better sleep now before someone else tries to steal everyone’s time.”

Oasis was coated in a bath of red light, your position from under the bar hiding your quivering body—glass had fallen around you like deadly snow, the razor-sharp pieces glinting with the demonic light, small beams of red bouncing off them as they lay there coated in blood, puddles of it surrounding you. Screams were resonating out, their pain bouncing off walls and burrowing into your ears like a bad song as your shaky hands tried to block everything out, bangs following the screams before it killed off them.

You could feel the muscle in your chest jumping with the erratic beat of your heart, the force of your lungs trying to keep up your breathing sending you into a spiralling dizziness—everything was overwhelming to the senses, but all you could focus on was the noise, the noise and the sickly smell of metal that clung to everything; you didn’t know if it was gun power or blood, or both. Thoughts of your heart giving out before a gun could get you or it could stop plagued your mind for a few seconds, but it was a fleeting thought—as if someone cut the music, the screams stopped.

Your blood felt cold, like liquid nitrogen was flowing through your veins and seizing your muscles in an icy cramp, frozen in time. There were footsteps again, glass crunching under boots—but you were unarmed, nothing in your hands this time; and if someone changed the record, the whistling started. It was haunting, the hollow sound jumping in your ears and picking up to a sharp screech as it neared closer. Your hands were shaking, vibrating against your face where they tried to clutch onto what was left of your sanity.

It was closer now, someone was pushing broken glass off the bar behind you, shards falling into your vision like snow, the clunks dulled by the blood on the floor—it was horrific, your blood thrumming with the sheer thrill of being hunted. It was all too familiar, but instead of pointing a gun, you just had to take your punishment, and that was nearing closer. You could see it now, the shadow from the corner of your vision, your body was pulsating with fear as you avoided looking at him, a cold sweat gathering on your skin. He was like a demon from another realm, lurking beside your vision, haunting you—but if he was a demon, then by god he was a beautiful one. Your stare didn’t linger on him, you couldn’t look, but he saw you, his lithe body towering over you–the smell of something woody cutting through the surrounding metallic. He was close but you wouldn’t look, you couldn’t look. He stood in front of you now, long legs blocking your vision as a visible click of a gun rang out.

“I’ll shoot” His voice had a warp to it, but the deepness of it still hit your heart. He sounded pained, so much so you could feel a different emotion radiating from him.

You flinched when you felt something cold press to your temple; the chill running into your bloodstream and stealing the oxygen from your lungs; it was terrifying, but you still didn’t look at him—your eyes merely flicked up to stare at the weapon to your head before they closed.

You heard a shuddering breath.

BANG.

“Wakey wakey!” The door slammed open with a bounce on the wall, your cold sweaty body jumping up at the intruder, eyes moving a mile a minute before they settled on whoever busted into the room like there was a fire.

Baekhyun.

“Did our sleeping beauty sleep well?” He teased lightly, leaning against the now open door, looking a lot better than he did earlier but not by much, “Sorry your prince charming’s weren’t here to wake you up, Sehun and Chanyeol are busy” He winked as you stared at him in disbelief. 

“Prince Charming’s?” You thought to yourself, staring at him with your jaw slightly ajar. His smirk grew.

“Don’t tell me you’re a complete idiot,” He chuckled impishly, “To think, I thought you were smart”

“I’m not an idiot.” You snapped at him, snapping out of your shock in the process—you felt sick, your body still not recovering from everything. “And how can you call me an idiot when you got taken out by a piece of glass?” His eyes darkened slightly.

“You’re mouthy when you’re not scared,” He remarked with a scoff, before he looked at your face, “Weren’t you told to play nice? Or the big bad wolf will chew you out.” You rolled your eyes.

“I thought your boss was my ‘prince charming’?” You seethed out slightly, not even whiling to say his name.

Baekhyun hummed, “I said Sehun and Chanyeol, but nice to see who you were thinking about.” You gritted your jaw.

“Why are you here, I was sleeping?” You snapped slightly agitated with the man.

“They summoned you.” He said plainly, you raised an eyebrow at that.

“Summoned…?” You questioned.

“Sehun wants to see you,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “We’re having a meeting.” You could feel yourself seize up at the mention of his name.

“And if I don’t want to go,” You breathed, looking at Baekhyun, wishing that maybe Chanyeol was the one that came to collect you.

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.” Baekhyun mocked you slightly, “We can do this the easy way, or I can drag you down the stairs, your choice.” He shrugged, seemingly not giving much a shot about what you want.

“Why does he want to see me…” You asked, gnawing on your lip.

“Your guess is as good as mines, sweetheart,” Baekhyun sighed, looking very bored, “I don’t have all day, so decide before someone much scarier storms up here wondering why you’re wasting their precious time.” He quirked an eyebrow at you.

With shaking legs, you tossed the blanket you’d been laying with off your body – your indent in the mattress and the warmth you’d built up in there leaving with the item being tossed and your socked feet landing with a gentle thud on the carpet. The house was still freezing, your hands pulling your sleeves over themselves in an attempt to preserve the warmth. Baekhyun was keeping a close eye on you as you stood up, your stance looking pathetically timid for the first time since he’d first laid eyes on you.

“Are we going to get a move on?” He asked impatiently, tapping his watch for effect.

“Jesus,” You muttered, fixing yourself slightly before scurrying to the door, “You’re not going to zip tie me, are you?” You asked curiously standing next to him, he wasn’t much taller than you up close, but he was broader.

“Not as broad as Sehun,” You thought quietly, glancing at Baekhyun’s figure.

“Everyone is awake now, sweets,” He rolled his eyes, “Someone will shoot you before you could attempt to get away.”

You had a sly smile on your lips for once, “I didn’t think everyone was asleep the first time.”

Baekhyun made a noise at the back of his throat, something you registered as a disgruntled now, but he kept quiet—merely placing a hand on your arm before you were shoved out the door.

“Just get moving.” He said watching you stumble and catching yourself quickly, he left the door open as he followed you, nodding for you to walk.

It was quiet as you began your walk to Sehun’s office, the house still quiet as before but somewhere deep in the halls was quiet murmuring, the walls muffling anything resemblance of words and turning the noises into something that resembled ghosts in the walls. The walk to the office wasn’t a long one, Sehun opted to keep you close, but as you turned to walk to the door in sight, you felt a tug on your sweatshirt, Baekhyun’s grin flooding your vision.  

“Oh no, sweets,” He looked like the Cheshire cat, “We’re not going in there.”

“Where…” The words tumbled off your lips before you were cut off.

“It’s dinnertime, sweets” Baekhyun pushed you towards the stares, your disbelieving face looking over your shoulder to him, “Why don’t you join us.”

“Dinner?” You stuttered, the colour draining from your face. “You’re not going to poison me, are you?”

“Poison you?” Baekhyun’s laugh rang out into the empty foyer, the tinkering sound bouncing off the walls, “If we were going to kill you, we would have by now—we certainly wouldn’t have let you nap” He teased with a grin, walking down the stairs behind you.

The door was in sight.

But you wouldn’t run this time—Baekhyun probably had his gun on him and was probably more than willing to use it. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Baekhyun took a hold of your arm, his grip surprisingly gentle as he led you across the foyer to a set of double doors, the intimidating wood taunting you but the guards outside it taunting you more as they stared you down, they looked exhausted.

“Can’t have them thinking I can’t do my job,” Baekhyun leaned over and whispered in your ear, his warm breath hitting the side of your face, but you didn’t flinch, “Kid’s in this job can get cocky, just look like I scared you or something” You turned your face to look at him in disbelief, your faces close to where he looked down at your mouth before looking in your eyes with a cheeky look, his eyebrows dancing with his amusement.

“You’re insane…” You said with incredulity, your mouth dropping open slightly, but he only looked amused, giving you a wink before turning to the two men.

“Johnny.” Baekhyun nodded to the taller one before looking at the shorter one, “Taeyong.”

“Baekhyun,” They said in unison, looking at each other before Johnny spoke.

“I’m guessing you want to be let in,” Johnny said casually, toying with his higher up.

Baekhyun smiled, but he wasn’t amused, “If you’d be so kind”

“Why should we,” Johnny teased with a smirk.

“Because I’m your boss,” Baekhyun deadpanned.

“I thought Sehun was our boss,” Taeyong chimed in, smirking just as wide as Johnny, “And he didn’t mention you’d be having a guest with you.” It was the first time you’d seen Baekhyun look put out.

“Just let me in, the two of you” Baekhyun huffed, “You’re stopping a meeting from taking place.”

“Say please,” Johnny smirked widely, your eyes the size of plates as you watched the strange exchange.

“Please.” Baekhyun gritted out, his hand tightening on your arm a fraction.

Johnny and Taeyong looked at each other with a smirk before placing a hand on each doorknob, opening the doors in unison to show the inside of the room—glancing at the table that lay before you, you knew you were fucked. With a nudge Baekhyun ushered you into the room, your eyes scanning the 8 people that sat at the table, but your pupils zooming in on the man sat at the head of the table, looking less than pleased as he watched you stand before the table.

Sehun.

It felt like the world was sinking as everyone stared at you, Baekhyun at your side, and your eyes searched for comfort—the pupils flicking from Sehun to Chanyeol, the friendly giant passing you a small smile while he was sitting three seats down from Sehun’s right-hand side, a man you vaguely remembered sitting next to him. There were two people you didn’t recognise—a man and a woman, the latter sitting to Sehun’s left, staring you down with a look you couldn’t place. You could place the faces of Jongin and Xiumin, and the one you passed on the stairs when you escaped, and the face of the guy that sent you flying in the ally, but the mystery man was well… a mystery.

“Sit, please.” The man you vaguely remembered spoke to you, gesturing to the empty seat at the other head of the table, directly in front of Sehun.

