#THERE'S A VIDEO OF HER IN THE MIDDLE OF A FLOOD TRYING TO LEAD AN SUV THROUGH IT LMAO SHE'S SO CHAOTIC??????? I LOVE HER????????? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fanficimagery · 4 years ago

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When Enough is Enough pt. II

Imagine being let down one too many times by your best friend, only to end up making some new ones in the process.

Words: 8.5K Author’s Note: Okay so some of you asked to only be added to part 2 of this while others asked to be added everything Bucky.. and a few others weren’t exactly clear. So if you want to be tagged in any future Bucky related imagines please let me know so I can get your blog name written down on my list.

Tags: @aya-fay @70s-chic @sipsteacasually @kaitlyn2907 @scarlettwitch99 @thingsforimagination @mimilh @felicityofbakerstreet @eternalharry @eliwinchester99 @intothesoul @wintershadowkat @b1sexualtonystark @meredeph @miszswan

The Sunday before you are to return to work, you sleep in until nine in the morning. Your thoughts are immediately on Bucky's impending arrival and you couldn't help the butterflies that took flight in your stomach. He's a friend, just as all the others are, but you couldn't help but notice just how attractive this new friend of yours is. But not only does his attractiveness draw you in, his easy-going teasing and protectiveness does too. However, Bucky Barnes is still a man trying to find his footing in this world after all that's been done to him and finally getting his name cleared, and if he finds comfort with you then you're going to try your best and be the friend he needs.

So since you're not dressing to impress, you dress in your favorite lazy outfit after your shower- leggings, sports bra, a faded sleeveless band tee with the arm holes having been cut down to around your ribs, and a pair of socks. Damp hair gets gathered up into a messy bun and you walk around your apartment to pick up some things you had unknowingly left out.

You've skipped breakfast, so when there's a knock on your door and you open up to find Bucky standing there, you groan in relief. He raises both hands with paper bags hanging from each. "I come bearing sushi. Wanda let it slip how much you love it."

"Yesss." You step back, quickly taking in his own comfort outfit of sweatpants and a plain black t-shirt under an opened jacket. "Did you bring plenty of wasabi? And you can just kick off your shoes anywhere."

"Of course." He hands you the bags so he can kick off his shoes and strip out of his jacket before hanging it up. You don't know why, but seeing him in a short sleeve shirt makes you happy, knowing full well he was weird about his metal arm being out in the open. "And plenty of dipping sauce as well. Wanda was more than happy to give me advice."

"Wanda, huh?" You chuckle, leading the way to your kitchen. "You actually told her where'd you be?"

"Apparently I looked very pensive this morning. She asked and I figured she was a better confidant than Steve or Sam who would have made a big deal about us hanging out."

"True." Setting the bags down, you let him empty them while you head to the fridge. "Beer?"

"Yeah."

Grabbing him a beer and yourself a can of Cola, you return to the table and your eyes widen at the sight of all the sushi. "Damn, Barnes. That's a lot of sushi."

"Don't act like you won't eat half of it."

You laugh as you take a seat, handing him his beer and pulling a few trays to your side of the table. You take a container of wasabi and dipping sauce for yourself, and grab a pair of chopsticks to start digging in.

You moan in delight at your first taste, happily shimmying in your seat before taking another. Eventually, you ask, "So what are you going to do when I'm back at work and I can't keep you entertained by getting shitfaced?"

Bucky grins around his mouthful of food before chasing it down with a swig of his beer. "We actually got a mission comin' up so I'll be leavin' around mid-week."

"Well that sucks." You sigh. "Now who am I going to send random pictures to when I have downtime at work?"

He grins. "You can still send them to me. I just won't get back to you until after the mission's complete."

"Yeah, yeah."

The two of you continue to eat- Bucky dodging Steve's texts about where he is and when he's coming back, and you sending the middle finger emoji over and over to Wanda who keeps wondering how your date is going. Then once most of the sushi is gone and Bucky puts what little is left into the fridge, the two of you head to the living room. You immediately flop onto the couch as Bucky takes the plush recliner, only for you to hear him moving the chair into its reclined position seconds later.

"Oh. I definitely need to get one of these."

You laugh as he snuggles down and you pick up the remote to bring up your streaming services. "Anything you've been meaning to watch?"

"Not really. Just show me your favorites."

You start off with some humor by playing the Goonies. It's a movie that no matter how many times you've seen it, it always seems to make you laugh. And it seems Bucky is not immune either when they make Chunk to the truffle shuffle. Titanic plays afterwards, but only after making sure Bucky found it somewhat interesting after reading the movie summary to him. He is interested from beginning to end and doesn't even laugh at you when you shed a few tears for the old married couple who opt to stay in their bed as the room floods.

When a break is needed, you head off towards the bathroom as Bucky finishes off the leftover sushi. Both of you check your phones and read each other the missed text messages from Steve and his worrying behavior.

"Wanna tell Steve to fuck off via video message?" Bucky takes a moment to think on it before he grins and nods. "Excellent. Sit in the recliner. I'm gonna crawl up all in your business. That okay?"

"Yeah."

As Bucky gets comfortable in the recliner, you sit on the armrest before sliding down sideways onto his lap. You bring up the camera app on your phone and switch it to video, sliding your right arm behind Bucky's neck while holding your left arm out to capture the two of you on the screen. "Ready?"

"Sure, doll."

You chuckle quietly and then smirk mischievously as Bucky relaxes his expression into his best resting bitch face. After you hit record, you say, "Hey Rogers, stop being a little bitch and sending us text after text. I'm tryin' to fuck your best friend here." Bucky's expression cracks as he barks out a laugh and you turn to face him while grinning. You share a laugh with him before facing the camera once more. "Only joking, but seriously stop buggin' us. I promise to send him back in one piece."

As you prepare to send the text to Steve, Bucky says, "You're terrible."

"Whatever. Admit it, you adore me."

"Occasionally."

You huff another laugh as the video message finally sends. You and Bucky both watch as the delivered status turns to read, and then those three little dots appear as Steve starts typing his reply.

"Tell Bucky to wrap it before he taps it." You burst out laughing at Steve's text, Bucky's rumbling laughter only fueling yours even more. "God I hate your best friend sometimes." And before you climb off Bucky's lap, because honestly you were getting a little too comfortable, you send Steve a few middle finger emojis before deciding on a third movie to watch.

The third movie you choose is one that never fails to make you laugh- Bridesmaids. You had a moment of hesitancy because of the sex scenes, but you figured they were ridiculous enough that it wouldn't be awkward. Thankfully you're correct and you get the added bonus of hearing Bucky's laughter again during Megan's scenes, especially when they get food poisoning and are all fighting for the bathroom.

You and Bucky take yet another break after the film, just stretching and finding something to drink.

"So what's the verdict, Barnes? Are you enjoying the films?"

He grins. "Your taste is all over the place, huh? That last one we watched was raunchy."

"But hilarious! You need to watch the Hangover trilogy, but you definitely need to watch that with Steve and then watch him squirm at the pictures that roll with the credits."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Jurassic Park holds his attention and he can't help but comment how stupid one has to be to replicate dinosaur DNA and then open up a park with live dinosaurs. You laugh, but don't bother commenting. You'll tell him later there are more movies involved, with yet another idiotic man who felt he could get the park up and running once more.

It's getting dark, but it's still a little too early for dinner. One more movie and then you'll order or go out and pick something up.

"So this last one for the day is a movie that's directed more towards the female viewers, but you did ask for my favorite films and Practical Magic is my absolute favorite."

"Well put it on, doll."

As you press play on Practical Magic, you quickly grab a throw blanket and snuggle in. Instead of watching Bucky, you watch the film and mumble certain quotes to yourself. The magic scenes always bring a soft smile to your face just as Gary's confession to Sally of I wished for you too breaks your heart, and Sally and Gillian's heartfelt sister moment makes you cry.

Afterwards, Bucky hums in thought. "So that's your favorite?"

"Absolutely." You tell him. He's watching you curiously and you grin. "If I show you something, you promise not to laugh?"

"I'll try."

"Whatever. That's good enough for me." Standing up, you walk towards him and kneel, and tell him to pull your shirt sideways by the armhole next to your left arm. There on the back of your left shoulder and forever etched into your skin is a salt shaker, a rosemary plant, a lavender plant, and a heart. You then rattle off one of your favorite quotes to him. "Always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Plant lavender for luck and fall in love whenever you can."

Bucky chuckles as you get up, retaking your spot on the sofa. "You really are a fan of the movie."

You nod. "As a little girl, I was fascinated by magic. I thought I'd grow out of it, but I only grew more fond of it. And then I found Practical Magic and it had a bit of everything I adored."

"So what's the one scene that just gets you every time?"

"Ugh. You're making me choose?!" You feign being distraught and he grins. As you think about it, you keep coming back to two scenes in particular. "So there's two," you tell him, "and I'm not choosing between them." Bucky nods, awaiting your answer. "Gillian's possession. When Sally calls together the other mothers who were mean to her in order to make a temporary coven to save her sister, and Gillian begs Sally to just let her ghost ex have her."

Bucky hums. "That was a bit sad, doll. I saw you shedding a few tears over that."

"Mhm. And the other scene is when Sally comes clean to Gary and admits that she did a spell as a child to call forth her perfect love thinking it wouldn't exist, only it did. When Gary tells Sally that he wished for her too, it just breaks my fuckin' heart."

"Let me guess, you were one of the girls who cast her own spell after seeing that scene." You stay quiet for a moment and the second you feel your face heat, Bucky laughs. "What did you wish for?"

You groan quietly. "If I tell you, you can't laugh!" He only smiles in response and you know he won't drop it until you tell him. "Fine. So even though I knew it would never work, I gathered the weirdest objects and wished for a significant other with dark hair and colored eyes. He had to be protective and funny and love me for me. Simple."

For some reason you can't seem to meet Bucky's gaze then and you feel awkward the longer the silence stretches on.

"So dinner?" He asks.

"Oh god, yes please. Pizza and wings?"

"Sounds good."

You have the nearby pizza place on speed dial, so after finding out Bucky's preferences you make the call and place the order. It's going to be about a thirty minute wait, so you fill the time sending Steve pic after pic of Bucky who's none the wiser as he scrolls through his own phone and adding the most asinine comments to each picture. Steve thinks it's absolutely hilarious.

Then when the pizza and wings arrive, you beat Bucky to the door and thrust several bills at the delivery boy. He's more than happy with his tip and you hurriedly wave him off before shutting the door. You laugh at Bucky's disgruntled expression and then place everything on the table while gathering a beer for both you and him.

"Don't let me have more than two," you tell him while handing him his own bottle of beer.

Bucky agrees and the two of you dig into your own personal pizzas and boxes of wings once you're situated around the table. As you're eating, Bucky asks about what other movies you hold near and dear. You fill him in on a few others and he hesitantly puts it out there that he'd be up for another movie marathon when you both have a day off. You agree that that's doable.

Halfway through dinner, as you and Bucky are chuckling over the thought of making Steve sit through Bridesmaids, there's a sound of glass breaking from your living room and a muffled curse. The two of you immediately cease making any type of noise and Bucky is up with a gun in hand.

"Where the hell did that come from?! You hiss.

The telltale sound of a window then sliding shut can be heard.

"Shut up and get behind me."

The authority in his voice makes you freeze and your heart flutter at the same time, and you have to mentally scold yourself before you quickly do as he says. You follow Bucky towards the living, ready to duck at the ready, only to sigh and roll your eyes when you see who it is.

Bucky stands tall and lowers his gun. "Parker." You can practically hear the annoyance in his voice.

"Mr. Barnes?" Peeking around his shoulder, you raise your eyebrow at your best friend who's been too busy for you and is now frowning at Bucky. When he catches sight of you, he asks, "What's going on?"

"Uh, well we were having dinner until we thought someone was breaking in."

"Alone?!"

Your brow furrows at Peter's incredulousness, only for him to realize you're not impressed with his tone. You raise an eyebrow at him and cross your arms over your chest. "Did you need something?"

"Oh, um, yeah." He shifts from foot to foot, gesturing to his face where there's a scrape on his cheekbone. "My ribs took a beating too. Can you patch me up?"

"Sure." You sigh. "Why not."

Before you can leave to go to the bathroom to get the supplies you need, Bucky says, "I'll just get out of your way then."

You stop and face him. "What? But we haven't even finished our food. It won't take me long."

"It's fine, doll." He grins when he realizes you're trying to get him to stay. "You gotta hit the hay early anyway. We'll talk soon."

You hold his gaze for a moment longer, sighing when he won't budge. "Well at least take your food with you. No use in it going to waste."

Bucky nods and heads back to the kitchen, collecting his food. You watch him and then follow him to the door, holding his food while he bends over to lace up his boots. Once he retakes his food and you open the door, he thanks you for the time away from the tower and disappears down the hall.

Shutting the door and then heading back into the living room, you tell Peter to get back into his regular clothes so you can get to his ribs while you go gather your medical supplies.

Meeting Peter back in the living room and setting everything down on the coffee table, he says, "So you and Bucky-"

"Don't." You pick up the peroxide bottle and soak a cotton ball in it. "Bucky and I are friends."

Peter manages to keep his mouth shut as you clean the scrape on his cheek and place a small bandage on it. Then when you've checked his ribs and tell him he just needs to ice them, he mumbles, "Friends who apparently lick each other." You snort and think nothing of his sullen tone, but when you look at his face you see he's actually being quite serious. There's no chuckle or boyish grin and for a moment you're absolutely floored at his attitude. "I don't think I'm comfortable with Bucky being alone with you in your apartment."

"Are you- are you kidding me?" You huff and take a step back from him. When Peter just continues to frown, you shake your head at him. "First of all, I'm an adult woman who can make her own decisions."

"I know, but-"

"I'm not finished!" You snap. Peter's eyes widen, but he smartly ceases talking. "I am allowed to have friends whether you like them or not. We have a pact, Petey, and since I'm still abiding by it I would hope that you would too."

"Yeah, but that's for significant others!"

"Significant others or friends, it doesn't matter. And you should be grateful I've kept my mouth shut when it comes to you and Leslie because let me tell you, I've been biting my tongue a lot these past few weeks. Bucky and the others have stepped up since you've abandoned me, so you have absolutely no room to tell me that you're uncomfortable with him or any of them being around me."

"Leslie isn't that bad and I have not abandoned you." You snort, but don't bother opening that can of worms even further. He finally gets annoyed with your quietness. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"You're here because you needed a bandage. Tell me, Peter, where are you going after here? Where are you going after making five minutes of small talk and calling it a night?" He opens his mouth and then snaps it shut, shrugs, and you shake your head at him once more in disappointment. "Exactly. Just go, Peter. I'm so over this conversation right now and I have work in the morning."

"Wait, but we promised we'd never leave a conversation where we were still annoyed with each other!"

"And we also promised we'd never judge who the other decided to spend time with, but here we are." He frowns at you. "Go to your girlfriend, Peter. We'll talk again in another few days or weeks or whenever. I don't care right now."

Peter stands there, gaping, before he pulls himself together and makes his way back towards the window he had crawled through. He glances at you one last time, but you merely keep staring until his mask encompasses his head once more and he lifts the window before taking his leave.

As the window shuts behind him, you sag in on yourself and your breathing stutters in your chest as your eyes fill with tears. You've never been this angry at Peter and the fact that he thinks it's okay to ignore you until he needs something and then has an opinion about who you hang out with was just too much for you to let slide.

You quickly gather everything from your coffee table and return it to its rightful place in your bathroom, and throw away the trash. Your appetite is long gone, so you put up what's left of your food and then head to your room to gather some clothes so you can shower and get into bed.

By the time you've crawled into bed, you're still a bit annoyed. So grabbing your phone, you pull up your text messages and click on Bucky's thread.

To Bucky: Well that was a shit show. I don't think I've ever made Petey leave my apartment while we were still angry with each other.

From Bucky: I'm sorry, doll. Anything I can do?

To Bucky: If he gives you attitude, get a non-serum individual to punch him. You, Steve, and probably Nat will send him flying into the wall.

From Bucky: If I remember..

To Bucky: Well I mean if you forget, I won't complain. I'll probably laugh when he comes crying to me.

From Bucky: You're a terrible human being.

To Bucky: Whatever. You adore me just the way I am. And now I should get some shut eye. I'll talk to you soon. Night, Sarge.

From Bucky: Night, sweetheart.

For the next couple of weeks, you keep yourself busy with work. Bucky and a few others do go on a mission as he said they would, so you keep your texts to a minimum of three each day- a good morning, a random story from that day, and a good night. They're gone for four days and in those four days you've not heard from Peter. The only reason you know he's not completely done with you is the fact he likes your posts that you put up on social media.

But since you're not currently speaking to your best friend and are too exhausted to hang out with anyone else, you're in a bit of a funk and completely caught off guard one evening when the patient a police officer brings in smacks you right across the face. You had been trying to insert an IV into his arm when he completely lost his shit, and then you were hit so hard that you were strewn across the gurney behind you. And in your vulnerable position, a fistful of your hair had been grabbed and yanked right before the police officer had intervened and pulled the patient off of you.

You had been given a bit of time to ice your cheek before you had to get back to work, but your face and scalp were hurting you the entire time.

On your way home, however, you're surprised to receive a call from Pepper. You're heading towards your apartment complex when she invites you to dinner there at the tower since Darcy is finally back in town, and you hate to do it, but you're not exactly up to be around such a rowdy bunch. So you apologize to Pepper and ask her to apologize to Darcy for you, and take a rain check. Immediately she knows something is wrong, but you only tell her you had a rough night at work and all you want is a hot shower and to crawl into bed. She hesitates but wishes you well, and the call ends moments later.

When you get home, you waste no time in locking the door behind you and heading straight for your bathroom. You strip down and take the hottest shower your body is capable of handling, and let yourself relax in the steam-filled room. Afterwards, as you're drying off, you gently dry your hair since your scalp is still sensitive and then get dressed in some of your comfort clothes.

Then heading out into the kitchen, you find some leftovers in your fridge and heat those up, tiredly sitting at your kitchen table and digging in. Just as you're done with your food and heading towards the living room, someone pounds on your apartment door. You sigh, hoping they go away, and have only plopped down onto the sofa when a familiar gruff voice speaks through the wood.

You quietly groan as Bucky tells you he knows you're there and you get up to open the door for him. He's on the verge of knocking again when you swing the door open. "Hey. Pepper said-" He trails off as he takes in your appearance, expression going slack before his jaw clenches in anger. "Who?"

You shake your head, gesturing him inside as you turn around and walk towards your sofa. You hear your door click shut before the footsteps follow you. "Work got a little hectic. No need to hunt down anyone, Barnes. I'm fine."

"Half your face is bruised, doll. You are not fine."

"It's all part of my job." You shrug and plop down onto the sofa once more. Pulling a blanket over your lap, you stare up at your friend. "There will always be a drunk and disorderly patient. I was just lucky he didn't do more damage."

Bucky frowns, but he doesn't push you on it. Instead, he walks over and sits next to you, angling his body towards yours when gentle fingers grasp your chin to angle your face more towards him. "What exactly happened?" He asks as his eyes dart over every inch of your face.

"Some petty criminal did some damage to his head in the back of a patrol car. Police officer brought him in and he seemed pretty docile up until I jabbed him with the IV. He got the drop on me. It happens." Gentle fingers brush along your cheekbone and you flinch. Tears sting your eyes as you sniffle. "I'm fine."

"Just because you keep sayin' that doesn't mean it's true."

Your bottom lip wobbles at his words and you lose the battle with keeping the tears at bay. The moment they fall, Bucky pulls you into a hug and you cry into his shoulder. "Dammit," you mumble. "See what you started!"

Bucky chuckles and he holds you a few moments longer, rubbing a hand up and your back to offer a semblance of comfort. When he lets you go, you fall back against the sofa cushions and wipe the tears away with your blanket. "So what are we watching?" He asks while settling in next to you and draping an arm behind your head.

"Shouldn't you go back to the tower and have dinner with the rest of them? I'm-"

"If you say you're fine one more time, I will drag you back to the tower and let Steve motherhen you."

You sigh. "Low blow, Buckaroo."

"And for that horrendous nickname, you've lost the privilege of choosing what we're going to watch."

You laugh and don't bother arguing with him about it as he leans across you to snag up the remote. When he settles back down and you snuggle into his side, you huff a small laugh when he settles on TLC which is showing 90 Day Fiancé.

"Why this show?" You ask.

"Because it blows my mind that some people are so oblivious and can't see that their chosen partner is only in it for the green card."

As you let his reasoning sink in, you can't help but giggle as you picture Bucky sitting in his own apartment and bad mouthing the TV because he didn't like the decisions the people were making in their love life. You watch along with him, cringing at the more obvious couples that are only headed for future divorce and smiling when one of the couples is actually in it for love.

You manage to almost watch a complete two hour episode when there's a knock on your door, but you're too comfortable to get up and answer it.

"You get it," you say as you nudge Bucky.

He nudges you back. "It's your apartment."

"Yeah, but I don't feel like getting up."

"You could have at least come up with a better excuse."

You grin, finally taking your eyes off the screen and glancing up at Bucky. "M'too tired. Brain's not working fast enough." He continues to give you a deadpan stare until you jut out your bottom lip. "Please?"

The second Bucky's lips twitch, you know you've won. He huffs and roughly pushes himself up off the sofa as if answering the door is a hardship, and you go back to watching TV. At least until you hear a familiar voice stammer, "Uh, h-hey Mr. Barnes. Is Y/N home?"

Your gaze snaps towards the door where Peter is standing out in the hallway, hands in his pockets as he sheepishly stares at Bucky. The man in question turns and raises an eyebrow at you as if saying what do I do and you give him a terse nod to let him know it's okay. Bucky steps aside and Peter readily walks in.

"I should be getting back to the tower," Bucky suddenly says. "You kids have fun."

This time it's your turn to give him a deadpan stare and he smirks right before slipping his boots back on. Then as soon as they're laced up, he's walking out the door and shutting it behind him. Peter, who hadn't stopped staring at the intimidating man, finally turns to look at you. And when he does, his eyes widen.

"What happened to your face?!"

You sigh. "I'm fine. Just had a little incident at work."

"And Mr. Barnes was what? Comforting you?"

"First of all, can you stop calling him Mr. Barnes? You two avenge together and what not. I'm pretty sure that means you're on a first name basis." Peter grins as he takes a seat on the recliner near you, shrugging. "And Bucky was here because when I turned down dinner at the tower, Pepper figured something was wrong. Bucky took it upon himself to check in."

"So are you two like a thing or something?" He wonders.

"We're just.. friends," you say. "For some unknown reason we clicked and we're comfortable in each other's company."

For a moment Peter doesn't say anything, nor will he meet your gaze, but then he's looking at you and sighing. "I'm sorry." You blink at him, surprised to hear the apology. "I shouldn't have freaked out that one night. Who you are friends with and who you decide to date is your business."

You finally smile, even though it's rather small. "Thank you. And don't get me wrong, I know you meant well, but you should have dropped it and just trusted my judgment."

"Yeah. I know," he mumbles.

"Soo.. are we good?" You ask.

"Yeah."

"Good. I was getting tired of you liking my posts and not commenting on them."

Peter snorts. A moment of silence passes and then he says, "So you'll be glad to know that Leslie and I aren't together anymore. I broke it off earlier tonight."

You wince. "Sorry."

"Nah. Don't be. She was totally using me for access to the tower." You're torn between being smug about being right and being sad for your friend who just ended his relationship. "I only realized it earlier when she got upset because Mr. Rogers posted a picture of you and Mr. Barnes together, and she had a few choice words to say about it."

"What? Steve posted a picture of us?" You quickly pull out your phone, checking social media for any notifications. There are none, but as you get on Instagram you check Steve's page and sure enough there's a new pic that shows Bucky staring fondly at you as you laugh at something on your phone. "That little shit didn't tag us!"

As your thumbs move furiously to give Steve a piece of your mind and to comment how adorable you and Bucky look, Peter can't help but say, "You're attracted to him."

Your texting falters and you quickly glance at your friend to gauge his reaction, but when he just looks amused, you shrug. "I mean have you seen him? How could I not be attracted to him?"

"Does he know?"

"I have a feeling he does. Asshole likes to fluster me every now and then."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure he likes you back." You snort and go back to finishing up the comment on Steve's post. "I'm serious. When we stopped talking, he threatened me. He was pissed that I made you cry and said I was lucky. He's actually really scary when you're on his bad side."

It takes a moment for his words to sink in and when they do you can feel your ears heating up, followed by your cheeks. Peter starts to laugh and you groan in embarrassment. "Why is this so weird? Dating should be easy!"

"Well he is an Avenger.."

"I don't care about that! He's just- he's really, really hot. It's intimidating."

"Wait, what?" Peter huffs. "So you're intimidated by his hotness and not because he's a super-soldier with a metal arm?"

"Well yeah."

Expression melting into one of confusion, your friend eventually shakes his head at you. "You're on your own with that. Good luck."

You hadn't realized how much everyone had known about your and Peter's brief falling out until the two of you were laughing together once again at the tower. It seemed like everyone had sagged in relief now that the two of you were poking fun at one another once more, and you had to apologize for apparently making it awkward for them.

And now that your best friend knew of your crush on a certain super-soldier, there was lots of teasing material. Of course you kept him in line when you could, but there was no stopping the force of Peter, Wanda, and Darcy combined.

It's a random Tuesday night when you've driven over to the Tower, Bucky having called you over for dinner with a few friends. You had the day off so you didn't mind heading on over, but as the elevator doors slide open after having ridden up to the communal floor, you yelp in surprise as the small gathered crows that shout, "Happy birthday!", at you.

Steve, Wanda, Sam, and Peter pop confetti poppers as you step out of the elevator, eyes wide as you glance between each of them. "My birthday is not until tomorrow!" You hiss.

"But you work tomorrow." Wanda frowns.

"Mhm." Your eyes then narrow, glancing behind them at the streamers and balloons hanging from the ceiling. "And how'd you guys even know?"

Everyone glances at Peter and he takes a step back when your gaze slides to him. He chuckles sheepishly. "I might have hid your birthday cupcake here and Steve found it."

"Petey," you groan. "Why couldn't you just hide it at aunt May's like usual? You know I dislike birthday celebrations."

"You don't dislike them. You just dislike all the attention being on you."

"Whatever. Where's Barnes? He's the one who lured me here under false pretenses. I got a bone to pick with him too."

Everyone turns around and Bucky's head appears from around the corner. He smirks and you glare at him. "Not false pretenses. We are having dinner," he says. "It just so happens to be a birthday dinner. And it's running a little bit late, so until the food gets here you get to open presents."

"You guys all suck."

Peter and Wanda each take a hand and drag you further into the room, heading towards the kitchen. Bucky fully steps out from behind the wall and you aim a kick at his shin as you're walking by. He laughs as he easily dodges it and then you're standing by the kitchen island that's been cleared of everything other than birthday presents.

You huff a small laugh and shake your head fondly at them. "I love you guys, but you do know you didn't have to get me anything, right?"

"Shut up and open the presents," Bucky says.

"Open mine first," Sam says, reaching into the small pile and pulling out a white envelope. "Unlike the others, I was literally told within the last thirty minutes we were doing this so yeah. It's not the best present, but I think you'll enjoy it."

You smile at Sam as you open it, chuckling at the plain birthday card and his brief personal message written inside. But it's what else that's inside that makes you meet Sam's gaze once more, smiling fondly at him. "Thank you. I can't get enough of bubble tea and I'm sure I can do some damage with this gift card."

"You're welcome."

"Mine next." Peter reaches in for a medium-sized box and hands it over to you. "I know you're not a fan of presents, so I got you something I actually knew you'd enjoy."

Raising an eyebrow at him, you pull the lid off of the box. Then glancing down, you snort before pulling out a bottle of Patron Silver Tequila. "I knew we were best friends for a reason."

Steve groans. "Please drink responsibly."

"Please. Responsible is my middle name, Rogers." Everyone snorts and instead of trying to remain serious and feign offense, you end up laughing. "Sam and Buck are good babysitters. You have nothing to worry about."

"That's to be determined," he says. "Here. Open mine. I honestly had no idea what to get you, but Peter assured me you'd enjoy this."

Putting the bottle of tequila back in its box, you accept Steve's gift. Pulling off the ribbon, you can't help but laugh when you see what's inside. "Cards Against Humanity." Peter cheers. "We're playing this the next time I have off," you say, grinning at Steve.

"What is Cards Against Humanity?" He wonders. "I just picked it up and boxed it."

"It's possibly one of the most confusing card games or raunchy card games you'll ever play," Sam says. "I, for one, am looking forward to it."

"Thank you, Steve. I seriously can't wait to play it."

"You're welcome."

