#THIS IS MY LAST DRABBLE Y'ALL :D

[emile-tb]

Live Laugh Vinesplash

[jeonginsleftcheek]

Can I see your d*ck? (drabble)

pairing: lee felix x afab!reader

synopsis: you're lounging on your bed with your best friend peacefully until an intrusive thought wins over.

wc: 1.0k

warnings: lots of dirty talk, making out, fingering

a/n: idk what this is, i feel unhinged and not inspired to write today so this might suck but thanks @jazz-the-writer 😏💜 (side not: y'all his hands might be small by some standard that i'm not aware of but to me they're big cause i am small and that is hot, mkay)

Your best friend is leaning on your pillow looking all pretty and alluring and you can't help your thoughts.

Or your mouth.

"Can I see your dick?" it rolls off your tongue kind of accidentally. Felix coughs, choking on air as he looks up from his phone.

"Excuse me?" he looks at you in disbelief and your cheeks warm up.

"Your dick. I want to see it."

You can't really back out now.

"Um... you can't just ask stuff like that?" his eyebrow is raised, but his cheeks become rosy too.

"Why not? Do I need to get you drunk first?" you smirk.

"N-no, just... Why would you ask that?" he chuckles nervously.

"Well, I've never seen one. Not in real life, at least." you say and he smirks suddenly.

"Where else have you seen a dick?" he sits up and so do you.

"Porn, duh." you roll your eyes.

"What kind of porn?" he leans in closer and you whine, rolling your eyes again.

"Don't change the subject! Will you let me see it?"

"No, I will not show you my dick, y/n. Be for real." he laughs, shoving you playfully.

"You're totally not fun." you pout, crossing your arms over your chest.

Felix smirks to himself as he looks away from you. His heart hammers against his ribs as he bites on his lip and considers teasing you.

"How about this?" he turns around to look at you again. "I wanna see yours too."

"Hate to disappoint you Lixie but I don't have a dick." you joke and his face becomes as red as a tomato.

"I meant your... you know." he looks away.

"My what? Say it." you lean in closer and he visibly shivers.

"Y-your... pussy?" he whispers and you laugh.

"Okay." you shrug and he gasps, thinking you'd surely back out after that request.

"You're for real?" he gulps.

"Mhm." you nod, your heart skipping a beat in excitement but Felix struggles.

"I mean... it's not... it's not hard yet, you know."

"Can I help with that?" you inch closer to your best friend. And god, he is so beautiful.

"We could make out?" he suggests and you agree immediately because who wouldn't want to kiss those lips?

The world stops as you lean in, the sounds of your breathing seem so loud in the tiny gap between you and Felix. The gap is soon closed as your lips press together in a sweet, awkward kiss.

The kiss slowly escalates into something more desperate and raw, as your hands start wandering on each other's bodies. Somehow, you end up under him as he keeps kissing your face and neck.

"Your hands are so pretty." you say breathlessly as you play with Felix's hand.

"They are?" he asks, a little surprised at your compliment.

"Mhm. And your fingers are perfect." you bring his hand closer to your face, his fingertips on your lips. Felix gasps when your tongue darts out to lick at his fingertips.

"Y/n..." his voice breaks as you take his middle finger in and start sucking on it.

"Fuck." Felix curses, his eyes darkening as he observes you. You can feel his dick twitching against your thigh and you clench around nothing.

"Please, touch me Lixie." you whine when you take his finger out of your mouth.

"Where, sweetheart?" he smirks at your eagerness and you nearly combust at the nickname.

Instead of answering, you start pulling your pants down and he quickly stops you.

"Are you sure?" he asks in the last moment of clarity.

"Yes." you say and he nods, helping you get rid of your pants and underwear.

"Oh." he licks his lips at the sight of you all wet and desperate for him.

"Please." you whine and a deep chuckle escapes his lips.

"I got you, baby." he soothes you as his hands run up your thighs a few times, coming up to spread your pussy so he can take a good look at it.

You whimper, shutting your eyes tight. Felix chuckles again, his thumb pressing against your sensitive clit in circles.

You gasp, eyes snapping open as they meet his darkened ones.

"If you've never seen a dick, that must mean you're a virgin?" Felix asks quietly.

"N-no... Well, yes. I mean I did this before but never went further." you confess and he smirks.

His fingers dip between your folds, gathering your arousal before paying attention to your clit again as he speeds up, making you whimper.

"W-why are you smirking like that?" you moan out as he flicks your clit, driving you absolutely insane already.

"I know you wanna see my dick. But I wanna make sure this little pussy can take my fingers first."

"Felix!" you whine at the dirty talk, the effect of his words amplified by his deep voice and the movement on your clit.

If you weren't at his mercy you'd probably laugh at your best friend for talking like that.

"Yeah baby? You want that?"

"P-please!" you're falling apart, your pussy clenching around nothing again.

"As you wish." Felix whispers and slowly starts pushing his middle finger in.

"L-Lixie." you moan, grabbing at his wrist as he fills you up.

"You're so tight, sweetheart. I don't think you'll be seeing my dick so soon."

"N-no, please, I wanna see it!" you cry out as he pushes in completely, slowly fucking you with his finger.

"If you manage to take three of my fingers, maybe I'll let you." he leans down to whisper in your ear, making you whine.

"You're mean." you pout, knowing damn well you're nowhere near ready to take him.

"I'm just looking out for you." he keeps smirking as he starts pumping his finger faster, making you more wet with every thrust.

You want to smack him for being so sly but his thumb starts working on your clit and you completely fall apart, moaning his name and gripping at the sheets as Felix brings you to ecstasy easily.

"Only one finger got you falling apart like this, hm?" he mocks as he fucks you through your high.

"You wanna see what two get me like?" you smirk at him and he laughs a little.

"I hope you know what you got yourself into, sweetheart."

~ part 2

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[p0lyn3sian]

Hiii its me again, ok so, my request is slashers with a s/o who's really into skincare that her skin is so soft, smooth and glowy? And she has like a good haircare routine that her hair is smooth and shiny and just over all healthy? Reader just really cares about her over all appearance, thanks you!! ❤️

OMGGG OMGGG YESSSS THIS DRABBLE IS GOING TO BE GOODDD!!!

Sorry for not posting, school has been kicking my ass the last few weeks or so! I think this was a lot longer than some of the other headcannon's loll! So hope y'all like this :D!

Slashers: Patrick, Sinclair Brothers (Bo, Vincent, & Lester), RZ Michael, Brahms & Billy Lenz, Carrie, Chucky & Tiffany, Jason, The Lost Boys (David, Dwayne, Paul, & Marko), Norman, Billy & Stu, Thomas & Bubba

Slashers with S/O that loves to do skincare and hair routine!

Patrick:

Patrick immediately wanted to know where and how your skin glowed like that, and also how smooth your skin is too! Patrick wouldn't let you go anywhere! Your skin is too soft for him to let go! Patrick would also smell your hair and play with your hair too! He's not going to let you go, he's going to be snuggling with you in bed all day, even if you have work..!

Once you tell Patrick about how your skin is soft, smooth, and glowing as well as your hair. Patrick immediately wrote down everything you said, and went to the store after writing what you have said! You expected him to be gone for a few hours or so, because it kinda takes a long time for you to find everything, until he arrives 30 minutes later! Patrick would definitely want you to do the routine on him now, so be prepared for your hands to start aching!

Sinclair Brothers:

Your skin and hair was interesting to Vincent and Lester! Lester was the first one asking you how did you get your skin to glow and your hair like a goddess? Lester is just too mesmerized by your skin and hair, and he felt your hair and to his surprise it was really soft! Even your skin too, he would always want to snuggle with you, but you would always have to tell him to wash off too of course!

Bo would definitely steal you away from his brothers just for snuggles, and other stuff.. Bo can't keep his hands off of you! He's too busy touching your hair and skin, and it's too soft and smooth to let him go! You decided to do your routine on the brothers, and it definitely turned out well for all of them! They all smell great, their skin is kinda soft and smooth but either way it worked! Even their hair too! They all thanked you for your time to do their hair and skin routine!

RZ Michael:

Michael loves to smell your hair when he is by you. Something about your hair and skin just magically pulls Michael! Michael has been touching you a lot lately, whether you're doing chores or just laying down. If you're sitting on the couch, Michael would be on you and may sleep on you because the smell of you always does something to Michael! Michael loves the smell of your hair, he thinks it smells like strawberries!

When you realize Michael loves to smell your hair and touch you a lot more, you bought more of your skincare and hair stuff for you and Michael! You decided to help Michael with the stuff for his skin and hair! His skin turned out a lot smoother than expected, and it made you rub your cheek to Michael's cheek because of how smooth and soft his skin is! You then worked on Michael's hair, and Michael's hair really needed some conditioner to open the locks in his hair. After working on all the routine on Michael, Michael kinda liked the new "him". He's mostly staring at the mirror that's hanging on the door, just checking himself out. While you are on the bed telling him to just come and sleep with you. (We get it Michael, you're fine as hell, but you gotta come to bed 🙄.)

Brahms & Billy Lenz:

Brahms and Billy can't stop touching your skin and your hair! Their hands are always on you and sometimes on your hair too. You would always get pissed if you have done your hair for a special occasion or just for fun, but those two decide to put their faces into your hair! So, you always end up smacking them to get them away. These two are clingy to you wherever you go, whether it's the next room over or downstairs. Since you always smelt good, these two would always ruin the smell, and their smell is either a stinky smell or something else..

You decided to do your own routines on them! You started with hair, because these two hairs are stinky and they probably have lice. And that's okay, because luckily you were prepared for this! After scrubbing and washing all the stuff away from their hair, next was their skin! They showered after you have done their hair and sat down for you to do their skin. You then worked on their skin, applying whatever stuff you use on your skin and applied onto them! After all your hard work, you gave them a mirror and let them check themselves out. These two loved how you did your routine on them, and wanted you to start doing more on them too!(Bless all of your skin care and hair stuff, because these two would definitely beg you for more 😔!)

Carrie:

Carrie thought you were a Goddess! The way your hair shines in the sun, and how the sun shines your skin too! When you both hold hands, Carrie thought how soft your hand is too! She wanted to know how you glow in the sunlight, and what you use for your hair to smell so good too! Carrie had to encourage herself to tell you what products you use for your skin and hair, but she was too shy! She thinks that you would probably not tell her, but then she finds the courage and says her question to you! You immediately answered with a 'yes' and that you would definitely help her with the stuff she needs for her skin and hair!

You pulled her hand towards the store in the mall that you love buying your products from. After buying some products for you and Carrie, you both then walked to your car and drove off. While going back to the house, you were so excited to put skincare and hair products on Carrie! Carrie was pretty excited too! You brought out all the products from the bag and started doing her hair first while she was in the warm bath. Carrie felt really relaxed and she thanked you for taking your time for doing her skin and hair! After doing her hair, you explained which skincare products go first and last on her skin. She then started immediately wanting to see if your skincare products would work! She was amazed that her skin was so soft and glowy too! She hugged you and thanked you for taking your time to do all the stuff for her!

Chucky & Tiffany:

Tiffany was mesmerized how you glow in the sun and how your skin is so soft too! Even your hair pulled Tiffany in a trance! The way your hair shines in the sun and how soft it is! Tiffany would definitely want to do different hairstyles on you, and also different types of makeup too! She wanted you to tell what's your secret on how you glowed in the sun! Chucky thought you were like a sun, because of how you mostly shine everywhere, either it's inside or outside. Chucky and Tiffany love how you glow and shine everywhere you all go!

You showed Tiffany what products you love to use for your routines, and she immediately went into the bathroom to try them on. Chucky didn't want to do it since, he thinks those products are useless. He'll style whatever hairstyle he wants and how he'll take care of his skin. But too bad that Tiffany also dragged him into the bathroom after she did her hair. It all turned out well for Tiffany and Chucky! Tiffany's hair looked so soft as well as Chucky's, and how their skins shined under the bathroom light! Tiffany hugged you and thanked you for showing your routines and that she'll definitely buy more products for you, her and Chucky! Chucky didn't want to lie, but he liked the smell of his own hair and how smooth his skin is too!

Jason:

Jason has always wondered how you even glow in the sun! He loves seeing how the sun kisses your skin and your hair, Jason thinks you're a literal Goddess just walking around in the forest! You always loved how Jason touches you carefully as you are a precious thing to him! Jason also loves getting snuggles from you, he loves how soft you are too! He'll try making different hairstyles from papers that he'll search from people's bags that he had killed.

Jason was a bit shy and embarrassed to ask you for those products you use in your daily life. He came to you, and asked in ASL if you could do products on him, but just his skin since he knows that he doesn't have hair. You immediately said yes and of course you would help him! You got all your supplies and started applying what you usually do in your own skin. It did take a little bit of time, because of Jason's body being almost as a bodybuilder or a bear body! Once everything was done, Jason touched his own arm and rubbed up and down, and he loved how smooth he was! He gave you a crushing hug, which almost caused you almost to pass out, but luckily he let go once he realized your body wasn't breathing. Jason would always come to you if he wants to do his skincare again and grab the items that you need (mostly from campers that are killed).

The Lost Boys:

You put all the boys in a trance, from how your skin and hair is glowing in the moonlight! They haven't realized until now! Get ready to get bombarded with a lot of questions! Like, the boys had to ask what you make your skin so smooth and soft whenever they touch you. Or when they all smell that sweet fragrance when you are walking around with them! You told them that you use products for those things, except perfume.

They wanted you to immediately do it on them, so you did for fun! You applied skincare products on all the boys, and while they were waiting for their skin to be as smooth and soft as yours, you were doing their hair next! Paul and Dwayne's hair was a little tangled, but nothing too much. David and Marko's hair is easy and you can easily brush and put on the stuff in their hair! Once you were done with everything, the boys were so excited to see how everything turned out! And it all turned out perfectly! Their hair was as soft as yours and their skin was so smooth like yours too! They all loved you for taking the time and helping with them!

Norman:

Norman loves how you always glow in the light of your shared home, or in the motel working! He just can't keep his eyes off of you! And he loves the smell of your perfume, he'll sometimes smell strawberry pound cake, vampire blood, etc (or any spray perfume from bath and body wash/other places!!). If Norman is close by you, and if he can smell your hair from where he's standing, he'll also notice that your hair smells just like the perfume you sprayed! He just can't get enough of it, he loves all those perfume and hair stuff you use!

Norman would also notice that your skin is really healthy! He needs to know what makes your skin so glowy like that! You went to stores that you love shopping for your products and went home to try all of them on Norman! He was very excited to try some of your products, and you went to work doing it. After all those products were on Norman, Norman was so surprised that he looked really good! Norman thanked you so much that you can't even count! He'll cherish this forever in his life and heart!

Billy & Stu:

Billy and Stu would give you so many compliments, because of how pretty you are! Stu would always try and hug you because of how soft and smooth you are! As for Billy, he would try and hug you longer so that he could smell your hair, not gonna lie. Billy just loves the smell of your hair and he wanted to know what shampoo and conditioner you use. Stu asked the same thing, but for skin!

You gave them your products of what you use, and these two immediately went into the bathroom and tried the products out. Billy put the shampoo that smelled like your hair and afterwards put on conditioner after drying his hair. Stu shaved, and put in the products that you use for your skin as well as Billy. And they loved how they smell just like you! After these two were done using the shared bathroom, they both walked to you and got into the bed. You loved how they smelled nice now, but you liked the men's products they use because they smell really good, but it doesn't last too long.. Anyways, you all cuddled to sleep, and you loved how fresh the smell was from these two. (Until, the next few days you found all of your products gone from those two using all of it 😔.)

Thomas & Bubba:

Thomas and Bubba wanted to know how you are glowing! Thomas' eyes are always on you and sometimes Mama Luda would scold him to do his work first, and then hangout with you. Bubba would always hangout with you if Thomas doesn't need any help with chores. Bubba loves how smooth your skin is too! Bubba would point to his makeup and then to you, asking you if he can do your makeup. And of course you accepted his request! You always love how bubba is getting better and better with his makeup progress!

Bubba would try and do your hair, but he would sometimes get really frustrated with how your hair doesn't look like the ladies in the magazine. He would slump his shoulders knowing that he didn't do a great job on your hair, but to you it was just progress for Bubba! You will always give him praises on how he did a great job on your makeup and hair, and give him lots of cuddles to make him feel a lot better! As for Thomas, he would go onto his knees and put his head on your thighs, and he would take a few deep breaths smelling your sweet and comforting fragrance! Thomas loves the fragrance that you love to put on, and that fragrance could always make this man sleep in just a few minutes or so. Thomas and Bubba love your cuddles that you give them, because your skin is so smooth and soft that after rubbing or massaging, these two will knock out from it!

[kittifang]

❝ THREE’S A CROWD? ❞

WC : 543 includes : reader is more of a voyeur in this, voyeurism, frottage, mxm, poly satosuga, dirty talk, edging, 18+ MDNI

poly! satosuga that you walk in on, both men desperately working their hips into the other's as their twitching cocks grind together, the swollen tips leaking with precum and making the slide even more sensual. You freeze, not wanting to interrupt yet simultaneously wanting to because, god, are they beautiful together. Your eyes are stuck on the way Geto's hand wraps around both of their lengths, pumping and working them together, the lewd sound accompanied by Gojo's grunts and their shared moans.

With the wet smacking of their sloppy kisses against each other's lips, you can already feel yourself dripping into your panties at the wanton scene. The pair's skin is shiny with sweat, their bodies glistening with a sheen of it,  slipping down their forheads and soaking their hair, which tells you they've been up to this for a while. You watch as the white-haired man buries his face into the crook of his lovers, whining as the fingers of Geto's spare hand sink into the flesh of his ass.

Gojo's always been greedy, always wanting for more, and there's no exception in the bedroom, and Suguru loves taking advantage of that. With how debauched and outright greedy your blue-eyed lover looks, you'd guess it's another one of those instances. He presses his forehead against Geto's with a plead, "S-suguru, please,-ngh- need to cum f-fuck!". And he receives a chuckle in response with a caress of the man's thumb over the weeping slit of his cock.

"Hmm, you think you deserve it? Maybe I'll be nice because you asked so prettily. Just look at you all desperate for me." Black eyes finding his rivers of desperate blue as their foreheads press together, Satoru looks so dazed and needy, all flush and whiny—just how Geto likes him, and he can't resist giving into him. He's already edged the poor man twice and knows he's reaching his limit, so he hums. Hand snaking from Satoru's ass to wrap around his neck to press their lips together, his other still steadily pumping the both of them, and he ups the pace. The actions only turn Gojo even more needy, his muffled moans of "Suguru! g-gonna cum t-thankyou thankyou thankyou" swallowed by the black-haired man's mouth, all messy and full of clashing teeth.

A string of spit connects their wet lips as Suguru tilts the other man's head and takes the lobe of his ear into his mouth, nipping the flesh as he speaks once more. "Thats a good boy, make a mess, baby, cum all over my cock just like that." And with a few more strokes of his hand, that's all it takes for a cry of "Suguru!" to leave Gojo's lips as his hips stutter, heavy balls tightening as he paints Geto's cock and his own abs with his seed.

He could cry from how fucking good it feels, rocking his hips as he's milked for all he's worth, groaning and whimpering as his twitching tip drips with the last remains of his spend. He buries his head in his beloved neck's once more. Now in tiredness as he breaths raggedly, those same hands rake over his back as he recovers. Soon enough those black eyes finds yours with a smirk from across the room, taking in your too pressed together thighs and red cheeks. "Enjoy the show, sweetheart?" And you swallow, you just know you're in for trouble.

AN//: errr this was supposed to be a lil drabble and I ended up getting VERY carried away😅 (who's surprised) :P. This is the first thing I've written since last year so hopefully y'all like it,i would greatly appreciate your thoughts and feedback!! byeeeee :D.

[yoongle--boongle--pie]

Pechsträhne Chapter 7

Series masterlist

Chapter Playlist-Spotify

Chapter Playlist- Youtube

Word Count: ~15k

A/N: SURPRISE! Sorry y'all-I hope you're not mad about getting a chapter instead of a drabble lol. I had a health flare up and ended up having more time than I anticipated as a result. Like always, my wife will give it a once over and I will fix all the typos that I missed. Let me know what y'all think-my flare ups make me feel down about my writing so I waited an entire day to post this from when I was originally going to because my brain has convince me I am the worst writer on the planet. :D

Much love ~Delyn

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The house was quiet. The moon had made camp in the middle of the sky, having settled there to take its nightly watch many hours before. The residents of the estate had all long since retired to their rooms, leaving the house to its own devices. Well to reevaluate one of the previous statements–it was quiet to everyone else except the man staring up at the ceiling, trying everything in his power to will his mind into submission and let him sleep. He shifted beneath his sheets, their embrace feeling unbearably stifling. The moon cast a pale blue filter over his room, calling up at him from the sky in a sweet lullaby that he wished he could hear. But he couldn’t. The noises of the house were much too loud tonight. Angry, and harder than usual to tune out. He huffed and rolled over onto his other side with a scowl at his phone screen, the pixels displaying the number 3:32am–a cruel countdown that laughed up at his future agony of having to wake up in four measly hours. He dropped his phone back on the nightstand, bringing both hands up to his face to drag them down his forehead. As if pulling the skin downward would force his mind down with it. He stayed in that position, focusing on his breathing.

In. His chest expanded upwards as his lungs stretched around the welcomed air. Out. It lowered at a steady pace. In. His eyes began to droop–maybe his efforts had paid off? 

As if the house fed off of his displeasure, the puny, seemingly unassuming vintage radio on his desk fizzled to life. The static starting at a volume much too low to wake up his neighbors, but too loud to let he himself rest. He started up, expelling his once relaxed breath with a snap of his tightly wound patience and out of his bed. He flew across the room and ripped the plug from the socket and letting it clatter to the floor, effectively cutting out the unwanted white noise it had so graciously offered. 

“I don’t have time for this!” He growled through his teeth and trudged back into his bed’s taunting embrace. Settling his weight back onto its surface. He nestled himself against his pillow, and leveled his breathing, finding his eyes weighing down once more.  In, he commanded his breathing to slow. Out. 

The radio on his desk sputtered, like a lawn mower refusing to start. After a few tries, it roared back to life with an even louder blast of its static.  

“I’m not listening!” He snatched the pillow from beneath his head, and squashed it down over his ears, taking his time to enunciate each syllable. “Leave. Me. Alone!” 

The radio didn’t seem to care how he felt, and tormented him with an onslaught of robotic ticks that repeated itself in unrelenting waves. He pressed the pillow against his head like a lifeline, not caring if he felt as though he couldn’t breathe. But the beeping still didn’t let up. If anything, it got louder as a means to counter his resistance.  After what he guessed could have been the tenth time it ran through its pattern, he leapt to his feet and stomped to his desk. Wrenching the chair out and planting himself in it, the last of his reserve wearing thin. 

“Fine. What do you want?” He yanked at the string of his lamp, illuminating him in a small bubble of light.

Nothing changed. Just the same pattern repeating over and over in a barrage against his eardrums. Biting his lip to keep himself from blowing his lid at an invisible nuisance, he scrambled for a piece of paper from one of his drawers and did his best to scribe what sounds he heard. 

“Is this what you want?” He snatched a pen from the cup on his desk. “I’ve already told you, I don’t know morse code–I can’t promise that I’ll be able to figure out whatever is you find so important to tell me at nearly four in the morning.” His hand scraped across the paper with a blazing fury, making multiple separate attempts to jot down the message. Once satisfied with 5 different interpretations, he slammed his pen down and held the paper up to the radio in a tired desperation.

“May I sleep now?” 

All sound from the radio speakers ceased. The static disappeared the same way it had arrived: with a choppy flourish. 