Baekhyun sensed your hesitance, placing a hand on your back and shoving you slightly, the very quiet whisper of ‘Junmyeon’ on his lips, informing you of the man’s name. And with a Stumble you sat down in the chair, your hands gripping the wood tight as you looked around at everyone. Baekhyun was sat to your right, next to Jongin, and the mystery man to your left. It was quiet for a second before the latter of the one sitting next to you shoved his hand out to you with a small smile, your hand shaking slightly as you took his.

“Yixing.” He spoke softly, his name rolling off his lips like silk, “Nice to meet you.” He affirmed with a small shake.

“Y/N” You mumbled to him while quickly withdrawing your hand, he was handsome but even you knew handsome men couldn’t be trusted. Flicking your eyes back to the table, you were met with silence.

“Why am I here…” You asked slightly, brows furrowed, Sehun sat up straighter at that but it was Junmyeon that spoke.

“They have released your boss from custody,” He said like a diplomat, his hands folded on the table to build the image, “So now, we have to figure out what we will do with you.” You gulped at that.

“With me…” You repeated softly.

“But first,” Sehun cut in, looking between Junmyeon and yourself, his eyes cutting you deep, “I want to know what you know.”

“What I know?” You repeated like a stuck record, making the girl to Sehun’s left scoff.

“Listen to the girl,” She sniped in, “She can’t even form sentences, what makes you think that she knows anything? You took the useless bartender” She rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair.

“Jeonghwa,” Sehun warned, not looking at her, “Enough.”

“I don’t know as much as you think I do,” You said with a sigh, “Jaewoo would have been the one to ask, he was like a son to Mr Gwan…” Jeonghwa looked at Sehun like she was right but he waved her off. “The bar,” Sehun began, folding his arms on his lap like a royal, “I need you to tell me if you saw anything different going on with the backroom, anyone lurking around it?”

You bit your lip while you thought for a second, “Yes.”

“When I started working there, I was told never to venture into the backroom, that nothing back there concerned me,” You began, locking eyes with Sehun, “That was nearly a year ago, but as of about 7 months ago I noticed strange men would come in periodically, always through the front door and left through the back, Jaewoo would just be finishing his shift and would escort them to the room—Mr Gwan was never around”

You looked around at the room to everyone looking at you as spoke.

“By the time I started my shift, they were already through the back doing whatever it is they were there for,” You sighed, “I tried to not ask, but I did one day and Jaewoo just brushed me off, told me they just picked up the dead drink stock we didn’t use but I knew it was a lie—the drink stock was kept in the loading bay at the back of the bar,” You nodded fidgeting at the silence.

“There was only one occurrence that Jaewoo wasn’t there when they came, I had covered his shift and they came that night, they had duffle bags with them this time, the bar was just closing, it was the only time they came late.” You glanced at Chanyeol for reassurance, “And it was one of the few times Mr Gwan was there, I had manned the bar the whole night while he was in their office but as soon as they came he immediately ushered me out and told me he’d clean up, it was one of the few times I got a proper look at their faces, it was always two of them that came.”

“What did they look like,” Junmyeon said with furrowed brows.

You thought back for a second, trying to remember their faces from a few months ago.

“They were both tall,” You said nodding, “One of them was taller than the other one, maybe about 6 feet – the shorter of the two had silver hair, they were both about mid-twenties…” You trailed off, as Jeonghwa hummed looking at you.

“Did you ever hear their names?” She cut in, staring you down.

“No,” You shook your head, “It was the first time I’d ever seen them up close, they approached me at the bar before Mr Gwan intervened and sent me off, but they said nothing to me.”

“Was it always those two?” Sehun asked, still staring you down.

You nodded, “Yes, at first there was a third one but after the second visit I never saw him again.”

“But,” You opened your mouth before biting your lip looking at Sehun, “They stopped showing up, they normally come in the same days every month but last week they were a no show, and Jaewoo looked a bit twitchy about it.”

“You never once went in there…?” Junmyeon asked, clearly trying to see if you were lying. You merely just nodded at that.

“Never,” You said, “The door had two padlocks on it, and I didn’t have the keys, trust me I was curious as anyone would be, there are no security cameras in there either, I checked…” You said a bit sheepishly.

“And you said nothing to anyone…?” Junmyeon looked a bit dumbfounded at your quietness.

“I told my friends that something dodgy was going on, but I told no one else about the backroom, it’s a shitty bar in a rougher neighbourhood they expected nothing else,” You said with a sigh, “I needed the money and after the first time they approached me I noticed a pay increase, I think Mr Gwan was paying me more to keep quiet.”

“How do we know that your boss isn’t paying you to lie to us?” Sehun asked, raising a brow at you and for the first time you stared him down.

“What do I gain from lying to you?” You asked curiously, “You shot my co-worker in the head if I knew anything that mattered id tell you, believe it or not; I enjoy living.” Sehun glared at you.

“I found nothing on the cameras,” The one that sent you flying in the ally spoke for the first time, trying to call you out but you shrugged.

“Mr Gwan and Jaewoo had access to the cameras, I snuck into the office one day to see if there was one for the backroom but I left after I found nothing, security had nothing to with me, I’m just a bartender,” You spoke honestly, “Be realistic if they had someone coming into the bar all the time for something less than legal do you think they’d keep the tapes?” You raised your eyebrow feeling bold, Baekhyun sniggered at that.

“Trust me, I was as curious as you,” You huffed, “The only other thing I could tell you if that the silver-headed one looked like he was in charge, I never saw him carrying the duffels”

Sehun didn’t comment on that but looked like he took it in, “As I said, your boss has been released”

“I’m aware,” You nodded, “I’m also aware the news thinks I have something to do with what you did to the bar,” You pursed your lips.

“Yes,” Sehun spoke, “That’s not exactly favourable but manageable” He was speaking plainly to you, a stark contrast to his earlier actions.

“What Sehun is saying,” Junmyeon spoke for his boss with a glare, “Is that we’re aware of the situation, but we’re dealing with it, and you know that you’re not the person we want,” He spoke to with a tone of understanding.

“So, what are we going to do about it?” Your eyebrow jumped looking at the man. It was bold of you.

“Without delving into too much detail,” Jongin spoke up, glancing at his boss, “We’re going to trade you off”

Your eyes widened as your voice raised, “Trade me off? What am I cattle?”

“We’re going to set up a meeting,” Chanyeol cut in, glaring at Jongin for his poor wording before looking at you a bit softer, “Between Byun-Chul and ourselves, we’re going to trade you off for him…”

“And what if he says no?” You said incredulously.

“Then we give him some...” Chanyeol trailed off trying to find the right words, but Junmyeon cut in.

“We give him an ulterior motive,” Junmyeon nodded, “One he can’t refuse”

“What?” You were panicked now, “You’re going to shoot him too?” Baekhyun kicked you under the table to mind your tone, but you didn’t care.

“Be lucky we didn’t shoot you,” Sehun snapped, “I don’t know if you’re aware, but you’re not exactly needed in our plan, we could get to Byung-Chul without you.” You winced at his harsh words.

“Then why did you take me.” You hissed as everyone at the table watched you argue.

“Because we need information,” Sehun drawled back, “Your companion would have been useless, someone loyal to their boss would take too much effort to get information out of, you were the easier option,” You gritted your teeth.

“How do you know as once I get out that I won’t just go to the police?” You snapped, but you drew back when Sehun smiled.

“You’re dumb,” He began sounding nice before his voice dropped to a deadly tone, “But as you said, you enjoy living, you think about going to the police and I’ll make sure that seizes to be an option.” His tone was dark, so much so that your jaw dropped in astonishment, words dying on your throat.

The stare-off with him caused silence to fall over the table, your eyes locking with each other, and for the first time since you met him you saw something dancing in his irises—warning. Handsome men couldn’t be trusted but beautiful men shouldn’t be trusted and that’s exactly what Sehun was, a beautiful man, but you were stupid for a second to believe that you’d come out of this safe. The tension was building in the room between the two of you, but Junmyeon sought to cut it with a knife.

“Once we get what we want, you’re free to go,” He said with an edge to his voice, but it wasn’t directed at you, “The police will be no bother, we’ll handle that but for your safety…” He trailed off looking at you.

“We merely ask for your silence, you forget the last 24 hours, and everyone moves on.” You stared back at him with a look of disbelief.

“Forget everything…” You whispered, “I watched you shoot my co-worker in the head, I was dragged through the glass and drugged before I was kidnapped for no reason, I’ve lost my job and you want me to just forget everything…?” You asked with an edge to your voice.

“For the sanity of everyone here, yes that’s exactly what I’m asking.” Junmyeon didn’t leave much room for argument. Your eyes glanced at Chanyeol, who was refusing to look at you.

“What if I don’t want that?” Sehun was staring at you, but Baekhyun spoke up, looking at you.

“I don’t think you have a choice.” You gritted your teeth.

Chanyeol look particularly put out at the situation but you knew he’d never dare to say anything.

“What exactly has my boss done to you…” You asked quietly but curiously, Sehun hummed at that.

“That, sweetheart,” He began with a raised eyebrow, “Is none of your business.” You just shook your head again, looking at the table.

“Baekhyun,” Junmyeon spoke to cut the silence again, “Take our guest back to her room, we’ve got more to discuss.” Baekhyun just hummed in agreement, standing up.

You said nothing and looked at no one as you stood up, feeling put out by the situation. No goodbyes were uttered as you let Baekhyun lead you back to the door, wanting this situation to be long forgotten, but you couldn’t help but thing as you were escorted.

“Maybe it would have been easier if they just shot me.”

Sehun watched with a tense jaw as Baekhyun took you away, the man’s hand placed on your arm far too lightly for someone who was being kept captive, but he said nothing as he looked back around the table at all his brothers waiting for someone to speak.

“Well…” Junmyeon decided to be the first to speak, “That was eventful.” Sehun hummed.