Wanda claps her hands. "Mine and Darcy's next. She ordered online and I had to pick it up earlier. But, um, I'm not sure you want to open it up in front of everyone."

"Oh god. Don't tell me it's a vibrator."

Sam laughs out loud as both Peter and Steve start blushing. Bucky looks rather amused and intrigued as Wanda slides two boxes over to you. She shakes her head, giggling. "Not quite."

For a brief moment you're relieved, but then her answer sinks in and you're hesitant all over again. You groan. "Is yours safer? I feel like it is. Which one is it?"

Wanda only smirks as she pushes her box towards you. You open it, marvel at its contents, and then put the lid back on much to the boys' displeasure. Trying to keep a straight face, you look at Wanda. "How many sets did you get?"

"There's four. All in colors that will look amazing against your skin tone."

"Thank you. I'll send you pictures when I wear them."

"Yes please! Natasha wants to know how they fit as well. She was the one who suggested them."

"I'll send them to the ladies group chat then."

"Well that's not fair," Sam complains. "First for not showing us what's inside the box and then you guys have a ladies only group chat. I wanna be in the ladies only group chat."

"But then that defeats the purpose of it being a ladies only group chat," you muse.

"Come on," Peter then whines. "What was the present?"

Your gaze slides to Peter, but instead of outright saying what it is, you say, "Think back to that one Halloween night where you wouldn't let me out of the dorm until I switched costumes."

It takes him only a minute to understand and when he does, he snorts. "That wasn't a costume! That was lingerie."

"Whoa, what?" Sam exclaims, grinning.

"Lingerie can be worn as a costume?" Steve wonders.

"I was actually a Victoria's Secret Angel, complete with the most amazing set of wings, and Petey forbade me from leaving the room. It was a sad, sad night."

"As much as I wanna get into that," Sam says, "I wanna know what Barnes got you more."

You chuckle and glance at Bucky, smile faltering when you see him tense. But then he seems to shake himself out of it and offers you a grin. "Open the bigger one first."

Wanda clears away the other presents as Bucky slides his two towards you. You feel giddy as you grab the bigger box, untying the black silk ribbons and lifting the lid. There's tissue paper you open up and you gasp, happily giggling. "You didn't?!"

"Well you did say it was your favorite movie, sweetheart."

"Yes!" You glance up, beaming at Bucky, and your heart swells at his own smile being directed at you. "I really, really love this. I can't wait to hang it up."

"What is it?" Peter wonders, trying to peer across the island.

"It's a quote from Practical Magic," you say and Peter huffs a laugh, knowing full well your love for that movie. You carefully pick it up and turn it around so everyone can see it as you read it off by heart. "Always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Plant lavender for luck and fall in love whenever you can."

"Aw," Wanda coos. "That's adorable."

"I made Bucky watch this movie a while back," you say. "I need to show it to you one of these days."

"I'm looking forward to it," she says.

With nothing else to say, you place it back in its box and set it aside in favor for the second box. It's a little smaller, but you're excited for it nonetheless. Untying the ribbon and lifting the lid, you immediately laugh at the white petals scattered atop the tissue paper.

"Barnes, you smooth sonuvabitch," Sam mutters.

Steve and Peter laugh, but you're so focused on the notecard that's under some of the petals. Lifting it up, you read the note to yourself because immediately you know it's personal. My better half has to be funny, get along with my friends, won't judge me for my past, and has decent taste in movies.

Heart fluttering, you bite the corner of your lip when it feels like you're smiling way too much.

"Well what does Prince Charming have to say?" Sam asks.

"That's none of your business." You close the note and then tuck into your back pocket, chuckling when Sam and Wanda complain. When you meet Bucky's gaze, you immediately flush and mentally curse yourself when you see him smirk in return.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, you center yourself and then part the tissue paper. You look at the second portrait and gasp after you read it.

"What? What is it?" Peter wonders.

This second portrait is of a hand drawn bowl with a tipped over salt shaker, a small bundle of lavender, a small bundle of rosemary, and a heart beneath it. Above the bowl is a swirl of flower petals and inside the swirl of petals, in very pretty cursive writing, are the words I wished for you too.

Did he just- did he confess his own feelings by using a Practical Magic quote? Or was this just you overthinking his present? You glance to meet Bucky's gaze and at his gauging expression your eyes fill with tears.

"What did you do, Barnes?!" Sam scolds him. "You made the poor girl cry at her own birthday celebration!"

But Bucky isn't paying him any attention, instead he's solely focused on you. You set the present aside and walk around the kitchen island on shaky legs, and Bucky readily reaches for your waist as you grab his face and pull him down into a kiss.

You can't believe you're kissing Bucky, but then he squeezes your waist and returns the kiss, and you know you made the right choice.

Someone gasps, but then the following words let you know exactly who it is. "Darcy is going to be so angry she missed this." Wanda. That is Wanda.

"What the hell is going on?" Sam wonders. "What type of present can cause this type of reaction?"

You smile against Bucky's mouth, pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth before falling flat on your feet after having been on the tips of your toes in order to reach his mouth.

"It's my favorite quote from my favorite movie," you say. You turn around to address your friends, but Bucky doesn't let you go far. He wraps one arm around your waist and tugs you back so you're resting against his chest and tucked beneath his chin. "It's a movie about witches," you explain. "These two little girls are being raised by their aunts and they see them performing love spells for a local woman. Basically, one of the young girls refuses to fall in love after witnessing a love spell gone wrong and she does her own spell to call forward a love that would be impossible to find- a man who's favorite shape would be a star and who had one green eye, one blue. Years down the road, the sisters accidentally murder a man."

Sam snorts. "How the hell does one accidentally murder someone?"

"Shush." Wanda admonishes him. "I want to hear the story behind the gift."

You and Bucky chuckle, and you continue to explain. "Anyway, they send in an US Marshall to investigate the disappearance and the one who had done the love spell at a young age starts to fall for this man. She ends up telling him about the murder, but he doesn't quite believe her. Then they're on the verge of hooking up when she gets a good look at his eyes- one green eye, one blue."

"Oh my god. That's so cute!" Wanda says.

"It gets cuter. And sadder," you say. "So she explains to this man about her family, the murder, and how she can't be with him because he's only attracted to her because of a love spell she did when she was just a little girl. At first he's skeptical about this spell bringing him to her, but then he ends up believing her. And as he's walking away from her, he stops to tell her I wished for you too."

"So you made out with Barnes because of that?" Sam shakes his head, chuckling. "Wow."

"It's fuckin' adorable. Stop ruining the moment, Samuel!" Bucky laughs at your words and pulls you closer to him.

"So while I'm happy for Buck," Steve says, "I'm still really curious about what Darcy's gift is."

Peter nods. "Same."

Wanda giggles, but says nothing as she grabs the box and slides it over to you. You groan because you know it can be nothing good, but you still open it since everyone is watching and waiting. As soon as you part the tissue paper and read the box, alongside taking in the picture on the box, your face flames as you shove the lid back on. Wanda cackles.

"I hate her."

"She said to give the remote to-"

"Don't!" You cut Wanda off, blushing even further. "I know who she means to have control of that."

"They- they make underwear that does that?" Bucky muses and you die a little on the inside in embarrassment. You elbow him as he starts to laugh behind you.

Sam instantly knows what the gift is now and starts to laugh, but Steve and Peter apparently need some help.

"Lewis got you vibrating panties, didn't she?"

"Oh my god, Sam, if you don't shut up I'm gonna punch you in the throat."

Steve is torn between laughing and trying not to make you even more uncomfortable, but his amusement wins out. "Given Y/N's flustered state, I'm assuming Darcy wants Bucky to have the remote."

"I mean this seems like it could make for an interesting night."

Everyone laughs at Bucky's sudden interest in the box you're doing your damnedest to keep shut, but luckily Peter steps in. "As much I love watching Y/N squirm, can we get ready to eat? I'm starving."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go wait downstairs for it, kid."

Sam and Peter head for the elevator to take them down to the lobby, and you turn around in Bucky's hold. "Help me take this stuff to my car so I don't have to do it later?"

"Sure thing, doll." He grins. But instead of stepping away, he pushes you further into the kitchen island. You smile as he cages you in and then huff a laugh when he reaches for the box behind you. "So exactly how long do we have to be dating before we can test these out?"

You slowly lean upward so your lips brush his as you say, "I'd say very, very soon if you would put your ass into gear and help me move these presents like I asked."

Bucky laughs and presses a quick kiss to your lips. "Then let's get to it."

The telltale sound of a phone's camera goes off and you turn your face towards the sound. Wanda is beaming, her phone pointed towards you and Bucky. "Darcy wanted evidence I wasn't lying. She's going to be so happy."

Bucky turns his face to look at her then, his cheek brushing against yours where he's yet to back off from you. "Tell Lewis I said thanks for the present. I'll give her my review of them in a few weeks."

Wanda's eyes widen and you immediately blurt, "Don't you dare!" But she's already texting and you know the group chat full of ladies is going to be full of messages that you'll have to reply to later. Quietly groaning, you slap your hands against Bucky's waist and push him back. Looking up at him, you shake your head but the corner of your lips turn up in amusement. "You're terrible. I would threaten to withhold sex, but I've been looking forward to that for a while. I'd just be punishing us both."

"Just tell me when and where, sweetheart, and I'll be there."

"Oh no. You guys are going to be that couple," Steve complains.

And without missing a beat, you face him and say, "Fuck off, Rogers!" Bucky snorts.

"You're cranky when you haven't gotten laid."

You gasp as Bucky bursts out laughing right in your ear, but he quickly catches you as you try to lunge for his best friend. "You know what, I was going to be discreet when banging your best friend, but now I'm going to tell you all the filthy things Bucky likes to do just to annoy you. I will go into excruciating detail about the look and taste of his dick!"

Steve blanches as it's Wanda's turn to burst out laughing. "You've done it now, Steve."

And as Steve looks to Bucky for help, he merely shrugs. "You brought this on yourself, Stevie. Hope you enjoy the play by plays."

Relaxing in Bucky's hold and moving so you're hip to hip with him, you slide your arm behind his waist and hook your thumb into the belt loop of his jeans. "We're going to have so much fun."

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #marvel imagine #peter parker #bucky barnes #wanda maximoff #sam wilson #darcy lewis #the avengers #avengers #avengers imagine #marvel

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animatedrapture · 4 years ago

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"𝖐𝖎𝖘𝖘 𝖒𝖊 𝖘𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖑𝖞" — suna rintarou ;

𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: suna rintarō is so much more than his bored eyes, the blunt between his lips, and his tendency to slack off—luckily, you're one of the very few people who know this; especially after he comes home to you sullen after finding out he didn't make it to the olympic players.

𝖙𝖆𝖌𝖘: female reader. fluff—established relationship. angst if you squint. comfort. mention of drug use. like, one swear word.

𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 2k

𝖛𝖎𝖔𝖑𝖊𝖙'𝖘 𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖊: in lieu of the influx of toxic stoner!suna content, i offer you a piece of appreciation towards him and all that he is. i was meaning to post this in my new blog but i thought there's so much of you here who would appreciate and need this more. written on a whim at 1AM and didn't proofread so for any errors, gomen. repost because tumblr tagging hates me. cross posted on ao3 under the same username. original post here. this was written before we got information that he actually made it to the olympic team. furudate really told me to stfu, huh?

It's you who find out first that there is truly so much more to Suna Rintarō than his expressionless exterior, sleepy eyes, and bored gaze towards even the most ridiculous situations. It's when his self assured stance dwindled as he walked towards you once upon a time, introducing himself first before asking you for your number.

"My number?" You echoed his request, trying your best not to gawk at his attractive features and six foot two stature towering over you so easily; making you feel oh so small. (Which is funny, given that you were already standing straight on your heels.)

"If you don't mind, 's cool if you say no," he replies, tearing his gaze from you as if he was actually anxious you'd say no.

It's funny, really. It's not every day a famous pro-athlete known for both his good looks and skills walk up to you, asking for your number and actually considering you'd say no to him and his pretty features—in fact, nevermind that he was pretty, it was more the fact that he wasn't so full of himself to actually think you wouldn't say no.

That's what makes you nod your head; your heart already beating right out of your chest as he gives you a lazy grin and his phone to press your number in. When you're done, you hand it back to him and you mentally pat yourself at the back for not visibly trembling.

"Y/N?" He reads your name from the contact information, and good God, did your name sound so beautiful coming out of his mouth. He doesn't wait for your reply anymore, looking back at you from his phone, the lazy smile still across his lips as if he knew it was a heart killer.

"Thanks, I'll text you later," is the last thing he said before he walked away from you.

It didn't take long for you to fall in love with someone like Suna Rintarō—underneath his detached personality also lied someone who was truly passionate with the things he set his mind to, gave his time to. Like you or volleyball or the video game he's been waiting to release for a whole month—it only had to be something or someone who was special enough, then, he would give it his all.

The smoke that filled his lungs occasionally did nothing to lessen your own intoxication of Suna Rintarō and his passions—because every exhale, his dark green eyes would meet yours and oh so easily, he offers you that same lazy smile yet one that was dripping with affection.

"Should you even be smoking that, Rintarō?" You had questioned him before, about the second time you've seen him put the rolled blunt in between his soft lips, inhaling it.

"It's a once in a while kinda thing, you don't actually think I'd sacrifice my career for this don'tcha?" He grins at you, amusement flooding his usually bored eyes — now glazed over with the effects of the weed—from the way he gazes at you with an eyebrow raised.

It's when you realize that Suna Rintarō was independent and knew what he was doing—did what he did with full awareness, full control, full flexibility. It's as if who he was in court was who he was in person as well.

"You're really interesting, y'know that Rin?" You had mumbled against his chest once before, it was at the first few months of dating—he had one of his arms around you with you cuddled on his side, watching a movie from his couch.

"Yeah?"

"I mean—you've always been so good at what you do, huh? But you still work for it."

"What makes you say that?" You can feel him looking down on face against his chest.

"C'mon, don't be silly. You were scouted at middle school and you only got better as you grew up!" You say, finally moving your head to meet his gaze.

But all you get is a flick on your forehead and his low chuckle, "'s not that deep, y/n," he answers.

But you already knew better.

Suna isn't one for words, and no matter how much you insist that he was beyond the description of words, he only rolls his narrowed eyes at you. You find out Suna Rintarō, your boyfriend, was a huge inspiration during your sixth month together when you finally met his little sister.

It's hard to say it wasn't amusing how snarky she was, just as he was to his friends whom you've met a few times before—Atsumu and Osamu Miya, you remember. She's quick with her tongue, easily retorting back to her brother's comments.

"Are you sure you didn't just pay Y/N-san to be your girlfriend, nii-san?"

"Nah, you still jealous I came out prettier than you?" Suna bites back, a teasing grin plastered across his face. His sister only scoffs, looking back at you.

"You can tell me if he blackmailed you to come here!" She attempts to whisper. You're not sure whether you should be worried or continue to laugh, but you do neither as you choke on the drink you were sipping on right as she told you this.

"Shit, Y/N," Suna curses as you cough, your throat burning at the drink's intrusion, but Suna's quick to rub soothingly against your back as he offers you his water, his eyes glazed over in panic.

"You okay?" He asks when you stopped coughing, and you nod in response—throat remaining slightly sore. Suna lets out an aggravated groan, "Be careful next time," he manages to scold you, but oddly enough, his words remain saccharine.

There's something about the way that his little sister doesn't seem the least bit surprised with his reaction that somehow lets you know that perhaps, Suna Rintarō might just be quite the caring brother behind closed doors.

After that, it was when Suna excused himself to take a call from his manager, leaving you with his sister.

"Hey, nee-san, promise you'll take care of Rin-nii? You won't break his heart, will you?" His sister asks, eyes gleaming with something akin to hope, expectation, wonder. It easily takes you by surprise.

"Don't you worry, I'll promise I'll take care of him, promise I won't break his heart," your voice easily softens, nodding. His little sister's gaze remains on you, as if she's assessing you and as if she would easily tell whether or not you meant the words that came out of your mouth.

It makes you hold a breath until she nods slowly, smiling at you lightly just as Suna comes walking back, eyebrows raised, knowing he must've missed something.

"Whatcha girls talkin' bout?" He asked as he slipped back on his seat beside you.

"None of your business, obviously," his sister quickly answers.

They're truly quite similar, it's enough to make you smile and get through meeting his little sister until both of you dropped her off back to the train station.

"What'd she tell you?" Suna nudged you after seeing her train leave.

"Nothing, Rin," you answered with a wide smile, leaning up to place a chaste kiss against his lips—yet just as you pull away, one of his hands has found its way behind your neck, pulling you back to him.

You never thought a kiss could feel so loving before—but it really seemed as if Suna Rintarō had a knack for proving you wrong, over and over again.

It was the day that the Olympic team was announced when you see so much more of Suna Rintarō. Quick like the blink of an eye, or lightning that leaves the thunder chasing it; Suna felt the exhaustion, the pressure, the burnt-out feeling that's been repressed in the back of his head. It comes to him, crashing down like boulders not just on his shoulders but weighing down every part of his body.

Did he lack somewhere? He wonders. Where did that lacking end and start? What could have he done? Was it training, where he spent most of his time now? Suna had end up seeing you less and less since the drafting of olympic players started and you've been nothing but patient.

What was he supposed to tell you? After all the time it has stolen away from you—that he didn't make it?

When he opened the door to your shared apartment, he doesn't look up at you with a relieved sigh as he usually would—he avoids you gaze entirely, he avoids your observing eyes from the couch you sat on, watching him slowly shrug his shoes off.

"I'm just gonn—" he started, about to make an excuse to avoid looking at you.

"Prepared your bath, Rin. C'mon," Suna hears you say but it doesn't sink in his head, watching you take his hand, leading him to the bathroom.

Suna remains silent as he looks down on the bath you prepared for him, warm and inviting.

"Meet me in the kitchen when you're done, okay?" He hears you say, followed by the echo of your footsteps walking away.

You easily understand that Suna Rintarō was more than his talents, his efforts, and every little thing about him when you feel his large arms wrapped around you, his broad chest pressed against your back and his face buried on the crook of your neck. His fresh scent right out of the shower engulfing you and invading your senses, flooding you with him.

"'m sorry, bunny," he mumbles.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Ri—"

"It's odd, thought I'd pull it off, thought it'd be nothin' if I didn't make it. Don't know why I'm so upset right now," he continues, cutting you off, "Been so patient for me too, bunny. Thought I'd be nice to make you proud, ya know?"

Your sigh comes out sharp from the heavy feeling from your chest, not knowing what to do to make him feel better—like he did with you, always knowing his way around your low moments.

You wriggle out of his arms, making him grumble until you fully face him. He looks back at you with a small frown, eyebrows furrowed, watching your expression.

"I'm always proud of you, Rin. Olympic player or not, you make me so proud," you speak softly, your hands cupping each side of his face.

"Don't even get why it matters to me this much, it's just—" it was your turn to cut him off, tipping your toes to press a lingering kiss against his lips. Suna smiles against your lips, carrying you to sit on the kitchen counter like he always did—knowing you always would have to tip on your toes to reach him.

Soon, the lingering kiss turns slow and passionate—lips softly grazing the other, and it feels more like pouring the heavy weight of love out of your chest and into the other. A kiss so loving, so reassuring, so passionate—the kind that easily takes your breath away and makes your mind go blank. When Suna pulls away, he rests his forehead against yours, breathing heavily. You smile at him because it's all you can do when your heart feels like it's going to leap out of your throat just to offer itself to him entirely—and Suna smiles back at you, pecking your lips before wrapping his arms around you again, resting his chin on your shoulder.

You run your fingers through his hair, hoping it would help soothe him, and then you say, "I promise that you'll make it next year, Rin. I'll be with you now, and I'll still be with you then."

It only makes him hold you tighter, closer to him, "I love you, Y/N."

"I love you, Rintarō. You deserve the world and all the stars in the galaxy."

"'s too bad there's nothin' more I need than you, then."

That's what Suna tells you—Suna, who was smoke in his lungs, dumb videos of the twins to blackmail them with, little mistakes, bored eyes, and lazy attitude. The same Suna who was slow kisses, passion, and genuine smiles reserved for you—the same Suna who gave his passions his all, the same Suna who held you securely in his arms every night, the same Suna his little sister admired. Most of all, the same Suna Rintarō you loved with every beat of your heart, every fibre of your being.

📞 violet is calling... all content featured belongs to ©️ animatedrapture. do not plagiarize, repost, or modify.

#suna x reader #suna rintarou #haikyuu x reader #suna #haikyuu #suna rintaro x reader #haikyuu imagines #rintarou suna #suna fluff #haikyuu fluff #suna Rintarō #;cloud #IM SO PRESSED!!!#so anNOYED!!#GODDAMN HAD TO REPOST

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awkward-and-indecisive · 4 years ago

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First Day Assistance.

Summary - Y/N is new on The Boys set, nervous and determined to do her job right until she meets Jensen Ackles and her mouth loses its filter so he decides to teach her a good lesson.

Pairing - Jensen Ackles x Female!Reader

Warnings - SMUT 18+, Unprotected sex (y’all are better than this), Oral sex (f receiving), fingering, semi-public sex, tiny bit of fluff, Jensen in that damn Soldier Boy suit, this is just pure filth with no plot in sight

Word Count - 2547

A/N - Blame @msmarvelouswinchester for this and of course Mr. Jensen Snackles who I’m pretty sure wants to kill me. Apparently this is what she and I do, put thoughts into each other’s head until we can’t do anything but write them. Till three in the morning🤦🏽‍♀️

This was also Beta’d by @msmarvelouswinchester , so double thank you 😘

This is a work of fiction and for entertainment purposes. I don’t mean any harm to anyone in their family.

This is my first ever fic so please tell me what you think about it. FEEDBACK IS HIGHLY APPRECIATED!!!

Happy Reading!!!

*****

It was your first day on the set of The Boys and you were excited for this new opportunity. You had to start small with being a P. A. but now you were looking forward to working on the third season of such an amazing show. You were ready to work hard and were determined to make it big in the industry.

But all those plans flew straight out the window when you looked at Jensen fucking Ackles in his Soldier Boy suit looking like a sex god. You probably had stopped breathing and only inhaled sharply when you became a little lightheaded. Your thighs squeezed together, your pussy clenched and you could feel wetness pooling between your legs.

It was rather directly proportional - the dampness of your panties and the amount of time you looked at him. The more you stared at all the little details, the more wet you became. You knew it was highly unprofessional to have such thoughts about one of the leading actors but it was like your body had stopped listening to you and all the rational and moral thoughts had ceased to have any effect on you.

The way the muscles of his broad shoulders rippled underneath the spandex of his suit as he moved. The way the suit gave a little peek of his neck. The way his freckles shone through the little peek. The way his shoulder to waist ratio fucked you up. The way that knife holster on his hip made you go feral with lust. The way you wanted to come undone on those fingerless gloves till you couldn’t anymore. The way that suit hugged his curves, especially that perky ass.

You were busy thirsting like a dehydrated bitch in the middle of the Sahara, lost in your own filthy thoughts for who knows how long, when a snapping noise brought you back to the land of living. You blinked a few times to clear your head of its dirty thoughts and blurry vision. When you looked back up, you saw Jensen Snackles, as Sony Pictures had oh so proudly named him, standing in front of you and snapping his fingers.

Confusion flooded your expressions but before you could open your mouth to ask what he wanted, he cut you off, “Do we have a problem here, miss? Is there something on my face or what? Because you keep staring at me and I can’t do my job like that!” He said in an annoyed tone.

That’s when you looked around and saw that the set was deserted except for you and the Adonis. The director must have called for a break if there were too many bad takes. You felt a little guilty for wasting everyone’s time but before you could apologise, he cut you off again, “There she goes again. What is going on inside your head?” He clipped, waving a hand in front of your face.

You didn’t know what it was. The pent up sexual frustration of not having had sex in months or how rudely Snackles here was constantly cutting you off, with the fact that no one should look like that or that you couldn’t get your mind off of him but you snapped at him.

“Listen Mr. Sna- Mr. Ackles, firstly, I don’t have a problem with you and I’m not staring at you and secondly, you are not letting me work and are distracting me.” You quipped.

You knew in an instant you were fired for the way you had talked to him but now that you had spoken your mind and the words had left your mouth, you couldn’t take them back. So you decided to stand your ground.

“I am not letting you work?!” He scoffed, cocking one of his eyebrows.

“Yes!! You think it’s easy for me to concentrate when you roam around looking like sex on legs.” You said, waving a hand up and down his body.

Your eyes widened and your hand flew to your mouth when you heard the words that had left your mouth. A cocky smirk grew on his face and he took a step forward as you mirrored his move in the opposite direction.

“I think that implies you were staring at me.” He chuckled, stepping forward again until your back hit the wall and the clipboard and the walkie you had in your hands fell. You were caged by him against the wall, looking like a prey meeting the eyes of its predator just before it’s death.

You looked down, too ashamed and weak to meet his burning gaze. You turned your head towards the exit and said, “I’m sorry Mr. Ackles. I should leave.”

“Nuh-uh,” he tutted, “Sex on legs huh?” He asked cockily.

He was dangerously close to you. You could feel his warm breath fanning over your face. You let out an involuntary whimper and if it was possible, his face turned more cocky.

“What other thoughts swim around in that pretty little head of yours Miss..” he trailed off, his hand coming to push a stray piece of hair behind your ear.

You cleared your throat before half whispering and half whimpering, “Y/n Y/l/n.”

“Y/n Y/l/n.” He said, gruffly, as if trying to see how it would sound from his mouth and god did it sound so sinful. “Interesting name but I guess it makes up for your interesting personality. So as I was saying, what other thoughts about me do you have? Other than sex on legs of course.”

You couldn’t focus enough to reply as you were busy staring at his plump lips and that goddamn beard that gave you all kinds of thoughts you wouldn’t think in your wildest dreams.

“You’re staring again, sweetheart.” He chuckled and the vibrations of it could be felt by you as he pressed his body to yours and caged you between his arms that you knew from his Instagram video he had spent some time working on.

You instantly looked up into his gorgeous green orbs and found yourself lost in them. You opened your mouth a few times but nothing came out, looking like a fish out of the water. Words had left you. It was like a small child trying to speak but not knowing how to.

He closed the distance between his mouth and your ear and growled, “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Cat got your tongue?”

Your whole body shuddered and you pushed your thighs together to get some much needed friction. Jensen seemed to notice your reaction and pushed his thigh between your legs.

“Oh so that’s what this is about. I see nobody has fucked this tight, little pussy in a while and that’s why you’re snapping at people and undressing me with your eyes.” He said in a low, deep voice that had your pussy clenching around nothing.

A wave of arousal flooded your panties and you knew they were ruined a long time ago but now it felt like they had simply disintegrated.

He continued, “But don’t you worry, unfortunately I know what it feels like and I think I would very much like to help you with that.” He winked and if it wasn’t for the wall and him caging you in, your knees would have buckled and you would be a horny mess on the floor.

You noticed your breathing had become heavier and your lips had parted, your hands were balled in fists at your sides, your pussy throbbed in need and your whole body was shaking with lust and desire.

Jensen leaned down to look into your eyes and spoke softly, “Hey, if you don’t want this tell me right away.”

That seemed to snap you out of your sensory overload and you quickly nodded frantically.

“I want this. I want you to fuck me, Jensen.” You sputtered quickly before he could take his offer back.

The moment your consent reached his ears, the beautiful greens of his eyes were eclipsed by the black clouds of lust. He crashed his lips on yours in a bruising kiss that was all teeth and tongue. It was driven by pure lust and need and want and desire.

His hands were on you pushing and pulling and mapping out your entire body. Everything felt too much and not enough at the same time. When the need for air became too much you both parted, panting like you had just ran a marathon. He pushed his partly gloved hands underneath your jumper and pulled it off you leaving your upper body in the black tank top you were wearing.

His mouth moved towards your jaw, nipping and nibbling at the skin there while his hands squeezed your ass. His mouth went to your neck, to the spot behind your ear that drove you wild and sucked. And oh god did he suck hard. You were pretty sure you’d be sporting a big purple hickey but you couldn’t care less.

He kissed the valley of your breasts and suckled one of your clothed nipples as your back arched off the wall and you shamelessly let out a loud moan. He pushed your tank top up as he kneeled down, leaving open mouthed kisses all over your stomach.

He pushed your leggings and your panties down in one go and both of you were shocked. You, to see that your panties hadn’t disintegrated and him, to see how wet you were. He looked up at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes and before you could comprehend what it meant, he dove inside your pussy like a starving man.

He let out a groan when he tasted you, gripping your thighs so tight that you were sure there'd be bruises there. You tangled your hands in his hair, keeping him in place but also giving yourself something to hold on to.