He huffed out a short “thank you”, and stumbled back to his bed to flop back onto the covers without an ounce of grace. The sounds of the bustling house didn’t seem as much of an issue compared to what his auditory system had just been pestered with. He might’ve thought about thanking whoever it was that tortured him for desensitizing his senses with the incessant beeping if he wasn’t still seething at them from interrupting his sleep. He was finally able to slip into a dreamless slumber, the house around him still as alive as ever–despite all of the living inhabitants being tucked and accounted for in their beds, fast asleep. 

_________________________________________

Y/n stared down at her perfectly curated stack of pancakes, admiring the way the diced apples glistened beneath a roof of fresh whipped cream. Splayed across the table were serving trays piled high with hash browns, grilled sausages, towers of fresh cut fruit, a saucepan of baked apples, and a circular pyramid structure of downright ad worthy pancakes. She gripped her fork tightly in her fist and skewered a piece of apple, bringing it up for her to admire the specks of cinnamon peppering its surface before setting it on her tongue. The juice burst from its flesh and coated her mouth in a warm, sweet yet spicy wave. Never mind how unimaginably perfect the fruit was, her stomach still flipped in response to its weight in her stomach. 

“How have things been for you, Y/n? I observed Hye-won put your start date for next Monday?” Her mother’s voice broke through the symphony of cutlery, looking down her nose at Y/n.

Y/n recalled Mrs. Min’s message of congratulations from when she had sent her the employee portal link and swallowed her own bite forcefully, feeling its entire journey down to her stomach. “They’ve been going good.” 

Her mother hummed, and used her butter knife to cut through her next bite. Surprisingly, her and her brother had both joined for breakfast on this seemingly unimportant early Tuesday morning. As did nearly everyone else. There were only a handful of heads missing: both of her hall neighbors, Jimin and of course-her father. The wait staff had to extend the table to accommodate a nearly full house. 

“Well-” her mother brought a napkin up from her lap to wipe at the side of her mouth “-the event schedule was posted for the spring and summer season as I’m sure you’ve seen. Almost everything is in order except for a few minute details.” She cleared her throat and rested her cutlery on her plate, hesitating for a moment. 

“There are a few things we are unsure of, with emphasis on a few of the summer activities and the placement of impending fall and winter events. We–as in Hana and I- were hoping that you might offer some of your input to help augment the experience of our guests. If you would be open to the offer.” Her mother finished, her tone airy and light as if she had simply commented on the weather–not giving Y/n an offer that tracked mud through her already disheveled brain. 

Y/n almost choked on a bite of sausage, but managed to cover it with a quick cough into her fist. She raised her brows and gestured with a finger to herself. “Me?” 

Her mother nodded. “Yes. You have always had an exemplary aptitude for anything regarding the hotel. Hana insisted.” 

Of course, Y/n thought. It was Mrs. Kim’s idea, not her own mother’s.

“If that’s what she thinks.” Trying to keep the sting of her mothers insinuation from being visibly or audibly detected, she kept her voice to a low mumble.

“Lovely. She’ll be pleased to hear that.” Her mother brought her next bite up to her mouth but backtracked slightly, her mouth still open. “I am pleased to hear that.” 

Y/n snuck a ‘what the fuck?’ glance to Namjoon, who just gave a miniscule shrug of his shoulders and scooped more hashbrowns onto his plate. Her mother seemed to be done speaking for the time being, content with Y/n’s answer and oblivious to the commotion she had stirred–like usual.  

Y/n felt her eyes drifting towards where her brother Roland sat sandwiched between Jin and her mother. He kept his eyes downcast whenever he ate at the table with her, but would often steal glances up at Y/n when he thought she wasn’t looking. He had grown a good five inches since she had last seen him–suddenly those four years away felt like a lifetime–he had grown into his face and probably had a laundry list of new interests and hobbies that she had no clue of. A pivotal time in his life she could have had with him slipped through her fingers. Gone. Y/n wished she could reach across the table and hold him as she once had when he was younger, but he was much too tall for that now, and she suspected he would shove her away at the first chance like most preteen boys would. 

She peeled her eyes away from Roland’s side profile, and caught a hold of Jin’s reassuring smile. His eyes alight with warmth as he nodded with his fork to her plate, mouthing out the word ‘eat’ and animately mimed the act of scarfing food down with his silverware.  She rolled her eyes but cracked a small smile, listening nonetheless. He watched as she shoveled a bite of apple drenched pancakes into her mouth, seemingly pleased with her actions, and tucked back into his own plate with vigor. 

Hoseok seemed a bit out of it this morning and not just because he was still in his pajamas with an unruly crown of bed head–but his newly acquired taciturn nature that was so unbecoming of him. The shining face Y/n was accustomed to seeing at the breakfast table seemed faded and dull at its edges. Even as he gave the staff member placing a fresh glass of orange juice infront of him a polite smile, it held no relations to his usual vibrant displays. And if that wasn’t weird enough already-just like her younger brother-he also was avoiding her. 

Breakfast had passed with the speed of watching paint dry, each bite feeling like a cement brick landing in her digestive tract. She didn’t want to tell Yoongi or Jungkook just how nervous she was for tonight; though with the way Jungkook repeatedly let his russet brown eyes sweep in her direction when her mother wasn’t looking, she was sure he could already read her like an open book. 

The moment her mother and brother excuse themselves to walk the latter to the bus stop down the hill, the invisible unease that wound its way around the rest of them like a leash began to dissipate. Jungkook felt less of a need to be as hidden with his blatant staring, Namjoon leant back in his chair in a casual manner, and even Jin even seemed to perk up-even if it was to a miniscule degree. Hoseok was the only one who didn’t seem to notice the shift in atmosphere, his restraint still present. He only lasted a few more bites before quietly excusing himself back up to his room to get ready for his day. 

Y/n wanted nothing more than to go after him and ask him what was bothering him, or if she had unknowingly done something to upset him. But as her head followed his exit willing her body to follow,  but quick kick striking her shin stopped her from rising from her seat. 

“Ouch-what the fuck?” She whipped her head with narrowed eyes at where Namjoon sat from across the table. 

Namjoon halted the journey of his loaded fork to his mouth, his eyes wide and mouth slackened to accept the bite. 

“What?” 

“What was that for?” She demanded. 

He lowered his utensil towards his plate. “What was what for?” 

“Ugh!” She rolled her eyes and pushed her plate away from herself. “Take your time finishing up your breakfast. I’ll meet you at the greenhouse.” 

She rounded the doorway from the dining room out into the foyer. She didn’t have to look up from where she was bent over hastily shoving her feet into her boots to know who had trailed out after her. His looming presence occupying the spot to her right more than enough of a give away. Y/n sighed and hoisted herself up to look at Jungkook as he hovered near her.

 “Namjoon told you about the twins, huh?” She kept her voice low to prevent Jin from eavesdropping through the wall. 

“Yes.” He dropped to one knee to lace up his own work sneaker. “Because you didn’t.” 

She rested one hand on the door knob, waiting for him to finish. “Not on purpose! It just slipped my mind.”

“Uh huh. Sure.” He waved her hand away from the door handle and opened it for her. “I bet it had nothing to do with you being stubborn or anything.” He cracked a teensy smile in her direction as he escorted her out the front door. 

“Nothing at all. Can’t you tell I love having a personal security detail.” Y/n countered, skipping down the steps with him at her side. 

Jungkook let a breathy chuckle escape his lips, and let her lead the way down the path to the greenhouse entrance. The two of them have been making strides in their friendship, with him loosening up inch by inch each day. She was grateful that with no more secrets between them, he was able to let himself fully open up. 

The flowers and bushes lining the side of the estate were feeling the coming of late spring. Corpulent peonies stared at them with blushing faces, and daffodils turned their noses up at them in the breeze as they ambled by. Even with the gray overcast and light drizzle sprinkling down on their petals, they were still waking up to say their pleasantries. The rest of the bushes were expected to bud in the next few weeks and blanket the grounds with their vivid colors and natural perfume, and she couldn’t wait to greet them when they did. She pulled her copy of the entrance key and jolted the door open, holding it open for the man behind her to follow. 

The greenhouse construction was expected to close within the next week or so. Just in time for their busiest transplanting season and for her first day. This was something Namjoon was counting down the seconds for, even joking that they should have a greenhouse party to celebrate the departure of their clobbering construction team. The frame and panes were finished, all that was left was to reinforce the seals and connect the first floor water supply to the second floor. Y/n was happy to  at least have a bit of peace before they showed up in an hour to make their usual racket. 

Jungkook took to inspecting the contents stuffed onto the bulky shelves with rapt interest, his eyes meticulously scanning each label. He seemed to find what he was looking for: a massive spaghetti sauce jar that had been cleaned and filled with multitudes of harvested peony seeds. The glass clanked against its neighboring jars and tipped forward into Jungkook’s awaiting palms as he nudged it from its spot. His inked hand splayed across the bottom of the jar as he shook it a few times, listening to the music they made from inside the jar. Y/n’s gaze followed his form as it wandered to the next shelf, repeating the same thing he had down to the first. This time, he paused and peered back at her through the gaps of lined jars. 

“No peeking.” He took one empty hand and shooed her eyes away from what he was prodding at.

She snorted and held her hands up. “Geez, can’t seem to get rid of you yet here you are, sending me away. ” 

Y/n spun on her heels, missing the unimpressed glare he directed at the back of her head, and floated into the storage room that she was in the process of helping Namjoon organize. After he had lost three separate pairs of gloves she had put her foot down and gave herself the task of going through each box, tote, and shelf to create a better system for the both of them before she was subjected to it as a work enviroment. She hummed along to a song she couldn’t place her finger on and nor did she care to, and tugged one of the larger boxes out from one of the shelves and lugged it over to the desk along the back wall. Y/n could still hear Jungkook poking around the front room, but respected his wish not to look at whatever it was he was getting himself into.

She had given herself a much larger head start to her day than she necessarily needed, the time not yet having even reached far past 8. Y/n had an hour and a half to dilly dally before Namjoon was to be expected, and Jungkook would be taking off any minute to clock in. This would give her plenty of alone time outside of the confines of her room to settle and process her nerves about tonight without being watched. 

Y/n heard the distinct sound of a grocery bag being unfurled followed by a soft thud of something weighty being placed on the table. The sound of Jungkook’s sneakers scuffled closer and she felt his presence enter the storage room from over her shoulder. The red of his work scrubs trickled into her peripheral, and he cleared his throat from her left. 

“I have to leave a few minutes early so I can drop a few things off at my room. You’ll be fine here until Namjoon comes?” He sniffed, his voice displaying only a hint of uncertainty. 

The question held the unspoken: She’d be stuck in here until Namjoon came by, so if she needed anything–speak now or forever hold her peace. 

“I’ll be alright,” she smiled up at him, “Thank you though.” 

Jungkook nodded, but made no move to turn away yet. Y/n lifted another set of microscope slides out of the box and set them to the side where Jungkook lingered. She picked a few out of their box to look through any damaged ones when Jungkook took a sharp intake of breath. 

“Y/n.” His voice was urgent, and she looked up at him to find him scrutinizing something from outside of the propped open panes. She followed his line of sight and saw her mother blazing down the greenhouse path, her cheeks red and her steps purposeful. Oh no. 

Jungkook soundlessly slipped from the room and disappeared into the nursery area with his bag gripped in one hand. She didn’t have time to hear if he made it out the back door before Y/n's mother’s impatient knocks rang from the front. Y/n pulled her arms from the box to make her reluctant way to the front–but her mother didn’t give the same courtesy her father had to wait–and let herself in before Y/n could even make it into they entryway. Her mother barreled into the front room, and surveyed the space until her eyes teeming with uncurbed fury found Y/n shuffling between the shelves towards her. 

“Is everything alr-”

“What is this?” Her mother silenced her shaky voice with a thrust of what she assumed to be her brother’s phone (going by the video game stickers dotting the protective case) into her face. 

Y/n let her mouth hang open in silent confusion, and her brows furrowed while her eyes registered what her mother was showing her. Her heart dropped into her stomach. There on the screen was the post she had made on her social media a few days prior, and had been stopped on one of her and her friends sitting in the back of the buggy during the battlefield tour. 

“It’s…” Y/n chose her next words carefully. “It’s a picture of me and my friends.” 

Her mother puffed out a scornful scoff. “That’s not what I am referring to and you are well aware of that.” She took one of her fingers that trembled in poorly a withheld frenzy to scroll through the next few, making a point to stop at any that included Yoongi. 

“He is one of my friends, and ended up coming along with us. There’s nothing else to it than that mom.” Y/n’s eye twitched, and her hands balled into fists at her sides. This is not how she wanted to start her morning.

“Nothing else to it?” Her mother shoved the phone into her purse. “Then why not tell me about it? Why hide it from me if there was truly nothing else to it?” 

“Because you would’ve freaked out like this! And since when have we been buddy buddy enough to tell eachother what we do on the weekends?” Y/n kept her fists taught as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, her face growing hot. 

“Since I became your mother–that’s when. I have a right to know these things.” 

Y/n’s head tweaked to the side, and her lips pursed in feigned disappointment. “Well you should’ve thought of that before you pushed me out of everything, shouldn't've you?” Y/n whirled around and back to the box she had been emptying. 

“Do not walk away from me right now.” Her mother followed in after her. 

“Wow that’s funny–you didn’t seem to care about whether or not I did that before.” Y/n slammed the contents of the box one by one onto the table. Not even bothering to look at what she was placing where anymore or if she had completely thrown off her piles. 

“Don’t speak about things you can not possibly understand.” Her mother bit back through clenched teeth. 

“Well then elaborate mother since you’re suddenly so keen on being open and honest with each other.” 

Her mother pinched the bridge of her nose between two fingers and took a few labored breaths. She heaved one last sigh, before abruptly leaving Y/n’s side.

“I will not be arguing with you about this any further.” The older woman’s heels clacked on the floor as she took quick strides back to the front room. “You will stay away from him. Do you understand me?” 

“No, I don’t. I don’t understand you actually.” Y/n snapped and stormed after her, her heart pounding in her ears. “He’s nice, and he’s my friend. And if anything, he seems to be happier about me being back more than you are. So god forgive me for wanting to spend time with people that actually care about me.” 

Y/n’s mother froze, her eyes cold and hard as they stared Y/n down. Y/n pushed on. 

“And if you’d actually bothered to talk to me like an adult instead of coming in here with guns blazing accusations all over the place–I didn't even invite him! I didn’t even know he was joining us until the morning of. Do not hold me accountable to the actions of other men.” Y/n could feel the rage seeping from every pore on her body. 

Her mother stayed frozen, her eyes enlarged with icy wrath. A look only a mother could give. But Y/n didn’t back down this time, matching her intensity with her own penetrating stare. 

“Who invited him?” The woman’s words were quiet, yet deadly. She recognized that tone–it bore striking resemblance to a snake winding up to pounce. 

“I. Don’t. Know.” 

They held their stand off in a smothering silence, her mother’s eyes imploring Y/n to turn in one of her friends with her lethal scrutiny.  Y/n could’ve heard a pin drop from the attic of the estate as she held her ground. Finally, Y/n’s mother broke first. She turned and ripped open the door to the greenhouse with so much force it bounced off of the wall next to it, and started her scorching ascent back to the estate. Once Y/n was sure she had left she hurriedly closed the door and locked it from the inside, pressing her back against it in case her mother would come pushing her way back through at any moment.

Her breath hiccuped in her chest. This was not at all how she had wanted to spend her alone time this morning. Now not only was she scared of what was to come later, she was pried from her safe space against her will and put on trial against her friends. She felt small. Her mother had a unique way of doing that to her in the most recent years. Then the guilt began to eat at her edges: she had just thrown her friends under the bus, and she had no idea what that meant for them. 

She let herself drag down the door until her tailbone hit the floor and brought her knees curling up into her chest. That Christmas had changed everything between her and her mom. If 6 years ago she would’ve caught a glimpse of what their current relationship looked like, she would’ve called the world a liar and laughed. They had always been close before this. Then it was like a switch had been flipped, and the mother she had grown to know was pulled from her hands before she was ready–pushing her from a nest that’s height left an unsurvivable fall over its lip. Now instead of laughing at each other's stupid puns and dancing in the kitchen late at night with her and her sister, or curling up under soft blankets to watch copious amounts of criminal minds together on the weekends–they were distant. They were strangers. What had she done? What did she do that was so wrong to lose her affections so easily? Or had she always just been blind to her love being conitional?

Y/n couldn’t stop the hot tears as they tracked down her face. She hadn’t done anything, she had to remind herself. Yoongi’s words about her mother spinning lies from her fingertips and hiding behind shrouds of secrecy coming to the forefront of her mind. Y/n tried to mop at the salty streams with the collar of her shirt, but it was useless. 

The door shuddered against her back, and she jumped to hold it closed. Through the frosted glass she could see the outline of a feminine figure, their frail hand pressed against the misty glass. Y/n’s breath hitched, unsure of what to do. It certainly couldn’t be her mother–this woman wasn’t tall enough to be her mother. The shadowy outline of the hand pulled away from the glass, and Y/n watched their short form stoop to the ground momentarily, before standing up to their full shorter stature. The woman moved away from the door as if floating, and Y/n followed her shadowy outline as far as she could as it blended into the warped blobs of color the greenhouse glass turned everything into after a certain distance.

Y/n’s heart was beating uncomfortably in her throat and tickling her ears, making her let out a few muffled coughs. The slow drip of rain picking up a steadier speed on the roof, blending in with the sound of her pulse. Without thinking, she opened the door and surveyed the path: but no one was there. She moved to close the door, not interested in standing out in the rain or inviting whatever it was inside. However something left on the ground near her feet halted her movements. 

A single, perfectly bloomed peony had been cut from the bush. It’s stem cut at an angle at the perfect length for displaying it in a vase if Y/n had wanted to. She crouched low to the ground and pinched the stem up from the ground. She inspected the flowers' pale pink petals with a few quiet sniffles. She looked back up the path, but still saw no sign of whoever had left the flower on the stoop. She retreated back into the safe confines of the greenhouse, locking the door once more.

Y/n didn’t let herself wallow for very long, leaving the stem on the work table and choosing instead to bury herself and her feelings in the task of sorting out the storage room. She had everything separated into neat heaps of similar items, and was measuring with her eyes what sizes of stackable Ikea storage totes would work the best when she heard Namjoon clamber his way through the main door. 

She didn’t look up from her online doom scroll as he lumbered past the doorway and into the nursery to check on the minimal amount of construction process so far. His steps back tracked themselves to a halt outside the storage room entrance to give her and the piles encircling her a once over. Y/n knew how she probably looked: one leg crossed over the other, slumped over onto her phone and closed off. He took trepid steps in, but she still didn’t look up to greet his approaching figure.  

“Did something happen?” His words were soft spoken as he directed them at her, and for once she wished he wasn’t so observant. 

Y/n shrugged, keeping her head down. If she looked at him, her swollen eyes and sticky face would sell her out to him in an instant. Namjoon pulled out one of the folding chairs from the shallow closet in the storage room, and plopped himself into place infront of her.

“You’re going to have to use some form of outward communication with me–I don’t have the leg up that the other guys do when it comes to my deduction skills.” He kept his tone matter-of-fact, yet still far removed from any judgement. Y/n sighed, clicking her phone off and dropping it onto the table next to her with a ‘thunk’. She hugged her arms around herself, but still avoided meeting his eyes as she spoke. 

“I got into a fight with my mom.” Her voice barely approached a whisper. 

“Just now?” 

“No. Almost over an hour ago.” 

“Huh.” He clicked his tongue in thought. “She seemed fine at breakfast? What triggered it this time?” 

“I guess either my brother showed her my post from Saturday or she was snooping–the how doesn’t necessarily matter to me as much as the why. But she came in here to give me a good tongue lashing for Yoongi being in some of them.” Y/n shook her head in indignant disbelief as the argument replayed in her mind. “And then when I told her I wasn’t the one that invited him, she got weird. Joon, when she looked at me after I said that–it was like she was thinking of ways to kill them or something.” 

Y/n felt her throat tightening in on itself, and her voice tremor with her next words. “What if I just got them kicked out or fired or something because I couldn’t just take the hit?” 

She couldn’t stop it anymore much to her displeasure, as her lip quivered and her eyes welled up again. Once the first fresh tear fell, she just let it all come out. 

“I miss how she used to be. I miss the relationship we had before all of this bullshit. Now it feels like everything I do is wrong–especially if it means I’m happy because of it. And to top it off–” she cut herself off momentarily to scrub at her face with her sleeve “–I’m terrified because I have to face the unknown tonight and I can’t even tell them that I’m scared because they will force me to stop. Especially Jungkook. And I don’t want to be stopped by anyone–I’m beyond tired of everyone trying to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do. I just wanted to get it off my chest and process it, but she took away all the peaceful time I had this morning to do that.” Y/n blubbered out her frustrations with a murky groan and wiped at her face with more force than the first, leaving her cheeks feeling raw.

Namjoon’s chair creaked as he stood, and he pulled her up to her feet to follow. She didn’t have time to protest before he enveloped her in a warm hug, letting her find solace in his sturdy frame. He squished her to his chest the same way he had when she had first arrived, but this time she didn’t feel any awkward urge to push him away. She let herself be held in his comforting embrace, feeling the warmth from his hold seep into her muscles and unwind any tension left in them with effortless compassion. She felt a teensy bit bad that she had definitely left a wet spot on his shoulder by the time her breathing had started to even out, yet he chose not to comment on whether or not he noticed. Namjoon took her by the shoulders and held her at arm’s length, grabbing her attention with newfound urgency. 

“Listen to me Y/n. First–in all kindness–fuck your mom.” Y/n would’ve starled backwards into her seat if it wasn’t for him holding her still, having never heard Namjoon speak so harshly in regards to her mother. “Second, no one can tell you what to do–and you do your best to make sure everyone knows that–even if it irks me sometimes.” He let one dry laugh spill from his schooled expression. 

“If you are scared, tell me. And if you’re scared and still want to do things I maybe won’t always approve of–I still want you to tell me.” He gave her shoulders another firm shake. “If you truly feel like whatever it is you’re doing is the right thing to do, do it scared. I won’t stop you. Neither will Yoongi. And Jungkook is going to just have to learn to accept that.  If you’re going to be doing dangerous shit, we need to all stay open and honest. Lying helps no one.” 

Y/n was taken aback by the intensity in his eyes. “I thought you said you didn’t want me doing the dangerous shit because it could put everyone else at risk?” 

“Y/n, if you want my honest answer, yes. I still think that way some of the time. But after what happened with you and Hadwin, coupled with your sister and the twins–I hate to admit it–but Yoongi might be right. The only way to stop it might be to face it head on, otherwise you and the rest of us might end up hurt, or worse.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders and pulled his beanie further down his forehead. “It’s your decision. I’m not going to ever try to make it for you, so get those thoughts out of your head.” 

“You…” Y/n sniffled, and stared up at him in admiration. “You really are the best, Joon.” She let herself fall against him again, laying the side of her face against his shoulder and squeezing his middle. 

“If you say so.” He returned the hug, and ran a soothing hand up and down her back. 

They stayed that way together, holding each other while her sniffles quieted to nothing. The sound of the clanging construction team two rooms over and the gentle rain their background noise.

“So what about tonight is scary?” His chest rumbled against her ear as he spoke. 

“Yoongi can’t get in. He said they only want me.” 

He sighed, but didn’t make any moves to argue like he had promised. “How about this?” Namjoon released their hug and took a step back towards the folding chair and kicking it closed with his boot. “You guys do your ritual tonight in my room. I’ve got plenty of plants in there to make you feel at home, and I’ll watch over you every step of the way. Would that help?” 