“Not quite the word I’d use,” Sehun was a bit fed up himself, not that he’d let his brothers know that, “But at least we got something from her.”

“A whole lot of nothing,” Jeonghwa decided to speak, much to Sehun’s discontent, “She practically just confirmed what I told you” She stressed slightly.

“Why are you still here?” Sehun snapped slightly, as she looked at him slightly shocked.

“So she confirmed what you said,” Junmyeon raised an eyebrow at the two of them, trying to dissolve the oncoming storm, “At least we know what you said is solid evidence, but we still don’t know what exactly either of the men’s names are and what they want with our cargo.”

“Listen,” Jeonghwa rolled her eyes, her arms firmly crossed over her chest, “I told you everything, they’re some new gang on the scene, no one knows who they are or what they want, especially with your cargo, I don’t know why you thought questioning her would tell you what you want.” She huffed.

“She’s the only lead we have at the moment,” Sehun said darkly, tapping his ring on the armrest of his chair, “She also confirmed that this has been going on for months under our noses” Sehun looked at all of his brothers.

“We’ve gotten lazy,” He said tensely, “Lazy enough that some… Punk has come on the scene and stole over half a million dollars in drugs from one of our dealers.” He tsk’ed.

“I don’t think they stole them,” Chanyeol spoke up, “Byun-Chul has been doing some side trades with our supply, that’s calculated, if they were stealing anything, they would have hit the bar once and been done with it.”

“Chanyeol’s right,” Kyungsoo nodded, “From what I could find, they always appeared a few days after we shipped the goods to Byung-Chul, and they appeared during opening hours”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Junmyeon said shaking his head, “Byun-Chul had been loyal to us for years, what did they say to make him change his mind.”

“More like what did they offer him,” Minseok spoke up, “You said it yourself, he’s been loyal for years so what did they offer him?”

“Could you trace the bank account?” Sehun’s eyes flicked to Kyungsoo, who looked a bit annoyed.

“Nope,” He spoke honestly, “It was a solid encryption on the wire transfer, I could keep trying but it kept rerouting me and locking me out”

“So, they offered him money,” Sehun spoke honestly, “The girl said herself she got a pay increase after dealing with our mystery men”

“But how does a new gang get all that cash?” Chanyeol asked, “You said yourself that they were new, so how do they get that much in so little time? and how do they manage to get connected to Byung-Chul in the first place?” He turned to Jeonghwa who shrugged.

“Questions, questions, questions…” Sehun muttered, still tapping his ring on his chair, “I’m afraid that those will need to be answered by the man himself”

“How many syndicates have been hit again?” Sehun continued staring off into space.

“Four,” Junmyeon told him, “Four never received their shipments.”

“And it was just drugs?” Sehun asked again, thinking deeply.

“From what we know,” Yixing spoke up, “I was down at the docks yesterday, and everything is still there so we can rest assured that Dong-Yul isn’t in on it” Sehun hummed at that.

“For now,” He said with a vague notion of a doubt, “I do not doubt that something else will rear its head.”

“Then we’ll keep an eye on everything,” Jongdae spoke, “Converge with our contacts and dealers, make sure everything is in check.”

“Do we have time for that?” Jongin asked, “That’s a lot of people and clearly these mystery men knew something was up if they didn’t turn up to Oasis a few days ago.”

“I hate to be the one to say it,” Minseok tutted, “But inside job?” Junmyeon and Sehun looked at him.

“You think it was an inside job?” Jun asked, and Minseok made a noise at the back of his throat in agreement.

“As much as we’ve pissed people off over the years,” He began, “We haven’t had an attack on our territory in a very long time, the old syndicates are either under our wing or dead”

“So, you think someone we liaison with is behind this, knowing what would happen if they were caught?” Jun asked again.

“Listen, all I’m saying is that it’s possible.” Minseok raised his hands, “There’s always a bad apple of the bunch.”

“It’s not a foreign concept, Jun,” Sehun spoke up, “There’s a lot of people under us, someone is bound to hate the way things are”

“Fine, we won’t rule it out,” Junmyeon sighed, “Minseok, Jongdae, contact everyone you can – ask for a progress report and if anyone seems fishy send Baekhyun and Chanyeol to deal with them.” The addressed two nodded.

“Jongin,” Sehun addressed his undercover, “Go back to Oasis and scope out the area, talk to anyone that Byung-Chul dealt with and get a scope of what’s going on out there, if someone else is dealing our cargo I’d love to know.”

“Yixing,” Sehun looked at his oldest brother, “Go back to the docks and check everything out, ask if anyone has seen anything suspicious, if they hit us once they’re going to try again.” Sehun looked at everyone.

“We keep this quiet, don’t alert anyone that anything is going on, act like you’re just checking up – news spreads fast, we don’t need anyone else questioning anything” Sehun spoke with an edge to his voice.

“What about me?” Jeonghwa’s feminine voice cut through the series of agreements, Sehun looked at her blankly.

“You’re going to get in a car and go home, speak nothing of this to your father” Sehun deadpanned to his female friend, who looked annoyed.

“What, why?” She nearly screeched, “I’m the one who gave you the information.”

“Jeonghwa,” Sehun’s voice was stern, “You are not a part of this, now go home” The female merely looked at him before standing up, her chair knocking over with her, the wood bouncing on the rugged floor. The men watched as she stormed out, slamming the double doors open much to the fright of the guards on watch, the sound of her heels echoing away.

“She’s going to tell her father, isn’t she?” Jongdae watched with amusement.

“Probably…” Jun sighed, looking at Sehun, who for the most part looked unfazed by her dramatics.

“She won’t,” The boss hummed, “She enjoys my attention too much to jeopardise that.”

“What do you want me to do?” Chanyeol asked, the only one not being given a job.

Sehun sighed, “Stay with our guest, you’re the only one she likes and if we’re going to use her, we need her to be compliant.” Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows at that.

“Right…” The redhead says with confusion to his voice.

“Oh, don’t complain,” Baekhyun’s voice entered the room again, “You enjoy it.” He teased much to Chanyeol’s shock.

“Baekhyun,” Sehun warned with a tone.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Baekhyun kept teasing as he sat back down, “He won’t steal her from you, we all seen the way you look at each other, I felt like I was intruding” He grinned leaning back in his chair.

“Baekhyun,” Jun cut in this time, “Cut it out.”

“No one lets me have fun around here.” The man huffed.

“Now isn’t the time for fun,” Chanyeol bit back, annoyed with his friend.

“We need to talk about how we’re going to get Byung-Chul.” Junmyeon started, looking at the pair of them.

“I’ll deal with it.” Sehun spoke, looking at his right-hand man, “Do what I told you to, leave Byung-Chul with me.”

“You’re joining the heist?” Junmyeon looked a bit shocked.

“Is there a problem with that?” Sehun raised his eyebrow, Jun shook his head.

“No, it’s just I thought you’d leave it to us…” Junmyeon spoke honestly, Sehun rolled his eyes.

“This is my business, if someone is tampering with it, I’ll be the one to deal with it.” Everyone looked at each other at that statement.

It wasn’t that Sehun left his men to do the work, it’s just the boss only really got involved with serious matters; it’s something Sehun’s father had instilled in all of them and they stuck to. Sehun knew how to do the job, he’d been doing it since he was a teenager, but it rare that he’d join them on heists anymore – a shiver running down a few of their spines at the last time he did. Since his father’s death, Sehun tried not to bloody his hands too much, he had been there on the night that his father died – the memory ringing strong in some of their heads. Most of them tried to repress it, but a few of them; like Baekhyun, who got a first-person shot of Sehun caving in the head of his father’s shoot, remembered it vividly. Sehun, for the most part, was a composed man, never really getting angrier than a snap, but Baekhyun remembered the red in his boss’ eyes has Sehun just kept hitting and hitting the man – Sehun wasn’t always a killer, he was a grieving son at that moment, but the damage was done. They had all done horrible things, but the brutality of using your fists stuck with Baekhyun.

“Okay…” Junmyeon nodded, “We’ll get to planning.”

“Then it's settled,” Sehun nodded looking at his men, “Do your jobs and we’ll talk again soon, I expect the heist to be as soon as possible.”

A chorus of ‘yes boss’ rang through the dining room as they all began to get on with their assigned tasks, the screeching of chairs also filling the room – Baekhyun stayed seated though, glancing around at everyone as they left, everyone asides Junmyeon and Sehun.

“I’m guessing you’ll need my help?” Baekhyun turned his head to glance at his superiors.

“Something like that…” Junmyeon said tensely. “How quickly can you prepare the warehouse?” Baekhyun smirked at the idea of getting a bit fun.

“Consider it already started”

It had been about two days since the meeting now, and since the very moment you left the room you had been mostly alone, cooped up in your room like some prisoner of war. In a way you sort of were, you were a prisoner of a gang war at least, but you weren’t sure what to expect after Baekhyun brought you back to your room, but you at least hoped that someone would maybe inform you of things, but what you wanted and what you were given were two very different things. It had been a series of monotony for you; you were given your meals at the same time every day by the same person, Chanyeol – who had decided to strike up a conversation whenever he entered the room, not that you graced him with any responses.

It was difficult to ignore the tall man, he did bring a sense of comfort to the room and your stay here – always making sure you ate and that you had things you needed, he went out of his way to bring you books to read and more blankets since Sehun didn’t like the house too warm. He was a comforting presence but not even that could save you from this place. No one else had seen you, not that you expected them too, but you were always on edge; Sehun had been quiet after his little spat with you, he hadn’t tried to toy with you or anything, he left you alone like everyone else and you somewhat releveled in the peace.

Until tonight.

It was silent in the house as per usual but as the night drew closer you could feel something shift in the house, Chanyeol hadn’t been with your dinner yet and there hadn’t been a single sound outside the door; although it was often quiet you were used to people walking around outside, patrolling the house but today? Nothing. It was unnerving and what was even more unnerving was when there was eventually a sound, it wasn’t anything you’d expect.