All your wet dreams and imaginations didn’t do justice to how delicious the burn of his beard felt between your thighs. He fucked you with his tongue and then went on to suck at your clit like a child sucking an ice lolly after playing for hours in the summer heat.

To say that you were a panting, moaning, whimpering, writhing and blubbering mess would be an understatement. You were at the mercy of this man’s mouth and you thanked your lucky stars for it. One of his hands left your thigh and came to encircle your core. Desperate to come, you started grinding on his face.

He pushed two of his thick fingers in and groaned at how easily they fit cause you were practically dripping at this point. He fucked you on his fingers hard all the while nibbling and sucking your clit. He moved up your body till he was face to face with you all the while thrusting his fingers into you at a merciless pace.

He crashed his lips on yours and pushed his tongue inside your mouth. You moaned at tasting yourself on his tongue. He moved his talented mouth towards your ear and nibbled on the lobe.

“You’re close, aren’t you? I can feel you squeezing my fingers. Come on Y/n. Come for me.” He whispered in your ear.

Like he had a remote control to your body, you came. And you came so hard that you saw stars. Your vision went white, your body went slack and you felt like you were filled to the brim with pleasure.

When you came back to your senses, the first thing you felt was his cock, hard and heavy, lined with your core, your legs wrapped around his waist, his hands on your ass supporting your weight and crushing you between his body and the wall. He looked at you to see if there was any hint of discomfort but when he couldn’t find any, he kissed you while pushing his cock deep inside you.

You had to admit that he was bigger than any guy you’ve been with and the stretch was just oh so good. He kissed you, nibbling on your lower lip til you got used to his girth. You clawed at his shoulders and the now not so short hair at the nape of his neck.

“Fu-uck Jensen. Move please. F-fuck me.” You begged not caring how desperate you sounded.

Jensen let out an animalistic growl upon hearing your words and pulled all the way out, only leaving the tip in and slammed back into you in one thrust. You let out a cry when his cock hit your g-spot with fucking precision.

He kept up his deadly pace, pounding into you so hard you were sure you’d feel it for days, that had the coil in your lower belly wound tight in no time. He hid his face in the crook of your neck. Only the sounds of his heavy breathing and grunts ,which to be honest should be illegal, and your moans and panting could be heard around the large set.

“Look at you,” He grunted in your ear, “taking my cock so good. You’re so tight. Fuck.”

You couldn’t help but clench your pussy hearing those words pouring out of his mouth.

“I’m not gonna last long. Come for me one more time Y/n. Come on my cock. Squeeze it.” He grunted, pushing one of his hands between your bodies and rubbing rough circles on your clit.

You came with a scream of his name. Your orgasm was so fucking intense that you knew in that moment no one will ever be able to make you come so hard other than this man. He fucked you through your orgasm. A few hard thrusts later he stilled deep inside you and came with a grunt that you’d remember till the day you die. He spilled hot ropes of cum and you milked his cock for all its worth.

When you both came down from your highs, you untangled yourselves from each other and cleaned yourselves the best you could. You quickly and quietly got dressed, the air filling with awkwardness.

When you got dressed, you bent down to pick up your stuff which had fallen and turned to leave when suddenly Jensen caught your wrist and turned you around so that now he was caged between you and the wall. He kissed you and it was all sweet and soft this time while you wrapped your arms around his neck and leaned your body into his.

“Don’t you dare think this was a one time thing. You and me. Dinner at my place at 8. Sounds good?” He asked, sincerely and sweetly.

Your brows furrowed and you opened your mouth to reply but before you could the walkie in your hand came to life and a voice sounded from the other end, “Jensen Ackles is needed now at the wardrobe. Jensen Ackles is needed now at the wardrobe.”

“Looks like I have to go.” Jensen said and pecked your lips once.

He walked backwards and shouted, “My place at 8. Don’t forget.” He gave you a wink before finally going out of your sight.

You stood there confused as to what had just happened in the last hour of your life.

*****

#jensen x reader #jensen ackles x reader #jensen x you #jensen x y/n #jensen ackles x you #jensen ackles x y/n #supernatural #jensen ackles #supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfiction #dean winchester #jensen fic #jensen ackles fic #rpf #smut #spn rpf #supernatural fic #supernatural fanfic #spn fic

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mggpleasedontlookhere · 4 years ago

Text

no matter what it takes

summary: y/n is kidnapped, and for once reid can’t think of a solution

inspired by this request: Hiiiii! I absolutely love your writing it’s so amazing! I was wondering could there be a storyline where your all working a case (the reader is dating Spencer) and have a lead and you go to the suspect’s house and while there you get kidnapped when back at the BAU the team is trying to work out how to get you back and they get a ransom vid of you getting beaten (dark I know) so they all have to work faster and they find you but while you're taken can we see it from like Spencer’s POV and his thought process on your being gone. Anyways they find you and you’re like drugged majorly injured you wake up in hospital Spencer’s there and it’s fluffy at the end.I know that’s rough but I really love your writing and hope this is ok x

word count: 2,331 reading time aprox: 8 mins

a/n: to whoever requested it, i kinda didn’t follow your format or ending. i’m really sorry to disappoint you, but i was writing the plot one way, then suddenly it took a turn. i hope you still enjoy it!

masterlist

Spencer’s POV

My eyes scanned the words in front of me, Charles Dickens displayed in between my hands. I hoped my thoughts would wander more as I explored the novel, taking my mind off of the case I worked previously.

Out of the blue, two soft hands appeared on my knotted hair, massaging the scalp tenderly. “Are you settling okay, my love? How was the case?”

I exhaled deeply, setting the book down beside me as I guided my best girl to my lap. I cushioned her to my side, nuzzling my nose into her shoulder.

“That bad, huh?” Y/N sympathized, trailing her fingers at the cut of my chin. I nodded into her, taking in her calming scent. She smelled of fresh daisies in the summer and the first layer of snow in the winter.

I lifted my head from hers, bringing my arm around her shoulders to pull her closer to me. I sighed in relief as a wave of calm brushed over me. “We were too late...we couldn’t get to one of the last hostages before the unsub.” I shook my head, taking her hand in mine. I examined the daintiness of her fingers, chuckling softly as I placed kisses upon each of them.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she whispered, nuzzling into me as we enjoyed each other’s presence. “Did you catch the unsub?”

“No...he got away last minute,” I sighed, running my hand over my face. “This unsub likes to make things personal. He only killed the last victim to mess with us.”

Silence infiltrated the conversation before it dived into the dark details of the case. The combined sounds of our breathing created a tranquil environment, lulling us to sleep with every second passed.

“I promise you Y/N...”

The shade of grey that covered the walls of the BAU prevented agents’ minds from meandering from their tasks. This proved quite effective in intended circumstances, although the caveat was the consequence of a disconcerted mind.

The film cast over my eyes exacerbated the existing burn from staring into space for too long. Although the sensation was unmatched for the void that consumed me from the inside. My limp fingers twitched beside me in a rhythmic pace, reminding me that this was real. My feet felt heavy against the granite tiles of the office, barely able to hold up the rest of my stature. I felt my muscles sag underneath my weight as the feeling of emptiness flooded from my torso to the knuckles of my hands.

“You be careful, Y/N!” I teased, watching as my lover’s silhouette disappeared into the elevator.

“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone!”

I shook my head, amused at the incessant Marvel-themed references that had been thrown my way since our last movie night. “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

I hissed as I felt my nails dig into my palms. I hadn’t realized how hard I’d been clenching my fists until I looked down to see blood trailing around my nail bed. Shaking my head, I cleaned off the evidence against my slacks, watching it seep through the material.

“Guys?”

My head shot up to find Penelope typing away at her computer. Her brows were crossed with worry and her eyes would flicker frantically between her four monitors. The rest of the team seemed to follow me to her station, gazing with anticipation at what she discovered.

“What do you have Garcia?”

“I-um. I’m picking up a satellite feed somewhere in Danbury, Connecticut,” she spilled out, her fingers shaking over her keys. “Ther-there’s a livestream that just went active two minutes ago, an-and it’s...there’s-oh my god.” Penelope pushed herself away from her screens, tearing her eyes away as her face grew hot.

“Reid. Out.” Hotch demanded, not taking his eyes off the feed in front of him. JJ moved beside him, further blocking my view of the monitor. Her face contorted in shock and disgust, similar to the expression Garcia beheld moments ago.

“What...why?” I questioned, taking steps forward to investigate, but was ultimately stopped by Morgan. A coil wrapped around my insides, getting tighter with every breath that I took. The sides of my forehead began to warm up with a disorienting blaze, traveling down my eyelids. The fire followed down to the pit of my stomach, sending an uneasy chill down my spine.

“Kid…” he whispered, shaking his head in caution.

“What…” I breathed, feeling my cheeks swell up. Morgan couldn’t meet my eyes--none of them could. “God, it’s my girlfriend. I deserve to know where the hell she is,” I huffed, pushing past Morgan. Although the words were launched back into my esophagus, turning into bile that burned away at my pride.

A high-pitched ringing echoed and bounced around my head. My ears thumped with a resonating drum, overwhelming my senses. Every sharp intake of air felt like ice shooting up my nostrils, and every exhale felt like fire to my lungs.

Y/N was hunched over in a chair with braces around her wrists and ankles. Her beautiful hair was matted with dirt and blood, sticking to the sides of her face. Her skin was painted with a mixture of sweat and grime, hiding the usual radiant glow of her skin. Fortunately, the blurry pixels of the video saved me from witnessing the large gashes that ran along her flesh.

A man stood next to her with a Cheshire grin, his pervasive eyes scanning every inch of his work before breaking the fourth wall. He stared at the camera with a joyful gleam, tilting his head as he inspected the lenses.

“Spencer.” I imagined her call out. A phantom chant met my ears, remembering the softness in her voice and the soothing gravity she carried within her words.

“Spencer, stop it!” Y/N giggled, burying herself deeper into our duvet.

“Why baby?” I murmured into the crease of her neck. “We should just stay like this all day. Maybe if we stay long enough we can morph into a chrysalis.”

“Spencer,” she giggled. “Spence…”

“Spence?” JJ empathized, searching my eyes. She placed a hand on the outside of my arm, lingering there for a comforting moment. Although when she realized her attempts were futile, she retracted her arm with a tight frown on her lips. “I know that-”

“The feed is displaying audio now,” Garcia announced with a wavering tone. I slid past JJ, standing my ground next to Hotch as we listened to the livestream. Whimpers echoed throughout the concrete compound she was trapped in. Her body flinched as the man inched closer to her with an object out of view from the camera. The fear in her eyes left a sharp pang in my chest as a burning resentment ignited my bloodstream.

“Stop…” she whispered, pulling away from the man. “Stop...please,” she sobbed. Her face was contorted in anticipation, glancing down at the item creeping towards her. It was only then a glint of a metal object bounced off of the camera, a foreign substance leaking from its tip.

“Stop! Please!” Y/N’s voice amplified in volume as the inevitable came. “NO!” she screamed, thrashing in her seat as the needle penetrated the soft layer of her skin. “SPENCER! HELP!” she cried out, desperation seeping through her weeps.

A suffocating poison ran its course throughout my body, entrapping me in the limited reality of my abilities. I felt my inner conscious thrash against the walls of my mind, begging for an answer, a solution. I tore my eyes away from the screen, my hand unconsciously clawing at the base of my neck. Staggered breaths blocked my airway, and the room shrank under my feet.

I needed to get out.

I let my feet sweep me away from the office, as far as it takes. My back hit the cold wall of the eerie hallway, feeling the chill penetrate through my blazer. I closed my eyes as I banged on my forehead, hoping that the gears would start working, but nothing seemed to bring me assurance.

Nothing could assure that she’ll be okay. I failed her. I failed to assure her that I was going to keep her safe. I failed at keeping her safe. I failed her.

My heart was pulled against my spine, attached tethers tearing it apart in opposite directions. Contractions of adrenaline seeped into my nervous system as her anguished screams left the room silent behind me. It was like gravity had ceased to exist, leaving me floating in a mind-numbing state of desolation.

I failed her.

“I’m always going to love you,” I reassured, tucking in a hair behind her ear as she swung her legs back and forth atop of the counter.

“Really Spence?” she giggled, bringing the spoonful of 3:00 am ice cream out of her mouth, dangling the utensil from the bottom of her plump lips. “Prove it?”

“Darling, isn’t there a tub of ice cream--that I bought--in your hands?” I teased, tapping at my watch. “And last time I checked it’s the middle of the night.”

“Whatever,” she giggled, nudging at my shoulder. My hands traveled to the sides of her hips, pulling myself closer as I inspected the beautiful glow of the moonlight reflecting off of her visage. “I thought you were going to say something cute.”

“That wasn’t cute?”

“Not even close, Spencer Reid,” she mumbled, tapping on the end of my nose before taking my face into the softness in her hands. She playfully scoffed as we inspected each other’s eyes for what seemed like hours. My arms found their way around her waist, melting into her, as I lessened the gap between us.

“What is it?” I whispered, my eyes flickering from her eyes to the pigment on her lips. Closing in proximity, I nudged her into me. But before our lips could meet, a chuckle filled the air and a hand was placed above my chest.

“I...am out of ice cream.” With that, she scurried away to the fridge with a bounce in her step. I shook my head in amusement, whispering to myself.

“That girl’s damn lucky that I love her.”

Frenzied feet inside the office took me out of my daze, but it was the sound of soft steps approaching me that made my shoulders stiffen in anticipation. I collected my composure the best as I can, maintaining a brave face for whoever would walk into the doorframe.

I didn’t even bother to look up to see who it was. The figure’s footsteps halted beside the door frame, leather shoes in my peripheral. Without a moment of quiet, the figure stooped down with its back pressed lightly against the wall. Although despite the thick tension, the figure remained silent.

“You know I don’t always need company…” I murmured defensively.

“I know kid...I know,” Morgan huffed, bringing his hands to his head. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have any.” He knocked his knee into mine, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “She’s going to be okay Spencer.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know that she’s strong,” Morgan countered. “You just gotta believe in tha-”

“Don’t- Don’t give me hope like I’m one of the victims we interview. I’m- I’m not a victim.” I nudged his large hand off of me, feeling confined in the big desolate hallway.

“I wasn’t saying you were-”

“But you implied it!” I combed through my hair, my lungs still sore from staggered breaths. “I’m...I’m sorry,” I sighed.

“I said I’m sorry!” I yelled, feeling my throat dry up from the venom dripping from my words.

“This is the third time, Spence. The THIRD time you came home late,” Y/N seethed.

“Who are you? My mother?”

“All I want is to know that you’re safe, Spencer! God! I wait here all day for you, knowing that you’re out there on the field, and something could happen. How does that make me feel?”

“This is ridiculous,” I shook my head, dismissing her ignorance. I headed towards my jacket that I strung up on the coat hanger a few minutes ago, not bothering to take my keys with me.

“Where...where are you going?” Y/N whispered.

I made the mistake of looking back and seeing the hurt present on her face. The apples of her cheeks were stained with tears, and her eyes were glistening with fresh ones. Her lips were parted ever so slightly, still looking plump and soft even in her distressed state.

“To work,” I monotonously replied, turning away from her. I shuffled out of the apartment with anger dominating every part of me, blinding me to the point where I guess I forgot to lock the door.

“I did this.”

Morgan’s head shot up at the utterance of my words. “What do you mean, kid?”

“I left her by herself...alone,” I scoffed. “We were fighting, and I just left her there. God, I didn’t even lock the door.” I rammed the back of my head against the plaster wall, squeezing my eyes tightly. “How can I be so stupid? Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

“Hey, stop that!” Morgan intervened, pulling my shoulders off of the wall. “You didn’t know that this was going to happen…”

“Yes, but I should’ve known, Morgan! Don’t you get it!”

“Spenc-”

“I had one job…” I sighed, the inner walls of my chest collapsing into themselves. “God I...I should’ve known.”

My head fell back into the curves of my palms, my tears shamelessly peeking out of the corners of my eyes. My chest heaved reluctantly, as my heart lurched forward. Heat crawled up my cheeks, combining with the coldness of the tears running down my face.

Morgan’s supporting hand felt like a phantom’s upon the skin of my back, knowing that nothing compared to the innocent touch of my Y/N.

“What is it, Spence?”

“I promise you that....that I’m always going to keep you safe, no matter what it takes.”

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comrade-meow · 3 years ago

Link

Why a hand gesture has South Korean companies on edge 👌

It took three years for players to notice the "offensive" hand gesture lurking in one of South Korea's most popular multiplayer games.

When players made their avatars laugh, talk or give the "OK" sign in "Lost Ark," they clicked an icon featuring a gesture that might have appeared benign to many: an index finger nearly touching a thumb.

But some of "Lost Ark's" users began claiming in August that the gesture was a sexist insult against men, and they demanded its removal.

What happened next underscores a trend in South Korea among anti-feminists, who have been increasingly pushing companies to repent for what they see as a conspiracy within the government and private companies to promote a feminist agenda.

Smilegate — the creator of "Lost Ark" and one of South Korea's biggest video game developers — quickly complied with the requests for removal. The company removed the icon from the game, and vowed to be more vigilant about policing "game-unrelated controversies" in their products.

A gender war has been unfolding in South Korea for years, pitting feminists against angry young men who feel they're being left behind as the country seeks to address gender inequality.

Now, though, the latest development in this war is reaching a fever pitch. Since May, more than 20 brands and government organizations have removed what some see as feminist symbols from their products, after mounting pressure. At least 12 of those brands or organizations have issued an apology to placate male customers.

Anti-feminism has a years-long history in South Korea, and research suggests that such sentiments are taking hold among the country's young men. In May, the Korean marketing and research firm Hankook Research said it found that more than 77% of men in their twenties and more than 73% of men in their 30s were "repulsed by feminists or feminism," according to a survey. (The firm surveyed 3,000 adults, half of whom were men.)

The fact that corporations are responding to pressure to modify their products suggests that these anti-feminists are gaining influence in a country that is already struggling with gender issues. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says that South Korea has by far the largest gender wage gap among OECD countries. And roughly 5% of board members at publicly listed companies in the country are women compared to the OECD average of nearly 27%.

A suspicious sausage

The online firestorm that has spread across South Korea's corporate landscape kicked off in May with a simple camping advertisement.

GS25, one of the country's biggest convenience store chains, released an ad that month enticing customers to order camping food on their app, promising free items as a reward. The ad showed an index finger and a thumb appearing to pinch a sausage. The finger-pinching motif is frequently used in advertising as a way to hold an item without obscuring the product.

Critics, though, saw something different in that hand signal. They accused it of being a code for feminist sympathies, tracing the use of the finger-pinching motif to 2015, when the symbol was co-opted by Megalia, a now-defunct feminist online community, to ridicule the size of Korean men's genitals.

Megalia has since shut down, but its logo has outlived the group. Now anti-feminists are trying to purge South Korea of its existence.

Source: Megalia, @starbucksrtd/Instagram, @gs25_official/Instagram

GS25 removed the hand symbol from the poster. But critics still weren't satisfied, and began trawling the advertisement for other feminist clues. One person pointed out that the last letter of each word featured on the poster — "Emotional Camping Must-have Item" — spelled "Megal," a shorthand for "Megalia," when read backward.

GS25 removed the text from the poster, but that still wasn't enough. People theorized that even the moon in the background of the poster was a feminist symbol, because a moon is used as the logo of a feminist scholar organization in South Korea.

After revising the poster multiple times, GS eventually pulled it entirely, just a day after the campaign launched. The company apologized and promised a better editorial process. It also said it reprimanded the staff responsible for the ad, and removed the marketing team leader.

The online mob had tasted success, and it wanted more.

Other companies and government organizations soon became targets. The online fashion retailer Musinsa was criticized for offering women-only discounts, as well as using the finger-pinching motif in an ad for a credit card. The company defended the use of that motif as a neutral element regularly used in advertising, and said its discount program was meant to help expand its small female customer base. Still, founder and CEO Cho Man-ho stepped down after the backlash.

South Korean demonstrators hold banners during a rally to mark International Women's Day as part of the country's #MeToo movement in Seoul on March 8, 2018. Dongsuh, the Korean company that licenses a Starbucks ready-to-drink line in the country, was attacked in July after one of its Korean Instagram accounts published an image of fingers pinching a can of coffee. The company pulled the ad and apologized, saying that it "considers these matters seriously." The firm also said the image had no hidden intent.

Even local governments have been caught up in the pressure campaign. The Pyeongtaek city government was criticized in August after uploading an image to its Instagram account that warned residents of a heatwave. It used an illustration of a farmer wiping his forehead — and critics noticed that the farmer's hand was shaped similarly to the finger pinch.

"How deeply did [feminists] infiltrate?" one person wrote on MLB Park, an internet forum used primarily by men. Another person shared contact information for the city government, encouraging people to flood their channels with complaints. The image was later removed from the Instagram account.

Gender wars

At the core of the anti-feminist campaign is a widespread fear among young men that they are falling behind their female peers, according to Professor Park Ju-yeon, professor of sociology at Yonsei University.

The sentiment has grown because of a hyper competitive job market and skyrocketing housing prices. The government has also rolled out programs in recent years to bring more women into the workforce. Proponents of those programs have said they're necessary for closing gender gaps, but some men have worried they give women an unfair advantage.

Another compounding factor: Unlike women, men in South Korea have to complete up to 21 months of military service before they're 28 years old — a sore point for some men who feel unfairly burdened.

Anti-feminists have also taken umbrage with President Moon Jae-in, who, when elected in 2017, promised to be a "feminist president." Moon pledged to fix the systemic and cultural barriers that prevented women from participating more in the workforce. He also vowed to address sexual crimes in the wake of the global #MeToo movement.

This year's corporate pressure campaign adds another complication, as brands weigh the possible fallout.

Young men are "big spenders," said Professor Choi Jae-seob, a marketing professor at Namseoul University in Seoul. He added that many young people today are driven by personal political values when they buy things.

Ha, a 23-year-old university student, said he pays attention to what companies say about gender issues before making a purchase.

"Between two stores, I would use the one that doesn't support [feminism]," said Ha, who declined to give his full name because he said that gender is a thorny topic among his peers.

Ha said he's far from alone. When his friends were discussing the GS25 camping poster, for example, he was surprised to find that many of them felt the way he did: "I realized that many men were silently seething."

"I realized that many men were silently seething."Ha, a 23-year-old university student

The gender war leaves companies in a tough spot, according to Noh Yeong-woo, a consultant at the public relations agency PR One.

By not responding to allegations that they are taking a stance on gender issues, that could lead to what Noh called a "constant barrage of accusation" and the creation of a stigma. It also means that companies are actively monitoring online groups and studying what their users have designated as hidden codes or associations, to avoid being called out.

"They are continuously checking for the next problematic symbols," Noh said of brands in South Korea.

Stigmas and fighting back

Some women, though, say that the corporate apologies are also creating a climate where some people are afraid to identify as feminist.

"It's the new Red Scare. Like McCarthyism," said Yonsei University's Park, referring to the mass hysteria to root out communists in the United States in the 1950s.

Lee Ye-rin, a college student, said she has been a feminist since middle school. But in recent years she has found it impossible to be open about her stance.

"It's the new Red Scare. Like McCarthyism."Professor Park Ju-yeon, professor of sociology at Yonsei University

She recalled an incident in high school, when some boys openly heckled a feminist friend of hers while that friend was giving a class presentation on the depiction of women in the media. Lee and her classmates were too scared to defend the friend.

"We all knew that a person who would step up and say that feminism is not some weird thing would be stigmatized, too," Lee said.

In response to this year's anti-feminist pressure campaigns, though, some feminists have been fighting back. The apology over the camping poster from GS25, for example, prompted feminists to call for boycotts against the company. Some people shared images online of themselves shopping at rival stores, using hashtags that called on people to avoid shopping at GS25.

Balancing act

As there doesn't seem to be much hope of finding middle ground for those waging South Korea's gender war, experts say companies have to figure out ways to avoid being dragged into a brand-damaging fight.

Noh, from PR One, encouraged companies and organizations to educate their employees on gender sensitivity — and even reconsider the use of symbols that have become heavily politicized.

Finger-pinching motifs "are images with complex metaphors and symbols and they already carry a social stigma," he said. "So, once you get involved in it, it's hard to explain them away ... the issue keeps spreading until they are removed as demanded."

Park, the Yonsei University professor, said that part of the problem is that many South Korean companies are led by older men who don't have a firm grasp of present-day gender issues. The average age of an executive-level employee at the country's top 30 publicly traded companies is 53, according to a 2020 analysis by JobKorea, a Korean version of LinkedIn.

That suggests a level of irony. Maybe it's not that some of these companies have a specific agenda, as online critics are accusing them. Perhaps for some of them, high levels of leadership are just not in tune with the debate.

To Park, the vitriol directed at companies has also buried some of the underlying, systemic issues that contribute to gender inequality, along with debates about how best to crack the glass ceiling or address the division of labor at home, among other concerns.

"Some very important debates are being buried," Park said, adding that today's gender war is being fought on the tip of the "iceberg." "It's not a fight about the fingers."

#Anglo.txt #lmao it's this again #👌

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rintarhoes · 4 years ago

Text

“KISS ME SLOWLY” — suna rintarou ;

𝖙𝖆𝖌𝖘: female reader. fluff—established relationship. angst if you squint. comfort. mention of drug use. like, one swear word.

𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 2k

𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: suna rintarō is so much more than his bored eyes, the blunt between his lips, and his tendency to slack off and you’re one of the very few people who know this.

♡: repost (: this was written way before it was announced that suna was a part of the japan olympic players so.

It’s you who find out first that there is truly so much more to Suna Rintarō than his expressionless exterior, sleepy eyes, and bored gaze towards even the most ridiculous situations. It’s when his self assured stance dwindled as he walked towards you once upon a time, introducing himself first before asking you for your number.

“My number?” You echoed his request, trying your best not to gawk at his attractive features and six foot two stature towering over you so easily; making you feel oh so small. (Which is funny, given that you were already standing straight on your heels.)

“If you don’t mind, ’s cool if you say no,” he replies, tearing his gaze from you as if he was actually anxious you’d say no.

It’s funny, really. It’s not every day a famous pro-athlete known for both his good looks and skills walk up to you, asking for your number and actually considering you’d say no to him and his pretty features—in fact, nevermind that he was pretty, it was more the fact that he wasn’t so full of himself to actually think you wouldn’t say no.

That’s what makes you nod your head; your heart already beating right out of your chest as he gives you a lazy grin and his phone to press your number in. When you’re done, you hand it back to him and you mentally pat yourself at the back for not visibly trembling.

“Y/N?” He reads your name from the contact information, and good God, did your name sound so beautiful coming out of his mouth. He doesn’t wait for your reply anymore, looking back at you from his phone, the lazy smile still across his lips as if he knew it was a heart killer.

“Thanks, I’ll text you later,” is the last thing he said before he walked away from you.

It didn’t take long for you to fall in love with someone like Suna Rintarō—underneath his detached personality also lied someone who was truly passionate with the things he set his mind to, gave his time to. Like you or volleyball or the video game he’s been waiting to release for a whole month—it only had to be something or someone who was special enough, then, he would give it his all.

“Should you even be smoking that, Rintarō?” You had questioned him before, about the second time you’ve seen him put the rolled blunt in between his soft lips, inhaling it.

“It’s a once in a while kinda thing, you don’t actually think I’d sacrifice my career for this don'tcha?” He grins at you, amusement flooding his usually bored eyes—now glazed over with the effects of the weed—from the way he gazes at you with an eyebrow raised.

It’s when you realize that Suna Rintarō was independent and knew what he was doing—did what he did with full awareness, full control, full flexibility. It’s as if who he was in court was who he was in person as well.

“You’re really interesting, y'know that Rin?” You had mumbled against his chest once before, it was at the first few months of dating—he had one of his arms around you with you cuddled on his side, watching a movie from his couch.

“Yeah?”

“I mean—you’ve always been so good at what you do, huh? But you still work for it.”

“What makes you say that?” You can feel him looking down on face against his chest.

“C'mon, don’t be silly. You were scouted at middle school and you only got better as you grew up!” You say, finally moving your head to meet his gaze.

But all you get is a flick on your forehead and his low chuckle, “’s not that deep, y/n,” he answers.

But you already knew better.

Suna isn’t one for words, and no matter how much you insist that he was beyond the description of words, he only rolls his narrowed eyes at you. You find out Suna Rintarō, your boyfriend, was a huge inspiration during your sixth month together when you finally met his little sister.

It’s hard to say it wasn’t amusing how snarky she was, just as he was to his friends whom you’ve met a few times before—Atsumu and Osamu Miya, you remember. She’s quick with her tongue, easily retorting back to her brother’s comments.