Y/n pondered his proposal for a moment, and chewed at the inside of her cheek. Maybe that would help her feel better, to have someone else there that she trusted. Not to mention the enticing offer of more plant friends to keep her company. She nodded, but Namjoon had his back turned to her to shove the chair haphazardly into the closet. So she found her words again. 

“I think that would help, yeah.” 

“Good, then let’s get to work until then. I got the all clear for us to start moving some stuff back to some of the other rooms and I’m going to rip my own hair out if I don’t jump on it.” 

_________________________________________

New message in ‘The Most Annoying and Toxic Coworkers’

[Joon 🌱]: Change of plans for tonight. Your guys’ meeting has been moved to my room. 

[Zoltar]: Don’t we live in a democracy anymore? And since when were you in charge?

[Jungkook]: Sounds good. 

[Zoltar]: You’re just agreeing because I didn’t agree with it right away.

[Jungkook]: 🤷 

[Morning Glory]: It was my choice Mr. Grumpy Gale. 

[Zoltar]: I guess I can accept it then 😮‍💨

[Zoltar]: You two young ones will have to help me lug all my shit over without looking suspicious though. 

Y/n watched the messages appear on her screen as she made her way back to the estate for lunch, Namjoon trailing a short distance behind her to give her the illusion of autonomy. When she arrived at the table, she noticed Hoseok was still clouded in the same mood as this morning. The only difference this time being him dressed and showered with a bandage hanging from his neck. The entire time they ate he barely spoke to anyone, just half smiles and small comments here and there. Y/n had enough with the elusiveness that was ill-suited to his person.

When he got up to excuse himself again, Y/n got up to follow with more speed than last time, avoiding any kick’s Namjoon might’ve tried to send her way. If he had tried to do so again–he didn’t show it–just kept his attention on a book he had laid flat on the table next to his plate. Jungkook on the other hand stood up to follow her into the foyer, but she held her hand up to stop him in his tracks. 

“I’m just going to check on him, I’ll be right back. I’ll text you when I’m on my way down.” She rushed out a whisper across the table, and Jungkook shifted to look at Namjoon for approval. 

Y/n darted out and into the hall without waiting for the answer, tracing his footsteps in the path they had made up the stairs. When she was rounding the final turn, she only caught a glimpse of his door clicking into place from where he had withdrawn behind it. She made quick work of the hall, not having interest in being in it by herself. She did three brisk knocks before letting her hand drop down to her side, tapping her foot and being sure to watch over each shoulder. 

Hoseok swung his door back open, befuddlement outweighing any other emotion before he registered the timid look she was sending his way. He scratched at his ear, and leant up against the door frame to address her. 

“What’s up? Do you need something?” 

“No, I just wanted to check in on you. You seem a bit out of it, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, the absence of a smile on his face jarring her to her core. His detached expression leaving her feeling uneasy instead of comforted by his presence

Hoseok sucked on his teeth, and took a miniscule step backwards. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say he was looking standoffish; a word she would have never used to describe him before today. Especially not to her. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Maybe I caught whatever you had.” He dismissed her with a tight lipped smile. She would’ve believed him if she hadn’t known that her illness was fake, thus it was impossible to catch. 

“Are you sure?” She pushed him further. “I don’t remember being around you that much beforehand–at least not more than everyone else.”  

“We danced together that day, remember? That seems pretty up close and personal to me.”  The words burned off of his tongue with poorly concealed disdain, and his eyes held no light to them at the memory. 

Y/n recoiled at the sound, having almost never heard such venom come from his mouth before. “Did you…Did you hate it that much?” Defensiveness reared its ugly head, coming forth from the depths of her mind. “Did I do something wrong?” 

Hoseok’s eyes widened and his face visibly paled. 

“Fuck-no. Look,” he ran a hand through his wavy hair and propped it back on the door, “I enjoyed that. I really did, trust me. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just not feeling well, alright?” 

“Okay.” Even she could tell her response wasn’t convincing. His tired eyes reflecting some kind of inner conflict in her direction. 

“I owe you a dance to prove I didn’t hate it. Promise. Just give me some time to get over whatever this is please.” He sounded like he was relenting, not like he was genuinely looking forward to it. And she couldn’t tell what idea hurt more: Him lying to her and saying he will spend time with her out of pity, or him not trusting her enough to tell her what was bothering him. 

“Yeah. That’s fine. Whatever works for you.” She started in feeble steps down the hall–she didn’t want to make whatever he was experiencing more difficult for him to manage. “I hope you feel better soon.” 

She heard him exhale sharply with a grunt, catching up to her in seconds with his long fingers encircling her wrist. 

“Y/n I mean it. I love spending time with you and you did nothing wrong. I really am just not feeling well. I promise.” The stare he leveled her was grave, and pierced through her clouded mind like a beam of light. She knew him well enough to know that meant he was telling the truth. 

She swallowed with force, and gave a measly nod. “I believe you.” 

He dropped her hand and tugged her into a bone crushing hug with his arms wound tightly around her shoulders to flatten her to his thin frame. His shoulders shuddered with the intensity of which he held her to him, trembling beneath her fingertips. Hoseok released her faster than she would have liked, already leaving her where she stood to escape back into the confines of his room.

“I’ll see you later at dinner?” Y/n called after him, a hopeful expression painting her face. 

Hoseok nodded, and finally sent her a real -albeit tiny- smile. Then he was gone. 

Y/n pulled her phone from her pocket to send Jungkook a simple walking emoji, not wanting to give the ghosts any opportunities to have the upperhand by spending more time than she needed to looking at her phone. By the time she entered the landing, Jungkook was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs and watching her each step as she took her time shuffling down them.  She paused about halfway down, reconsidering her plans to make room for the unexpected dejection that pulled at her heart strings.

“Actually, I think I want to go lay down. Her eyes flickered up to meet his dark ones momentarily before looking anywhere else. "Today has really worn me out.”  

She knew Hoseok was being honest in his reassurance, but she couldn’t help the slight sting of rejection that sliced through her chest at his slip up. Whatever that had meant had also felt just as honest, and it truly was just the cherry on top of her emotional roller coaster of a day. Jungkook met her at her spot halfway up the steps, and gestured for her to lead the way. 

Y/n’s footsteps dragged across the carpet all the way to her door, and her hand felt weak as she pushed the wooden panel keeping her from curling up under her blankets open and out of her way. Jungkook pushed in after her, and clicked the door closed for her. She surveyed her space, taking in the plants she hadn’t checked yet this morning. Slumping her shoulders, her heavy gait brought her to inspect her plant collection, picking up the misting bottle to spray the leaves of a few of them and checking the moisture levels with the tip of her fingers. Jungkook came up next to her, and looked at the plant she was doting on over her shoulder. 

“Which one is that?” He pointed with one tattooed finger at the smaller sized plant in her hands. 

“This is a ZZ Plant. It’s actually the one I got in Jimin’s honor. ” She gave Jungkook a sideways glance, and placed the plant back on one of the smaller ledges. 

His eyes scanned each plant with a nearly inaudible hum before honing back in on her. “Which one is mine?” 

“Oh-yes that’s right. Yours is…” Her voice dwindled in volume as she paced with a bit more enthusiasm than before down the massive shelf to one if the ledges made for medium to large sized plants. “This one.” She gestured to a still young, yet beautifully variegated Croton. 

“Why that one?” he furrowed his brows and took the plant in, reaching two fingers out to prod at one of the wide sweeping leaves at the bottom of its stem. 

“Gah! Don’t touch.” She smacked his hand away, and his eyes turned to near complete circles to gawk at the place where she had struck him. “Sorry! But he’s toxic, and I know you have sensitive skin.” She rushed out with an apologetic look pulling her face downwards. 

Jungkook shook his hand out, but didn’t seem too offended with her explanation and smoothed his expression from shock to neutral. His silence directed her to continue onwards with answering his query.

“I chose this one as you because one: it's got so many different colors to show in just one plant. It will develop splotches of yellow, red, orange, and two different shades of green as he grows; much like how I think you are. You have many different sides of yourself that you only let people see if they take good care of you.” She giggled at the light flush that crept up his cheeks, and he rolled his eyes to try and conceal it. “Two: this plant is one of the strongest spiritual protectors. You can use the sap in protection magic, and it protects your space from curses or any ill will. They mean business, and spirits know not to fuck around with them.” She could’ve sworn she saw his chest puff out slightly by the end of her spiel, and she sucked in a small breath to keep in any further giggles that threatened to escape at his subtle display of pride. 

“Did you get any for anyone else?” Jungkook admired the broad leafed Monstera that had taken over the backseat on its way home a few days prior. She hummed in affirmation and pulled a small Aloe Vera plant from the ledge across from the ZZ plant, and held it up for him to look at. 

“This Aloe plant is Yoongi’s. They are also spiritual protectors–all spikey and scary looking with a reputation for being able to be left alone–but in reality they are quite gentle.” She rotated the plant in her palms for Jungkook to see each speckled arm that stretched towards the sky. “They like being showered in attention, and are great emotional companions. They have skin soothing properties as I’m sure you know.” 

Y/n slid the small powdery blue pot back onto its designated shelf, and moved onto a lucious, hunter green plant that’s height brushed above her knees at her lower thigh. 

“This one made me think of Namjoon, my lovely Peace Lily.” She twirled the part of the leaf that came to a point around her pointer finger. “They are known to purify the air of whatever rooms they are in, because at their core they are healers–both of the physical and the spiritual. They are great for emotional stability and love to take care of the ones they care about.” 

Y/n raised her right hand to point at a smaller plant, with dark and light green stripes. “That calathea is what I think I settled on for Hoseok. They are great plants for balance, and their leaves move often as if engaging in a little dance. Then when the sun goes down their leaves curl in, and open when the sun rises. Almost like they're giving you a good morning smile.” Her voice faltered slightly, compelling her to clear her throat. She shook her head to continue on with her tour, Jungkook’s imploring stare and the way in which he hung onto every word she said with undivided attention kept her from lingering too long in her feelings. 

“Jin is for sure a fiddle leaf fig. They are tall, stunning, kind and confident.” She walked with light steps to a chest height tree by her desk, proudly displaying its massive leaves  in front of her window. “They are bringers of positive energy-but only if you care for them right. According to one of the book’s Namjoon let me borrow, if you neglect them or don’t give them proper care, they can wreak havoc on the energy of your space until you fix it.” She felt a smile lift the corners of her mouth, the description bringing fond memories of Jin to her mind. 

“Taehyung, I'm not one-hundred percent decided. I’m stuck between my African Violet or my Monstera.” Y/n tapped her chin absentmindedly with her forefinger. “I feel like it’s definitely between one of those two though. Unless I go to another plant store anytime soon and find something better.” Before Y/n  knew it, she was beaming at Jungkook from her spot near her desk. Her turmoil is momentarily forgotten by her love of plants. As she looked at his rounded eyes, present and attentive to her, she wondered if he had led her on this tangent on purpose knowing it would improve her mood. Butterflies burst from each wall of her abdomen, and fluttered their wings at a speed that made her heart race to keep up with them. 

He nodded at the onslaught of information as she tried to swallow the feeling, and did one more once over of her shelf. He side stepped to a small pale green pot with purple blooms bubbling over the edges. 

“Is this the African Violet?” He wiggles his fingers at the base of the plant, and turned his head to look at her for confirmation. 

Y/n bobbed her head, and came to stand close to his side to fawn over its colors. 

Jungkook breathed out from his nose, and hummed in thought. “What characteristics does it have?” 

“Well,” Y/n gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed at the tip of her nose. “They are a bit high maintenance, but in a ‘I know what I want and I won’t accept anything less than what I deserve’ kinda way. Great for self respect and protecting oneself from negative people or relationships.” She turned from the rich petals that always seemed to hold her in a trance when gazed upon, only to find Jungkook already examining her face. Y/n felt her warmth radiate from her cheeks and down her neck at the way his eyes seemed to be dissecting every square inch from her eyes to her chin. They were so close she could trace the moles that speckled his face with a finger if she had the urge to–which she almost did–and their proximity left each puff of breath from his nose fanning out against her cheek. Y/n watched him pull an invisible mask up, his eyes seeming distant and his expression unreadable as it moved to hide behind it. He swallowed, and her eyes flitted down to the bottom of his face to watch his teeth peek out to bite at the spot where his lip ring should be. 

“I think it fits him. This one.” Jungkook relented his attack on his lower lip and tore himself away from their impromptu staring contest by tapping a long finger delicately against the side of its pot. He teetered backwards, holding most of his weight on the toe of his shoe as he swayed from side to side with each step. Y/n couldn’t explain the tug at her heart at the increase of space between them, that only grew exponentially when the palm of his hand lifted to rest on the door handle. 

“I need to head back to work, but I’ll be done soon. J-Just text me where you’re at and if you need me.” He stumbled over his words, his face coloring itself the same color as the peony petals they had passed earlier this morning. “Otherwise I’m going to go to the gym, and I have a couple things I need to do before we meet up tonight.” Jungkook averted his eyes and vanished through the narrow gap he had made with her door that was just barely big enough for him to slip through.  

_________________________________________

Against his word, Hoseok did not show up for dinner–and neither did both her mother and Seokjin. She had a sinking suspicion that her altercation with her mother had something to do with it, making dread pool into her belly and crawl up her throat. She couldn’t stop her heart from doing panicked flips in her chest as her mind raced to conceive a million different possibilities for what could’ve happened between the three of them. Y/n tried to not let the gloom formed by her friend’s absence consume her. She had to be in top shape tonight if she wanted to be ready for whatever was to come doing their late night rendezvous. So against every cell in her body screaming at her to stop with threatening waves of nausea, she shoveled the food on her plate into her mouth. Robotically moving her jaw in up and down motions even if every bite felt like chewing wet paper. Being hungry wouldn’t do her mind any good. 

She sped up the stairs as soon as dinner ended, not even trying to hide her rush if there was no one really home to hide from. Jimin and Taehyung went in their own directions after dinner, and with the rest of the residents missing they might as well have all just paraded through the halls together. Y/n only made a point to stop into her room to collect the brown paper bag Yoongi had given her, before speeding out of her room and down the opposite hall to Namjoon’s. Casting one disheartened stare towards Hoseok’s closed door, she pushed any thoughts of him from her mind. She raised her fist up, but didn’t even get the chance to knock. Her diligence in not beating around the bush had her and Namjoon crossing paths right outside his door, and he wasted no time ushering her inside. 

Namjoon’s room was neat–in a slightly disorganized way. His walls were a forest green, with one of them lined floor to ceiling in a gargantuan bookshelf, and the other an antique wooden desk flush to the wall nearest to his bathroom. The surface was strewn with papers, propped open books and pens, a small potted plant and few other miscellaneous items she couldn’t place. And could she emphasize the plants? He had pothos vines that tracked across the walls and ceiling; palms that fanned out in a prideful stance and nearly as tall as Namjoon himself; Purple vining plants hanging in baskets from hooks from his ceiling; and more potted plants than she could count. Her eyes didn’t know where to look–every square inch had something green–living or dead. 

“Yeah, I definitely want some clippings from yours.” Y/n did a slow spin around his room, taking in as much as she could. 

Namjoon settled in with a humble smile. “Jin says I have too many, but I think he doesn’t have nearly enough.” He quickly grappled with a stack of papers and books on his desk, taking them in a messy stack and moving them onto his shelf. “Sorry it’s a bit of a mess in here.” 

“No need to apologize, I’ve known you since I was born. If it was pristine in here I think I’d be more concerned.” She chuckled, and brought a feather light hand up to a nearly three foot long tendril from a string of pearls plant situated on top of his bookshelf.

He gave her a tour of his houseplants, taking extra time to show her an alocasia plant that was nearly fifty years old that he inherited from his grandfather from South Korea. They had barely made it halfway through before a marginally out of breath Yoongi waddled in, his arms full with his wooden chest and a smirking empty handed Jungkook behind him. 

“Remind me to ask one of you for a hand next time, and not this smart ass.” Yoongi huffed and dropped his chest on Namjoon’s desk with a thundering clammer. 

“I gave you a hand.” Jungkook had difficulty concealing a shit eating grin that threatened to overtake his face. 

“While I just love being applauded for my efforts, it wasn’t exactly the kind of hand I was looking for.” Yoongi snipped back. He seemed to be tightly strung today, and Y/n wondered if he was as nervous as she was. 

“Are you feeling okay Yoongs?” She kept her voice soft as she addressed him. 

His shoulders scrunched up towards his ears as if her voice startled him, and his hands fumbled slightly to pull the key to his box from his sweat pants pocket. 

“Y-yeah. I’m fine.” 

It must’ve pulled him from his troubled mind momentarily because his voice had lost its sharp edge, and if Y/n looked hard enough, she could’ve sworn the tips of his ears flushed from where they protruded through his damp hair tucked securely behind them.

He set to work guiding them to set up the cloth, the warding, the proper candle order, and a few small ceramic bowls. All of them except for one had a hodgepodge of  dried plants, rocks, and miscellaneous items in them. He placed the empty bowl closest to the end of Namjoon’s bed, which she was certain was where she would sit.  

“Did you bring the other stuff I got for you, Y/n?” He kept his eyes on the candles as he lit each one individually. She held up the paper bag in response and gave it a light shake. “Good.” He concluded, and used the last of his match to light a single stick of incense propped in its holder near the wax pillars.

“I have something to give everyone before we start.” Jungkook piped up from where he sat perched on the edge of Namjoon’s desk. He dug into his pockets, and pulled out a fist full of bracelets. He passed one to an unsuspecting Namjoon, and tossed one for Yoongi to catch in his hands to inspect closely. Jungkook strided over to Y/n, and she held her hand out for him to place it in her palm. 

It was a circlet made of alternating beads. Upon closer inspection, she noticed one of them wasn’t a bead at all, but a seed. The peony seeds. The spheres dotted in between the seeds were clear and made of what she suspected to be resin, with small petals, leaf fragments or spices suspended in the middle of each one. 

“This is gorgeous, Jungkook. Did you make these?” She vocalized her praise, and he averted his eyes at the attention with a short nod. “I love it really, thank you.” 

Namjoon grunted in agreement, and even Yoongi gave him a soft ‘thanks’ and slipped it onto his wrist. Y/n stretched the sturdy elastic onto her arm and rotated her forearm to cherish the way it looked on her wrist, her heart fluttering at the thought and time he had to have put into each one. 

“Let’s get started. Y/n, can you put some of the belladonna in this bowl please?” Yoongi seemed to have regained the usual calm composure he tried to keep while they worked, and fixed his attention to where she still stood. 

She dropped her arm down to her side with a timid nod, and shimmied the bundle from the paper bag. Tugging a few sprigs out from its confines, she lowered herself into her designated spot with Jungkook following suit. Y/n tried to treat the dried plant gingerly, the dried flowers still attached to the stem were hanging on by small threads of spindly plant fiber, and would be easily knocked loose without proper care. She eased it into the bowl in front of her and waited for further instruction. 

“You can put some of the Juniper Berry in there if you feel like it. I’ll help.” Yoongi reached in front of her to snatch the bag up before she could herself. He tossed her the Juniper bag and dropped the Angelia onto his lap. Yoongi wet his lips as he pinched the Angelica from the bag and sprinkled it in with the Belladona. Repeating the same motions with the Valerian. Y/n’s finger’s began to tremble as she plucked each berry individually from the bag, feeling the tickle of each in her palm before grabbing the next. She settled on four of them: one for each person in the room. Y/n didn’t know if it would help but it definitely helped her focus on her friends being present than whatever else remained on the other side. The thought of Hadwin, Heidi, or her sister just waiting for her to step into their playing field just outside of her sight, for the perfect time to pounce on her, made her palms sweat as she dropped the berries into the bowl. 

“We are going to start with what we did yesterday. But instead of me using you both as a springboard, I’m going to nudge you through instead.” Yoongi snapped the pouch close and held it out for Namjoon to take from him. Once it was out of his hand, he ran both hands through his hair and sucked in a sudden breath. “I’m going to be honest Y/n, I’ve never been in there before. I don’t know what it will be like or what you will see. I don’t even know for sure if we will be able to communicate with you while you’re gone. I don’t have anything to go off of to prepare you for it. So if it gets overwhelming, just look for the candles or try to feel for us. Whatever you can do is enough, okay?” 

Yoongi’s coal black eyes pierced through her, and she was fully able to see just how unsettled he was in how they glinted in the candle light. His face looked pale and clammy, and his hair disheveled from having run his hands through it. Y/n couldn’t form the words of a response, and just gave a shaky nod. 

Yoongi grabbed her hand in a firm hold, giving it one quick squeeze. Jungkook mirrored his movements, going as far as to interlace their fingers together to keep them in place. She realized with a shudder that they were waiting for her to take the lead, all three sets of eyes waiting for her to make the first move.

Namjoon situated himself onto his desk chair in her direct line of sight, and gave her a comforting bob of his head. Y/n let her eyes fall closed at the sound of his soothing voice murmuring “I’m right here.” 

At first, it started just like it had started before. The feeling of being trapped in a fishbowl, the calm lapping lake, and the looming presence. And just as it had done the day prior–the lake turned dark and murky. It’s waves pulling her under with each jolt against her skin. Y/n’s breathing felt too fast in her chest as she prepared for what was to come. She grit her teeth, and forced herself to keep her eyes closed. She told herself she had felt it once before and survived, thus she could do it again.

Y/n’s body slumped backwards against the bed, eyes tugged backwards in an agonizing suction sensation that made her want to scream out for them to stop–but she didn’t. She gripped both the hands that were in her own and took as deep of a breath as she could manage. The rubber band’s resistance yanked her down into the blackness below her, seizing every inch of her body as it tried to rip her from her away from reality. Pressure cascading down her form, and filled her chest, her lungs, her mind–anything it could find a way into. It burned. She couldn’t breathe anymore. Couldn’t feel their hands in her own, or the ground underneath where she sat. It felt like she was truely drowning. The tugging sensation on the back of her head gave one final jerk of its hold, and all at once everything was quiet. 

Y/n’s eyes popped open, and she was back in Namjoon’s room where she had left. Jungkook and Yoongi’s eyes were still closed, and Namjoon was still watching over her from where he was seated at his desk. Y/n’s breathing evened out, and she let out a defeated sigh while she moved her hands away from Yoongi and Jungkook’s. 

“I’m sorry Yoongi. It didn’t work. Is there something else we can try? Another herb or plant?” She turned her head to regard Yoongi and Namjoon respectively as she spoke. She lifted one up to fan at the cloud of incense smoke that seemed to leave the room in a smoky haze. “Should we put this out? It’s filling the room with smoke–it’s going to set off the fire alarms.” Her mouth felt like it was moving around mounds of cotton with each word and she licked her lips to rid herself of the persistent feeling, but it did not dissipate. Not even with three firm swallows. 

Namjoon didn’t respond, remaining still as a statue with eyes trained on where she sat; and Yoongi made no move to put out the burning stick. 

“Guys, come on–let’s not beat a dead horse. Let’s try a different tactic.” Y/n lifted herself to her feet to try and get them to follow, but still nothing. She scoffed and leant a hand down to poke at Yoongi’s shoulder. Her heart dropped in her stomach, and her eyes bulged in their sockets as her finger swiped right through his shirt and into his shoulder. 

“Oh my god!” Y/n recoiled her hand from his body and staggered backwards, pins and needles snaked up her arm and her bottom fell onto Namjoon’s comforter. Y/n looked down past her legs in horror–her own body laid near her feet, curled in on itself in a heap. She scrambled backwards away from herself, being so close made nausea build up in her stomach. 

Yoongi seemed to respond to her phantom touch–his shoulders tensing and releasing as he shook them out and soundlessly cleared his throat. She watched his mouth open and close in words she couldn’t hear, but the other two men seemed to be able to. Jungkook’s eyes flew open in a black all consuming stare at where her body laid, his face drained itself of color as his gaze slowly rose from her body to where she lay sprawled on Namjoon’s bed. Y/n saw Namjoon’s mouth curve in rushed words, and Yoongi’s neck nearly snapped in half to give him a snide retort. Y/n couldn’t tear her eyes away from Jungkook, he was the only one to acknowledge her with his own wide ones. 