Horror registered on your face as the door to the room you’d occupied over the last couple days slammed open – a very blank looking Baekhyun and Jongin standing in the space; they were kitted out in all black, thick leathers and tough denim covering their body, they looked intimidating. Baekhyun was a far cry from the playful idiot you’d had seen before, his eyes holding something to them as he spoke.

“Shoe’s on, take whatever you need to keep warm, we’re leaving.” He spoke to you with an edge to his voice.

“Leaving?” You asked lightly, placing the book you were reading down, “As in right now? Where are we going?”

“I didn’t ask for questions,” Baekhyun sniped, “Get a move on.”

Keeping an eye on the two of them, like they were doing with you, you pulled the shoes that you first came here in on; making quick work of lacing the boots up, you noted how you were only wearing a sweatshirt and baggy pants, making quick to grab the jacket you’d stolen of the bar owner off the chair you tossed it on. As soon as you looked ready to go, the two men grabbed both of your arms in a tight hold, a noise being let out of your throat as you were dragged from the room. Nothing was said as you were dragged to the stairs, a hardened Chanyeol standing at the bottom of them, watching his brothers manhandle you; eventually, you were dragged down the winding stairs and dumped in front of Chanyeol who looked down at you with an unreadable expression.

“Be quick,” Baekhyun said, looking at his brother, “Jongin and I will get the card ready, do what you need to do” You were confused at that, but Chanyeol merely nodded keeping an eye on you, he waited till they were out the door to speak.

“I’m going to be very quick; we don’t have a lot of time.” Chanyeol said, “You’re going to get in the car outside with Baekhyun and Jongin without a word and they’re going to take you somewhere.” Before you could ask where he beat you to it.

“Warehouse in a remote location, doesn’t exactly matter where, you won’t be there long,” He was firm with you, “You’ll go without a fuss okay? Once you’re there, some stuff is going to happen – you’ll be safe, but I need to ask something of you.”

“What…” You were quiet as you looked him in the eyes.

“You to do as your told, tensions are high at the moment and although you will be safe, I don’t want you to risk it, you speak when you’re spoken to and you keep quiet, am I clear?” You just looked at him in shock and a slight amount of fear, “I said, am I clear?” He snapped at you, making you quickly nod at him.

“Great,” He nodded, “Wrists out.” You gaped at him

“Why?” He only rolled his eyes and grabbed your wrists, the first time he’d touched you without asking, you noticed he was wearing leather gloves.

You watched and struggled as he secured two zip ties around your wrist, the plastic tight around your skin as you pulled at them. “Chanyeol,” You said softly, “What the hell is going on.” You demanded from him. But like everything else, you were ignored, his eyes flicking past you as your arm became grasped in his hand, pulling you along like a toy.

Outside was a different story, there was half the number of cards in the front than there was before, the lot looking very empty since you’d last seen it; waiting at the bottom of the stairs was Baekhyun, the car behind him on and ready to go, and you watched with passive eyes as Chanyeol tugged you down the stairs, before shoving you at Baekhyun, the man catching you just in time. He made an “oomph” sound as you collided with him.

“I’ll see you at the location,” Chanyeol spoke tensely, clearly all business as he stalked off to a card at the side; your eyes focusing enough to see Minseok in the passenger seat.

Looking behind you to Baekhyun, the man stared down at you; his arms still firmly grasping you, nothing was said but he nodded at you, pushing you away from him slightly so he could open the door to the back of the car. He was surprisingly gentle, pushing the back of your head so you could get in, glancing at you slightly while buckling your seat belt. Jongin was the one driving this time, his own eyes flicking into the mirror to look back at you; an air of pity almost dancing in them but it was quickly masked when Baekhyun got into the front seat.

“Drive,” He said immediately, looking down at his watch.

Your stomach and car lurched forward at the same time, the bubbling of worry dancing in your gut as the bile you thought you’d suppressed clawed its way up your throat – there was no noise par the engine in the car, the men in front making sure to keep it as silent as possible, not that you’d try to break that what was going on. Jongin was driving well over the speed limit, the feeling of the pressure from it building in your chest; your hands grasping each other tightly. Baekhyun was constantly checking his phone, the two of them also kitted out in leather gloves. 

“Strange,” You thought with furrowed brows, “Why has everyone got gloves on”

It was a question that would go unanswered, your eyes flicking to the window to try and get an idea of where you were going, sadly you didn’t know much about this side of the city; plus night time had fallen on the land, making everything looked warped in the passing car windows.

It was like this for what felt like an hour, just silence in the card, and the men in the front looking like they were having a conversation with themselves in their head, it was so quiet to the point that after spacing out, you found yourself drawn back into the world with the ringing of a phone. Your body jumping in fright as you watched Baekhyun lift the device to his ear.

“Hello,” He said gruffly, the sound of someone else on the other end being muffled by his head, “Yeah yeah… We’re almost there.” He snapped slightly, his eyes flicking to meet yours in the rear-view mirror.

“She’s behaving,” He said while looking at you, “Chanyeol gave her his usual talk, she’s tied and ready to go.” Your eyebrow drew down at that.

“Ready to go where…?” You thought.

“How long?” Baekhyun moved the phone from his ear to his shoulder to talk to Jongin.

“GPS says six minutes,” Jongin replied, head twitching to look at the dashboard.

Baekhyun relayed the message to however was on the phone before hanging up, his eyes looking at you again.

“Remember what Chanyeol said,” Baekhyun spoke directly to you, “Keep quiet and do as you’re told.” You nodded in fright, clearly shaken at the fact that you had no idea what was going on.

With a held breath, you watched at the car took a sharp turn behind a corrugated warehouse, the two men reaching to their necks to pull what looked like black ski masks over the bottom of their faces; the only thing on show being their eyes and hair. The headlights of the car made out a silhouette in the front windshield, the body standing sharply as they made a turn at the last second, the person now standing in front of your passenger door. Looking out at them you noticed that they had a ski mask on as well, your eyes being able to tell that it was Junmyeon, he had the same passive look like the rest of the men. You felt the wind get knocked out of you as he opened your door, much like he did two days ago, but this time he grabbed your arm and yanked you out the car; your body falling with him, your knee scraped on the concrete below but you were hastily pulled to your feet. Baekhyun had gotten out the car, with Jongin staying in the driver’s side, the vehicle jetting off as soon as you were out, Junmyeon’s hand making quick work of slamming the door.

Silence was still a constant between the men, Baekhyun and Junmyeon merely nodding at each other as you were pulled off by the latter; he was about as gentle as Baekhyun was and in no time were you being pull towards the doors of the warehouse, your heartbeat thrumming so loud in your ears that you were surprised the whole city didn’t hear it. You weren’t sure what you were expecting when you entered the rotting building but a solo chair sitting in the middle of the drab warehouse wasn’t it, and you started shaking slightly as Junmyeon showed no sign of stopping.

The chair was for you.

You started to struggle the closer you got to the chair, but the man’s hand merely tightened on your arm, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper, much different to the tone he had before.

“Behave.” He snapped, shoving you to sit down, you watched in horror at him brandishing a knife at you, but you only flinched when he reached for your zip ties, cutting the plastic to reveal the raw skin underneath.

For a brief second, you thought they’d leave to sit like that while they watched you, but you grunted at the feeling of someone grabbing your arms from behind; forcing them behind the chair, where you felt another set of zip ties secure around your wrist, this time tighter than before, you were secured to the chair completely now. Looking up in horror you watch as Junmyeon stood up from in front of you, nodding at whoever was behind you, and you flinched as you felt a gloved hand wrap around your throat from behind to tilt your ear up, a shiver passing through you as lips pressed close to your ear.

“In about 4 minutes,” You recognised Sehun’s tone, the silk voice floating from his mouth to your ears and down your neck, “Your boss is going to walk through that door in front of you, and when he does, I need you to stay quiet, am I clear?” His voice was a few octaves lower than usual, but it didn’t scare you, merely sent shivers rolling down your spine, when you took too long to answer though, he pulled your neck closer to him.

“I said,” He tensed to you, the heat from him radiating onto your back, “Am I clear?” You merely nodded.

“Good, now keep it down and don’t fuck this up.” He warned you before he let go. You couldn’t see his face, but you imagined he looked like the rest of the men around you.

With eyes trained to the door, you watched as headlights filtered through the small windows on the entrance; the warm light doing the most to light up the dark warehouse, making you wince with their intensity. A car door could be heard outside as the lights were left on, the sound of feet on gravel making your heart speed up for some reason – this was the first person you’d seen in days. The taste of metal flooded your mouth as you kept biting down on your lip, watching with an intense state as the doors to the warehouse opened, normally you’d hate to see the man, but the sight of your boss coming through the door had you slumping in the chair slightly.

Mr Gwan, or Byung-Chul as he was also known by, was a man who looked a world older than what he really was; at the tender age for 46, he passed for someone in their late 50s - his salt and pepper hair and his crow’s feet doing nothing for him. But right now, he looked the oldest you’d ever seen him, the stress of the last few days taking a toll on him, and you were the one that was kidnapped.

“Byung-Chul.” Sehun’s hardened voice sounded from behind you, making the man stop in his tracks, he was about 8 feet away from you in the chair, “How nice of you to join us.”

“Sehun,” Mr Gwan nodded tensely, before looking at you, “I see you brought a guest.” Sehun laughed at that, but there was no humour behind it.

“Yes, you bartender has been a lovely addition to my home,” Sehun drawled in a mocking tone, “But having you around would have been much better, we could have had a lovely chat about things.”

“There’s nothing to discuss.” Mr Gwan gulped slightly, eyes flicking from yourself to behind you.