“Are you sure you didn’t just pay Y/N-san to be your girlfriend, nii-san?”

“Nah, you still jealous I came out prettier than you?” Suna bites back, a teasing grin plastered across his face. His sister only scoffs, looking back at you.

“You can tell me if he blackmailed you to come here!” She attempts to whisper. You’re not sure whether you should be worried or continue to laugh, but you do neither as you choke on the drink you were sipping on right as she told you this.

“Shit, Y/N,” Suna curses as you cough, your throat burning at the drink’s intrusion, but Suna’s quick to rub soothingly against your back as he offers you his water, his eyes glazed over in panic.

“You okay?” He asks when you stopped coughing, and you nod in response—throat remaining slightly sore. Suna lets out an aggravated groan, “Be careful next time,” he manages to scold you, but oddly enough, his words remain saccharine.

There’s something about the way that his little sister doesn’t seem the least bit surprised with his reaction that somehow lets you know that perhaps, Suna Rintarō might just be quite the caring brother behind closed doors.

After that, it was when Suna excused himself to take a call from his manager, leaving you with his sister.

“Hey, nee-san, promise you’ll take care of Rin-nii? You won’t break his heart, will you?” His sister asks, eyes gleaming with something akin to hope, expectation, wonder. It easily takes you by surprise.

“Don’t you worry, I’ll promise I’ll take care of him, promise I won’t break his heart,” your voice easily softens, nodding. His little sister’s gaze remains on you, as if she’s assessing you and as if she would easily tell whether or not you meant the words that came out of your mouth.

It makes you hold a breath until she nods slowly, smiling at you lightly just as Suna comes walking back, eyebrows raised, knowing he must’ve missed something.

“Whatcha girls talkin’ bout?” He asked as he slipped back on his seat beside you.

“None of your business, obviously,” his sister quickly answers.

They’re truly quite similar, it’s enough to make you smile and get through meeting his little sister until both of you dropped her off back to the train station.

“What’d she tell you?” Suna nudged you after seeing her train leave.

“Nothing, Rin,” you answered with a wide smile, leaning up to place a chaste kiss against his lips—yet just as you pull away, one of his hands has found its way behind your neck, pulling you back to him.

You never thought a kiss could feel so loving before—but it really seemed as if Suna Rintarō had a knack for proving you wrong, over and over again.

It was the day that the Olympic team was announced when you see so much more of Suna Rintarō. Quick like the blink of an eye, or lightning that leaves the thunder chasing it; Suna felt the exhaustion, the pressure, the burnt-out feeling that’s been repressed in the back of his head. It comes to him, crashing down like boulders not just on his shoulders but weighing down every part of his body.

What was he supposed to tell you? After all the time it has stolen away from you—that he didn’t make it?

When he opened the door to your shared apartment, he doesn’t look up at you with a relieved sigh as he usually would—he avoids you gaze entirely, he avoids your observing eyes from the couch you sat on, watching him slowly shrug his shoes off.

“I’m just gonn—” he started, about to make an excuse to avoid looking at you.

“Prepared your bath, Rin. C'mon,” Suna hears you say but it doesn’t sink in his head, watching you take his hand, leading him to the bathroom.

Suna remains silent as he looks down on the bath you prepared for him, warm and inviting.

“Meet me in the kitchen when you’re done, okay?” He hears you say, followed by the echo of your footsteps walking away.

“’m sorry, bunny,” he mumbles.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Ri—”

“It’s odd, thought I’d pull it off, thought it’d be nothin’ if I didn’t make it. Don’t know why I’m so upset right now,” he continues, cutting you off, “Been so patient for me too, bunny. Thought I’d be nice to make you proud, ya know?”

Your sigh comes out sharp from the heavy feeling from your chest, not knowing what to do to make him feel better—like he did with you, always knowing his way around your low moments.

You wriggle out of his arms, making him grumble until you fully face him. He looks back at you with a small frown, eyebrows furrowed, watching your expression.

“I’m always proud of you, Rin. Olympic player or not, you make me so proud,” you speak softly, your hands cupping each side of his face.

“Don’t even get why it matters to me this much, it’s just—” it was your turn to cut him off, tipping your toes to press a lingering kiss against his lips. Suna smiles against your lips, carrying you to sit on the kitchen counter like he always did—knowing you always would have to tip on your toes to reach him.

Soon, the lingering kiss turns slow and passionate—lips softly grazing the other, and it feels more like pouring the heavy weight of love out of your chest and into the other. A kiss so loving, so reassuring, so passionate—the kind that easily takes your breath away and makes your mind go blank. When Suna pulls away, he rests his forehead against yours, breathing heavily. You smile at him because it’s all you can do when your heart feels like it’s going to leap out of your throat just to offer itself to him entirely—and Suna smiles back at you, pecking your lips before wrapping his arms around you again, resting his chin on your shoulder.

You run your fingers through his hair, hoping it would help soothe him, and then you say, “I promise that you’ll make it next year, Rin. I’ll be with you now, and I’ll still be with you then.”

It only makes him hold you tighter, closer to him, “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, Rintarō. You deserve the world and all the stars in the galaxy.”

“’s too bad there’s nothin’ more I need than you, then.”

That’s what Suna tells you—Suna, who was smoke in his lungs, dumb videos of the twins to blackmail them with, little mistakes, bored eyes, and lazy attitude. The same Suna who was slow kisses, passion, and genuine smiles reserved for you—the same Suna who gave his passions his all, the same Suna who held you securely in his arms every night, the same Suna his little sister admired. Most of all, the same Suna Rintarō you loved with every beat of your heart, every fibre of your being.

📞 violet is calling… all content featured belongs to ©️ animatedrapture. do not plagiarize, repost, or modify.

#suna x reader #suna rintarou #inarizaki #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu angst #haikyuu fluff #suna rintaro x reader #suna fluff #suna angst

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kpopisthereasonihavenolife · 3 years ago

Text

Years END | i

k.namjoon / f.reader

genre: dystopian au, enhanced species au, sci-fi (ish), a dash of magical themes, lunar!child!y/n (it’ll make sense- kinda)

warning(s)!!: toxic family relations/alcoholism/drunk anger(the aunt sucks lol), underground earthquakes, mentions of death, government is sus (duh), jimin is literally a kid, namjoon and his aunt fight a few times, jimin cries (big sad)

w.count: 15.3k (semi-edited / or i kept getting distracted so it’s not perfect lol)

Series | One-shot | Two-Shot | Drabble |

synopsis: in the year 2042, humanity had fled the surface of the earth, taking to underground bunkers due to a global devastational event 22 years ago. a giant tree erupted from inside the moon and sent asteroids and thick, astral branches reaching impossibly from the moon to the earth, anchoring the two celestial bodies together. throwing the world into a chaotic mess of panic, the surface was deemed unlivable and only a select group of international government officials were allowed surface access until a law was passed that visitation above ground was allowed with set laws to abide. namjoon, a young man who lived on the surface when the world ‘ended’, had taken his younger brother who was born and raised underground to see the surface he had only read about in history books. only, when they get there, they meet someone who claimed to live on the surface; and without safety gear no less. was the surface really as dangerous as they were lead to believe?

-22 YEARS PRIOR: 2020-

“Sir! It’s the moon! Something’s happening to the moon!” A man, dressed in a lab coat ran over to a middle-aged man with the thickest specs known to mankind with stress already etched into his forehead. Placing a small tablet on his desk in front of his superior was in a mode of panic.

“What the?” The older man spoke with a high pitch of confusion. A scanner was in front of him with readings of the moon completely off the charts and absolutely abnormal. They were sporadic, chaotic and terrifying. His shot out of his chair, him and his subordinate running to an observation room where they would watch live video footage of the room from a satellite they sent out years ago.

Rushing into the room, they were met with a panicked staff. Rows of computers were where a staff of 10 analysis’s sat, drumming away at their computers and pulling up charts and readings one after another. The screen on the main wall, large and showing different angles of the moon. Something was definitely wrong.

The older man ran to a woman trying to sort through papers and information while bouncing back and forth to her computer.

“What’s happening?!” She turned her confused, shocked face to the man.

“We’re not sure, Sir!” Then, all was still when someone called for them all to look at the TV screen. The moon began to split open.

Crevices deepened, craters opened, rock shook and shifted and soon something was springing from the rock itself. From inside the moon, burst roots. Roots upon roots, looking to be as thick as house and bending and moving at unbelievable ways. Pulling and forcing their way through the surface of the moon, rock and surface were shattered and sent propelling towards the earth like meteors.

Alarms throughout the facility began to blare with sudden, dangerous meteor impact imminent. The room flooded back into a panic as people ran back and forth. Yelling and trying to wrap their head around anything they could so they could at least begin to offer some explanation or even start some hypothesis on what the hell was going on.

The moon was breaking apart right in front of a young man’s eyes. He just stood among the chaos, not moving and staring with wide eyes.

Watching as the moon was soon encircled with roots, somehow green as it held the moon in a cage. All while a single, indescribable tree sat at the very top of the space rock.

That tree- the Moon Tree- was the beginning of a very long END.

-Present Time: 2042-

“Earth’s Near Doom. END as the government dubbed it. 22 years ago a strange phenomenon occurred on the surface of the moon causing roots to suddenly begin to grow and encircle the moon’s surface and soon a forest stemmed from the center. The Luna Lingo- most commonly called The Moon Tree- is the center of the forest of the moon.” Namjoon read to himself as he shut himself in his bunker nearly hours ago, hiding from his aunt who was more insufferable than the air outside.

The destruction of the moon 18 years ago was massive worldwide devastation. Over half the population worldwide perished as the tides changed and became violent and demanding. Storms sprung and ripped nations apart and to add on to the abnormality, the roots of the moon began to inch towards the Earth.

Plunging straight through the atmosphere as fiery vines like vicious snakes, they soon latched themselves into the Asian continents. These roots were called Connectors. Anywhere a Connector was located was almost immediately sectioned off from the rest of the world like a new Area 51 as the governments of the world kept it a completely off-limits area. There were a total of 13 Connectors on the Earth’s surface from the moon.

When the Earth was nearly wiped clean, people willing to do anything they could to save themselves or their families, created bunkers. Underground tunnels and rooms were a child’s biggest imagination when it came to communicating with friends who play superheroes or never wanted to call an end to their play. Never did the children of that generation ever think it would happen when they were all moved permanently below the ground. Bunkers were unstable at first, flimsy and unsafe in regards to anything else in their hasty preparation.

When Namjoon was taken down, he was 6 years old. He grew up with the fear of earthquakes threatening to cave in his new home. He was fearful of panic spreading underground like up above. Anxious that the poor nature of everyone would soon be replaced with the law of ‘survival of the fittest’. He was just a small little boy, but he was intelligent.

Now, bunkers were highly reinforced and easily navigable. Living wasn’t the easiest, but it certainly was a long shot from the struggle of his childhood. He could walk where he wanted and new tunnels and areas were dug and being built every day. Namjoon’s parents were even able to have another child before they died. Giving Namjoon a little brother 10 years ago before they left.

The underground life was almost beautiful- if you use the term loosely. There were wide open spaces for markets, greenhouses, stores, hospitals, and of course homes. The tunnels that lead to each building into a different location were just as you would think. Circular tunnels that were drilled and reinforced with iron walls. In the typical sentimentality of human nature, these tunnels were dubbed Streets or Avenues.

Really, the only difference between life above ground compared to the life below was the lack of sunlight and the impact of weather.

It wasn’t wrong to travel above ground, though most were afraid to even try to venture up again. Too afraid of the sudden turn of events that could possibly harm them, or even kill them. Too afraid that something in the air could get them or their loved ones sick. Scared of the idea of someone contracting some belief that the surface was livable again when most knew they would live and die underground.

Namjoon sat in his small private bunker in his ‘house’ as the long, fluorescent light above head hummed. If he were on the surface and outside, there would be moths bouncing around the light without question. His bed that came out of the wall was big enough to fit him and his younger brother- if he had one of his nightmares.

The room itself wasn’t particularly large. A small bookshelf that stopped at Namjoon’s waist with all sorts of books about the surface and a binder filled with newspaper articles and magazine clippings about the moon that he still added to. Hanging on the wall was his gas mask that is mandatory to where if you ever plan on going above ground. Masks are given out at age 4 and Namjoon now stands at 26 years old. He’s gone through at least 4 masks since his first.

With the masks being mandatory for health related reasons, the unofficial- yet also very much official- bunker government system replaced and gave them to the people for no charge.

A desk that is forged directly from the wall and a small wooden- rather uncomfortable- chair pushed under it. The only way he could comfortably sit in that chair is if he placed a pillow on it first.

Namjoon had a computer on his desk with notebooks and pencils and pens with book markers and paper clips shoved in the only drawer the desk had directly under the desktop. He also had an old style phone mounted to his wall, the white cord of it spiraled and stretchable for distance. It’s only real purpose is when his aunt needed something and wanted to page him without getting up.

Consider it an Aunt Alarm.

Namjoon’s parents died 3 years ago due to a tunnel collapse. Namjoon took on the role of caring for his younger brother- Jimin- who was only 7 at the time. He and Jimin were the closet set of siblings most have seen. Not often seen fighting and Namjoon is easy to bend to Jimin's childish requests; if they are manageable. Jimin attends school but prefers all the knowledge Namjoon has taught him. Jimin was 10 now and well beyond his knowledge in some aspects. Though, he still has a hard time with multiples of 12s; he is only still a 5th grader.

The two boys were forced into the hands of their Aunt Marie. She's originally from England, a foreigner who moved to Korea a long time ago and married Namjoon’s mother’s older brother; or his Uncle. She was an ill-mannered woman to be sure, and her distaste for Namjoon and Jimin was more than apparent. When she became a widow and their Uncle died due to medical reasons, she basically only fed them and made sure Jimin attended school as he should. She put a roof over their head (metaphorically speaking in a bunker-world), but really that was all the ‘parenting’ she did.

She was a bully, or so says Jimin. Which is why when Jimin came home from school, he’d practically quarantined himself in Namjoon’s room to do his homework. Namjoon never minded though, he wanted Jimin to grow up knowledgeable. So, if he ever had something stump him, Namjoon would always try and find the best way to explain it to him.

If he could, Namjoon would take Jimin and go back to the surface. He’s heard stories of how the surface has changed. How since the human’s fled underground, the world above is no longer as beautiful. However, Namjoon would think otherwise.

Rumors that nature has swallowed and taken over seemed like a glory in itself. With spreading forests and wildlife, who knows maybe even new species of life were right under their noses now- or rather above their heads.

Namjoon was stuck in his thoughts about what may or may not be on the surface he just barely remembers as a child when he was brought out of them by the sound of someone punching in the passcode to his bunker room. He installed a lock mechanism months back to try and keep some privacy from his aunt. He did the same with Jimin’s own bunker-room, but mainly for his own safety rather than his privacy as a child right now.

He smiled as he set the book he held in his lap aside, bookmarking the page for later. Only one person actually knew his passcode. He watched as the keypad that sat on his side of the door turned from blue to green.

The door hissed as it slid open to the left.

“Namjoon!” Chirped Jimin as he ran into Namjoon’s room. His bookbag from school resting on his back, looped around his shoulders as the bunker door slid closed and locked once again. The green light on the keypad returns back to blue.

“Hey there, Chim.” A nickname Namjoon picked up from his mother before she died. She would always call Jimin her chirping bird, and for some reason, Chim was born from that. So, when she died with their father, Namjoon took the role of calling him that.

Jimin jumped onto Namjoon’s bed at his side. He shook his bag off as he pulled it around to his front, setting it onto his crossed legs and unzipped it. He pulled out a book from the inside and handed it to his older brother.

“Enchanted Creatures,” Namjoon read. Jimin has always been a dreamer. He never got to see the outside- so all he had were books and what Namjoon told him. He wasn’t fond of the reality of things, hated the darkness people put on the world. So, as a child would, he receded inwards. Namjoon didn’t see a problem with his dreaming ways, so he persuaded and even encouraged the freedom of his innocent mind. However, he never let it get out of hand and always kept Jimin grounded.

“Did you know there are a lot of spirits in the forest,” Jimin sang. He gently pulled the book from Namjoon’s hands and set it onto the bed’s mattress. He opened it, flipping carefully page after page before he stopped at a two-page picture of a forest with all sorts of creatures of myth on it. He pointed to a small girl with two wings. “This is a fairy that can communicate with trees! I bet they can even talk to the Moon Tree.”

Namjoon smiled as he ruffled his younger brother’s messy, blonde hair. He still remembers sneaking Jimin out of the house on his 10th birthday to go and get it bleached from his natural dark hair- like Namjoon’s- and dyed. Even if Jimin was supposed to be grounded that night, it was his birthday. A parent or guardian shouldn’t be allowed to ground a 10-year-old on his birthday.

“I bet they can too, Chim. I bet they can.” Jimin smiled as he continued to rant and rave off with smiles and giggles about all the mythical scenarios that could happen one day. It was a short-lived session of make-believe before Namjoon was reminding Jimin to get his homework done.

With a pout from Jimin about not wanting to do his multiplication tables again, Namjoon was able to turn that pout into a gaping mouth of excited noises when he offered a game of Go-Fish later. Jimin was the standing king and overall champion of Go-Fish. No one knows how he does it- or rather he doesn’t know how cute he is that most people can’t stand to see him lose.

The night progressed the way it always did. With it ending as Namjoon tucked Jimin into his bed in his room and soon returned to his own. Laying in his bed and staring at the ceiling as his arms were folded behind his head.

He could vaguely hear his aunt rummaging around in the kitchen. Clanking around beer bottles and getting drunk again. Namjoon didn’t care, in fact, if she’d end up crashing, it’d work in his favor in the morning if she’s completely out. He was planning on taking Jimin to the surface and showing him- for the first time- what he spent his whole life missing out on seeing. It’s been a while since Namoon had been above ground as well, so no matter the state of it, the world was still his.

He lived up there for a time, part of his childhood was on the surface. He never wanted to detach himself from the surface world like the others around him tended to do.

XXX

When Namjoon woke up it was 8 AM. Treading out into the living room, he saw his good-for-nothing aunt passed out just as he thought. Expecting no less from her, he cleaned up all the bottles that lay around, some empty, some not. Namjoon didn’t want Jimin to see how pathetic she actually was as a guardian. He was too young to be completely aware of it yet. He just needed to keep thinking she was a bully, not a drunkard bully with no self-awareness for her ward.

After cleaning up, he went into Jimin’s room. Seeing his little brother sleeping soundly, he grabbed some clothes from his closet for him. Something Namjoon thought was fitting enough for what he guessed was early spring weather, just still a touch chilly from winter that had certainly passed by now.

A pair of small boots, black jeans and Jimin’s favorite striped long sleeve shirt. Setting it all aside, he gently woke the little boy. Shaking his shoulder, his brother ever the challenge to wake up.

“Hey, Chim. Wake up. Now,” Namjoon suppressed a laugh at the stuck up strands of thick blonde hair and his sleepy, puffy cheeks. His eyes peeled open to look at his elder brother. “We’re going somewhere today. Time to get up now,” Namjoon coaxed, rubbing his back. Jimin rubbed his eyes clumsily, sitting up and stretching his legs under his sheets, yawning all the while.

“Where?” He asked simply and sleepily. Namjoon patted down his wild hair, only for it to spring back up to defy gravity until it was properly brushed.

“It’s a surprise, okay?” Jimin just nodded. “Now, up-up. I’ve got your clothes out and ready so get changed.” Jimin rolled out of bed as Namjoon went back to his room to change himself. A tan, short sleeve shirt, blue-worn out jeans and short ankle boots covered heel to toe in scuff marks. Slapping a beanie on his head and strapped a watch on his wrist, he pocketed his phone and grabbed his mask off his wall. Slinging it around his neck, Jimin knocked on his bunker room door.

“You can come in, Chim!” He called. Jimin punched in the code and stepped inside to see his brother with his mask. His sleepy eyes ignited with excitement, seemingly no longer tired in an instant.

“We’re going up?!”

Namjoon laughed as he nodded. “Yup. Now go get that mask, kid.” Jimin was off, quicker than ever to fetch his mask he’s never had the chance to use before. Jimin always wanted to explore above, now Namjoon was finally giving him the chance to. Namjoon waited for Jimin at the front door of the bunker home before the two met and left their home. Leaving their poor drunk aunt on the couch and hopefully uncomfortable to boot.

Jimin held onto Namjoon’s hand as they walked through the bunker streets. Greeting the kind old lady at the bakery, Jimin was offered a piece of lemon bread he wolfed down. The two came to a wide staircase that was sealed off by a passcode door. This stairwell was the way up and out of the bunkers and almost every adult knew the passcode by now, but not many were eager to use it.

“Jimin, I’ll tell you the password if you promise to never go up without me. Alright?” Jimin nodded, even going so far as to stick out his pinkie in a promise that could never be broken. “Alright, now listen carefully.” Namjoon flipped open the plastic-covered dial pad and punched in a 9 digit code, repeating each number he hit so Jimin could memorize it.

The pad glowed green before the metal doors unlocked. Namjoon let Jimin turn the handle down and push the heavy door open since Namjoon himself had done it numerous times before his parent’s passed and this is Jimin’s first time. The stairway was extraordinary to the new eyes of Jimin.

Lit with LED orbs in the center of the ceiling shoot straight up in a line all the way to the top, the top that Jimin couldn’t even see! The stairs themselves went on for what seemed like miles as the two began to climb them.

Jimin started losing his energy that was stored in his 10-year-old body, so it didn’t take long for Namjoon to take up the role and hike the little kid on his back. All while Jimin was cheering for his brother to keep the strength up to carry himself and Jimin up the stairs. It would’ve been a cute act of sibling praise if Jimin hadn’t kept yelling so close to Namjoon’s ears as well as continuously kicking his legs back and forth. Posing a possible threat of the two of them falling and tumbling right back down the stairs Namjoon put so much effort into climbing.

Nearly 30 minutes later, Namjoon was huffing as Jimin slid down his back onto the landing at the top of the staircase. Namjoon knelt to Jimin, helping him with his mask and how to properly wear it as he then placed his own on. Jimin was bouncing on his toes as he gripped Namjoon’s forearm in both of his small hands. Nervous, yet excited bundled into one small 10-year-old body. He had no idea what to expect, but that made the fact he was actually going to see it all that much more exhilarating.

The metal hissed as it opened up after pressing a fist-sized button. Once open, in front was a world Jimin couldn’t even fathom from the depths of his imagination (that was already very large). Something that was far different from the metal and dirty bunkers he was born and raised in.

Gravel was placed and spread at the metal landing outside the doors to the surface world. Namjoon pushed Jimin’s back lightly, urging him forward to usher him on out before the doors shut again. His boots crunched under the gravel as he peered through the lens of his mask. His muffled breaths turned into muffled laughs.

Jimin was soon running into the knee-length grass and tripping in small holes as he soon was in awe at the grass and weeds as tall as him or taller! Namjoon shouted words of concern after his overly-excited younger brother as he just sighed with a smile. He looked around, taking in the world around him as he thought and noticed how it changed since the last time he saw it.

For a post-apocalyptic event that caused humanity to shift, the earth still looked breathtaking. Nature took over indeed, claiming back its world from humans. Old highways were cracked with worn asphalt as weeds perked through them and grew without restraint. Grass came in troves as flowers of all sorts sprouted, both familiar and unfamiliar breeds.

Jimin ran back to Namjoon’s side when he called for him and he began to lead his younger brother to a place big enough to explore and to give a sense of showing the clueless boy ‘what once was’. What better place than an abandoned mall?

Namjoon used to come here often for the broken down bookstore inside. Whatever books have survived the decay and weather, he gleefully took down into his bunker to read. Fairy tales, fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, he wanted to read it all. He’d often read a lot of fictional tales to Jimin as well, keeping his innocent imagination alive and well.

When Jimin saw the long, tall building with open, broken walls with vines and moss overtaking them- whether collapsed in rubble or still standing strong- he was giddy to explore. Broken glass from windows and tall weeds stretching all the way to Jimin’s shoulder, brushing his nose and even making him sneeze.

Squeezing their way through the warped doorways, the inside was a mess. Tile floors cracked, rubble and foundation broken with patches of grass peeking through the floor in small-to-wide areas. There were shops left and right and the escalator in the middle of the bottom floor leading to the second seized moving long ago and was now woven in green and all sorts of flowers like a fantastic stairway out of some cheesy romance book.

The roof was spotty and had holes here and there. The skylight that Namjoon once believed was beautiful had shattered, the glass laying in pieces under the brother’s boots as they crunched with each mindful step.

With a pat on his back from Namjoon, Jimin was running off. Looking around as he peeked inside broken windows and swung around support beams. Marveling at all the decayed posters and running around imagining what it used to look like. He caught Namjoon moving up to the second floor, climbing up the escalator as Jimin hopped up and started following him.

“Wait for me!” He yelled as Namjoon rolled his eyes playfully and started running up the stairs, JImin gasping and whining. “Hey! Wait!” He shouted, his voice growling in a hardly scary annoyance that only a 10-year-old could possess. Namjoon laughed as he waited at the top and soon when Jimin caught up, brought him to the bookstore.

Jimin himself wasn’t a big reader in anything other than fairy tales. He liked dreaming instead of learning, that’s what school was in his mind. He could learn at school in class, but on his own, he wanted to read about what wasn’t real. He didn’t mind learning things from Namjoon though, he made it fun.

Jimin ran from aisle to dilapidated aisle, scanning the cobwebbed and fragile books. Opening one up and carefully putting it back anxiously when a piece of a page tore off between his forefinger and thumb. Peeking through a barely held together bookshelf, JImin watched as Namjoon sat in some worn-down chair, nose in a book that was still readable. He smiled.

Wandering around more, he looked outside one of the still intact, yet cracked, windows. He gasped at the widespread garden that pushed out into what looked like an endless forest to the eyes of a child. He jumped on his toes before running to Namjoon, hanging over the back of the chair that threatened to wobble into pieces.

“Let’s go out! Please!” Jimin begged. Truthfully, Namjoon wanted to just sit and read, but today was JImin’s day. He just smiled, breathing behind his gas mask as he shut his book, a puff of dust clouding out of the pages. He put his hand on Jimin’s head, pushing back the hair that was trapped underneath the straps of his mask.

“Sure thing, Chim. Let’s go,” he said, getting up. Jimin was dashing off, far ahead of his brother and back down the escalator as Namjoon warned him to slow down- fearful the child would get his foot snagged on a weed and take an ungraceful tumble. A warning he didn’t feel like listening to as he made it down and rounded to go out of a busted out window into the back where he saw the garden growing beyond the trees.

Jimin, the overly excited little boy who didn’t know the outside world, quickly found himself treading through the overgrown garden. Stepping high in overly dramatic steps as his knees came up to his chest and plunged to crush leaves and grass under him. It wasn’t long before he was marching into the woods, Namjoon not far behind, but far enough to lose his blonde hair behind the overgrown, and frankly annoying weeds and grass.

“Jimin!”

XXX

Jimin was in awe of the woods he ventured into. The trees around him were huge. Roots were breaching the earth’s surface and were arched, weaved and twisted in the most fantastical waves. He’d often see something like them in fairy tale picture books that Namjoon brought back.

He laughed as he would climb, run under and above them and jump from root to root before almost sliding and falling on his rear end. The trees were high as he looked above his head. The leaves were green and blowing through the easy constant breeze that kept him from rolling up the sleeves of his long shirt. Some leaves on small, thinner trees looked brown like they were ready to fall off and coat the ground with more crunches under his boot.

“Ow!” He muttered as he held his arm. Having fallen by tripping over an uprooted tree root he didn’t see, resulted in him cutting his arm on a fallen branch. He hissed as his small body began to tremble, unfamiliar with pain like that. He’s cut himself before, sure every child gets roughed up at some point, but somehow a cut from a tree branch is different from one of a metal sheet like his bunker. “Namjoon!” He called, expecting his brother to come rushing to his wails. But, nothing.

He sat up on his knees, looking around and the bright forested area seemed to dim as he never saw or heard his brother coming to his side. He walked on his knees in the dirt for a moment before staggering to his palms again. He flinched when he heard a rustling to his left, farther back beyond the trees and bushes. He swallowed the tear induced lump in his throat.

“Namjoon!” He cried again, his voice cracking. The mask he wore to protect himself from the outside air made him shorter on his own air. He gasped as he heard more rustling that inflicted fear in his child’s mind. He jumped from his palms and knees as he took off, running. He couldn’t remember which way he came from, but maybe if he ran, he'd just burst out of the woods and into his brother’s protection again. “Joon!” He screamed with tears burning his wide, brown eyes.