“Jungkook, can you hear me?” Y/n rushed to crouch at his side, and his rounded eyes filmed over in a glassy sheen while his lips moved in frantic motions. Y/n shook her head, and felt her heart lodge itself in her throat. “I can’t hear you…” 

Jungkook seemed to understand, and spoke again. This time she assumed it was to the other men in the room with him because they both looked aimlessly in her direction, but they’re befuddled and wandering stares never seemed to find their target. Only Jungkook could see her. 

Even though she wasn’t technically in her body anymore, she still could feel sweat accumulate on the back of her neck and her hair stand on its ends. She rose to stand on a pair of quivering knees, and Jungkook's head turned upwards to follow her movements. 

Footsteps thundered down the hall on the other side of the door, the sound deafening in comparison to the dead silence it had destroyed. Y/n felt paralyzed with fear, and watched as the shadow of someone darted past the door, their footsteps growing quieter the further they ran. Her mouth was stuck open, but she willed her body to unlock itself from its frigid state and take slow controlled steps towards the door. 

“I’m doing this for a reason. Don’t let all of this be for nothing.” Y/n comforted herself, her shaking hand cupping the door knob. 

Y/n’s attention was jolted back towards the circle, as the distant sensation of three quick squeezes on her right hand snagged her in. Jungkook’s eyebrows drew outward in a silent plea, and he flickered his eyes down to their hands and gave three much more forceful squeezes. Don’t let go. Y/n reached into herself, finding the green roots and vines from within. She stretched one long imaginary tendril out to curl around their intertwined hands, and tried one small tug.

“I won’t.” She mouthed from the doors threshold. 

Y/n found she didn’t need to open the door as she walked out into the hall, checking both ends and starting towards the landing with a slow tread. The smokey haze continued out into the hall, and she surmised that it must not be from the incense at all–but from being in another world. Her heart hammered in her ears, making it difficult to hear anything outside of the booming metronome. But she pushed forward, taking the stairs one at a time. 

There was no sign of whoever had been rushing down the hall, and she didn’t know whether to be relieved or concerned by that. She wasn’t sure where else to go–they hadn’t discussed anything beyond this point. 

“Maybe I should head back.” Y/n glanced over her shoulder at the stairs she had just descended, but a nagging feeling in her stomach told her to wait. 

“What on god’s green earth-Y/n?” 

Y/n spun on her heels, coming face to face with a woman peering out at her from the study. She could not possibly be any older than thirty, with e/c eyes and dark curly hair creating a voluminous halo in a style that came straight from an 80’s magazine–as did her clothes. One of her hands held onto the open pocket door, and the other clutched at a string of pearls encircling her neck. The same necklace that sat tucked away in Amelia’s room-

“Oma?” Y/n couldn’t hide the way her mouth fell open in shock, and tears gathered at her waterline. Her grandmother twirled one of the pearls in three fingers, and her spine straightened at the word. 

The Younger version of her grandmother lunged forward, and gripped at Y/n’s forearms.  “Y/n–you can’t be here. You need to leave n-” 

“Officer~” A strident, bone chilling, snarl sang from the second floor. Her grandmother’s eyes frantically darted to the landing where the voice had echoed from, and back to Y/n. 

“Quick, in here.” She tugged Y/n back into the study she had just come out of, sliding the pocket door closed in a manner that didn’t feel fast enough for Y/n’s liking. Through the now closed doors, she heard an inhuman cackle from the top of the stairs. 

“Now now brother, must we play children’s games?” Drawn out, languid steps clomped down from the landing. “If you insist-Ten.” He took another step. 

“Nine.” His voice was splitting at the edges, layering over itself as it vibrated from his vocal chords. 

“Eight.” He was nearing the bottom, his voice growing closer. 

“Seven.” This number came out in a hiss–he didn’t have long before he was outside the study doors. 

“Six.” The pendulum on the grandfather clock behind Y/n whooshed to the left. 

Her grandmother put a hand on Y/n’s shoulder and pushed her away from the door, holding a finger to her lips. 

“Five.” She could practically hear the twisted smile worming onto the mystery man’s face. The clock swung audibly back to the right. 

“Four.” He laughed once more, the sound like sandpaper against her ears. Y/n held her breath, and hoped he wouldn’t be able to hear her heart trying to leap from her chest in the room over.

“Three.” His heavy shoes thudded onto the foyer carpet, he was close. 

“Two.” His voice lilted from the otherside of the door in time with the pendulum’s next swing, finding a way under Y/n’s skin. 

Silence. Her grandmother’s fearful eyes never left Y/n’s, and the clock persisted onwards in its noisy dance. 

“Ready or not–here I come~” 

In an instant the man outside the door took off in a clamoring sprint down the hall, passed the kitchen, and down further towards her fathers office and the downstairs bedrooms. Y/n and her grandmother stayed frozen in place until they could no longer hear him, and a few seconds after that. 

“You must leave now, Ente. It is not safe for you here.” Oma’s voice was hushed, and her hands shook as they caressed both sides of Y/n’s face. 

“I can’t–I need to find out what’s happening here. Please, you must help me-” Y/n raked her tearful eyes over her grandmother’s youthful face “-you’re beautiful, Oma.”

A rueful smile curved her grandmother’s face. “Thank you, Schatz.” She ran one finger tenderly down Y/n’s cheek. “Just like you.” The tears threatening to spill down Y/n’s cheeks bubbled over, and Oma wiped them away. She placed both hands resolutely on Y/n’s shoulders.

“I know you want to help, but it’s too dangerous. It’s gone too far.” 

Y/n moved her head back and forth in a stubborn shake. “I don’t care. What’s gone too far?” 

Her grandmother did not answer, instead taking a few tentative steps back towards the pocket doors. Moving her hair out of the way, her grandmother pressed her ear up to the wood and listened for any noise on the other side. 

“Oma, please.” Y/n followed after her, and pressed her own ear against the door that would allow them to face each other in a clandestine council. 

Her grandmother puffed out a sigh, and regarded Y/n with a knowing displeasure. 

“Stubborn.” She hissed, but Y/n could see her eyes igniting in mischief. “Just like the rest of us. A true Wörner.” 

Y/n grinned, her damp cheeks aching with how wide they stretched and they both erupted in shared, quiet giggles. Their laughter died down, and they took a moment to just gaze at each other, taking in the feeling of being together. 

“We don’t have very long. The more you linger, the stronger your presence becomes. They will be able to sense you.” Her grandmother’s smile slipped from her lips, replaced with a somber aura. “They are coming for us–all of us. We can only hold him off for so long.” 

“Who?” Y/n implored, inching closer. 

Multiple sets of shoes stampeded down the hall putting an end to any answer she was about to give. There was a series of grunts, as whoever was outside the door scuffled  into the dining room across the hall. Her grandmother gave a sharp intake of breath, and released it with a shudder, her eyes beginning to quiver where they looking into Y/n’s own.

“Brother, why do you insist on being so…” The crackling voice from before staggered, labored rattling breaths cutting him off. “...difficult.”  The sound of skin hitting skin rang from across the threshold, followed by the sickening thud of a body hitting the floor. 

Y/n’s grandmother grabbed one of Y/n’s hands in an unyielding grip, and whispered to her in urgency. “When I say the word, you will run back to where you came from. Do you understand me, Entlein?”

“I want to help you-” 

“No! You will run.” Her grandmother’s gaze was blazing with inflexible authority.  “You are no help dead.” 

Y/n felt tears begin to drip down her cheeks in an unstoppable torrent. She nodded. 

“Good.” Oma’s whisper was unsteady. Scared. The hand that her grandmother wasn’t holding tingled in a phantom touch–Jungkook.  

“Ich war noch nie jemand, der sich so leicht vor Faschisten verneigt. Oder hast du vergessen, woher wir kommen, Bruder?” A bright, orotund voice spat back at the demon. 

“Now!” Y/n’s grandmother whipped the pocket doors open, and shoved Y/n out and and towards the staircase. Y/n didn’t look back as she bolted, taking the stairs two at a time. 

“Margaret.” The mangled voice seethed through its teeth, a guttural growl tearing from its throat. 

Y/n heard the unmistakable crunch of bones, pulling Y/n to a stop and alarm bells sounded in her head. Her feet rushed to hang her upper half over the banister, blinded by the thought of her grandmother being defenseless against the inhuman creature below. Y/n’s grandmother–Margaret–cradled a clenched fist to her chest. The man she had landed a punch on was unrecognizable–his skin nearly completely rotted and hanging in peeling sheets from his skeletal frame. Red and pink muscles and tendons rippled as he bent backwards from the blow, his jaw knocked completely loose by the impact. 

Y/n threw her hands into the air in unexpected victory. “Get him, Oma!” 

Margaret looked up at Y/n in some wicked cross between amusement and reproachful rage. 

“How nice of you to join us, Entlein.” What was left of the man’s face shifted in Y/n’s direction, his dislocated mandible quaking with the effort it took to rise and meet his upper teeth in a disfigured smile. Y/n’s heart stopped, and she felt as though she might pass out at that very second. Her disembodied knees almost collapsed out from beneath her in the face of the frightening sight before her.

“Flieh Y/n!” A shorter, not yet decaying man leapt onto the demon from within the dining room, sending the latter careening backwards out of her sight. 

Y/n and Margeret shared one last despondent look before Y/n heeded their words, booking it back down the hall in the direction of Namjoon’s room. A scream ripped from Y/n’s throat at the sight of what was waiting for as she rounded the corner. 

“I always hated when you children ran through the halls.” What was left of Patti’s melting eyes dripped like black tar down her face and onto the floor at her gray, decaying feet. Her yellow collared dress was ashy and torn. She stumbled towards Y/n in a zombie-like pattern, each foot nearly collapsing under her own weight. 

Y/n skidded to a stop, and took a hesitant step back towards the landing. 

“Boo!” a high-pitched squeal from behind Y/n made her stumble forward, tripping over her own feet and barely managing to catch herself on the blue painted wall. 

One of the twins jumped for joy where Y/n had just stood, her eyes black and teeth mostly gone from her twisted grin. Her face was longer than the girl who had greeted Y/n in the kitchen, and her voice had a raspier edge crinkling its tone. Inga. 

“Leave me alone!” Y/n couldn’t decide who to look at–the creeping woman or the child that lowered itself to the ground on her haunches, coiling herself to pounce. She needed to run. She needed to get back to her friends. Patti still hadn’t made it to Namjoon’s door, but she didn’t have much farther to go–Y/n didn’t have time to putz around. 

She felt for Jungkook’s hand–finding she could still feel a lingering weight in both of Yoongi and Jungkook from whatever connection she had with her physical body. She took one deep inhale, not letting either ghost out of her sight as she prepared her legs to run. A solid black figure made an entrance at the top of the stiars as it hoisted its upper body with two long arms up onto the landing–and Y/n took that as her signal to get the hell out of there. 

She bounded down the hall, pumping her arms in an effort to will herself forward. Inga’s body collided with the wall where she had just stood seconds prior with a blood-curdling crunch, a shrieking scream that reverberated in y/n’s ears peeled from her small mouth as she squashed to the floor. Patti’s hand nearly missed Y/’n’s arm as she threw herself through the door and back into the safety of Namjoon’s room, landing on her stomach onto the floor. Y/n rose onto her knees and elbows in a clumsy army crawl to where her body laid before her. 

A small, wet freezing hand locked in place like a shackle around her ankle, yanking her backwards. Y/n screamed, clawing at the floor to get a hold of anything she could, but nothing stuk.  She kicked wildly with her foot that was cut out of her vision where it remained on the other side of the door. Her wild eyes found Jungkook’s fiery ones. His nostrils flared, and without hesitation he threw her hand into Yoongi’s lap, barking an unheard order his way and leaping to his feet. Yoongi rushed to situate himself in front of Y/n to take both of her hands, he looked with panicked eyes in her direction, his eyes finally lighting up in recognition–she must’ve been terror-stricken enough for him to see where she was.

Jungkook tried to grapple for Y/n’s arms, but each attempt he made went right through her as if she was made of mist. He got on his knees, gritted his teeth, and tried once more. She was jerked a few feet back and out of reach of his next grab by another larger wet hand finding purchase on her other foot, and she couldn’t stop herself from crying out in alarm. There was nothing for her to grab onto, and they were winning the fight. She yelled out in defiance, and flipped herself onto her back. With all of her might, she kicked her feet down and outwards as they gave another tug–from her midthigh and onwards now at their mercy. The heel of her socked foot met something warm and wet, leaving it coated in something thick and sticky. She tried not to vomit at the thought of what it could be by homing in on one of the hands faltering its grip enough for her to kick it off. 

The warmth of both Yoongi and Jungkook’s hands–a stark comparison to the remaining cold ones on her lower extremities–gripped underneath her arms with all they had, and in one fell swoop they heaved her into the room and out of the other being's violent hold. She took little time crawling to her body that was cradled on the black cloth in Namjoon’s arms, his eyes flying in every direction and his lip bleeding from where he had chewed it raw. Y/n didn’t know how to get back into herself, and she turned to the two psychics behind her in desperation. Jungkook grabbed at Yoongi in a joint scramble back to her body, both of their temples beading with sweat. Yoongi snuffed out the candles in one smash of his palm, a grimace pulling at his face from the sting of the flame licking against his skin before they whiffed out in a string of white smoke from between his fingers. They both wasted no time shoving the pillars out of the way, lifting her body from Namjoon’s hold and into her back the middle of the cloth. The malefic spirits on the other side of the door began to throw themselves against it with vigor. Loud enough for the men on the plane of the living to hear as all three heads swiveled towards the door in a panic. 

The men’s mouths all moved in overlapping speed, and she was unable to decipher any of it. She saw her own chest below her rise and fall in rapid succession with the uptick in her own breathing, and her wet eyes glazed in a thicker sheen than before. 

“Let me in! Let me in! God-” she peered over her shoulder at the door that looked as though it would bust from its hinges with how much force the spirits were putting against it “-Let. Me. In.” She tried to shake her own shoulder to no avail. 

Yoongi hunched himself over her head, perching it on the tops of his thighs and cushioning both sides of her face with his large hands–his lips running at a mile a minute. Both of Jungkook’s hands squeezed one of her own in a bone crushing grip that she felt the aftershocks of from her place next to him. 

Jungkook turned to her and shouted something unintelligible, but pointed with his eyes at her body below them. The pounding on the door egged her on, as she crawled over herself to lay down in the same position. Even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to find her vines. They were weak, and spindly–but they were there. Persistent. Y/n latched herself onto their image and pulled herself towards the withering seedling with all she had left.

She must be drowning, she thought. The water poured from her mouth in heaving coughs, spilling out from her lungs and stomach. Each time she thought she had gotten it all, a violent wave would pummel her, knocking her out of focus and keeping her in a vice grip from where the back of her head was tethered in place. Something tugged on her skull from behind her eyes, leaving her entire body numb. There was no more water, and no more knocking. There was nothing.

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Oma: Grandma

Schatz: Term of endearment i.e sweetheart, treasure, darling

“Ich war noch nie jemand, der sich so leicht vor Faschisten verneigt. Oder hast du vergessen, woher wir kommen, Bruder?” : I've never been one to bow down so easily to facists. Or have you forgotten where we come from, brother?"

Flieh: Flee!

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taglist: @rkive-joonie

[tiefenmesser]

Frat au baberoe drabble that nobody asked for!! be free my child!

word count: <500

also read on ao3 here

Babe hissed as Eugene dabbed iodine-soaked cotton on his knuckles, flinching in his hold, but Eugene's grip was strong, preventing him from going far. He hushed him, murmuring lowly.

" 's alright Heffron, just a lil' bit more and I'll put some neosporin on it and wrap 'em. Won't hurt a bit."

The redhead winced and flinched again regardless at the final few dabs, but true to the man's word, the application of the antibiotic and bandages after could barely be felt.

As Eugene finished tying the knot of the bandage around his hand Babe chuckled, muttering in annoyance.

"I bet I'm the only dumbass stupid enough to have let 'em get that bad before getting help, huh Gene?" The cajun laughed, huffed under his breath really, and shook his head.

"Outta your cohort, sure. Not the only 'un who's stupid though." The redhead scoffed good-naturedly.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Hey, you said it first. 'm just agreein' with you."

Babe side-eyed him in faux annoyance only for a moment before the corners of his mouth betrayed him. The brightness of Babe's smile never ceased to awe Eugene; it was like standing in a field under the gentle heat of the spring sun, comfortingly warm.

"Thanks Gene," A beat, then a long, dramatic sigh, "... and I promise I won't tell anyone else about your little kindness today. I know you have that 'tall, dark and mysterious' persona to uphold in front of the pledges." Eugene swatted his arm lightly.

"You're only a neo yourself." He swatted him again for good measure.

"A'ight, a'ight. Lay off me, I'm just teasing, no need to haze me again." Eugene couldn't help the smile breaking over his face now.

"Y'all ain't seen nothin' yet. Bull and Martin went easy on y'all." Babe laughed incredulously.

"No way, Martin went easy on us?"

"... Okay, maybe not Martin, but Bull def'nitely softened the blow for y'all, a bit."

"Damn. How come no one's ever told me about this before? You gotta tell me the story of your class' pledging now. How hard 'd they go? How bad was it really?" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Wait. Wasn't Speirs your pledge dad?"

" 's right."

"Damn! Speirs is a scary sonuvabitch."

"You're tellin' me."

"Right, right. But you also had Mama Lip, so it couldn't 'a been that bad." Eugene kept his face carefully blank. "A'ight, you tell me then! You ain't sayin' nothing, jeez!" Eugene shook his head fondly. Babe could be so excitable. It was cute.

"Another time, Heffron. Don'tchu got class right about now? You gotta meet with your professor to talk about your exam right?"

"Ah, that? Yeah," A rueful sigh, "I'm not goin'."

"... And why's that?" Babe had the awareness to look sheepish as he spoke haltingly, shoulders hunching up slightly as if bracing for a blow.

"... I may have accidentally... sent the prof a really embarrassing email... during the party last night..."

"Babe."

"Wha- ow, Gene! Christ, fine, fine! Oldheads these days... Ow!"

[yoongleboonglepie]

Pechsträhne Chapter 7

BTS x Reader

Series Masterlist

Chapter playlist-Youtube music

Chapter Playlist-Spotify

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Word Count: ~15k

A/N: SURPRISE! Sorry y'all-I hope you're not mad about getting a chapter instead of a drabble lol. I had a health flare up and ended up having more time than I anticipated as a result. Like always, my wife will give it a once over and I will fix all the typos that I missed. Let me know what y'all think-my flare ups make me feel down about my writing so I waited an entire day to post this from when I was originally going to because my brain has convince me I am the worst writer on the planet. :D

Much love ~Delyn

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The house was quiet. The moon had made camp in the middle of the sky, having settled there to take its nightly watch many hours before. The residents of the estate had all long since retired to their rooms, leaving the house to its own devices. Well to reevaluate one of the previous statements–it was quiet to everyone else except the man staring up at the ceiling, trying everything in his power to will his mind into submission and let him sleep. He shifted beneath his sheets, their embrace feeling unbearably stifling. The moon cast a pale blue filter over his room, calling up at him from the sky in a sweet lullaby that he wished he could hear.

But he couldn’t. The noises of the house were much too loud tonight. Angry, and harder than usual to tune out.

He huffed and rolled over onto his other side with a scowl at his phone screen, the pixels displaying the number 3:32am–a cruel countdown that laughed up at his future agony of having to wake up in four measly hours. He dropped his phone back on the nightstand, bringing both hands up to his face to drag them down his forehead. As if pulling the skin downward would force his mind down with it. He stayed in that position, focusing on his breathing.

In. His chest expanded upwards as his lungs stretched around the welcomed air. Out. It lowered at a steady pace. In. His eyes began to droop–maybe his efforts had paid off? 

As if the house fed off of his displeasure, the puny, seemingly unassuming vintage radio on his desk fizzled to life. The static starting at a volume much too low to wake up his neighbors, but too loud to let he himself rest. He started up, expelling his once relaxed breath with a snap of his tightly wound patience and out of his bed. He flew across the room and ripped the plug from the socket and letting it clatter to the floor, effectively cutting out the unwanted white noise it had so graciously offered. 

“I don’t have time for this!” He growled through his teeth and trudged back into his bed’s taunting embrace. Settling his weight back onto its surface. He nestled himself against his pillow, and leveled his breathing, finding his eyes weighing down once more.  In, he commanded his breathing to slow. Out. 

The radio on his desk sputtered, like a lawn mower refusing to start. After a few tries, it roared back to life with an even louder blast of its static.  

“I’m not listening!” He snatched the pillow from beneath his head, and squashed it down over his ears, taking his time to enunciate each syllable. “Leave. Me. Alone!” 

The radio didn’t seem to care how he felt, and tormented him with an onslaught of robotic ticks that repeated itself in unrelenting waves. He pressed the pillow against his head like a lifeline, not caring if he felt as though he couldn’t breathe. But the beeping still didn’t let up. If anything, it got louder as a means to counter his resistance.  After what he guessed could have been the tenth time it ran through its pattern, he leapt to his feet and stomped to his desk. Wrenching the chair out and planting himself in it, the last of his reserve wearing thin. 

“Fine. What do you want?” He yanked at the string of his lamp, illuminating him in a small bubble of light.

Nothing changed. Just the same pattern repeating over and over in a barrage against his eardrums. Biting his lip to keep himself from blowing his lid at an invisible nuisance, he scrambled for a piece of paper from one of his drawers and did his best to scribe what sounds he heard. 

“Is this what you want?” He snatched a pen from the cup on his desk. “I’ve already told you, I don’t know morse code–I can’t promise that I’ll be able to figure out whatever is you find so important to tell me at nearly four in the morning.” His hand scraped across the paper with a blazing fury, making multiple separate attempts to jot down the message. Once satisfied with 5 different interpretations, he slammed his pen down and held the paper up to the radio in a tired desperation.

“May I sleep now?” 

All sound from the radio speakers ceased. The static disappeared the same way it had arrived: with a choppy flourish. 

He huffed out a short “thank you”, and stumbled back to his bed to flop back onto the covers without an ounce of grace. The sounds of the bustling house didn’t seem as much of an issue compared to what his auditory system had just been pestered with. He might’ve thought about thanking whoever it was that tortured him for desensitizing his senses with the incessant beeping if he wasn’t still seething at them from interrupting his sleep. He was finally able to slip into a dreamless slumber, the house around him still as alive as ever–despite all of the living inhabitants being tucked and accounted for in their beds, fast asleep. 

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Y/n stared down at her perfectly curated stack of pancakes, admiring the way the diced apples glistened beneath a roof of fresh whipped cream. Splayed across the table were serving trays piled high with hash browns, grilled sausages, towers of fresh cut fruit, a saucepan of baked apples, and a circular pyramid structure of downright ad worthy pancakes. She gripped her fork tightly in her fist and skewered a piece of apple, bringing it up for her to admire the specks of cinnamon peppering its surface before setting it on her tongue. The juice burst from its flesh and coated her mouth in a warm, sweet yet spicy wave. Never mind how unimaginably perfect the fruit was, her stomach still flipped in response to its weight in her stomach. 

“How have things been for you, Y/n? I observed Hye-won put your start date for next Monday?” Her mother’s voice broke through the symphony of cutlery, looking down her nose at Y/n.

Y/n recalled Mrs. Min’s message of congratulations from when she had sent her the employee portal link and swallowed her own bite forcefully, feeling its entire journey down to her stomach. “They’ve been going good.” 

