#Thank You Everyone who decided to give this weird plot of mine a chance

[prplpnk]

Vanquish, Chapter 2: Destiny

Overcoming his past comes at a cost, and Dinobot makes a decision about the path he wishes to walk.

Rated: M

Words: 8,002

Warnings: Violence, Mind Control, Suicide Attempt, Suicidal Thoughts

Part 4 of the Connections Series

[leviathans-watching]

False Dichotomy // XVIII: ice cream

False Dichotomy: when a situation is presented as ‘either/or’ but there is at least one additional logically valid option

As a childhood friend of Oikawa and Iwaizumi and manager of the Aoba Johsai Boys Volleyball Club, you couldn’t imagine your life without them. You know you like both of them, but you resolve to keep the feelings hidden, knowing staying friends is better than either having to choose one or losing your friendship with them both (an iwaizumi x reader x oikawa smau)

masterlist // XVII: so stupid // XVIII: ice cream // XIX: so you’re telling me

cw: food/eating

wc: 2.5k

“Give me a second to put my notes away but then I’ll be ready,” you say, looking up at Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

“No rush,” Oikawa replies easily, giving you a smile. You tuck your notebook in your backpack, making sure you have everything.

“Are you guys going somewhere?” Kindaichi asks, looking between the three of you interestedly.

“Yep!” you pop the ‘p’. “We’re going to go walk around downtown. We don’t really have a set plan though, do we?”

“No,” Iwaizumi confirms, and Yahaba pipes up.

“I heard a new dessert place opened up. You guys should check it out. They apparently have like, everything.”

“That actually sounds kind of good.” You look out the window, where the sun is shining brightly. “It’s nice weather for ice cream.” Standing, you stretch your arms.

“Let’s all get out of here, so we can lock up,” Oikawa says, and you all make your way towards the door. The practice had gone well and you were excited to spend time with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, especially since you had a little bit of insight on what they were thinking.

Makki sidles up to you, ducking down to whisper in your ear. “Go get ‘em, Tiger. If I find out y’all haven’t resolved things I’m gonna be pissed.”

You laugh, pushing him away lightly, and notice Iwaizumi watching the two of you from the corner of your eye. “I’ve got this. Thanks for all of your and Mattsun’s help.”

Makki slaps you on the back gently. “Have fun~”

Shaking your head, you give the gym one last look to make sure everything’s been put away. You shut the doors and lock them, putting the keys in your bag.

“Ready?” you chirp, looking to Iwaizumi and Oikawa. They nod and you set off, heading for the train station.

Like you had thought, the weather was perfect. The sun splays across your shoulders, and the light breeze gently runs through your hair.

You voice your thoughts on the weather, wondering why they haven’t said anything.

“Yeah, the weather’s nice,” Oikawa says dismissively, making you glance up at him. “But you look nicer.”

Oh. So they were starting with this already? You fight back a blush, trying to find the words to respond. You eventually just snort.

“Sweet talker,” you accuse, and they both laugh.

“Is it really sweet-talking when I’m telling the truth?” Oikawa asks candidly, and you know there’s no way they haven’t seen how flustered you’re getting.

“Shut up,” you mutter, and it goes quiet.

Even the silence is comfortable. Mostly.  You can feel Iwaizumi’s gaze, hot on your neck, and you’re hyper-aware of how your shoulder keeps brushing Oikawa’s.

You make it to the train station and easily board, maintaining your silence as to be polite. You end up between Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and you’re not sure if you can actually feel their body heat or if it’s just your imagination. When you arrive at your stop, Iwaizumi presses a hand to the small of your back, guiding you off. The contact sends shivers down your spine.

“Where to first?” Oikawa asks, and you shrug.

“I’m pretty much good with anything.” It was only mid-morning so you had no reason to rush.

“Window shopping?” Iwaizumi suggests, and the three of you set off down the main street, dodging around the other pedestrians.

“So,” you start. “I heard Kyoutani lost another arm wrestling match.”

“Yeah.” Iwaizumi’s hand is still on your back. “He’s getting better. Out of everyone, I think he has the highest chance of beating me.”

“Hmph,” Oikawa sniffs. “I don’t get how you guys can hang out with Mad-Dog! He’s always so mean to me.”

“Like you don’t deserve it,” Iwaizumi snorts. “You tease him and call him by that nickname even though you know he doesn’t like it.”

“I call you by a nickname you don’t like, Iwa-chan, but you don’t growl at me!”

“Yes, he does.”

“Yes, I do.”

You and Iwaizumi speak at the same time then share a smile. Unfortunately, Iwaizumi removes his hand, apparently realizing it was still there.

“No, but for real, I always get worried when I see him and y/n together. They always seem like they’re plotting something.” Oikawa continues, and Iwaizumi scoffs.

“Please, if we should worry about anyone, it’s y/n, Makki, and Mattsun. They’ve been thick as thieves lately.”

Your eyes widen at the un(?)intentional callout, but thankfully, Oikawa cuts in.

“Oh?” he lilts. “Jealous, Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi grumbles but doesn’t answer, which is an answer in itself.

“Oh, look at that little shop,” you say, trying to break the sudden tension. “Let’s go in there!”

They follow you into the small shop, greeting the shopkeeper. The bell above your head tinkles happily.

The shop seems to be filled with knickknacks and other small items so you just gravitate towards whatever catches your eye, turning them over in your hands.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa seem to be discussing something if the way their heads are bent is any indication, so you decide not to intrude, instead looking at other items.

Spotting a rack of key chains, you go through them, pausing to examine all of the designs. There are the pair ones, of course, but there are also matching trio’s, likely meant for three friends.

You couldn’t deny the allure, especially when you spot some plant ones that looked like the Aoba Johsai symbol. They were cute, but eventually, you decided to pass on them, unsure how you’d even present them to Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

“Hey, guys, I’m going to wait outside,” you call softly. “I didn’t find anything I wanted.”

“I’ll come with,” Oikawa says immediately, breaking away from Iwaizumi. The bell above the door jingles as you exit the shop, spilling out onto the sidewalk.

“Having fun?” Oikawa asks, and you nod.

“Obviously. I always have fun with you guys.”

A moment later Iwaizumi comes out, empty-handed. You wonder what the hold-up was.

You meander down the street, ducking in and out of shops. You purchase a few things, and so do the boys, but you mostly are just looking.

“Want to stop for lunch?” Iwaizumi asks. “I think the dessert place Yahaba mentioned is right ahead.”

“Lunch sounds good,” you say as your stomach rumbles. “Let’s get food and find a place to eat outside.”

There are a few vendors here and there, and a few moments after you find one that all three of you agree on. You order your food, but when you go pay, Iwaizumi stops you, paying for you.

You’re surprised, but pleased, and let him do it.

Spotting a bench, you head towards it, patting the wood next to you.

Oikawa takes a seat, fiddling with his phone. “Hey, y/n,” he says after a minute. “Can I use your phone to text my mom? Mine died.”

“Sure.” Handing over your phone, you stand. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom. Be back in a second.”

*

Iwaizumi leans over Oikawa as he texts his mom. They all had each other's parent’s numbers in their phones. Oikawa quickly types out a message saying where he is and who he’s with, explaining his phone was dead.

When he exits out of the chat with his mom, they can see all of the other conversations going on.

“Hey,” Oikawa notices. “Makki and Mattsun have a group chat with y/n! Without us!”

“We have one without y/n,” Iwaizumi points out.

“I kind of want to look.” Oikawa’s finger hovers over the chat.

“Dumbass!” Iwaizumi gripes pushing Oikawa’s hand away. “That’s an invasion of privacy.”

“You’re right,” Oikawa says reluctantly, instead clicking on ‘pals’. “Iwa-chan,” he says slowly. “Look at our contact names.”

Iwaizumi takes the phone, reading them. “Whoa.” Unprepared to see ‘Iwa{aas}’, Iwaizumi has to read it a few times for it to sink in. “Those are some… names.”

“Isn’t that a good indication that y/n is into us? Think about it!” Oikawa cries. “Why else would we be named that?”

“Maybe it’s a joke?” Iwaizumi tries, but Oikawa shakes his head.

“Think about how they’ve been responding to us all day. They were flustered with all of the flirting and touching, I just know it.”

“I guess so,” Iwaizumi admits, thinking back to how they shivered under his touch, making him want to hold the contact longer. Turning off y/n’s phone, he sets it in his lap, biting his lip. “This is going well, right?”

“Phenomenally.” Oikawa’s eyes sparkled. “It’s going better than I thought it would.”

*

You head back to the bench, wiping your damp hands on your pants. Both of their heads snap up when they hear you approach, making you falter.

“Hey,” you say, side-eyeing them as you sit down and bite into your sandwich. “Everything okay?”

“Yep,” Iwaizumi says clearing his throat. “Fine.”

You were, quite obviously, unconvinced, but let it slide, taking your phone back. You spoke the most during your impromptu lunch, filling the silence with your thoughts, but they didn’t seem to mind. You thought it was better than sitting in silence.

Once you were all done, you threw away your trash, taking a moment to check your phone. A reply from Oikawa’s mom and a text from Mattsun asking how it was going were the only notifications. You decided to hold off on replying to Mattsun because, to put it simply, you weren't really sure how it was going. Once you had gone to the bathroom the vibe had gotten a bit weird.

“So do we want dessert now or do we want to wait?” Iwaizumi asks, and you shrug.

“I’m down for now if you guys want it.”

“Now it is!” Oikawa decides, and the three of you set off.

When you get to the shop, you’re amazed by the large menu. They really do have everything.

“What are you going to get, y/n?” Oikawa asks, and you hum before answering.

“Everything here looks so good but I think I’m going to go with ice cream. What about you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll do ice cream too.”

“And you, Iwa?” you ask, including him in the discussion.

“Oh, I’m going to get a brownie. That sounds really good right now.”

You place your orders, and again, before you can pay, someone else is taking care of it, this time Oikawa. You get your treats and take a seat, pulling out a chair at one of the little tables by the window.

“You know, this is almost like a date,” you joke, a bit nervously, and Oikawa and Iwaizumi share a long look before turning to you.

“What if it was?” Oikawa asks, and you freeze.

“What?”

“What if this was a date,” he repeats. “It could be, if you wanted that.”

“Like, all three of us?” you clarify, and Iwaizumi nods.

“Look y/n, we both like you. Like, romantically. And we want to date you, but only if you’re comfortable with it. Remember when Makki texted the group chat about his cousin and polyamory?”

You bite back a laugh, feeling like everything was a bit surreal. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, we want to be with you, but not each other. Do you think you’d be okay with trying something like that?” Iwaizumi continues. “If not we get and we’ll back off, no hard feelings.”

“Guys,” you say, feeling the need to tell them everything. “I’ve got to be honest with you. I’ve liked you both for a while-” Oikawa perks up. “-but you need to how we got here.”

“What do you mean?” Iwaizumi asks carefully, and you bite your lip.

“Makki, Mattsun, and I put together a scheme so you would hopefully realize your feelings for me. We had Terushima crash the team dinner and flirt with me in an attempt to make you guys jealous.”

“Wait, seriously?” Oikawa stares at you.

“Yeah. So, sorry for not just being open about my feelings and honest. I just didn’t want to ruin our friendship if you guys didn’t feel the same way.” you crumple and uncrumple the napkin you’re holding.

“So there’s nothing going on with Terushima?” Oikawa asks, and you shake your head.

“Nope. We’re just friends, acquaintances, even.”

“Hold on, let me get this straight.” Iwaizumi furrows his brows, and you try not to show how nervous you are. What if they’re mad you did all that? “You orchestrated an entire scenario just in the hope it would get Oikawa and I to realize our maybe non-existent feelings for you? And Makki and Mattsun were in it this whole time?”

You nod.

“That’s insane,” Iwaizumi says. “What if nothing happened and we didn’t like you? Would you have ever come forward about your feelings?”

“I mean, not in the foreseeable future, but maybe years down the road,” you try.

“So you like us both?” Oikawa asks, and you nod again. “Then it doesn’t really matter how we got to this situation, does it? Only that we’re here. Hell, without Teru-what’s-his-face, I probably would’ve gone on thinking I only liked you platonically. So really, it all works out in the end.”

Iwaizumi sighs. “I guess. I just hope next time we can figure out a way to communicate honestly without jumping through all of these hoops.”

“Yeah,” you admit. “It was a crazy plan, but I’m going to be honest, Makki and Mattsun were enabling me.”

“They do that,” Oikawa says and you all laugh, yours a little breathless.

You can’t quite believe it, but everything seems to be working out.

“So are we going to do this?” Iwaizumi eventually asks.

“I mean, I’d love to,” you admit, and Oikawa grins.

“Perfect. So we’re now dating! How great is that?”

“Well, I’m glad you said yes, otherwise this would be awkward,” Iwaizumi says, and before you can move, he’s bending over the table and placing a featherlight kiss on your cheek, chapped lips warm against it. Of course, you flame, face burning.

“No fair!” Oikawa pouts, then he’s leaning over to do the same to your other cheek, breath ghosting over your heated skin. “There,” he says childishly, sticking his tongue out at Iwaizumi. “Now we’re even.”

“Is everything going to turn into a competition between you?” You ask faintly, and they turn towards you.

“Yeah, probably,” Iwaizumi shrugs. “And so far, I’m winning, because look at this.” He digs through his pocket and pulls out the trio of plant keychains you were looking at earlier.

You gape at him.

“I saw you looking at it and figured it was perfect,” Iwaizumi says, opening the package. “Which one do you want?”

You pick out the one you want and clasp it to your bag with a smile. “You didn’t have to, but thanks.”

“Oh, you are so on,” Oikawa says to Iwaizumi as he attaches his own. “I’ll beat you in who can spoil y/n better, just you wait!”

“Guys,” you cry. “I don’t need to be spoiled. This is enough for me.”

And just like that, it was their turn to blush.

“Y/n!” Oikawa whines. “You can’t just say stuff like that!”

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi agrees. “It’s just too cute.”

a/n: only one more chapter and an epilogue! thanks for coming along on this crazy journey. lmk if i need to add any more cws or anything. same with spelling/grammar 😋

please like, reblog, review/reply 💖

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[lawxbread]

I wasn’t sure where to send the request, but I was wondering is you could do an x reader where the reader was Ace’s girlfriend and after he died and the straw hats were on haitatus she went to train with Laws crew and they fall in love but she’s afraid of getting hurt again by losing someone she loves because important people seem to always die in her life

Hey,hey,hey!(bokuto's voice) Oh my god! I really enjoyed writing this, thanks for sending me this awesome plot!! Lol I tried my best but I think I was too descriptive (I got too excited and this got longer than I planned...) But I hope you like it!

A/N: I rushed at the end because I felt every brain cell of mine dying as i wrote the smut scene lmaooo

Sorrow

Synopsis: You were Ace's girlfriend and since when he died you've been afraid of losing someone again. Your heart is wrapped up. You feel solitary. But... What if the doctor, Captain Of the Heart Pirates, heals your pain by making you realize that you are capable of loving again?

"I can't control myself anymore"

"Make me yours, Law"

    Warnings: angst, smut, implied death, unprotected sex, swear-word

   Word count: 3K

It's all dark. You feel something touching your skin lightly. That touch... you recognize it, that warm touch you are so used to. Suddenly, your vision comes to be brighter, a few seconds have passed when you feel a breath on your face, then you finally see it, It's the man you loved wildly: Portgas D. Ace. As soon as you see him, he stops touching you, posteriorly Ace looks at you with tears in his eyes and starts running away. You don't understand what the hell is happening so you just try to reach him, "Wait!! Ace!!!" : You try to scream but, for some reason, your voice doesn't come out. When you realize, Ace abruptly fades away and then the surroundings are no longer warm. You start to cry, still trying to scream his name but not a single word comes out of your mouth. A deadly hush. "ACE!!! NO!" you try again, nothing. All your efforts are ineffective. You start blaming yourself, hopeless.

  "Y/N- ya!!". You hear someone yells. Attempting to come back to your senses, you slowly open your eyes. You feel your sweat rolling down your face and take a deep breath until you feel steady. Eventually, everything seems regular. You see Trafalgar Law staring at you with an apprehensive look and it doesn't take long for him to ask

  " Another nightmare, Y/N- ya?"

   "Uh... Apparently yes." You retort, then add "Law... When will this pain go away?"

   "It depends on you. Everyone has their traumas, I know it's not easy... But, Y/N, you have to move on." Law replies, using a concerned voice tone.

  You start to cry, then you get up from the bed and instantly hug Law. He freezes.

 "H-hey...Y/N-ya...uhh. Everything will be alright..." He says embarrassed while patting your back

  Law gently moves you away and says "Y-you should grab something to eat, Bepo prepared a breakfast."

   "What the hell I just did??!" You think, blushing as you realize the hug you gave Law.

  "O-Ok" You declare.

You were Ace's girlfriend. One year has passed since your boyfriend's death. Portgas D. Ace wasn't just some guy you dated, he was, foremost, your best friend and the only person you could count on.

   Your parents died when you were just 10 years old and you grew up cleaning houses, selling stuff you found in the junk, and doing any kind of service for other people. All of these just to survive, relying on a very small amount of money. Then, you met Ace, when you both were 18 years old, he helped you by beating some thieves that stole bellies from you, and little by little you fell in love with each other. Two years have passed when you heard that Ace was captured by the Blackbeard Pirates and taken over by the Navy, who would execute him at Marine Ford. You wanted to go save him immediately but when you declared to the WhiteBeard you would save Ace with him, he didn't let you go. Whitebeard ordered some of his sons to stay with you and prevent you from going with the rest of the numerous crew, as Whitebeard knew that Ace wouldn't be happy to see his girlfriend in the middle of a war. You tried to fight back but it was worthless.

   You couldn't sleep and eat properly, fretted over Ace's life. Then, you heard the choking news: Ace died in Luffy's arms at Marine ford.

       You couldn't believe it, you just couldn't. 

You suffered so much, you only wanted to die because you had totally lost the reason for continuing to exist.  Until  1 month after Ace's death, a huge yellow submarine appeared in front of you, and Trafalgar Law came out of it saying that Luffy asked him to take you and make you stay with his crew. You didn't have anything to lose so you just accepted the offer. Since then, you've been training with Law while the rest of the straw hats are on hiatus.

   It's not that you still can't accept Ace's death, you know presently that this kind of tragedies happens. It's just that... you are afraid that something similar occurs again. You are so attached to the Heart Pirates Crew, they are like a family to you, and Law has been great to you ...so your biggest fear is losing them. This sort of thought results in constant nightmares, leaving you scared when you wake up.

    "Good morning, everyone!" You say as you approach the kitchen with Law.

   Bepo and Shachi are eating some fried eggs and cake, discussing something about the fish Bepo fished earlier being poisonous.

     "Hello, Y/N!! Did you have another frightening nightmare?" Bepo asks.

       "Yeah, nothing new..." You retort while taking a piece of bacon.

   As you walk towards the dinner table to sit on a seat next to Shachi, you notice Law staring at you non stop, making your heart races. "Uhm, what feeling is this?", you keep thinking about it but don't understand what is going on with you so you just ignore it.

  The things between you and Law have been weird in the past 3 months since you joined the crew one year ago. He seems more comprehensive with you than usual, Law used to argue with you every time you did something wrong but now... He's changed, in a certain way.

    You seat next to Shachi, in front of Bepo and Law. As soon as you realize, Shachi puts on your plate a piece of the cake he is eating.

        " Hey, Y/N-chan, you should try this", Shachi says as he looks at you with a smirk.

    "Oh, thanks..." You say in an embarrassed voice tone, trying to be polite.

    You look at Law and he is still gazing at you, but now he seems uneasy.

   You eat the cake, unintentionally, leaving a crumb on the right corner of your mouth.

   "Y/N-ya, there's a crumb right there," Law tells you as he points from his seat at the crumb left on your mouth.

   "Here?" You attempt to clean it, but you don't succeed since you can't see it.

   Shachi quickly says "Let me clean it for you." He presses his finger against the crumb, taking it off for you. Then he caresses your cheeks "Done, Y/N-chan". He gives you a  smirk.

   You are uncomfortable, really uncomfortable. "T-thanks..."  You stutter.

    You look at Law and he looks pissed as hell but you don't understand why, you just suppose he woke up in a bad mood today.

   Law gets up from his chair not saying anything, then he utters "Y/N, a word?"

  You don't comprehend why he called you and interrupted your meal, but you feel relieved since you don't have to stand Shachi's inconvenience anymore. You obey him, following Law to his office.

  Law could wait for you to eat but he was irritated seeing Shachi shamelessly hitting on you, so he called you just to get you out of there, he knew you were uncomfortable. Besides Law was worried about you, he was jealous. Actually, you are a breath-taking girl, really stunning and beautiful so most of the crew's men always hit on you when they get the chance of doing so. It bothers Law a lot but you'd never imagine that.

   As soon as you enter the office, you shut the door. You notice that Law isn't looking you in the eye and then he starts seeking some papers that he left in one of the desk drawers. He grabs the papers and says:

    "Y/N-ya, I think I don't have to train you anymore, you seem prepared enough to train haki by yourself from now on." Then, still avoiding to look at you, he orders, coldly.

   "So, I need some favors, take these papers that have a list of tasks for you to do at the submarine, most of them are related to repair stuff. " Law putts them in your hands.

  "What? Why all of this so suddenly?" You ask.

  "It's nothing. Just go." Law replies, indifferently.

     You left the office questioning yourself if you've done something wrong for Law to act that way. But not a single idea comes to your mind, so you just decide to do what he ordered since he is your captain.

   Six days have passed since then, you've been doing repairs and improvements all over the submarine, and when you get the chance, you train haki and fight skills by yourself. Since the day Law acted weird, he's been more absent than before. Plus, he avoids you every time you try to reach him and you don't understand why, but seeing Law ignoring you makes you feel sad for some reason. You start to think that there's a remote chance of ~maybe~ you had catch feelings for Law. But... You don't wanna accept them, thinking about how much you loved Ace and he died abruptly makes you feel hesitant to love someone again. You are already afraid of losing Law, if you fall in love with him, you fear that the pain you'd feel if he dies, would be worse, like how happened between you and Ace.

  On your way towards your room, you see Law entering his office so you decide to go talk to him and ask him why he's acting like that.

   You knock on the door. "Come on in," Law says.

  As soon as Law sees you, he instantly changes his facial expression, he seems more anxious, uneasy.

   "Hi, Law. Can I talk to you for a second?" You ask him as you slowly approach his desk.

  "Yes. But be brief, I'm busy." He declares with a coldhearted tone of voice, still avoiding your stares.

  "So..." You take a deep breath, then let out  "Why you've been avoiding me these past days? Have I done something wrong?" 

  Law quickly replies, "I'm not avoiding you. Are you done?"

  "Liar, you can't even look me in the eye!!"

Silence fulfills the room as Law puts his hands on his forehead, letting his head rests on them. You try to understand whatever is going on, a sentiment of heavy tension appears when you look at Law.

   Tension. Simply, tension.

Law , still with his head down, finally confesses "Y/N-ya...Yes, I've been avoiding you" He mumbles. "Do you really wanna know the reason?"

   "Yes!! I'll try my best to help you with whatever is making you feel low!" You declare.

  "I don't think you can help me, but... I can't control myself anymore when I'm by your side.Y/N-ya..." Law admits as he finally stares back at you, and this time, he's looking deeply into your eyes.

  You freeze.

   "W-what? What do you mean by that?" You certainly think you misunderstood his words.

   " I have feelings for you," Law confesses directly, leaving you no more doubts.

  You try to keep your composure, but it looks like you are on fire, your whole body is steaming. You don't know what to do so you just stand still, staring at Law with a shocking glance.

 "Y/N-ya...You don't have to return my feelings, I won't compel you to do anything about it." Law says, then he gets up from his chair, approaching you, so he adds "Look, it's just that it's hard for me to see you and couldn't be able to announce you're mine. I don't know when it started, maybe 3 months ago so you can just ignore it and I'll move on."

   "Law..." you mumble, an immense desire to cry emerges, so when you least expect it, you are covered in tears.

   Law looks surely worried about you, he attempts to approach you even more but you are moving away from him.

"Law..." You cover your eyes with your hands as you cry, "I-I think I feel the same but..." You sigh, "I'm afraid... I'm afraid of losing you! I can't go through that again."

   You are crying a lot but you stop when Law abruptly hugs you.

     "I'm not going anywhere, Y/N-ya." Law whispers.

    Important people seem to always die in your life, you lost your parents when you were just 10, and then you lost Ace... This fear that haunts you has total control of your mind, but, somehow, the last few words that Law said to you comforted your troubled soul.

  "Y/N-ya, take your time," Law says as he sweetly moves you away, now you both are no longer hugging, but staring deeply at each other. "I'll wait for you to make your decision, please rest...have a good night," Law says then opens the door for you

  "Good night, Law..." You leave his office and go straight to your bedroom.

  Two months have passed and surprisingly you didn't have any nightmare during its period. You felt so calm when Law hugged you and said he wouldn't go anywhere, since that day you've been wondering if you are capable of giving love a second chance. Besides, Law is still waiting for your decision but you can't just get through your trauma so easily; however, the time you took to think was enough for you to understand that you were worrying too much about an uncertain future. You thought a lot about it and figured it out that you have strong feelings for him, the idea of having him by your side is being more recurrent in your mind than the idea of losing him. You certainly want him, you want him so bad.

       Since the day Law confessed to you, he is no longer avoiding you and everything is natural between you two. As he is respecting your time and not bringing the relationship matter back.

    You have made your decision. Maybe...It's time for you to move on and tell Law what you want the most: him.

   It's 2 am when you decide to go see Law and tell him your decision, you couldn't wait anymore longer. You go straight towards his bedroom to check if Law is still up and notice that the door is half-open so you slowly push it.

    "Law...?" You mumble as you enter the bedroom. You don't see him anywhere. A few seconds have passed when suddenly Law appears right behind you.

   "Y/N-ya?" Law says, he looks kind of surprised. You turn back to see, then you gradually make steps forwards "I'm sorry I was at the kitch-" You kiss his lips wildly, interrupting Law's words.

   Still with his eyes open, Law can't believe what's going on. He stops you from kissing him, "H-hey....Y/N-ya w-what are you doing?" he stutters.

   "Oh, I made my decision, Law." You confess "I realized that I want you much more than I fear losing you. It seems confusing but..." You look down, "I don't want to live the rest of my life wondering what my life would have been like with you.  I really want to live it." Law smiles.

  You add "I don't care about the future anymore, we are in the present and I want you right now!"

   "Y/N-ya, I want you so much, and hearing from you that you got over your fear really makes me glad..." Law kisses your forehead.

  You look back at him, you both exchanging stares, "I want you, you want me so... please, make me yours, Law"

  Law doesn't hesitate a second, he kisses your lips remarkably as he slowly shuts the door. Law puts you against the wall and starts kissing your neck and touching your right breast with his left hand. You let out a groan.

   "Y/N-ya, you make me so..." Law whispers while he takes off your shirt then he kisses your neck again, leaving it marks.

  "L-law??" you mutter as you are blushing, you just can't believe it, you want him right now.

   He presses his body against yours while he also kisses your lips, you feel his hard manhood touching your thigh. Your whole body is on fire, he unhurriedly moves down his right hand until it reaches your cunt, Law dry rubs it using his index finger as you moan. You can't stand it anymore, the heat between your both bodies is driving you insane, plus his warm touches all over your trunk.

   "Y/N-ya..." Law takes off his shirt and pants, revealing his ample chest with his tattoos, muscles and his bulky underwear, indicating his cock's hardness. Everything about him turns you on. "Take off your skirt and panties ", Law orders, his eyes: full of desire. You obey him, embarrassingly. Law watches every movement of you taking off your remaining clothes, hardening his cock even more.

  Unawares, Law took off his underwear, showing his thick and lengthy dick. Your face turns flushed.

   Law holds you by the waist, making you put your legs around his hips, he controls your waist back and forth bringing in your pussy to rub his cock's tip for some seconds. " Y/N-ya... I can't hold it anymore". He stops then lifts you in his arms, leading you to his bed.