Wiping them with his arm, he fumbled much less gracefully in the woods as the sun didn’t reach him quite as well. He was soon gasping again as he tripped over his own feet. Shuffling on fallen leaves and sliding into a skidding fall. Bracing on his left arm, he cried again as the cut on the same arm from the tree branch stung. His left leg and side were sore as he lay on the dirt and leaf-littered ground. His mask askew on his face, but still covering his mouth, he held it to keep it on.

Like any other child, Jimin could only cry now. He curled in on himself as he hugged his legs to his knees and cried. Lamenting for even running ahead of Namjoon at all. Missing and waiting for his brother, he wept. His blonde hair was shaggy and clumped with twigs and leaves from his fall. When he finally noticed the wind stopped blowing and it was silent, he opened his scared eyes again.

The wind always made a constant sound, now it was silent. Jimin, looking for anything, found himself in a small clearing. There were still trees to his left, right, front and back, but the small clearing was almost perfect for a camping area. He had read about camping, but it didn’t seem so fun without his brother with him.

He looked up at a tree that seemed to look almost brighter than the rest around him. Maybe the leaves were different or there were less so the sun could shine on the bark of the trunk better. He gasped when he flew up and out of his fetal position, pushing himself backwards on his back when he saw what was in the tree.

It was a girl. Not much older than Namjoon, he guessed. She was sleeping on an overly grown branch of the tree as roots clawed their way out of the ground over the course of the tree's life. She lay peacefully and without care, it seemed. Jimin touched his gas mask as he saw her without one. Her face open and bare as the sun dancing through the leaves hit her skin. Nothing but a white dress on her and vines wrapped around her ankles and wrists like bracelets. Hair loose and blowing in the breeze that seemed to finally return.

“A fairy?” He breathed to himself. Soon, he stiffened as the girl opened her eyes. She easily moved to look at the little boy on the ground, covered in dirt and grass-stained clothing. And sporting a beaten up gas mask. She looked at him like she knew he’d be there. He almost stopped breathing when she moved to sit up from her tree branch and even work herself down the tree onto the ground. “Pretty,” he told himself before gasping as she came towards him.

“Are you lost, child?” Her voice was nice; that’s what Jimin thought. He soon found himself nodding as he followed her with his head instead of his eyes. Looking up at her as she got closer and then down as she knelt beside him. Her neutral face she wore made him gulp. He didn’t know if she was going to eat him like in Hansel and Gretel or help him like a kindhearted wanderer.

“Um,” he started small through his mask. Her eyebrows arching told him that he needed to speak up next time he talked. The mask can make it harder to hear. “Are you- are you a fairy?” She looked at him and blinked a handful of times to process his words. He grew embarrassed as he shied away then she laughed. Her giggling shook her shoulders as she covered her mouth. Jimin smiled. Somehow when she laughed the sun came back and the woods weren’t so dark anymore.

He smiled because he knew he wasn’t alone or in danger anymore.

“I can be if you want,” she told him.

“If you’re a fairy, you can take me back to my brother. Right?”

“You got separated from your brother?” Jimin nodded. She closed her eyes as the leaves rustles lightly before she stood up, reaching down with soft palms offered to Jimin. “I can take you back to your brother. I know where he is,” she smiled. Jimin hopped up as he clutched her hand and the side of her dress, pressing himself to her side the best a scared, lost little boy could.

She led him through the woods with ease. Precise steps as Jimin wondered how she managed it barefoot in such a dress when it was still chilly out. Especially in the shade of the trees. She avoided hissing snakes, chirping crickets and buzzing cicadas that hadn’t yet died. Jimin didn’t know, but even the tree roots had moved to make a clear path forward as he and the girl moved forward. Soon, Jimin could hear Namjoon calling for him.

“Jimin!” He heard the muffled, yet still powerful yell from his brother behind his mask. Jimin smiled wide as his tight grip on the girl’s hand tightened further. The girl smiled as she picked up her pace and soon the pair was standing at the edge of the woods. He gasped in awe as he was back at the garden at the mall, Namjoon standing in the middle of the tall grass.

“Namjoon!” He cried as he detached himself from the fairy and ran, arms wide to his brother who saw him. Kneeling to catch Jimin’s body, he held his little brother who was lost and now back. Namjoon looked him over, dirty and cut up. Mask still askew, Namjoon fixed it for him. He could see his little brother’s red eyes behind the glass of his mask as he shook his head.

“Don’t go running off like that, you scared me half to death.”

“I’m sorry,” Jimin pathetically apologized with a sniffle. “I wanted to climb some trees, but got lost and I didn’t know where to go. Oh, but-” He perked up immediately and turned around, seeing the girl still standing in the shadows of the trees.

It was like the two parties were in separate worlds. The girl- Jimin’s fairy- standing in the shade and shadows as the other two knelt in the sun- at high noon now.

Jimin pointed at her. “A fairy saved me. She was sleeping in a tree and helped me back here!” He cheered. Namjoon looked at her. He couldn’t make out specific details of her face in the darkened shade and distance. He seemed suspicious of her lack of mask and clothes. She practically had nothing, but she didn’t seem to be in pain or suffering like he had been groomed over the last decade to believe someone up on the surface should be.

Namjoon stood as Jimin held his hand by his side. He looked on to the girl who didn’t move, only standing in the wind.

“Thank you for bringing Jimin back,” he shouted to her. She suddenly stepped out of the woods into the sun. She seemed to glow in the light and Namjoon felt his breath leave him. A beautiful woman came walking towards him. Perhaps- maybe she really was a fairy. Jimin smiled at her before she came to stop a few feet from Namjoon’s boots. She looked dressed for mid-summer, not for the chilled air of the coming autumn.

“He got pretty lost,” Namjoon nearly coughed from the small gasp when he heard her voice. “I’m glad I was able to get him back unharmed,” she chuckled. “Well, mostly.” she knelt to Jimin’s level and he giggled at her as she smiled back. “Make sure to wash that cut and get all those splinters out before it gets infected, okay?”

Jimin hopped to his toes all smiles and excitement, never meeting a fairy before- as he still thought of her as one. Tugging on Namjoon’s arm a bit in response.

“My name is Jimin,” he pointed to himself. He then pointed up at Namjoon- an angle that pointed to his chin at best. “This is my big brother, Namjoon.” He smiled widely with his teeth. Chirping in that special sound he had when he giggled.

“You sound like a little bird, Jimin,” you told him.

“Mama used to say that too!” The girl stood back up, looking up at Namjoon.

“You know,” she started, “you don’t need to wear those masks.” Namjoon touched his mask lightly in a reflexive action when it was mentioned. “My air is not poisonous and it won’t hurt you.” Jimin tugged on Namjoon’s arm and the look in his younger brother’s eyes when he looked down at him was one that wanted to take off his mask. Namjoon knew Jimin wanted to take it off. Jimin trusted you- trust easily gained after this mystery girl saved him.

Namjoon knelt down to his brother, holding his shoulder. “Do you really want to take it off?” Jimin looked down, shuffling his boot covered feet.

“I’ll only do it if you do,” he whispered. He didn’t know if Namjoon would get angry if he wanted to or not. He didn’t want to make anyone mad. Namjoon moved and reached behind his brother’s small head. Jimin gasped as he felt one of his straps loosen. Namjoon unbuckled his mask one buckle at a time.

“Hold it for me,” he told him. Jimin pushed his palms to the eyepiece of his mask and held it on without question. Then, he began to unclasp and unbuckle his own mask. “Alright, Chim. You can take it off,” he told him as the two brothers took off their masks. Jimin took a deep breath as he coughed from the heavy intake of air he wasn't accustomed to breathing.

Then he smiled. The air was chilly but comforting. It didn’t smell or taste or even feel anything like the damp, soil-filled air of the bunkers. It was clean and open and pure. Namjoon’s reaction wasn’t too far off, though he wasn’t filled with new experiences.

Namjoon’s eyes teared up as he felt the air of the world he grew up in long ago return to him. It was nostalgic to breathe in the air of his childhood. It felt like the days he swung too high and too fast on a swing set. Or the rush of air he took zooming down a slide. Or even running a race with his friends. It was like he was young again and the air that wasn’t so depressing like underground was lighter and filled with something he couldn’t quite place.

It felt like home. It felt just right to breathe this air.

Namjoon looked at the girl who seemed pleased that the two boys had removed their masks. “What’s your name?” He asked before he really realized he did it.

“My name is Y/n, and I live here on the surface.”

XXX

Namjoon had you running in his head the rest of the day and well into the nighttime. Before he could even begin to ask you about how you live on the surface, or rather even ask anything else about you, you ran back into the woods. Jimin called after you as you ran and disappeared behind the trees, asking for you to stay. He was pretty bummed out that you had left, but when Namjoon told him that fairies can’t stay outside the forest for too long, he perked up.

Jimin didn’t stop talking about his fairy for the rest of the day and when the two brother’s went back underground he was blabbing on and on to the older folk who fawned over him. Namjoon had the pleasure of dealing with his Aunt when the two returned.

She threw a world class tantrum that they left without permission and that she was more on edge because she didn’t have any booze. She complained about the house being a mess- which wasn’t when Namjoon left because he cleaned it. All Namjoon did was calmly tell Jimin to go to his room. Jimin listened, knowing that Namjoon was just going to argue with their Aunt again. Namjoon stopped his Aunt from stopping Jimin, grabbing her arm when she went to grab the younger brother.

The two fought and screamed. His Aunt going on and on about how she didn’t want two boys living in her house and Namjoon fighting back that this bunker wasn’t even hers. It was his mother’s and father's that they left behind to her sons’ when they died, so if anyone should leave it would be her. It was a routine- a shitty one at that. Always a screaming match when she woke up hungover or still just as drunk as when she passed out.

She would only yield when Namjoon left the living room or forced her out of the bunker. He hated that he had to fight in the same home as Jimin. Having such a negative part of the day near daily was bound to be bad on him. Jimin was just a child, negative interactions with their Aunt wasn’t something he needed to deal with.

When Namjoon went into Jimin’s room next, he found him sitting at his desk, scribbling with colored pencils and markers laying across the desk surface. A notebook opened in front of his hunched over body. Namjoon walked in and smiled seeing Jimin engrossed in something he enjoyed. Drawing and coloring was a big hobby of his younger brothers. He was always an artistic boy.

“What’re you drawing over there, bud?” Namjoon walked in, dressed down from earlier. His jeans and shirt exchanged for sweats and a white tee. Jimin had also changed; sporting boys' gym shorts and a grey shirt that says ‘CLASS 4’ on it in scratchy, green marker. A shirt Jimin made way back when his grade school classes had a field day against each other once.

“I’m drawing Y/n!” He moved to grab his notebook, knocking a few markers onto the hard floor with repetitive plastic clinks as they rolled after impact. He showed his brother a scratchy outline of a girl with a white dress with some semi-scribbled trees in the background. He placed his notebook back on his desk as Namjoon picked up the fallen markers. “I’m not done yet though,” he chirped, obviously in a good mood. “I wanna put wings on her, but I never saw them,” he pouted as he began to color in the background with green circular patterns.

“It looks good, I can definitely tell it’s her,” Namjoon complimented. Earning a smile from the little boy, he returned to his task at hand. Namjoon moved to sit on Jimin’s bed, watching his back and shoulders move with each arm stroke of art he put on his paper.

Namjoon sat on his brother's bed as he got lost in his head. He was so curious about you; who were you and did you really live up on the surface like you so claimed? He wanted to know why you were in the woods and how you were able to lead Jimin back out to the mall without previously knowing him or where he was. Why did you truly resemble a fairy when he knew it was impossible because fairies don’t exist. They just don’t… do they? He shook his head as he closed his eyes, sighing because his everyday, stressful underground life felt like it got- ironically- uprooted.

He wasn’t sure how long he spent looking between the ceiling and the blackness of his eyelids, but it was just long enough to vaguely hear Jimin’s vigorous scribbling slow down and occasionally halt before picking back up lazily. Looking at his younger brother, he nearly laughed out loud at seeing his head bob up and down as the poor lad tried his best to stay awake. Namjoon looked at the time; it was late for him.

“Jimin,” Namjoon called, a laugh in his voice. He rolled his lips over his teeth to keep from laughing as his little brother looked over his shoulder, his eyes droopy and hazy with exhaustion. “It’s bedtime, bud,” he chimed as the younger one only nodded, not putting up too much of a fuss. Closing his notebook and pushing his markers and pencils into one, giant, messy pile so they wouldn’t fall off his desk, he jumped from his chair. Hobbling as Namjoon got off his bed, he crawled into it and allowed his older brother to pull the covers over him.

“You think we’ll see Y/n again?” Jimin drawled with a sleepy lisp. Namjoon just pat his head, pushing his bangs back.

“I’m sure we will. Just go to bed now, okay?” Jimin nodded as he was soon sleeping and Namjoon left his room as quietly as possible so as not to wake him back up.

Namjoon only slept for a handful of hours before he was awake again. He sighed as he looked at the before dawn hour of nearly 6 am. Groaning, he pushed his blanket off of him as he rolled out of bed and stretched. Somehow, he felt that any further sleep wouldn’t be in his future. He stood in his room, his bed a mess as he just kept staring at his clock tick closer to the 6th hour of the new day.

It would still be a few hours before Jimin needed to be awake. So, maybe he could go back up before Jimin wakes up.

Scrambling to grab a jacket, he didn’t even change from his sleep sweats and tee as he slipped on some tennis shoes and a cap. Grabbing his gasmask per habit, he rushed out of his room before he was walking through the same mess he’d seen every morning, only this morning he ignored it as he left the house entirely. Grabbing a flashlight on his way out.

The bunker roads and tunnels were quiet with only small murmurs of early risers. Namjoon only nodded to those who gave him a small greeting as he made his way to the surface doors. Going through the first metal, coded door, he scaled the stairs in what felt like record time before he was stepping out into the surface air once again.

He set his gas mask beside the entrance down, not wanting to wear it so he could breathe in the air he remembered and he set off. Using the flashlight he held in his palm, he looked around the remaining dark hours of the morning as he heard the familiar chirping of the morning birds.

Namjoon followed the path back to the mall and then around to the overgrown garden before he was standing in the very spot he first saw you with Jimin. On the edge of the wide woodland area, he took a breath before he was starting to carefully tread inside. The sun began to slowly paint the sky red, pink and orange shades of dawn. He had missed seeing the sky’s colors he realized as he peered at it’s expanse through the gaps between treetops and leaves.

When it was light enough, he clicked off his flashlight and stuffed it into the pocket of his sweats as he kept walking- hiking- through the trees. He had no idea where he was, or where he was going, but he just thought if he kept going he’d somehow run into you again.

He stopped when he noticed he hadn’t been hearing the birds chirping. It wasn’t right for it to be this silent. He looked around at himself, twisting in place, trying to listen for anything rustling around in the early hours, but still nothing. Namjoon was surrounded by dead, forest silence. It made his skin crawl before he was nearly jumping out of his skin from a call behind him.

“Why are you out here?” He whirled around, looking up to see you sitting peacefully on a tree branch. Come to think, Jimin said you were sleeping in a tree when he found you too. Still wearing that white, somehow spotless dress, and no shoes as your toes pointed to the ground as your legs hung over the branch.

“Y/n,” he whispered as you looked around him.

“You seem to be alone today. You didn’t bring your kid brother?”

Namjoon cleared his throat. “No, he was still sleeping when I left.” You examined his face from above as you gently smiled.

“I see you also decided to leave your mask behind. I’m glad you don’t seem to fear my air anymore.” Namjoon watched as you shifted and turned your back to him, beginning to climb down the tree trunk. Moving to swing and hang from the branch you sat on, you swung to a lower branch before you started making your way closer to the ground. As if it was part of his genetics, Namjoon flinched with each swing and had his arms semi-out to at least try and save you if you were to miss and fall to the ground.

When your fit hit the woodland ground, you brushed out your dress of any tree bark, leaves or wrinkles.

There you were again, before his very eyes just as you were yesterday. Stood just below his nose in height, hair in tangles, small cuts freckled around your skin that had faded in time- probably from all that tree climbing- and eyes as bright as he remembered from before. So it wasn’t just a trick of the sunlight yesterday, you truly were a beauty to behold.

“You never answered my question,” you told him. “Why did you come out here again?” He thought he heard a sharp edge to your question beneath your overall inquisitive tone. You wouldn’t be wrong to be suspicious considering he lived underground and wore a gas mask when he met you because he was brought up thinking the outside air was toxic and dangerous to some degree.

“I was curious about,” he paused- would it be creepy to say he was curious about you? Would it be rude or antagonizing because he was told for years that the surface was unlivable? He cleared his throat. “Curious,” he repeated, “about a lot of things. I was hoping you had answers.”

“Are they offensive questions?”

“I don’t think so,” he unsurely quipped. You just turned, offering him the smallest of shrugs as you waved him after you.

“Fine. You will ask and I will answer. However, let’s go to a more open space.” He didn’t argue as he sped to catch up to your side before matching your pace. He couldn’t help but notice how easily you walked through the uneven woodland grounds as his eyes bounced between his feet and everywhere else around him to ensure he wouldn’t trip or run into something. You practically glided through the woods as if you were walking on tile.

He didn’t realize that you were leading him back out of the woods and in front of the abandoned mall he went to with Jimin, and the same place he had seen you for the first time. You continued walking before entering the dilapidated building through a crumbling hole in the wall. You finally stopped your journey as you sat on the broken down, moss and vine covered escalator in one of the sunspots the holes in the ceiling created from the early sun.

Namjoon sat below you a step, his legs staggering beneath him on two separate steps as you kept your knees tucked and feet beside you just one step below your rear. You pushed and pulled at your dress as you tried to fix it appropriately.

Once your fidgeting ended, your sights finally fell back onto the young man and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand at the direct eye contact of your impossibly clear eyes. It was like you had moonlight in your irises that reflected off the morning sun.

“Alright,” you started, your voice reverberating off the empty, demolished walls of the mall. “Let’s talk.”

XXX

Namjoon was someone overly fond of all sorts of knowledge. Learning new things and skills was always his preferred pastime, even at his home in his bunker room. He’d reread old textbooks and even go through Jimin’s books to see if they were teaching him things he wasn’t taught at that age just to see how the learning curve had changed since he was young.

When he talked to you, he was enthralled with everything you told him- all the answers you gave him to his questions.

You were telling the absolute truth when you told him and Jimin the other morning that you lived on the surface. You always had. Of course, your memories from age five and below were spotty and then nothing, but you had told Namjoon that you learned of your birth. If you can even call it a birth at all.

You weren’t sure of the details specifically since you obviously had no memories of it since you were just a small infant. You had found a set of files and journals that had documented a lot of what was known and hypothesized about the Moon Tree in the place you used to be held in. Without explanation, when the tree anchors connected to earth and were seized off to the public by the government, within each massive branch's bark was a life.

Moon Children is what they were called once they were soon excavated from within the tree. There were 13 children in total, each taken from their own individual connector branch. Among those thirteen, there was you. The first discovered and removed from the tree in the sky.

From the point of your quote ‘birth’, a file for your life was started and as you grew, the scientist saw exceptional progress with your growth. You were adaptable and skilled for a young child, and by the time you were able to speak, they would document you just sitting outside in the ‘contaminated’ air just talking towards the sky.

You’d get frustrated from talking to potted plants and hated being inside. When you were old enough to pitch fits and escape the rooms you were kept, you would often fight. You’d throw fits and kick your feet to keep the scientist who ‘raised’ you away.

The pictures of them in masks, goggles, gloves, high-duty suits- it all stuck in your brain like a nightmare. They always looked the same, like they walked out of a horror movie. They feared the air- you craved it.

The moment you had the chance, you escaped the facility room you were kept in.

You explained that you didn’t remember much, but the moment you laid eyes on the gigantic piece of space foliage covering so much of the moon’s surface, you knew it was a wave of understanding. You were connected to this tree, you knew that for a fact and you knew you had to leave or else you’d be contained and examined just like the branch you came from.

It was the voice of that branch from the Moon Tree that helped you escape after you crawled into a hole of the wood and hid for three days, escaping when there was a power outage on the evening of the fourth. You had been living in the woods ever since, hearing the voice of the forest and cohabitating with wildlife just to keep the government away from you.

You were different, able to communicate and feel things differently than others, and you could only say it was because of the world ending tree that sprung from inside the moon. That tree was like a parent to you and you didn’t care if it sounded crazy. It was the truth.

You were sure that the children you grew up with were exactly like you, but you were the first and oldest case of such quick recovery from what should have been an impossible case of survival.

“It’s strange,” you told Namjoon as he took in your story. “The moment Jimin saw me, he asked if I was a fairy. I honestly didn’t know the answer, but I wouldn’t say I’m not. I don’t feel human, not like a human should, but I’m not anything extraordinary either.” You glanced at Namjoon, seeing his face flat of expression. It baffled you truthfully.

You expected some sort of curiosity, or twisted sense of disgust of your story. Maybe even disbelief and doubt sewn into his features, but nothing. It was neutral- a blank slate of soaking in the story.

“I’m not expecting you to believe anything I’ve said, but ask me to repeat it and it will be the same story,” you tutted as he just shook his head.

“I watched a giant tree sprout out in space when I was a kid and it forced the entire overpopulous of humanity underground. Honestly, there isn’t anything I don’t believe in anymore.” He paused as he leaned onto his knees, twining his fingers together and pushing them against his lips. “I’m just trying to process,” he murmured. “Whatever the case, I can’t stay. Jimin is going to be up soon and I can’t let him be alone at home.”

“Is it that dangerous underground?” Your question was directed to the entirety of the bunker system his people created to survive. Truthfully, Namjoon would prefer if Jimin wandered around the streets rather than sit in his living room.

“It’s complicated,” he stood as he started going down the viney, metal stairs. Once he hit the landing of the cracked and broken mall floor, he turned and looked back up the escalator where you stil sat, unmoved. “Next time I come back, I’ll bring Jimin. I think he misses his ‘fairy’,” the man teased. He saw a small smile on your lips before you stood and walked up the stairs and eventually away from him as he took off out of the mall.

He ran to the bunker door, grabbing his mask as he opened the door and was soon running down the stairs down below the earth’s surface. The familiar taste of dirt-air and a sticky-chill surrounded him as he came out from the long stairway into the bunker streets.

He passed a few vendors he knew, nodding hello as he made it back to his home. As he stood outside the door to his home, he heard his aunt yelling. He burst into the bunker, seeing her standing in the entrance to the hall, banging on Jimin’s bunker door that remained shut and locked- due to Namjoon’s insistence to never let her in.

He threw his mask aside, not caring where it landed or if it was broken as he walked into the house, the door hissing shut behind him. He shoved his aunt’s shoulder, pushing her away from the door of his younger brother’s door as he stood in front of it now. He scowled at her as she stumbled from his push in her ugly, drunken stupor.

“Stay away from Jimin’s room,” he seethed. “If you’ve got a problem, take it up with me. Leave him alone.” The two began to argue after Namjoon’s initial statement. His aunt goes on about how she’s so miserable and how Namjoon was out on his own. To which he rebutted that she should just leave and go wherever she wants because this wasn’t her home and he was old enough to do what he wanted.

Namjoon wanted this to end quickly because he knew Jimin was behind him in his room listening to it all.

“Just leave!” Namjoon screamed, leaving his aunt stumbling back in drunken awe before she tutted off in attitude. He wasn’t sure where she went, all he knew was that he heard the sound of the front door hissing open and shut before it was silent. He let out a breath he held in his chest as he turned and knocked softly on his brother’s door. “Jimin,” he weakly called.

He wondered if his brother would be angry at him for fighting. Would he be scared of the way Namjoon raised his voice once he had enough. His doubts stalled for a moment when he heard Jimin inside, punching in the keycode to his door with small beeps before the door opened. A small blur dashed out the door as soon as it was open just enough and Namjoon was knocked back a few steps from Jimin plowing into his lower body.

He wrapped his arms around his older brother’s waist, burying his face into his hip, hugging him as tightly and as best as his little body could. Namjoon let a small scoff escape him with a smile as his hands landed on Jimin’s shoulder and head, rubbing them comfortably.

“Sorry about that, bud,” Namjoon apologized as Jimin just shook his head in silence. The two were silent and only moved back and forth for a while before Namjoon was pulling Jimin away and kneeling to get eye-level with him. The little boy’s face was puffy as he sniffed; Namjoon chuckled as he took his face in his palms and squished, eliciting a giggled from the younger. “How about you help me clean up, okay?”

On any other day, Namjoon hated Jimin even giving the quickest of glances to the evidence of his aunt’s drinking, but the damage was already done this morning anyways. Jimin trailed after Namjoon like a little duckling as they picked up crushed cans and tossed bottles. Picking up scraps of paper, tissue and as well as any trash Jimin could crawl to reach.

XXX

It had been a week since Namjoon had been back on the surface. After the confrontation with his aunt, he became even more paranoid than usual to leave Jimin in the bunker alone. His aunt hadn’t been as confrontational the past few days and Namjoon hoped that was because he finally snapped at her. However, part of him thought that she’d be back to stir something up again just for the drama in it eventually.

She had that personality.

Namjoon was in Jimin’s room with him, sitting on his younger brother's bed as usual with a book perched open on his leg as Jimin scribbled down the answers to his homework. Namjoon had long since lost interest in the book he was reading, he’d read it before but his mind was stuck on you.

He wanted to know a lot more and wanted to be up on the surface more too. He wanted to know if it was truly possible to live like he used to before he was forced to live like a mole. The two times he’s been up there without his mask on, he didn’t seem to feel any different afterwards. Although there seemed to be no side effects for short term inhalation of the surface air, he couldn’t rule out the long term chances.

It wasn’t that Namjoon didn’t take your word for it- he did believe you when you told him that the air was harmless. It was just that he had spent so much time underground, groomed to the idea that the surface was toxic. He was used to the thick, murky, moist and metallic-tangy air of the dirt and metal bunkers. One couldn’t blame him for his doubts. And he couldn’t rule out the possibility of you just being immune to anything harmful in the air because of your origins.

“Hey, Namjoon,” Jimin called, calling the man from his thoughts as the elder was starting to already shuffle off the bed to tend to whatever Jimin needed. “I don’t really get this one,” the kid pointed to his notebook and the question he was stuck on.

“Alright, let’s see what we’re working with.” As Namjoon helped his younger brother with his elementary math, he sighed and wished that math had always stayed this easy.

The two continued the cycle of Namjoon sitting in peace until Jimin called him for help on his homework. Namjoon was explaining something or another about grammar now when Jimin unpromptly brought you up- interrupting his brother’s teaching.

“When can we go see Y/n again?” He asked quietly, as if he was afraid of asking altogether. Namjoon sighed as he put his large hand on Jimin’s head and ruffled around his pink hair that had started to fade after the amount of times he had washed it.

“Soon, okay? For now, we have to focus on finishing this homework.”

“Hnng, okay,” Jimin pouted as he went back to work. Namjoon felt a bit bad for seemingly shutting him down so quickly, but it was true that he had to finish. He was almost done, then if Jimin wanted to keep talking about you, Namjoon would humor him. He still hadn’t told him that he went to see you without him- fearing a tantrum from the 10-year-old.

Once Jimin finished, he was quick to break out his fairy book and crawl onto the bed to sit next to Namjoon, who had put his own book away in favor of Jimin’s attention. Jimin opened the book and began to talk a mile a minute, pointing to all sorts of fantasy genre creatures and plants. He explained the best a kid could to his brother as he spoke with enough confidence to be an expert. Namjoon found it adorable that Jimin was convinced that you were a fairy- he’d die on that hill.

As Jimin yammered on and on, Namjoon had a small idea.

“Hey, Chim,” he gained the boy’s attention as he looked up at his elder. “What about that?” Namjoon pointed to a painting of the moon casting its painted light on a ring of fairies. “Do you want to see that too? The moon, I mean.” Jimin’s heels came off the mattress before coming back down as he kicked his legs in thought. It was obvious he was just playing off his excitement from the smile he tried covered with his hand on his face.

“Well, is the moon pretty?” Jimin asked, trying to ask more questions instead of just blurting out that he did in fact want to see the moon.

Namjoon nodded. He instructed the younger to stay put as Namjoon ran to his room, searched his shelves for a book, before rushing back and flopping back on the bed with the child. He opened the book he had snagged, an encyclopedia of space with pictures included for Jimin’s viewing pleasure. Namjoon tried his best to explain whatever Jimin seemed interested in and just as he knew, the younger brother was soon bouncing on his bed with excitement on seeing the moon.

Namjoon looked across the room at the calendar that hung on Jimin’s metal wall. He huffed as he rolled his eyes, knowing that the pages won’t show the phases of the moon. They had long since stopped including the moon in the calendar because that was no use for them if you couldn’t see the sky in the first place.