Her mother hummed, and used her butter knife to cut through her next bite. Surprisingly, her and her brother had both joined for breakfast on this seemingly unimportant early Tuesday morning. As did nearly everyone else. There were only a handful of heads missing: both of her hall neighbors, Jimin and of course-her father. The wait staff had to extend the table to accommodate a nearly full house. 

“Well-” her mother brought a napkin up from her lap to wipe at the side of her mouth “-the event schedule was posted for the spring and summer season as I’m sure you’ve seen. Almost everything is in order except for a few minute details.” She cleared her throat and rested her cutlery on her plate, hesitating for a moment. 

“There are a few things we are unsure of, with emphasis on a few of the summer activities and the placement of impending fall and winter events. We–as in Hana and I- were hoping that you might offer some of your input to help augment the experience of our guests. If you would be open to the offer.” Her mother finished, her tone airy and light as if she had simply commented on the weather–not giving Y/n an offer that tracked mud through her already disheveled brain. 

Y/n almost choked on a bite of sausage, but managed to cover it with a quick cough into her fist. She raised her brows and gestured with a finger to herself. “Me?” 

Her mother nodded. “Yes. You have always had an exemplary aptitude for anything regarding the hotel. Hana insisted.” 

Of course, Y/n thought. It was Mrs. Kim’s idea, not her own mother’s.

“If that’s what she thinks.” Trying to keep the sting of her mothers insinuation from being visibly or audibly detected, she kept her voice to a low mumble.

“Lovely. She’ll be pleased to hear that.” Her mother brought her next bite up to her mouth but backtracked slightly, her mouth still open. “I am pleased to hear that.” 

Y/n snuck a ‘what the fuck?’ glance to Namjoon, who just gave a miniscule shrug of his shoulders and scooped more hashbrowns onto his plate. Her mother seemed to be done speaking for the time being, content with Y/n’s answer and oblivious to the commotion she had stirred–like usual.  

Y/n felt her eyes drifting towards where her brother Roland sat sandwiched between Jin and her mother. He kept his eyes downcast whenever he ate at the table with her, but would often steal glances up at Y/n when he thought she wasn’t looking. He had grown a good five inches since she had last seen him–suddenly those four years away felt like a lifetime–he had grown into his face and probably had a laundry list of new interests and hobbies that she had no clue of. A pivotal time in his life she could have had with him slipped through her fingers. Gone. Y/n wished she could reach across the table and hold him as she once had when he was younger, but he was much too tall for that now, and she suspected he would shove her away at the first chance like most preteen boys would. 

She peeled her eyes away from Roland’s side profile, and caught a hold of Jin’s reassuring smile. His eyes alight with warmth as he nodded with his fork to her plate, mouthing out the word ‘eat’ and animately mimed the act of scarfing food down with his silverware.  She rolled her eyes but cracked a small smile, listening nonetheless. He watched as she shoveled a bite of apple drenched pancakes into her mouth, seemingly pleased with her actions, and tucked back into his own plate with vigor. 

Hoseok seemed a bit out of it this morning and not just because he was still in his pajamas with an unruly crown of bed head–but his newly acquired taciturn nature that was so unbecoming of him. The shining face Y/n was accustomed to seeing at the breakfast table seemed faded and dull at its edges. Even as he gave the staff member placing a fresh glass of orange juice infront of him a polite smile, it held no relations to his usual vibrant displays. And if that wasn’t weird enough already-just like her younger brother-he also was avoiding her. 

Breakfast had passed with the speed of watching paint dry, each bite feeling like a cement brick landing in her digestive tract. She didn’t want to tell Yoongi or Jungkook just how nervous she was for tonight; though with the way Jungkook repeatedly let his russet brown eyes sweep in her direction when her mother wasn’t looking, she was sure he could already read her like an open book. 

The moment her mother and brother excuse themselves to walk the latter to the bus stop down the hill, the invisible unease that wound its way around the rest of them like a leash began to dissipate. Jungkook felt less of a need to be as hidden with his blatant staring, Namjoon leant back in his chair in a casual manner, and even Jin even seemed to perk up-even if it was to a miniscule degree. Hoseok was the only one who didn’t seem to notice the shift in atmosphere, his restraint still present. He only lasted a few more bites before quietly excusing himself back up to his room to get ready for his day. 

Y/n wanted nothing more than to go after him and ask him what was bothering him, or if she had unknowingly done something to upset him. But as her head followed his exit willing her body to follow,  but quick kick striking her shin stopped her from rising from her seat. 

“Ouch-what the fuck?” She whipped her head with narrowed eyes at where Namjoon sat from across the table. 

Namjoon halted the journey of his loaded fork to his mouth, his eyes wide and mouth slackened to accept the bite. 

“What?” 

“What was that for?” She demanded. 

He lowered his utensil towards his plate. “What was what for?” 

“Ugh!” She rolled her eyes and pushed her plate away from herself. “Take your time finishing up your breakfast. I’ll meet you at the greenhouse.” 

She rounded the doorway from the dining room out into the foyer. She didn’t have to look up from where she was bent over hastily shoving her feet into her boots to know who had trailed out after her. His looming presence occupying the spot to her right more than enough of a give away. Y/n sighed and hoisted herself up to look at Jungkook as he hovered near her.

 “Namjoon told you about the twins, huh?” She kept her voice low to prevent Jin from eavesdropping through the wall. 

“Yes.” He dropped to one knee to lace up his own work sneaker. “Because you didn’t.” 

She rested one hand on the door knob, waiting for him to finish. “Not on purpose! It just slipped my mind.”

“Uh huh. Sure.” He waved her hand away from the door handle and opened it for her. “I bet it had nothing to do with you being stubborn or anything.” He cracked a teensy smile in her direction as he escorted her out the front door. 

“Nothing at all. Can’t you tell I love having a personal security detail.” Y/n countered, skipping down the steps with him at her side. 

Jungkook let a breathy chuckle escape his lips, and let her lead the way down the path to the greenhouse entrance. The two of them have been making strides in their friendship, with him loosening up inch by inch each day. She was grateful that with no more secrets between them, he was able to let himself fully open up. 

The flowers and bushes lining the side of the estate were feeling the coming of late spring. Corpulent peonies stared at them with blushing faces, and daffodils turned their noses up at them in the breeze as they ambled by. Even with the gray overcast and light drizzle sprinkling down on their petals, they were still waking up to say their pleasantries. The rest of the bushes were expected to bud in the next few weeks and blanket the grounds with their vivid colors and natural perfume, and she couldn’t wait to greet them when they did. She pulled her copy of the entrance key and jolted the door open, holding it open for the man behind her to follow. 

The greenhouse construction was expected to close within the next week or so. Just in time for their busiest transplanting season and for her first day. This was something Namjoon was counting down the seconds for, even joking that they should have a greenhouse party to celebrate the departure of their clobbering construction team. The frame and panes were finished, all that was left was to reinforce the seals and connect the first floor water supply to the second floor. Y/n was happy to  at least have a bit of peace before they showed up in an hour to make their usual racket. 

Jungkook took to inspecting the contents stuffed onto the bulky shelves with rapt interest, his eyes meticulously scanning each label. He seemed to find what he was looking for: a massive spaghetti sauce jar that had been cleaned and filled with multitudes of harvested peony seeds. The glass clanked against its neighboring jars and tipped forward into Jungkook’s awaiting palms as he nudged it from its spot. His inked hand splayed across the bottom of the jar as he shook it a few times, listening to the music they made from inside the jar. Y/n’s gaze followed his form as it wandered to the next shelf, repeating the same thing he had down to the first. This time, he paused and peered back at her through the gaps of lined jars. 

“No peeking.” He took one empty hand and shooed her eyes away from what he was prodding at.

She snorted and held her hands up. “Geez, can’t seem to get rid of you yet here you are, sending me away. ” 

Y/n spun on her heels, missing the unimpressed glare he directed at the back of her head, and floated into the storage room that she was in the process of helping Namjoon organize. After he had lost three separate pairs of gloves she had put her foot down and gave herself the task of going through each box, tote, and shelf to create a better system for the both of them before she was subjected to it as a work enviroment. She hummed along to a song she couldn’t place her finger on and nor did she care to, and tugged one of the larger boxes out from one of the shelves and lugged it over to the desk along the back wall. Y/n could still hear Jungkook poking around the front room, but respected his wish not to look at whatever it was he was getting himself into.

She had given herself a much larger head start to her day than she necessarily needed, the time not yet having even reached far past 8. Y/n had an hour and a half to dilly dally before Namjoon was to be expected, and Jungkook would be taking off any minute to clock in. This would give her plenty of alone time outside of the confines of her room to settle and process her nerves about tonight without being watched. 

Y/n heard the distinct sound of a grocery bag being unfurled followed by a soft thud of something weighty being placed on the table. The sound of Jungkook’s sneakers scuffled closer and she felt his presence enter the storage room from over her shoulder. The red of his work scrubs trickled into her peripheral, and he cleared his throat from her left. 

“I have to leave a few minutes early so I can drop a few things off at my room. You’ll be fine here until Namjoon comes?” He sniffed, his voice displaying only a hint of uncertainty. 

The question held the unspoken: She’d be stuck in here until Namjoon came by, so if she needed anything–speak now or forever hold her peace. 

“I’ll be alright,” she smiled up at him, “Thank you though.” 

Jungkook nodded, but made no move to turn away yet. Y/n lifted another set of microscope slides out of the box and set them to the side where Jungkook lingered. She picked a few out of their box to look through any damaged ones when Jungkook took a sharp intake of breath. 

“Y/n.” His voice was urgent, and she looked up at him to find him scrutinizing something from outside of the propped open panes. She followed his line of sight and saw her mother blazing down the greenhouse path, her cheeks red and her steps purposeful. Oh no. 

Jungkook soundlessly slipped from the room and disappeared into the nursery area with his bag gripped in one hand. She didn’t have time to hear if he made it out the back door before Y/n's mother’s impatient knocks rang from the front. Y/n pulled her arms from the box to make her reluctant way to the front–but her mother didn’t give the same courtesy her father had to wait–and let herself in before Y/n could even make it into they entryway. Her mother barreled into the front room, and surveyed the space until her eyes teeming with uncurbed fury found Y/n shuffling between the shelves towards her. 

“Is everything alr-”

“What is this?” Her mother silenced her shaky voice with a thrust of what she assumed to be her brother’s phone (going by the video game stickers dotting the protective case) into her face. 

Y/n let her mouth hang open in silent confusion, and her brows furrowed while her eyes registered what her mother was showing her. Her heart dropped into her stomach. There on the screen was the post she had made on her social media a few days prior, and had been stopped on one of her and her friends sitting in the back of the buggy during the battlefield tour. 

“It’s…” Y/n chose her next words carefully. “It’s a picture of me and my friends.” 

Her mother puffed out a scornful scoff. “That’s not what I am referring to and you are well aware of that.” She took one of her fingers that trembled in poorly a withheld frenzy to scroll through the next few, making a point to stop at any that included Yoongi. 

“He is one of my friends, and ended up coming along with us. There’s nothing else to it than that mom.” Y/n’s eye twitched, and her hands balled into fists at her sides. This is not how she wanted to start her morning.

“Nothing else to it?” Her mother shoved the phone into her purse. “Then why not tell me about it? Why hide it from me if there was truly nothing else to it?” 

“Because you would’ve freaked out like this! And since when have we been buddy buddy enough to tell eachother what we do on the weekends?” Y/n kept her fists taught as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, her face growing hot. 

“Since I became your mother–that’s when. I have a right to know these things.” 

Y/n’s head tweaked to the side, and her lips pursed in feigned disappointment. “Well you should’ve thought of that before you pushed me out of everything, shouldn't've you?” Y/n whirled around and back to the box she had been emptying. 

“Do not walk away from me right now.” Her mother followed in after her. 

“Wow that’s funny–you didn’t seem to care about whether or not I did that before.” Y/n slammed the contents of the box one by one onto the table. Not even bothering to look at what she was placing where anymore or if she had completely thrown off her piles. 

“Don’t speak about things you can not possibly understand.” Her mother bit back through clenched teeth. 

“Well then elaborate mother since you’re suddenly so keen on being open and honest with each other.” 

Her mother pinched the bridge of her nose between two fingers and took a few labored breaths. She heaved one last sigh, before abruptly leaving Y/n’s side.

“I will not be arguing with you about this any further.” The older woman’s heels clacked on the floor as she took quick strides back to the front room. “You will stay away from him. Do you understand me?” 

“No, I don’t. I don’t understand you actually.” Y/n snapped and stormed after her, her heart pounding in her ears. “He’s nice, and he’s my friend. And if anything, he seems to be happier about me being back more than you are. So god forgive me for wanting to spend time with people that actually care about me.” 

Y/n’s mother froze, her eyes cold and hard as they stared Y/n down. Y/n pushed on. 

“And if you’d actually bothered to talk to me like an adult instead of coming in here with guns blazing accusations all over the place–I didn't even invite him! I didn’t even know he was joining us until the morning of. Do not hold me accountable to the actions of other men.” Y/n could feel the rage seeping from every pore on her body. 

Her mother stayed frozen, her eyes enlarged with icy wrath. A look only a mother could give. But Y/n didn’t back down this time, matching her intensity with her own penetrating stare. 

“Who invited him?” The woman’s words were quiet, yet deadly. She recognized that tone–it bore striking resemblance to a snake winding up to pounce. 

“I. Don’t. Know.” 

They held their stand off in a smothering silence, her mother’s eyes imploring Y/n to turn in one of her friends with her lethal scrutiny.  Y/n could’ve heard a pin drop from the attic of the estate as she held her ground. Finally, Y/n’s mother broke first. She turned and ripped open the door to the greenhouse with so much force it bounced off of the wall next to it, and started her scorching ascent back to the estate. Once Y/n was sure she had left she hurriedly closed the door and locked it from the inside, pressing her back against it in case her mother would come pushing her way back through at any moment.

Her breath hiccuped in her chest. This was not at all how she had wanted to spend her alone time this morning. Now not only was she scared of what was to come later, she was pried from her safe space against her will and put on trial against her friends. She felt small. Her mother had a unique way of doing that to her in the most recent years. Then the guilt began to eat at her edges: she had just thrown her friends under the bus, and she had no idea what that meant for them. 

She let herself drag down the door until her tailbone hit the floor and brought her knees curling up into her chest. That Christmas had changed everything between her and her mom. If 6 years ago she would’ve caught a glimpse of what their current relationship looked like, she would’ve called the world a liar and laughed. They had always been close before this. Then it was like a switch had been flipped, and the mother she had grown to know was pulled from her hands before she was ready–pushing her from a nest that’s height left an unsurvivable fall over its lip. Now instead of laughing at each other's stupid puns and dancing in the kitchen late at night with her and her sister, or curling up under soft blankets to watch copious amounts of criminal minds together on the weekends–they were distant. They were strangers. What had she done? What did she do that was so wrong to lose her affections so easily? Or had she always just been blind to her love being conitional?

Y/n couldn’t stop the hot tears as they tracked down her face. She hadn’t done anything, she had to remind herself. Yoongi’s words about her mother spinning lies from her fingertips and hiding behind shrouds of secrecy coming to the forefront of her mind. Y/n tried to mop at the salty streams with the collar of her shirt, but it was useless. 

The door shuddered against her back, and she jumped to hold it closed. Through the frosted glass she could see the outline of a feminine figure, their frail hand pressed against the misty glass. Y/n’s breath hitched, unsure of what to do. It certainly couldn’t be her mother–this woman wasn’t tall enough to be her mother. The shadowy outline of the hand pulled away from the glass, and Y/n watched their short form stoop to the ground momentarily, before standing up to their full shorter stature. The woman moved away from the door as if floating, and Y/n followed her shadowy outline as far as she could as it blended into the warped blobs of color the greenhouse glass turned everything into after a certain distance.

Y/n’s heart was beating uncomfortably in her throat and tickling her ears, making her let out a few muffled coughs. The slow drip of rain picking up a steadier speed on the roof, blending in with the sound of her pulse. Without thinking, she opened the door and surveyed the path: but no one was there. She moved to close the door, not interested in standing out in the rain or inviting whatever it was inside. However something left on the ground near her feet halted her movements. 

A single, perfectly bloomed peony had been cut from the bush. It’s stem cut at an angle at the perfect length for displaying it in a vase if Y/n had wanted to. She crouched low to the ground and pinched the stem up from the ground. She inspected the flowers' pale pink petals with a few quiet sniffles. She looked back up the path, but still saw no sign of whoever had left the flower on the stoop. She retreated back into the safe confines of the greenhouse, locking the door once more.

Y/n didn’t let herself wallow for very long, leaving the stem on the work table and choosing instead to bury herself and her feelings in the task of sorting out the storage room. She had everything separated into neat heaps of similar items, and was measuring with her eyes what sizes of stackable Ikea storage totes would work the best when she heard Namjoon clamber his way through the main door. 

She didn’t look up from her online doom scroll as he lumbered past the doorway and into the nursery to check on the minimal amount of construction process so far. His steps back tracked themselves to a halt outside the storage room entrance to give her and the piles encircling her a once over. Y/n knew how she probably looked: one leg crossed over the other, slumped over onto her phone and closed off. He took trepid steps in, but she still didn’t look up to greet his approaching figure.  

“Did something happen?” His words were soft spoken as he directed them at her, and for once she wished he wasn’t so observant. 

Y/n shrugged, keeping her head down. If she looked at him, her swollen eyes and sticky face would sell her out to him in an instant. Namjoon pulled out one of the folding chairs from the shallow closet in the storage room, and plopped himself into place infront of her.

“You’re going to have to use some form of outward communication with me–I don’t have the leg up that the other guys do when it comes to my deduction skills.” He kept his tone matter-of-fact, yet still far removed from any judgement. Y/n sighed, clicking her phone off and dropping it onto the table next to her with a ‘thunk’. She hugged her arms around herself, but still avoided meeting his eyes as she spoke. 

“I got into a fight with my mom.” Her voice barely approached a whisper. 

“Just now?” 

“No. Almost over an hour ago.” 

“Huh.” He clicked his tongue in thought. “She seemed fine at breakfast? What triggered it this time?” 

“I guess either my brother showed her my post from Saturday or she was snooping–the how doesn’t necessarily matter to me as much as the why. But she came in here to give me a good tongue lashing for Yoongi being in some of them.” Y/n shook her head in indignant disbelief as the argument replayed in her mind. “And then when I told her I wasn’t the one that invited him, she got weird. Joon, when she looked at me after I said that–it was like she was thinking of ways to kill them or something.” 

Y/n felt her throat tightening in on itself, and her voice tremor with her next words. “What if I just got them kicked out or fired or something because I couldn’t just take the hit?” 

She couldn’t stop it anymore much to her displeasure, as her lip quivered and her eyes welled up again. Once the first fresh tear fell, she just let it all come out. 

“I miss how she used to be. I miss the relationship we had before all of this bullshit. Now it feels like everything I do is wrong–especially if it means I’m happy because of it. And to top it off–” she cut herself off momentarily to scrub at her face with her sleeve “–I’m terrified because I have to face the unknown tonight and I can’t even tell them that I’m scared because they will force me to stop. Especially Jungkook. And I don’t want to be stopped by anyone–I’m beyond tired of everyone trying to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do. I just wanted to get it off my chest and process it, but she took away all the peaceful time I had this morning to do that.” Y/n blubbered out her frustrations with a murky groan and wiped at her face with more force than the first, leaving her cheeks feeling raw.

Namjoon’s chair creaked as he stood, and he pulled her up to her feet to follow. She didn’t have time to protest before he enveloped her in a warm hug, letting her find solace in his sturdy frame. He squished her to his chest the same way he had when she had first arrived, but this time she didn’t feel any awkward urge to push him away. She let herself be held in his comforting embrace, feeling the warmth from his hold seep into her muscles and unwind any tension left in them with effortless compassion. She felt a teensy bit bad that she had definitely left a wet spot on his shoulder by the time her breathing had started to even out, yet he chose not to comment on whether or not he noticed. Namjoon took her by the shoulders and held her at arm’s length, grabbing her attention with newfound urgency. 

“Listen to me Y/n. First–in all kindness–fuck your mom.” Y/n would’ve starled backwards into her seat if it wasn’t for him holding her still, having never heard Namjoon speak so harshly in regards to her mother. “Second, no one can tell you what to do–and you do your best to make sure everyone knows that–even if it irks me sometimes.” He let one dry laugh spill from his schooled expression. 

“If you are scared, tell me. And if you’re scared and still want to do things I maybe won’t always approve of–I still want you to tell me.” He gave her shoulders another firm shake. “If you truly feel like whatever it is you’re doing is the right thing to do, do it scared. I won’t stop you. Neither will Yoongi. And Jungkook is going to just have to learn to accept that.  If you’re going to be doing dangerous shit, we need to all stay open and honest. Lying helps no one.” 

Y/n was taken aback by the intensity in his eyes. “I thought you said you didn’t want me doing the dangerous shit because it could put everyone else at risk?” 

“Y/n, if you want my honest answer, yes. I still think that way some of the time. But after what happened with you and Hadwin, coupled with your sister and the twins–I hate to admit it–but Yoongi might be right. The only way to stop it might be to face it head on, otherwise you and the rest of us might end up hurt, or worse.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders and pulled his beanie further down his forehead. “It’s your decision. I’m not going to ever try to make it for you, so get those thoughts out of your head.” 

“You…” Y/n sniffled, and stared up at him in admiration. “You really are the best, Joon.” She let herself fall against him again, laying the side of her face against his shoulder and squeezing his middle. 

“If you say so.” He returned the hug, and ran a soothing hand up and down her back. 

They stayed that way together, holding each other while her sniffles quieted to nothing. The sound of the clanging construction team two rooms over and the gentle rain their background noise.

“So what about tonight is scary?” His chest rumbled against her ear as he spoke. 

“Yoongi can’t get in. He said they only want me.” 

He sighed, but didn’t make any moves to argue like he had promised. “How about this?” Namjoon released their hug and took a step back towards the folding chair and kicking it closed with his boot. “You guys do your ritual tonight in my room. I’ve got plenty of plants in there to make you feel at home, and I’ll watch over you every step of the way. Would that help?” 

Y/n pondered his proposal for a moment, and chewed at the inside of her cheek. Maybe that would help her feel better, to have someone else there that she trusted. Not to mention the enticing offer of more plant friends to keep her company. She nodded, but Namjoon had his back turned to her to shove the chair haphazardly into the closet. So she found her words again. 

“I think that would help, yeah.” 

“Good, then let’s get to work until then. I got the all clear for us to start moving some stuff back to some of the other rooms and I’m going to rip my own hair out if I don’t jump on it.” 

_________________________________________

New message in ‘The Most Annoying and Toxic Coworkers’

[Joon 🌱]: Change of plans for tonight. Your guys’ meeting has been moved to my room. 

[Zoltar]: Don’t we live in a democracy anymore? And since when were you in charge?

[Jungkook]: Sounds good. 

[Zoltar]: You’re just agreeing because I didn’t agree with it right away.

[Jungkook]: 🤷 

[Morning Glory]: It was my choice Mr. Grumpy Gale. 

[Zoltar]: I guess I can accept it then 😮‍💨

[Zoltar]: You two young ones will have to help me lug all my shit over without looking suspicious though. 

Y/n watched the messages appear on her screen as she made her way back to the estate for lunch, Namjoon trailing a short distance behind her to give her the illusion of autonomy. When she arrived at the table, she noticed Hoseok was still clouded in the same mood as this morning. The only difference this time being him dressed and showered with a bandage hanging from his neck. The entire time they ate he barely spoke to anyone, just half smiles and small comments here and there. Y/n had enough with the elusiveness that was ill-suited to his person.