   He lays you on the bed, lying on all fours on top of you and so he starts to gently caress your face, hair,ear... Unexpectedly, you feel the tip of his manhood lightly touching your entrance, then, Law holds your hands, pushing your arms against the mattress. So he starts penetrating, "Fuck. It's so tight" Law exclaims. The impact sound of skin against skin is gradually increasing, Law is moving faster and faster, you can't help but moan, moan a lot.

  "L-Law" you call out his name, "L-Law".

" I love you, Y/N-ya," Law says while he moves into you, you are so close to reaching your climax, and so do him, that in you head only Law and you exist, so your vision starts to blur;  you felt like fire was running through your veins instead of blood. "Law, I'm...almost..." you finally achieve your culmination.

   "Y/N-ya" Law stutters your name as he releases his cum inside you. Law takes a deep breath then he lays down next to you and you both embrace each other.

Law kisses your forehead, "I'm not going anywhere, Y/N-ya. It's a promise." He whispers.

   So you reply to him, "I know." and after a few cuddles you both fall asleep.

[scripttorture]

I have a weird scenario and i want to ask about its implications, mostly focusing on soliditary confinement aspects. So I am writing about this all powerful being who is immortal+eternally youthful (with a human like mind) who gets trapped in basically a big snowglobe created by his powers. Its a big mostly open space set inside a forest with a magic mansion to occupy him and provide him basic needs and the limits of the globe are very defined. {1/4}

{Weird anon} After some time alone he comes to create a friend to accompany him and make sure everything goes well during his absence using his powers. This friend can and does leave for periods of time to fullfill his duties but comes back. The being also realises during his imprisonment his powers dwindle with time and the globe starts to get smaller as he starts to age, meaning he will either die from old age or the globe shrinking. {2/4} {WA}After what he thinks must be a long time, his graying hair biggest indication, kids who knew about his legend come to discover him. They then bring him their older sibling, then their parents to talk and after some plot he gets to get some of his powers back and be free. (Posting my questions in the last part) {3/4} {WA} I was wondering if the confinement area being comfy and big, him having this friend would help during confinement? How could he react to aging/idea of dying? Although this isnt very possible in RL, could the fact he had to create this friend ,but mostly the fact he would have no one else if he didnt, get to him? How could he interract with kids/people who found him, i know people tend to have difficulty with interractions after time. Ty for your help! {4/4} {WA EXTRA} Forgot to mention these but 3 kids are 10 to 12, older sibling is 14-15, parents are mid thirties . Again, thank you for your time.

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That’s an interesting fantasy scenario (and not even close to the weirdest thing I’ve been asked) thank you for sharing it :)

 I think the first thing to grasp is that this character isn’t constantly in solitary confinement here and that’s a smart writing choice. You’ve got the character creating at least one companion and even though that companion isn’t always present that means it’s likely they’re both getting at least 1-2 hours of contact most of the time.

 That doesn’t mean this isn’t a stressful situation and it doesn’t mean there are no periods of solitary confinement.

 But it gives you leeway to make the effects of this fairly realistic even with the fantasy concept.

 Having a big, comfortable space doesn’t really make a difference to how well people deal with isolation. Socialising is a physical need for social species like humans. But the presence of a companion makes the world of difference.

 I think the first thing to decide is exactly how long it takes him to make his companion. A lot of people really overestimate the time we can withstand isolation.

 For reference the safe period is about a week. After that most people will start to show symptoms and the symptoms are a lot more likely to persist after release. A month is more then enough time for the character to be seriously effected. A year is a really extreme amount of time. And by the time you start getting to multiple years the chances of suicide attempts are… significant.

 With the kind of story you’re describing I get the impression you want long term effects but don’t want symptoms etc to take over the story. I think 1-3 months is a perfect time frame for that. The character would develop long term symptoms but it’s still in the realm where it’s survivable. Which means it’s less likely to take over the whole narrative.

 You’ve probably seen my masterpost on solitary confinement but here it is again just in case :) I really recommend Shalev’s Sourcebook on Solitary Confinement which is linked as one of the sources on the post.

 As with the symptoms of torture more generally you’ve got some scope to choose symptoms because not everyone will experience every single symptom. There’s still some debate about how common individual symptoms are. However broadly depression and anxiety seem to be very common and hallucinations are less common (though they seem to become more likely the longer someone is confined). It’s a good idea to pick a mix of physical and psychological symptoms.

 If you choose insomnia as a symptom remember that sleep deprivation also causes problems which you can read about in the masterpost here.

 If this is your first time writing something like this then picking out symptoms can be daunting. I try to think of it in terms of what adds to the story. I try to consider the characters, plot and overall themes. Symptoms that give you opportunities to show aspects of the character’s personality, change their relationship with other characters, highlight themes in the story and/or create interesting problems in the plot later on are all good picks.

 It’s also important to consider what you’re comfortable writing and what you feel able to write. If you don’t want to write self harm for example that’s a perfectly good reason for ruling out that symptom.

 I have a post that outlines my process for picking symptoms that might be helpful for you. :)

 I think that brings us round to the more fantasy side of the questions.

 I’ll be honest and say that I don’t know how people generally deal with the idea that they’re going to die soon. I suspect that there’d be a lot of individual variation. I think you’ll get the best answers by looking up charities that support people with terminal illnesses.

 I found a couple of links at Marie Curie that might serve as a starting point. There’s this page on palliative care. This general page (with lots of links and first hand accounts) of living with a terminal illness. You might find this page about emotionally processing a terminal diagnosis helpful.

 I would treat the emotional issues around the created companion the same as a character who is reliant on only one person for their social needs. Which can put a lot of weird strains on a relationship.

 I’m not a psychologist and what I say here is based on impressions I gained from interviews with people who are very isolated. If you see a mental health professional or someone who studies isolation more seriously saying something different take their word over mine. Because my reading and knowledge is broad rather then deep.

 Relying on one person for all your social needs isn’t healthy. We all have different needs and it’s a lot easier for those needs to be met when we’re interacting with more then one person. Being entirely reliant on one person puts a lot of pressure on that person. It can make it seem like any problems or issues the more isolated person has are the other person’s fault.

 Because they’re not magically meeting all of someone’s needs. And I say ‘magically’ because it’s almost impossible for one person to do the ‘job’ of a dozen people.

 There can be a lot of guilt, resentment and anger floating around in this sort of dependant relationship. Even when both parties are genuinely trying their best and trying to be healthy.

 Any depressive period or severe mood swing on the part of the reliant character might be interpreted as failure by the companion. As if it’s their job to ‘fix’ the mental health problems he has. And that can lead to a lot of internalised guilt and shame.

 Conversely being aware of how dependant he is could make the confined character resent the comparative freedom of his companion. They get to leave. They’ll survive the end of this snow-globe. They’ve never had to be alone as he was.

 The companion has a lot of power in this scenario because the confined character is entirely reliant on them. They also have the power to leave. Knowing that can breed resentment, whether it’s rational or not. And if it’s irrational and ‘undeserved’ that can lead to a degree of self hatred and guilt.

 For both parties anger at each other and the situation seems likely. Not necessarily all the time but I think it’s likely to come up over and over again.

 The companion has their own desires and wants. But the confined character is entirely dependant on them and may well expect them to drop everything to help him/meet his socialisation needs. And the thing is that’s unfair on both of them, because the situation is unfair.

 That’s not a critique of the story. It’s unfair for the confined character to expect the companion to be able to meet all his needs and to drop everything to help him. But it’s also not unreasonable for the confined character to grasp at his only option for fulfilling a fundamental need.

 I think that if you wanted to treat this ‘realistically’ then it would lead to a pretty unhealthy co-dependant relationship however much both characters tried to avoid that.

 But you do have the ability to reduce or avoid that in your story. Because you choose the rules for how this companion feels, acts and behaves.

 The confined character may be human-like but in a lot of ways the companion does not have to be. A realistic human-like person would not be able to support all the social needs of another person. But there’s no reason the companion has to be that human.

 If you do choose to deviate from a more human-like character I think my advice would be to think through any changes you make logically. And be consistent. If for instance the character can’t feel angry or resentful towards their creator think through what that might mean.

 Which leaves the final question about interacting with others and how difficult that can be after periods of isolation.

 The exact way this effects interactions depends chiefly on the symptoms you pick out and the character’s personality.

 Generally mentally ill people do not want to be assholes or upset other people. But we do tend to have greater difficulties interacting with people and our social interactions can go badly in ways that healthy people don’t tend to experience.

 For instance say we have a character who has a severe anxiety disorder and this disorder is often set off by noises they don’t expect. That’s a fairly common symptom and a fairly common trigger for it.

 That means that kids running around, shouting or just talking loudly about something that excites them, could set off an anxiety attack.

 Some people would get angry in that situation. Because they’re in pain and, even though they did not mean to, those kids ‘caused’ that pain.

 Some people would abruptly remove themselves from the situation. Which could leave the kids wondering why/how they upset their new friend so much.

 Some people would stick around and not blame the kids. But they might have visible signs of their anxiety attack that could be very frightening for a child who doesn’t understand what’s going on. If an adult they care about suddenly starts shaking and breathing hard and needs to sit down and looks pale- Well worry is natural. And it’s difficult to explain triggers/mental health problems while you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack.

 So there’s a set of issues that are symptom driven and around the extra difficulties interacting while mentally ill. There’s also a set of issues around… basically forgetting how to socialise.

 This doesn’t necessarily mean being age in-appropriate.

 I think the best way to think about it is a combination of finding it harder to interpret other people’s emotional cues and being less aware of the cues they’re sending out themselves. It might take longer for the character to realise they’ve upset someone or they might misidentify the other person’s emotional response.

 They might also think less before they speak. Which can mean things like- I guess not moderating what they say to account for other people’s feelings? They might come across as blunt or thoughtless or scatter brained as they jump from one topic to another. They might also have less of a grasp of when to give the other person space and let them speak.

 The biggest thing I see survivors of solitary report is that normal social interaction makes them much more anxious/nervous then it did before they were confined. Socialising has a bigger ‘cost’ then before, in terms of energy and emotional impact.

 And this often means they withdraw from it more quickly. They need to take breaks. Or they start getting more stressed and frustrated.

 I think the main thing to navigate here would be how to explain these conditions and needs to children in a way that doesn’t seem like it’s blaming the kids. Which is certainly possible, but can take some time and care to get right.

 I think I’ll leave it there and if you’ve got any further questions drop them in when the ask box reopens. I hope that helps :)

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Disclaimer

[wynniewright]

Little Piece of Heaven (M)

→ Pairing: Kim Namjoon x Reader (female)

→ Word Count: 8k 

→ Genre: Valentine’s Day AU | First time (sort of) AU | Fluff | Smut

→ Warnings: Implied past abuse (Previous relationship), reader has a little trauma, reader doesn’t like to be touched, first time sex with boyfriend, first time sex after past abuse, so much fluff, mild mention of panic attacks and oncoming attacks, soft boyfriend Joon, fingering, cunnilingus, making out, dry humping, face-sitting, protected sex (be smart kiddos), cockwarming if you squint, sort of porn with little mention of plot (?), empowered abuse survivor, probably the most fluffy writing with dark undertones, implied first attempt with Joon, Joon is a saint and everyone needs one of him, I think that’s it

→ Summary: A sexually abusive relationship left her untouchable and almost inconsolable, until a white knight named Namjoon made his way into her heart, mind, and soul. Three years of a relationship together with constant attempts to stop the panic attacks and test the boundaries of intimacy, Y/N decides Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to show him how much she appreciates his presence and how much she’s improved… all because of him.

→ A/N: Okay, so I tried with the warnings but I just wanted to state things a little better down here for those interested. A better description for those wondering if it’s going to be triggering for them: It’s about a girl who finally reaches the point in healing after her previous abuse to successfully make love to her partner. He’s not abusive, there’s nothing triggering or any mentions of the actual abuse. It’s very mellow and calm, extremely soft with oral consent, so if you don’t find any of that triggering, you’re safe.

→ A/N Part 2: I fixed the “fat” instead of “sat” mistake and the others I could see. If anyone else sees something off, lemme know. My editing software didn’t flag out of place words so excuse the dumb mistakes c: ALSO THANK YOU FOR THE 100+ LIKES! 

The jingling of keys and gentle closing of the door signaled the arrival of my boyfriend. The sounds echoed through our tiny one-bedroom apartment despite his every attempt to not make too much noise in case I was asleep.

Namjoon spent every waking moment at school with a job at the campus bookstore on top of his night classes. His schedule took a bit of getting used to at first, but paired with my morning classes and afternoon tutoring gig, it worked out in the end. It ended up working well for the both of us, aside from the fact that I was always in bed before he got home. At least we still got to go to sleep and wake up next to each other.

I heard him set his keys down on the island counter and start walking back towards the bedroom. The thudding of his boots stopped at our open doorway and I swore I could hear him wiggling his feet out of them. He waddled across the floor in his socks before the the rustling sounds of his clothes brought a smile to my face. He was always an awkward one, especially when it came to changing clothes. It was more like him wrestling himself out of them rather than stripping.

I remembered the week I no longer cringed at the sound of his zipper. When I could actually laugh at the thought of him tripping over his pant legs when he couldn't get them off completely.

A lot had changed since then.

"Hey, baby. I'm home," he whispered, sliding into bed behind me and tucking himself under the covers to snuggle up to my back. He didn't hold me tight, instead opting to throw a loose arm over my waist as his front barely touched my back.

The thick layer of darkness flooding the room didn't stop me from taking a peek at his arm to see what he wore. As expected, I noticed the little bit of sweater paw caused by only Joon's most favorite t-shirt in his closet. Despite the cuteness of it all, a small part of me was almost grateful that he wasn't bare.

I frowned at the though, placing my arm atop the one draped over my side. "Hey."

I only sat there for a moment before forcing myself to turn around and face him. After a long day at work and school, I liked to take some time at the end of the night to look at him. He always had such a soft look on his face whenever I checked him out, letting me do it for as long as I wanted with no interruptions. Sometimes I thought that maybe he got a kick out of my little routine. Who knew.

His soft brown eyes focused in on my face, adjusting to the sudden darkness as I scooted myself a tad bit closer to him. Even in the dark, I saw his little dimples poke through as he smiled at our closeness.

"Did I wake you?" He asked, his fingers sauntering up my arm to cup my cheek in his palm with hesitance.

I nuzzled the side of my face into his hand, pressing a quick kiss to it with a consenting smile. Nothing hurt me more than to watch him walk on eggshells more than he already did for me. It wasn't fair to him.

"No, I was waiting for you to come home. How was your day?"

He brushed back the little hairs that framed the side of my face and grazed his knuckles across my skin.

"Work was decent. Our new hire, Jimin, started today and we got along quite well. He seems pretty cool. As for school, well -- it was school. If I look at one more calculus problem tonight, I'm going to scream. I'm actually going to have nightmares about it," he giggled and I found myself laughing along with him.

I wasn't good enough in math to be in calculus but I spent enough time studying with Joon to know that the workload was ridiculous. Especially with midterms around the corner.

"I'm glad your day went well," I mumbled, leaning forward to brush my nose gently against his. It wasn't a big gesture but we both shared a love for the little things.

"Yeah, I am too." He nudged my nose with his and hummed.

"Hey babe?" I smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Leaning forward, I pressed a delicate kiss to his beautiful pink lips, the ones I could never get enough of. I sighed out against him at the warmth of his face, no doubt his body was as warm if not warmer. I brushed that thought off by clearing my throat. One step at a time.

"Happy Valentine's, babygirl. Couldn't imagine a better way to spend it than this," Joonie muttered with his lips still flush against mine. He pushed our foreheads together, nose skimming alongside one another as we laid there peacefully.

I loved any chance to sit with him that close, but even with him laying all snug beside me, something felt off. No matter how close the two of us got, we couldn't get our bodies to be that intimate either. In my mind, I loved him, trusted him. That didn't stop me from having to remind him that none of it was his fault, even if his hand or close proximity was the trigger. It felt like a burden to want to love somebody when your body and mind didn't match up. It dragged him down and upset him more than I would ever forgive myself for.

And somehow, the consolation for us both was the amount of progress I'd made in three short years Namjoon and I were together. When we first met, everything was so much worse. I wouldn't let him hold my hand or give me a hug until six months into knowing him, and it was only because he was different. He was the only person I didn't have to force myself to be okay around and the only person who knew the extent and cause of my fear. I remembered thinking to myself, 'Why would someone like him be with someone like me.' Over the years, he made it his job to make sure I knew the answer to that.

I'm not broken.

After that, we spent months working on sleeping in the same room, since some of the first attempts ended with panicking that freaked him out as much as it did me. Still it never came close to how bad it was when we tried sleeping in the same bed.

Namjoon's gentle fingers danced across my cheek and I let the thoughts of the person I used to be float away with each touch.

"Everything okay?" He asked me while his thumbs ran over the smooth flesh of my cheek. While I was in thought, he seemed to have pulled a bit away to watch me. He always knew exactly when I needed to stop thinking so much. It was one of the many reasons I continued to push my boundaries with him.

"Yeah, everything's fine." I smiled and turned my head to press a quick peck to his rough palm. "I've been thinking a lot about something recently." His eyes grew wide, as if I said something worth making him nervous when it was the other way around.

A couple months before, I started seeing a sex therapist to help me with my intimacy issues. I passed it off as tutoring work because I didn't want to disappoint Joon if it didn't work out. I felt stupid for lying to him about something so important, especially when he was the only support system I had.

But it worked. A few months of working with her and searching myself, Joon and I went further than we had before. We slept in the same bed, pretty much snuggled up against one another every night with no attacks and no stress. He was smart, way smart enough to notice that things had gotten better. So why not tell him?

I bit my lip as I tried to word what I wanted to say. 'I want to have sex with you' was a little brazen and 'let's try to make love' sounded cringy in my head. Doubt clouded my thoughts as I recalled the last time we had this conversation. It didn't go well.

"I don't know... how to uh," I started, only to look up into his eyes and realize I was completely unprepared to bring it up with him. Did that mean I wasn't ready?

No, no. I was definitely ready.

I pushed myself to sit up, leaning against the wall behind the head of our bed and curling my knees up to my chest. As soon as I did that, he sat up in alarm with his hand placed on mine in support.

"It's nothing bad, I promise. I've spent a lot of time thinking about you and... us. It's weird to see how far we've come over the past few years and I've realized something. There's something I want to try, because I trust you and it's something I want to share with you." I trailed on, my eyes beginning to wander before I forced myself to refocus my attention on him.

He looked a little nervous, even after I promised it wasn't something bad. In a weird way, I felt relieved that he was anxious to hear what I was anxious to say.

"I want... I want to have sex with you." Clearing my throat, I forced it out. I didn't have enough energy to keep stressing over it.

He didn't exactly react immediately. Whether that was a good or bad thing was beyond me. I could see the wheels turning in his head, no doubt trying to make sense of what I said and piece together the implication.

Maybe I shouldn't have said anything to him. Maybe in his own way, he wasn't ready to try again so soon after the last time. What if he didn't want to do that with me? What if he settled for me because we could hardly be anything more than platonic?

"I don't understand. What changed?" His grip on my hand tightened, not enough to hurt me but instead reinforcing his support.

"Me. I've changed. I've grown so much with you and I've been thinking about this a lot because it's something I've wanted to give you. You deserve at least this much, and I know that's not a valid reason to have sex with someone and it's not the only one. I started seeing a therapist to help me get over... everything. I wanted it to be a possible option for us and our relationship," I spewed out. My words must've come out quick, since Joon grew closer to me with a more concerned look on his face. It was the same face he made when he was trying to memorize a new formula or work out a difficult equation.

"I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and if we have to take years to get past everything, then we will. There's no rush." He took my face into both his hands and looked me straight in the eyes, reminding me exactly why I wanted to do this for him. It was the same reason I longed to be intimate with him. I wanted him to push me on my back and whisper how much he loved me while we make love and that's what we were going to do. No matter what it took.

I couldn't help but smile at his protectiveness, not to mention the thought of being with him for the rest of my life.

Reaching up, I grabbed at his cheeks with my own sweater paw-covered hands, cupping his face like he always did to me. And with a calmness I didn't know I had in me, I kissed him.  His eyes took a couple of seconds to close before I felt his lashes flutter against my cheeks. That's when I knew I finally had him.

He released a quivering breath as our lips parted but before he could pull away from me, I pushed myself up onto my knees with confidence. His velvety lips were gentle against my own as he mirrored my actions until we both knelt on the bed with our bodies pressed tightly together. I pulled him into me, taking his plush bottom lip into my mouth to smooth my tongue over it with practiced ease. He released a soft huff against me, moving a hand to brush some hair behind my ear while the other slid down my waist. His fingers pressed into the soft skin there with purpose, somehow managing to ease the frenzy my heart went through. He made me feel safe and loved and protected.

Ah, I loved him.

I moved my arm to wrap around his next, securing him to me as our kiss became more open. The more our mouths molded to one another, his will to resist faded into nothing as he finally opened his mouth up to me. Our tongues danced and tangled, leaving me dizzy and completely oblivious to the outside world. I forgot the broken girl who was afraid of him, despite knowing he'd never hurt her. I forgot the times we struggled to try and physically love each other, as if our lips and teeth erased all the dark.

Namjoon pulled away from me for a brief second with a thin string of our mixed saliva connecting the two of us. He kept his eyes on me in a gaze that I couldn't recognize. I scrunched my brows.

"Tell me that this isn't what you want and I'll stop. You know I would do nothing to hurt you," he choked out with pain in his voice. My thoughts drifted back to the last time he said those words, right before out whole night fell apart. All because of me.

I pushed myself up higher, straightening my back and gathering as much confidence as I could. Running my fingers through his soft brunette locks, I dug my fingers in enough to hold him there. "Please don't stop," I whispered, scanning over his face to watch it melt with resolve. Without the hesitance he held from before, he closed the distance between us once more and framed my face with his hands as he kissed me sweetly.

With my answer clear for the both of us, he supported my back and laid me down to sweep my legs out from underneath me. He rested himself above me with no part of him aside from his arms and lips touching me as he held himself up. His arms were wobbling with the exertion to balance on the mattress and keep off of me. He didn't want to touch me. That wouldn't do.

"I want you to make love to me, baby," I mumbled against him, retracting my arms from his neck to grip at his shirt and pull him down onto me. As his body came into contact with mine, an odd and unfamiliar heat burned between my legs. He pressed up against me completely, his hard-on flush against my core. I wasn't used to the warmth there let alone the new set of hips spreading my legs open.

I let out a noise I hardly recognized as he drove his hips gently into mine, earning a soft groan from Joon and a few pecks along my jaw. Goosebumps raised the hair on my right side as he buried his face in my neck to leave a trail of wet kisses.

"I'm going to do a lot more than that, babygirl. I'm going to show you that you're my world and you deserve everything I have to offer you."

He traveled down my neck, lips ghosting across my skin until the neckline of my shirt got in the way. I peered down in time to watch his finger run down my chest and stomach, skimming down my body until he reached the hem. He paused to look up at me with the obvious question lingering in his eyes.

"Can I take this off?" He asked, playing with the bottom of the shirt until I bit my lip and nodded 'yes'. Despite my answer, he didn't move.

"I want to hear you say it, Y/N. Out loud. I'm not making any mistakes this time." He pushed himself back up to press a chaste kiss to my lips before I cleared my throat out of nervousness. Even with mild anxiety, I knew what I wanted.

"Yes."

He scanned my face once more before taking my word, fingertips sliding underneath the shirt to pull it up. He inched it up my body until the bottom of my breast poked out from beneath, and still he kept his eyes on my face.  I leaned up to help him remove my shirt completely, baring myself naked from the waist up for his eyes to feast on. Only he didn't. Almost a year since he'd seen that much of me and he couldn't take his eyes off my face. If something made me cry that night, chances pointed at that small notion.

The same dopey smile stuck on his lips as he traced my bottom lip with his thumb.

"You're so beautiful." His smile grew bigger and I couldn't help but smile myself. The heat on my cheeks made it difficult to look at him in the eyes, but I pushed past that. I nuzzled against his hand and gathered the strength to look up at him.

He leaned in for another kiss, this one sloppier and somehow more comforting than the others. His lips cushioned mine, tongue smoothing over what he could until our teeth clashed and I lost sight of what was mine and what was his.

The kiss didn't last as long as I wanted it to, instead he broke it off to once again travel his way down my body. His hands slid into mine, providing me with some support as his lips traveled down my collarbone and the top of my breast. His chin skimmed over my nipple and forced me to suck in a sharp breath. His lips ghosted across my chest until it reached the peak, his lips taking in my hardening nipple. The first thought on my mind was how perfect his lips felt on me, despite how much my mind fought against the idea of someone being physical with me. A little pit of fear pooled in the bottom of my stomach at the familiar feeling on my chest brought back memories of him.

But it wasn't him. There was nobody capable of making me feel as good as I did in that moment. Nobody but my Namjoon.

I opened my eyes and realized I didn't remember shutting them. Joon looked up at me with practiced patience and understanding before resuming his task. He pressed kisses everywhere he could reach, making sure to even peck the little freckle I had at the top of my cleavage.

"Welcome back," he grinned, maintaining eye contact as his tongue poked out from between his lips and leisurely swiped across my other nipple. It didn't take long for him to coax it into full hardness to match the other.

I scrunched my nose up in embarrassment, pursing my lips. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You came back to me." Something about the way he spoke made my heart skip a beat and almost jump out of my ribs.

"I love you," I mumbled, reaching down to play with his soft brunette locks as he skimmed his nose down the front of my body.

Joon pulled one of his hands from my grasp and let it glide down the side of my body until he settled on the pajama shorts I wore. I tightened my legs together some, lifting my body half for a second to adjust my position. The material, along with my underwear, clung to my skin uncomfortable, almost as if it was suffocating that part of me.

"What do you want, love? Want me to take these off?" He cooed, pressing soft kisses between my breasts before looking up at me with the adoration he always held for me. I reached down to let my fingers run wild in his beautiful blond locks, etching the picture of his chin on my chest and hair hanging low on his forehead into my mind.

I moved my hand from his head and down his neck to grin the collar of his shirt. I hadn't seen the tanned expanse of his smooth skin for a year. A full year.

The thought along brought tears to my eyes. Everything that I needed, he gave to me. Anything I wanted or didn't want, he made happen without question or hesitation. I always knew how much effort he out into making sure I felt safe and comfortable,, but at what cost? Not being able to get dressed in the same room as me or being forced to wear clothes to bed even if it was hot and sweaty?

"Baby. Everything okay?" Joon's voice snapped me back into the moment and I tried to keep myself blushing at the thought of being called out once again.

I cleared my throat and blinked away the tears, putting on a small smile and tugged at his shirt. “I want to see you, Joonie. I want this off,” I admitted to him.

A boyish grin plastered itself on his face as he nuzzled the side of my breast. "Would you like to take it off?" he asked when I realized I hadn't let go of him.

I nodded eagerly, yet the tight ball in my tummy lurched in disagreement. I took a deep breath as he rolled to the side and took me with him, taking me by surprise. I couldn't help the gasp that escaped me when I landed on top of him, chests smooshed together and our lips barely an inch apart. We didn't stay that was for long. He sat up and guided my legs to wrap around his body, a position we were very comfortable with already.

My heart thumped in my chest and for a moment, a knot formed in my throat and made it difficult to breath. His hands moved from my waist to cup at both sides of my cheeks as he pressed tender kisses to the center of my face. In some ways, I could've compared him to a guide dog that knew exactly what to do when I broke down. He recognized everything immediately and didn't hesitate to start showering me with kisses as we kept still. it was out own way of telling my body and mind to adapt to something new and uncomfortable - that it was alright and safe. Every peck to my skin broke down the lump in my throat until I felt like I could breathe again.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," I repeated to myself as my boyfriend nodded, something I followed to help the rapid beat of my heart.

"We don't have to go any further than this, babygirl. We've already come so far," he grinned, flashing his dimples as he skimmed his nose lovingly against mine. 

He used 'we' not 'you'. He always took every opportunity to show me that we were a team and every time I picked up on the detail, it made me want to cry. I never needed reminding of how much he cared for me because he showed me in even the smallest of things.