When Namjoon tucked Jimin in for the night, he went back to his bunker room and opened the laptop he kept on his desk. A lot had changed and he didn’t often use his computer anymore since he had long since graduated and caring for Jimin had taken up a lot of his time. He had planned on keeping it until Jimin was old enough so he could give it to him instead.

However, searching things up on whatever search engine one preferred was still as easy as it was back in the day. He was delighted to see that the next night the moon would be 93% full. It may not be a complete full moon, but he knew that now was better than waiting- especially since Jimin was far from the patient time of a child.

He pushed himself to lounge back in his desk chair as he tapped his fingers on the top of his desk, craning his neck back to stare at the bland, empty ceiling.

“Tomorrow night it is,” he decided to himself in the solitude of his room.

XXX

The next day passed just as anyone had before it. Only now Namjoon pranced around in a veil of barely noticeable anticipation for the coming evening. He had mapped and planned out how he’d get Jimin out of the bunker without their aunt noticing or kicking up a fuss. He didn’t want that alcoholic to ruin the surprise he’d give to his younger brother.

Jimin had noticed Namjoon's air of pleasure as soon as he came home from school. He immediately took to pestering the eldest, hoping to break his resolve into telling him what had him so giddy, but Namjoon was solid and only kept telling him it was a surprise for later.

Jimin had changed out of his elementary uniform of shorts and collared shirt with a small bowtie clip, swapping them out for red shorts and a white shirt that was just a bit more than stained. Namjoon was in the kitchen taking out one of the many store bought pizzas they had in the freezer when the little man came running in only to try and be slick in trying to get Namjoon to spill the beans.

Namjoon stayed resilient.

After eating, more pestering, more failures of pestering, and cleaning up, Jimin trotted back to his room with Namjoon behind him. Namjoon could practically see the gears turning in the back of Jimin’s head of ways to make Namjoon bend and then break; but when the two entered the privacy of Jimin’s bunker room, Namjoon called him to the bed instead of directing him to his desk like usual to start his homework.

Today started the weekend, so any homework could be harmlessly postponed and looking at the clock along the wall, it started to get close to the hour of twilight.

Jimin climbed onto his bed, sitting excitedly in front of his brother with stars in his eyes. He knew he was finally getting the secret surprise out of his brother and Namjoon knew that Jimin thought it was because he had worn him down.

And he’d let the little boy continue to think he’d won. Why spoil his fun?

“What do you say we take a little trip,” Namjoon silently finished his sentence with his hand, using his index finger to point up at the ceiling and jerked his hand up in gesture. Jimin- being a bright 5th grader- already knew what he was asking and took to his feet on his mattress and started excitedly jumping.

Namjoon calmed him down, grabbing his hands as he jumped only to land on his bum on the mattress as his legs flopped over Namjoon’s lap. His grin threatened to split his face right in two.

“Yes!” Was his overly excited answer to which Namjoon immediately shushed him with a smile of his own. “Yes,” he whispered, still as excited as the first time.

“Then go get something warmer on, it’s chilly at night.”

Jimin bolted off the bed, rolling to plant his heels on the ground and rushed to his closet. Namjoon watched as he threw out a pair of pants and a hoodie he hadn’t worn in a while but thought still fit. From his drawers he tossed out a beanie and began to change quickly- like a madman was holding him at gunpoint.

Namjoon snickered when Jimin almost fell over trying to shove his leg into his pant leg too quickly and his foot snagged around the small, frayed hole in the knee.

When he was done, he ran to his brother, took his hand and started to weakly pull his arm. His torso was pulled back and forth, but he lacked the strength to move his brother any further.

“Okay, okay,” Namjoon gave, “I’m getting up. Stop yanking.”

Namjoon had gone to quickly check if his Aunt was either home or awake wandering around the kitchen, he didn’t find her in the house. It was all quiet. Good. If she were home, he’d have to tiptoe past her with an overly-excited Jimin. With her out- who knows where- the two boys could just waltz out of their home.

Stopping by his room, he just threw on the nearest hoodie he had laying around and a beanie that Jimin demanded he wear to match him. His grey sweats would have to be enough to keep his legs warm. He smiled as he looked at the gas mask on his wall and once again left it behind as he walked out to grab his brother’s hand and leave the house.

He also ran by the kitchen and grabbed a flashlight they kept in one of the few junk drawers they had and flicked it on, making sure it worked before shoving it into his pocket. Thankfully, his pockets were large enough to do so.

The few people still out in the metal, dirt-smelling streets would smile and ask what the boys were doing when it was already getting late for the little boy’s schedule. Namjoon would just lie, telling them Jimin had too much energy so they were walking around to get it all out.

When they got to the door leading up to the surface, Namjoon quickly punched in the code and as the door hissed, he slipped the both of them inside before it fully opened and began to run up the steps, telling Jimin he’d race him as far as he could go- just to get them away from anyone who would see them going up without a mask and at this time of evening and tried to stop them.

Shockingly, this trip up, Jimin managed to scale the long staircase all the way up without Namjoon having to pick him up and carry him on his back. The little boy claimed with a puffed out chest that at school during recess he had been going up and down the stairs to ‘train’ for this very occasion. Demanding praise, Namjoon ruffled his faded hair and let him push the large button to open the surface doors.

When Namjoon said it was going to be chilly, he was right.

It was dusk when the doors slid open and the slight breeze felt like a barrage of bricks being thrown at the boys. It was nothing like the damp-chill that lingers underground. The sweat that had been on them from their trek up the stairs in a seen film cooled almost immediately as Jimin started bouncing from his heels to his toes to try and warm up again.

“You sure you still wanna go, Chim?” Namjoon asked, wondering if he’d be okay with the wide open, cold air.

“I want to!”

“Alright.” Namjoon held out his hand, silently telling his brother to take it. The two walked outside and Jimin smiled in awe at the color changing sky.

It was blended in colors only his imagination could paint. A deep orange blending in with reds and heavy hues of pink that surrounded the dark, red, dusk colored sun. The clouds that spanned the sky were few and stretched like a thin strokes of paint from a cheap, hard-bristled brush and were hued the fainted shades of yellow. The world around the little boy was colored in warm tones and it made him forget about the chill he was slowly getting used to.

They walked around for a bit, just warming their body up to the new temperature when Namjoon noticed Jimin’s insistent staring at the not-so-far-off tree line. If the kid was trying to be inconspicuous, he was very bad at it.

“What’cha looking at?” The boy’s shoulders jumped at being caught as he began to toe at the ground beneath him. Once again poorly hiding his desire. Apparently, the kid found a sudden spike in confidence as he stomped his foot and looked up at Namjoon with determined eyes.

“I wanna go into the woods!” He exclaimed, lifting his free arm to point at the treeline. Namjoon sighed, having known that was coming.

“Chim, it’s already starting to get dark-”

“I know! But, just for a little bit. Please!” He whined, yanking on Namjoon’s arm.

Namjoon let out a defeated sigh as he looked up to the sky, rolling his eyes and ultimately gave in. They had maybe 20 minutes before it was dark enough to break out the flashlight. Jimin happily danced along with his brother as they made their way to the tree.

Namjoon made sure Jimin followed two important rules before they went inside. He had to keep a hold of his hand at all times- no running off on his own again. And when it got too dark they had to leave so they didn’t get lost or somehow hurt. Jimin agreed as they two started walking over roots and falling sticks, crushing leaves and quickly getting out of the way of passing by wildlife.

Jimin was constantly almost tripping over twigs or sticks that snuck their way in his path while he looked up and around in the treetops, neglecting to look down at his feet to watch where he was going.

“Jimin, you need to watch your feet.”

The pout that crossed over the boy’s lips was comical. Namjoon was ready for whatever excuse he was going to push out of them for not doing as he was told.

“But, what if I miss Y/n?”

There it was. Namjoon had already figured out he was looking for you. It happened to be a running theme with you hanging out in the trees every time one of them found you. Or if you found them. When Jimin got lost, he found you in a tree and when Namjoon went looking for you the one time he went up here without Jimin a week ago, you were also hanging out in a tree.

Namjoon tries telling the kid that he can do both, looking at his feet and then taking glances upwards. It wasn’t like they were walking all that quickly through the woods and Namjoon would also help him look up in the treetops just so Jimin could stop tripping. Between their back and forth banter, they failed to notice that instead of finding you, you happened to find them.

“I didn’t think you two had it in you to argue in the middle of the woods,” your voice startled the two to the point of halting their back and forth. Jimin let out a yell, not expecting it and Namjoon’s shoulders jolted as the both of them looked upwards.

Namjoon’s tense shoulders slackened as Jimin yanked excitedly on his arm. There you were in all your glory, sitting comfortably in a tree just as always. You smiled down at the duo before climbing your way down the tree trunk. The moment your bare feet hit the ground, Jimin broke away from Namjoon and dashed; barreling into your lower body and wrapping his arms around your midsection.

Nothing but a fit of gleeful giggles.

“I’ve missed you, Y/n!” The child all but whines as you pet softly at his head, mindful not to pull off the beanie he wore.

“It has been a while, huh?” You chuckle. Really just over a week wasn’t that much time realistically speaking, but to a child who was dead-set on believing you were a fairy? A week may have well been an eternity. Namjoon made his way closer to you as you looked up at him. “What are you guys doing up here so late?”

“We’re going to look at the moon!” Jimin chirped in favor of his older brother. “Namjoon says it doesn't look like the pictures in my fairy tales.”

“That's because it's changed since those were published, Chim” As Jimin grumbled, Namjoon looked back at you. “Know any good seats?”

The smile you wore felt contagious as Namjoon felt himself smiling along with you. From what you told him last time he saw you, it didn’t shock him that moon gazing made your eyes gleam with a veil of fondness. “As a matter of fact, I do.” You gently pulled Jimin’s small arms from around you and stepped back. Instead, you took his hand the moment his bottom lip began to pout. “Let’s go to the tallest tree, okay?”

Jimin nodded as he snatched Namjoon’s hand and squeezed it in his other, hanging between the two of you. When you led them to the largest oak you knew of that would have a clear view of the sky, you let go of Jimin’s hand only to kneel with your back facing him. Urging him to climb on, you grabbed the back of his thighs and told him to loop them around and lock his ankles together- or at least do the best he could not to slip off your back while you climbed.

Namjoon threw a joke about having to climb the tree himself all while rolling his sleeves up and readjusting his beanie so he wouldn’t loose it as his head would be craned up so he could semi-see where he climbed. You snorted at him as you started up. Jimin’s giggles flowed into your ears as you felt his legs squeeze against your sides and his arms tighten around your shoulders. Namjoon wasn’t far behind you, careful not to snag his clothes on any loose bark and only going for branches he knew would support his weight.

He tried to stay to the side of your quickly climbing figure so he wouldn't accidentally catch a glance up your dress. He figured that growing up in the forest and as far from society as you could get, you didn't think about the possibility of him sneaking a peek; he wondered if you’d even get angry if he told you to climb after he began for that very reason. Though, that didn’t stop his cheeks from heating up even in the evening chill.

As the three of you climbed nearer to the top of the tree, the branches were thinning out and bending to every breath of wind, making the two boys’ stomachs tangle in anxiety. Namjoon glanced down past his shoulder and while a fall from this height wouldn’t necessarily kill him unless he landed on his head- it definitely wouldn’t be a pleasant sensation.

“Hey,” Namjoon called, causing you to stop mid reach for another branch as Jimin squeaked, arms tightening again and trying to shift higher on your back when you leaned back to carelessly talk to him. He shouldn’t be surprised, you’ve only climbed trees a thousand times. “Aren’t the branches too thin to climb? We shouldn’t go much higher.”

“Too thin?” Honestly, you didn’t think that was the case. Though, perhaps it was because the tree was aiding you- showing you and guiding you to strong, sturdy branches to keep you climbing. Then again, only you could hear its voice- is that what you could call it. The sound of the tree helping you and keeping you from giving in to gravity. “If you don’t want to climb any more, you could’ve said so before.”

Before he could open his mouth and protest, he felt something coil around his ankles and up his calves, avoiding his knees and resting on the back of his thighs like a makeshift, constricting seat. Looking down, tree branches and vines had curled around his legs and began to move him upwards, the sound of creaking bark under his weight making his stomach twist.

As he rose slowly to your eye level, his hands had long since let go of the bark he clung to and Jimin’s wide eyes mocked the shock on Namjoon’s. You just smiled.

“The tree can take you to the top if you feel better that way.” You spoke so calmly like this was just an everyday, ordinary thing. Never in his life had he seen trees all bent and broken like this- like they were sentient or had free will. Yeah, you mentioned to him before you could communicate in some way with the nature you lived around- but this was not what he was expecting. What's more is that the branches curled around his lower half weren't even uncomfortable.

One would think the wood of the tree would be jagged, painful and just about a dozen future splinters waiting to happen. But, it just felt like ribbons were wrapped around him. It wasn’t painful at all, maybe that’s why it took so much effort to compromise that he wasn’t losing his mind. It as like an optical illusion.

“Can I try that?” Jimin suddenly piped up from on your back. Without a word, you just smiled as more branches began to encroach on your own body, but yours went up your back as well. Securing Jimin safely to you like a human backpack and cradling around his own back to keep him well in place. Then, as a branch-bound trio, you all were elevated to the top of the trees. The leaves were thick, but seemed to window out of your path and before long, the sky was in full view and you all witnessed the tiniest sliver of evening diminish under the vast, dark navy sky.

Stars dotted around like rhinestones, some still working on finding their light and working their way out into full view. Your shadows were cast along the tree leaves by the largest celestial body in the sky that conquers the nighttime- the whole reason the two boys were up on the surface in the first place.

“Wow, look” Jimin cheered, reaching past your shoulder to point at the moon. His eyes sparkled and Namjoon for once wasn’t looking at his younger brother's reaction. He was staring earnestly at the moon, Selene shining with a brilliant soft glow- just like how he remembered in his childhood before he was shoved underground like a mole. He felt nostalgic looking up at her beauty.

The moon was full and bright and you smiled up to what you considered your mother planet. Glancing at the two with you, you were pleased to see them both gazing at it with fondness and excitement. It made you feel giddy seeing them enjoy the sight of it shining in the sky.

“So,” you started, looking over your shoulder to Jimin’s excited face, “what’s your opinion on the moon?”

“It’s pretty! It doesn't look like the picture books, like Joon said, but it’s waaay better!”

The position of the moon this night made it easy to at least catch a glimpse at the irregular growth of the Moon Tree, even from the distance between the planets. It was like a tumor on the space rock, a large, shadowed, beautiful tumor that breached its cage and tethered itself to another planet.

From the way Namjoon spoke, it sounded like most of his people considered the moon a parasite that doomed the earth, but you thought it was the beginning of a new world. A new era where humans got a taste of their own medicine while the planet took itself back.

Though, you weren’t as sure as you wanted to be on your opinions when it came to other people. All you knew was what you learned in the labs you were ‘born’ into and what Namjoon explained that day on the escalator. Sure you’ve read pages of books that hadn’t been worn or molded away into dust, but you weren’t sure what was fact or fiction either.

All you knew was the moon was your sense of calming and that was all that mattered when you came right down to it.

“Way better huh?”

“Yeah! We’re learning about the Moon Tree in my class right now, and the teachers all say it’s a big bad thing. But it looks really pretty, even all the way down here. Nothing that pretty can be bad.” Your eyes soften at his child's innocence.

“Thanks for thinking that.”

Jimin then started on about his school and what he did and learned on a day-to-day basis. You found it fascinating and part of you was curious to see this underground world they lived in, but just the thought of going from wide, open, fresh air into a condensed cage of soil didn’t sit well in your stomach.

Eventually, as the moon crept higher in the sky, shining brighter with each passing moment until it would reach peak shine, you felt Jimin nodding off behind you, struggling to keep his young head up and awake. He was just a kid, and sleep was important to him and his growth, so you began to slowly hum.

The feeling of the humming vibration from you pulled him under and soon his arms were slumped over your shoulders, his head resting forward against the back of yours, sliding into your neck. He breathed easy as he slept.

Namjoon knew he slept like a rock, so he recommended climbing down the tree so he doesn’t slip off your back- even if the tree branches still kept him secured to you. He didn’t want to take the chance.

The branches easily and gently worked its way back down with the three of you, the sky shutting off from sight by the leaves and before long they were setting you and Namjoon softly back onto the soil. As the vines and branches retracted from him, he let some wrap around his hand before pulling back completely and disappearing into the dark forest.

It wasn’t as dark as Namjoon expected, a swarm of fireflies lighting the area up in small, repetitive blips of lime light. He watched you set Jimin down as you soon followed, sitting on the ground against the tree trunk and the sleeping boy’s head on your leg. Namjoon knew he should be taking Jimin and going home, but something in him compelled him to sit beside you and bask in the moment for a little longer- so he did.

You both talked in hushed tones, exchanging more differences about your life styles and educating the other. It felt like you were talking about two different planets by how different it all was, but it was also interesting.

The night went on and next thing Namjoon knew, he was cracking his eyes open to a morning lit, tree cluttered forest. Singing birds waking him instead of his alarm clock. Leaves casting dancing shadows along the dirt and grass instead of the bright, humming light of his bunker.

A weight was on his shoulder as his cheek rested on something. His neck was sore and his back stiff as he sucked in a breath and corrected his head to sit straight and not at an uncomfortable angle. The soreness in his neck making him wince.

Looking with small, tired eyes, you were sleeping beside him, your head on his shoulder and Jimin still on your lap. In fact he was more curled into your stomach by his sifting and moving through the night. He blinked before the realization hit him that he slept up on the surface overnight after sneaking himself and his younger brother out without telling a single person.

“Shit.”

a/n: so i decided that i wasn’t going to bust my ass and write what im only expecting to be another 10k words to this fic before the 12th just for a few notes. the lack of activity is really bumming me out- even if i’m on and off/on hiatus, whenever i do post or tease or hint at something, i still dont hardly get anything. this may be me whining, but nevertheless, here’s part one of Years END.

I started this back in 2019, and it’s been rewritten several times- so here’s hoping i can conclude it with a second part in the not so distance future lol

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mediocre-writerr · 4 years ago

Text

almost [toni shalifoe]

toni shalifoe x reader

requested: You’re an amazing writer! I had this promt for a while now where reader is Shelby’s best friend and Toni’s gf and once they get to the bunkers they find out about everything and try to escape the building but get followd by agents from all sides and the girls are scared for their lives and once they get the oppurtunity to escape the reader offers herself (maybe an agent was about to catch Shelby) and Toni and Shelby (they both don’t want to let go and are in hysterics) as well as the other girls lose it when readers screams and begs them to leave her and get to safety. Pretty heavy angst that you write so amazingly, it would be so nice to see you bring this idea to life.

*not my gif*

The walls started to be the only thing you can remember seeing. The weird wooden paneling in what felt like a fucking holding cell for prisoners’ on death row. You can’t remember what the sky looked like or the stars. All you can remember is this stupid quarantine room that you were put in after you got, quote on quote: saved, from the island.

You haven’t seen any of the girls since you’ve been saved. And you really wished you could’ve, you’ve missed their personalities. Rachel’s determination. Dot’s sarcasm. Fatin’s inappropriate jokes. Leah’s intelligence. Shelby’s kind heart. And lastly, your girlfriend Toni’s protectiveness. All of them, everything about them, you wish you had with you right now.

All of a sudden the entire power went out. The lights shut off and the camera that watches you 24/7 was down. There were footsteps echoing throughout the hallway until it stopped right in front of the door. You waited for the door to open, but it didn’t. It was like there was a moment of hesitation before something was slipped under the door and the footsteps echoed away.

A small piece of paper, written in a handwriting that was quite familiar. You’ve seen this handwriting in Nora’s notebook. From the one and only Leah Rilke, saying: We were right...

All of the conspiracy theories that we once thought were crazy, were actually true. After the shark attack that made us lose Nora and Rachel’s hand, Leah told us everything. From her finding Jeanette’s second phone to seeing Nora talk to a camera in the trees. You all thought it was crazy, until the questions that Dr. Fader and Agent Young asked could’ve only been known if they were on the island.

You flipped the paper over, seeing that there was something else written: Escape plan ???.

The next few days were quiet. You didn’t quite know what to do with yourself. Until finally, your door swung open. Fader and Young were both standing there with hands in their pockets, “You ready to see the girls?”

Your eyes lit up for the first time since you got there. Happiness overwhelming your body at the chance to see the only people who have been keeping your mind sane in that Hell hole.

You shot up from off the bed and followed them into the corridor. But not before trying to examine each hall, to find some sort of exit plan. Then it all came to a view, your favorite people in the entire world.

“Toni?” you whispered and she turned around to face you. A huge smile formed onto her face before she wrapped her arms around you.

You let out a sigh of relief. Your whole body seemed to relax at the slightest touch, “Hi love.” she whispered, holding you tightly.

The two of you let go and you see your best friend. Her long lucious blonde locks no longer there, but rather a buzz cut replacing it. You know you shouldn’t have laughed, but c’mon it’s your best friend. The two of you make fun of each other all of the time.

“You like it?” she asked, pretending to flip her hair over her shoulder.

You bursted out laughing, “Oh yeah! Getting a little bit of Caillou vibes from it.”

She pushed you back softly, before grabbing your shoulders and ultimately bringing you into a hug of your own, “I’ve missed you.” she whispered.

“I’ve missed you too...” you begin to say with seriousness, but you couldn’t help the nickname that popped into your head, “...Shelbald.”

Everyone in the coordior seemed to have busted out laughing at the nickname, “I hate you.” Shelby said.

“Mhmm, I hate you too.” you said, pulling away from the hug. Going around the room to hug all of the other girls.

Once all of you realized that you were alone, without the two agents watching your every move, you decided to catch up on the plan.

“How is this gonna work, Leah? I mean how did you get the notes out to us in the first place?” you asked. A question that has been flooding your thoughts for quite some time now.

She had a small smirk on her face, “We have an ally on the inside.” she said, bringing her voice to a whisper, “I have these napkins for all of you. We’re gonna put them in our door before closing. It’ll give us a chance to not allow it to close.”

Leah handed everyone a napkin. All of us clenching them in our fist, trying to hide it as much as possible.

“Our ally is gonna cut the power like they did when they slipped the note to everyone for me. We’re all gonna run and meet here at the corridor. He told me where the secret exit is and we’re gonna get out through there. The rest of the plan from there is a little fuzzy, but escaping is the most important part.” she explained.

There was a tense silence between everyone for a little bit. Before we all broke out into smiles, “Leah,” Rachel began, “Thank God for your craziness. It’s gonna save our asses!”

“Hell yeah it will!” Fatin exclaimed. All of you laughed along with each other. A sudden weight being lifted from your shoulders, like for once in the past few months everything was gonna be okay.

God, how you were so wrong.

“When is this happening?” Dot asked.

Leah’s lips quirked into a smirk, “Tonight.”

After a couple more hours, the two agents came back. Escorting us one by one to our rooms. We bid each other goodbye before walking into our rooms. As our doors close, all of us stuffing a napkin into them. The slow sounds of footsteps slowly fading away down the hallway, you pushed the door open a little and low and behold...it opened.

You pretended to act the normal the entire rest of the day. Lying in bed, pretending to be upset with the world. It’s not like that part changed, but at least now there was a glimmer of hope at the end of the road. You didn’t know what time it was, it could’ve been 10pm or 2am or 4am, but all of the lights shut off again. And you watched as the cameras fell, like they have been disarmed.

You let out a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves, “Let’s do this.”

Slowly, you stepped out of the room, looking up and down the hallway. The coast was clear. You ran out of your room, trying to not make a lot of noise. When you reached the cooridor, everyone was there and you could tell that nervousness hung over the group.

“We ready?” Dot asked and all of us just nodded, “Let’s fucking go!”

All of you walked out of the cooridors, making sure the coast was clear. Toni intertwined her fingers into your hands and the tension in your shoulders seemed to have fallen away. Shelby was right behind you guys and you made sure to look back every now and then to make sure she was okay.

“There they are!” you heard a deep voice yell.

All of you stopped in your tracks, looking at one another. Then reality hit all of you like a truck, before you took off running. Toni practically dragging you along with her and every second you looked behind you to see Shelby keeping up. But when you do, you can see a butt-load of agents, the distance between you and them growing smaller and smaller by the second.

“Guys! They’re gaining!” you yelled. As time went on, your energy and adrenaline that the group once had was slowly diminishing.

“Well run faster!” Rachel called back. Both her and Leah leading the charge.

“I didn’t sign up for a marathon!” Fatin exclaimed.

Dot shrugged, “It’s either run a marathon or get captured by them.”

Fatin looked back at all of the angry men. And somehow, someway, she started running faster, “Yeah, yeah. Marathon it is!”

You reached the exit Leah was once talking about. Shutting the door behind you guys, locking it just before they could get in. You did a mental head count...Rachel, Leah, Dot, Fatin, Toni...that’s only five? That’s only five! You scanned the two way hallway frantically.

“Love? What’s wrong?” Toni asked.

You shook your head, “Where’s Shelby? She wa s right behind us. I should’ve...I should’ve kept watching her. I should’ve make her run in front of me.”

“What?” Toni questioned, her voice a little softer.

“Where’s Shelby?!” you practically screamed. Your voice echoing throughout the hallway.

You heard footsteps coming towards you. Shelby in the hands of Agent Young, you released a shaky breath. All of you were surrounded, the door to escape right there in front of you. A middle aged lady that you recognized from the Dawn of Eve video appeared from behind the two agents.

“Relax darling. She’s right here. Now how about we all get you back to your cells?” she asked.

Everyone shook their head, “No, this is insane! You can’t keep us here forever!” Dot yelled.

“Well we need one of you to explain to us what happened. So if you’d like to escape, go right ahead, but we keep Shelby. Easy peasy.” she explained.

You looked at Toni, sending her an apologetic glance. Her head tilting to the side in confusion. You leaned forward softly, placing a small kiss to her cheek, before letting go of her hand.

“Y/N? What are you-“ she began to ask, but you stepped towards the woman and the two agents.

You let out yet another shaky breath, “Take me.” you said sternly.

An echo of “What?!” rang throughout the hallway. And you tried not to focus on the fear that laced, each and every one of their voices.

“You let them go, let them go back home. And I’ll switch places with Shelby. I’ll cooperate and tell you the entire truth.” you negotiated.

Shelby stared right at you, “Are you insane?” she asked, tears pooling at your eyes.

“Please. Let them go. I’ll tell you everything I know. That is your best bet of trying to get yourself out of whatever sick game you’re playing. Because if you keep all of us here, we will not cooperate and you’ll know nothing.” you explained. The middle-aged woman pondered your negotiation for quite a few minutes.

And with one snap of her fingers, she was released and you were in the grasp of Agent Young and Dr. Fader. You finally brought yourself to look at the girls who were all crying. And you couldn’t bear to look at them anymore as you heard sobs course throughout Shelby, Leah, and Fatin’s body. Then there was Toni, Dot, and Rachel who were trying their best to stay strong, but you knew they couldn’t.

“You can’t do this!” Toni yelled.

You shook your head, “We don’t have a choice. I need you guys to leave. We’ve lost 2 already! No one else can get hurt anymore.” Everyone went silent, “Can I say goodbye first?” you asked, softly. The three adults all looked at each other before nodding.

You stopped first at Rachel, pulling her into a small hug. And you could feel little tear drops fall onto your shoulder, “I’m sorry we couldn’t save her.” That caused Rachel to sob even more.

You rubbed her back softly, “I’m sorry we couldn’t save you.” she whispered back before pulling away.

Then there was Fatin. She immediately crashed into your arms, holding you tighter than she ever has before. You ran your fingers through her hair, trying to soothe her as best as possible.

“I’m still holding you to your plans for when you escape.” you mentioned, out of the blue.

“What?” she asked, pulling away a little.

You smiled widely at her, “You still gotta fuck the rowdiest guy with biggest dick ASAP!”

And for once since the great escape happened all of you finally laughed and smiled. She sniffled before nodding, “I promise. I’ll dedicate it to you.”

Then Dot. You could tell she was trying her best not to cry, but a few tears slipped out. She hugged you tightly, patting your back in the process, “Do me a favor?” she just hummed in response, “When you get back home to Texas, watch after Shelby. Live in your old house together, something...anything! She can’t go home, she’s not ready for that yet. But you need to protect her and make sure that she stays the same person she is jow. Not the person we knew before, can you do that?”

“With my life.” Dot promised and you look back at her to find a determined nod on her face.

Leah’s turn was next. Her piercing blue eyes looked like the ocean when it rained. The glossiness of the raindrops hitting the water. You smiled at her softly, pulling her into a hug.