“See,” Sehun stared with a tsk, “I think there is.” Mr Gwan stayed silent.

“I’m going to give you two choices, Gwan.” Sehun continued, “You come with us whiling and we have a little chat about what’s gone on or…” Sehun paused, your eyes widening as you felt something press to the back of your head.

“I use this lovely gun that was sitting in your office on our friend here,” Sehun hummed as you started shaking, the barrel pressing more into your head making your eyes flick to Mr Gwan, “You’ve already been busted once in the last few days, do you really want to add murder to that?” Sehun explained simply.

“You can’t do that…” Mr Gwan sounded shocked.

“Actually,” Sehun tutted, “I think I can, you’re not the only one doing some less than legal deals in the city.”

“So,” Sehun started again, “What will it be?” Your chest was heaving with fear as your eyes darted around, it made it so much worse now that you couldn’t see the weapon putting pulled on you.

Byung-Chul was quiet, this only made Sehun clock the gun.

“You only have a few minutes, Gwan.” Sehun taunted him, “I’ve got some friends on the way who wouldn’t like how this could go down.” You felt like you were going to pass out.

“You wouldn’t” Mr Gwan grumbled out, “She’s just a bartender, she means nothing to this.”

“Are you willing to test that?” Sehun drawled, knocking your head forward with the gun, but his second question was directed at you.

“Do you want me to shoot you, sweetheart?” Sehun asked with false niceties in his voice.

“Speak when spoken to” Echoed in your head.

“No.” You tensed out through gritted teeth, the muscle in your jaw jumping with the words.

Mr Gwan looked slightly torn, his eyes flicking from you to Sehun, but he didn’t look like he was going to save you, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“Shoot her.” Mr Gwan gulped out, making your body seize up – a choked sound leaving your mouth in shock.

“If only it was Jaewoo here” You seethed in your head.

Immediately you braced yourself for the inevitable, your eyes clenching in fear as you tucked yourself away from the person who just told a gang of men to kill you, there was a brief second of silence before a scream passed your lips.

BANG.

Your body lurched forward as the sound of ringing took over your right ear, you expected pain for a second but you were stunned, nothing came, it was until you heard the sound of a laugh and the scream of a man that you forced your eyes open; crouched on the floor grasping his knee was Mr Gwan, his furious eyes looking at you as he groaned in pain.

“The wrong choice,” Sehun laughed, it wasn’t a humoured laugh but more like a darkly amused one, but you could barely hear him over the lough ringing in your ear, the fact he had shot an actual gun so close to your head making you shake. It wasn’t a blank this time, he actually could have shot you.

You watched with erratic breaths as Chanyeol and Baekhyun hoisted the injured man up not even passing you a glance, yanking him up like he was a sack of nothing; he was wailing in pain but you didn’t care as you closed your eyes, trying to focus on anything else.

A hand being placed on your shoulder had you jumping again though, the hand taking the liberty to pull you up from your crouched position on the chair, your jaw was trembling as you felt lips next to your ear again.

“Sorry about this,” Sehun spoke gruffly, and for a second you tried to understand what he meant but you went into full panic mode at the feeling of a plastic bag being placed over your head, a scream gargling in your throat as you felt the tightness of it being tied around your neck making shed a couple of tears. You tried to scream at him to get you out of this but every breath you took in had the plastic filling your mouth, you were going to suffocate.

There were noises of Sehun calling out orders, sounds of people hastily leaving the premise, they were going to leave you here to die.

“Please.” You sobbed, “Please take this thing off,” No one listened.

It was like time was moving in slow, the sound of blood rushing to your ears as you tried to regulate out your breathing, there was the last few shouts in the room before silence fell on it.

They left you here to die.

The more you tried to calm down the more breaths you took, and the less oxygen was in the bag – you were going into full panic mode. Sehun didn’t even have the decency to shoot you, all he did was shove a white plastic bag over your head and leave you to suffer a more painful death; suffocation.

There was a layer of condensation building up in the bag as you started to feel dizzy, the blood rushing around your head like a waterfall made it hard to concentrate – your head lulled forward like a ton of bricks were laying on the back of your skull, pushing you down. Your ears picked up a sound in the distance and in your delirium, you started yelling softly.

“Help…” You strained out, muffled by the bag.

“HELP” You tried again, louder than before; it took a few seconds to register but the sound of sirens pulling up had you pulling on your ties.

Within seconds there was the sound of numerous footsteps and something yelling.

“Police! open up” The unknown voice yelled out, you screamed back in response; you heard the mumbling of a swear before the voice spoke again.

“Officer Jeon,” They spoke, “Get that thing off her head.”

There was the sound of rushing footsteps and you flinched when you felt hands on your skin, but there were only there briefly before they grasped the front of the bag, tearing it open. You could feel your hair sticking to your face from the condensation in the bag, and your eyes winced slightly as you tried to adjust to the bright light shining in your face – but the eventually focused on the young man in front of you who look concerned, his hands touching your face trying to get you to focus on him.

“Come on sweetheart, breathe with me, you’re okay now.”

[curlyhairallday]

Bump and Dumps

Harry and Hattie had met and immediately hit it off after three years of being no more than friends with benefits, although a small bump finally forces Hattie to confront him. 

Harry and Hattie had been friends with benefits for the past three years. Although all their friends and family saw them as a married couple. They spent christmas together, they went out on valentines day, she was his date to weddings and family events. Heck they even lived together, they shared a bedroom, a cat and Harry even let her wear his clothes. But whenever Hattie asked him what they were, Harry would also respond with you’re my angel. She never understood how he could write a song declaring she was the only one for him but couldn’t even ask her to be his girlfriend. Since their first meeting and accidental hook up Hattie had seen no one else but Harry would still date and hook up with other girls.

Hattie up to this point had agreed to it as she would rather have this type of relationship with Harry than none at all. Although, as she was gazing down at a white stick with two clear lines she realised this was no longer about her. She called the only person she could trust her uni flatmate Emily she was the person who had first introduced the two but she had taken Hattie under her wing like a big sister.

Emily had come over in a hurry without asking any questions.

“So what is wrong?” Emily asked as Hattie dragged her through the house to the bathroom without uttering a word to her friend she passed the piece of plastic to Emily.

“Is it?”

“Yes it is, I don’t know what to do?” she began to pace she knew Harry would be fine with what was happening but she didn’t want to raise a baby in this uncertainty she was in a relationship if she could call it that, which every gossip story broke her heart every night he didn’t return she lost a little more hope. Plus she was only 23 for crying out loud and had only just started her job at the law firm she still had a long way to go before she’d reach where she wanted to be career wise. She had a plan she wanted to be a partner before she even considered kids she wasn’t even sure if she had a maternal bone in her body. When most girls played with dolls she’d steal toy hammers and pretend to be a judge and rule over her teddy’s disputes.

“You have to tell him today before you chicken out he will know what to do.”

“But I don’t. I don’t know what to do. We aren’t anything plus didn’t you hear him the other day Camille messaged him they are going to try to reconnect.”

There had only ever been a few breaks on their arrangement and Camille was one of them he didn’t come home for months when he was with her. Hattie understood he couldn’t exactly come and stay in her bed when he had come home he had purposefully fallen asleep on the sofa so he didn’t make Hattie feel bad when he’d slept in the guest room. When Harry and Camille were together she had started to search for apartments but with her entry level pay at the firm London wasn’t affordable. But she knew if it had continued she couldn’t stay there it would have been like him having his mistress their. What if they did get back together her and the baby would be a bump in his perfect life.

“Hatters he deserves to know now so he can make a discussion. He may be dumb to it but everyone knows he’s in love with you otherwise why would you be in his house for three years.” She knew that Emily was trying to reassure her but she couldn’t find truth in her words.

“I can’t stay if he doesn’t want me now he never will and I’m not going to raise my child in this confusion. I’ll explain it to him but then I think I’m going to move home.” The words surprised even Hattie herself but she knew it was the only option for her baby. She had enough of this doubt and uncertainty and she just looked like the dad hoping puppy that was probably the butt of her friends jokes. I mean who wouldn’t laugh at how pathetic she had been.

Once Emily left Hattie packed her suitcase and grabbed Muffin their Tabby cat and waited for Harry. She knew if she didn’t say it now she never would.

Harry was discussing the final release details of the album with Jeff when he walked in. He quickly ended the call as soon as he saw Hattie bag and nervous look on her face. Had he forgotten something was she going away on hoilday did she have to go somewhere with work, he was so sure he would have remembered her discussing that.

“What’s going on love?”

She sat silently unable to communicate she just simply passed him the piece of plastic and watched his face display shock, anger and happiness all in a matter of seconds.

“Whose is it?”

She looked at him furious he would even ask that question.

“Yours.” She spoke through gritted teeth how could he ask her that when she had never spoken or looked at a guy in three years.

Harry began to pace slightly trying to figure out how far along she was just to piece the puzzle together but he realised there were too many options they went at it like Duracell bunnies he could never get enough of her she was the perfect lover the perfect girl he couldn’t get enough of her.

“Ok, why the bags?” He didn’t know what else to say he could see she was clearly upset and he didn’t want to anger her more. In his three years of knowing Hattie he had learnt she rarely got mad or upset but when she did it was like a volcano exploding.

“I can’t stay here Harry we aren’t anything heck we never have been all I am to you is a friend with the bonus of sex but you would trade me out for your models. You ignored me for three months when you dated Camille.  I am not pathetic I won’t let my child think that. I want a boyfriend I want someone to love me back. I want. I want. I wanted you but after three years this baby made me see I can’t have you. I was never worthy of you I can’t be heart broken everytime I turn on the tv because you were pictured with another girl. I am going to my parents.” She sobbed out  the last bit she realised the only guy she’d truly loved was about to be out her life she knew that there would be no more morning coffees and back rubs as she revised this was it.