Without responding back to him, I let my hands wander down the flat planes of his torso, surfing over his chest and exploring every dip and bump of muscle with my fingertips. It almost felt wrong to be touching him with such confidence after so much time has passed since the last - and first - time. But deep down, it made me excited. The surface of myself wanted nothing more than to play the helpless lamb that shied away from attention while underneath it all, I longed for him to touch me like nobody had before.

Trying to refrain from thinking too much, I let my fingers fall towards the bottom of his shirt, pinching the material between my fingers as I nibbled on my lip. With a nod of encouragement from Namjoon and a finger thumbing at my bottom lip, I let my hands wander under his shirt to meet his bare flesh for the first time.

He was warm -- no. He was hot. His stomach convulsed under my touch and I almost let out a soft 'awe' knowing that this was the first time he was touched in a long while. Just knowing that warming my cheeks and raised a confidence in me that I didn't know was there. With enough conviction to move my hesitant body, I pulled his shirt up and over his head to expose him to my eyes.

For the first time, I dropped my eyes from out lingering gaze to admire the wide expanse of his chest. He was beautiful and tanned, muscles evidence of the daily workouts he loved so much. His chest and stomach rose and sank with each deep breath, making me reach out and touch his heart.

What was he feeling? Was his heart beating quick like mine was?

With a quick press of my palm to his peck, I confirmed with a giggle that he too was either as excited or as nervous as I was. His heart thumped beneath my hand and I couldn't help the joy that bubbled in my chest as I realized it was beating for me.

With a triumphant smile, I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips against his, missing the way he felt against me. Namjoon matched my tenderness with a soft passion of his own, taking my lips in between his own and pulling me closer. I moved my hands from his front, choosing to drape them around his neck to play with his hair and explore the smooth skin of his back.

He let out a soft groan as I glided my fingernails across his neck, positioning his hands on my waist before releasing my lips. I took in a deep breath of air to calm the slow burning in my lungs when Joon nudged my head to the side with his nose. his lips trailed a pathway down my neck, leaving little pecks and open-mouthed kisses in its wake. He buried his face in my neck once more, giving the sensitive area more attention and enjoying the wave of goosebumps that flushed that side of my body. His hands tightened their grip on my hips and I knew what he was asking of me.

I took a couple of small breaths to steady myself, rubbing eh side of my face against his before gently rocking my lips forward into his. My sudden actions forced a light moan from him as his body immediately reacted by pushing back against me.

It was difficult to describe the feeling I was experiencing between us. I continued rocking against him in search for an answer to what it was, how it felt, and how I felt about it. The pit of fear and anxiousness that remained made itself known again, rising up to my chest. I fought back against it by coiling my arms around his neck and letting out a whimper as I pushed myself to continue.

His hands stilled on my hips as he held them tightly, halting my movements to pull back from my neck and look at me with those big brown eyes. "Talk to me, babygirl."

"I can't feel... this." I sighed, brushing my hair over my shoulder to cover my chest as I was flooded with self-conscious thoughts. "I just -- I don't feel anything."

He caught my chin between his index finger and thumb, tugging up to keep my gaze locked with his. "Alright, that's fine, baby. Do you want to stop?" He offered me a genuine way out, but I shook my head. I didn't want to stop now that we'd come so far.

"I don't want to stop until I feel something."

"Mm, well if I remember right, you definitely felt my tongue last time. How about letting me taste you, babygirl?" I sputtered at how forward he was about it and could practically feel the red in my cheeks and ears.

"Okay," I agreed and melted against him, moving to shuffle off of him when his hands blocked me from doing so. I raised a questioning brow at him as he grinned the most bashful smile I'd ever seen on him.

"I want to do it a little differently this time. I want you to sit on my face," he breathed out almost too quick and quiet for me to understand. He laid back on the bed with me still seated on top of him and it took me a moment to process what he meant by that. My eyes widened as he gestured for me to move up closer to him, closer to his head. I choked down the hesitation and crawled up his body until I was sitting on his chest. While looking down at him, I realized I was still wearing my shorts.

"Joonie, what about my--" I began to ask before he cut me off by yanking me forward until I hovered right above his head. From there, I could see his eyes but not much below it. He stared up at me with warmth, eyes glistening with want as his breath heated the crotch of my clothes.

He hummed underneath me, turning his head to press fluttery kisses to the inside of my bare thighs. He smoothed his hands over my hips and down my legs, massaging circles into my flesh to relax my tightened legs. I took the opportunity to let my head fall back and eyes close, remembering the first time I felt his tongue on me.

I recalled the softness of his touch, the gentleness his fingers possessed as he skimmed over my sensitive thighs and core. I thought back to the way he held my hand in his and let them rest on my stomach to remind me that he was there. Just... slightly further down. Right on cue, his hand found mine and intertwined our fingers together.

He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and my heart dropped as the cold air hit my most sensitive parts. I looked down to see him peeling the material to the side to reveal my quivering pussy. He wasted no time in dipping his slick tongue in to lick a bold stripe between my lower lips. It pulled a soft moan from my throat and curled my toes with a jolt of pleasure. His warm touch fluttered across my skin while leaving a wet trail around my clit, purposefully avoiding it as he teased me. I could only take so much before my hips began rocking on their own accord, brushing the little nub of sensitivity against his nose as he stuck his tongue in me.

With wide eyes, I looked down at him and my heart almost skipped a beat when I noticed him staring up at me. There was a playfulness sparkling in his eyes, a heated look that only added to the sensations of his tongue. I scrunched my face up a bit as my ears flushed pink with embarrassment.

Slowly, he pulled his tongue out of me only to push it in again with greater force. My body reacted immediately, my chest pushing itself out as I let my head loll back. His nose brushed up against my throbbing clit and I almost whined when he barely showed it any attention.

"Joonie, stop teasing me," I pouted. My throat was dry and hoarse but I pushed past the uncomfortable rub.

"Sorry. I was committing those beautiful sounds of yours to memory." He grinned and carried on his onslaught of teasing. Right when I was about to take things into my own hands, his lips attached to the little bundle of nerves, lapping over it with his tongue as he pushed a finger to my clenching hole. My breath caught in my throat as he felt my stomach tense. He felt me pause and held my hand tighter, turning his head to press some soft kisses to the inside of my thighs before landing on my clit with a groan of his own.

I raised my hips some to accommodate his hand, giving him enough space to run a finger through the slick between my legs and push it into me until I hit the first knuckle. Taking so little still felt like so much, the newfound pressure inside me feeling foreign and unwanted in some way that I shoved back deep down.

I wanted it -- I wanted him. My heart burned with need but my body wouldn't dare lower onto his finger despite how much I yearned for it.

"I-I need a moment."

As soon as those words tumbled from my lips, all hold he had on me dropped and he let me roll over onto the bed beside him. I covered my face with my arms as a wave of darkness washed over me and crept into my thoughts.

I was right there with him again.

Those eyes that led me into his arms only for him to betray me. Those hands that comforted me only so he could mark me as his and that pressure between my legs sealed the deal.

You're not here. You're not here... I repeated to myself, attempting to break myself out of my own thoughts. It wasn't him. I wasn't there with him. I was there with Namjoon, the man I loved and the man who loved me. The one who proved time and time again that I was the center of his world and his light.

As if reading my mind, long arms wrapped themselves snug around my body and surrounded me with their comforting warmth as he whispered something into my ear. I couldn't hear what he was saying at first, only recognizing the soft tone he used. I honed in on that, on him, wanting nothing more than to come back to him.

"It's alright, baby. I've got you. You're safe. I'll protect you," he repeated over and over again until the high-pitched buzzing dissipated from my ears.

I choked out a sob as I searched for his face in the darkness, cupping it between both hands to set my lips with his. The hint of my wetness on his lips didn't seem to bother either one of us, only proving to support my mental mantra. I wasn't there with him.

"I know. You've got me," I mumbled against his lips before an onslaught of love and adoration for my boyfriend filled me to the brim. I molded my mouth to his, devouring the soft hums and grumbles he gave me as I hoisted my leg up and over his, pulling him even closer to me.

His hands wandered back down to my core, leaving quick little touches around my thighs as he trailed closer. Finally, his large fingers cupped my heat and I rolled my hips into them, suddenly needing much more than that.

He prodded me with his finger to gauge my reaction, dragging his finger through the slick remaining from his tongue. When he was met with an unrestrained moan, he gently pressed into me. The unsettling lack of comfort was the same as the first time, until he pushed in enough to brush past a spot I'd almost forgotten was there. His touch forced a sound out of me that I hardly recognized, somewhere between a cry and a moan. Regardless, it urged him on, spurring him to retract his finger and push it right back in to find that spot once more.

I pushed my chest into his, feeding off the energy his tongue across my bottom lip gave. I bucked my hips against his hand enough to signal that I was okay now before nibbling on his lip. I inhaled sharply when a second finger joined his first. It was an understatement to say it was a tight fit since it'd been a long time since I'd had anything inside me. Oddly enough, nothing felt bad about the stretch I felt, instead the slow burn of his touch grew on me and left me wanting more. He thrusted his fingers into me, pushing them deep inside to skim across my g-spot each time until I involuntarily clenched around him.

We pulled out lips apart for a moment to catch our breaths but his motions against me continues, our bodies rocking together as he worked me open. Our foreheads bumped against each other, labored breaths mingling between out lips as they brushed together. The simplicity of such a intimate position made my heart pound violently behind my ribs as a tight ball welled up inside my lower half.

Joon must've felt me clench around his fingers because he pulled back a moment to look at the nervous smile I wore.

"Can I make you cum like this?"He asked, slowing his movements down a bit to prologue the pending orgasms that was gathering strength inside me.

"What about you?" I bounced the question back to him, running my fingertips along the smooth flesh of his jaw before settling on his chest to distract myself from the gently onslaught of pleasure his fingers kept delivering.

"If you're comfortable with more, then we don't have to stop after this. I'm happy with either outcome," he beamed, pressing a quick peck to the tip of my chilly nose.

I nodded. "I-I want you to make me cum like this, then. Please." The last word came out more like a whine as he took no time to adjust his rhythm and speed to his new objective.

The feeling of his fingers inside of me was overwhelming, the euphoric pump of ecstasy spreading from his fingers through my body. It flowed through my veins, reaching my arms and legs and making them tighten uncontrollably. My eyes glazed over and my toes curled as the wave of pleasure washed over me.

I gripped tightly onto Joon’s shoulder, pressing my head back against his as the feeling crashed over me. I shut my eyes and tried to breath through the tremendous amount of pressure flowing through me but instead held my breath without a second thought. A ringing filled my ears and I'm sure dark spots would've danced across my vision if I'd kept my eyes open.

I hardly noticed how much my body tensed in his arms. It wasn't until a feeling of relaxation and bliss took me over that I realized I'd trapped his hand between my legs. I quickly released his hand and buried my face into his body with heated cheeks.

"What are you hiding for?" He chuckled, the vibrations moving through his neck and chest to tickle at my face.

"Mm. I can't believe I did that."

I could hear the smile in his voice as he responded with, "I can I always believe in you."

I laughed at his sappiness, ignoring the way it made my heart race and brought fresh tears to my eyes. I brushed my nose along his neck, pressing little kisses to his flushed skin while I reached for the little foil packet I placed under the pillow earlier.

Once it was within my reach, I waved it in front of us both, keeping my face buried in him for the time being. My cheeks couldn't get any hotter but I didn't think I could handle the heat of his knowing gaze on me.

He gingerly took it from my hand before rubbing soft shaped into my back, coaxing me to come out of hiding. I poked my head out to meet his soft eyes, nuzzling into his knuckles as he skimmed them across my face.

"Are you sure?" He asked once more although we both knew my answer.

I rubbed my thighs together to relieve some of the aching left in the wake of my climax. I surprised myself, feeling the same bubble of pressure grow in me, only it felt like it needed to be popped. It was slightly uncomfortable to have slick coating the inside of my legs, soaking my probably ruined panties and shorts. I found it funny that I out of all people would walk away from Valentine's Day with my first ruined set of underwear. Sort of made me feel victorious in a way. Without bothering to say anything, I slipped off the soaking material, hopefully tossing it somewhere close to the hamper. When I laid back down and coated my naked legs with my own wetness, Joon's eyes snapped down and lock to the movement. I swore he moaned out when he saw me working myself up, almost clumsily pushing down his old sweat and underwear to leave himself bare for me.

He worked  the condom open and pulled it out, tossing the foil to the side. He didn't seem to care whether it landed on the bed or the floor as he kept his sight on my legs. The image was enough to make him grow even harder than he was before.

"Ugh, fuck," he mumbled under his breath as he rolled the condom on. "I forgot how much I hated these things." I couldn't take my eyes off of him, even after he rubbed the cheap condom lube of his hand and wrapped his arms around me again.

I wanted to get used to him, get to know his body and how all the different parts felt against mine. But later. Even as we tackled so much together, I didn't think I had it in me to do those things yet. Yet.

"I want you to sit on me, baby. Can you do that for me? I want to feel you," he whispered in my ear and guided my leg up and over his waist until I straddled over him. Being on top once again made me think back to sitting on his face and how good he felt underneath me.

I sat up and adjusted my position until my soaked core brushed along the underside of his covered cock. The lube on the condom smelled awful and synthetic, making me wrinkled my nose in disgust before a simple peck smoothed it away.

"Here. Hold up." He pushed us up with his hips and legs, moving us back toward the headboard so he could lean up against it. He bent his legs behind me, almost cradling me with his body as we sat there chest to chest, brushing our noses together. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist in a comforting, protective hold, nudging my head back to press his lips onto mine.

I sighed into the kiss, weaving my fingers in his soft locks as I rolled my hips along his hard shaft, consuming the little groan he let out. I pushed myself up from my knees for a moment and Joon took the hint, lowering a hand to pump his cock a few times before rubbing the top against me as a warning. His lips traveled down my jaw before he settled in the crook of my neck, heating it with his warm air and wet kisses.

"Please, Joon," I swallowed and released his hair from my grip, too afraid to hurt him if I got scared. I settled on loosely tangling my arms around his neck and pushing my head to his as I slowly lowered myself down onto him.

The intrusion felt something between uncomfortable stiffness and a sort of completed feeling. I'd only gotten about an inch of him in when I stopped, processing the delicious stretch of his cock when I almost thanked him aloud for prepping me beforehand.

Not that I thought much about it since I never had a need to, but he was  decent size. I wasn't the best person in describing the perfect male specimen but the way he filled me up didn't need any explaining. He left me huffing for more, almost overwhelming me with the first half. We both let out strings of moans as we gripped onto each other for support.

"Mm, Joonie," I whimpered when he met my hips halfway, thrusting up into me with such restraint that it made my eyes roll back. Goosebumps raised the hair on my skin as he filled me to the brim.

I ignored the emotional side of me that wanted to flare up. I wanted to cry in happiness but I pushed it aside. We struggled for so long with me feeling broken and hating myself because of it, so i was going to enjoy the one moment of pure intimacy I had with him.

Neither of us moving drove me crazy, to the point where I lifted myself and rolled my hips back down onto him fully that time. My head fell back as I repeated the movements, grinding myself against him relentlessly.

"O-oh my god," he grunted, fingertips pressing into my hips with enough pressure to leave marks if he wanted to, but I paid no attention to it as a million others floated through my mind. My mind was so flooded that I couldn't differentiate one thought from another.

It didn't take long for my body to adapt to the sweet burn as stretching turned into something way more angelic. We rocked against one another, with me grinding down onto him as he met my thrusts with his own, pulling noises out of us both that I'd never heard before. I drank in those melodic tones coming from the alluring deep voice I adored so much and watched as the throbbing pulse of his heart made the vein in his neck more prominent. Neither of us held back sounds, instead relishing in the way our hips smacked, or the way we breathed -- even the way the headboard banged against the wall behind it.

Namjoon guided the rhythm of my hips with his grip on my waist, his forehead covered with a thin sheen of sweat that made the little hairs that framed his face stick to him as he worked himself closer to orgasm.

My legs grew tired but I still clung onto him with everything I had, everything I felt. Even when didn't lower myself as far as before, he pushed up into me over and over to make sure to hit my g-spit and make me see stars. my legs tensed outside his hips, pressing up against him as my breath became shallow and my body tensed.

"B-baby, I'm close," I panted. I tried to hold back my orgasm for him to get closer to his, but with one powerful stroke into me, the world came shattering down. I wound tightly around him, burying my face into the side of his head to breath in the faint scent of my rose shampoo. I smiled brightly, despite my twitching core and fatigued thighs,  and stroked my fingers through his hair as his length turned soft inside me.

We stayed in that position for what felt like hours. There were a few minutes that I wanted to interrupt the silence to say something but I didn't feel the need to break such a peaceful moment so soon.

Joonie rubbed at my back and held me to him as his breath finally regained its normal pattern. The thrumming of his heart under my chest could've put me to sleep right then and there, even if it was beating as fast as mine was. 

“I love you so much,” he told me with such love and adoration in his voice that for the millionth time that night, I thought I was going to cry.

It was the perfect time to get things off my chest, to tell him how I felt and why I felt that way. How I was proud of him and loved him as much as any living thing could love something.

“You know,” I began before my mouth dried out some. I cleared my throat and tried to continue, “My therapist said something a couple of weeks ago and since she did, I feel… different.” I was the first to move, pulling my head back despite my aching muscles and locked my eyes with his to watch him process everything. He nodded at me with a supportive smile.

“She told me that I wasn’t broken. She said that I’m going through something that a lot of other people -- survivors -- experience. I remember I asked her how they got through it, how they continued to live their lives and even start dating again. You know what she told me? She said that the first thing they did was connect their mind and body back into one, that I needed to be present. Second, I needed a supportive person in my life that would make me feel comfortable, safe, and protected. She told me that a lot of people after having those two things end up trying things out with their partner and it comes naturally. My goal was to feel comfortable and safe and protected enough to be free and let myself go. I trust you more than anything in the world and I love you far more than anyone can love another person. which is why I wanted to show you that you’re the only person capable of healing me.”

A fat tear rolled down my cheek and I moved to catch it, only I was slower than Namjoon. His hands wiped it away and framed my face in his palms. I didn’t miss the way his eyes glittered with unshed tears as he leaned forward and eskimo kissed me before we both let out our own happy giggles.

“This is officially the best Valentine's Day ever. Just don't forget that I love you more.” Joon leaned forward and  grabbed the duvet from behind me, pulling it over the both of us as we sat there together still.

“No. I love you most. Happy Valentine’s Day, love.”

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments or just pm me if you want to privately talk. I used a different editing method this time so I hope it turned out okay~

[seolar-system]

cs ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ drapetomania

✫ Genre: idk, maybe a little soft?

✫  Request:  I wanted to suggest 5 and 7? With San? If that's okay. And a suggestion for a plot could be anything like a pirate au 

5:    “Why are you helping me?” 7: “Just trust me.”

✫ a/n: One day I might continue this.. Like I really feel like this needs a pt.2 ;)

An Im sorry that it took me so long buut you know these past days have been kind of weird :D 

"You sure that you can handle that?" The captain looked at me with suspiciousness and I tried to build myself up, nodding confidently. I felt, how someone was staring at me, and as I looked around, some of the crew members were checking me out, with some ambiguous smiles.

"My Ship, My Rules. Get on." Finally the captain moved and I could get on board. I didn't know if I would regret this. But for now, I was fine with anything that could get me away from here. I walked around the deck and observed everything with curiosity, when 2 men coming on board got my attention. One of them had an immense presence and even though I was standing on the other side of the ship, I could feel his strange aura as well. They passed by and as this strange man looked up, our eyes met. He noticed that a ship was not my place to be, but he just smiled softly."M'Lady." Something felt odd. I made a small step back and bumped into the wooden deck rail. "No need to make our little guest feel insecure and why even trying to hit on her? You will just sit in a cell and asking for mercy." the second man pushed him forwards.

 It was when I noticed, that he was wearing handcuffs behind his back, before they both disappeared under the deck. It wasn't much later before the ship was setting sail and starting its journey towards the horizon. I stood at the bow and gazed towards the sunset, but I wasn't alone for long before the captain stood by my side. "Have you found your place to sleep yet? Even though I don't want to give you any extra treatment, I think you should sleep in a cabin instead of the dormitory." He nodded towards his crew and I understood.

He leads me under the deck, where all the hammocks for the crew members hang. The air smelled like sweat and kitchen and I was relieved when we continued walking down the hallway, away from the smell and the eyes. We were passing cabins filled with wares before he stopped and pointed at a door."It is probably not what a Lady like you knows. But you better get used to it."

"Thank you, I will." gracefully I smiled at him, before he left me alone. 

I looked around the hallway and noticed something shimmering a few cabinets further. Making sure, no one was watching, I walked towards the shimmering thing, but I still couldn't really make out, what it was.

"What is a nobility doing on a ship like this?" I gasped and I recognized the young man from before."I'm not a nobility and why do you care?" his chains were rattling as he stood up and held on to the metallic bars, which were the cause of the shimmering I have noticed before. 

He chuckled. "Your necklace told me." his eyes were fixed on it and I quickly held on to  it. "So why are you here then? Running away from a forced marriage?" my eyes grew bigger and my mouth stood open. "H-how?"

He let go of the bars and pushed his hair, out of his face.

 "Let me guess.. Your father wanted you to marry some kind of officer, because of the family honor." Something about him felt odd.It seemed like his coat never has been washed before and his earrings were shimmering in the dark.

"Oh where are my manners." he bowed politely "My name is Choi San, but you can call me San." he gave me a friendly wink and looked at me expectant.

 I have been taught to greet everyone with respect, so I did a curtsy and revealed my identity " Y/N. Daughter of Y/N/Father"

"It's a pleasure to meet you" he looked down the hallway, where the crew members were chatting. "Let me give you a tip: Stay away from the crew. Don't walk around at night and the most important, lock your room whenever you are inside," he revealed a worried look on his face. My eyes switched between him and the others. "Why are you telling me that? I don't know anything about you and there must be a reason for you to be handcuffed." I raised my chin and turned around."Besides I should not talk to you. Have a good day." I was about the leave, as he began talking again.

 "Other than you, I know what it is like to be on a ship. These men over there are nothing more than wretched beggars just waiting for something to put their dick in."I froze in my movements and starred at the crew. Even though I didn't want to admit it, he was right about it. He clicked his tounge,  slid down the wall and closed his eyes."Get some rest M´Lady. This is going to be a loooong and hard trip."

-

The days passed and there was still no land in sight. My stomach began to get upset about the permanent pitching and tossing from the boat. I took San's words serious and tried to stay safe: Every night, I would make sure that no one was following me and every time, I would hear him saying "Good night M´Lady." before I would lock myself in the cabin. 

But one night it was different. He didn't wish me a good night, and even though I shouldn't care, it felt weird. I walked towards his cell, where he stood at the porthole and looked out into the night. It was silent for a while before he started talking: "Make sure to not be on deck tomorrow. Stay inside your cabin. Even though you might be hungry, do not go outside and keep. The door. locked." he turned around and walked towards me.

"Here take this. Make sure to wear it tomorrow." He held out a necklace, with a small compass attached to it. "What? Why?" confused I looked at him but he just reached out, took my hand and placed the necklace inside it before he closed his hand around mine. "Just do it, okay? And now.." he released my hand and walked back to the porthole. "Have a good Night M´Lady." He ended the conversation and left me with many questions. I knew that he wouldn't give me any answers now, so I decided to just go to bed.

However I couldn't fall asleep. I held the necklace between two fingers and took a closer look. My attention was brought to the back of the compass where the letters C and S were engraved. It was when I heard some steps on the deck. 

It was early in the morning and everyone should be sleeping... I got out of bed and walked towards the door, as I recalled San´s words. What is going on?

My curiosity won over my rationality and I opened the door, popped my head out and looked around. The hallway was filled with the sound of sleeping Sailors and the ships crunching wood, as I stepped on to the hallway. I sneaked past the sailors and got on deck. Assuming I wouldn't meet anyone, the Helmsman caught me off guard and wished me a good morning, but besides him, the deck was empty and peaceful. The wood squeezed under my weight, whilst I strode around the deck, trying to catch a glimpse of the rising sun at the horizon, through the misty morning.

"PIRATES! EVERYONE G-" a scream disturbed this peaceful morning.I turned around and witnessed the Helmsmann getting knocked out, causing his knocked-out body to fall with a dull thud. My body was in shock and ready to screech, when someone grabbed me from behind and prevented me from doing so. "What is a beautiful lady like you doing on a ship like this?" someone smirked in my ear. I identfied the person as a strong male, who was used to a life on board. He smelled like rum and seaweed and probably haven't got the chance to wash him in some days, maybe even weeks. I tried to free myself but in vain. "Shh princess, you don't want to get hurt, do you?"A shiver went down my spine, when I noticed the big ship through the thick fog, loaded with greedy pirates, who one after one jumped on this ship. I once again tried to free myself, but this time, I bit on his finger and hit a sensitive spot. Immediately he let go and crawled up in pain. " Ohh you gonna regret that very soon!" he groaned and tried to chase after me. It was a big mess: the deck was filled with sailors and pirates fighting each other. Is this what San meant? Is this why I should've stayed in my cabin? But whats he got to do with this? How did he know? I had so many questions that I didn't realize the Pirate from before reaching out for my wrist. I jumped in the air end let out a squeal before I managed to run further and into someone else. I was ready to fight until I recognized the smile. It was San who held me in one arm whilst he held a sword in the other."I told you to stay inside," he smirks while fighting with someone. Puzzled I looked at him, but I didn't ask any question since he protected me against everyone. We worked our way through the battlefield, as we came to a stop.

"Jump!" in the act of fighting, he shouted at me in a commanding way.

"You must be crazy! Im no-" and before I could protest any further, he pushed me over the edge.The water hit me hard and my body was starting to stitch from the cold. In my chest I could hear my heart beating fast, trying its best to keep my body alive. I sank deeper into the dark, my body too paralyzed to move. Everything before my eyes went black, before my mother appeared in front of me. She reached out to me and I tried to grab her hand, but it was pointless. Asudden I felt a grip around my waist and my body got pulled toward the water surface.As soon as I surfaced I inhaled sharply and Eagerly gasping for air.

"You drowning was not part of the plan." San held my head over the surface, helping me to breathe. I never learned how to swim, since I was never asked to.I Caught and spit some seawater back to the ocean."Why are you helping me?"He chuckles

 "Just trust me, okay?" he began to swim towards a dinghy, at which he helped me to get on, before he jumped in as well and started to row. My body was shivering and I held onto myself."Come on. You don't want to sit there all day, do you?" I didn't notice him getting up and going on board of another ship. Shaking I got up and followed him.

"Our captain is finally back!" I heard someone howling, followed by cheering. I looked around and realized that this wasn't the ship I was sleeping on the past few days. This was a pirate ship!

My eyes grew wide in panic. Maybe I just should have been drowning, this probably would have been much better. "Don't be so frighten M´Lady. They wont hurt you." San stood by my side, but something on him was different, he was wearing a hat and not just any hat.

"Wait.. Are you?" 

"The captain? Indeed" He finished my sentence with a grin on his face. The whole crew went silent as he stepped forwards and started talking.

"I'm proud of you! Even though I wasn't on my ship, you kept it in a perfect condition!" a latter walked around before he continued "You guys saved me from something, I don't want to imagine... Probably you would have seen me hanging at some port... BUT let me tell you something: No one gets my head and if you mess with me, you mess with ALL of us!" the pirates started cheering and whistling. "BUT then again!" he turned around, took my hand gentleman-like and made me step forwards. 

"I did not come alone." The crew went quiet and stared at me.

"This is Lady Y/N and now part of this crew! If anyone touches you, I swear that this would be your last Lady to touch. Do you guys understand!"All of them agreed unanimous with an "AYE!" San smiled in satisfaction before he raised his fist."AND NOW, SET SAIL AND LETS GO HOME!" the crew went on and San turned around to face me "Follow me.." he let go of my hand and started walking. 

"Ladies first" he opened a door, let me step inside the captain cabin and what I got to see there, was marvelous.

 A big wooden table placed at the end of the room, in front of the windows, a king-sized bed placed in one corner and a huge map on the wall. San pulled out another chair and placed it in front of the table. He gently pushed the chair so I could sit down comfortably, before he gave me a blanket and sat down on his chair. He leaned forward and smiled, amused by my overwhelmed expression. "You probably have a lot of questions, so go on. Ask." relaxed he leaned back and I tried to sort my thoughts.