You were right by her ear when you whispered, “When we get out of here, you need to tell our story. Tell the truth the whole truth. Don’t let these bastards win. Sue them if we have to. Just get our story out. I trust you more than anyone to do that. Do it for Jeanette and Martha and even Nora. The ones we’ve lost and the ones who are lost in the trauma.”

“I’m on it. You come back to us okay? We need you here too to tell our story.” she said.

You smiled at her sadly, “I’ll try.”

Then there was Shelby. You look at her and she looked at you shaking her head, “No no you can’t do this. You can’t sacrifice yourself for everyone else. I’ll stay here with you! I’ll follow you always!” she pleaded, sobs following her spoken words.

Tears finally fell from your eyes, “You can’t stay here okay? You have to go home.”

“You’re my only family!! Why are you doing this??” she practically yelled.

You sniffled, smiling softly, “You know how we always wanted to be the hero? We would go on missions for church to help people’s lives.” she nodded, “I’m gonna be the hero today and save the people I care about the most.”

Shelby grabbed you forcefully, holding you into her arms. The two of you shaking, as sobs coursed throughout your bodies. You placed your hand on the back of her head, holding her unbelievably close. Until you finally let go.

“I’m not gonna let you do this.” Toni said sternly.

“You have no choice-“ you began to say, but she cut you off.

“Fuck that! I do have a choice and I’m gonna swap places with you! You took Shelby’s place so easily, so why can’t I do that with you?!” her voice echoing, causing everyone to flinch back.

You took your hands in her face, rubbing circles along her cheekbones. Something you did on the island to calm her down when she got too angry or stressed. You placed your forehead on hers and you could see her lips start to quiver.

“You can’t stay here.” she pleaded, “I can’t-what am I gonna do without you? I don’t have Marty or you, what am I gonna do?”

You placed a kiss to her forehead, “I’m gonna find my way back. Find all of you again, okay? I’m never leaving you as cheesy as it sounds I’m always gonna be right here.” you pointed at her heart, “But until then I have to go darling.”

“No, please!” she practically begged. You kissed her softly, but with so much emotion to let her know how much you love her. Not knowing when the next time will be.

“I love you Toni.” you placed one more kiss to her forehead before taking a step back to look at all of the girls.

Again, with one snap of the fingers, you were back in the agents arms, “Escort them to the exit.” the middle-aged woman stated, “You’re coming with me.”

Ear piercing screams rang through your ears. You were about to be dragged off when Shelby and Toni tried rushing towards you. They grabbed your hands trying to pull you back, but the agents were stronger. Not to mention the other agents holding them back.

“We’re not leaving you!!” they yelled.

You didn’t want it to end like this, “Please just go! We lost! You can’t stay here! It’s not safe for you! So please just get out!” you screamed before everything started to break down in front of you, “Just go.” you kept mumbling over and over again between sobs.

Dr. Fader and the middle aged woman escorted you away from the girls and to the interrogation room. While Agent Young escorted the bawling girls towards the exit, probably to drive them to the airport on wherever the hell we are.

“You promised! I trusted that you would keep all of us safe!” Leah spat at Agent Young when they were all alone. She started banging on his chest, “I trusted you! And you-you made us lost Y/N!”

He just let her go at it, before grabbing her wrists as softly as possible, “I tried, but Gretchen watched all of you run from her office. She figured you were going there. And called for everyone to surround you. I tried Leah. I tried for all of you and I failed!”

“You were the ally?” Dot asked and he nodded.

“You girls don’t deserve this. You’ve already been through so much. It’s time for you to go home.” he said sadly, “I’ll take care of her, I promise.”

///

tag list: @hstoria @greysky22 @shalifoestilinski @yourssincerelyj

#the wilds imagines #the wilds #toni shalifoe imagines #toni shalifoe x reader

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marvelmusing · 3 years ago

Text

Making Time

Mobius M Mobius x Reader

Part 5

Series Masterlist • My Masterlist

“There's nothing, sir.” The analyst says, looking up from the computer to inform you and Mobius.

“Have you used the magnified nexus threshold?” You ask him. Mobius nods in agreement.

“That one should be setting off alarms if somebody steps on the wrong leaf.”

“Wherever they are, I'm not sure anything survives.” The analyst argues.

“Yeah. Don't underestimate them. You see anything down at Roxxcart? They're gone. Leaping across time, plotting their next massacre.” You glance over at Mobius. He seemed a little shaken by whatever Renslayer told him after her meeting with the Time-Keepers. B-15 stops beside Mobius,

“Any news on C-20?” She asks. Mobius doesn’t look at her as he answers,

“No.”

“We need to find them.” She insists, her gaze fixed on the timeline in front of you.

“We will.” Suddenly an analyst perks up.

“We've got something. Temporal lock.” Everyone watches the timeline as a branch extends from the main line, faster than you’ve ever seen before.

“Okay, that's not someone stepping on the wrong leaf.” Mobius comments.

“You ever seen a branch like that?” You ask the two of them. B-15 shakes her head faintly.

“No.”

You spend the morning gathering paperwork for Mobius. You organise all the mission reports regarding the Loki Case and before long Mobius arrives to collect them.

“Thanks [Y/N].” He scoops the files up from your desk. You smile up at him.

“No problem. How’s it going with Loki?” He sighs, leaning against your desk beside you.

“I don’t know. He seems quite defensive, so I’ve left him in a Time Cell.” You nod.

“What’s he said?” He laughs softly.

“He said the TVA’s lying to me. Obviously some kind of lie he’s trying to spin.” You nod again, lost in thought. “You alright?” You glance back at him.

“Yeah, of course.” He pushes himself away from your desk, adjusting his grip on the files.

“I’d better get this to Renslayer.”

“If you need anything, I’ll be here.” He nods,

“I’ll see you later.”

“See you.”

It isn’t long before Mobius is back. He’s striding through the cubicles, heading straight for your desk.

“Come with me.” Is all he says. Which is all it takes for you to stand up and follow him. You’re both quiet as you make your way to the archives. Mobius finds a deserted corner, and tucks the two of you away behind a row of shelves.

“What’s going on?” You whisper, as you watch him pull a TemPad out of his pocket.

“I’m not sure yet.” You watch the screen as he scans through the most recent files.

“That’s not your-“

“It’s Ravonna’s.” You look up at him sharply. He looks a mix of anxious and excited, like he goes when he’s close to a breakthrough on a case. You look back at the screen when something starts playing. It’s a video of C-20. The hunter that was enchanted by the variant.

“You're not hearing me. I was there. This was real, what I saw. This is a place that I've been. This wasn't the TVA. This was a memory. I lived down there. I went to that bar. I had friends. I had a whole life on the Sacred Timeline.”

“Calm down.” You hear Renslayer say to her.

“Calm down? I'm a Variant. So are you. So is every single person in this place.”

“I'm ending this.” The video ends, the face of Renslayer paused as she stops the recording. You look back at Mobius.

“Ravonna said C-20 was dead. That the variant had scrambled her mind.” He tells you.

“She seemed pretty upset. But not scrambled.” You say. He nods,

“I think Loki was right.”

“What do we do now?”

“I don’t know. But I know where to start. I’ll go get Loki, you get Sylvie.”

“Sylvie?”

“The other Loki variant, that’s her name.” You nod. The two of you make your way out of the archives. You spilt up, Mobius going to Loki, you going to find Sylvie. You approach the time theatre where Sylvie is being kept, before asking the hunters on guard to let you in for an interrogation. The hunter closest to you offers his baton, which you accept with a smile. As the doors open, you see a woman sat on one of the chairs in the centre of the room. Her hair is slightly damp, and her legs are propped up on the desk in front of her. She glances at you as you enter the room. Once the door is closed you say to her,

“I’m a friend of Loki’s. I’m going to get you out of here.” She looks up at you in surprise, though before she can respond the door opens. You spin around to see Renslayer stepping into the room. She takes one look at Sylvie before saying,

“Who else was in here with her?”

“Sorry, ma'am, B-15 insisted.” One of the hunters responds.

“Put out an alert for Hunter B-15. She too has been compromised by the Variant.”

“She too? Who else has been compromised?” You ask her, feigning innocence and praying that Mobius is safe. She gives you an unwavering look.

“Agent Mobius. He unfortunately became very unstable, and was consequently pruned.” The baton in your grasp trembles.

“Pruned?” You repeat quietly. Not Mobius. Please, no. The hunters move forward to seize Sylvie and you use that to your advantage. You slam your baton into the back of his head, before swinging at the other one beside you. Once they’re on the floor, you twist the baton, the end glowing as you lunge at Renslayer. But she’s too quick. She dodges. Grabbing your baton, and using your momentum to push you against the wall. Holding the baton in both hands, she pushes it against your throat. You squirm and struggle against her. One of the hunters forces a time collar around your neck, then you’re reversed to back where you were a minute ago. The hunter hands the time twister to Renslayer who takes it with a smirk. Hot tears of frustration and grief flood down your face. You attempt another lunge at her,

“You little bit-“ You’re reversed backwards in an instant. A small sob wracks you as you stare at her. “He trusted you!” She turns back to the hunters.

“Let’s take them both to the Time-Keepers.” The hunters grasp ahold of you and Sylvie, and March you down the corridors, towards the elevator leading to the Time-Keepers. You hold your head high, despite the tears staining your cheeks. As you reach the elevator the hunters stop. You hear Sylvie whisper an,

“Are you okay?” To which he nods faintly. You glance over at Loki. He returns your gaze.

“[Y/N], I’m so sorry.” He whispers, looking as heartbroken as you felt. You swallow hard,

“It’s not your fault Loki.” You tell him.

“I’ve got them from here.” Renslayer tells the hunters, who then let go of you and leave. The four of you step into the elevator. After a small conversation between Sylvie and Renslayer, which makes you hate her even more, the elevator doors open and you step out to meet the Time-Keepers.

“Gracious Time-Keepers, as promised, the Variants.”

“After all your struggle, at last, you've arrived before us. What do you have to say for yourselves before you meet your end, Variants?” The Lizard in the middle says, looking down at the three of you. Loki speaks first.

“Is that the only reason you brought us here? To kill us? I've lost track of the number of times I've been killed, so go ahead. Do your worst.”

“You and your bravado are no threat to us, Variant.” Sylvie shakes her head.

“Oh, no, I don't think you believe that. I think...” As she steps forward Renslayer reverses her back, but she continues, “I think you're scared.”

“No, Variant. You're nothing but a cosmic disappointment. Delete them.”

“No, I'm not done with you yet.” There’s a buzz, then your time collar drops to the ground. You look at door to see B-15 with Sylvie’s sword in hand.

“For all time. Always.” She says, throwing the sword to Sylvie which she catches.

“Protect the Time-Keepers!” Renslayer orders. Then the fighting breaks out. You manage to fight off a few of the Time-Keepers guards, though Sylvie and Loki do most of the work. You watch as Sylvie throws her sword at the Time-Keepers, swiping the head of one of them. With a crackle of electricity, the head bounces along the steps to land in front of Loki.

“Fake. Mindless androids. It never stops.” Sylvie throws the head down angrily.

“Then who created the TVA?” Loki asks.

“I thought this was it.” The two of them appear to be having some kind of moment, so you look away. Only to be grabbed by a guard who’s regained consciousness. As you push him away you notice Renslayer advancing towards Loki. You cry out his name in warning but it’s too late. Loki disappears in a fizzle of sparks. Sylvie charges at Renslayer, seizing her baton and pushing her against the steps. You stand at Sylvie’s side with your baton raised.

“Do it.” Renslayer goads.

“No.” You say.

“You’re going to tell us everything.”

Tagslist: @n0obmaster69 @mackycat11 @wibblywobblyjeremybearimy @boriqs @aloisia @fandom-lover-4 @lam-ila @momos-peaches @gracey07 @morganwilliams @greeneyedblondie44

If you’d like to be tagged just ask!!

#agent mobius x reader #mobius m mobius x reader #mobius imagine #mobius m mobius #mobius mcu #mobius x reader #mobius loki #agent mobius #loki 2021 #marvel x reader #marvel fics

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theyapper0 · 4 years ago

Text

Amphibia season 1 rewatch + notes :)

So I just finished rewatching the ENTIRE season 1 of Amphibia and I have some notes on the episodes that stood out to me! There are some quick notes, a couple lengthy analyses and even some headcanons sprinkled in! It's like a written stew of season 1! I'll be doing a written Amphiba stew for season 2 too!!

It's kinda long so you could just skip this or hit the keep reading button and give it a read!

S1: E2 Cane Crazy

Anne shows general disregard over other people's things

(Mimicking Hop Pop and breaking his cane, throwing all the wood carving things that Loggle made, even a coo coo clock that she even said was nice (And for him to say it took 20 years to make right after she broke it))

S1: E2 Flood, Sweat and Tears

Anne would be the WORST during sleepovers and I LOVE IT!!! My girl is just being a tween, staying up late, playing would you rather and keeping everyone else up. I think that's ADORABLE and now I'm thinking about how sleepovers might've been back home with her, Sasha and Marcy…

She also just stays up late in general?? She reads dumb magazines and eats CRUNCHY snacks. She is really just 13,,,

And it looks like Sprig does it too, not as much as Anne (probably because he is younger than her) but it seems like it has to be in his terms. Before, he looked to be annoyed with it when he was trying to sleep. But, if he was awake, like in the beginning or at the end of the episode, he had no problem staying up playing would you rather!!!

S1: E3 Hop Luck

Anne: Old things are dumb!

And

Anne:* violently GRABS Sprig and shoves him against the wall* don't you DARE talk about pineapple in my pizza… Ever…

Anne:

Sprig:

Anne: Okay! Let's go get these ingredients!

HHHH ANNE!!! I love this funky little child SO MUCH!!!

Hop Pop loves these kids so much that he was willing to put aside his old, traditional family recipes in exchange for making pizza with them. My heart is gonna explode I'm-

Anne please don't make your surrogate frog brother get married just to get some pizza dough I'M BEGGING YOU-

S1: E3 Stakeout

Hop Pop: I'm a crisp 68!

Is Hop Pop actually 68 or does he mean more of 68 going on 80 68? Either way he looks great!

Anne has Blam Berry Blitz ("the drink that punches you in the face and doesn't stop") in her bag along with all the OTHER stuff we already saw (air pump, toe nail clipper, pencils, cat toys, bath bombs, etc)

Anne is officially those friends that have EVERYTHING in their bag no matter what.

I really like the relationship between Anne and Hop Pop, how they both in some way yearn for what was but in different ways (Anne wanting to go home and Hop Pop's olden ways when he was a little pollywog) but are still similar in how they try to remember. They try and try and try to keep what little family/friends they have safe and protected. They love the relationships they've formed with other people (And with each other) and would go great lengths to help and protect them!

Also I MAY be looking way too into it buuuut was Boulder-Tron (that rock dude that Polly hallucinated at the end) supposed to foreshadow Frobo??

S1: E4 Taking Charge

Okay quick one, Anne nearly having a whole ass panic attack when her phone dies because she couldn't look at her photos or videos of home actually made me sad. This girl is only a CHILD and her entire home and everything is gone and she for real thought she couldn't ever get it back,,,

Hop Pop: I mean, the part where the island itself is revealed to actually be…!

Sprig: No!

Polly: Don't!

Anne: Spoilers

I dunno why and again, I MIGHT BE LOOKING TOO DEEPLY INTO THIS, but maybe this is foreshadowing something with the land of Amphibia? That maybe there is more to this crazy land than we know? Maybe even a reason it, along with all the other universes even exists???

S1: E5 Breakout Star

AHSBWJOA ONLY EPISODE 5 AND ANNE ALREADY HAS HER PHONE'S LOCK SCREEN OF THE PLANTER FAMILY I'M-

S1: E7 Dating Season

Anne said that ⅔ of ALL soul mates start out as "just friends"

…

I'm looking at you, team Sashannarcy

S1: E7 Anne vs. Wild

Hop Pop's behavior at the end of the episode when Anne finally shows them the calamity box is awfully sus…

He doesn't say anything but "may I?" To inspect the box and then is like "Nope, never seen it" I just feel like he knows something and then adding onto it with the whole burying it to protect his family just sounds like… he definitely knows something, maybe not a lot but there is something he's not telling the others

Also, why would a book that HE has have information on the Calamity box??

(I fully support the Dr. P was a Planter and also possibly the pink frog who was friends with King Andrias theory)

S1: E10 Toad Tax

At this point, Anne said that she has already been in Amphibia for over a month now.

(And damn, Sasha's been in prison for like a month,,, yikes)

Also Hop Pop teaching Anne how to pay taxes is so adorable, she really is part of this family now guys,,,

And I love how Anne was able to win over the Wartwood people by being her natural, charming and not to mention caring self. Anne, like Marcy and Sasha, can be selfish because honestly what kid, especially a 13 year old, isn't.

But what matters is that she always tries to make up for it.

Yes she did join the arguably sketchy toads into getting the taxes from everyone in order to feel somewhat included in ANYTHING, but while she was doing it, she knew it was wrong. Anne knew it was wrong and tried to give back some of the stolen stuff. Hell, even at the end she risked her safety to protect people she felt didn't even LIKE her, like, Anne literally broke her arm from them because that's just how Anne is.

S1: E10 Prison Break

I always forget how like,,, SUPER cunning Sasha is. I mean, she was able to talk FIVE toads into quitting within a WEEK as a PRISONER. Like??

Grime: That's not a bird. It's a heron, a murderous predator that happens to love the taste of flesh

Sasha: Cute

The lines in this show I'M-

So Anne was a varsity tennis player and Sasha was a cheerleader and did Tai Chi. I still can't believe they were both jocks,,,

(Well, Sasha I get but Anne? Sweet ol' lil baby with the lanky limbs Anne???)

Hey um, why the FUCK does Grime have acid spit?

Sasha: *looking at photo of her, Anne, and Marcy* Hold on for a little longer, girls. I'm coming for you. And when I find you, we're gonna get home. But first, I think we're gonna have some fun with this place

Okay so this line right here. Now I may not be even remotely correct but this line, this last piece of dialogue spoken by Sasha right before the episode ends leads me to believe that she… doesn't take this world seriously.

At least not yet.

I think the 3 girls all see Amphibia differently: Anne as more of an obstacle, a wall preventing her from being home, Marcy sees it as an escape from her life with constant stimuli, and Sasha, she sees it as just really another thing to control. Everyone and their mothers know that Sasha can be a little more than controlling and we all know that she liked being lieutenant just a little too much.

This world is interesting to Sasha, not in the interesting that Anne sees it (who is interesting in the new people and the relationships she's formed) or Marcy (who is also interested in the relationships she's formed along with the thirst for knowledge and again, the constant stimuli in an environment where she isn't stifled and allowed to flourish).

No, Sasha sees Amphibia as interesting because it gives her something to control. In a world that is not your own, a world that you will leave eventually, who would actually FOLLOW the rules put in place there? Especially a 13 year old who is basically like a war commander who, even if she does do something wrong or breaks a rule or two, the only person who might even dare to stop her is Grime, and even then, he might just encourage it because it is season 1 and they aren't that close and he doesn't really care for Sasha at this point.

She also is actually very logical. Everything she does in Amphibia, all the morally questionable things she does, it is always for the same reason (or at least at first), to get her and her girls home. Wanting to sacrifice and kill Hop Pop at the end of season 1? Well The toads had promised if she helped, they'll help her find Marcy and bring the 3 of them home. She cares for Anne and Marcy SO MUCH that she is willing to go great lengths to help keep them safe.

But even though Sasha didn't really care about anyone in Amphibia besides Anne and Marcy at first, it doesn't mean she won't ever. We see countless times throughout season 2 of Sasha caring. She feels regret with her impending betrayal on Anne and Marcy, she cares enough to try and warn Anne about King Andrias' evil plans. Hell, even in the season 3 intro we see her and Grime at Wartwood and it looks like they're gonna be starting another rebellion against the king to help all the amphibians in Amphibia.

I just really like watching Sasha's appearance and knowing what will happen in the future with her character.

S1: E13 Trip to the Archives

Anne: I get this place. It's like a library from my world. Zoo books and manga, here I come!

So whenever Anne goes to the library, presumably with Sasha and Marcy, she'd go straight to books on animals and manga probably while Marcy did whatever work they needed (if Anne's dialogue in season 2 with Marcy always doing the work for their group projects was anything to go off on)

I dunno, I think that's kinda cute that Anne liked reading books on animals and probably reading all the manga that Marcy recommended.

Maybe Anne and Sasha would sit right next to each other while Marcy worked and read fun manga together and cackle with each other while Marcy tried SO HARD to concentrate and NOT infodump to them because she's read that specific manga 20 times and HAVE YOU GOTTEN TO THAT ONE PART WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER GOES-

S1: E15 Wally and Anne

MOSS MAN!!

When Anne wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to grab Wally at town square, her hood is up and it's dark. The only thing we can make out of her face are…

Glowing blue eyes.

Glowing eyes that share an uncanny resemblance to the moss men.

And Anne loves doing elaborate, silly handshakes? That's so CUTE! Too bad none of her friends liked them as much as she did :(

When they finally reached the foggy mountain place, Anne noticed glowing blue butterflies and started to follow them, which led her right to the moss man.

WAIT ANNE ALSO DID ROCK CLIMBING BACK HOME?? FUCKING JOCK!!!

S1 E20 Reunion

Okay I WAS about to say that there wasn't anything to say about this last episode that hasn't already been said before BUT

The last couple moments, when Anne is holding Sasha off the cliff and trying to pull her up with the Planters, there's a couple interesting shots that I would like to talk about.

While the Planters were holding onto Anne, they say things like "Hang on, Anne! We got you no matter what!"

And even when the stone cliff starts to chip and break, none of the frogs back off, they don't loosen their grips, they just keep holding onto Anne.

And they will never let go.

Because they love her. Because in only 3 months, Anne was able to get a surrogate frog family and dozens of other frog friends in Wortwood. Because Anne has this amazing support system both literally and metaphorically. Because Anne is Anne. And Sasha...

Isn't like Anne.

Matt Bradly himself even said that both Sasha and Anne are different from Anne, Anne is the heart, the emotional connection in their logical worlds. Anne can make so many friends so easily and Sasha… Sasha became a war genral, she lost a fight against the one person who she thought would never fight back.

Sasha doesn't have what Anne has. She doesn't have the kind of skills to make such strong relationships, the kind where you risk your life for the other, in such a short amount of time.

Hell, they even play a song called "Lean on Me", Anne has people to lean on and they would lean on her just the same. She found these people, made these friends, formed amazing relationships, in only THREE months.

"Maybe you're better off without me"

And Sasha was only dragging her down.

Sasha loves Anne, she cares for her and would do anything to protect her. That's why she let go. She didn't want to drag Anne down, to hurt her more than she already has.

Sasha would do anything for Anne, even die.

Over all notes:

Season 1 is SUPER FUNNY!! The lines hit and they don't rely on toilet humor to get the audience to laugh. They use great one liners and physical humor that isn't fart or butt jokes. They do an excellent job on showing how crazy the world of Amphibia is through humor like how the animals are always eating each other.

I really like how the characters were crafted so carefully! And the storyline!!! You could notice things that get explored in season 2 and I can't WAIT to see how many bread crumbs were left to lead up to season 3!

HOW DOES ANNE KEEP SO MANY THINGS IN HER BOOK BAG???

That stuff is in her SCHOOL BAG, why would she bring it to school??? So far I've got an air pump, toe nail clippers, pencils, cat toys, bath bombs and an energy drink. WHY??? I wonder if she held on to any of Sasha or Marcy's things too or ever forgot to give them back

Also again, I'M STILL IN SHOCK OF ANNE BEING A JOCK. I don't even know why I am, I knew she played sports and stuff it's just,,, she's so lanky,,,

Her and Sasha are jock buddies and WILL shove other jocks in lockers if they ever pick on their nerd Marcy.

I also am in LOVE with Hop Pop's screams lmao

Be ready for an analysis of season 2!

#amphibia #anne boonchuy #hopadiah plantar #hop pop #sprig planter #polly planter #sasha waybright #Marcy wu #season 1 #analysis #my ramblings

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annabethy · 4 years ago

Note

Internet crush au i love the thought that both percy and annabeth try to subtly flirt with each other whist being an ocean apart on youtube (and all of they’re followers know they’re simps) idk just a thought for if you’re still wanting prompts ❤️❤️

oceans apart: percabeth internet crush au

“Not again.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes, pointedly sipping her cup of coffee and ignoring Piper’s whine for attention.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to,” Annabeth lies.

“Oh, so you’re not sparking up an online romance with the infamous Percy Jackson?”

Annabeth hums, taking another slow sip of her drink. “I am merely responding to his message.”

“Over twitter. In front of millions of people.”

Annabeth snorts, staring at the phone in hand. It was true, really. Somehow, Annabeth had managed to gain quite a big following on youtube during her years spent studying at Oxford, and at some point, a guy from UCLA took an interest in her. It had been pretty hilarious, especially to the millions of people watching her every move, and she just hadn’t been able to put a stop to the online flirting, which is precisely why she was flirting with a man that was oceans apart from her.

“You’re never even met this man,” Piper points out.

“That’s what makes it fun,” Annabeth says. “An online romance. Who doesn’t love it?”

“I’m not saying no one loves it because this is the best thing to happen in all of the twenty-first century, but he’s in California, and you’re not.”

“It’s all fun and games,” Annabeth says.

“Yeah, right.”

Annabeth blinks. “Do you have something you’d like to tell me?”

“You two are practically in love with each other.”

Annabeth flushes. “Are not.”

“What are you typing then?”

Annabeth looks down at the thread being sent back and forth between the two popular youtubers. By this point, their entire conversation was being filled with hundreds of thousands of people having mental breakdowns, thinking the two were actually going to get together.

Not that she would mind that. No, she hadn’t seen him in person, but they’re practically best friends, and he’s a huge sweetheart.

“Nothing.”

“Lies,” Piper says, snatching the phone. “Percy tweeted ‘honey, I think you and I should get married.’”

“He’s kidding.”

“You responded, ‘come to the UK and I’ll consider it.’”

“It’s all just some good-natured fun.”

“He responded, ‘give me a kiss?’ and you said, ‘show up alive, and then we’ll see.’”

Annabeth snickers, snatching her phone back. “You’re reading too far into this.”

“No, I’m not. You two are just in love with each other.”

“You are incorrect, actually.”

Piper raises an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? What about last week when he uploaded the video that was literally spent listing off the reasons you should marry him?”

“Publicity stunt. It got millions of views.”

“You’re in love with him.”

Annabeth pinches her fingers. “Only a little bit, but no one has to know.”

“Oh, honey, everyone knows.”

A part of her floods with warmth. Ever since he’d first left a comment on one of her videos, their friendship had blossomed. It was just what they did — uploading videos just to tease one another and accept marriage proposals. He’s probably proposed five times by this point, and Annabeth has jokingly accepted five times.

They were the unofficially-official couple as people like to put it, and it was a lovely arrangement in her opinion.

Annabeth’s phone vibrates in her hand, and when she looks down, she sees Percy telling her, bought a plane ticket. on my way babe.

“Oh god,” Piper groans, looking over Annabeth’s shoulder as another smile breaks out across Annabeth’s face. “You two disgust me.”

“That’s funny, considering you admitted that you were our biggest shipper.”

Piper gasps. “Who told you?”

“Jason told Percy who told me.”

“Betrayal.”

“Precisely.” Annabeth hums. “We should be going soon. I have to get another video up in two days and you promised you’d help me.”

“What is it this time? Writing the perfect love letter to Percy?”

“Making a shrine to Percy,” Annabeth corrects.

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was,” Annabeth says. “It was his idea.”

“Of course it was,” Piper mutters, but she’s already scooting her chair away from the table of the café and standing up. “Let’s get going then, you booger.”

The walk back to their shared apartment was filled with Piper’s rants about a certain two careless youtubers, and the video Annabeth dragged Piper to film was no different. All things considered though, it went quite well. It might as well be a shitpost, but it was interesting enough and would have to suffice.

The video did take a lot longer to film than expected, so by the time Annabeth was finally ready to go on with the day, it was almost midnight.

“This sucks,” Annabeth says, peeking out the window at the dark sky.

“It’s no big deal.” Piper stretches and yawns, and Annabeth thinks she may fall asleep right there. “London never sleeps so we can still go out.”

“You’re practically drooling already.”

“We have things to do. People to see.”

Annabeth scrunches her brows. “Who?”

“People,” Piper says ominously. As she sits up, she looks Annabeth up and down before shrugging, which doesn’t do much to help her confidence. “You look good enough. Let’s go.”

Piper barely gives Annabeth time to process what was happening before she was being dragged out the door. Realistically, Piper did give her like five minutes to grab a few things, but it felt like no time at all because Piper refused to say anything besides they were meeting up with some friends at a cozy diner in the middle of the city.