When he got up to excuse himself again, Y/n got up to follow with more speed than last time, avoiding any kick’s Namjoon might’ve tried to send her way. If he had tried to do so again–he didn’t show it–just kept his attention on a book he had laid flat on the table next to his plate. Jungkook on the other hand stood up to follow her into the foyer, but she held her hand up to stop him in his tracks. 

“I’m just going to check on him, I’ll be right back. I’ll text you when I’m on my way down.” She rushed out a whisper across the table, and Jungkook shifted to look at Namjoon for approval. 

Y/n darted out and into the hall without waiting for the answer, tracing his footsteps in the path they had made up the stairs. When she was rounding the final turn, she only caught a glimpse of his door clicking into place from where he had withdrawn behind it. She made quick work of the hall, not having interest in being in it by herself. She did three brisk knocks before letting her hand drop down to her side, tapping her foot and being sure to watch over each shoulder. 

Hoseok swung his door back open, befuddlement outweighing any other emotion before he registered the timid look she was sending his way. He scratched at his ear, and leant up against the door frame to address her. 

“What’s up? Do you need something?” 

“No, I just wanted to check in on you. You seem a bit out of it, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, the absence of a smile on his face jarring her to her core. His detached expression leaving her feeling uneasy instead of comforted by his presence

Hoseok sucked on his teeth, and took a miniscule step backwards. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say he was looking standoffish; a word she would have never used to describe him before today. Especially not to her. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Maybe I caught whatever you had.” He dismissed her with a tight lipped smile. She would’ve believed him if she hadn’t known that her illness was fake, thus it was impossible to catch. 

“Are you sure?” She pushed him further. “I don’t remember being around you that much beforehand–at least not more than everyone else.”  

“We danced together that day, remember? That seems pretty up close and personal to me.”  The words burned off of his tongue with poorly concealed disdain, and his eyes held no light to them at the memory. 

Y/n recoiled at the sound, having almost never heard such venom come from his mouth before. “Did you…Did you hate it that much?” Defensiveness reared its ugly head, coming forth from the depths of her mind. “Did I do something wrong?” 

Hoseok’s eyes widened and his face visibly paled. 

“Fuck-no. Look,” he ran a hand through his wavy hair and propped it back on the door, “I enjoyed that. I really did, trust me. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just not feeling well, alright?” 

“Okay.” Even she could tell her response wasn’t convincing. His tired eyes reflecting some kind of inner conflict in her direction. 

“I owe you a dance to prove I didn’t hate it. Promise. Just give me some time to get over whatever this is please.” He sounded like he was relenting, not like he was genuinely looking forward to it. And she couldn’t tell what idea hurt more: Him lying to her and saying he will spend time with her out of pity, or him not trusting her enough to tell her what was bothering him. 

“Yeah. That’s fine. Whatever works for you.” She started in feeble steps down the hall–she didn’t want to make whatever he was experiencing more difficult for him to manage. “I hope you feel better soon.” 

She heard him exhale sharply with a grunt, catching up to her in seconds with his long fingers encircling her wrist. 

“Y/n I mean it. I love spending time with you and you did nothing wrong. I really am just not feeling well. I promise.” The stare he leveled her was grave, and pierced through her clouded mind like a beam of light. She knew him well enough to know that meant he was telling the truth. 

She swallowed with force, and gave a measly nod. “I believe you.” 

He dropped her hand and tugged her into a bone crushing hug with his arms wound tightly around her shoulders to flatten her to his thin frame. His shoulders shuddered with the intensity of which he held her to him, trembling beneath her fingertips. Hoseok released her faster than she would have liked, already leaving her where she stood to escape back into the confines of his room.

“I’ll see you later at dinner?” Y/n called after him, a hopeful expression painting her face. 

Hoseok nodded, and finally sent her a real -albeit tiny- smile. Then he was gone. 

Y/n pulled her phone from her pocket to send Jungkook a simple walking emoji, not wanting to give the ghosts any opportunities to have the upperhand by spending more time than she needed to looking at her phone. By the time she entered the landing, Jungkook was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs and watching her each step as she took her time shuffling down them.  She paused about halfway down, reconsidering her plans to make room for the unexpected dejection that pulled at her heart strings.

“Actually, I think I want to go lay down. Her eyes flickered up to meet his dark ones momentarily before looking anywhere else. "Today has really worn me out.”  

She knew Hoseok was being honest in his reassurance, but she couldn’t help the slight sting of rejection that sliced through her chest at his slip up. Whatever that had meant had also felt just as honest, and it truly was just the cherry on top of her emotional roller coaster of a day. Jungkook met her at her spot halfway up the steps, and gestured for her to lead the way. 

Y/n’s footsteps dragged across the carpet all the way to her door, and her hand felt weak as she pushed the wooden panel keeping her from curling up under her blankets open and out of her way. Jungkook pushed in after her, and clicked the door closed for her. She surveyed her space, taking in the plants she hadn’t checked yet this morning. Slumping her shoulders, her heavy gait brought her to inspect her plant collection, picking up the misting bottle to spray the leaves of a few of them and checking the moisture levels with the tip of her fingers. Jungkook came up next to her, and looked at the plant she was doting on over her shoulder. 

“Which one is that?” He pointed with one tattooed finger at the smaller sized plant in her hands. 

“This is a ZZ Plant. It’s actually the one I got in Jimin’s honor. ” She gave Jungkook a sideways glance, and placed the plant back on one of the smaller ledges. 

His eyes scanned each plant with a nearly inaudible hum before honing back in on her. “Which one is mine?” 

“Oh-yes that’s right. Yours is…” Her voice dwindled in volume as she paced with a bit more enthusiasm than before down the massive shelf to one if the ledges made for medium to large sized plants. “This one.” She gestured to a still young, yet beautifully variegated Croton. 

“Why that one?” he furrowed his brows and took the plant in, reaching two fingers out to prod at one of the wide sweeping leaves at the bottom of its stem. 

“Gah! Don’t touch.” She smacked his hand away, and his eyes turned to near complete circles to gawk at the place where she had struck him. “Sorry! But he’s toxic, and I know you have sensitive skin.” She rushed out with an apologetic look pulling her face downwards. 

Jungkook shook his hand out, but didn’t seem too offended with her explanation and smoothed his expression from shock to neutral. His silence directed her to continue onwards with answering his query.

“I chose this one as you because one: it's got so many different colors to show in just one plant. It will develop splotches of yellow, red, orange, and two different shades of green as he grows; much like how I think you are. You have many different sides of yourself that you only let people see if they take good care of you.” She giggled at the light flush that crept up his cheeks, and he rolled his eyes to try and conceal it. “Two: this plant is one of the strongest spiritual protectors. You can use the sap in protection magic, and it protects your space from curses or any ill will. They mean business, and spirits know not to fuck around with them.” She could’ve sworn she saw his chest puff out slightly by the end of her spiel, and she sucked in a small breath to keep in any further giggles that threatened to escape at his subtle display of pride. 

“Did you get any for anyone else?” Jungkook admired the broad leafed Monstera that had taken over the backseat on its way home a few days prior. She hummed in affirmation and pulled a small Aloe Vera plant from the ledge across from the ZZ plant, and held it up for him to look at. 

“This Aloe plant is Yoongi’s. They are also spiritual protectors–all spikey and scary looking with a reputation for being able to be left alone–but in reality they are quite gentle.” She rotated the plant in her palms for Jungkook to see each speckled arm that stretched towards the sky. “They like being showered in attention, and are great emotional companions. They have skin soothing properties as I’m sure you know.” 

Y/n slid the small powdery blue pot back onto its designated shelf, and moved onto a lucious, hunter green plant that’s height brushed above her knees at her lower thigh. 

“This one made me think of Namjoon, my lovely Peace Lily.” She twirled the part of the leaf that came to a point around her pointer finger. “They are known to purify the air of whatever rooms they are in, because at their core they are healers–both of the physical and the spiritual. They are great for emotional stability and love to take care of the ones they care about.” 

Y/n raised her right hand to point at a smaller plant, with dark and light green stripes. “That calathea is what I think I settled on for Hoseok. They are great plants for balance, and their leaves move often as if engaging in a little dance. Then when the sun goes down their leaves curl in, and open when the sun rises. Almost like they're giving you a good morning smile.” Her voice faltered slightly, compelling her to clear her throat. She shook her head to continue on with her tour, Jungkook’s imploring stare and the way in which he hung onto every word she said with undivided attention kept her from lingering too long in her feelings. 

“Jin is for sure a fiddle leaf fig. They are tall, stunning, kind and confident.” She walked with light steps to a chest height tree by her desk, proudly displaying its massive leaves  in front of her window. “They are bringers of positive energy-but only if you care for them right. According to one of the book’s Namjoon let me borrow, if you neglect them or don’t give them proper care, they can wreak havoc on the energy of your space until you fix it.” She felt a smile lift the corners of her mouth, the description bringing fond memories of Jin to her mind. 

“Taehyung, I'm not one-hundred percent decided. I’m stuck between my African Violet or my Monstera.” Y/n tapped her chin absentmindedly with her forefinger. “I feel like it’s definitely between one of those two though. Unless I go to another plant store anytime soon and find something better.” Before Y/n  knew it, she was beaming at Jungkook from her spot near her desk. Her turmoil is momentarily forgotten by her love of plants. As she looked at his rounded eyes, present and attentive to her, she wondered if he had led her on this tangent on purpose knowing it would improve her mood. Butterflies burst from each wall of her abdomen, and fluttered their wings at a speed that made her heart race to keep up with them. 

He nodded at the onslaught of information as she tried to swallow the feeling, and did one more once over of her shelf. He side stepped to a small pale green pot with purple blooms bubbling over the edges. 

“Is this the African Violet?” He wiggles his fingers at the base of the plant, and turned his head to look at her for confirmation. 

Y/n bobbed her head, and came to stand close to his side to fawn over its colors. 

Jungkook breathed out from his nose, and hummed in thought. “What characteristics does it have?” 

“Well,” Y/n gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed at the tip of her nose. “They are a bit high maintenance, but in a ‘I know what I want and I won’t accept anything less than what I deserve’ kinda way. Great for self respect and protecting oneself from negative people or relationships.” She turned from the rich petals that always seemed to hold her in a trance when gazed upon, only to find Jungkook already examining her face. Y/n felt her warmth radiate from her cheeks and down her neck at the way his eyes seemed to be dissecting every square inch from her eyes to her chin. They were so close she could trace the moles that speckled his face with a finger if she had the urge to–which she almost did–and their proximity left each puff of breath from his nose fanning out against her cheek. Y/n watched him pull an invisible mask up, his eyes seeming distant and his expression unreadable as it moved to hide behind it. He swallowed, and her eyes flitted down to the bottom of his face to watch his teeth peek out to bite at the spot where his lip ring should be. 

“I think it fits him. This one.” Jungkook relented his attack on his lower lip and tore himself away from their impromptu staring contest by tapping a long finger delicately against the side of its pot. He teetered backwards, holding most of his weight on the toe of his shoe as he swayed from side to side with each step. Y/n couldn’t explain the tug at her heart at the increase of space between them, that only grew exponentially when the palm of his hand lifted to rest on the door handle. 

“I need to head back to work, but I’ll be done soon. J-Just text me where you’re at and if you need me.” He stumbled over his words, his face coloring itself the same color as the peony petals they had passed earlier this morning. “Otherwise I’m going to go to the gym, and I have a couple things I need to do before we meet up tonight.” Jungkook averted his eyes and vanished through the narrow gap he had made with her door that was just barely big enough for him to slip through.  

_________________________________________

Against his word, Hoseok did not show up for dinner–and neither did both her mother and Seokjin. She had a sinking suspicion that her altercation with her mother had something to do with it, making dread pool into her belly and crawl up her throat. She couldn’t stop her heart from doing panicked flips in her chest as her mind raced to conceive a million different possibilities for what could’ve happened between the three of them. Y/n tried to not let the gloom formed by her friend’s absence consume her. She had to be in top shape tonight if she wanted to be ready for whatever was to come doing their late night rendezvous. So against every cell in her body screaming at her to stop with threatening waves of nausea, she shoveled the food on her plate into her mouth. Robotically moving her jaw in up and down motions even if every bite felt like chewing wet paper. Being hungry wouldn’t do her mind any good. 

She sped up the stairs as soon as dinner ended, not even trying to hide her rush if there was no one really home to hide from. Jimin and Taehyung went in their own directions after dinner, and with the rest of the residents missing they might as well have all just paraded through the halls together. Y/n only made a point to stop into her room to collect the brown paper bag Yoongi had given her, before speeding out of her room and down the opposite hall to Namjoon’s. Casting one disheartened stare towards Hoseok’s closed door, she pushed any thoughts of him from her mind. She raised her fist up, but didn’t even get the chance to knock. Her diligence in not beating around the bush had her and Namjoon crossing paths right outside his door, and he wasted no time ushering her inside. 

Namjoon’s room was neat–in a slightly disorganized way. His walls were a forest green, with one of them lined floor to ceiling in a gargantuan bookshelf, and the other an antique wooden desk flush to the wall nearest to his bathroom. The surface was strewn with papers, propped open books and pens, a small potted plant and few other miscellaneous items she couldn’t place. And could she emphasize the plants? He had pothos vines that tracked across the walls and ceiling; palms that fanned out in a prideful stance and nearly as tall as Namjoon himself; Purple vining plants hanging in baskets from hooks from his ceiling; and more potted plants than she could count. Her eyes didn’t know where to look–every square inch had something green–living or dead. 

“Yeah, I definitely want some clippings from yours.” Y/n did a slow spin around his room, taking in as much as she could. 

Namjoon settled in with a humble smile. “Jin says I have too many, but I think he doesn’t have nearly enough.” He quickly grappled with a stack of papers and books on his desk, taking them in a messy stack and moving them onto his shelf. “Sorry it’s a bit of a mess in here.” 

“No need to apologize, I’ve known you since I was born. If it was pristine in here I think I’d be more concerned.” She chuckled, and brought a feather light hand up to a nearly three foot long tendril from a string of pearls plant situated on top of his bookshelf.

He gave her a tour of his houseplants, taking extra time to show her an alocasia plant that was nearly fifty years old that he inherited from his grandfather from South Korea. They had barely made it halfway through before a marginally out of breath Yoongi waddled in, his arms full with his wooden chest and a smirking empty handed Jungkook behind him. 

“Remind me to ask one of you for a hand next time, and not this smart ass.” Yoongi huffed and dropped his chest on Namjoon’s desk with a thundering clammer. 

“I gave you a hand.” Jungkook had difficulty concealing a shit eating grin that threatened to overtake his face. 

“While I just love being applauded for my efforts, it wasn’t exactly the kind of hand I was looking for.” Yoongi snipped back. He seemed to be tightly strung today, and Y/n wondered if he was as nervous as she was. 

“Are you feeling okay Yoongs?” She kept her voice soft as she addressed him. 

His shoulders scrunched up towards his ears as if her voice startled him, and his hands fumbled slightly to pull the key to his box from his sweat pants pocket. 

“Y-yeah. I’m fine.” 

It must’ve pulled him from his troubled mind momentarily because his voice had lost its sharp edge, and if Y/n looked hard enough, she could’ve sworn the tips of his ears flushed from where they protruded through his damp hair tucked securely behind them.

He set to work guiding them to set up the cloth, the warding, the proper candle order, and a few small ceramic bowls. All of them except for one had a hodgepodge of  dried plants, rocks, and miscellaneous items in them. He placed the empty bowl closest to the end of Namjoon’s bed, which she was certain was where she would sit.  

“Did you bring the other stuff I got for you, Y/n?” He kept his eyes on the candles as he lit each one individually. She held up the paper bag in response and gave it a light shake. “Good.” He concluded, and used the last of his match to light a single stick of incense propped in its holder near the wax pillars.

“I have something to give everyone before we start.” Jungkook piped up from where he sat perched on the edge of Namjoon’s desk. He dug into his pockets, and pulled out a fist full of bracelets. He passed one to an unsuspecting Namjoon, and tossed one for Yoongi to catch in his hands to inspect closely. Jungkook strided over to Y/n, and she held her hand out for him to place it in her palm. 

It was a circlet made of alternating beads. Upon closer inspection, she noticed one of them wasn’t a bead at all, but a seed. The peony seeds. The spheres dotted in between the seeds were clear and made of what she suspected to be resin, with small petals, leaf fragments or spices suspended in the middle of each one. 

“This is gorgeous, Jungkook. Did you make these?” She vocalized her praise, and he averted his eyes at the attention with a short nod. “I love it really, thank you.” 

Namjoon grunted in agreement, and even Yoongi gave him a soft ‘thanks’ and slipped it onto his wrist. Y/n stretched the sturdy elastic onto her arm and rotated her forearm to cherish the way it looked on her wrist, her heart fluttering at the thought and time he had to have put into each one. 

“Let’s get started. Y/n, can you put some of the belladonna in this bowl please?” Yoongi seemed to have regained the usual calm composure he tried to keep while they worked, and fixed his attention to where she still stood. 

She dropped her arm down to her side with a timid nod, and shimmied the bundle from the paper bag. Tugging a few sprigs out from its confines, she lowered herself into her designated spot with Jungkook following suit. Y/n tried to treat the dried plant gingerly, the dried flowers still attached to the stem were hanging on by small threads of spindly plant fiber, and would be easily knocked loose without proper care. She eased it into the bowl in front of her and waited for further instruction. 

“You can put some of the Juniper Berry in there if you feel like it. I’ll help.” Yoongi reached in front of her to snatch the bag up before she could herself. He tossed her the Juniper bag and dropped the Angelia onto his lap. Yoongi wet his lips as he pinched the Angelica from the bag and sprinkled it in with the Belladona. Repeating the same motions with the Valerian. Y/n’s finger’s began to tremble as she plucked each berry individually from the bag, feeling the tickle of each in her palm before grabbing the next. She settled on four of them: one for each person in the room. Y/n didn’t know if it would help but it definitely helped her focus on her friends being present than whatever else remained on the other side. The thought of Hadwin, Heidi, or her sister just waiting for her to step into their playing field just outside of her sight, for the perfect time to pounce on her, made her palms sweat as she dropped the berries into the bowl. 

“We are going to start with what we did yesterday. But instead of me using you both as a springboard, I’m going to nudge you through instead.” Yoongi snapped the pouch close and held it out for Namjoon to take from him. Once it was out of his hand, he ran both hands through his hair and sucked in a sudden breath. “I’m going to be honest Y/n, I’ve never been in there before. I don’t know what it will be like or what you will see. I don’t even know for sure if we will be able to communicate with you while you’re gone. I don’t have anything to go off of to prepare you for it. So if it gets overwhelming, just look for the candles or try to feel for us. Whatever you can do is enough, okay?” 

Yoongi’s coal black eyes pierced through her, and she was fully able to see just how unsettled he was in how they glinted in the candle light. His face looked pale and clammy, and his hair disheveled from having run his hands through it. Y/n couldn’t form the words of a response, and just gave a shaky nod. 

Yoongi grabbed her hand in a firm hold, giving it one quick squeeze. Jungkook mirrored his movements, going as far as to interlace their fingers together to keep them in place. She realized with a shudder that they were waiting for her to take the lead, all three sets of eyes waiting for her to make the first move.

Namjoon situated himself onto his desk chair in her direct line of sight, and gave her a comforting bob of his head. Y/n let her eyes fall closed at the sound of his soothing voice murmuring “I’m right here.” 

At first, it started just like it had started before. The feeling of being trapped in a fishbowl, the calm lapping lake, and the looming presence. And just as it had done the day prior–the lake turned dark and murky. It’s waves pulling her under with each jolt against her skin. Y/n’s breathing felt too fast in her chest as she prepared for what was to come. She grit her teeth, and forced herself to keep her eyes closed. She told herself she had felt it once before and survived, thus she could do it again.

Y/n’s body slumped backwards against the bed, eyes tugged backwards in an agonizing suction sensation that made her want to scream out for them to stop–but she didn’t. She gripped both the hands that were in her own and took as deep of a breath as she could manage. The rubber band’s resistance yanked her down into the blackness below her, seizing every inch of her body as it tried to rip her from her away from reality. Pressure cascading down her form, and filled her chest, her lungs, her mind–anything it could find a way into. It burned. She couldn’t breathe anymore. Couldn’t feel their hands in her own, or the ground underneath where she sat. It felt like she was truely drowning. The tugging sensation on the back of her head gave one final jerk of its hold, and all at once everything was quiet. 

Y/n’s eyes popped open, and she was back in Namjoon’s room where she had left. Jungkook and Yoongi’s eyes were still closed, and Namjoon was still watching over her from where he was seated at his desk. Y/n’s breathing evened out, and she let out a defeated sigh while she moved her hands away from Yoongi and Jungkook’s. 

“I’m sorry Yoongi. It didn’t work. Is there something else we can try? Another herb or plant?” She turned her head to regard Yoongi and Namjoon respectively as she spoke. She lifted one up to fan at the cloud of incense smoke that seemed to leave the room in a smoky haze. “Should we put this out? It’s filling the room with smoke–it’s going to set off the fire alarms.” Her mouth felt like it was moving around mounds of cotton with each word and she licked her lips to rid herself of the persistent feeling, but it did not dissipate. Not even with three firm swallows. 

Namjoon didn’t respond, remaining still as a statue with eyes trained on where she sat; and Yoongi made no move to put out the burning stick. 

“Guys, come on–let’s not beat a dead horse. Let’s try a different tactic.” Y/n lifted herself to her feet to try and get them to follow, but still nothing. She scoffed and leant a hand down to poke at Yoongi’s shoulder. Her heart dropped in her stomach, and her eyes bulged in their sockets as her finger swiped right through his shirt and into his shoulder. 

“Oh my god!” Y/n recoiled her hand from his body and staggered backwards, pins and needles snaked up her arm and her bottom fell onto Namjoon’s comforter. Y/n looked down past her legs in horror–her own body laid near her feet, curled in on itself in a heap. She scrambled backwards away from herself, being so close made nausea build up in her stomach. 

Yoongi seemed to respond to her phantom touch–his shoulders tensing and releasing as he shook them out and soundlessly cleared his throat. She watched his mouth open and close in words she couldn’t hear, but the other two men seemed to be able to. Jungkook’s eyes flew open in a black all consuming stare at where her body laid, his face drained itself of color as his gaze slowly rose from her body to where she lay sprawled on Namjoon’s bed. Y/n saw Namjoon’s mouth curve in rushed words, and Yoongi’s neck nearly snapped in half to give him a snide retort. Y/n couldn’t tear her eyes away from Jungkook, he was the only one to acknowledge her with his own wide ones. 

“Jungkook, can you hear me?” Y/n rushed to crouch at his side, and his rounded eyes filmed over in a glassy sheen while his lips moved in frantic motions. Y/n shook her head, and felt her heart lodge itself in her throat. “I can’t hear you…” 

Jungkook seemed to understand, and spoke again. This time she assumed it was to the other men in the room with him because they both looked aimlessly in her direction, but they’re befuddled and wandering stares never seemed to find their target. Only Jungkook could see her. 

Even though she wasn’t technically in her body anymore, she still could feel sweat accumulate on the back of her neck and her hair stand on its ends. She rose to stand on a pair of quivering knees, and Jungkook's head turned upwards to follow her movements. 

Footsteps thundered down the hall on the other side of the door, the sound deafening in comparison to the dead silence it had destroyed. Y/n felt paralyzed with fear, and watched as the shadow of someone darted past the door, their footsteps growing quieter the further they ran. Her mouth was stuck open, but she willed her body to unlock itself from its frigid state and take slow controlled steps towards the door. 

“I’m doing this for a reason. Don’t let all of this be for nothing.” Y/n comforted herself, her shaking hand cupping the door knob. 