"Well.. I guess you knew they would attack since you are their capitain... So far soo good. But why did you took me with you? And where are we going now?"

"Ohh that's a really good question. Well, I knew where this ship was going to. It would sail straight to the capital. Even though you are a Lady from the upper class, I doubt that you would find a suitable way to survive without ending in a brothel or in someone's basement. As for now, we are heading for OUR capital city, or should I say Island?" he pointed towards the necklace on my neck, which he gave me before "and as long as you are wearing this, you are under my protection. No one will dare to hurt you, when they see my sign."I tried to connect the dots "But why are you doing this? Why are you helping me."

"I've seen many like you. They ended in a worse situation than what they came from. I've had enough. Seeing all those innocent girls suffer. You don't have to trust me. I can find someone who can take you to the capital or somewhere else. I will give you some pocket money for the first days but after that you will be on your own, if it's that what you wish." I don't know what it was, but something made me trust him. He was speaking the truth and from all the rumors you heard about pirates, especially their capitals, have been proven wrong by now.

 "No. Take me with you." I said with confidence, which made him smile with pride.

[clairecrive]

“Let’s stay home”| Quarantine AU

Chapter 2 - “Eddie and Tommy”

A/n: I was a little sad so I decided to write a little and this came out. First of all, thank you so much to everyone that has reblogged,liked, commented or just read chapter 2. I was really blown away by the response to it since I was so nervous about this whole project.

Then I wanted to say that since this story is mainly to pass the time and help me cope with this situation, it doesn’t really have a plot. What I’m trying to say is that I have ideas sure, but I’m open to suggestions! I want to know what you’d like to see happen or who you’d like to see more.

Tag list: @deaflikehawkeye​, @mollybegger-blog​, @br0ck-eddie​, @evelynshelby​, @fandom--0verdose​ @shadow-of-wonder, @of-love-and-of-the-sea​ (let me know if you wanna be added)

If you missed a chapter: Masterpost

“Why you never tell me stuff?” Alfie protested annoyed by the news of other guys joining them.

“I tell you stuff all the time, Alfie. You just don’t listen to me.” She replied rolling her eyes and checking her phone to see if there were new messages.

“That’s so not fucking true, woman.”

“Why are you getting so worked up about this?”

“I just- I thought that it was going to be just the two of us.”

“Well yeah but then the quarantine has been announced and I called a couple of friends who I knew were going to be on their own and asked them to join us. I didn’t think it was going to be a problem.”

“I don’t these guys and now I have to share a house with them for god knows how fucking long. Why did you think it wasn’t going to be a problem?”

“Alfie they’re cool guys. They won’t be a bother, this house has enough rooms for everyone. Besides, if it was going to be just the two of us, we would drive each other crazy and probably kill the other.” Emma joked trying to get him to relax, hinting at the endless bickering that would sometimes end in a fight. She honestly didn’t think Alfie would be so opposed at the idea of sharing the house. She did ask him, despite what he said, and he hadn’t objected to it. Not at the time she asked anyway.

Alfie didn’t exactly reply, Emma chose to ignore whatever he said under his breath, and just as he got up to wash the mask off his face, Emma’s phone rang. Eddie’s name appeared on the screen making her smile and squeal from excitement. As if the idea of having strangers as roommates itself wasn’t repulsive enough for Alfie, the sight of her excitement wasn’t a good addition to the mix. But he was a grown-up man, surely he could manage this situation a lot better than bitching and moaning about it. Or well, he had to. Otherwise, this whole quarantine situation was not going to end up well.

In the meantime, Emma was getting ready to welcome both of her guests seeing as Tommy had texted her to tell her that he was here.

“Alfie, they’re here.” She called for him and decided to retrieve him personally when he answered her with a groan. He was drying his face when she found him in the bathroom.

“C’mon Alfie, don’t be like this. I swear you’re going to love them.” Leaning on the door she looked at him hopefully. Alfie wasn’t too sure though,  he wasn’t too fond of the idea of sharing the house with two strangers.

“Just give them a chance, alright? If you really can’t stand them then you can leave. I mean not that I want you too but they said that they’re going to repatriate everyone who wants to go home. You can go back to England if you want to, I know this isn’t exactly what you signed up for.” Emma didn’t want him to leave but she wasn’t going to force him to stay either. The bell rang and with a last look at him, she walked to the door to let the boys in. 

As she had thought, Eddie and Tommy had met on the path to the house, so when she opened the door she found them both on her doorstep.

“Omg, hello! I’m so happy you’re here.” Emma squealed in excitement hugging both of them at the same time. Smiling at her antics, both Tommy and Eddie returned her embrace.

“Come, come. Welcome in my humble abode. Well, it isn’t really mine but still.” She retreated inside allowing the boys to come in. Closing the door behind her she turned around to see the newest guests looking around the living room while Alfie was standing in the far corner of the room. None of them had noticed him except for Emma.

“Oh guys, here’s the friend I’ve talked to you about.” she caught their attention while walking towards Alfie, “this is Alfie. Alfie these are Eddie and Tommy.” She introduced everyone and watched as they did that weird handshake boys do. Emma could see that Alfie was still sceptical however she interpreted his politeness as a good sign.

“Have you heard the news, Em?” Eddie addressed her taking off his jacket. 

“Yeah, I have. I was just talking about it with Alfie. Sucks, right?” Taking Eddie’s jacket she gestured at Tommy to do the same so that she could put them on the hanger. While she did this, Alfie took the boys’ bag and brought them into the spare rooms that Emma had shown him the day he arrived.

“It does. It surprised me that you’re not going back home, though.” He pointed out getting comfortable on the couch.

“It’s just easier and safer for everyone if I stay here.” Scrolling her shoulders she sat on the love seat in front of the couch they were sitting on, “what about you guys?” she asked looking at them.

“Well, I live here so…” Eddie joked making her roll her eyes at him.

“I was about to ask if you wanted to stay here but now I’m not so sure about you, Eddie.” She said with a straight tone but they both knew she was messing around.

“Ouch, I’m wounded. Now, what am I going to do?” If there was something Eddie loved was taking the piss at Emma. The majority of their interactions were like this. 

Alfie came back into the room at the same moment Emma threw a pillow in Eddie’s face before sticking out her tongue at him. He sat on the same sofa Tommy was on and made himself comfortable as well. 

“Tommy?” Knowing that he wasn’t very loquacious, Emma addressed him directly.

“Yeah well, ain’t no point in going home so.” He simply stated nervously scratching at his clean-shaven face. At this Emma let out a little squeal of excitement and went to hug him. Tommy didn’t exactly like personal contact all that much but he had known Emma for a while and had grown to not care too much when she would do things like this.

"We're going to have so much fun, guys!" 

[knjnvrland]

Prank Wars - ch. 4

> pairing | jungkook x reader

> word count | 5.6k

> genre | college!au, fluff, smut, angst

> warnings | swearing, sexual harassment

> synopsis | College can be a stressful time in anyone’s life as it is, why don’t we throw a little prank war in the mix to make it harder?

> fic masterlist

> A/N | English is not my first language, I'm sorry for the eventual spelling mistake, please let me know if you find any! Things start to get a little bit heavy in this chapter, it's not much but it still is something and I ask you to be aware of that. Please be safe. I'd also like to add that I'm updating frequently now because I have a few chapter already written, once those are done I'll probably take a little longer to post.

CHAPTER 4 - Pink Drink Thrower Horse Girl

Hoseok was stressed trying to find back up dancers for his final performance, the one that was worth 50% of his grade and pretty much settled if he would or not be approved. Jimin was already helping out, of course, but his classmates all had their own performances to worry about, and Jimin’s classmates, even the nicest ones, didn’t think they could fit more rehearsals into their busy schedules. At least that’s what they told Hobi, but Jimin knew that everyone was secretly a bit afraid of the older dancer. He was too, actually, but he also loved Hobi too much to say no. But it wasn’t enough, Hoseok need at least a couple more dancers for the routine he had prepared to work, and he was cutting a bit too close. That’s why, when Jungkook approached him while he was at the library, it didn’t take much for him to carve.

“Please hyung, she’ll never know it was you” Jungkook pleaded, elbows on the table, body anchored forward, full on puppy eyes mode right in front of Hoseok’s food.

“You’re hanging with Taehyung too much” Jungkook plopped back down on the chair and moved his hair back with a huff, to what Hoseok showed no reaction to.

“I’ll be your backup dancer” it’s what got his attention “if you tell me the guy’s name, I’ll help you out on the finals”

“I'm listening” Hobi leaned back and stoped anxiously munching on his snacks.

“I’ll even get Taehyung to dance too, you need two, don’t you?” Hoseok nodded “Then we’ll do it, just tell me his name”

“And why would you want that?” He still didn’t know where Jungkook wanted to get with this, and he knew it couldn’t be anything good.

“Would you believe me if I told you I was just trying to help her out too?” Hoseok glared at him “Ok, but if I tell you you’ll become an accomplice, do you want that?”

“Fair enough, his name is Ray, we rehearse at studio twelve every day at seven, if you or Tae ever get there late I’m whipping your ass” Hobi said in a single breath and stood up, gathering his stuff to go to class while Jungkook scribbled the name on the side of his notebook. “He does something with engineer, if that helps”

“Thanks hyung” Jungkook turned but Hoseok was already gone, and a few people on the table over were looking at him weird, but it didn’t matter, because now he knew how to get back at you.

A couple of days passed before Jungkook could put his plan into action, he needed to find the perfect moment, and the perfect moment just happened to be at Yoongi’s lunch break. They were both at the university’s radio studio and some indie R&B song was on while the two boys ate their ramen quietly. Yoongi was good at mixing up trendy songs with really underground ones during his time on the radio, and along with his producing skills, he was a pretty amazing rapper as well, witch made him nearly unbeatable as far as audiences go. That and the fact that his program was on from mid morning to mid afternoon, when the campus was usually packed. Jungkook or Alice would drop by with food sometimes, knowing that Yoongi would forget to eat lunch if they didn’t, but Jungkook would actually help out as well, and they had just began to work in a few of Yoongi’s side pieces, along with Namjoon, so it wasn’t weird for Jungkook to just be at the studio at random hours of his day.

That afternoon, however, it wasn’t as innocent as it usually was. While Yoongi left to throw out the trash, Jungkook got into the transmission booth and took his chance when he saw it. He locked the door from the inside out and, even though Yoongi obviously knew the password, it would give him a couple more seconds that could be essential for it all to work. Spending as much time as he did there, he knew his way around all the technical equipment and, when he noticed the song that was on was reaching its end, he stopped the playlist that Yoongi prepared and started broadcasting. 

“Hello hello and good afternoon to every student out there on their lunch breaks” Jungkook spoke into the mic “We have a special request today from a dear friend of mine, and I own her one so: y/n, this is for you”

You were at the cafeteria with Namjoon when it started. The both of you recognized Jungkook’s voice straight away and started paying attention, but it didn’t really seem to bother that many people around you. That is, until your name was mentioned. Yoongi would never mention names, he would sometimes receive more personal requests and do dedications, but he would never ever say the names of anyone. So when a name was mentioned, everyone stopped for a second to listen.

“For those of you who don’t know, y/n is the horse girl that dyed Delta Sigma’s kitchen pink a while back” Jungkook’s voice kept coming from the speakers and you felt your face starting to get warm. Namjoon looked around but everyone was paying attention and not really looking at the two of you, either way his brotherly instincts kicked off and he dialed Yoongi straight away to find out what the fuck was going on. “And was at Delta Sigma that she met the guy of her dreams”.

Yoongi had just entered the studio when his phone started ringing, seeing as it was Namjoon he just ignored and assumed that they were both trying to do the same thing: murder Jeon Jungkook. The “on air” sign was still on and, as much as Yoongi wanted to burst through the door and drag him out, he also had a job and a reputation to keep, so he decided to just send the younger boy a homicidal glare through the window before cutting the transmission, but Jungkook was faster and as soon as he saw Yoongi opening the door, he sped up to get to the real deal.

“So if you’re Ray from engineering, just know that horse girl really wants to ride you” the transmission ended abruptly and a soft mellow tune started playing as if nothing had ever happened. Everyone around you was whispering or laughing quietly, and you began to feel a couple of eyes being averted to you. 

“I think Yoongi got in” Namjoon put his phone down, having had his call ignored “JK is so dead” deep down he knew that it was all in good fun and the talking wouldn’t last long, but he could few how annoyed you were from across the table.

“I hope he is, ‘cause if Yoongi don’t kill him I sure will” you bit your apple angrily, and your brother laughed.

“Just let it go, it will die down soon enough” you took another bite, staring straight ahead at nothing, contemplating the most painful ways you could commit murder and not get caught. “Please don’t do anything stupid, this will get out of hand way too fast.”

You knew your brother was only looking out for you, but in your head you were already plotting the next step to wipe the smile out of Jungkook’s face once and for all.

“Who is that Ray guy, anyway?” Namjoon resumed eating, assuming it was best to ignore the look on your face and the whispers going around and just try to distract you.

“I am” a guy stood behind Namjoon and had a shy smile on his lips. He was in a simple blue shirt that matched his eyes and looked as good as you have even seen him. “Hey, y/n”

“Oh my god Ray” you stood up and swallowed the piece of fruit you were still chewing in a rush, starting your non stop anxious mumble "I’m so sorry that was my… a guy called Jungkook, we’re in this kind of war with each other I don’t know how he found out your name or that I talked to you and I’m so embarrassed I don’t even know where to begin to apologize I promise I will personally kill him and make sure he never speaks of you again-“ Ray just smiled patiently at you. 

“Hey it’s okay, breathe” you took a deep breath in and laughed even more embarrassed at the whole situation.

“But really, I’m so so sorry” you covered your face with your hands, knowing you were redder then the apple you were just eating.

“It’s fine, I’m actually glad because I’ve been trying to find you for a while now and what a coincidence we were both here when that happened” he turned around to point at a table on the other side of the cafeteria where a few guys from Delta Sigma sat “JB knew who you were and spotted you here” JB and a few others waved and you waved back shyly.

“I will never live down this embarrassment” you stated, more to yourself than to Ray “I can’t even-“

“If you want to apologize so bad, you could go out to dinner with me this weekend” he interrupted you again and this time actually left you speechless.

“And that’s my cue to leave” Namjoon grabbed his tray and backpack and stood up “take care sis, don’t commit murder” he winked your way and you blushed even more, if that was even possible. Being asked out in those circunstantes in front of your brother was definitely up there in the ranking of humiliating situations you’ve been in.

“So… Friday?” Ray was looking at you with the same expression from the night you first met, the one that made him look like a greek god, and suddenly you forgot what language you even speak.

“Ye-yeah, sure!” You were a little too bewildered about what was going on.

“Give me your phone” you responded on auto-pilot, and watched as he typed in something and then took out his own phone, showing you he had called himself “I’ll text you later” he handed you back the device and winked at you, at what you only stood there, frozen. You had never in your life had so little game at a flirting situation. You were definitely losing this game and honestly? You didn’t even mind that much.

“Okay” Was all you managed to say, before he turned around and walked back to his table. You must’ve stood there a few seconds too long but finally you picked up your stuff and left. You still had a Jungkook to kill and even if that whole mess turned out kind of alright, you couldn’t help but get more and more angry again with every pair of eyes staring at you as you made your way out of the cafeteria.

Funny enough, you couldn’t find Jungkook for the rest of the week. That boy was in every single sports team he could be in and as the semester neared it’s end he was training for something nearly every day, so whenever you got together with someone from the group, he was never around. Taehyung was the one who told you Jungkook was still alive, but not for long as he wanted to murder the boy as much as you did, seeing as now, on top of all the art work he had to finish, he was also having dance practice everyday with the scariest instructor ever: Hoseok. So, in Tae’s own words, “get in line”. You didn’t worry much, though, because throughout the week Ray texted you constantly and you really enjoyed talking to someone outside your friends for once.

Friday finally came along and you were excited for your date. Ever since you got to college you didn’t have the time or the stamina to date anyone, and your last serious relationship was when you were still in high school. In the year you spent abroad you didn’t want to get to know someone only to have to say goodbye soon, so you only maintained a couple casual booty calls and that was it. You were rough around the edges when it came to actually having dinner with a cute guy and Alice had to stop you from biting your nails off during the entire time she was fixing your hair in a pretty loose braid.

“It’s done” she stated, admiring her work. She picked up her phone and took a picture to show you, and you were very grateful once again to have her in your life.

“Thank you Al” you smiled at your friend through the mirror and she dismissed you with her hand. “he should be here any time now, when do you leave?” Alice was going back home for the weekend on the last train of the day.

“Yoongi will come pick me up soon, please don’t get in trouble while I’m out” she pleaded, like you were a little kid.

“I won’t, mom” you rolled your eyes and she jokingly sticked her tongue out to you. Your phone notified a text and you checked to see that it was Ray letting you know he was downstairs. “He’s here, do I look okay?” You had a short black dress on, trying way harder than you generally did, and even though the dress was long sleeved and you had stockings and you favorite leather jacket on as well, you could tell you’d be cold throughout the night.

“You look hot… but also cold” Alice handed you your jacket while you putted on your heeled boots.

“And my brother’s awful sense of humor is getting to you” You grabbed you jacket and hung it over your shoulders.

“What can I say, Jin’s rubbing off on me” Alice then handed you your purse and you thanked her quickly, excited to begin your sure to be fun night “I dropped a couple condoms in there, just to be safe” she winked at you and you once again rolled your eyes, getting out as soon as she bid you farewell.

Ray had a fancy car that was way out of a college student's budget for sure, but you enjoyed how comfortable and specially how warm it was. You went to a restaurant a bit out of town, it was this little cozy Chinese place that had some of the best dumplings you've ever had, and the conversation between the two of you flowed easily. You learned that he was majoring in computer engineering, after all, and lived out of campus in the same neighborhood as your brothers. You talked about favorite movies, because he wasn’t that into books, and about places you wanted to go. At the end of it he payed for the entire bill and held you hand on the way to the car.

On the drive back it started to rain softly and he turned on the radio but kept the volume low, you were distracted by the nice view of the ocean as you passed by the beach when he rested one of his hands on your thighs. It took you by surprise but you didn’t really mind, and soon you got used to the weigh of his hand on you. He then started to move his hand further up, and you rested yours on top of his to stop him when he was getting a little too close for comfort.

“What’s the matter, baby?” He purred, still looking at the road ahead. You didn’t know how to answer him, so you just pushed his hand back to where it first was and left yours still on top. “Didn’t you enjoy our date?” Once you didn’t answer he looked your way with the same charming smile as always, and you smiled back.

“I did, yeah” at that he pushed his hand a bit further up again, but not by much, and squeezed you a little.

“I'm glad, we could continue it for a little longer, don’t you think?” Your smile faltered a little, not knowing how to let him down easy. Is not that you didn’t want to spend more time with him, but when you were actually looking forward to date someone, you wouldn’t sleep with them on the first date.

“I'm a little tired, actually, it was a long week and I need to catch up on sleep” you were looking at his hand on you while you spoke, but you could see from the corner of your eyes his smile drop a little. “but we could go out again soon, if you’d like?”

“Hmm, I’d rather we extend tonight a little longer than postponing what we both know we want” he slipped his hand a little further up again. “My place or yours?” He looked at you for a second and you could see, for the first time, the hunger in his eyes now that his smile wasn’t as bright.

“I really just want to sleep tonight” you squeezed his hand, now unsure of what route to take. Outside, the rain was getting heavier and the speed of the car faster. “can you just drop me back at my place, we can go out again tomorrow.”

“I’m going straight to mine's” his voice no longer had the traces of kindness it had before. “You can either come with me or just find another ride home” you knew he was joking, he had to be, but then again he slipped his hand further up and turned to look at you while the car was already way above the speed limit “and it’s raining pretty hard now, so I don’t think you have a choice, really”

At that you snatched his hand away from your legs and hugged your jacket closer to your body. “just leave me here, then, I can find another ride home”. He still drove a few seconds, both hands on the steering wheel and you could see his knuckles going white with how much strength he was holding it, and that's when you really started to get scared. Then he started to slow down, and you started to believe again that he was only joking, but he slowed down until the car stopped completely.

“Get out then” he didn’t even look at your face. Outside the rain was even harder now and you could see the violent waves on the ocean at the distance. You stared at him and realized that this was actually your best chance, so you opened the door and got out.

You could barely close the door and he was already gone. And now you were alone at night in the middle of the road during a storm and saw no sign of another living thing anywhere near. You hugged your jacket as close to your body as you could and, seeing no other alternative, started walking. You were so caught up in you own misery it took you a few minutes to remember that phones are a thing that exist and that can be used in these kinds of situations, so you dug yours out of one of the jacket’s outside pockets only to realize it was dead. It could’ve been just the battery that ran out, or it could have been that it was soaking wet and you were dumb enough to leave your phone in your outside pocket during a storm. Having no other alternative, you just kept walking. A couple of cars passed you by, but no one stopped, and you don’t know how long you walked until you found a gas station with the lights inside still on.

You rushed in only to find a little man with dark skin and a thick white mustache behind the counter staring at you as if you were mad. You could understand him, though, you were soaking wet and your hair was nowhere near what it was at the beginning of the night, you rubbed your face only to see your hands painted with the leftovers of your once nicely done make up, and you knew you had murder written all over your face. Man were trash, you had to remember yourself over and over. You were never dating anyone ever again.

“Hi sir, do you have a phone I can use, please?” The man nodded and took from behind the counter one of those old dial phones, and motioned it to you without saying a word. And that’s when you remembered: you didn’t know any numbers by heart beside your mom’s, and you really didn’t need to worry her. You could call the police, but really, what would they do too? You let out a sigh of frustration and promised yourself you’d start memorizing phone numbers from now on. You decided to take a look around the small convenience store and grabbed some tissues to at least try to dry yourself a bit, going back to the counter next to pay. As you took out the money from the inside pocket of your jacket, you noticed that amongst the few damp notes you had folded, there was also a small piece of paper with a number on it.

Jungkook’s number.

That was the same jacket you wore at the halloween party, and one of the paper’s you and Jimin were using as confetti must’ve gotten in there. You asked the man to use his phone again and dialed the number with one hand, while using the other to open up the pack of tissues you had just bought. It rang a few times and you were starting to get anxious when he picked up.

“Hello?” His voice sounded tired, and you knew you must’ve woken him up.

“Hey Jungkook, it’s me” your voice was shaking, you noticed, and the reality of your condition started settling in.

“y/n? It’s almost 3 am” he grunted on the other line, clearly annoyed. He had only gone to bed an hour ago, having stayed up late finishing up an assignment only to send it after the deadline anyway, and his legs were sore from the amount of exercise he was actually getting that week, all Jungkook needed was to sleep for as long as he could.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, could you rang Jin for me? My phone is dead and I’m in a bit of trouble, I need him to pick me up” he must have noticed how defeated you sounded, because all the red signs in his mind went off and he was suddenly very awake.

“Where are you?” Jungkook was already getting up, if you were in trouble there were no time to call anyone, he could pick you up himself, as much as he loathed you, you were still his best friend’s little sister, so he just putted on his shoes, not bothering to change out of his cozy outfit.

“I'm in a gas station in the middle of the road, I don’t think I’m too far from the city-“ at that the man behind the counter pointed at a sign above him that read ‘Pier 11’ on bright green colors “near pier 11?” You sounded unsure, but Jungkook had been there before.

“The one near the beach, with the green neon light up front?” He was already waiting for the elevator on his hall, and for a second he wondered if he should actually call Jin.

“Yeah, that’s the one” but your voice was shaking and he didn’t know why, but he just really needed to make sure you were alright.

“Ok, I’ll be right there” at that he hung up and you thanked the man, handing him back his phone. The man handed you some keys and pointed at a door on the other side of the small store, and you assumed it must be a restroom, so you headed there to try and get yourself back together.

Looking at the mirror you realized your mascara had run all the way down your cheeks and your lips were so white they were almost blue. Your hair was a mess and it took you a while to untangle it from what used to be the pretty braid Alice gave you. You took your jacket off and washed your face with warm water, but your entire body was shaking because of how cold you were, so it didn’t help much. You finished cleaning up as much as you could and dried yourself to the best of your ability with the rest of the tissues you had, and took a sit on the corner of the bathroom, hiding your face in between your knees, you took a few deep breaths and probably more time trying to get your head in place then you realized, because that’s when you heard the bell of the front door ring.

“Y/n?” You recognized Jungkook’s voice, so you grabbed your jacket from the floor beside you and stepped out, not bothering putting it back again. The second he saw you, his already furrowed brows grew deeper. “hey, you okay?” You nodded, and went to the counter to give back the keys to the old man, thanking him silently. “Let's go, the car is outside” that’s when you noticed his hair was a bit wet as well, and he was in very pajamas like clothes, only a hoodie, a pair of sweatpants and those black sneakers he wore all the time.

You followed him outside and he opened the door for you and then went around to get on his sit. Before even starting the car properly, he turned on the heater to the max and you let go of your jacket to put your hands in front of the air vent. He turned to the backseat and found a yellow jacket you remember seeing him wear before, handing it to you. He started driving quietly and you were, for once, thankful to have him in your life. He never asked you what happened, but the way he looked at you you could tell he was curious, so you told him. You were doing fine until it got to the part where Ray put his hands on you. At first you were just too angry to feel anything else, and then you were too cold and worrying about not dying, but now you were safe and slightly warmer in a car with someone you came to trust and before you noticed your eyes were filled with tears and your throat was shut. 

Jungkook didn’t know how to react. You were always quick to clap back and hot headed, and he had yet to see you lower your head to anyone, so seeing you try to hold back tears after the hell of a night he was sure you had, it just broke something inside of him. You brought your hand to your mouth so you could bite on the side of your nails, but Jungkook intercepted your movement and held your hand in his in front of you. “You’re alright now” he said, barely a whisper, but you could understand. And that’s all it took. You letted go of his hand and covered your face, letting the tears roam free inside the small dome you created in front of you. You sobbed silently for a few seconds, and then took a deep breath in, realizing something you haven’t thought of before.

“I can’t go back home now” you stated, more to yourself than to him “he knows where I live and Alice’s out of town for the weekend”.

“do you want to crash at mine’s?” He offered, in a heartbeat.

“I don’t want to bother you, really” you couldn’t even look at him.

“You won’t, I promise you” he smiled softly at you, and you couldn’t help but be grateful for it. “Besides, I feel kinda responsible” his smile slipped and he looked back at the road ahead, the city around you dead and quiet in the middle of the stormy night.

“It’s not your fault.” You were quick to response “but thank you”.

You were back at his place in no time and, as soon as you stepped in, you realized you had never actually been here. The layout of the loft was the same as Yoongi’s, who lived a few floors down, but it was so different at the same time. Yoongi’s was very crowded with stuff, action figures, sound system, his producing material and clothes everywhere, while Jungkook’s was surprisingly clean. He had a few movie posters on the wall, and some photography equipment in the shelves and in one of the corners, but aside from a small pile of clothes near his bed, everything else was very minimalistic and neat. While you were looking around, Jungkook went to grab you a towel and some warm clothes, handing them to you and grabbing his now wet jacket in return.

“Go take a shower, I’l make you some tea so you don’t get sick” he bossed around and you’d be annoyed otherwise but you were still a little bit in chock and just followed his instructions, hopping into the bathroom the take a shower. He had nice hair products and a soap that smelled like peaches -smelled like him, you realized. You took your time getting clean, trying to wash away not only the dirt from the rain and from the road, but also everything else that took place that night. When you got out dressed in clothes similar as the one’s Jungkook was wearing, the boy was at the small table for two he had separating the kitchen from the rest of the place, with a couple mugs in front of him. He was busy scrolling trough his phone to notice you were back out, and only looked up when you were already sitting in front of him.

You were both quiet while you drank your tea, but the tension around was starting to be too much to bear. “Thank you” you blurted out, not really looking at him.

“It’s alright, really” he reassured you “but I was wondering, why did you call me?” That was eating him inside from the moment he hung up the call, and seeing the small smile grow on your lips he decided he didn’t have to know why for sure, but he was glad you did.