“Hang on love can we talk about this when you have calmed down. This baby is mine as much as yours don’t leave us we are a family now.”

“ I don’t want to be a family just because of the baby. I am not taking it from you I just need space Harry. I deserve better that just a fuck buddy and thats not your fault you either love someone or you don’t. You cant force love Harry if you could Justin Timberlake would be mine.” she giggle through her tears.

“Please don’t leave this is a lot to take in. I do love you Hattie.” she smiled as she understood.

“You love me H just not in the way I love you. I will call you to discuss the baby soon but I have to go H you must see that.” She left the house and closed the door knowing she had not only broken herself but him as well. But she knew it was the correct move she wanted her baby to be surrounded by happy people and she would never be that longing for him.

Please let me know if you like it and want a part two. Also I have a prequel on how Hattie and Harry first met and there relationship to this point if you want to read it let me know. Love T x

[tabbyclaw]

Before season four comes along to utterly break our hearts, I wanted to have at least something of this idea posted. Please enjoy the first -- and very rough -- bit of what will eventually be a bit of Hamid/Sasha fluff.

*

Hamid looked around the small crowd that had gathered in the dining room for breakfast and couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable. Everyone here was someone he was happy to be in the company of, of course, but the combination of them was somehow unsettling. His friends seemed out of place in this room where he had grown up, and their presence made the absence of some of the people he'd grown up expecting that he would always see here all the more glaring. There were empty spaces where his parents should have been -- his father gone and his mother in no state to deal with visitors -- and Aziza, and Saleh, and nether Azu's gently looming presence nor Grizzop's bubbling energy could fill them. It was as if parts of his world had collided imperfectly, the pieces colliding and breaking and trying to spin off into a new combination that didn't fit anything that had come before.

He wasn't the only one who seemed to be feeling this tension. His friends -- at least, the two who were present -- were treading as carefully as could be expected in the home of near-strangers who had been recently bereaved, Grizzop clearly trying to keep his usual impatience in check and Azu appearing distraught that there was so little she could do to help. Of Sasha there had been no sign yet, which Hamid didn't think was cause for immediate concern even if her absence seemed to make the rest of the scene even more dissonant. But on his family's side the twins were being the twins, now in these uncertain times even more so than usual, and it seemed to have fallen to Saira to take on the role of both hostess to their guests and babysitter to her two littlest brothers. It was a role Hamid didn't envy, although he doubted there was much else he could do to help.

She did seem to be doing a fairly decent job of it, though, whatever worries she might have. She kept the conversation... well, not exactly flowing, but she was accustomed to making people feel welcome and at ease, and she was doing that for their guests now. She let out a polite laugh at something Grizzop said, and then she turned to Hamid with a questioning look. "And will your other associate be joining us this morning?"

Hamid tried to look as if the question hadn't caught him off guard, nor had the way that his little brothers immediately perked up at it. "Yeah, is Sasha coming down for breakfast?" Ismail asked eagerly, leaning across the table to catch every bit of Hamid's response.

Ishak was right behind him. "Do you think she has any more knife tricks to show us?" He was closer to Hamid, and bent forward to jog his elbow. "It's about time you got some cool friends," he said.

Hamid batted him away impatiently. "Far too cool for you," he shot back, almost a reflex. As much as he'd missed his family, he had to admit that it was far easier to be an older brother at a distance, where he could just stick to his vague, hazy memories of a pair of wild little children who had looked up to him and wanted his company without the actual pestering of their wanting his attention. Saving the world didn't seem like such a chore when the other option was putting up with them.

"'S a good question, though," Grizzop added. "Where is Sasha, anyway?" He glanced around the room as if he half expected to see her lurking in a corner, which was probably not the most improbable thing. "We've got things to do today; has anyone seen her?"

It seemed that all eyes were turning to Hamid at this, for reasons he couldn't fathom, and he couldn't help an absurd desire to shrink from them. It felt a bit weird, the way they all suddenly seemed to think that he was going to be the person who would know where she was. But also a bit pleasant, somewhere in the back of his mind, that other people would draw that connection between them, be aware that he was the person here who'd known her the longest and thus might well know her the best. He couldn't help hoping that that was an accurate thought. "I don't believe she's feeling up to any social interaction at the moment," he said, as tactfully as he could manage. It was a guess at best, but knowing Sasha he felt it was probably the closest one. "She'll probably join us a little later, when she's ready to get on with her day."

There was a knowing silence that passed between the members of LOLOMG, obvious enough that Saira raised an eyebrow. "I do hope she's all right," she said, still in hostess mode and being careful not to pry despite what Hamid knew must be a burning curiosity about this strangest of the strange people he had brought home. "Is there anything she needs, do you think? Obviously we want her to be comfortable here, and if there's anything the household can provide..."

There most definitely wasn't, Hamid could tell her that right off. His mind was still burning with the last time he'd seen Sasha in the early morning, even more pale and ashen than usual, the blood pooling through her shirt. It was why he hadn't pressed her today, only knocking on her door to reassure himself that she was there and alive -- for whatever value of 'alive' she was currently occupying, not that he wanted to dwell on that -- without actually trying to get an answer. He'd told her that they were all going down to breakfast and she was welcome to join them, there was a muffled, mumbling grunt of acknowledgment from the other side of the door, and he'd left it at that. Left her at that, to deal with things in her own way and in her own time, as he generally tried to do no matter how much it worried him not to have a more complete understanding of her current situation. "I don't think she does," Hamid said as lightly as possible, not trying to think about how much help she did need and how powerless he and his friends were to do anything but intercede on her behalf with a higher authority and pray that it saw fit to grant her assistance. "But she knows that help is here for the asking," he added, while also reminding himself in his concern that she was still unlikely to ask for it even if she was confident it would be granted. "Right now, I think the best thing is just to leave her to herself for a bit."

Saira was looking at him curiously, and he suddenly felt as if everyone else was, as well. As if he'd said something weird without realizing it, or maybe all the worry he was trying to hide about her was writ large across his face. Saira could always spot his tells, no matter how cool and collected he tried to be, and it seemed that that particular sisterly superpower hadn't diminished with time and distance between them. "Of course," she finally said, breaking the strange tension that had come over the table before turning her attention to the twins. "And that means the two of you, as well. I expect you to be on your best behavior with all of our guests, no matter how unusual the circumstances around them may be."

Ismail rolled his eyes for the both of them. "All right Mum," he sighed.

"Don't be unkind to your sister," Azu scolded gently, and her calm and clear voice cut through the other conversations with surprising, gentle effectiveness. "You're family, all of you, and all of you have gone through a difficult time of it lately. The last thing you need is to be bickering among yourselves." She inclined her head towards Saira. "Although I beg your pardon for speaking out of turn," she added.

"No, you're absolutely right, thank you," Saira said, looking at her little brothers with amusement. "It's always wise to listen to a paladin," she observed to them, and they seemed to have come to the same conclusion as they both settled down a little further into their chairs. Azu might not carry the same fascination for them that Sasha did, but a woman over twice their size and dressed in glowing pink armor was still enough of a spectacle to make them sit up and take notice. Hamid hid his own smile at that, feeling just a bit smug at having been defended from the minor irritation that had been haunting him, but Saira fixed him with a look just as firm as the one that Azu had aimed at his brothers a moment before. "And that goes for all of us." He sank down just the same as Ishak and Ismail had, feeling about six years old under his older sister's inexorably watchful eye. 

The conversation continued, bobbing off in a different direction with Saira giving them an overview of some of what was going on in the city and surrounding areas, as well as updating Hamid on some bits of local gossip and notable events that had occurred during his long absence -- and dodging revealing more than was necessary about the family's affairs even more deftly than she dodged revealing anything about the more secretive parts of her job -- while on his other side Grizzop and Azu tried to work out what their next move was for the rest of the day and beyond. Meanwhile Ishak and Ismail appeared to have taken at least part of Saira's warnings to heart, although the only part seemed to have been 'not in front of the guests.' They continued to chatter between themselves, but very quietly and in Arabic. The few snatches of conversation that made their way to Hamid's ears sounded like the standard grumbling and slightly rude jokes of any kids stuck bored at the breakfast table while the adults were talking. They were at least making some effort not to interrupt anyone else, and they weren't saying anything directly insulting -- except occasionally about him, and he knew it was because they knew he could hear -- so he figured that there was no real point in scolding them further. Let Saira deal with it if she felt it was necessary, but he didn't think she would. There was also a little amusement to be derived from the way Azu's eyes would occasionally flicker in their direction as a word or two caught her ear, and the questioning looks she would throw at Hamid as she debated whether or not she should interfere again. His brothers had apparently forgotten -- or just never noticed in the first place -- that one of their guests was just as fluent in Arabic as they were. Just don't believe a word they say about me, all right? Hamid thought silently at her, giving a faint smile at how interested she seemed to be in their conversation.

By the time the second course of breakfast was being laid out on the sideboard and Sasha still hadn't made an appearance, Hamid was starting to worry in earnest. Grizzop had begun tapping the table impatiently, one eye fixed on the door as he awaited her appearance, and even Saira was beginning to falter a bit in her pleasantness as she noted their distraction. "She does know we're all down here, right?" Grizzop finally asked, fixing Hamid with a concerned and curious look.

"She should," Hamid assured him. "I mean, I told her. And she..." Well, she hadn't really responded, had she? But she'd acknowledged him, at least, and that was probably the best he could expect at any rate. "She's... having a hard time," he finally said. It was the only answer he could offer.

"We all are," Grizzop returned at that, although he didn't sound completely devoid of sympathy as he said it. "And she's the one who needs to be here so we can figure out exactly what we need to do next to take care of her 'hard time,' right? So there's only so far that we can do her a favor by giving her some space before it turns into way too much space."

"Yes, but--"

"Not really room for a 'but,' is there? If she's not going to come to us, then someone has to go to her." Grizzop began to push himself away from the table, clearly intent on being the one to do so.