Y/n’s attention was jolted back towards the circle, as the distant sensation of three quick squeezes on her right hand snagged her in. Jungkook’s eyebrows drew outward in a silent plea, and he flickered his eyes down to their hands and gave three much more forceful squeezes. Don’t let go. Y/n reached into herself, finding the green roots and vines from within. She stretched one long imaginary tendril out to curl around their intertwined hands, and tried one small tug.

“I won’t.” She mouthed from the doors threshold. 

Y/n found she didn’t need to open the door as she walked out into the hall, checking both ends and starting towards the landing with a slow tread. The smokey haze continued out into the hall, and she surmised that it must not be from the incense at all–but from being in another world. Her heart hammered in her ears, making it difficult to hear anything outside of the booming metronome. But she pushed forward, taking the stairs one at a time. 

There was no sign of whoever had been rushing down the hall, and she didn’t know whether to be relieved or concerned by that. She wasn’t sure where else to go–they hadn’t discussed anything beyond this point. 

“Maybe I should head back.” Y/n glanced over her shoulder at the stairs she had just descended, but a nagging feeling in her stomach told her to wait. 

“What on god’s green earth-Y/n?” 

Y/n spun on her heels, coming face to face with a woman peering out at her from the study. She could not possibly be any older than thirty, with e/c eyes and dark curly hair creating a voluminous halo in a style that came straight from an 80’s magazine–as did her clothes. One of her hands held onto the open pocket door, and the other clutched at a string of pearls encircling her neck. The same necklace that sat tucked away in Amelia’s room-

“Oma?” Y/n couldn’t hide the way her mouth fell open in shock, and tears gathered at her waterline. Her grandmother twirled one of the pearls in three fingers, and her spine straightened at the word. 

The Younger version of her grandmother lunged forward, and gripped at Y/n’s forearms.  “Y/n–you can’t be here. You need to leave n-” 

“Officer~” A strident, bone chilling, snarl sang from the second floor. Her grandmother’s eyes frantically darted to the landing where the voice had echoed from, and back to Y/n. 

“Quick, in here.” She tugged Y/n back into the study she had just come out of, sliding the pocket door closed in a manner that didn’t feel fast enough for Y/n’s liking. Through the now closed doors, she heard an inhuman cackle from the top of the stairs. 

“Now now brother, must we play children’s games?” Drawn out, languid steps clomped down from the landing. “If you insist-Ten.” He took another step. 

“Nine.” His voice was splitting at the edges, layering over itself as it vibrated from his vocal chords. 

“Eight.” He was nearing the bottom, his voice growing closer. 

“Seven.” This number came out in a hiss–he didn’t have long before he was outside the study doors. 

“Six.” The pendulum on the grandfather clock behind Y/n whooshed to the left. 

Her grandmother put a hand on Y/n’s shoulder and pushed her away from the door, holding a finger to her lips. 

“Five.” She could practically hear the twisted smile worming onto the mystery man’s face. The clock swung audibly back to the right. 

“Four.” He laughed once more, the sound like sandpaper against her ears. Y/n held her breath, and hoped he wouldn’t be able to hear her heart trying to leap from her chest in the room over.

“Three.” His heavy shoes thudded onto the foyer carpet, he was close. 

“Two.” His voice lilted from the otherside of the door in time with the pendulum’s next swing, finding a way under Y/n’s skin. 

Silence. Her grandmother’s fearful eyes never left Y/n’s, and the clock persisted onwards in its noisy dance. 

“Ready or not–here I come~” 

In an instant the man outside the door took off in a clamoring sprint down the hall, passed the kitchen, and down further towards her fathers office and the downstairs bedrooms. Y/n and her grandmother stayed frozen in place until they could no longer hear him, and a few seconds after that. 

“You must leave now, Ente. It is not safe for you here.” Oma’s voice was hushed, and her hands shook as they caressed both sides of Y/n’s face. 

“I can’t–I need to find out what’s happening here. Please, you must help me-” Y/n raked her tearful eyes over her grandmother’s youthful face “-you’re beautiful, Oma.”

A rueful smile curved her grandmother’s face. “Thank you, Schatz.” She ran one finger tenderly down Y/n’s cheek. “Just like you.” The tears threatening to spill down Y/n’s cheeks bubbled over, and Oma wiped them away. She placed both hands resolutely on Y/n’s shoulders.

“I know you want to help, but it’s too dangerous. It’s gone too far.” 

Y/n moved her head back and forth in a stubborn shake. “I don’t care. What’s gone too far?” 

Her grandmother did not answer, instead taking a few tentative steps back towards the pocket doors. Moving her hair out of the way, her grandmother pressed her ear up to the wood and listened for any noise on the other side. 

“Oma, please.” Y/n followed after her, and pressed her own ear against the door that would allow them to face each other in a clandestine council. 

Her grandmother puffed out a sigh, and regarded Y/n with a knowing displeasure. 

“Stubborn.” She hissed, but Y/n could see her eyes igniting in mischief. “Just like the rest of us. A true Wörner.” 

Y/n grinned, her damp cheeks aching with how wide they stretched and they both erupted in shared, quiet giggles. Their laughter died down, and they took a moment to just gaze at each other, taking in the feeling of being together. 

“We don’t have very long. The more you linger, the stronger your presence becomes. They will be able to sense you.” Her grandmother’s smile slipped from her lips, replaced with a somber aura. “They are coming for us–all of us. We can only hold him off for so long.” 

“Who?” Y/n implored, inching closer. 

Multiple sets of shoes stampeded down the hall putting an end to any answer she was about to give. There was a series of grunts, as whoever was outside the door scuffled  into the dining room across the hall. Her grandmother gave a sharp intake of breath, and released it with a shudder, her eyes beginning to quiver where they looking into Y/n’s own.

“Brother, why do you insist on being so…” The crackling voice from before staggered, labored rattling breaths cutting him off. “...difficult.”  The sound of skin hitting skin rang from across the threshold, followed by the sickening thud of a body hitting the floor. 

Y/n’s grandmother grabbed one of Y/n’s hands in an unyielding grip, and whispered to her in urgency. “When I say the word, you will run back to where you came from. Do you understand me, Entlein?”

“I want to help you-” 

“No! You will run.” Her grandmother’s gaze was blazing with inflexible authority.  “You are no help dead.” 

Y/n felt tears begin to drip down her cheeks in an unstoppable torrent. She nodded. 

“Good.” Oma’s whisper was unsteady. Scared. The hand that her grandmother wasn’t holding tingled in a phantom touch–Jungkook.  

“Ich war noch nie jemand, der sich so leicht vor Faschisten verneigt. Oder hast du vergessen, woher wir kommen, Bruder?” A bright, orotund voice spat back at the demon. 

“Now!” Y/n’s grandmother whipped the pocket doors open, and shoved Y/n out and and towards the staircase. Y/n didn’t look back as she bolted, taking the stairs two at a time. 

“Margaret.” The mangled voice seethed through its teeth, a guttural growl tearing from its throat. 

Y/n heard the unmistakable crunch of bones, pulling Y/n to a stop and alarm bells sounded in her head. Her feet rushed to hang her upper half over the banister, blinded by the thought of her grandmother being defenseless against the inhuman creature below. Y/n’s grandmother–Margaret–cradled a clenched fist to her chest. The man she had landed a punch on was unrecognizable–his skin nearly completely rotted and hanging in peeling sheets from his skeletal frame. Red and pink muscles and tendons rippled as he bent backwards from the blow, his jaw knocked completely loose by the impact. 

Y/n threw her hands into the air in unexpected victory. “Get him, Oma!” 

Margaret looked up at Y/n in some wicked cross between amusement and reproachful rage. 

“How nice of you to join us, Entlein.” What was left of the man’s face shifted in Y/n’s direction, his dislocated mandible quaking with the effort it took to rise and meet his upper teeth in a disfigured smile. Y/n’s heart stopped, and she felt as though she might pass out at that very second. Her disembodied knees almost collapsed out from beneath her in the face of the frightening sight before her.

“Flieh Y/n!” A shorter, not yet decaying man leapt onto the demon from within the dining room, sending the latter careening backwards out of her sight. 

Y/n and Margeret shared one last despondent look before Y/n heeded their words, booking it back down the hall in the direction of Namjoon’s room. A scream ripped from Y/n’s throat at the sight of what was waiting for as she rounded the corner. 

“I always hated when you children ran through the halls.” What was left of Patti’s melting eyes dripped like black tar down her face and onto the floor at her gray, decaying feet. Her yellow collared dress was ashy and torn. She stumbled towards Y/n in a zombie-like pattern, each foot nearly collapsing under her own weight. 

Y/n skidded to a stop, and took a hesitant step back towards the landing. 

“Boo!” a high-pitched squeal from behind Y/n made her stumble forward, tripping over her own feet and barely managing to catch herself on the blue painted wall. 

One of the twins jumped for joy where Y/n had just stood, her eyes black and teeth mostly gone from her twisted grin. Her face was longer than the girl who had greeted Y/n in the kitchen, and her voice had a raspier edge crinkling its tone. Inga. 

“Leave me alone!” Y/n couldn’t decide who to look at–the creeping woman or the child that lowered itself to the ground on her haunches, coiling herself to pounce. She needed to run. She needed to get back to her friends. Patti still hadn’t made it to Namjoon’s door, but she didn’t have much farther to go–Y/n didn’t have time to putz around. 

She felt for Jungkook’s hand–finding she could still feel a lingering weight in both of Yoongi and Jungkook from whatever connection she had with her physical body. She took one deep inhale, not letting either ghost out of her sight as she prepared her legs to run. A solid black figure made an entrance at the top of the stiars as it hoisted its upper body with two long arms up onto the landing–and Y/n took that as her signal to get the hell out of there. 

She bounded down the hall, pumping her arms in an effort to will herself forward. Inga’s body collided with the wall where she had just stood seconds prior with a blood-curdling crunch, a shrieking scream that reverberated in y/n’s ears peeled from her small mouth as she squashed to the floor. Patti’s hand nearly missed Y/’n’s arm as she threw herself through the door and back into the safety of Namjoon’s room, landing on her stomach onto the floor. Y/n rose onto her knees and elbows in a clumsy army crawl to where her body laid before her. 

A small, wet freezing hand locked in place like a shackle around her ankle, yanking her backwards. Y/n screamed, clawing at the floor to get a hold of anything she could, but nothing stuk.  She kicked wildly with her foot that was cut out of her vision where it remained on the other side of the door. Her wild eyes found Jungkook’s fiery ones. His nostrils flared, and without hesitation he threw her hand into Yoongi’s lap, barking an unheard order his way and leaping to his feet. Yoongi rushed to situate himself in front of Y/n to take both of her hands, he looked with panicked eyes in her direction, his eyes finally lighting up in recognition–she must’ve been terror-stricken enough for him to see where she was.

Jungkook tried to grapple for Y/n’s arms, but each attempt he made went right through her as if she was made of mist. He got on his knees, gritted his teeth, and tried once more. She was jerked a few feet back and out of reach of his next grab by another larger wet hand finding purchase on her other foot, and she couldn’t stop herself from crying out in alarm. There was nothing for her to grab onto, and they were winning the fight. She yelled out in defiance, and flipped herself onto her back. With all of her might, she kicked her feet down and outwards as they gave another tug–from her midthigh and onwards now at their mercy. The heel of her socked foot met something warm and wet, leaving it coated in something thick and sticky. She tried not to vomit at the thought of what it could be by homing in on one of the hands faltering its grip enough for her to kick it off. 

The warmth of both Yoongi and Jungkook’s hands–a stark comparison to the remaining cold ones on her lower extremities–gripped underneath her arms with all they had, and in one fell swoop they heaved her into the room and out of the other being's violent hold. She took little time crawling to her body that was cradled on the black cloth in Namjoon’s arms, his eyes flying in every direction and his lip bleeding from where he had chewed it raw. Y/n didn’t know how to get back into herself, and she turned to the two psychics behind her in desperation. Jungkook grabbed at Yoongi in a joint scramble back to her body, both of their temples beading with sweat. Yoongi snuffed out the candles in one smash of his palm, a grimace pulling at his face from the sting of the flame licking against his skin before they whiffed out in a string of white smoke from between his fingers. They both wasted no time shoving the pillars out of the way, lifting her body from Namjoon’s hold and into her back the middle of the cloth. The malefic spirits on the other side of the door began to throw themselves against it with vigor. Loud enough for the men on the plane of the living to hear as all three heads swiveled towards the door in a panic. 

The men’s mouths all moved in overlapping speed, and she was unable to decipher any of it. She saw her own chest below her rise and fall in rapid succession with the uptick in her own breathing, and her wet eyes glazed in a thicker sheen than before. 

“Let me in! Let me in! God-” she peered over her shoulder at the door that looked as though it would bust from its hinges with how much force the spirits were putting against it “-Let. Me. In.” She tried to shake her own shoulder to no avail. 

Yoongi hunched himself over her head, perching it on the tops of his thighs and cushioning both sides of her face with his large hands–his lips running at a mile a minute. Both of Jungkook’s hands squeezed one of her own in a bone crushing grip that she felt the aftershocks of from her place next to him. 

Jungkook turned to her and shouted something unintelligible, but pointed with his eyes at her body below them. The pounding on the door egged her on, as she crawled over herself to lay down in the same position. Even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to find her vines. They were weak, and spindly–but they were there. Persistent. Y/n latched herself onto their image and pulled herself towards the withering seedling with all she had left.

She must be drowning, she thought. The water poured from her mouth in heaving coughs, spilling out from her lungs and stomach. Each time she thought she had gotten it all, a violent wave would pummel her, knocking her out of focus and keeping her in a vice grip from where the back of her head was tethered in place. Something tugged on her skull from behind her eyes, leaving her entire body numb. There was no more water, and no more knocking. There was nothing.

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

Oma: Grandma

Schatz: Term of endearment i.e sweetheart, treasure, darling

“Ich war noch nie jemand, der sich so leicht vor Faschisten verneigt. Oder hast du vergessen, woher wir kommen, Bruder?” : I've never been one to bow down so easily to facists. Or have you forgotten where we come from, brother?"

Flieh: Flee!

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[hellfire-state-of-mind]

27 seconds

pairing: Marcus Pike x reader

rating: just angst, hope you brought tissues

word count: 749

summary: Marcus never expected his world to fall apart with one phone call.

warnings: mention of drinking, kissing, nothing above PG though. reader has no physical descriptions other than wears a robe and some of Marcus's clothes. please lmk if i missed anything!!

a/n: my first submission for @beskarandblasters's Taylor Swift drabble challenge! i'm 100% a swiftie so i grabbed this with both hands and went running. this is based on the song Last Kiss sooooooo yeah it hurts 😅 oops. i do plan to write a second one so keep your eyes peeled for that if that's something your interested in?? this is only my second even piece for one of Pedro's characters and i have a particular soft spot for our Agent Pike so i hope y'all like it 🫣

Standing at the terminal, waiting for you to appear from the sliding glass doors, he checks his watch, then your flight information. It landed almost an hour ago, so where are you?

Just as the thought crosses his mind, his phone buzzes in his pocket, your name and picture lighting up his screen. He quickly answers.

“Hey, baby. I’m waiting outside your terminal, is everyth-”

“I never got on.”

---

He knew asking you to move to D.C. with him on such short notice was a stretch. You had your own life in L.A., how could he seriously expect you to just drop everything?

But you did. In a heartbeat.

Packing up your shared apartment was a blur. It mirrored the day you moved in: sitting on the bare kitchen floor surrounded by cardboard boxes, you wearing his t-shirt and a pair of his boxers, the waistband rolled so they sit higher on your thighs. You kept them when he flew out early to get your new place ready. Dropping him off at the airport, you held each other impossibly tight before sharing one last kiss and whispered “I love yous” against each other’s lips.

---

“Wait- baby, is everything okay? Did something happen?” Marcus tries to swallow his panic, fearing something had gone wrong with the airline or God forbid you’d been hurt.

“No. I just- I can’t. I’m so sorry, Marcus.”

“What d- what do you mean ‘can’t’? B-”

“It’s complicated. Just…I’m sorry.” His phone beeps as the call disconnects.

He stares blankly at the screen, 1:58 shining through the dark, taunting him.

What else can he do but just go home?

Marcus grabs a beer from the bare fridge and sinks to the floor, kicking off his shoes in the process. He stares out into the room. The space feels foreign now, hard and echoey. It’s mostly empty since you’d agreed to wait and do the bulk of the furniture shopping together. You’d loved the open floorplan, teasing him about having plenty of room for your impromptu dances. What should have been filled with warmth and laughter now just feels hollow.

He picks up his phone again, desperate to call you back and plead for answers. But you’d already given him one. You weren’t ready. When he asked you to go with him, he’d promised to honor whatever you felt. He just never planned on you changing your mind like this.

---

He throws himself into his work again. Some days, he’s okay. Others, he’ll come home enthusiastic after a big breakthrough and excited to tell you all about it until you cut him off with a kiss. He calls out to you, but your name dies on his lips.

Those nights, he’ll lie awake and scroll through your social media, careful not to accidentally like any of your photos. Dinners and drinks with friends. Fourth of July fireworks at the Santa Monica pier. But one picture stings worse than the others: a candid of you walking in the rain, your hands in your coat pockets, and a reflection in the window revealing a man behind the camera.

Marcus knows he shouldn’t have hoped that you just needed more time. That you’d wait for him until you were ready and then you’d come. He shakes the thought away before closing the app and turning off his phone, but he can’t fall asleep. His bed is too big, too cold. His own breathing in his ears is too loud, his heartbeat too heavy. He forces his eyes closed anyway, but they pop right back open. He snatches his phone off the bedside table and resumes his previous position, steeling himself for another restless night.

---

You’ve just stepped out of the shower when you hear your phone chime. Securing your robe, you perch on the edge of your bed and open the text.

I can’t forget you

Marcus’s name and contact picture at the top of the thread blurs as you blink back unannounced tears. You haven’t cried over this man in months, why now? Composing yourself, you look back down at the screen. You read those 4 little words over and over again, words stuck on the tip of your own tongue for so long but you forced yourself to never say. You finally notice the Read tag under the message, betraying your silence. He knows you’ve seen it.

Taking a deep breath, you type your response.

[wonuwrites]

"Sorry" Song Reaction

hey y'all, do you remember this depressing ass song? LMFAO. Well it came on shuffle the other day and I thought, "this would be a GREAT angsty ot13 one shot. I hope yall enjoy it.

Warning: sad, angsty, cussing, self confidence issues, you might need tissues, Seokmin's part talks about hospitals btw

Remember: Similar to my previous song reactions- the drabbles will be in order of the song lyrics. Hope yall enjoy :D

☾ S. Coups: "I've missed your calls for months it seems."

[6:42 Missed Call: Choi Seungcheol <3] You sighed as you saw another missed call from Seungcheol. You loved him so much but for some reason, life was getting in the way. You had been sent overseas for a work trip and it ended up lasting way longer than you both thought it would. You both had survived distance multiple times when one of you went on trips without each other but this time it was different and neither of you knew why. You both wanted to call and talk but when one of you was available the other was not. It was just a shitty situation. You sighed as you pressed his name and waited to see if he would pick up. Almost directly it was sent to voicemail and for some reason that broke your heart more. "please leave a message after the beep" *beep* You took a shaky breath before starting your voicemail, "hey baby, it's me. (Y/N), I'm sorry I missed your call. I wish I answered. I miss you. I miss your voice. I miss your hands, I miss everything." The tears started to fall down your face as you babbled on and on which made you sniffle and try your best to boss up. "The shooting is almost done, they are predicting I can come home in two to three weeks. I know that's still a long time but I hope you wait for me... I really do love you, Cheol, I'm so sorry this is hard right now."

☾ Joshua: "Don't realize how mean I can be, 'Cause I can sometime treat the people that I love like jewelry."

Hong Jisoo did not deserve someone as flakey as you. His family, his members, his friends, and his fans had a distaste in their mouth. However, he still stayed by your side. Even though it was basically a martyrdom. Any red flags you had, he avoided because he loved you and promised you that he would love you til his dying breath. It was your anniversary and he waited with baited breath for you to show up. He had your favorite roses and wore the cologne you bought for him last Christmas. It was a sad sight really, seeing him sit there waiting. Waiters kept coming up and asking if he was still waiting and if there was anything they could get for him but he just shook his head no. He waited about a hour and it wasn't until he got a call from Jeonghan asking if he had any plans tonight. The answer now was no. He texted Jeonghan the address of the restaurant before standing up and throwing away the bouquet of flowers with a sigh. Maybe one day, he could be a priority for you. Whether it was for an anniversary or just a random Friday. All he knew is that he would wait for you no matter how foolish he was.

☾ Minghao: "'Cause I can change my mind each day, I didn't mean to try you on."

Unfortunately, Minghao knew you both were doomed once your ex entered the picture again. Kim Yugyeom. While Yugyeom and him were friends before you entered either of their lives, when Yugyeom came out and saw you at the club, he saw the look you gave him. At that moment, he knew he lost you and if Yugyeom were to snap his fingers, you would run back to him. Which he did. So now, here you both are. You stood in front of Minghao with tears streaming down your face apologizing for leading him on because you loved him as well but Yugyeom was simply the love of your life. Minghao died that day because he felt used. He truly loved you as well and he lost two important people that day. Once you walked away from him, he called Wonwoo and asked him if he could come over to Mingyu and his apartment because he couldn't be alone.

Yugyeom is green bc Got7 is green lmao. The thought of having to choose between my two bias wreckers hurt me so bad btw.

☾ Hoshi: "But I still know your birthday and your mother's favorite song."

"Did nothing even matter? Did none of what we had matter to you?" Soonyoung whispered. You both agreed to have a closure talk after a year of being broken up. You were technically fine but Soonyoung, oh poor Soonyoung. His heart shattered the day you left. He was warned that you were a "bolter" type when things were just a little shaky and that's exactly what happened. You felt a little bad about leaving but you knew it would be the best if he found someone who could love him no matter what. "It did matter but, Soonie, breaking up was the best." He shook his head before standing up. "If you remembered how good we were, you would know that breaking up was NOT for the best. It's as if you don't remember anything. As if you are refusing to remember and it hurts to see, (Y/N)" He grabbed his jacket before sighing again. "This was a mistake, I'm sorry I wasted your time." He then started to walk away before you whispered, "June 15th... 1996." He paused at the date. His birthday. "Your mom loved Kim Gunmo, I remember dancing to 'Wrongful Meeting' with her in your parents house." You then stood up with a shaky breath. "I do remember how good it was, however I also know you deserve someone who won't give up as easily as me. I will always love you and cherish the time we had together, but I can't love you the way you need me to love you."

☾ Dino: "Sorry that I can't believe that anybody ever really starts to fall in love with me."

"Don't lie to me," you whispered as you glared at Chan who was standing in front of you with both of his hands in his pocket. He was a little confused at your actions after confessing that he was falling in love with you. It took everything in him to finally confess after all this time. Yet, he did because he thought it was mutual. The way you kissed him, the way you held his hand, the way you laughed at his jokes, was it just an act? "What do you mean 'don't lie to me'? (Y/N), I love-" "stop." He was now even more confused. What did he do to deserve to be treated like this? "Nobody falls in love with me, Lee Chan," you whispered. "Don't lie to me." It was then he realized what was going on. "I am not lying," he would whisper while putting both hands on your face, "let me prove it to you. If I fail to do so, you can kill me."

☾ Mingyu: "I run away when things are good."