“It was the only number I had” the confusion only grew on him “I found one of the papers that you had written your phone in one of my pockets, the one’s you gave the boys last year?” You tried to jog his memory “Jimin still had a bunch of them on him and we were playing around a while back, one must’ve slipped inside my jacket and I never noticed.” You were looking at your lap, so you never saw the small smile that showed up on Jungkook’s face.

“If he still have that many he didn’t do his job properly, that’s why I couldn’t get a date recently” he joked around and got a small laugh out of you in return, but it turned into a yawn and soon both of you were on sleep mode. “You can have the bed, I can sleep on the floor” he offered, but his bed was big enough for the both of you and you didn’t find fair to cast him out in his own home.

“I don’t mind sharing” you stood up, grabbing the mugs and leaving them at the kitchen sink as if you’ve done it a thousand times.

“Are you sure?” And that’s when you realized Jungkook was a nice guy. A little rough around the edges, sure, but a nice guy nonetheless.

“Yes, I’m sure. Besides, it’s too cold for you to sleep on the floor” you made your way to the left side of the bed, as the right side had the covers pulled and you assumed that’s where he was sleeping before you called.

“I won’t argue with that” he got in as well and turned down the lights, but you could still make out his profile from the light that creeped in from the window. You both fell into silence, but you could tell none of you were actually asleep.

You don’t know how long you were just laying quietly on the dark listening to his breathing, you were very tired, and emotionally drained for sure, but for some reason you just wanted to stay awake a little longer. Eventually the tiredness got the best of you and you fell into a dreamless rest. Jungkook, however, stayed up a little longer. It was silent enough for him to hear every single small noise you made and even though he noticed you had fallen asleep, he still felt like he had to say something. A while later, you turned around and rested one of your arms over his chest, hugging him sideways. He held his breath, trying not to bother you but also not knowing what to do. Your hands were still cold and he noticed your pale lips, so he made another one of the many bad decisions in his life related to you: he scooted closer and passed one of his arms under your neck. If you had woken up he didn’t notice, but you molded yourself into him, resting your head on his chest and wrapping one leg around him as well. He then grabbed your hand with his and took it closer to his lips, blowing hot air on it until it wasn’t freezing anymore. He could feel your heart beating through your wrist and that’s the rhythm he followed until he too, was falling into a dreamless sleep.

> A/N | A little bit of angst, a little bit of fluff. It will start to get a little bit angstier from now on, and I'm planning to touch on a couple of difficult subjects moving forward, so please read with caution. Have a nice day, wherever and whoever you are :)

TAGLIST |  @w1tchcraftt ; @girlwiththeglittereyeliner​ ;

TAGLIST IS OPEN!

[datawyrms]

Still Robophobic?

Chapter 2  while crawling through all of K1-B0′s text so I can inanely chatter and make depth that probably wasn’t there because it makes me happy. and you can’t stop me. Once again I am serious this is all of his text so this is LONG. (and if you didn’t read my first super long post covering Prologue/ch1, you might want to do that first) someone make me work on my fics lol

Also I totally just realized Keebo is totally hiding behind Himiko after Monokuma’s return to life and I just MISSED HIM lol. He trusts Kaede and Shuichi, even when they’re being sketchy as heck and says he’ll think of plans too, because more plans are better than less. shame upon me for overlooking more of his trusting and trying to help nature. MOVING ON.

Cold open with the funeral that starts at Kaede’s portrait so you think it’s current but no this is for our viewing pleasure only...Gonta finds the horse a hint...Kaito abuses a doorbell and shepherds Shuichi out of the room...get to the dining hall and Keebs is muttering questions so he can be the first one talking in a scene again!

K1-B0: Writing...? Gonta: Yeah! Like someone try to hide writing in grass! Weird, right!?

keep shining on with your refusal to do anything but ask questions unless talking to Kokichi or a Protag, Keebo. As Keebo is garbage at people, he has zero reaction to the Hatless Reveal. The human has removed part of their clothing and he does not care. If you’re curious, Maki, Ryoma, Himiko, Keebo and Kiyo are the only ones not to remark on it at all. :v

Kokichi: Kirumi, be my mom! Gonta: Gonta want you to be his mom, too! K1-B0: ...What are you two even saying?

even keebs knows you two are being hecka weird by asking that guys. Which is probably the joke that the robot calls them on this. Or it’s him not getting the point of moms/what they’re asking for...since you know. Built in a lab...(Though he does know, since he made fun of Kaede that way.)

K1-B0: ... Kokichi: Hm? What's wrong, Kee-boy? You're not eating— Oh yeah! I totally forgot you can’t eat! Y’know, cuz you’re a robot! K1-B0: ... Kokichi: Hey now, don't look so down. I'll bring you a broken TV later. K1-B0 I don't want that... I'm not a waste receptacle. Angie: Nyahahaha! Keebo and Kokichi seem to be getting along swimmingly!

Everyone’s eating and Keebo is just listlessly staring at food. Till Kokichi decides to loudly announce to everyone that’s what he’s doing. Which, judging by the fact Kaede had to ask...Keebo might have told Kokichi based on how he says ‘he forgot’ that and no one has really noticed he just watches. It’s been a busy set of days, I suppose. Angie is right in a way, she notices how Kokichi’s poking isn’t getting as much of a response and how the little punk keeps pushing on to get some words out of him. Course, it mostly looks like he’s making fun of him, but that’s Kokichi! for an ‘emotionless robot’ you sure picked out his emotion, tiny terror. Things Keebo doesn’t call robophobic: being told to eat broken electronics. He is pretty down though, Kaede’s FTE makes it pretty clear he’s pretty jealous that he can’t eat. Considering it looks good to him and all. (Who programmed that. Why would you do that.).

Shuichi falls into the depressing narrative ‘everyone is faking being normal’ mode after that conversation, we talk about the horse a hint again/Gonta’s gullibility.

Kokichi: Nee-heehee... Gonta, you're so gullible. Y'know, if you keep being this gullible... You’ll be killed before you know it. Understand? Shuichi: ...Ah! The moment Kokichi said that word, the warm and casual mood shattered. K1-B0: What's wrong, everyone? Is there a problem with Kokichi's advice? Gonta: Oh, Kokichi... You no should say thing like that, even as joke.

Keebs can sorta read the air to tell the mood just got real nasty...but has no idea why because to him it’s perfectly sensible advice. this boy. If someone is tempted to commit murder, logically they’ll try to trick people. Who do you trick? Someone gullible. He knows it isn’t a joke. No one actually answers him either, though he can probably guess by Tenko calling Kokichi insensitive. this is why he’s bad at people, people ignore him aaa

Kokichi tries reminding people hey monokuma is totally gonna exploit your glaring weakpoints lol/ups his dislike score, said bear shows up,  kubz give area unlocks/ make an attack on titian reference with the nape of the neck thing and they skadoodle. (keebo also having a neck weakness...tsumugi....)

Kokichi: Hmmm... Seeing that robot-looking one get left out makes me think of Keebo...

yes keebo, you really, really are. No one else even says anything about this, Maki moves the conversation to the items they just got. Poor guy wants to pretend he isn’t that left out. Oh well...he’ll probably figure it out...eventually... Shuichi gets given the job of rubbing items on things because he is the Protag so Go Unlock Stuff, Boy. Keebo hangs out with Tenko near the to-be-unlocked pool.

K1-B0: That item we received earlier...I think we can use it on this stone monument. Can you try?

Tutorial robot strikes again. There is information I know, so i am going to say it and have no fluff dialogue. Tenko has a pretty sweet little scene with Shuichi here and he’s just beep-boop my protagonist powers know a puzzle when I see it.

K1-B0: The ivy withered in seconds. What remarkable technology... Tenko: Ah! We can get in! We can go in from there, right!? K1-B0: ...You intend to go inside? That course of action seems dangerous. Monophanie: No, it’s not dangerous. There’s just a pool in there.

This is why no one invites you to their DnD sessions Keebo. Sure, it’s true they probably shouldn’t blindly blunder into new places but you literally just told Shuichi how to open the door. ‘Ah, a new discovery. Time to ignore it.’ Of course he’s impressed by tech bordering on magic, which is fun. I wonder if the Kubz got summoned to make sure Keebo didn’t chicken out on exploring :v He honestly seems to trust they won’t lie to them, or at least not blatantly/in ways that would get them killed.

Tenko: What should we do? There may be a pool, but we’re not going for a swim, are we? K1-B0: But...if it is not dangerous, then maybe we should take a look. It is never bad to have too much information. Shuichi: Yes, I suppose you're right...

K1-B0: It looks like there's a pool inside. We should take a closer look. It would be best to know the specifics.

Easily swayed, this robot. Two seconds ago you were all ‘let’s not go in there’ and now you’re This Is Totally Not Dangerous, time to Take A Look. Because the Monokubs said it was okay. It had the opposite effect on Tenko, but she’s outvoted by the ahogeholders. I’d say ‘make up your mind’ but this is how Keebo makes up his mind. If he knows something ‘for certain’, he wants to know more. If it’s iffy, he’s cautious. It does look like he’s indecisive as hell though xD

Shuichi: ...Then I suppose that dream is pretty far away. K1-B0: It’s not necessarily a dream of mine... But swimming with everyone does sound fun. If I tried to swim, I would just sink. Shuichi: ...And that one is even farther.

He tries to relate to Tenko a little bit here, in the swimming is her dream but really he just thinks it sounds fun to be included, he knows he can’t swim...they’re in the same boat in that regard! Tenko actually does want to learn to swim, it comes up quite a bit in URDP. Keebo not so much. He really is more chatty about himself in smaller groups :v

K1-B0: I wonder if the day will ever come when I can swim with everyone... Tenko: Keebo! I was wondering... If you fell off a boat and sank to the bottom...would you be stuck living under the sea, beneath a rock or in a pineapple!? K1-B0: What...? Shuichi: No, I believe that before you'd get too deep, your body would be crushed by the pressure... K1-B0: Please don’t say such scary things, both of you! Or I’ll never set foot on a boat!

K1-B0: ...If I ever get the chance to ride a boat, I will wear a state-of-the-art flotation device.

He’s scared. By both of them. He doesn’t get the reference at all, obviously. His hopeful wondering that he might be able to take part in something gets redirected into either being trapped alone at the bottom of the sea forever or crushed to death. From a question that basically comes out of nowhere! But he apparently is still willing to go on a boat with proper precautions. To not be left out. he just wants to be your friend guys. you could at least say sorry for freaking him out come on. His struggle with Not Being Swim Compatible continues.

Shuichi: This looks like...a storage room? K1-B0: I peeked inside and discovered all manner of pool supplies in here. It is fully stocked with kickboards, water polo balls, and even sturdy rubber inner tubes. Perhaps I can float in water if I inflate them and attach them all over my body. Shuichi: Ah, I think you would look like that tire company's mascot...

shh let him do it, it sounds funny. It’s interesting Shuichi’s willing to say this out loud, he usually keeps his snark in his head. Also, you got a lot of info from a peek Keebo. Thank you for also mentioning rubber inner tubes exist here, as this will be plot relevant later. :p

Tenko: Oh, Keebo! Are you a degenerate male or a girl!? Which is it!? 

Shuichi: Really? How interesting...I suppose I did just assume he was a...he. But Keebo is a robot, so...

Non binary keebo is canon. ‘don’t know’ he/him pronouns on the profile page for the robot.  Because he literally hasn’t even thought about it before. And it doesn’t seem like he intends to either! He doesn’t start rationalizing out which one he might be, just admits he...cares so little it never crossed his mind. but seriously how old are you. how long have you existed and not a SINGLE person asked you Keebo your backstory is super shaky. Or secretly depressing. also i totally forgot Miu gets way too excited by the tennis machine. no wonder she takes so long to drag keebo to the lab :v Shuichi wanders off to unlock everything else, and they all meet back up in the gym.

Angie: Alrighty then, check this out. K1-B0: That is a peculiar-looking flashlight...So, what of it? Angie: Umm, I dunno what it is either. I inspected it pretty good...Nyahahaha, but in the end I couldn't figure it out.

we’ve been here for two seconds and you’re back to asking questions aaa Though the fact Angie and Keebo have actually talked to one another again is good, it helps explain why she might have chosen to add him to her ‘friend group’ -cough- Angie then explains she asked Monokuma, he shows up, sorta explains the flashback lights.

Kaito: Hey! Don’t just give up on explaining after a single sentence!  K1-B0: So...what should we do? Tenko: What should we do...? You mean, should we or should we not use the flashlight? No way! I refuse! It reeks of fishiness!

keebo i’m confiscating your question mark key. Taking relying on others opinions to entirely new levels, this robot. But hey he’s actually been answered twice! That’s better than posing the question to the sound of crickets chirping. Tenko seems to like him better in general after hanging out a bit too. (and the whole ‘is not a boy thing.) Kaito and Kokichi face off in ‘should we use the flashback light’ annnd

Tenko: I'm...staying. After hearing that degenerate’s speech, running away would just frustrate me! Gonta: Gonta also stay... Is what true gentleman would prolly do. K1-B0: I also agree with Kaito. Our defeat is 100% assured unless we stand up to this. That’s... how I feel, deep inside. Just a whisper- Kokichi: You hear it in your ghost? I'm pretty sure robots don't have ghosts, though. K1-B0: ...Leave me alone. 

First mention of his inner voice! Kokichi pounces on that, which just gets Keebo to actually stand up for himself a little, though pretty pathetically. He doesn’t seem all that sure if it’s him feeling what’s right or the inner voice though...calling it a whisper. He’s completely convinced to go along with it though, he’s really more of a follower...but of course the outside world is going to compel the protag to get plot details. then they actually use the light

Shuichi: I can't either...I suddenly realized... I could not remember any important details of the Ultimate Hunt... K1-B0: It’s no use, I can’t remember either. I can only remember being chased... I can't remember anything else at all. 

Way to echo Shuichi’s inner thoughts, Keebo. This whole flashback light should really be confusing him more than it does. but we’ll get to that.

Ryoma: Could the reason be that...we were caught by the Ultimate Hunt? Shuichi:  Caught...by the Ultimate Hunt? K1-B0: You mean, we tried to escape by erasing our memories, but they found us anyway... And subsequently, we were captured as part of this Ultimate Hunt? 

At first I thought Keebo’s ‘returned’ memory might have been slightly different to compensate for the glaring issue but nope! Here he is, stating they erased their memories. and he’s summarizing again lol. keebs. i don’t care if you throw your harddrive in a washing machine, you are going to very quickly re-learn that you’re a goddamned ROBOT. He doesn’t even question this memory, no one does! (ok, kokichi probably caught it based on what he does right after this but otherwise) did you think you were a slightly less ultimate robot how did this even logic in your head. Questions that will never be answered.

Kaito: We just gotta work together. If we cooperate, we'll make it out of here alive. Just like a certain someone said... Shuichi:  ...Kaede. K1-B0: But I believe cooperating with each other is the most logical course of action— Kokichi: *snore* I’m snooooring! K1-B0: ...Why are you sleeping!? Kokichi: Whoa! Huh, what!? Tsumugi: Hey, Kokichi...we're having a serious conversation here. Kokichi: And is it written somewhere that I have to take serious conversations seriously? Kaito: Tch, quit acting so immature! Kokichi: Hm? I’m a teenager...so duh I’m immature. Aren’t you guys forgetting to act your age? K1-B0: But I don't have a biological age... Kokichi: Don't worry about it, Keebo. I'm just talking to the humans right now! K1-B0: ...Grgh!  Kokichi: What were we talking about again? Something about working together to escape, right?

he thinks kokichi is actually sleeping. he genuinely buys it when he says I’M SNORING. you sheltered little robot. He is super bad with people in so many new and exciting ways. Which effectively stops him from being a driving force/leading anyone...which is probably exactly what sleepyhead wanted here. Then excludes him further with the not a human reminder, which Keebo still doesn’t actually contest. No fitting in for the robot, can’t be trusted. That and the conversation gets re-directed to the mastermind among them from this diversion. Use Robot for Free Topic Change :v Keebo doesn’t speak up  again at all after this, but he’d probably have no idea what to say about Ryoma just casually going ‘nothing to live for bye’ so. Free time dialogue time!. First time slot...he’s in the dining hall

K1-B0: ...Shuichi, if you have free time, would you like to spend it with me? There's something I want to ask you. 

Lookit him, taking some initiative and asking Shuichi to hang out. Negative five points because you want to ask questions. he’s a very curious robot. Second time slot he retreats to his room.

K1-B0: There's an area in this school that is closed off. It seems there are other hidden rooms as well. 

There’s a lot of hidden rooms! He really doesn’t talk about anything but current events and the school... Free time ends, kubs bungle the motive delivery, Shuichi watches Kaito’s video...and goes to run off to tell him right away about his sad looking grandparents....

Shuichi: Keebo! Have you seen Kai-- K1-B0: Impeccable timing Shuichi! I was on my way to get you! Shuichi: You were? K1-B0: Everyone is gathering in the dining hall. Please come right away. I'll go get everyone else. 

Keebo’s been promoted to sleepy student fetcher in the meantime, or more likely volunteered to help Kaito when he proposed gathering everyone to talk about it. Good thing Kaito didn’t beeline for Shuichi or he might have actually seen the video :v

Kirumi: Shall we wait for everyone then? Until then, I can provide you all with massages— K1-B0:  Thank you for waiting! We gathered everyone else! Korekiyo: My word...and after I was about to finally experience one of Kirumi's famed massages... K1-B0: Wh-What do you mean? Are you also suggesting that I cannot read the air? Maki: So what is it? Why did you drag us here?

kiyo you’re hurting the robot’s feelings with your massage lusting. Keebo no idea and just assumes it’s a reading the air thing pffft. Getting everyone together to discuss the kubspads is a bit more important, even if they wanted to do something first. Not that anyone is going to tell him that :v

Kokichi: So, what are these videos? K1-B0: No doubt they’re the motives from Monokuma, but why were they all mixed up...? Gonta: Y-Yeah! Why Gonta get Tsumugi's video— K1-B0: No! Don’t say it Gonta! Gonta: ...Hm? Tsumugi: Aah...I heard it... I see... So Gonta has my video... Gonta: ...Huh? Gonta not supposed to say it? Miu: Who fuckin’ cares!? We’re gonna exchange ‘em anyway, right? K1-B0: No, we cannot exchange them. Shuichi: What? We can't? Ryoma: Why not? They're videos of the most important people in our lives. K1-B0: And that is precisely why we cannot exchange them. Although we do not know why our motives were mixed up...As long as we don't exchange them, we don't have to see our motives at all. Himiko: So it’s better to just ignore them... K1-B0: Yes. At least, that is what I think. Tenko: Th-That's true... If we ignore them, then we won't have a motive... Ryoma: I'm against that.

The robot has learned the technique of how to cut people off mid sentence, but was a bit too slow on the draw here. This is basically the first time Keebo takes the lead on an idea though, so of course it’s about keeping everyone safe. poor gonta. Innocently having no idea why the weird robot is suddenly pushy at him. The fact this clicked really quick for Keebo while Shuichi is still half ‘but i gotta show it to Kaito’ is pretty interesting, but makes sense. He’s probably less likely to have that emotional ‘oh friend would want to know this, i must let them know’ moment our detective is having. I expect he saw it as a motive first, and all else second. Kaito is the one who takes over when it comes to confronting Ryoma, because Keebo and conflict do not mix well. because he’s a doormat. He does speak up again though!

Kokichi: Who cares? Ryoma just stated his opinion. Actually...I feel the same way as him K1-B0: Are you...trying to cause trouble again? Kokichi: Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not saying we shouldn't care about killing or dying...But I think it'd be better if we didn't cooperate with each other...Actually we *definitely* shouldn't cooperate with each other!

...because Kokichi speaks up! Kokichi likes to remark on him, so darn it, he’s going to remark back on on the purple terror. He keeps going on for a long time here too. The fact Keebo was one to originally bring the ‘don’t share’ plan up might be why Kokichi goes so hard against it here. he doesn’t trust keebs as far as he can throw him, so anything he wants done must be obstructed. It’s early on enough that he hasn’t really had time to confirm Keebo is as harmless as he says he is (usually.) And hey if it doesn’t work he’s still showing himself as ‘difficult’ for future evil plans.

Kokichi: Anyway, I’m warning you all for your sake. Let's just exchange our motive videos instead of cooperating with each other. K1-B0: ...I cannot comprehend that logic. Kokichi: Well, now that I've said I won't cooperate, I can't afford to be seen with you losers...C’mon Gonta, let’s go.

good job keebo. don’t refute or argue, just state you have no idea how his brain works. He doesn’t speak up at all once Kokichi leaves either, not even when it devolves into Kirumi getting a bunch of orders. He isn’t one of the ones that leaves so apparently he just...watches everyone eat hot pot :v Then it’s time for more free times!

K1-B0: Everyone seemed to really enjoy that delicious-looking tripe hot pot... It's fine. You do not need to worry about me. *sigh*...

oh he literally did. I forgot this line. keebo. why do you do this to yourself. The food thing is...a big thing for him. Is this why you hate vending machines Keebo. Do you think those machines ate the food. In Free time slot two he’s alone still (he’s almost always alone, no matter where he is. Kokichi and Kaito were just in the room he’s in now the previous free time tho.)

K1-B0: I also want to know what is contained in my motive video... But...if a killing were to happen because of that... It would mean that we've betrayed the very wish that Kaede entrusted to us.

I want to know but am putting everyone being safe first. Though also ‘Keebo what on earth could you been shown that would make you thinking killing is okay suddenly.’ Then I’m ‘oh do you mean you don’t trust the person you trade with to not go murder’. Do you have Shuichi’s, Keebo? Is that making you double down on Kaede’s wish, right to Shuichi’s face? Kaito is surprised to know Shuichi has his, there’s nothing saying they had to be ‘swapped’ to match...it’s just interesting to think about. another interesting thing is Himiko and Angie are hanging out in the same room during this free time. V3 is pretty good about foreshadowing future events if you go talk to everyone! Anyway, Keebo shows up in Tenko’s parasol event/bonus scene. 

K1-B0: I am grateful for your care, Kirumi. Kirumi: This is more people than I had been told. Tenko: I'm sorry... I just wanted Himiko to feel like a celebrity, too! Angie: Can I join? Atua says He wants to feel like a celebrity too! Himiko: If Atua wants to be a celebrity, then we might as well invite him too. Tenko: S-Sure... If that's what you want, Himiko. Grrrrgghhh...I just wanted to vacation like a celebrity with Himiko! Shuichi: ...Would a god want to be a celebrity? 

This bit is interesting! Tenko objects to Angie coming, but she must have invited Keebo herself, as he isn’t here to set anything up. He doesn’t spend either of his free time spots at the pool, so it’s not coincidence that he’s there either. Maybe they’ve bonded over their inability to swim. He wouldn't just tag along of his own accord. Tenko then tries to shoo Shuichi away here because of course she does :v

Shuichi: ...What about Keebo? Tenko: Keebo's a robot, so he's neither male nor female! He barely passes! K1-B0: ...I cannot tell if that remark is robophobic or not. Shuichi: Well at the very least, you're better off than I am... 

Want to be included...eclipsing need to be treated the same...Even though he’s self admitted to not being either! :v Keebo honestly doesn’t know what he wants. Shuichi apparently thinks you’re enough of a guy to get turfed out with him Keebo, so that’s probably something you like? It’s nice to see Tenko remembered though, considering she was the one who asked him in the first place.

Kirumi: By the way, Keebo... K1-B0: Yes? Kirumi: In your case, would you prefer oil over tropical juice?

Kirumi: Keebo, Tenko requested I help her feel like a celebrity. And she has included you as one of her guests... I will do my utmost to fulfill her request, for that is how a maid must conduct herself. So please tell me what food or beverages I can prepare so you feel like a celebrity Shuichi: Such pride and dedication... Kirumi's prowess as a maid is showing! K1-B0: Um...I do not require food. And I would not be able to taste it in the first place...

He’s a bit hard to read here! He’s happy with just the offer, but seems a bit awkward about it judging by the sprite being used. Actually being accommodated for seems to put him off a little. It seems he’s fine on oil on the moment so he has no need or desire for it though. Which conflicts with Kirumi’s goal and seems to actually irritate Keebo by pressing. He’s doing the exasperated hands up sprite when he’s stating he doesn’t need or taste food. Would it be nicer to just go ‘okay fine oil’, probably. but he doesn’t since uh. It could just be the ‘I just said no thank you why does no one LISTEN’ getting to him! that and we know keebo has like -10 to tact anyway. That and...asking him what he needs to ‘feel like a celebrity’ probably just sent him thinking ‘THAT’S A FEELING???’ so he just sticks to a fact and pretends he’s not at a loss. Keebo then spends his time more interested in the parasol than anything else, because of course he is. He honestly looks puzzled by it, it’s kinda cute.

K1-B0: Out of curiosity, do you really need that parasol even though we're indoors? Tenko: Of course! If you wanna feel like a celebrity, you absolutely need a parasol! A robot like you wouldn't understand what it means to feel like a celebrity, huh Keebo? K1-B0: Ghhhh... Th-This is a difficult feeling to understand!

Keebo cannot have a nice thing without getting dumped on for it almost immediately after :v He basically admits he doesn’t know what ‘feeling like a celebrity’ is like by trying to justify himself...but really tenko the question was fair and you just go ‘haha robot’ instead of maybe realizing it’s an atmosphere thing not a feeling thing.  In the morning after Shuichi chats with Ryoma...

Shuichi: Good morning, Keebo. K1-B0: Good morning. Um, have you seen Kokichi or Gonta? Shuichi: Ah, I haven't seen them... K1-B0: I see...I saw them earlier...and they seemed to be sneaking around. Given Kokichi's penchant for mischief, do you think he's planning to cause more trouble? Gonta is very earnest but also very naive... Kokichi could easily fool him. Shuichi: That's true... That is a bit disconcerting. K1-B0: ...I wonder why Kokichi is so determined to undermine our cooperation. True, Monokuma does interfere with our attempts to cooperate, but consider this...Perhaps what Monokuma fears more than anything...is our cooperation. That is why I think that Kaede was not wrong. Shuichi: ...I think so too. I’ll always be thankful for what Kaede tried to do for us. K1-B0: That's right! If we all cooperate, I'm sure we will be able to escape this place! If we meet every morning for breakfast, we will slowly but surely become more united. Shuichi: Yeah! K1-B0: Well then, I will go to the dining hall now.

Keebo and Kokichi are mutually on one another’s case and it’s pretty hilarious. He doesn’t call Kokichi cruel or anything either...just mischievous. Even someone terrible at people saw what kind of person Gonta is, and has apparently decided Shuichi is the one who has to hear about his concerns. He’s pretty into the getting along and working together thing, but Kaito really takes the roll from him in most group settings, so we kinda only see it when Shuichi is alone. Though Shuichi maybe uh. don’t be thankful about the attempted...murder...I know that’s not what he means but hahaha it does not read well xD also Kokichi is totally Keebo’s rival, not Shuichi’s. because keebo is the real protag. :v he’s totally Togami levels of dickery to Keebo, who’s pretty Makoto-ish...even if I do read Kokichi more favourably at times for that sort of comparison :v  Moving on to the dining hall.

K1-B0: According to my calculations, not everyone has gathered today. Shuichi: You can see that without doing any calculations...

You know you’re low on the totem pole when Shuichi will dunk on you. Out loud. This is the opening bit for this scene! You couldn’t remark on people missing, no. it is dunk time. Everything Keebo does is in numbers detective, he’s a robot! He doesn’t need to inform you that he calculated it, yes...but he’s trying to impress people and he just sucks at it >> anyway yes people did not come to breakfast.

Tenko: Maybe she's hiding a bunch of kids in there that she's secretly taking care of! Shuichi: What? She's not some stray dog on the streets raising pups... K1-B0: I also saw Kokichi and Gonta sneaking around together. Miu: A couple of virgins sneakin' around sounds like bad news to me!

Keebo reiterates the ‘kokichi is a menace and has gonta with him’ fact for the rest of the class/people who don’t read optional dialogue. Yet he doesn’t mention how this concerns him like he does to Shuichi alone! because that’s not a fact and we’re in a group setting.

K1-B0: Himiko is acting rather odd. I do not fully understand what she is doing...