"I'll do it," Ishak said quickly, practically vaulting from his chair.

Ismail was right behind him. "No, I will!"

"No," Hamid said quickly. Probably too quickly, judging by the stares in response. Somehow the thought of letting someone else go after her in her current state felt like some kind of betrayal, especially when it was someone as overeager and wild as his brothers. It was bad enough that he'd seen her in the morning, when he was sure she'd rather he hadn't. If she was suffering something similar, or worse, at least it being him at her door again wouldn't be an additional problem on top of that. And besides, if she really was in some kind of trouble, he wanted to be there for her, just on the off chance that he could do something to help. "No, I mean, you're right," he tried again. "She should be here, and I should have made sure she got down all right. If anyone's going to go haring off after her, it should be me."

Did the stares continue as he started to stand up and head for the door? He didn't know, suddenly too stiff and uncomfortable to actually look at anyone, but he could hear little whispers of Arabic curling around him as the twins took in the situation.

"Oooh, he's jealous now, isn't he?"

"Doesn't want to share her with anyone else, I guess. I told you he fancied her."

"Yeah, fine, you were right."

"Oh."

That last was from Azu, listening in again, and it was the sound of the clouds parting and a mystery that has been left unsolved and uncertain suddenly coming into perfect clarity. The unruffled calm with which Hamid had been ignoring his brothers so far, borne of years of similar teasing from his other siblings every time he'd so much as looked at a girl, evaporated in an instant. "What?"

It was a sudden enough outburst to get everyone else's attention, as well. Saira tensed suddenly, startled out of the way she had been carefully ignoring the twins' gossiping, and Grizzop flicked an ear, newly part of a conversation that had been passing him by and clearly interested in where it was going. All of them seemed to be looking at Hamid, who had been the one to make the most noise about it, but it was Azu who flinched. "I know," she said apologetically. "I should have figured that out already. But I'm still piecing together how exactly this group works, and..." A quick look at Grizzop. "You should have mentioned that, when you were filling me in on all of it."

Grizzop's brow furrowed, and then an eyebrow raised as Hamid's stomach sank. The addition of Grizzop to this conversation could only go badly. "Mentioned what, exactly?"

To give whatever shred of credit might be due, the twins did seem to have figured out that something had gone drastically off the rails with what was supposed to just be a little harassment between siblings. "It was a joke," Ishak hurried to clarify, shooting Hamid a sheepish look. "Just having a bit of fun with him."

It wasn't enough; it would never have been enough. Not to stop that relentless goblin curiosity and the drive to keep tabs on all of the people around him. Grizzop cast Ishak only the barest look, and Hamid one that was only slightly longer, before turning back to Azu as the apparent expert on the situation. "Mentioned what?"

In the brief time that he had known Azu, Hamid had already come to two conclusions: That she was deeply, intensely, fundamentally honest, and that she had very little ability to read a room. It was hard to tell, at this moment, which part of that was going to make this worse for him. She did at least spare a look for Hamid, and he tried to convey some subtle signal that would beg her not to get anyone else involved in this without actually turning it into a desperate flail that would attract even more attention. Far too subtle a signal, apparently, as she returned her attention almost immediately to Grizzop. "That Hamid is smitten with Sasha."

She said it so simply, as if she were commenting on the weather or their itinerary. Not gossiping, just letting him in on the topic of a conversation that he had been inadvertently excluded from, a topic with which she assumed he was already familiar. All of which just made it worse. On the balance, the desperate flailing might have been the less embarrassing option.

"Eh?" Grizzop flicked an unimpressed ear at her. "Why would I bother? It's your lot thinks that kind of thing is relevant." His voice was cool, just restrained enough not to actually come across as contemptuous but with an obvious undercurrent of disdain. He gave Hamid a scrutinizing look. "If it's even accurate."

"Yes, thank you," Hamid started to say, surprised and relieved to have this sudden ally. He had already learned from his siblings -- and his 'friends' at University had only reinforced the lesson -- that there was no point in defending oneself from this kind of accusations, and that the only real solution was to ignore the gentle and not-so-gentle gibes until those who were making them got bored with his lack of reaction, but if there was someone else on his side for once it might go a little bit better.

Azu looked as if she hadn't even considered that possibility. "Sorry," she said as she looked back at Hamid, her face apologetic and still so utterly guileless that he couldn't actually be as annoyed with her as he really wanted to be. "I guess I just assumed that the people who'd know best how to recognize it would be the ones who know you best."

"Which doesn't include my little brothers," he returned, slightly mollified by the turn that the conversation appeared to have taken in his favor. He raised a faintly smug eyebrow at the little brothers in question, and there was a synchronized rolling of their eyes. Apparently there was only so much contrition that could be wrung out of them.

But Azu didn't seem to consider the matter dropped. "And it seemed like such an obvious conclusion to come to, once someone else said it," she continued, as if she were questioning her own instincts in a way that was entirely unnecessary. Why she was looking to Hamid for some kind of confirmation of this he couldn't fathom, and when he continued to give her as blank a stare as he could manage -- he was absolutely aware that it was straining at the corners, thank you very much -- she seemed to give up on the idea.

"'Course you'd think so," Grizzop said quietly. It was still without any real true viciousness to it, but Hamid had the feeling that he'd missed something passing between them and that he might not actually want to know what it had been. He was just happy to take advantage of it if it meant the conversation was going to move away from the invasive and frankly bizarre turn it had taken. But as he sank back into his chair, exhaling relief and subtly letting his fists unclench, he was aware of Grizzop taking the same moment to lean forward towards him, cocking his head speculatively. "Could explain some things, mind," he added, almost offhandedly.

So much for having an ally. "Clearly you've all made up your minds already, then," Hamid said. He was aiming for a dismissive tone, trying to sound like he was more bored than anything without losing that edge of annoyance, but he could feel a tightening in his throat as his voice rose in pitch the way it always did when something bothered him. "I don't know why you're even bothering to talk to me about it, when you could have this entire conversation between yourselves and never have to involve me at all!"

And now he'd done it. There was no chance of getting away from the conversation now, not when he'd made it into a spectacle. He could feel the change in the air in the room, and it was worse now than the unbroken tension had been. Azu's face dropped, and she looked at him with new concern, her brow furrowing. "I'm sure none of us meant to upset you, Hamid," she said quickly and gently, laying a massive hand on his shoulder by way of an apology. "It was just..." She trailed off, seeming lost for an end to that sentence. "A mistaken impression," she finally concluded. "One that got out of hand."

Hamid closed his eyes and buried his head in his hands. He had just woken up, but he was already so tired. The previous weeks had contained so much horror and peril, so much loss, so much that was wrong with the world at large and his corner of it specifically. A little bit of familiar hounding from his family and his new friends shouldn't have been enough to unravel his composure yet again, and yet here he was feeling like everything had somehow gotten away from him again. He sighed through the sinking in his stomach as something in him finally gave in. "No, it wasn't."

He could feel the flurry of confusion rippling around the table at his muffled words. Confusion, and a bit of impatience at what must have seemed from the outside like self-pity. "That's not true," Azu said, still gentle, and he could imagine her eyes boring into his brothers and trying to urge them to offer the same reassurance. "It was well-meant, even if we got it wrong."

He could easily have argued that point, at least where Ishak and Ismail were concerned, if that was actually the issue at hand. But this time it wasn't his brothers he had lost all patience with, but himself. "No," he said again. "I mean, it wasn't a mistaken impression."

His face was still covered, his voice muffled as he made his confession, but he knew better than to think that that would actually stop anyone from hearing it. That friendly hand on his shoulder, still patting him awkwardly, suddenly stilled in its motion, and he could feel the rest of the room going equally quiet as this sunk in. Ironic, really, that he had gotten them to stop talking about him by giving them something to talk about. "Oh," Azu repeated after a moment. It was a sound of realization again, but rather than the sudden shock of a puzzle she hadn't known she was solving falling into place, this was a more gentle sort of understanding. "And she doesn't... oh dear." 

Whether she had inferred that Sasha didn't know how he felt or that she just didn't feel the same way, Hamid couldn't guess. Not that it mattered -- the safe bet was that both of those things were true, anyway -- and at the moment he was more focused on the sympathy in Azu's voice and her touch, a reaction that he simultaneously craved and hated. In a better time and place he might have been grateful for her comfort, but not here and now. Not when there was an audience to see him as something pitiable, and when there were so many greater burdens that they had to bear that this one was even smaller and sillier than it would have been normally. He just wanted to let everything go, not even caring anymore what anyone knew or thought they knew after this conversation.

It was Grizzop who broke the silence that had fallen after that remark, cutting in with his own particular brand of sensitivity. "Right, then, so you do fancy her," he said briskly, though not entirely unkindly. He sounded like he was trying to be the reasonable one, injecting a final note of calm into the proceedings before brushing them away, but really it was coming off far more like he had just lost all patience for the subject. Why couldn't he have done so two minutes ago? 

His head still in his hands, Hamid felt himself nodding, both reluctant and resigned. What was there to be gained now from protesting? From lying about one awkward, embarrassing little secret when there were so many others -- and so many worse -- that all of them were still carrying? Why should it matter to anyone else that he was suffering from a few butterflies over someone when the entire world was in danger and everything they touched seemed to be crumbling in its own way? If they were going to make a spectacle of his feelings, then let them do it and get it over with now, while he was somewhere familiar where he knew all the escape routes if such a thing became necessary. And while Sasha herself wasn't present. Gods, he would put up with no end of humiliation from his friends and family if only they'd leave her out of it. "Yes, all right?" he finally forced out. The words were weary, but there was also a growing burn of irritation to them as some of the exhaustion that had led to him getting caught up in a confession started to give way to anger at the people who had caused it, and the incessant hounding that had suddenly added this new complication to his life. "For gods' sakes, Sasha is one of the most amazing people I've ever met. She's brave, she's loyal, she's clever, she's got one of the biggest hearts I've ever known..." He could feel his voice going just a bit softer at that, as he said all the things that he'd wanted to say aloud about her for some time now. "Of course I fancy her. How could I not?"