You know when things were too good? The feeling that everything was perfect and dandy? Does it ever scare you that bad things are coming? Of course it does. You were not used to good things staying forever. That's why you ran as fast as you could from Mingyu. He was everything you could have wanted, he was smart, attractive, kind, fantastic in bed, could cook, could clean, just the whole package. That freaked you out because what was he hiding? The day you left, Mingyu lost himself. You didn't even bother to tell him why you walked out and that was his biggest question. He loved you more than anything and knowing you were out in the world without him completely fine ruined him.

☾ Wonwoo: "And never really understood the way you laid your eyes on me in ways that no one ever could."

You never really found yourself to be stunning even though you were. You never were perceived that way growing up and so when Wonwoo first looked at you as if you were the most delicate thing in the world you were confused. Your confusion confused him. How could nobody have told you how beautiful and precious you were? He wanted to tell you but he didn't want to scare you away either. So he just would be casual about it. However, you still would catch him staring and every time you would get butterflies.

☾ Jun: "And so it seems I broke your heart, my ignorance has struck again."

"I love you, how do you not realize this?" Jun asked with a shaky voice. You were standing in front of him defeated. You didn't realize he felt this way which is why you agreed to be someone else's partner. Jun saw you both kissing at a party and his heart broke. He always thought you both had something special and when he saw that you were making out with someone else, his heart broke. Were you dating? No. Did he tell you his feelings? Also no. However, you both have shared multiple kisses and held hands casually often. When you had movie nights your head always found his shoulder so he took it as a mutual liking. However, now that he knew it wasn't mutual he knew it was time to move on from you.

☾ Woozi: "I failed to see it from the start and tore you open 'til the end."

Jihoon was hoping one day you would notice that he was an option for you. Every heartbreak, every bad date, everything he was there. He was there from the start and wanted to be there so bad for you until whenever. However, even if it was a hope seeing you show off your engagement ring to all your friends just shattered him. Soonyoung noticed what was going on first and shot his younger friend a sympathetic look as Jihoon walked away. Jihoon couldn't believe you were so blind. He felt like a fool for waiting for you to acknowledge him. You didn't realize how he felt until months after you told everyone of your engagement and saw Jihoon on a date at a coffee shop with a girl he met through a friend of a friend. You watched him smile at the girl and your heart yearned for what could've been. However, at this point it was too late to even beg for a second of his time when he already wasted so much precious time on you.

☾ Dokyeom: "And I'm sorry to my unknown lover, sorry that I can't believe."

"Who are you?" (Y/N) asked looking up to Seokmin confused. It had been months after a car crash had put you in a coma and when you first saw Seokmin that was all you could ask. It killed him. The doctors warned him memory loss was possible due to how long you were out cold but part of him was delusional in thinking that maybe... just maybe you would remember. Especially since he was by your side basically every day telling you stories of how you met, some dates, and everything like that. He smiled at you softly before whispering, "baby it's me. Seokmin... your boyfriend." You would shake your head before saying, "I'm sorry I think you have me mistaken. Your way out of my league." This broke his heart even though it was basically already shattered. "I don't know how... but I'll make you believe it because it's true."

☾ Vernon: "Sorry to my unknown lover, sorry I could be so blind."

Hansol wasn't one to be vocal about his emotions. Especially when it came to you. He had been pining for you for months now and he was realizing it wasn't working well and he would start to back off. You just thought he was friendly and nothing more. You never thought someone like Hansol would like someone like you. So when he started to pull back, you started to realize how 'cold' it was. When you asked him if you were both okay he was pretty standoffish. It confused you. When he finally opened up, it shocked you. You felt like you fucked everything up, all you could do was apologize. Thankfully, he was still head over heels and it ended on a good note.

☾ Jeonghan: "Didn't mean to leave you and all the things that we had behind."

Jeonghan knew what chaotic schedules were like, being in Seventeen for the past decade was proof of that. He warned you about it but you were also someone with a chaotic schedule. That chaotic schedule is what ended up tearing you apart. You both had been trying to find time to just have a cup of coffee and catch up. When you finally found time, you forgot about it and double booked yourself with work. Jeonghan waited for what seemed like forever. He texted and everything but you never responded. He then went to your job with a take out coffee and saw you busy and his heart broke. You forgot about him. He told one of your coworkers the coffee was for you and walked out. He loved you but he didn't want to wait around anymore for you to try to remember he existed.

☾ Seungkwan: "Someone will love you, but someone isn't me."

"But I love you and only you," Seungkwan whispered as he looked down at you. You were leaving him and he had no idea why. You both were so good. At least that is what he thought. Did nothing that mattered to him matter to you? You sniffed as you realized that this would be harder than you thought. It wasn't that you didn't love Seungkwan, you just knew he deserved the world and that was not you. "I'm sorry Kwannie, but someone will love you better than I can. I am just not right for you and I hope you see that too." You squeezed his hand one last time before walking away.

The way this has been a wip for almost 2 months is disgusting. Pls like it.

[snowballseal]

hihi! i know you haven't posted in a hot minute but I wanted to just say thank you for writing! you are my favorite writer in the LADS community, and I often come back to read your weeks like, multiple times a week lmao! my fav pieces from you are the 'how would lads carry you,' the two sleepy times with sylus and zayne, and the tattoos drabbles :) but generally I love how often comfortable and cozy and genuine a lot of your scenarios feel, and I just wanted to send over some good vibes! part of me is on the edge of my seat for if you ever post anything else, but if not - thank you for ever sharing your works in the first place! know that they give people a lot of joy :D

Y'all I caaaaaaan't.

I lowkey lost my password and forgot which email I used for this account (I have way more than I should, don't ask lol). I got stuck in such a writer's block that I figured I'd just take a break and work on art instead.

This message literally kills me, because this is why I write. Sometimes I question writing reader inserts, but knowing that it can make even one person feel loved or happy makes it all worth it.

I can't guarantee I'll be writing a lot more LaDS content (the game won't open for me and I'm scared to delete it in case is deletes all my progress, so I've been keeping up through reels and stuff). But I'm not done yet! I've actually been having a lot of brain rot around my last Zayne fic and thinking about turning it into a small series.

Anyways! I'm back! Thank you for all the love while I was gone! I hope I can create a few more fluffy favorites for y'all!

Especially cause I can finally write for Caleb >:) whom I've always kind of loved.

[anincompletelist]

happy wip wednesday! :D

ahhh I have been all over the place today, forgive me if I've missed anyone here! THANK YOU TO @nocoastposts @iboatedhere @kiwiana-writes @cricketnationrise @zwiazdziarka @inexplicablymine @ninzied @matherines @getmehighonmagic @heybuddy-drabbles FOR THE TAGS! and also to @magicandarchery @bigassbowlingballhead @getmehighonmagic @firenati0n for the tags for the last line of 2023/first line of 2024 tags! by the time I saw them I had no CLUE what they actually were because I wrote straight through the new year with RWRB playing in the background ksjhkjhd.

ALSO I made a patreon? (COMPLETELY FREE OF COURSE—do NOT select the paid tier!! i just can’t figure out how to delete it jsksjkd) to have a space to share snippets and other things that I write that don't get posted here or on ao3. I'm not sure how much I'll use it as of right now but I think it could be fun! slowly uploading some things I've written lately. we'll see! <3

trying to share some things I haven't had a chance to before, so here's a snippet from what is lovingly titled 'the train au' in my docs, though the train is actually a shockingly small plot point of the full fic sjhdksjhd.

+

Aaron’s eyes slide over to Henry and narrow. Henry shifts underneath the scrutiny, swallowing around the lump in his throat. Don’t do it, he thinks. He’s only here to help his mother and his sister. There’s no reason Aaron needs to go dredging up the past, ripping open old wounds that’d taken ages for Henry to poorly suture. 

And yet, that’s exactly what he does. 

“I also know a few rather unsavory things about the prince that I’m sure the family wouldn’t want coming into the light.” 

“Objection.” Alex is out of his seat so quickly that he goes blurry, jaw set and eyes blazing. It’s the most livid Henry’s ever heard him. 

The court room falls silent for a moment, and Henry scans everyone’s faces while he wipes his sweaty palms on his trousers. Aaron looks sickly pleased with himself, leaning back in his chair with a lazy smirk. He won’t be allowed to elaborate further, but the damage had already been done. Henry’s mother seems tense, and Bea looks like she might start crying, her knuckles white where she’s clutching the arm of her chair. 

Henry’s fairly certain that everyone in the room has an idea of what Aaron is referring to, but Bea more so than anyone else. She’d been there for all of it, when Henry began to figure things out and piece it all together, how difficult it was for him to be forced to hide it and what he’d done in reckless retaliation. She’d been the first person he told when things went wrong, always the first. 

The rest of the court room seems a bit restless, murmuring theories amongst themselves, glancing between Alex and Aaron to see which one will speak first. And Alex— Alex looks like he could kill someone. 

Henry can only blink, all too used to the concept of being damned to silence.

+

tags: @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @affectionatelyrs @daisymae-12 @read-and-write- @happiness-of-the-pursuit @rockyroadkylers @firstsprinces @xthelastknownsurvivorx @whimsymanaged @priincebutt @songliili @duchessdepolignaca03 @leojfitz @user-anakin @anchoredarchangel @tinyarmedtrex @myheartalivewrites ALWAYS LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS <3 (but no pressure of course)

SEE Y'ALL TOMORROW FOR ANOTHER BRIDESMAIDS CHAP! :D

xx

[berkinix]

WIP Word Train! :D

Rules: tagger gives a word, then for each letter of that word you share a sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that starts with that letter.

I was tagged by the ever-amazing @findswoman, who gave me the word CHAOS. Her most recent drabble, This Old Droid, is a delight, and I highly recommend peeps to sign up for an AO3 account so y'all can read it. Super fun! (Can't link to it, since her stories are locked, but trust me, it's worth the effort and wait time to get an AO3 account to read great content like hers.)

My WIP (my endless WIP, it seems) is, of course The Miseducation of Molulci Rossunto. Currently working on Chapter 18 (once posted, AO3 will show it as 19, since it counted an extra chapter due to the Interlude), and okay, that's enough of my rambling. These sentences are in no particular order in the story, which fits in nicely with the "chaos" theme, methinks.

***

Cradossk and Rina Salaktori apparently would be travelling together – the woman made a comment about securing her Nemesis onto the chassis of the Trandoshan’s freighter to save on fuel during the hyperjump.

“He owes me many favors. That is all.”

As much as everyone was eager to leave the Corplex, they weren’t able to get going right away.

Oonan Bukk turned to his daughter. He didn’t look all too pleased at the concept of Icarus receiving help, in Molly’s opinion.

She had half a mind to be amused as well, and likely would have been, if their situation weren’t so dismal.

***

Yay! That was fun! (And a nice prod in the ribs to keep writing.) I'm passing on the curse game onto @sl-walker , @blackkatmagic , @doorsclosingslowly , and @xvlvxvr (who are all great on AO3 also, give them a look-up, please!)... plus any other writers who see this and would like to give it a shot. I'm adding to the rules and using the last word of my WIP as people's prompt. Your word is TROUBLE!

[ragecndybars]

AO3 tag game :3

thanks so much for the tag @mvshortcut !!!!! much appreciated, this was a blast to fill out :D

How many works do you have on AO3?

86! Damn, that's more than I remember 🙀 I have been writing pretty fervently since I was pretty young, though, and I transferred all my old fics from fanfiction dot net to AO3, so it's a long stretch of time. All my old wattpad fics are still rotting somewhere though lmaooo I can't even access them anymore bc I forgot my password and I can't reset it bc I used a school email 😔

What's your total AO3 word count?

443,734! When I get to half a million I'm gonna have to throw myself a party. With boba and everything

How many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?

Oof, okay, here we go. A lot of the fandoms I have tagged on AO3 don't really "count" because they're just aggregate tags for the same fandom, so even though AO3 says the number is 48, I'm gonna count the TRUE number as 17. (It got cut down so much because of how many video game series have different games with different fandom tags on AO3, lmao)

Here's the breakdown of the list:

Persona (Mostly Persona 3)

Fire Emblem (Mostly Shadow Dragon and Blazing Sword)

Legend of Zelda

Pokemon

Professor Layton

RWBY

Kid Icarus: Uprising

Earthbound/MOTHER

Red vs. Blue

Voltron Legendary Defender

Naruto

Final Fantasy XV

Harvest Moon

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Avengers

Animal Crossing

Care Bears (despite having never actually consumed any Care Bears media to my knowledge)

The worst part is that this stupid list would be much, much, MUCH longer if I finished even a quarter of my WIPs 😭 Hell, even just my "Video Games" subfolder in my "Fanfiction" subfolder has more than 17 subfolders in it...

Y'all don't understand how many random fics my ADHD spares you from ever seeing I have no focus

Top five fics by kudos:

Ash and Emotion (Zelda) - Not surprising, I knew this was my most popular fic. It was for a ZeLink zine full of beautiful work :)

Resemblance (Naruto) - bro I always forget people really liked this one. Literally an unedited drabble I did in an hour for a "pride month drabble challenge" which I immediately abandoned. Trans rights I guess

Always Wanna Play (But You Never Wanna Lose) (Persona 3) - This one isn't surprising either, and I'm very proud of this fic so I'm quite chuffed to see it get so much attention... thanks everyone :')

The Beat of Your Heart (Zelda) - Now this one surprised me a lot. This was just a little piece for ZeLink week... Another unedited one, I literally was writing it on the toilet in church so I could get it out in time 😭

Comfort (Zelda) - Another ZeLink week piece, but I knew this one was popular. Also unedited, lmao. I was writing it on the day of my AP Calc finals and I rushed through the exam so I could have more time to work on the fic 😭 I made some Choices that year

Do you respond to comments?

I try to! But I get very anxious about it and tend to work myself into a tizzy, so I often put it off for later and then forget, haha. Then I'll go and respond to all my comments from the last few months and feel even weirder about it... T_T

What's the fic with the angstiest ending you've ever written?

Oof. That's... a hard one, haha. I've written a couple of fics without happy endings, though I typically don't. At least three fics which end on a canonical character death, for instance. But I'd say the ending which made me the most emo writing was Butter, a Mother 3 fic. It ends with Lucas, who's like 9, recently lost his mother, then lost his twin brother (and thinks it's his fault), and is now being neglected by his father, crawling into bed and crying. So yeah, pretty bleak, lmao... but at least he doesn't die I guess?

Do you write crossovers?

I do, but I haven't posted many yet. I'm not always huge on writing them, but I do think about them a lot. I was working on this one Persona 3 x Fire Emblem Awakening crossover but I lost steam on it, and now there's a really lovely crossover on AO3 with a similar premise that I was SO delighted to come across!!! Hope y'all don't mind me taking a break from linking my own work to shill for this one, hehe

Have you ever gotten hate on a fic?

Unfortunately, yes, about six times, I'd say. Even more unfortunately, most of those times happened earlier on in my fanfic writing career, and I was pretty sensitive to hate back then, so I deleted many of the relevant fics, and some of them I don't even have access to myself anymore.

Not gonna talk about the ones that are still upsetting, but I will talk about the funny examples: on a (since deleted) RWBY fic, I said in the author's note that I "wrote them as platonic, but the fic can be read as WhiteRose", and then I got a glowing comment gushing about how good the story was which ended with "but then you had to ruin it by shitting all over WhiteRose, how about you [long suicide bait]". Third most baffling comment I've ever received.

The two most baffling were on different fics, but both were making the same weird accusation??? One was on a ZeLink fic (actually, on Comfort, my fifth most kudos'ed fic of all time now), and y'know I think I'm just gonna show you the comment in question:

The other one was on a long-since deleted fic which focused on both a romantic ship, as well as a fatherly relationship between one member of the ship and the other member's father. I guess having a fatherly relationship with your father-in-law makes your boyfriend actually your brother (and therefore you can't date him anymore). IDK man people are crazy. (tbf the commenter in question thought I was setting it up so that he'd get adopted by his boyfriend's parents, which would give them more of a case, but like... that didn't happen in the fic and wasn't going to. they just guessed at a future plot development and got angry about their guess)

Do you write smut?

I do, but I've never posted any. I've posted one fic that was very suggestive, I'd even call it "NSFW" in a sense, but never anything explicit. Maybe I will in the future? We'll see if I can ever finish anything smutty, lmao.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yep, I had Ultimatum, my longest chapter-fic (and by far my most popular fic in the ff.n days) stolen and posted on another site by somebody. I reported it but never checked back up to see if it got taken down.

I also feel that I've had my work plagiarized pretty damn blatantly in another fandom (I was browsing a certain AU tag and read one which contained all the exact events and sometimes word-for-word dialogue from a fic of mine, just very very slightly rewritten) but the poster had no other works and their writing was definitely extremely juvenile, so... I figured they were a dumb kid and just decided not to raise a fuss. Checked back later and they deleted it, hopefully because they realized they shouldn't do that, so I figure there's no need to start shit over it. Honestly, if that person used that experience as a jumping-off point to write their own fics, then I'm glad it happened, imitation being the highest form of flattery and all.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, though I had someone reach out to me on fanfiction dot net a long time ago and ask permission to translate An Unheard Goodbye, which was super exciting! I agreed, but I don't believe they ever got around to it, or if they did, they never posted it. Still very flattering, and I think about that a lot, hehe.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

HOW COULD I POSSIBLY ANSWER THIS. UM. UM UH. UHHH UM UH I. UM.

I'm.... gonna say Zelda/Link? I haven't written it in FOREVER but it was such a huge part of me coming into my own as a fanfic author, so I have to give it credit for that.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

.......all of them 😭 god I have so many of these damn things. But for the prime example, I'd point to Ultimatum, an old Pokemon fic that I started in middle school. I got all the way to the climax and I feel bad leaving my readers hanging, but... at this point, if I did continue it, I would honestly have to rewrite the whole fic first just to be in line with my current understanding of the characters.

What are your writing strengths?

Y'know, I think I get character voices down extremely well in a way which elevates my dialogue and narration. That's probably the thing I'm most proud of in my own writing, at least.

What are your writing weaknesses?

BREVITY. Or the utter, glaring lack of it. I have also been known to muddy up my writing with an overabundance of A) adverbs, B) unneeded clauses tacked onto perfectly good sentences, and C) em-dashes 😭

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fics?

I think it's dope as fuck, but I currently can't really accomplish it because I'm monolingual (NOT FOR LONG IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT, I'M COMING FOR YOU, JAPANESE FLUENCY!!!!). I will also say that I don't like when authors will write characters having a story-important conversation in another language, then put the translations in the end notes or something, requiring you to either read the chapter confused or else keep scrolling back down and back up.... I think even that's totally fine to do if what's being said isn't plot-relevant, though.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Naruto. I hadn't read or watched Naruto btw, I had only read other Naruto fanfics. I have spoken on this topic many times, but it remains hilarious to me. Also, so many of my old Naruto fics are lost to the Wattpad times, but I will take this opportunity to once again share a quote which I recently managed to unearth from my long-lost unsung magnum opus:

Never ever will I intentionally attain the level of comedy gold that I managed while writing completely dead serious Naruto fanfiction on Wattpad in 2012.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written so far?

See above. How could I ever top that fic.

In all seriousness, this question always makes me sweat, but I think I'm gonna say Oil, a slightly older fic from my EliHec days which I absolutely obsessed over for months before finally managing to finish. And, unlike most of the fics that I obsess over, I think the obsession actually made it come out better rather than worse, haha.

thanks again for the tag!!!! as for me, I'll tag uhh, hm, @wizard-finix @dreamedge @misty-wisp @flyfish1999 and any other AO3 writers who see this!!! (idk how many of you use AO3 and most of the MBS authors I know have probably already been tagged hehe but anybody who wants to should absolutely feel free!!!!!!!)

[yxstxrdrxxm-a]

AND THATS A WRAP !

Hello, hello! It's me, the local dumbass that went "lol lets run this silly event" since January. I'd like to say thank you so much for participating!

I never thought that so many would look @ my blog event and go ":D lets go get matched w/ yans!" LIKE?? HELP WE GOT A LOT OF SUBMISSIONS SINCE DAY 1, IT MADE ME GO "oh shit" BAHAHAHAHA

But fr, I want to say thank you so much. To those who came in to join the matchup, to those who participated as anons to the story that was unfolding, and to those that were theorizing and even lurking:

Thank you so much for giving me a chance. You guys have no idea how much it means to me to celebrate this milestone with all of you.

I would love to mention everyone of y'all that joined to leave my special thanks, but this post will be lengthy if I did that and I... Am NOT about to make it too sappy LMAOOOO

Now! On the update + future plans:

The rest of the fics will be posted but slowly and will be saved as special dlc fics of One Last Call. This covers additional lore of the worldbuilding behind OLC, but there are some that won't be written (Freminet and Aether are unfortunately those I can't write as yanderes) to lessen the load. Also, some will be shorter/snippet wise, but we shall see.

I will be making a "story explained" post for OLC and the characters behind it. This goes into the possible "what ifs", the original draft of the story (storyboard lol), what each character would've been in my plans, and everything in between! (Also, there may or may not be drawn sketches for each of them. Maybe kek).

The next event will be happening on March. I won't elaborate what it'll be, but it will be indulgent and maybe a little funny (for me). It'll also last for a week at most so I don't end up burning myself out LMAOO

Finally, I will be hosting small event for Cupid, Eros, and Boss. They won't be big, but they will have their spots when I planned out what'll happen to them. (Hint: you guys are going to see them often on your feed if you know where to look ;>)

For now though, I will be finishing up the drabbles and pray I get them queued to finally archive this event. Also, I will be responding to asks + cleaning up my inbox again when I'm done :)

Once again, thank you everyone. I genuinely thought that running One Last Call will not work out back then (I told a few friends I was scared that it won't take off as it did), but I pushed through it anyway since I thought it'd be fun anyway. And to see everyone enjoy it is the best feeling I've had since opening this blog.

I hope all of you enjoy chilling as I try to write + post the drabbles for OLC before concluding its tale... And hopefully writer's block does not slam its gavel on my ass BAHAHAHAHAHA

[redtrospective]

finnpoe week wrap up💫

did this after last year’s event and now that I've had a few days to recover, I wanted to celebrate/reflect on finnpoe week 2024!🎉

I am proud to say that I wrote 8 brand new fics for each of the 8 days, totaling 10,434 words (~800 more than last year!). while I will def admit that some of my interpretations were a stretch, I am really proud of what I created☺️

check out my whole finnpoe week collection on AO3!

there were so many cool fanart/fics/videos/etc posted this week! it’s always amazing to me how much talent there is in this small but mighty fandom!!

thank you to everyone who left comments/kudos on my fics! I really appreciate the love and will reply when I'm feeling a little less burnt out.😅 love y'all!

also, here’s a poll if you like clicking buttons:

[cj-the-random-artist]

Okie I wanna make another one of those Medieval Fantasy AU comics cuz it's been a bit but idk what to do for the next one so. Taking advantage of the polls I'm letting y'all decide (since my intragram followers picked the last one)

We've got a few options, pick the one you'd like to see most imminently:

For Impulse Gets Cursed by Faes, there's a short post about this that stems from an ask from @harley-the-pancake (didn't know if you'd want to be tagged but wanted to give you credit for the conversation that spawned this idea in the first place, if you want to be untagged lmk), which is quite hilarious actually. This one would probably be somewhere between 10 and 15 pages

For Traveling adventurers sell Jimmy a cursed item, it gets a little bit into Jimmy's past and the state of the neighboring fae kingdom. Also it's an excuse for me to actually get Tango in this AU. This would probably be like 10-15, maybe more pages

For The Story of Kevin Bubbles, and enchanted dog Skizz found in the forest, this would be a short drabble about the previously unmentioned Kevin Bubbles, a magical AU version of Skizz's actual dog (I came up with this late last night cuz I thought it would be funny). This would probably be like 6 or 7 pages, maybe up to 10 but probably not more unless I get really carried away with it

Take ur picks and when the poll is done I'll get going on the next one of these. Enjoy :D