The Ultimate Mage might not have anything nice to say about him, but he’s paid enough attention to notice the weird ‘calm’ Himiko isn’t normal. Better point it out to Shuichi! and keebo you don’t even halfway understand what she’s doing, it’s ok. Though I suppose 1% of understanding is technically not ‘fully understanding’ something too :v

Himiko: Nyeeeh...as long as I pray like this, I don't need to waste my energy on useless stuff. No matter what happens or what trouble lies ahead, my heart will be calm... K1-B0: I see...It’s escapism. Angie: No... She has merely abandoned reality to speak to Atua. Tsumugi: That *is* escapism.

He found an answer! it’s delightfully cynical and calculated and thus hilarious. He’s doing his little ‘hand up/i’ve deduced something’ pose so he looks pretty proud of it too. Tsumugi of all people backs him up on this! Though I suppose she’d know allllll about escapism! :V gdi moogie. Yet even with his short, matter of fact answer he’s still confused after all the back an forth/ the hug scene.

K1-B0: What’s going on...? Did Angie...do something to Himiko? Angie: Hm? I just undid her brainwashing, that's all. K1-B0: But...Himiko is clearly acting strange. Himiko: That’s rude. I’m not acting strange. This is my true self... I guess Atua's words can't reach robots... K1-B0: Wha—! You're being robophobic again! Angie: It's okay! Atua has compassion for robots who look human! K1-B0: O-Okay... 

Aw. He’s worried about his friend...who doesn’t like him and said we should kill him. this boy, I swear. Very forgiving. We can add one to the ‘times Keebo actually outright said something was robophobic’ count...annnnd Himiko is literally using the reason that he’s a robot to invalidate his concern over her behaviour. i think he’s justified! Not to mention he instantly backs down when Angie basically goes ‘oh Atua would include you’ and doesn’t argue for any other robots here...really just say ‘stop treating me like i’m sub human’, but then they’d just say he is sub human so. robophobic it is :v He just wants to be included so badly...but he’s getting the message as a robot he can’t. and that is sad. of course he listens to angie later, atua and her will include him, even as a robot. Though not at first! The next time he talks...

Angie: No, noooo, that's wrong. It's not enough to simply live here forever. Our lives must also be full of divine purpose. In other words...We must make this academy  heaven on earth! Shuichi: What...? Angie: In doing so...our desire to leave will vanish, and the killings will cease. K1-B0: Are you...being serious right now? Angie: This place provides us all with shelter, food, clothing, and wonderful friends! What more could you possibly desire? Do not give in to your greed.

He’s very much on the ‘no, we are not staying here forever’ train. He can’t parse if she’s being serious or not. He’s also doing the job of reacting since Shuichi is still mostly reacting in his own head instead of out loud. Her argument might compel him a little though, considering how alternate plans of escape haven’t really shown up...

Himiko: Now is the time to demonstrate my powers. My magic is the only thing that can heal your twisted hearts. K1-B0: But in our current predicament, performing magic tricks is quite illogical- Himiko: Nyeeeh, don't disturb my concentration. You gotta learn to read the mood already. And...it's called a magic show cuz I do magic. Not tricks

Cut off again and dismissed! Keebo needs to avoid people shorter than himself, apparently it never goes well for him. Though he does get an unintentional stab at Himiko here by outright ignoring her ‘magic’ bit to clarify that they’re tricks. He isn’t too great at telling a sort of performance could cheer people up, sure...but people really should be thinking of other solutions too. but no we’re gonna dunk on the robot and go ‘shut up you’re dumb’. The fact he still attends when he clearly doesn’t get how it should help, or why...he’s trying so, so hard.

Korekiyo: Kehehe... Faith as intense as this can be quite terrifying. K1-B0: There may be no cause for concern. This does not appear to be related to our motive videos. Kaito: You're only worried about that? K1-B0: Of course. We cannot afford to take Monokuma’s motives lightly. Tsumugi: But...everyone who isn't here could be showing each other their videos, right?

yes kaito, he already expressed concern over Himiko’s behaviour and basically got told to sit down and shut up. Twice. Of course he’s only focused on the only thing he didn’t instantly get shut down over. You should have backed him up earlier! I really do love Kaito, but Keebo never really benefits from Kaito’s good qualities.  Free time again, he’s hanging out on the 3rd floor. Same general area as Maki’s lab...so basically alone, as usual.

K1-B0: A magic show...It seems unconnected to the killing game, so I do not foresee any issues with it... 

Fortune telling is not one of his skills. Though I suppose the show itself has no issues, it’s what happens before...This is also the last FT slot in the chapter so I’m smacking the level one FTE here.

K1-B0: Since you have come to speak to me...I can only assume that you've taken some sort of interest in me. Shuichi: Ah, well...you are a robot, after all. K1-B0: Indeed. Curiosity is a very useful human quality...Very well, I shall humor you. Shuichi: ...Hm. I feel as though he's talking down to me a little... K1-B0: So first, I will explain my functions. As a robot, I'm somewhat extraordinary compared to you. Shuichi: But...I remember you saying something about having the strength of an old person... K1-B0: T-True, but...Considering the tragedy that occurred during trial production, it was a logical design choice.Now first, is my visual acuity. I have 20/13 vision... Impressive, no? Shuichi: ...You think so? I believe that's pretty normal... K1-B0: What are you talking about!? Over 50% of high school students have less than 20/20 vision! But no matter what, my visual acuity will always be 20/13. Shuichi: If it got any worse, I suppose that would count as a malfunction... K1-B0: My next function will definitely surprise you. Shuichi, please raise your hand. Shuichi: Huh? My what? K1-B0: I want you to put your hand in front of my mouth. Shuichi: ...Like this? K1-B0 Haaaaaaaaaaa... Shuichi: ...What the hell is this? K1-B0: Haaaaaaaaaaa... Shuichi: Lukewarm breath grazed across my hand. Well, Keebo is a robot, so maybe not "breath"... K1-B0: How about that? In addition, my warm breath also functions as a dryer. Shuichi: Ah...I see... K1-B0: Now, now, you can't be surprised just yet, okay? Case in point, my hand can turn into a multi-tool! With both hands, I have 20 tools at my disposal! My finger can detect wafting aromas, and even distinguish between different scents! I also have a music player for when I'm bored. I can even play tapes and records. Neat, huh? Shuichi: I'm still thinking about how weird your breath felt, I dunno about your other functions... K1-B0: Don't be too surprised. After all, I am the Ultimate Robot! Shuichi: ...

The start of Keebo’s FTE is almost word for word how he starts with Kaede. This is how he introduces himself to people. This is him being confident and secure. Unlike Kaede though, Shuichi has no qualms in pointing out Keebo’s shortcomings instead of letting him chatter on like he does with Kaede. He spends a lot more time trying to show him new functions, apparently thinking he just needs to show one that’s a bit more ‘impressive’ to get a positive reaction. Like being asked questions, or at least a ‘oh that’s cool’ instead of ‘wait aren’t you weak’. But we’ll gloss over the the tragedy in trial production AGAIN. To the point he takes Shuichi’s baffled silence as a more positive reaction than of the others he got, seeing as he seems to think the detective is impressed...even though we know he’s not. It’s true most people don’t have twenty tools always on hand and a music player that can take tapes and records on them at all times but...it’s easy to dismiss as not that interesting. Even though he’s desperately fishing for validation here. The nicest answer we can get out of Shuichi here...is clearly a lie, to be honest. (Keebo probably uses that music function a lot.)

Shuichi: Y-Yeah...amazing K1-B0: Right? I am Professor Idabashi's masterpiece, after all. The professor's technology has given me the functions to support a life of comfort. Shuichi: A life of comfort... I see. That makes sense. K1-B0: However...My greatest attribute is actually not a function at all.

He takes it as a honest statement and instantly brings up how great his creator is. Keebo...cares about Professor Idabashi a lot. He is bragging, about himself...but everything he is is something his ‘father’ made. Or at least that’s what he thinks anyway...He wants people to know how great his dad is. and that’s sadly sweet. (Since he probably doesn’t exist. or care about him if he was made for this...) The part where he supports of a life of comfort is interesting though. Are you built to bring comfort to the professor, or mostly yourself Keebs? It could be both. It’s nice to think Keebo’s father figure would want him to be able to live comfortably...be able to stand on his own two feet as it were. He might not have a use for many of the functions, but he’s clearly thinks they’re valuable

Shuichi: That's actually pretty normal. K1-B0: Gh—! Wh-What do you mean, "normal"!? What do you know about robots!? The meaning of "normal" is purely subjective anyway! Don't assume your definition of normal is the same as mine! Shuichi: Oh no, he's really mad! K1-B0: F-Furthermore...! My greatest attribute is actually not a function at all.

ahahahaWHOOPS. Good job Shuichi, you genuinely upset him. Because you said his ‘father’s’ work is ‘normal’. Without the context of the ‘nicer’ reply, this can seem really out of left field! Keebo is usually all about being ‘normal’ and fitting in ‘like everyone else’ but here he goes basically spitting fire at Shuichi for it. What do you know about robots indeed Keebo...But hey, we get some of that impulsive side here, getting overwhelmed and just spitting out what he thinks right away. This is WAY more fight than we usually see him give Kokichi, and that guy’s mocking him all the time. probably because he hopes Shuichi is a better/nicer person than him but still. In contrast...

Shuichi: Ah...is that it? K1-B0: Is that it...? You mean, you're not impressed? Shuichi: Well, I assumed you would have more...special...functions. K1-B0: ...W-Well, you know...I *might* have a special function of sorts... Shuichi: ...Might? K1-B0: But Professor Idabashi told me to keep it a secret. I hope you get the chance to see it someday. And besides... My greatest attribute is actually not a function at all.

He just takes it when Shuichi is unimpressed. Clearly Shuichi not being impressed with him is a shortcoming on his part, not the Professor, or his work. Being told he’s lame or disappointing is something we’ve seen a lot of...and apparently that doesn’t trigger his get mad buttons. Think he’s...kinda used to it by chapter 2. Though Keebo will still try and fish for later attention by suggesting he does have a ‘special’ function he’s been told to keep a secret. (Though...what Keebo things is special might not rate such praise from others)

Shuichi: It isn't? K1-B0: You can't tell what it is? It's my compact, lightweight design that makes my various functions possible! This is what truly drives Professor Idabashi's technological revolution! Well? Now do you understand just how amazing I am? Shuichi: I don't know how to respond to his boasting...Maybe someone like Miu would really appreciate his mechanics. Shuichi understandably is ‘ you’re like slightly less heavy than Gonta and he’s way bigger than you Keebo wtf do you mean’. This makes far more sense when you know KEEBO CAN FLY. He’s lightweight enough for that That is incredible. Too bad Keebo doesn’t actually like flying, according to him. Though really, being light enough to travel around where humans can fairly easily when he’s made is metal and carrying quite a bit of hardware is similarly impressive, even if Shuichi doesn’t really see it. He does correctly get that Miu would probably be impressed though! sorry keebo your attempts to look self assured have failed yet again. (As I wonder if Keebo feels he can be above or below humans, but not equal considering how little success he has and how his final FTE finishes but mhm we’ll get there.) Keebo is ones already grabbed by Gonta by the time Shuichi gets dragged in.

Korekiyo: The same is true of the rest of us. We were all seized by Gonta...and brought here. Tenko: But Shuichi's the only one who got knocked out. K1-B0: Gonta apologized for that. Apparently he couldn't slow down in time when he tried to grab you. Shuichi: What is this anyway...? Why did Gonta do this?

Gotta let Shuichi know that Gonta is sorry. Gonta is probably one of the nicer ones to him in general, so it’s not a big surprise that he’s already forgiving the guy for dragging him here, and hoping Shuichi doesn’t blame him either. Since we know who’s to blame....

K1-B0: I do not think Gonta would ever decide on his own to capture us. What is Kokichi trying to accomplish by taking advantage of Gonta's naivete? Regardless, I cannot forgive his nonchalant attitude about using people!

...haha keebo’s being nonchalantly used by tons of people...Anyway he doesn’t blame Gonta for this at all, understandably and is already going ‘what is that little gremlin up to?' He’s been concerned about this exact thing for days but wasn’t able to do anything about it. He even clarifies that even if there was a ‘good’ reason, he cannot stand for Kokichi just using Gonta like this...but unfortunately won’t be able to prevent it the second time either.

Kokichi: Isn’t it great!? Only an evil supreme leader like me could do something so...eeeeeevil! K1-B0: Kokichi...why are you doing this? Kokichi: Oh, I thought we could throw ourselves a little screening party with all our videos. With all you here, exchanging our motive videos wouldn't be that difficult at all...And I wanna see your videos, too, so I figured we could all binge-watch them together! K1-B0: D-Do you know what will happen if you do that? Kokichi: Ummm... Everyone will know their motive and a killing will be more likely to happen? But I like playing on Mean difficulty. Also, I don't run from battles in RPGs, either! I wanna win this killing game! So I'm not gonna run from it, I'm gonna crush it! That’ll be waaaay less boring, don’tcha think?

protag and rival square off. Or more Kokichi monologues his evil plan. Keebo’s the one to confront him about it first...and oh look, Danganronpa reference in regards to difficultly level. I wonder if he suspects he’s talking to a camera already. After all, he decides the gathered group is ‘enough’ for the little viewing party even though Gonta couldn’t get everyone. Five missing people is quite a few.

K1-B0: It seems I must be the one to take care of this. With my talent, Kokichi, I will stop- Kokichi: Yeah, yeah. I don't have time to listen to some robot. Let's see...it's exactly 9 pm. right now. I should be back by nighttime. Welp! Have fun with the bugs till then!

sorry keebo you don’t get to have monologues. He just listed to yours Kokichi, get back here and listen to the whole thing. It is good to see Keebo taking initiative though! Even if...people are not going to be all that impressed even though it works.

Tenko: M-My Neo-Aikido is no match for Gonta's superhuman strength either... K1-B0: ...We still have a chance when Kokichi comes back. That’s when I will take care of this. Everyone, please just endure it until then. Shuichi: E-Endure it—

Hey remember how all the cameras in the game are apparently magically tiny bug bears? So feasibly all CGs could just be shots from them? How are there bugs on the edges on such a tiny camera? ...Well we have a bigger camera at this scene, don’t we! keebo’s totally buried by bugs like himiko is ohno. Keebo might not be able to get bitten, but he’s not having a good time at the insect meet and greet either. He doesn’t talk during it, and his post dialogue doesn’t mention his own feelings. I imagine bugs crawling inside him would be unpleasant though :v Hopefully that didn’t happen. All those armored plates have edges for things to get at though...hm.

K1-B0: ...Thank you for enduring it, everyone. This is the last chance. Please leave the rest to me.

He is gonna help! do your best you funky little robot. Though if anyone had stopped Kokichi from leaving or made him have to listen to the speech Keebo could have done this an hour ago. This is why you back up your robot buddy, kids.

Kokichi: Oh, don't worry about it, Gonta. Just keep watch so these guys don't— K1-B0: That’s it! I won’t let you do as you please! Kokichi: Hm? K1-B0: I didn't want to use this unless I absolutely had to. It eats up a lot of my electricity. But that’s neither here nor there! I will stop you right here, right now! Shuichi: Keebo...what are you going to do...? K1-B0: ... Shuichi: Still glaring at Kokichi, Keebo slowly reach a hand behind his ear...and spun the mechanical parts there. Tsumugi: He's lighting up!? Is he gonna self-destruct or— *whirrr...* Tenko: Huh? What's that sound? K1-B0: One moment please... I'm rewinding the tape right now. Himiko: The tape?

Shuichi: Keebo shouted out and pushed his palm against his ear That's when... ‘Is this your doing, Kokichi? Did you have Gonta kidnap us?’ Was that...my voice? ‘Nee-heehee...he's so simple-minded. As soon as I told him that everyone who hates bugs was trying to get rid of them......he started crying, and said that he would get you guys to love bugs...or something like that.’ Could this be...? K1-B0: So, what do you think!? You just saw my audio recording function for the first time! Tenko: Did he really just whip out an audio recorder like it’s some kinda secret weapon!? Tsumugi: Really? It’s a cassette tape? In this day and age? K1-B0: But it’s metal tape, you know!? Tsumugi: The sound quality isn't the issue! K1-B0: L-Let's just put this aside now. More importantly, it seems to have worked.

Over the top and flashy for...recording audio with very good quality. No wonder it uses so much electricity if he needs to light up to get it to work. Or he was just trying to show off since he’s personally getting back at Kokichi for this actions here...or at least making sure he’ll see some consequences. Not that it matters, he just gets made fun of anyway...even if he tries to defend the tape being metal as a way to seem less unimpressive. 

K1-B0: We must run while we still can! Tenko: Wait! We need to take back our Kubs Pads first! Shuichi: Tenko snatched the Kubs Pads from Kokichi. Kokichi: Awwww... Shuichi: Then, we all ran out of the lab. After leaving the room, I could still hear the muffled buzzing and Kokichi screaming.

yup keebo leads the fleeing out and totally leaves him there to his fate. With audible screams. He might be nice but he’s got limits. and apparently being locked in a room for like two hours being swarmed with bugs is one of those limits! Though I think he’s still more bothered by the ‘using Gonta’ bit. After they get out Monodam takes the pads to return them...

Tsumugi: But out of all of them, we can probably trust that one, right? K1-B0: Shall we go back to our dorms? It is well past nighttime. Angie: Nyahahaha, that's true! We have the magic show tomorrow.

of course you’d think that Tsumugi. We trust the robotic one that kills it’s siblings. Though they are the ‘friendliest’ cub...it just makes me think of another robot who gets determined to kill all their friends for the greater good hm. Keebo just thinks all his human friends should get some sleep, but he’s probably wanting to go charge if that light show just gobbled a chunk of his battery. It must be one hell of a drain if he can go a week normally without worry... Which he somewhat confirms in the morning.

Shuichi: Ah, Keebo. Good morning. K1-B0: Good morning, Shuichi How are you feeling today? Are you still sore from the events of last night? Shuichi: Ah, I'm fine. Are *you* alright? K1-B0: Yes, I’m fine. I’ve recharged the electricity that I used on my recording function. Even so...I'm very happy that I was finally able to use my functions to help everyone! Shuichi: Keebo's recording function... It's not exactly revolutionary technology, but it did help a lot. Yes, thank you, Keebo. You really earned your title of Ultimate Robot. K1-B0: Oh, it was nothing, really. If you ever need my help for anything, please don't hesitate to ask. Shuichi: Ahaha... Yeah, I sure will. K1-B0: So...the magic show is starting soon, yes? Everyone has probably gathered in the gym already. We should get going as well.

Shuichi actually asks if Keebo’s alright! Actual concern instead of more dunking! Keebo asking if Shuichi is okay is not as much of a surprise, but it’s nice to see he admits he’s happy that he was able to be helpful. He wants to be useful. Goes and downplays how he helped in order to keep stressing how ‘please ask me if you need help I WANT TO HELP’ :v Then he’s off to go to the Magic show, which he probably isn’t super interested in but Everyone Should Be There, so he’s gonna go. Also, we learn from Angie that Keebo and Kaito were the designated equipment carriers from Himiko’s lab. I guess it wasn’t too heavy, or Kaito might have been doing the brunt of the lifting. Also, when you talk to Angie before the show...

Angie: Tenko, you’re trembling. I've told you many times that Atua loves all His creations. Tenko: What do you mean, all his creations!? That's way too much love! What about Monokuma, huh? Does Atua love him, too? Angie: Of course. So we must love Monokuma, so that our love will reach him. Tenko: Shaddup already! Robots can't feel love! They can't feel any emotions at all! K1-B0: And yet...I felt a strange pain in my chest after you just said that...

y u gotta do this Tenko, he’s RIGHT HERE. or at least apologize! But no, we’re just gonna let Keebo know his emotions he’s feeling aren’t real I guess. You two were getting on okay, so of course he’s upset...but this does also set up a little more that Keebo’s heard Angie say Atua accepts robots twice now.

K1-B0: This is quite a professional-looking set. However, considering how unsettled Himiko is...We might not get to witness for ourselves the skill of the Ultimate Magician. How unfortunate.

Well, he’s impressed by the work his friends did! And seems like he’s at least semi-interested in seeing Himiko’s talent in action, even if he knows it’s trickery, not magic. He’s always ready to be a supportive sort of friend and praise their efforts. not that he gets it back all that much. He does get caught up in the tension of the show and seems to worry a bit after Gonta runs up to the stage.

K1-B0: Um...Less than ten seconds remain...

Notably, he’s also one of the ones who looks to be mid movement after this line...(there’s a lot of CGs for this part, huh)

K1-B0: Look! The piranhas! Tenko: H-Hurry! The curtains! Open the curtains already!

Then Ryoma is shown to be very very dead. Due to how everyone who wasn’t at the show rushes in, there aren't as many reactions before...well.

Kokichi: Yeah, break it. It’ll take too long to drain it by hand. Shuichi: But what would we even use to break— Kokichi: Gonta! Kee-boy! You’re up! K1-B0: Huh? What do you mean, we're up? Kokichi: Gonta, throw Kee-boy as hard as you can! Use that robot like a battering ram! K1-B0: Who are you calling a battering ram!? Gonta: Gonta throw Keebo! Got it! Tenko: Then, I’ll help too! K1-B0: N-Now wait just a second. You don't need to team up now—

K1-B0: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

robot gets yeeted despite protests because guy no one likes says to. Why are all you guys so mean to this poor robot. You could have seriously hurt him! Good thing he’s waterproof, but he still got treated as a thing and probably got nasty blood water all over him >> Does anyone even say ‘sorry’? Or even thank you? NO. being keebo is suffering, like it’s pretty funny but MAN these kids are jerks to him.

K1-B0: I’ve...gathered Ryoma’s body and belongings...in one place... Shuichi: Keebo looks depressed... He *was* just used as a battering ram, so I understand why.

maybe apologize for what happened? or tell Kokichi off, or Gonta for listening and Tenko for just going along with it? no? ok sure we’ll just leave him staring listlessly after carrying the remains of his friend while soaked in his blood, why not. after all he doesn’t have feelings, apparently. 

Korekiyo: In any event...let us begin the investigation. K1-B0: Investigation... So it's really going to start again. Tsumugi: I can't believe it... One of us killed Ryoma...

yes you can tsumugi. Why are you always talking near keebs this chapter. Unsurprisingly, Keebo still doesn’t really like the idea of a class trial and what it means, but I suppose it gives him something to think about that isn’t how he has zero respect around here. Anyway, Maki says ‘nope, i’m out’

Miu: The fuck is that bitch's problem!? She's seriously not gonna investigate!? K1-B0: That seems...rather irresponsible. Korekiyo: She likely assumes someone else will take care of it...and I suppose she isn't wrong.  

Considering you all die if you’re wrong, irresponsible is certainly a word that works. He doesn’t do name calling or anything though, just points out the behavour. She’s busy trying to hide she’s an assassin, but it isn’t like the rest of the kids have too much time to worry about that. Keebo is probably a bit more shaken than he lets on though, he doesn’t confront or talk to Kokichi at all while he’s busy accusing Himiko, and usually he does!

Kirumi: To solve this mystery, we must first learn the trick behind Himiko’s Underwater Escape Act... K1-B0: We have no choice in the matter. Shuichi: He’s right...we have no choice. We have no choice but to find the culprit who killed Ryoma. This investigation is to save all of our lives...because we’re risking our lives in the class trial!

Behold as Kirumi tries to send both protags on a pointless wild goose chase! The underwater trick and how it works turns out to be completely irrelevant! Which of course, Kirumi knows and is banking on. :v She’s sneaky. Anyway, Kaito is Shuichi’s partner for this case...

K1-B0: Although there are many unknown variables, the first thing we need to make clear is...when was Ryoma murdered? Kaito: Well, in the middle of the show, obviously. The culprit knew how Himiko's trick worked and took advantage of it to kill Ryoma. In other words, everyone watching the show isn't suspicious. K1-B0: ...Kaito, you didn’t attend the show either, did you? Kaito: N-No, but I'm still not suspicious. I forgot a promise...so I was just eating breakfast. You got it!? I’m not suspicious! K1-B0: I do not understand how that explanation is supposed to convince me. Shuichi: Keebo does have a point...

Robot is right, ‘when’ the murder happened is one of the most important details of the case. So thankfully, he didn’t just immediately try and follow Kirumi’s ill motivated advice. Apparently if Kaito gets questioned by Keebo his brain just goes into shock. Kaito isn’t dumb but he has this weird habit of getting flustered with Keebo’s blunt questions. Maybe because he’s figured out Keebs wants some reasonable explanations! and he doesn’t really have one and just...tries to justify himself in a way Keebs is not impressed with at all. He doesn’t provide any other information, but that’s not a big shock. Considering he was both at the show and the meet and greet and had to recharge, he didn’t really have a chance to see anything of use for this case. this will be a trend.

Shuichi: The fragments of the broken glass water tank have been piled up. There are so many tiny pieces...Gonta and Tenko certainly didn't hold back when they threw Keebo at the glass.

More proof of robot abuse. but really Keebo doesn’t come up much in this investigation. Kirumi actually shows up a second time to distract Shuichi by giving the ‘clue’ that Gonta was the last to see Maki at 8PM. She really had plans to not get caught. We have no need to hear from our robot friend again until pre-trial time.

K1-B0: ...Is everyone ready? Gonta: Not like we have choice, right? Korekiyo: Kehehe... You are quick to understand. It's as though Monokuma has you trained.

Has all of you trained, Kiyo. But Keebo’s doing his protag job in asking the obvious question to prompt responses :v

K1-B0: I did not calculate that we would gather here under these circumstances again...What would Kaede say if she saw us right now...?

I suppose it is also your job to hope. Though it is a little sad that he’s worried about letting Kaede down. Most of the others are more concerned about the trial and the case surrounding it at the moment, but this is what he’s stuck on. Shame and disbelief. this robot understands empathy very well, okay.  Class trial time :v

Kirumi: But it does point to Himiko being the most suspicious. K1-B0: Ryoma died during Himiko's magic show. Korekiyo: His body appearing in the water tank leads one to think the escape trick played a part. It’s only natural we suspect Himiko. She was the one performing the trick.

oh look who’s the first person to agree Himiko is suspect after Kokichi/Angie point to her. Keebo is just outright wrong here! This is why he is not the detective :v Somewhere along the way he’s decided ‘during the show’ was the time of death, whoops. This is also a bit weird becauseeee after the nonstop debate about the cause of death...

Angie: Ryoma drowned, Himiko changed places with him, and then the piranhas ate him. Right? K1-B0: No, Himiko only had 60 seconds to escape from the tank...Even if they changed places at the start of the show, that's insufficient time to drown someone. Kirumi: If that is the case, then when did he drown?

watch out the robot knows how long it takes to drown a man. But this is why his other comment is weird...he knows Ryoma couldn’t have drowned during the show? I suppose he didn’t know the cause of death...but it’s in the monofile...throwaway line you aren't meant to think about too hard but dang it

Korekiyo: Yes... By that point, he had already joined the ranks of the dead. K1-B0: Could that mean his body was hidden until the culprit made it appear in the tank? Gonta: Hidden...where? Kirumi: The culprit would have had to hide the body near the tank, and then show it during the act.

He gets back on the right track after Shuichi points out Ryoma had to die before the show. I super didn’t notice this the first time I played, but Kirumi is always here to make the correct idea seem unlikely and try and steer conversation away from it! and of course kokichi helps her derail it back to explaining the trick.

K1-B0: How did Himiko escape the water tank? Angie: Maybe she just climbed out and no one noticed.

So Keebo kicks off the non-stop debate about the water tank :v Because asking a question is his favourite thing to do, and he just tried suggesting the body could be hidden, so he’s filled his doing things quota.

Shuichi: The staircase also has an escape hatch, one facing away from us. It’s placed so that the water would not drain from the staircase. K1-B0: In which case, a person could exit and leave water inside the staircase. Shuichi: However, that person would be soaked, meaning that *some* trace should be left...That would explain why there was a puddle around the stairs...

Rephrase for the audience and give Shuichi a gap before he has to launch into another explanation. He’s quick to pick up the logic, but he doesn’t really need to apply it since Shuichi usually does that part too :v

Shuichi: ...It's because she changed her uniform. K1-B0: The dormitory is stocked with uniforms. Did you hide one behind the stage in advance? Himiko: Nyeh... Nyeeeh! Angie: I remember seeing Himiko go to the gym this morning, carrying a uniform and a towel.