The walk there was a bit chilly, so as Annabeth tightens her long black peacoat around her body, she glances at Piper out of the corner of her eye.

“So,” Annabeth says, sniffling and rubbing her nose to soothe the sharp bite of wind. “Would you mind telling me why we’re heading to the city? We never go out late. That’s, like, our motto.”

“You looked cute today, and it would be a shame to waste that by just staying in.” Piper grabs Annabeth’s hand and laces their fingers together to swing their arms back and forth. “I must say I’m loving the white sweater and black jeans. My fashion is rubbing off on you.”

“What fashion?”

“I hate you.”

By the time they finally reach the diner, Annabeth’s fingers and toes are numb, but the view was definitely worth it. Annabeth’s surprised she hadn’t ever seen this place before after having lived here for almost four years, but it’s no surprise Piper knew of it. There were fairy lights strewn up around the outer portion of the restaurant, and there was gentle music flowing through the air. Even though it was cold, the image of this place was a drastic difference, and it melted the aching in her bones.

Piper leads Annabeth to a table outside, and Annabeth is hardly surprised to see Jason waiting for them. He stands up to give each of the girls a quick hug, before they all settle into their respective seats.

“You brought me here to be a third wheel? Is that what this is?” Annabeth says playfully as she sits.

“You and I both know that I’m the real third wheel here,” Jason says kindly. “But maybe it’s Piper, because she’s the only one here who doesn’t make videos.”

“I don’t need to because I was lucky enough to have my best friend introduce me to another youtuber,” Piper says.

“You should be thanking me for your relationship,” Annabeth tells the two of them. “Without me, you would’ve never found the love of your life.”

Jason’s eyes gleam. “And how about you? Have you found the love of your life?”

“I can’t say that I have.”

“I saw the messages between you and Percy earlier,” Jason says. “It was a beautiful proposal, really.”

“I try.”

“When you meet him, you should consider eloping.”

“That’s if I meet him,” Annabeth corrects.

“Of course. My apologies.” Jason grins, and Annabeth is slightly unnerved. “You would make a cute couple.”

“How so?”

“You two are the biggest simps for each other,” Jason says.

“Told you so,” Piper chimes in.

“I’m going to leave if you two brought me here just to insult me.” Annabeth looks beside herself and her eyes focus on the empty chair. “Are we waiting for someone else?”

“I invited a friend, but I’m not sure where he is,” Jason says. “They must be running late.”

“Who is it?”

“Oh, I’m not sure if you’d know them,” he dismisses.

Piper and Jason begin talking again, but Annabeth tunes them out. If she was going to be forced to sit with stranger while Piper and Jason snogged in front of them, then she would be severely unhappy.

Annabeth doesn’t know what to expect, but she does know that she should be worried when Piper and Jason share a conspicuous glance with each other before heading off to the bar, under the excuse of getting them some drinks.

Annabeth groans, lacing her hands together on the table in front of her. She was definitely starting to regret this decision of joining Piper on her midnight adventure, not that it was much of a decision at all. She was dragged alongside her, and if she could go back in time, she would probably end up pushing Piper off a bridge to stop this utter boredom from taking over.

All things considered though, it’s not too terrible. She might be able to drink the night away and forget all this happened, and—

“Babe!”

Annabeth’s head snaps up because of the voice. It was a voice she’d recognize anywhere.

She whirls around in her chair, and right there, standing in all his glory, was Percy Jackson.

Percy holds his arms out as he approaches her, and Annabeth laughs as she stumbles up to give him a crushing hug. They stay like that for a few seconds, and it feels like it should be awkward because they’d never actually met before, but it just feels like a piece of a puzzle if fitting into place.

“What are you doing here?” Annabeth asks, grinning as she pulls away and tilts her chin to look up at him. From here, he’s a lot taller than she expected, and he looks so much better in person than on camera, which says a lot.

“I’m here for our wedding!” Percy smiles cheekily, pulling her in for another quick hug before stepping back and just looking at her. She feels warm and fuzzy under his gaze. “Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten.”

“Of course I haven’t,” she says, playing along. “But why are you really here?”

“I wanted to see my beautiful girlfriend.”

Annabeth bites her bottom lip, holding back a laugh. “I don’t recall agreeing to this.”

“You agreed to marry me, so I think that means we’re dating.”

“Yeah, but we both know we were messing around.”

Percy clicks his teeth, his eyes sparkling. “I don’t know. You did respond when I called you babe, so…”

“I guess I did.” Annabeth looks over at where Piper and Jason had disappeared off to. They were taking their sweet time, and suddenly Annabeth realized that it was for a reason, and that they knew all along. She doesn’t know whether to thank them or punch them. “It looks like they’re not coming back anytime soon.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “That might be because I asked them to let me have you all to myself for a while.”

“You did?”

“Of course I did.” Percy stares at her for a while, and she stares back. It feels like she’s known him for all of her life, and she never wants this moment to end. So long talking over the phone and sending messages through videos, and they were finally alone, just the two of them, and it was so much better than she could’ve imagined.

“I’m not sure what to do now,” Annabeth admits as Percy takes a step closer, like he’s done it a million times. Soon, his face is inches away from hers.

“I have an idea,” Percy tells her quietly, his green eyes vibrant in the dim lighting of the outdoor patio.

“And what’s that?”

“Go on a date with me.”

Annabeth tilts her head, lips lifting in a coy smile. “I thought we were already engaged?”

“I’m still working towards that kiss,” he says, and his smile is blinding.

A beat skips, and she can’t help herself, and then—

“Who says you have to wait?”

Annabeth doesn’t know what prompts her to step forwards, but she does anyways, and her stomach flutters when he does the same. There was just something about this situation that seems so familiar, and she trusts him, probably more than she should. But this was Percy, and she knew him. He wouldn’t hurt her.

Percy’s hands go to cup her face, his fingers gently tracing over her skin, cold in the London winter, and there is a blazing heat in her body. For a second, they look into each other’s eyes, and then both of their eyes are fluttering shut as Percy brings her face to his and kisses her sweetly.

It’s slow and gentle, and somehow, she can see a future with them. This has been building up since she first saw his kind words on her video, and it was strengthened through their twitter declarations of love and youtube proposals. She shouldn’t feel like this, but she does, and that’s okay.

He pulls away but his hands stay in place. His smile is so breathtaking, and it fits so well with the delicate snowflakes that started falling and the pretty glow of the fairy lights.

“What do you say?” Percy asks. “I’ll take you on the date of your life.”

“And then you’ll marry me?”

“What’s a date if it doesn’t end in marriage?”

Annabeth’s lips twitch up, and she brushes a strand of her blowing hair behind her ear. She really liked him, and she just knew that it would be alright. He was in Los Angeles and she was in London, and they were oceans apart, but it would be okay.

“I’m holding you to that,” she says, and so he takes her hand, and leads her on the date of a lifetime.

#percabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase #pjo #percy and annabeth #asks #anon #my writing

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basicjetsetter · 4 years ago

Text

Part I

♡ Pairing: Peter Parker x Black!FemaleReader

▹ Warnings: Mild Language, Triggering Content

▹ Words: 4.6k

▹ A/N: Buckle in. This is going to be a long ride.

“No way!” Your friend Manda squeals. “Those were the exact words?!”

You smoosh a frantic hand over Manda’s mouth and shush her, then slightly pop up from your seat to scope out the packed bus, making sure none of your schoolmates heard her outburst. To your relief, only a few close students glance over with little interest and barely anyone in a wider radius catches Manda’s words over the buzzing clammer of other conversations. Blowing out a satisfied exhale, you turn back to your friend, removing your hand from her mouth with a teasingly reproachful frown.

“Tell the whole world, why don’t you?”

She giggles, “My bad. But can you blame me? This is huge!”

Thrilled warmth floods into your cheeks from her enthusiasm. She’s right. This is huge, and you might have secretly sought this exact reaction because only Manda’s trademark, earsplitting squeal stamps news with the seal of authenticity. It’s real. You heard your Destined Words.

The same jitters from when you woke up this morning skitter up and down your spine, sharpening your senses to the max, making it easier to recall the words that floated into your subconscious—words from a bodiless voice. Your Soulmate.

I’ve got you.

Your mind handles the precious words like a porcelain tea set, carefully deciphering the voice pitch and attempting to match it to a face, knowing its efforts lie in vain because the words’ owner only becomes apparent when they speak them to you.

Some inner part of you distinctly translates the words into a comforting assurance, an assurance one might receive after coming home from a long day’s work and walking into the soft embrace of a lover. It weaves itself around your mind like a consoling safety net, painting an image of a lover better than you’ve ever imagined and everything you’ve ever hoped for.

You couldn’t have hand-picked a better day than today, Midtown High’s field trip to the MoMA, to gush over the words with Manda while admiring spectacular, thought-provoking art pieces. One of the perks of going to Midtown High is their fantastic field trips. You circled this Friday on your calendar at the start of the semester because while you loved being in a school centered around technological sciences, you were excited to study artists’ colorful, eclectic expressions and how their cultural personalities materialize in the stroke of a paintbrush.

“You’re so lucky,” Manda says, trying to pull off a pout. Her vibrant smile triumphs. “Only three days after you turn eighteen, and you hear your Destined Words. I’ve got four more months before I file a complaint.”

You sympathetically rub her shoulder, her oversized, long-sleeved denim jacket rough to the touch. “It’ll come. Just don’t wait for it.”

“Oh, I know it’s coming. I just want it to be something as cute as yours, you know.” She shudders, “My cousin Alonzo said his Destined Words were ‘Sure, whatever.’ Can you imagine that? Finally being mature enough for your Soulmate and that’s the first thing they say to you? I mean, sure, he and Tanya are super cute together, but ugh. Those words?”

You snicker, “Let me guess. You’re expecting a grand gesture?”

Manda nods with a dead serious face, though she could never truly pull it off with her full lips and Cabbage Patch Doll cheeks. She’d have a better chance at getting away with murder than intimidating someone with her cute little frown. “If I don’t hear the words ‘Where have you been all my life, you breathtaking, drop-dead gorgeous goddess,’ then I’m demanding a full refund.”

You blankly stare at each other for a beat before you crack, both of you laughing until your sides ache and you’re gasping for air, not caring for the teachers' hushes from the front of the bus.

“I just can’t believe I finally hear the words, you know,” you say as the laughs fade. “It’s like a fairytale come true.” You lean your head against the cool glass window, watching the placid cerulean waves come into view as the bus drives onto a bridge. “I wonder what they’re like, if I know them. If they’re nice. My mom says she already had a mega crush on my dad, so when he said the words, it already felt like they were together.”

Manda sighs dreamily. “I bet they’re cute. And super smart. Those words seem kind of thoughtful, too, so that’s a bonus. And, hey, don’t worry so much.” She gently knocks her shoulder against yours. “They’re going to love you.”

You weren’t scared that they wouldn’t love you. Everyone who finds their Soulmate never doubts that that is their person. What pins a tiny knot of anxiety to the pit of your stomach is how it will happen.

As a young girl, you spent countless nights dreaming of the sequential events leading up to the day you finally met your Soulmate, orchestrating the moment like a scene from all the rom-coms you binged. Your person accidentally bumps into you either in a hallway or on the bus or in the lunch-line, gazes deep into your dazed eyes, then declares their love for you with some cliché phrase before scooping you into their arms and planting a kiss on your expectant lips.

I’ve got you.

The sweet words drifting in your head do their best to ease away the anxiety. You have nothing to worry about. The meeting will play out the way you fantasized, if not better. All because of those words.

“We’re all gonna die!” Ned Leeds shouts from the middle of the bus.

All heads snap to the right windows. In an instant, densely packed bodies swarm from the left side to the right, sandwiching together to search for what Ned was staring at, some opening the windows and craning their necks for a better look. You grunt as someone digs their elbow in your ribcage to see more, and you tensely shove them against the back of the seats in front of you before peering out of your window.

It’s a sight no eyes could miss. A large, metal donut levitates in the clear sky, an obstruction not there mere seconds ago. You gasp in wonder, but not fear. Surely, the Avengers, Earth’s mightiest heroes, will have this taken care of before the sun sets.

The bus driver, an old man with a smile as sly as a fox and pearly white hair, casually calls out, “What’s the matter with you kids?! You’ve never seen a spaceship before?”

“He’s got a point,” you shrug as Manda gapes at the driver with incredulous eyes, then rounds on you as you calmly sit back down. “We always get so worked up over these aliens, and nothing ever really happens. The Avengers got it handled.”

“You sure? Because that looks a little menacing.” Manda worries at her lower lip, anxiously sneaking peeks out the window. Many students stay plastered to the scene.

“Positive.”

✦ ✧✦ ✧

The appearance of the metal donut effectively sullies your experience of the MoMA. None of the tour guides thoroughly explain the paintings' and sculptures' meanings or historical relevance. Instead, they string together incoherent sentences about person, place, and time as they gape at the video feeds live-streamed to their phones. Even Manda stays glued to her screen, chewing on her lower lip so hard you're surprised she hasn't punctured it.

Fifteen minutes into the tour, aggravation chafes into you like sandpaper, rubbing your skin raw. You waited months for this trip. Months! You'd be damned if a few pesky aliens took this special day away from you. You weren’t afraid. You had no reason to be.

Fed up, you take matters into your own hands and stealthily break away from the group, tip-toeing back to an intriguing wall of paintings and observe it by yourself.

One painting catches your eye early, drawing you to the middle of the wall to study it further. Its tag reads The Lovers, René Magritte, Paris, 1928, Surrealism, Oil Painting. There are two people, a man and a woman, painted with white cloths shrouding their faces as they share a seemingly intimate kiss. You lean in closer, noting the almost murky atmosphere and how it lends to the mystery of the kiss. What did Magritte want you to think when you analyzed this piece? What questions did she want you to ask?

You derive two: Is love mysterious and complicated as the atmosphere suggests, or is it intuitive and straightforward as the veiled lovers suggest? And, would the love still be the same once they lift the veils?

Beep. Beep. Beep. All the phones in hearing range chime out three urgent trills, nearly ejecting your soul out of your body. Clearing your head with a shake, you pull your phone out of your back pocket. You don't even have to unlock it. The news alert flashes up like a hazard light. Tony Stark Missing.

You blink. What the hell is going on?

"Are you seeing this?" Manda whispers, sidling up to your side.

You nod, at a loss for words. Iron Man is missing? How? What happened? Did it have something to do with the metal donut?

You blink harder and take another long look at the notification, hoping it was a typo or missing a few words, words like Tony Stark Missing Iron Man Suit. Hell, even Tony Stark Missing Cheeseburgers. Anything but what's on your screen.

Somewhere in the background, Mrs. Kramer, your Art teacher, roll-calls the students to the front entrance. "Okay, guys, time to cut the field trip short."

Your shoulders sag. This can't be happening. Is it really that serious?

"Peter? Peter?" Mr. Dell calls out, clenching onto a clipboard with shaking hands. "Has anybody seen Parker? Peter Parker?" he inquired, looking over the students' heads. A bead of sweat gathers on his forehead, even though there is virtually no heat in the building, and it's a breezy, 72-degree late-spring afternoon in New York City. "Where does this kid always sneak off to?"

Ned stuttered out, "He, uhm, Pe-Peter left early, sir. Family emergency."

"An emergency? Was it so important he couldn't at least notify the supervisors?" Ned bobbed his head up and down, keeping his eyes stapled to the floor in a manner that hinted at no further comment. Mr. Dell huffs, "Alright. But he's getting detention, and I have half a mind to put you in there with him, Leeds."

Ned's face screws up in a chastised grimace. "Sorry, sir. Won’t happen again."

Your eyes linger on Ned as he pulls out his phone and rapidly taps at the screen, probably sending a strongly worded text to his best friend, rebuking Peter for roping him into his antics and nearly earning him a week's detention. You don't know much about their friendship, but they appear tied to the hip at school.

Ned's a nice guy. Reliant to a tee. You had the pleasure of partnering with him on an art project in Kramer's class a few weeks back, spending a considerable amount of time joking while diligently rendering an interpretation of Van Gogh's A Starry Night on a five-by-five foot canvass. During that time, he often complimented your paint-smeared overalls and your hair's ever-changing up-dos. He seemed like such a great friend to have.

Peter, on the other hand, is a tough nut to crack.

You only ever shared one class with Peter Parker. Spanish last semester. You remember him being too antsy for your liking, always checking his watch impatiently, answering questions too fast, bouncing his leg up and down, acting like he had someplace better to be and better things to do. His impatience never made sense to you until you heard some girls in the locker-room whispering about his Stark internship and how lucky he was to be working for the Tony Stark.

When the internship suddenly halted, and Peter landed himself in the longest detention sentence you'd ever heard of, you started to take more notice of him only because he was around more often. He was sort of cute in a boy-next-door kind of way with his science pun tee-shirts and smooth, tousled brown hair. For a brief time, you fleetingly considered asking him to Homecoming, but the futility of such a question wasn't lost on you. He noticeably crushed on Liz Toomes, and you were confident Peter's pining for her meant destiny twined their paths.

But Liz is gone now, and there's a growing 90 percent chance Peter's set his sights on MJ. Brooding quirky girl ending up with boy-next-door, now that match made perfect sense, just like a rom-com, or even better, an 80's teen romance.

Manda tugs on your arm, her hands forming a shackle around your wrist. "Come on. They're getting back on the bus without us."

Sure enough, you two were nearly the last ones in the entrance, the remaining students filing out of the door. You rush after them and reach the bus doors right before they shut, huffing in unison. Manda doubles over and grasps her knees, heaving.

"Here," you gasp. "We're here."

Your driver tuts, swinging the doors back open. "Good thing you two made it in time. This bus waits for no one, not even me. Come on," he says, waving you inside. "Let's get this show on the road."

You trudge back to your designated seats, collapsing against the plastic covering as the adrenaline subsides, replaced with the forgotten dread of the trip's abrupt end. You lean over and peer out the left side windows when the bus rolls over the bridge again, surprise rattling ominously over your bones as you find the metal donut gone from the sky.

Where did it go? Did the Avengers get rid of it?

Your hand still clamps your phone. An annoying, slight tremble in your hands trips up your fingers as they try to type in your passcode, but you succeed on the fourth try. You scroll through your social media, hoping beyond hope that someone captured the Avengers' victory or something close to a victory, something that proves the news headline wrong. Stark's probably lying low, too beat down to show his face to the press.

The far-fetched lie makes you internally flinch. You don't know much about the guy, but you're more than a thousand percent sure Stark wouldn't hide from the press if he won anything.

A sinking horror clogs your chest as you obsessively watch clip after clip, onlookers recording some unconscious guy in a red cape being invisibly bound and trailing after the commanding hand of an elongated, greyish-blue alien. Spider-Man tries to get the red-caped guy back, swinging through the city and dodging billboards, his webs clinging to the departing ship's underside, Iron Man flying into the sky after them.

It’s bad. Oh, sweet heavens, it’s bad.

Maybe it’s not that much of a big deal. Yeah. Yeah, it’s probably nothing. The end of the videos suggested the Avengers gained the upper hand on the fight, so maybe, just maybe, the alien was fleeing—fleeing… with a captive. Hurtling off into God knows where with Iron Man and Spider-Man onboard.

It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.

Your back flattens to your seat and your unseeing eyes meld to your phone, the thunderous beats of your heart stifling the rest of the world into silence. The air is thinning.

Your ears are buzzing.

A vice clenches your chest.

It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.

The dubious mantra and vague words of your Soulmate blend into an all-consuming cacophony of words, gelling together in a chant of solace.

It’s fine. I’ve got you. It’s fine. I’ve got you. It’s fine.

By the time the bus drops off the students at Midtown and you and Manda quietly walk in the direction of home, the mixture of affirmations fans away the panic settling around your chest, bringing back a semblance of your earlier confidence, or rather, what was left of it, which wasn't much.

Outside the apartment complex, an overwhelming amount of residents’ windows glow, most of them probably stuck to their couch, replaying the recent events on any major news network and speculating the whereabouts of our mightiest heroes.

It takes a while to dawn on you that you and Manda are the only ones standing outside. On the entire block.

Nothing stirs. Even the bodega on the corner appears closed for the day.

It's five o'clock on a Friday afternoon and there’s plenty of light left.

Emptiness pours out of every alley like ink spilling from a broken bottle, blotting the whole surface of the street with the absence of human activity. A tree's rustling leaves are so startling your breath locks up and you jump. Manda doesn't say anything, recovering from the sudden noise herself.

Leaving the deserted streets behind, you and Manda glumly walk up the steps of your apartment complex and up to your residence on the third floor. The apartment is eerily silent as you toss your keys on the kitchen counter and lock the door behind Manda.

"When are your folks getting back from their honeymoon again?" asks Manda, shrugging out of her jacket and toeing off her sneakers, leaving them propped against the wall by the door.

Habit controls your body as you open the fridge, grab two Sprites, set them down on the counter, then reach for the half-finished bucket of Red Vines from the top cabinet shelf. "Sunday morning, I think. They only have the weekend off. Want some pizza? I can call up Joe's."

"Please and thank you," she says, plopping down on the couch. The old thing croaks, its springs wheezing under the unwelcomed weight.

The maroon monstrosity is a family heirloom, dating back to your grandparents' time. Mom loves it, claiming it adds the right amount of character to the drab living space, knowing fully well that anyone with fashion sense would never describe any space she inhabits as drab. Dad is adamant that it's one spill away from handing in its resignation.

Picking up your house phone, you confirm, "Extra-large cheese and olives?"

You don't know why you ask. Ever since the inception of your infamous best friend "crash-overs," cheese and olive pizza starred as the staple meal: that, and a bucket of Red Vines your dad occasionally steals from. Maybe you asked for normalcy or maybe to confirm Manda's plan to stay for the rest of the night. What you do know is you don’t want to be alone.

She hums a distracted yes, turning on the TV and upping the volume to listen to Channel 10's news reporter recount the fight between Iron Man and the alien.

Though already burned in your memory, the images douse your body in bone-chilling fear.

You turn your back and dial in the order, not at all surprised that Joe's is still up and running. Once the employee confirms your order and promises a speedy delivery, you grab the drinks and candy and place them on the coffee table, ignoring the TV.

"C-can you turn it to something else?" you quickly pipe up as you sit next to Manda, unsuccessfully hiding the tremor in your words. "I don't think I can stomach the news right now."

"Yeah, sure." Slow and reluctant, Manda switches the input and goes into Netflix. "Anything you wanna watch?"

"Teen Wolf."

Manda groans, "Again? We've seen that a million times."

"Oh, come on," you groan back, playfulness strained in your words. "It's a classic. You can't say no to a classic."

She gives you a dour frown, one that still couldn't land an inch of seriousness on her amber-colored cherub cheeks, until she relents from the weight of your puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, but only because of Michael J. Fox. Next time, I'm picking."

Neither of you really pay attention to the movie or touch the pizza when it arrives. In fact, for most of the night, Manda scrolls through her social media, watching what you can only assume are today’s events. Sometimes she’d put the phone down when you politely asked, but it unfailingly ended up right back in her hands, so after a while, you stop asking. When the movie’s end credits roll around, and you dress into your pajamas, put away the remaining slices of pizza, and call it a night, both of you climb into your bed. She is still scrolling.

You try and force yourself into REM sleep, keeping your eyes shut until you hear Manda’s heavy breathing beside you. The clock on your nightstand reads 9:53 p.m.

Yawning, you curl up into a tight ball on your side of the bed and wish your mom and dad were here to help you get out of your head. Manda can’t do it when she’s so caught up in hers, and you don’t think you’d be able to tell her how scared you are. It’d only scare her more.

Tony Stark is missing. Manda would have screeched her head off by now if anything changed.

I’ve got you.

Yeah, but Tony Stark, the freaking Iron Man, is missing.

I’ve got you.

You can’t possibly understand how bad this is.

I’ve got you.

You audibly huff against the reassuring words, but they eventually do the trick in temporarily pushing the worry away, allowing you to fitfully slip into dreamless oblivion.

Seven hours later, you wake to a text from your mom. The sunlight is so bright in your room you lower your phone’s brightness all the way down, squinting at the small letters.

-Coming home early bbygrl. Dad says hi and he misses you lots hunny bun. xx

A titanic-sized weight lifts off of your shoulders—something you hadn’t even known was there until you re-read your mom’s text and verify the timestamp.

They’re on their way home, where it’s safe and you can all keep an eye on each other. Niagara Falls is just a six and a half-hour drive from here and Mom texted two hours ago, so they’ve got a couple hundred miles left. You don’t care about the distance. As long as they’re coming home, you’re fine. You can wait.

The morning’s activities in your residence pass into a weird déjà vu of last night. Manda is awake before you, sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal in her lap and the TV turned on to Channel 10, the volume slightly lower from last night. A bit peeved, you ask her to switch it to some cartoons while you pour yourself a bowl of Frosted Flakes.

She goes back to scrolling on her phone, sparingly taking bites of her soon-turned soggy cereal. You perch on the arm of the couch, far away from Manda's screen, and munch on your cereal in silence. This whole situation sucks enough without Manda’s constant doom-scrolling, but her utter silence is wearing your nerves thin.

Three full episodes of SpongeBob play on before you heave tempered sigh and set your finished bowl of cereal on the table and face Manda.

“Do you have to do that?”

She doesn’t even spare you a glance. “Do what?”

Unbidden anger flows through you like magma spewing from a freshly erupted volcano, flaming into your veins and flaring your heart rate as you yank her phone away and toss it behind the couch.

Manda stares at you like you’ve lost your mind. She may be partially right.

“Why the hell did you do that?”

You scoff, “Oh, I don’t know, maybe I like talking to my friend once in a while. Maybe it’s mentally damaging to watch the same thing over and over and over again, and I was just trying to save you from brain rot.” You stand up and cross your arms over your chest, letting the rage propel your words. “Seriously Manda, give it a damn rest.”

“Why?” Manda crosses her arms too, glowering up at you, close to achieving a convincing frown. “Because you’re ‘positive’ nothing’s going to happen, right? It’s just aliens. No prob.”

You hold your tongue, waiting for her to air out all her frustrations because she’s right. She’s right to throw your words back at you. Yesterday morning you were totally sure of the Avengers, and not much has changed. You still firmly believe they’ll win whatever this fight is with the aliens, but you know scrolling through your phone for updates won’t do anything but boost your anxiety, like it’s doing to Manda.

When you think the coast is clear to speak, you lowly say, “I get it.”

“You get it? You get it? No, mama, you don’t get it. Because, see, if you got it, my phone wouldn’t be collecting dust behind your couch!”

“You needed a break, Amanda!” You shout back at her. “That phone’s never left your hand since you got here.”

She snaps her fingers as if she reached an epiphany. “Attention. That’s what it is. I haven’t given you enough attention today and you’re feeling left out of the spotlight. Newsflash, hon, the world doesn’t revolve around you. Other things are happening besides you hearing your Destined Words.”

“Wh-what?” you balk. “That… no, that’s not what this is about.” You’re not even sure where she even came up with the conclusion that you needed something as stupid as attention right now. Did she think you were that self-centered?

She cocks her eyebrow challengingly, “Alright, then tell me what it is. I’m all ears.”

“Me hearing my freaking soulmate has nothing to do with this! Nothing! And I’m not some attention-starved lunatic. Christ, Manda,” you roll your eyes, letting your hands fall with a slap against your sides. “It’s about you watching the news all day like… like this is the end of the world or something. We’ve gone through this. New York has gone through this. Alien attacks are nothing new, and I’m tired so sick and tired of you…”

You slow down, raising a soft hand to your chest—strange, tugging sensations sprout somewhere deep, deep down within you. So deep you're not sure it's actually there.

“Sick and tired of me what? What?” Manda pressed, the almost-frown lessening as your head tilts. “What’s wrong?”

You gradually shake your head. There’s no conceivable way to articulate what’s happening to you because it’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. You feel… tingly, like every single hair follicle on your arms and legs rise, standing on high alert.

“Something’s not right.”

The tugging intensifies dully. You gasp against it, desperately clawing at the front of your shirt with the pads of your fingers, seeking to protect something tangibly nonexistent. It’s like someone’s fingers pinch a taut guitar string inside your chest, pulling on it with increasing pressure, pulling it further and further until it can’t move an inch, holding it the apex in a deathly promise that, with one final tug, the string will give.

I’ve got you.

Everything happens within a second.

You whimper out an anguished yelp as the string abruptly snaps.

Manda leaps to her feet and grasps your shoulders, begging to help.

Then, right before your eyes, Manda’s body begins to dissolve.

“M-Manda...? Amanda, wait! NO!”

She falls away into a pile of ash on your floor.

You drop to your knees, screaming.

And so does the rest of the world.

...

Part II

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