It was possible that someone would have had something to say in response to that, but whatever it might have been was interrupted by the crashing of a plate being dropped that came from too far away to be anyone at the table. Everyone turned to follow the sound, and even as Hamid's head lifted to do the same he could feel his stomach sinking. Because there really was only one thing that could have made this whole thing worse...

Saira was the first to manage a reaction, her hostess instincts kicking in with a bright smile. "Good morning, Sasha," she said cheerfully, and if Sasha had been standing still before she was utterly frozen now. "Lovely to have you joining us. We didn't see you come in."

Hamid didn't think he'd ever seen Sasha looking so trapped before, standing next to the sideboard and clutching a slice of bread. "Right. That's... kinda supposed to be the point, yeah..." She straightened up slightly, clearing her throat. "Anyway. Just. Came down for a bit of breakfast."

"Of course," Saira said, still utterly unfazed. "Help yourself. And you're welcome to join us, as well, if you'd like."

"'M good, thanks," Sasha said vaguely, giving her half a wave, still crouched as if she was trying to escape all of the prying eyes. And while she wasn't making eye contact with anyone -- not terribly unusual from Sasha in any case -- Hamid couldn't shake the feeling that she was very specifically not making eye contact with him. "Think I just. Need some air."

"Take your time." It was Azu who spoke this time, that gentle hand still resting on Hamid's shoulder and keeping him from bolting from the room. "But do come back as soon as you're ready; there's still quite a bit we need to do today."

"Yeah, sure thing." Still not looking at anyone, Sasha collected a few strips of bacon to go along with the bread she'd already secured, and before anyone could say anything further she was gone, slipping out of the open window that had apparently been her point of entry as well.

In the ensuing silence, all the eyes that had turned towards the window now returned to Hamid, looking hungrier and more eager for a response than ever. Silently, he just pressed his head into his hands again. For the first time in a very long time, he felt that he had quite lost his appetite.

[canaryatlaw]

alright, well today didn’t exactly go as planned, but was still an overall good day. My alarm went off at 10:30, I got up and showered, then got dressed and Jess and I headed out to my first doctor’s appointment of the day. The two doctor’s appointments I had today was the original purpose of the trip (and to placate my family about the fact that I’m not coming back to some degree). We stopped for bagels, because New York, and it’s mandatory to have bagels at least once while you’re here. From there we kept driving since this doctor is pretty much an hour’s drive from my house. This was my pulmonologist who has been with me through the ups and downs of my lungs hating me since 2013 lol. I was especially grateful to him today because in May when I woke up hacking my lungs up, I was able to get in touch with the on-call doctor (it was a Saturday) who prescribed me the medicine I needed and I got it two hours later, and by 24 hours I was totally back to normal. Now compare that to what happened last year when I couldn’t reach him and I suffered through 4 days of misery coughing, and having to do my trial advocacy final trial (which was a legit full trial) with my brain totally clouded by cough syrup fog, to the point where I was like, questioning if my surroundings were real lol it was BAD. so after that nightmare I was soooooo happy it worked out so much better this time, because I never want to deal with that again. So we drive there and park, then take the somewhat sketchy elevator up to his office. Got called in pretty quickly cuz they’re good like that, did the whole breathing test I’ve done at least 100 times by now (like that is not an exaggeration at all, it’s definitely been at least 100 times) which always leaves my lungs hurting but also always shows they’re functioning at very high levels (which is, objectively, a good thing, but can also be frustrating when I’m having an issue but the test says everything is great). Doctor comes in a minute later and did some stethescope stuff, then we went into his office and just went over everything, as he seems to be of the opinion that it’s all somewhat related, so we talked about sleep and studying for the bar and acid reflux and all that stuff. His daughter is also currently studying for the bar so he gets what that’s like lol. He kept being like “you’re getting enough sleep right?” and I was like 😂😂😂, oh yes, I definitely am lol. So he called in the one prescription I have from him and we made an appointment for six months out (so January). From there we headed out, we encountered a bit of traffic so it took a while but we were home at like 2. From there we just relaxed for a bit, talking to my sister in our room and just having fun. I looked at train schedules only to discover the two main train lines had a massive gap between 4 and 7 pm, presumably because of the massive amount of trains coming east during that time, but like, that totally screwed us over, so I mapped out and planned to drive to a station a bit further away but that had more options time wise and I thought should work. We then headed out to doctor’s appointment number 2 with my psychiatrist, and then planning to go to Anastasia in the city. So we got in the car and made a quick pit stop at Target to grab the prescription my pulmonlogist had called in for me earlier, and then made our way to my psychiatrist’s office. I really like him so much. He’s been in the process of retiring for a while now but has agreed to still see me until I can get settled with someone else (assumedly in Illinois) and I appreciate that very much. Got called in pretty quickly and had some conversation with him, he wanted to know about bar stress and all that, and I told him that while the bar studying is stressful, when I’m not considering the external factors like that I am still very much enjoying my life, so that was good. We didn’t make any changes to my meds, but we talked about the tremor issue. He seemed doubtful that it was actually caused by the medication that had the listed side effect of tremors, but said that after the bar (because we didn’t want to mess with it beforehand, obviously) I can try going off that med for a bit and see if it helps, but I should probably consult a neurologist regardless which is like 🙄🙄🙄 I really don’t need another doctor in my life at the moment lol. But I’ll probably talk to the primary care doctor I have in IL about it and see if I can get a good reference, it’s easy when I keep it all in the Northwestern Medicine system, so the info can be shared easily as needed. As we were leaving I checked my email quickly and saw I had one from the ticketing site I got the Anastasia tickets from, which stated the performance was at 7, not 8 as I expected. Well, fuck. I looked at the train times and if we made it to the 5:13 train we could get there at like 6:25 and be in decent shape, so we did our best to dash out of there and speed to the train station, but we were thwarted by traffic and it soon became clear there was no way we were going to make it in time, and the next train didn’t get in till 6:54, so clearly that wouldn’t work. We tried looking any other station that could work but didn’t find anything. So we pulled over for a minute and tried to figure out what to do next, and I was like well, I guess we have to drive then 😐😐😐 which I was not excited about but I would do my best. So we plugged in the address of the theatre into the GPS and got going. Again, doing our best to make good time, but traffic was slow in many places, and when it said we had about 24 miles to go but the ETA was putting us there at 7:01, more than an hour from the current time, we agreed this wasn’t worth the stress because I was high key freaking out about driving in Manhattan, and we should just cut our losses and head back home, so that’s what we did. Jess was getting really bad motion sickness at this point so we got off on an exit and found our way to a parking lot, so she could breathe and calm down for a bit without moving, and then went to the pizzeria that was right there because one cause of her feeling sick was that we hadn’t eaten yet (the plan was to stop between the doctors appointment and going to the train, but we of course had to ditch that plan). So we sat down and ordered some food, we got cheesy garlic bread (because of course) and ended up getting the baked ziti pizza, which, yes, is pasta on top of pizza and smothered in cheese, and oh man, it was very good. So we ate our pasta pizza and then determined we were too full to stop for ice cream (sad life, I know) so we headed home. When we arrived most everyone was just chilling, and of course my parents wanted us to chill with them since we’re leaving tomorrow morning. So we all got into the den and did our various activities while talking. My older brother was being a giant pain in the ass tonight, which isn’t anything surprising as he is often doing that, but it’s still fucking annoying. He’s just like, such an asshole, I can’t take it. He’s an emotionally abusive sexist power hungry asshole, and it’s like there’s nothing I can do that he won’t find a way to make fun of me for and like, even with the small stupid shit, I mostly don’t care anymore but it hits something in me that has been there from being treated like that for all these years, and I once again got confirmation that there is no way I could ever move back into any arrangement that involved me living here on any basis other than like a few weeks, at most. And of course my parents do nothing because they never do anything and were completely ineffective in stopping my brothers from torturing me for years to the point where I became suicidal as an 11 year old. There’s just too much there, and I can’t deal with it when the jerks would never admit they did anything wrong because they truly believe that they haven’t, and none of this could ever be their fault, it was obviously because of because I’m stupid and broken and messed up. I tried to stop myself from getting too upset but I can only do so much. There’s also this whole situation going on at my dad’s office with the girls who work for him who apparently ganged up on another girl working there and got her to quit, so my dad’s been all mad about it and the three of them (two brothers and dad) are talking about it and they’re saying all kinds of misogynistic bullshit and when my brothers left I was just like uh you better not be listening to anything they said because they’re full of shit, and he said he knows but he’s always the “softie” boss and bringing my older brother in will scare them, and I’m like yeah but not because he’s a good leader, it’s because he’s an asshole and you’re likely going to have them all quit if you do that because he’s incredibly condescending and just flat out rude and is totally power hungry. Idk, we’ll see what happens with that. After that we headed upstairs since we need to be up early for our flight tomorrow (as I type this at 11:45 pm) and ended up talking to my sister and her friends for a while before actually getting ready for bed, and then I started writing this and here we are. I still feel like shit, and I hate that I feel like shit, I hate that stupid stuff can get to me like that but it just slices right through the old healing scars from childhood and reopens the old wounds just as fiercely as they were first made. But then I also doubt myself, thinking but other people had it worse, you’re probably exaggerating and want attention...and like all of this is playing out in my brain while all of this is happened. I could probably write more about it now, but it’s late and I’m mad tired so I’m going to call it a night instead, I may opine on it further tomorrow, we’ll see. Goodnight everyobe. Thank you all for following me and providing encouragement, it’s much appreciated. ❤️