He does get to do it here though! V3 is nice in letting the other characters also confirm things without Shuichi’s handholding, but he will still be doing the bulk of it, obviously :v keebs can be smart.

Miu: So Himiko went in the stairs with the body!? What kinda kinky shit is she into!? K1-B0: That seems unlikely. There isn't enough space for two people to fit in there. Tsumugi: Yeah, the stairs are pretty cramped. It'd be hard to fit even Ryoma and Himiko in there.

Keebo makes a point, Tsumugi takes the chance to reiterate it to be ‘helping’ by doing very little :v Angie argues for a switcheroo which leads to the next debate, Shuichi refutes it, leading to

Korekiyo: She had no need to worry about us witnessing her at that point. For the entire stage was hidden behind a curtain. To all but Gonta, anyway. K1-B0: Then the culprit never would have considered hiding inside the staircase with the body.Entering the staircase *after* moving the body is much faster, and seems more rational too! Tsumugi: Then...Ryoma’s body wasn’t hidden in the stairs?

He’s back again to confirm his earlier point was correct! With extra logic on his side thanks to Gonta going where he wasn’t meant to. and yes mugi that is what he just said please pay attention. He’ll keep defending it too, such as in the debate afterwards.

Tsumugi: It wasn't really in the stairs, was it? K1-B0: After all, there was only enough space for Himiko.

Shuichi’s busy agreeing with Korikiyo here since he actually goes into what another option might be other than reiterating it’s not the stairs. Trial goes on, Miu correctly accuses Kirumi but of course, it’s too early and baseless so we need to argue with her.

Gonta: I-Is too soon to tell. We should hear what everyone has to say, right? Miu: Fuck that noise! K1-B0: But, Miu, you don't have an alibi for when the crime occurred either, do you? Miu: Y-You think I’m suspicious? I...don’t even know where the gym is.

oh Miu. Robot is always glad to point out relatively simple contradictions like this and get people flustered. Not one to accuse though, since he might simply not know something...

Tenko: Anyway, among those four, the culprit must be the one who doesn't have an alibi! K1-B0: ...I apologize but given the circumstances, we have no choice but to suspect you. Tenko: Suspect who!? Who’s the culprit!?

Even though he says sorry, this triggers a mass panic debate :v Though it’s the logical thing to do, he can occasionally figure out putting people on the spot for murder can be uncomfortable and apologize for it. This is a friendly robot who is way nicer than most people are to him gdi. Miu, Kaito and Kirumi squabble it out. Keebs ends up being in TWO conversations :v

Miu: I have an alibi! K1-B0: What is your alibi? Miu: When I was running from Gonta...Things got a little...heated if ya catch my drift.

He caught it, and apparently had no interest in following up, as that segment switches to Angie asking after Maki’s alibi. Keebo decides to poke at Kirumi’s alibi instead. which is the weak point for this debate. All business today it seems!

Kirumi: That was five minutes before 9:00 p.m. K1-B0: Did you really leave the gym at 9:00 p.m.? Are you sure you did not stay at the gym?

Of course the bullet that breaks it is Kokichi’s account. Because Kokichi and Keebo get on like a house on fire :v which of course means it’s time for the two to squabble again.

Kirumi: This information could have been told to us beforehand. Kokichi: Sorry! Forgot! I definitely didn’t keep it a secret to make the trial more interesting! K1-B0: Forgot...? It seems far more plausible that you were telling another lie. Kokichi: Unlike robots, we meatbags can't pull out our memories from our hard drive. K1-B0: Was that supposed to offend me? Your irrationality fills me with pity...

Of course, the alibi ends up being worthless since the time of the crime isn’t what the kids think it is. (Later it’ll damn Kirumi but right now? not so much.) It makes Kirumi look like less of a suspect so it’s actively harmful, whoops :v So were you ‘forgetting’ because it won’t help solve the case yet...or just having fun. Either way, Keebo shows that he really needs to install a sarcasm detector, that was REALLY blatant. But sassy robot returns, he goes from angry to eye rolling once he realizes it’s more of a backhanded complement than an insult. ‘Why yes my memory IS better than yours, annoying purple meatbag’. Too bad it ultimately leads to Kirumi being off the hook so Kokichi can get his ‘make Maki and Kaito fightfightfight’ game on but I like this interaction. He gets to feel proud of himself a little :v He keeps this attitude for a bit, considering...

K1-B0: Most of that was unintelligible nonsense, but it would seem that Miu has an actual alibi. Kokichi: Yup. It took a while, but at least we got everyone's alibis cleared up...We should remember all of this, in case we need to recall these events again.

oh no they’re AGREEING. someone check hell it’s probably freezing over. But lookit that swipe at Miu. They really don’t start off on the right foot at all! We get the everyone’s alibi bullet which still ultimately means nothing(for now)...and Kokichi gets the fight ball rolling with a...surprising assist from Keebo?

Kokichi: If one of them is the culprit, then the innocent one should know who the guilty one is. Yeah? Because if you know you're not the culprit, then you can just accuse the other person. K1-B0: Yes, that is true. Kokichi: Which means, there is one person among us who definitely knows who the culprit is! To that someone who knows... Do your best to convince us! Work harder!

He’s still eye rolling here, but offers his agreement. which yes, it is true...if either of the accused is the culprit. Which they aren’t. Keebo doesn’t know this, obviously but it’s still weird to see them ‘working together’, but this happens more often the further we go. Mostly because Keebo will follow anything with a solid/logical backing. Kokichi might be a liar, but he generally has a solid bit of evidence or logic to springboard off of. (even when taking us in the WRONG DIRECTION. if you wanted to pressure maki we could have done this in a way easier way you little gremlin). So really, these two will team up more often than Keebo would with say...Kaito, who prompts his next line.

Kaito: Hmph... You don't get it. This isn't just any hunch...This is an official hunch from *the* Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! Tsumugi: Wh-What...? K1-B0: How illogical... This is even more difficult to comprehend than Kokichi's antics. Kokichi: You're totally not serious! You can't be *that* stupid, right?

Yup. Kaito is more confusing than Kokichi. Kaito is basing Maki’s innocence on nothing but what he feels, which people can sort of get. We all have ‘hunches’, the backs of our brains picking up on little things that we might not actively be paying attention to, and he’s got a lot of belief and trust to give. We can get it, some people you just want to trust! Keebo doesn’t get it. Error, no input found, please give me a provable, actual reason for that hunch. I kind of think he doesn’t even get hunches himself. He can clearly worry, or have concern, but he might lack those sort of gut feelings on if you can trust something or not. After all, he can actively search through his own ‘brain’ and explain why he feels a certain way, he doesn’t need to just ‘have a feeling’. Kokichi following Keebo up here to slap an insult on an honest statement of ‘i have no goddamned idea what you’re on about’ is just expected :v

Kirumi: So...you do not have any evidence. K1-B0: Only baseless conjecture. Tenko: B-But...I totally get where he's coming from! Cuz I wanna believe in Himiko too!

Kaito’s inspiring speech broke zero ground in the ‘make the everyone understand’ attempt. Whoops. So Keebo’s backing up the murderer pointing out the lack of proof. As it is baseless conjecture. You need a fact, or at least a lie presented as fact to get him to understand what you’re driving at. This is honestly interesting, considering he’s ‘hope’ motivated later on. There’s nothing logical about a meaningless hope! So it feels less like him and more his...helpful voice telling him to ignore logic... Maki fesses up to say she saw Ryoma at nighttime

K1-B0: So Ryoma was still alive at nighttime!? Tenko: I thought the crime took place between 8 and 10 o'clock at night?

He’s not on board yet, but he’s listening! Even though if true, haha we spent all that time talking about stuff that doesn’t matter.

Miu: Quit fuckin' around! You think I'm dumb enough to swallow that line of crap!? Kirumi: Yes, this seems too convenient. K1-B0: But why did Maki wait until now to mention that? Kokichi: Ah-hahahaha! It’s totally obvious! Maki’s sooo desperate that she has to lie!

oh hi kirumi no big surprise you simply go ‘no it is garbage’. Keebo’s the one to offer a way out by asking why exactly she didn’t mention it until now, he’s not instantly saying it’s out of the question. Kokichi follows up to try and press that it’s a lie, answering his question. Which probably just tells him that he should keep listening, since Kokichi lies so much :v

Kirumi: Does this mean you an Ryoma recived one another’s motive video? Maki: Maybe... I actually didn't check the one I got, so I wouldn't know. K1-B0: Maki admitted earlier that she hadn't checked her Kubs Pad. Angie: Then why did Ryoma think that Maki had his motive video? Kaito: If he went around asking at random, he might've asked some people besides Maki. Miu: He never asked me! He probably never asked you guys either, right!? K1-B0: Then...who was it that told Ryoma about his Kubs Pad?

Flexing that good memory, and giving Maki a little backup. After all, Keebo’s an expert in what it feels like to get dismissed :v He them prompts Shuichi to Do His Thing in calling Kokichi out as the one who told Ryoma. (Though he doesn't actually get to make him answer before they get derailed again) Though even though he’s willing to listen and belive she possibly did see Ryoma...he’s still not too thrilled about Maki’s choice to keep it secret.

Korekiyo: *If* that story is true... Maki: ...It's true. K1-B0: Then why did you wait until now to bring that up? Maki: I didn’t say anything until now because I wasn’t in the mood to be suspected.

He’s pointing and everything. He’ll believe you but darn it explain. He wants to understandddd. But still, no name calling or excessive rudeness, because he is a good lad who doesn’t threaten or do such things. She explains not wanting to be suspected buuuut

Kaito: Well, whatever. Either way, let's just believe Maki. Angie: Yes, yes. Those who believe shall be saved. K1-B0: No, we need to wait. There is still more to confirm— Shuichi: Well then, why don’t we ask Kokichi?

couldn’t you wait for him to finish the goddamned sentence Shuichi. Still, Keebo’s not a hasty one, the second Kaito wants to just go ‘good enough’ robot is right back to WAIT NO THAT’S NOT LOGICAL. It does get Kokichi to properly admit he knows who had who’s pads though. More squabbling about believing Maki ensues...

Korekiyo: I find Maki's testimony suspicious. It's far too...convenient for her. K1-B0: This is...difficult to determine. Kokichi: Maki is lying! Like I said before, a liar like me knows their own kind!

Are you trying to convince Keebo, Kokichi? You keep reiterating your point right after he speaks. Keebo is basically admitting he’s completely undecided and not taking a stand either way, but he’s usually pretty wishy-washy...because having an opinion involves what he thinks. and he doesn’t like admitting what he’s thinking very much. Certainly not if he doesn’t have a fact to back him up. Shuichi lies in the following debate. keebo will basically always follow shuichi, he’s the ultimate detective. Though hearing everyone else agree/trust him first probably lets him consider it true more easily. (and kokichi just nudging shuichi he saw that lie but not doing anything about it...)

Himiko: So we're right back where we started... What a pain. K1-B0: However, it should be clear now that the crime occurred after nighttime began. Kirumi:  But then when was Ryoma's body placed inside the piranha tank?

Maki’s testimony + Kokichi’s admitting of telling Ryoma Maki had his kubspad + Shuichi’s lie about overhearing= enough to set this as ‘the truth’ for Keebo. It is true, but here comes Kirumi to instantly derail them to the wrong detail first. When doesn’t really matter right now!

Miu: So did we fuck up by thinkin’ the body got stuffed into the piranha tank? K1-B0: I don't think so. We have evidence to prove that's what happened. Tenko: Then when did the culprit throw the body into the piranha tank?

There is evidence, and even then he’s saying ‘think’. he’s so hesitant to speak in absolutes right now. As he might be wrong :v The whole Maki debacle was confusing for him. But now Tenko is repeating the question Kirumi posed and we go on a merry goose chase and have a scrum debate about it. Keebo’s on Shuichi’s side again. (He always will be, with one exception.) He doesn’t actually have a line though! He just gets to shout THIS IS OUR ANSWER with everyone.

K1-B0: That means it was certainly possible to put the body in the piranha tank from the window... Shuichi: However, I’m also positive the pane dividing the piranha tank was set up beforehand. Korekiyo: That certainly couldn't be tossed in. It would need to be placed carefully. Kirumi: Even if the culprit were to throw the body from outside the window...The window is far too high. It cannot be reached from the floor.

protag explaining tag team. Shuichi speaks more confidently in trials, saying things like ‘he’s confident’ while Keebo is hovering around with ‘possible’. You think our detective is an anxious mess half the time? so’s the robot :v oh and Kirumi is once again pointing out ‘problems’ to try and get the line of thought dropped. It works, considering we start going on about the ladder and whatnot and slam headlong into a logic wall until Maki says ‘okay no, time to talk about Where Die, not how get in fish tank’. You knew too Kokichi don’t you ‘ Why didn't anyone realize this yet?’ me :v

Shuichi: That’s important to remember...it’s not as if everyone here *wants* us to find the truth. One of us is trying to sabotage this trial... K1-B0: Well then, let's discuss the crime scene to figure out who the culprit is. Himiko: That's not a bad idea for a robot. The last time I heard such a good idea was......when Nino told me to move in with her under the bridge to get out of the cold. Tenko: Himikawa Under the Bridge!?

it’s a Arakawa Under the Bridge reference :v Honestly there’s tons of references in the game in general and we can totally blame Tsumugi for them. Keebs is glad to be the one to agree to a new topic though. Then he doesn’t have to state an opinion and can just fish for everyone else’s thoughts! He doesn’t even react to the ‘for a robot’ crack at him. :c Though for good reason I suppose when no one takes you seriously and judges you on a dime. Next nonstop debate to establish the crime scene...

Angie: Wasn't it the dorm room? Ryoma was relaxing in his room when he got attacked. K1-B0: But the cause of death was drowning. There is nothing in his room that could collect enough water.

Refuting Angie’s idea with a pointless weak point. I DO think the white noise that goes across when Miu goes ‘S-S-Sow’ might be Keebo though. ‘This is difficult to watch’ does match his general speaking style, and probable opinion :v

Angie: Hmmm...How did those handcuffs get from the lab to the water tank? Maki: Because Ryoma was wearing them, right? K1-B0: Yes, though they were only visible for a brief moment when Ryoma appeared in the tank. I am certain he was wearing the handcuffs at the time. Kirumi: The handcuffs were left after the piranhas devoured Ryoma

He did it, he said he was certain about something! Good job. Considering perfect memory and the horror that was that moment it was probably very easy to recall. oh dear keebo has perfect memories of all his friends corpses. that can’t be fun. oh and the fun of being THROWN AT THE REMAINS. Kirumi ‘helps’ with the easy logic of handcuffs didn’t get eaten. :v Now we’re working with the angle of body movement now that we know it came from Ryoma’s ultimate lab. Tenko suggests just tossing the body from the pool area...

Kirumi: Your explanation contradicts some things we discussed earlier. The gym window was too high to reach from the pool side, even if one used the ladder. Tenko: That’s right! I apologize! I must go on a journey to reflect on this! K1-B0: We keep hitting dead ends, since we don't know how the body was thrown into the gym... Kokichi: Nee-heehee... Well, that didn't really give us any info about the crime.

So of course the murderer tries to make it sound impossible, since we’re getting a bit too close to the truth! Keebo’s frustrated at this point, he’s eye rolling again with no leads to how it was actually done. He hasn’t considered the new approaches that could be possible now that they know where everything started. Kokichi ‘agreeing’ with him should be a tip off though :v shuichi goes and drives a brain taxi and raises the rope possibility.

Kirumi: Is the rope long enough to reach both windows? Korekiyo: The rope is roughly 65 feet in length. As for the distance between the windows... K1-B0: According to the sign at the pool, the width of the pool is roughly 35 feet...and the distance from the edges of the pool to the windows is an additional 16 feet. Altogether, the sum total length from one window to the other is roughly 50 feet. Gonta: And pool is only thing between research lab and gym windows... Miu: You bet it’s long enough! Heh! That’s what she said!

Chatty when he can do something easy like math! Numbers make sense and don’t confuse him with believing and who is working against them. Miu does basically sum up what Keebo took a paragraph to say tho. Since he needs to show his work. he likes having proof, and assumes everyone else likes knowing how he got the answer too. oh and reminder gonta is still plenty smart, he points out how to do the rope trick here. Then we talk about the zipline-i mean ropeway.

Korekiyo: You say the culprit placed their foot on the windowsill? Isn't that against school rules? It would count as entering the gym, would it not? Monosuke: Last time we got asked that question, we decided it was okay. Stickin' your body through the window is an automatic out, but standing on the sill is— K1-B0: Wait, who asked you last time? Monosuke: ...Eh? K1-B0: It is quite possible that the culprit went to you to confirm the details of their plan... Monosuke: ... ...O-Oh shiiiiit!

He does know how to press on something suspicious! Not too surprising he’s the one to confront a Kub, he even cut him off to do this. Keebo seems to put more stock in what the Monokubs say or do at any given time anyway. Of course, he won’t answer, but it isn’t really necessary. Just confirming someone asked was enough, which that freakout accomplished. Kirumi tries to sidetrack again with the ‘multiple trips’ thing...

Korekiyo: Which is why the crime was committed during nighttime, while we all slumbered. K1-B0: But if the culprit was so careful to recover the rope they used to commit the crime...Why did they leave the inner tube in the pool? Shuichi: I believe that was an accident.

He really, really loves questioning things. This part doesn’t make sense, better ask about it, and hurrah, my detective has an answer ready to go. He might not contribute much himself, but he does provide setup :v Shuichi announces Kirumi as his top suspect...

Korekiyo: That is not yet a certainty. Let us hear her testimony first. K1-B0: Is this true, Kirumi? Kirumi: I cannot believe you would suspect me...If that is the case, then I will have to deny it. I will not let you make the wrong choice.

question.exe is always running. i swear. Still, never just taking it right away, he wants to hear an answer. Snap judgements are not his thing. Even if he does lean towards believing Shuichi. because he has secret protag sensing powers. Trial 2 is such a change from one with how hard Kirumi fights here. since kaede did not want to kill everyone :v Keebs says quiet until he’s heard enough proof to throw his support behind Shuichi again

Shuichi: Just tying the rope to the frame wouldn't cause so much damage. The rope that was tied to the frames must have been weighed down significantly. The frames didn't break, but they were left with distinct marks. K1-B0: Those scratches are proof that you used a rope to carry the body to the windowsill. Kirumi: ... Kokichi: Oh? What’s wrong, Kirumi? What’s wrong, what’s wrong!? Hey, what’s wrong? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!?

Pictured: two very different confrontation styles. I suppose it makes sense Keebo would be knowledgeable about scratches on metal :v He’ll just state some proof that goes with Shuichi’s statement, while Kokichi attempts to annoy her into submission instead. Shuichi brings up the black fabric/the ‘everyone’ thing and Kirumi slips.

Kirumi: Y-Yeah, so what? You’re still wrong! Your logic is flawed!!! K1-B0: Kirumi...why are you becoming increasingly erratic? Korekiyo: Kehehe... There is such absolute beauty in trying to fight against the truth.

:c He’s confused again. Yelling out questioning perfectly good logic is strange for her, emotionally charged, and he hasn’t really figured out guilt and panic makes people act out strangely. He knows the feelings exist, but not the full extent they can go to. and really it can’t be fun to watch someone so collected start falling apart because they murdered another one of your friends and is going to die for it...

Shuichi: The extra uniforms in our rooms are made of the same material we're wearing now. We can test my theory by comparing the fabric scrap with your glove. Kirumi: Gh...grgh... K1-B0: ...Well, Kirumi? Will you allow us to compare the black fabric we found in the pool with your gloves? Kirumi: U-Uhhh...!

‘will you allow us to damn you’. Keebo, you sound like you’re mocking her if you ask now. but he probably doesn’t quite realize that. comic, kirumi spite votes shuichi...

Tenko: Th-There’s nothing good about this at all...! *sob, sniffle...* Wh-why did it have to be Kirumi...? K1-B0: Truly, this result was unexpected. Tsumugi: How can you be so calm about it...?

This time, the culprit actively tried to get away with it. He might not really know how to feel about the whole thing. Kaede was apologizing, while Kirumi was fighting the whole way (and will keep doing so). He probably would have said this about anyone though...suspecting friends isn’t something he likes to do. and you made him this way moogie shush. 

Tsumugi: You mean like from the motive video? So Kirumi watched hers after all? K1-B0: Earlier, Kirumi mentioned that she had accepted a request...Perhaps that request came from a someone important in her motive video? Kirumi: ... Maki: ...Do you have nothing to say for yourself?

Going to ask more questions to try and understand, as per usual. Kirumi does use this as a chance to try and get away again mhm. Keebo isn’t using any of his distressed sprites here either. He might be coming off as a bit heartless at the moment, poking at ‘why did you kill’ and not even looking shaken. so guess who mentions that after Kirumi drops the ‘prime minister’ bit.

Kokichi:  I don't think it's odd that an Ultimate-level talent could be *that* powerful. I mean, Kee-boy’s talent lets him pretend to be human, even though he’s a heartless robot. K1-B0: How rude! I am not pretending! I am still learning! Tsumugi: U-Uh...I see. Well...good luck, I guess.

Yes, this gets the biggest reaction out of him. That’s normal and easy to understand over ‘how do we feel about this.’ While Tsumugi mocks his attempts to learn because she’s terrible :v and Kokichi is almost another backhanded complement? ‘Pretend to be human’, so you do buy his ‘pretending’ and how he seems very human? even though you keep calling him heartless and emotionless...and getting him thrown at things...

Monokuma: I am the ruler of this world. Nothing is beyond my power. Shuichi: Nothing is beyond your power? What kind of arrogant, ridiculous— K1-B0: That is 100% a lie! It is impossible that he could bring disaster to a country! Monokuma: Puhu... Puhuhuhu

Keebo feels the need to cut Shuichi off here! To back him up, but I wonder if his inner voice was telling him he had to deny that claim. He’s throwing out impossible and 100%, certainties...while Monokuma is mugging for the audience. as he basically is a god in their fake little world. It would explain how he’s changed his mind by the next line...

Tsumugi: Kirumi's got the lives of hundreds of millions of people on her shoulders, right? K1-B0: Logically, Kirumi’s survival would result in fewer casualties than our collective survival would. Himiko: Geez... Maybe it would've been better if we'd gotten the culprit wrong...

He seems to believe it now. Not enough to say anything definitive, but he will say it’s ‘logical’. even though you can’t really assume that. Who knows what the collective rest could do for people? No one :v

Kokichi: Do you really think someone as desperate to live as Kirumi would give up so easily? Of course not. In fact, she probably still hasn't given up, even now. She was hoping that learning the truth would make one of us volunteer to die in her place. K1-B0: ...What!? Kirumi: ... Kokichi: But Monokuma would never allow a blackened to escape punishment, so maybe......she wanted everyone to rebel, so she could use that as cover to escape on her own. ...How about it, Kirumi? Am I close?

This shakes him. Lying over something so important is almost unbelievable. After all, he couldn’t see why someone would lie on someone else’s behalf with their life on the line in trial one. Not really a shock he doesn't consider the opposite being possible too. Keebo doesn’t really...lie. Basically ever. The closest he ever gets is a flustered non answer that is technically a lie in a back route. He still cheers her on when she makes a break for it though.

K1-B0: Run! Please hurry!

He doesn’t really react to the death, he’s prompted to speak by Angie.

Angie: ...Oh? Isn't that what Atua said? All desire, even your desire to escape this place, can corrupt you beyond redemption. K1-B0: It's Monokuma who is corrupt. He is the one who distributed the motive videos. Korekiyo: Those videos were more dangerous than we thought. To have driven Kirumi that far...

He’d still rather blame the obvious antagonist over the people he calls friends. Clashing with Angie here doesn’t stop him from getting roped in later...hhm.

Shuichi: That must be why Kirumi did not want to show the videos. She thought that if everyone felt the same murderous rage that she did...this killing game would be pure chaos. She...wanted to stop it. Kokichi: If that's the case, then we really shouldn't show our videos to each other! K1-B0: That was our consensus from the beginning. Not including you, of course.

Shuichi gives a pretty kind interpretation of her actions, and Kokichi earns some robot sass for his actions. Kokichi likely had his own video and was not driven to any such murder...figured out his own plan might actually be bad too little too late.

K1-B0: For now...we should rest. To me, that seems the most rational course of action.

keebo wants to be morgana. GO TO BED. While you just...sit around awake all night long and think about what happened, I guess. Of course, we won’t do that because we have another reveal to do first.

Kokichi: Maki admitted it during the class trial, remember? Ryoma wanted her to show him his motive video cuz he was looking for a reason to live. But that wasn’t the whole story... Ryoma was blackmailing you, wasn’t he, Maki? K1-B0: B-Blackmail? Ryoma just so happened to discover Maki's true identity. So he used that to blackmail her. I bet he said something like... “If you don’t show me my motive video, I’ll tell everyone what you really are.”  That's why Maki didn't want us to know she met with Ryoma. She wanted to keep her true identity a secret! That’s why she kept quiet until the last minute!

That’s the last thing he does, enables Kokichi by asking for clarification :v Hope you liked to see Keebo do things, as the ‘trio’ forms up he has fewer chances to show up. He’s still got a few in 3, but in 4 and 5 he’s fairly sidelined. Well he TALKS a lot, but mostly just his normal questions :v

hahaha this took way to long why am i like this. when am i going to cover his gifting dialouge. who knows. aaaaaaaaaaa. feel free to yell at me about the robitt. or any of the characters :v Chapter 3 will come sooner than I expect I assume...

[tempo-takoyaki]

So why do you have a norray fic reading preference? I’m going to take a shot in the dark and assume it’s because of how people sometimes write Emma in ship fics?

Well, people, let me enlighten you to my internal conflict about fanfictions and our three main characters. It’s long, complicated, and a mostly me ranting about little stuff.

(yes, it’s long to the point I put a “read more”, I don't want to bother people who don't want to read my rants)

Let’s start with the beginning.

To put more context to this: I ship Norrayemma. So, all those ships separately don’t bother me (I like Rayemma, Noremma and Norray). So it has nothing to do with my personal bias on ships, or the story itself. Really, like you have guessed, it comes from the fandom.

I arrived in the TPN fandom (after fleeing the Danganronpa fandom like I could) during the broadcast of the anime, so they weren’t lots of people yet (and it was still alive as a fandom unlike AssClass… I can still hear the crows). And as such: not a lot of fics! Which gave me time to… uh… read 60% of the fandom’s fic? (You think it’s easy, but then you haven’t been in big fandoms then with their 30 000 fics, TPN had like… 200 fics back then? Not a lot.) Which narrowed down the choices a lot. And made me able to make some conclusions about certain types of fic.

As such, I was able to conclude a few things. First of all: 90% of Rayemma fics are filled with rainbows and unicorns and will give you diabetes with how sweet they were. (When it’s angsty, it’s using tropes). Second of all, Noremma fics were… at 80% of the time… Not only sexist as shit but also gave some of the worst characterizations ever created on earth. (How to say that I preferred reading RE at the time). And Norray fics were non-existent (NO KIDDING, they were like… 10 of them and they all had the same plot, they switched the roles sometimes but that was too daring, sarcasm intended).

Well, that’s not including smut, because Rayemma smut has always been very well written overall for me, while Noremma one was just a cheap pack of chips probably already opened by rats. And Norray was non-existent. (One of the reasons why a lot of shipper still feel like they are in the ‘rare-ship’ category even though they have overthrown the market)

How to explain, that when the first REAL Norray fanfictions arrived, with their incredible characterization, developed plot, and detailed universes arrived I jumped on the occasion immediately. DAMN even the smut was better than the Noremma ones! (and if you have been in fandoms for longer than me, you know how gay smut is used and re-used.)

It was not about if Noremma or Rayemma was toxic or not anymore, it was about how dedicated you had decided to become to your stories to develop it into something slightly likeable! Which Norray shippers do, as well as those who really want to finally put into the spotlight the OT3. And it just seemed that people doing gay shits did that better.

Oh I’ve seen a few good Rayemma or Noremma fanfics, but it’s still in the minority. I also managed to find a good love triangle story once but dropped it because I… needed to re-read it every time I wanted to catch a new chapter. But it was very good.

Like you, anon, suggested, I have a problem with how people characterize Emma too. Like @vinokurinner showed in their recent posts on insta… Fanon!Emma and Canon!Emma are very different, both in western and eastern fandoms. (Actually, the best characterization of Emma I’ve seen overall are from Korean artists or people who like to draw stupid stuff). Like they say…

Being an Emma stan is suffering. (except for goodies, I love my nendo)

The quality of a fic depends a lot of how Emma is characterized to me (because it just shows how well you are at guessing how a character acts), so of course, most Norray fics can pass the test as long as they don’t make of Emma a recurrent character in their fic (but all of my favs have her at least as an important side-character). But also, most of them do something that makes me addict (and you can too, with 80% of chance of succeeding):

Because boys don’t seem to want to smooch in canon, they do AUs, and most importantly: develop those AUs. And I’m a sucker for good written universes.

 Now the question comes: but what about gens? If only there was enough Gens John… If only… ヽ(￣ω￣(。。 )ゝ We live in a world who is ruled by sexuality and relationships focused on strong feelings, not leaving enough room for simple and pure friendships…

What about mystery driven fics that are not ship-focused? I have some, but I’m mostly satisfied with mines.

Are there really no good Rayemma and Noremma fanfictions? That’s wrong! There’s a lot of very good ones (I recommended two earlier), but you will find the best content amongst fanarts. RE and NE are fanarts ships, while Norray is best in fanfictions to my own opinion (fanarts tend to fetichize those type of relationships sadly, mostly is eastern fandoms). Though if you want to, I was a big fan of two Noremma fanfics set in fantastical universes (one was a Mermaid AU and the other set in some kind of Chinese fantasy magic thing… it was cool, weird, but cool), as for Rayemma, if most are very cute, it doesn’t mean they are bad in any way.

Is there another reason as to why you are very picky about Emma fanfictions? I headcanon Emma as being either aromantic, or asexual, or both. It’s not the case all the time, but I like it that way (I even gave some hints in Giver). So either the romance is good enough to make me forget about the headcanon, or you meet the wall that comes with it. And not only that, but as my fav character, I wish people would show her more respect.

You’re sure you don’t have a thing against Noremma? Not the ship. The fans. And not everyone, some of them. (I like Norman too after all)

Anyway, thank you for reading all of my little rant ! 

TL;DR : I read more Norray because those fics are often better written than Noremma or Rayemma.

[ahgasescenarios]

Block Out the Noise- Wong Yukhei

Word count: 1.4k

Plot summary: Yukhei was too loud for your liking, much too loud. When you come over to the WayV dorm, Yukhei notices something that may prove to change things between you two. But to what extent?

A/N: Hello everyone! I’m back with another scenario and I may be back for good this time, I’m taking a creative writing class in school and it has actually proven to be really helpful. Be on the lookout for more of my writings because I hope to be writing much, much more.  Thank you guys so much for everything and I promise I’ll do my best to provide the content you deserve in 2020 😊

masterlist

  As Kun’s best friend, you had grown accustomed to his calm nature which you reciprocated. You tended to stay away from crowds and noise in general. The WayV dorm was the farthest from peaceful you had ever known, and you had had a tough time adjusting to the overly energetic boys. They were just so damn loud; you couldn’t stand it. Especially the tall one, Yukhei? That one particularly got on your nerves, and the feeling was mutual.

You had managed to develop somewhat of a routine over the past few months, though and while you still did not tolerate the Lucas character, you managed to block out the rest of the chaos if (more like when) need be. Since the boys had recently come back from promotions, you thought it to be a good idea to surprise them with orders of their favorite milk tea. You knocked on the door (barely balancing the drink carriers in your arms). You were met with your least favorite face of the bunch.

“Oh, it’s you.” He scrunched his nose up in disdain.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, mind helping me out here?”

“And why would I do that?”

You rolled your eyes and struggled to put down the drinks on the marble counter.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” You shoved his drink into his hand before he got a chance to reply.

You went around the dorm handing out everyone a drink, to which everyone expressed their gratitude except one.

“So, what are we doing today?” You asked.

“Actually, we’re beat. We’ll probably just all do our own thing today, but you’re still welcome to stay if you’d like.” Your best friend replied, sleepiness evident in his voice. You accepted his proposition and headed over to the couch to catch up with Xiaojun (who had grown to become your favorite).

You leaned forward as you reminisced about a given anecdote. From the kitchen, Yukhei’s eyes caught a flash of color in their midst. He turned his head to analyze the source of this color and found himself staring right at your back, the pink strings of your thong resting on your hips. He felt something twitch inside of him and had to take a moment to shake it off. This was the first time he saw you as well, a girl and this newfound attraction disturbed him as much as it excited him. He decided to join your conversation on the couch, settling down next to you which came as a surprise to both Xiaojun and yourself. Yukhei paid it no mind though and interrupted you mid-sentence to whisper in your ear.

“Might want to pull down your underwear, love.”

You blushed at his comment. You excused yourself to the bathroom and found it hard to catch your breath. How embarrassing, and for Lucas to notice of all people? It was wrong on so many levels. Yet you couldn’t quite explain why your heart did not seem to settle down upon sight of Lucas.

In the following weeks, Yukhei scrutinized you with a newfound interest. He found himself noticing your body a bit too much, how your thighs were on the thicker side and your small waist offered such a delicious contrast. His thoughts were running wild and the urge to tease you was less and less strong in him, which you undoubtedly noticed.

“What’s been up with you, Yukhei? Did you lose your touch?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He licked his lips suggestively and the motion triggered the same reaction you had experienced when he had commented on your panties.

He had been acting weird, beyond weird and you were clueless as to why. Not that you cared, really. Or did you? Was there a slight chance that you reciprocated the same weirdness when you were around him too? There was no way to tell. You shrugged it off for the time being, you had bigger fish to fry.

***

School had made you its bitch, it was official. You had been swamped in papers, exams and whatever presentation they deemed fit to squeeze into exam period and you needed a break. Because luck was not on your side, your shower had also stopped functioning and your body ached for a piping hot, relaxing shower. You could only think of one solution, although it did involve getting up from your bed which you weren’t keen on.

“Hi.”

“What do you need?” Kun opened the door to let you in, already knowing you needed something from your mere demeanor.

“Can I please take a shower here, mine broke and I’ve been so busy with studying and writing papers and studying some more then going to exams and then going to work that I haven’t had the time or means to shower. Can you please humor me, Kun? I’d be forever indebted to you.”

His mouth formed a straight line as he observed your begging form in front of him.

“You’re such a baby. Go.”

You jumped in his arms in pure joy. Yukhei had overheard you coming in and was lurking around the corner, wanting to catch of glimpse of the same person who had been occupying his thoughts lately, god knew why. You scurried along to the bathroom, but a giant (idiot) blocked your way.

“Yukhei, will you kindly move from the way?” You feigned politeness.

“Let me think about it.” He put on his best thinking face. “No.”

You let out a desperate sigh. An uncanny idea struck you. You pulled up the strings of your thong (black this time) and tried again.

“Please?” You made a pouty face to complete the trick.

That was enough to destabilize him, and he moved aside to compose himself. An accomplished smile adorned your face and you hurried to be reunited with your long-lost friend: the shower. You absentmindedly hummed some tunes while you were enjoying some much-needed “me” time and before long, you felt your muscles relax and (some of) your worries evaporate through thin air. Once you felt thoroughly clean and at ease, you shut off the water and reached for your towel which, oddly enough, wasn’t where you had left it. You looked around the room and what you saw make you gasp in utter shock.

“Looking for this?” Yukhei dangled your towel from his hand as his other held the door shut. He eyed you from top to bottom, clearly enjoying every inch of your naked form.

“Yukhei, this isn’t funny give it back!” You tried to cover yourself up as best as you could, but you did only have two arms.

He walked over to where you were standing with a dangerous look on his face. He gently removed your arms from their position on your body and eyed you for the second time.

“Don’t hide from me, love.”

You were lost for words. Suddenly all you could feel was the warmth emanating from his body and frankly, yours too. He delicately grabbed your hand in his and positioned you so you were facing the mirror. He was standing behind you, fully clothed. His hand gently moved your hair to the side, careful to merely grazed your skin leaving goosebumps in his wake. Never in a million years would you have thought that Lucas Wong could have this much effect on you, but here you were.

His hand delicately trailed your body and when you titled your head back in pleasure, any trace of hesitance left his movements. His hand caressed your breasts, flicking a nipple here and there, and descended your chest to your belly until they were where he wanted them. He slipped a finger into and you lost your balance. You had never noticed how damn long his fingers were, but you weren’t complaining. Yukhei was pleased to be met with your own arousal and slipped a second finger in, leaving you gasping for air. Before long, he developed a rhythm and watched avidly as your reflection in the mirror guided him through it. He only stopped after you came, the sight of you being a moaning mess before (and for) him a sight he wouldn’t soon forget. He helped you stabilize yourself and licked your juices off his fingers while maintaining eye contact with you. He smirked when he saw your confused expression but didn’t bother offering an explanation.

“You might want to shower again.” He paused. “Later though, ‘cause I’m far from being done with you.”

You gulped at his demanding tone, but your curiosity was piqued. If his dick was as good as his fingers, you were indeed going to be in for a ride. And boy, was it one hell of a ride.

[taerseok]

— sequel: puzzle piece | k.s.j

pairing:. singledad!k.s.j × reader

synopsis:. starting a new life, it felt difficult, especially without the help of your once beloved, and now a burden of a child. But, when an unexpected, yet hopeful, plot twist takes your life into a completely new direction, you find yourself enjoying youth again. It happens to be that not only you've found happiness in a man so similar to you, but a shoulder to grow old with.

word count:. 13.1k

genre(s):. romance, angst

warning(s):. strong language, mean mochi

song rec(s):. here with me - Susie Suh, moon - Jin

♡ A/N:. please read the prologue, "Paper Hearts," first to understand the story better. Thank you for reading, and hope you enjoy! ♡

It was way later in the evening of the shopping spree, that you reached back home with Hoseok, and sat down in the living room to explain to him about what had transpired back in that shop. Putting down the bag in which the clothes for your little one were kept, you gestured him to sit down, and he did so without responding. You were not sure how to explain him how the whole deal had went, really. All you knew was that some stranger had just offered to pay for clothes you had wanted to buy, and then you exchanged contacts so you could pay him back, and then he was gone like he had ever existed.

You thought about the whole ordeal, your expressions constantly changing, which made Hoseok laugh. "Are you not going to tell me about how you got those clothes without paying any money or what?" he asked, on the verge of chuckling him again, when you rolled your eyes and spoke up. "Yeah, yeah. Now this might sound weird, but…" you took a deep breath and thought over everything again. It was certainly weird.

Weirder than weird, it was outright stupid. What if you were someone who ripped the guy off? You knew you weren't, he was right this time, but if he went around paying for everyone's stuff like that and offering them his number, you were sure he'd find a rotten apple here or there.

And yet, he had been so assured, giving you his number and trusting you to pay him back somehow. You were confused by his mindset; what if you got close to him only to rob him or something? Or if you called him over and murdered him? Who'd take care of his child, Haneul? His reactions made no sense to you. You knew you weren't a murderer, you knew you wouldn't ever steal from someone, but how could he trust a mere stranger that easily? He didn't know you. Or in that case, what you were capable of.

You sighed. "Well, there was this guy - what was his name? - ah yes, Kim Seokjin. And he was there with his son, Haneul. And he was in the line behind me. So, when you didn't come in time to pay for the clothes I had bought," which was because he had to deal with Jimin and Minhee, "the feisty employee yelled at me, and then he came to the rescue, paid for my clothes, gave me his number so I could pay him back, and left, since he couldn't stay longer because his child was sick," you explained in a single breath, making Hoseok look at you in confusion.

"Wait, wait, wait. A stranger paid for you?" he frowned, tilting his head. You were questioning the same exact thing. "Apparently… yes. And now I've got to pay him back. That's it, I suppose," you shrugged, still surprised and weirded out by the whole situation. You still couldn't believe how naive the guy was - who'd pay for a stranger? "You think he's really like that, or did he have... ulterior motives or something?" Hoseok asked, eyeing you worriedly. You giggled at his protective reaction.

"I guess we'll see."

Days had gone by since the encounter took place. Since then, you had been texting Seokjin a lot more often, and you had gotten to know him better. He was just a little older than you, and he had a lot of likes that matched up with yours. Moreover, you both had an interest in acting, and when you told him that you had a bachelor's in acting and performing, and found out he did too, you were astonished at the similarities.

Deciding that Haneul was feeling a bit better, Seokjin and you chose a date to meet up at a coffee shop, which was how'd you pay him back - paying for his coffee.

You had originally denied the idea, for it was totally unfair and a coffee would cost much less than clothes, but Seokjin had been stubborn, and he and you had became good friends already, so he took the chance to see you again.

Seokjin also being… well, Seokjin, decided that on the Saturday he and you'd be meeting up, he'd come to pick you from Hoseok's house. Initially, you lost your mind at the thought and told him that Hoseok was home, he could drop you off, but once again, he didn't listen to a single protest.

"Look, Y/n! I am coming to pick you up and I rest my case," you heard his voice blow through the speakers of your phone. You groaned, not able to hold back the frustration. "Please, Y/n," the male pleaded, stretching your name, to which you responded by sighing. "But Hoseok is at home, and you know, I have really had enough," you stopped yourself from going further, afraid you'd hurt his feelings.

What you had meant to say was, you have really had enough of depending on others for things you could do on your own. But then again, you couldn't support yourself at all. Either way, your were taking help from a friend. You sighed heavily, letting your frustration escape you. "What do you mean?" you could practically hear him frowning. You clicked your tongue. "It's nothing," you replied, going over everything again and again in your head. You chewed on your bottom lip, and then finally decided to accept his offer. "Fine. Come pick me up."

After all, what did you have to lose?

Taking one last look at your outfit, which consisted of a light brown turtle neck, and some high jeans, you went down the stairs to say your goodbyes to Hoseok. "You better introduce me to this guy soon! You two seem to be bonding," you giggled at his comment, covering your mouth. "I will, I will! I'll talk to him about the whole sleepover thing too, okay?" you said, giving Hoseok a tight hug.

Hoseok, who had been trying his hardest to lift up your mood, decided that it'd be better if he got your whole group of highschool friends together, and you all had a sleepover. Recently, after he had found out about how your friendship was progressing, he couldn't help but ask you to invite him over. You happily agreed with his suggestion, so today would be the perfect chance to see if he was free. You still had your doubts, he was a parent, and of course, it would be very hard for him to have a clear schedule. Still, it was worth a try to ask.

It was as if time ran in its perfect course, because the moment you had finished saying the last of your 'see you soon's and 'have fun's, the doorbell rang. "Okay then! I'll see you later!" exclaiming that, you opened the door to be greeted by the sight of Seokjin again.

He wore his cute smile, the one which had made you feel completely lost back at that store. It almost made you lost in thought again. That, paired with his casual outfit, and his hair styled to one side, with a bit of it falling over his face - it all was a little out of the blue, because you couldn't take your eyes off of him for a second. It wasn't until he started waving his hand in front of you that you had to sink back into reality.

"Hello~? Earth to Y/n?" Seokjin frowned, blinking rapidly. You abruptly were thrown back to the doorstep, and started to stammer furiously. "O-Oh my God, I'm s-so sorry!" you put your hands in front of your chest as a defense, mentally beating yourself up, but he only responded with a light chuckle. "You better not space out on me again till I get that coffee."

To be honest, you were a little conflicted that you were paying him back with Hoseok's money, and since Hoseok had strictly forbidden you to do any heavy work while you were pregnant, you couldn't even find yourself a job. But maybe it was for the best; you should take care of yourself and your baby for now. Taking extra responsibilities would only be a burden to your health.

Entering the car, you sat down next to the driver's seat, in which Seokjin sat. He started the car, and before you knew it, you were off on your way. "We could've walked there, you know," you said, staring out the window to be mesmorised by the bright scenery outside. Seokjin's eyes left the road for a moment to look at you, before he fixated them back. "We could have. But you're clearly not in the best position to, if you know what I mean," he shrugged slightly.

You looked at him and his steady focus on the road and the cars ahead. "What do you-?" you tilted your head, confused by his vague statement. He groaned, though his eyes stayed in the same direction as always. "Y/n! Honestly! How stupid can you be?" he frowned, clearly displeased by the fact that he had to explain it to you. "Hey!I'm not stupid, you," you were about to call him stupid, but he had gone and interrupted you by then.

"I meant… I wouldn't want a hormonal lady screeching and pulling at her hair - or even mine - because she's tired of walking. I'm too handsome for that," he explained, his voice strangely calm, though his expression conveyed something else. Flustered or angered, you couldn't put your finger on it. You give him an 'ohh' as a response, nodding your head slightly in agreement, before you thought for it a bit more.

"Wait a second! Who are you calling a hormonal lady?!" you frown, about to jump at him, before you realised you're in a car. Seokjin took a moment to calm down, before he addressed you again. "Geez! You're going to get us both killed, Y/n, and wouldn't it be depressing if we died all because we wanted some coffee from Starbucks?"

Getting out of the car when you two finally reached the place, you caught up to Seokjin, surprising yourself at the pace you could run. You decided upon sitting outside, while Seokjin took the money you had offered, and went to get your coffee along with his. It was a while, and you waited as time trickled by. Every time the door would open, you'd get excited to see Seokjin stumble out, but everytime it was a let down.

The blood in your veins stopped moving, you almost became a frozen mess, when you saw someone familiar come out of the shop.

Oh, wasn't it a fateful occurrence - Park Jimin.

If you could die from seeing someone, you'd be dead on the spot, but the astonishment didn't end. In fact, it only got bigger. You could pull out your eyeballs at the moment - Jimin and Seokjin were talking. They were actually talking. You couldn't believe it. Why? Maybe because they stumbled across each other in the shop? Did they know each other? Your heart was racing, and at the same time, it had stopped beating from the shock of realising what had just transpired.

Beckoning Seokjin over by gestures, you took a deep breath as he handed you over your frappuccino, with a quizzical look. "Are you okay?" he raised a brow, his voice lined with worry. You shook your head as you took a sip of your drink, trying to calm yourself, but the coffee only made more adrenaline rush through your body. "Okay, tell me, how do you know that man you were talking to?" you asked, your brows knitting together.

He looked a little taken aback, but he looked around himself in confusion. Jimin had left already - he hadn't noticed you and you were more than glad for that. "The blond man?" he asked, tilting his head innocently. "Yes." He looked at you in suspicion, before sighing.

"I work at his company."

The frappuccino almost fell from your hand - you almost spat out the drink that was in your mouth. You threw a coughing fit, trying to get the coffee down your throat. You didn't even realise when Seokjin had gotten up and ran to your seat, running his down your back. It was for a few seconds before you felt better. You took deep breaths.

Seokjin sat back down on his seat, staying quiet. He figured he wasn't one to question the situation much, but you looked at him in such an expecting way, he had to ask the thought on his mind.

"And how do you know him?"

You fumbled with your hair, then took a sip of the drink to busy yourself, though nothing could divert the attention. You had brought this hell over yourself and you'd have to answer it. You bit your lip, then sighed heavily.

"He was… my ex-boyfriend." The statement was enough to send Seokjin into a shock. His eyes widened, and the usual, cute smile that you compared to an alpaca had vanished, completely. Instead, his posture remained frozen until he gained the ability to speak again.

"Don't tell me," he said in a small voice, struggling to go further. "And the one… who… well, got me pregnant," you said in a very quiet whisper, proving his accusations to be true. "You're… single? B-But... why?" you guessed it was a good time to speak up about your past, because it was obvious by the expression on his face that Seokjin wouldn't put down the matter until he had been given closure.

If it was someone else, you would've groaned, cried your eyes out, or some other hysterical reaction, but with Seokjin, you often felt a lot more comfortable, despite only knowing him for a while. Taking the opportunity to talk about your history with the blond male, you parted your lips to speak.

"Well…" you sighed again, unable to bottle up your frustration, "he cheated on me. I found out about it on the day I had came home to tell him about the whole… pregnancy thing. We had been dating for years. It's been a week since then," you said slowly, your voice a small, sorrowful whisper. He stayed quiet for a moment. It felt like there was no one sitting with you, and yet he was still there. For a moment, you thought he'd stand up and leave for some reason, but he didn't. And for some reason, again, you were grateful.

"I'm so sorry. Did the day we meet… the day you broke up?" he frowned, he was fumbling with the sleeve of his own shirt, obviously uncomfortable and brought down by the situation. "The day after, yeah." You took another sip of your drink, careful not to cough again. "Don't be so depressed!" you giggled, looking at the little expression he made. It was adorable, and you couldn't stop yourself from laughing even more. "Ah, it reminds me of my own tale too," he chuckled, his laugh hollow, taking a sip of his iced coffee. "How so?"

"Well, after Haneul was born, my girlfriend decided that… she didn't want him anymore. Obviously, I did. I love him. He is... my life," you nodded in agreement to his words. Your child was your life too - literally. The only reason you had started to live again.

Being reminded of how much your child had impacted your life, you couldn't help but remember how toxic your relationship with the child's biological father was. Most often than not, it was only you doing the hard work and trying to make the bond stronger. Most often than not, it was Jimin trying to show you signs that he didn't love You, but he could never really be straight-forward enough. And you, blind in love, most often than not, regarded his mistakes as perfection, and the signs he didn't love you went ignored.

You'd see the distance in his eyes as exhaustion from work, his calls that he'd be late as factual information, not excuses, and his words of confirmation when he replied back with an 'I love you' as real. But it was all a hoax, and now that you looked back on it, you were ashamed.

He had became the center of your Universe, the only reason you wanted to live, and the reason your life was so bright. Without him, you thought you'd die. But you hadn't - when you had broken up, you had wilted, but with a little sunshine, you had made it through. You were not with a liar anymore. And that is what mattered most. It had made you acknowledge that a fake could never last long.

"So… she drew herself to the conclusion that we had to break up. We did. She left." You could hear the emptiness in his voice. Every little word had a hole in it, a gaping, widening hole, that left scars on Seokjin. You stared at him, listening to his words with a somber melancholy playing at your lips.

"I'm really sorry for all that," you lowered yourself into your seat, deciding to change the topic. Trying to choose appropriate words, you flustered to come up with something. "Um, so… how's Haneul now?" you tilted your head at Seokjin, who gave a light smile. You figured he still hadn't healed yet, even after years. There was a bitter dismissal in his eyes. It flashed across for a bit, and even if he tried to hide it behind his pretty smile, you could see define the shadow that his past girlfriend had cast over him.

"Ah, Haneul. He's better. My cousin offered to take care of him, while I met up with you." His smile faltered as his sentence ended, and he took a sip of his coffee again, busying himself so he wouldn't have to take anyone else's pity. He hoped you understood his actions, because you went through something similar, but he'd never know. And it was better to be safe than sorry.

Mustering up everything you got to make the situation lighter, a thought sprang into your mind. "So… I told you about my friend, Hoseok, right?" to your question, Seokjin nodded. "Well, he was asking if you could... join for a sleepover we're having, this Friday? Us highschool friends are organising a fun, little reunion. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun, and… um… you can bring Haneul too, if you'd like! I'm sure he'll have fun too," you gave him a nervous smile, noticing his every reaction, and how a small smile crept over to his face in approval.

"I'd love to. I'll bring Haneul too." His reply made you ecstatic. Out of excitement, before you could even think of what you were doing, your hand was holding his, and you squeezed it appreciatively. "Thank you, so, so, so much! I'll make sure you won't regret it."

That was where you parted ways that afternoon - Seokjin drove you back home, and giving him a hug, you watched as his car sped down the road, until its distant silhouette disappeared. You opened the door, taking out the key Hoseok had given to you. The action reminded you a little too much of that unfortunate day last weekend.

You stepped inside, and as per usual, you announced your arrival as soon as you entered loudly.  "I'm home!" you exclaimed, making Hoseok shout back through the living room. "Welcome back."

You ran to the living room, then sat down next to Hoseok on the couch, hugging your knees and looking at him while he watched the television. "I saw Seokjin," you said, expecting that he'd ask you about more details like he did back on the day of the unexpected meeting, and you were not wrong. He turned to you with such an expression, that almost reminded you of that one lenny-face you saw on the internet, that was smirking like there was no tomorrow, but just as Hoseok was himself, he had made it even more absurd. "Tell me everything."

At his response, you rolled your eyes, feeling pity for the television show that was left forgotten. "So, apparently… he knows Jimin - no - he works under him," Hoseok's eyes widened, enough for him to pull his eyeballs out, for which you rolled your eyes into oblivion. "You're not serious!" at your serious expression, he chuckled In disbelief. "Small world!" he exclaimed, shrugging. You turned your head to the show.

"I was also going to ask you, do we invite Jimin?" your brows furrowed, you turned back to Hoseok. "To the reunion?" you asked, barely able to keep your anger at the question. Yes, he might have been in your circle of friends before he had gotten too popular for all of you, and you, dumb as you were, had started chasing after him but still, you weren't about to call the person who ruined your life to a sleepover that was supposed to help you get it back together. Hoseok could only nod meekly. You groaned. "For fuck's sake, no. Isn't that the worst idea ever?" you frowned.

"Well… yes, but… I didn't tell Taehyung of the break-up or cheating thing yet because you know how he is… didn't want to worry him… so… he might…" Hoseok stopped, when he saw the smoke coming out of your ears, your face red with fury, your knuckles white from pushing them into the couch. "You what?!" you exclaimed, fumbling to take out your phone and call Taehyung.

Getting it out, you dialled a number you hadn't contacted in ages, but who cared? You had to stop Taehyung from making a stupid mistake before he made one, and if he did, consider your reunion done for.

Getting up as the ringtone buzzed in your ear, you impatiently waited for the boy to pick up his mobile phone. You didn't speak until his deep voice was heard by you, and after that, you immediately started shouting, a little part of you hoping you wouldn't intimidate the poor boy.

"Kim Taehyung, tell me truthfully, did you tell Jimin about the reunion already?"

"If you're talking about that, then yes I did, no need for thanking me, I already know I'm-"

"Oh my fucking God, Taehyung, you weren't supposed to, you idiot!" you screamed, letting Hoseok know your worst suspicions were correct. "Was I not? Ah, why, Y/n-ah?" you could hear him frowning from the other side of the phone. "Because the…" you bit your lip, telling yourself mentally to stop cursing, "Jimin cheated on me." Oh, and also impregnated you. But maybe you'd tell that story some other day. You could hear a small gasp escape his lips. "I… I didn't know, I'm so sorry… Hobi-hyung didn't tell me that… I'm so incredibly sorry… do you want me to come over right now?" the rage that went through you told you to blow up on the spot, but you tried to calm yourself. The epinephrine that ran through your veins was enough to make you go crazy, you wanted to teach Taehyung a good lesson, but none of it was his fault and you had to understand that fact.

He was not informed on the matter, none of it was his fault. You sighed heavily. You'd deal with Jimin later. "It's okay, Taehyungie. You don't have to. And I forgive you. I'll take care of this, it's fine. Have a good day… and let's meet up this coming Friday, hm?" you smiled a little, which even surprised you, because your anger was beyond imagination at the point, but your ability to still smile settled the storm inside you. "Yeah… I'm still sorry. See you then." The call ended.  A soft sigh escaped your lips. Well, another problem to take care of.

"So… what do we do now?"

"Let's pray and just hope Jimin doesn't show up at the door this Friday."

That night, feeling bored, you decided to text Seokjin. You hoped you weren't disturbing him, but then again, even if you were, you loved annoying him so you didn't care. And then again, he'd probably be really annoyed because you were texting him at one in the morning, laying on your bed, your legs basically everywhere, since you couldn't sleep.

[Y/N]: I'm bored :(

To your great astonishment, his reply was instantaneous. Why was he not sleeping?

Seokjin : Do you have nothing to do at 1 in the morning except for texting me? Honestlyyy

[Y/N]: You're the one who's awake at 1 in the morning! What were you doing?

Seokjin : i just put Haneul to bed. He wouldn't sleep until I played his favourite videogame with him and then told him another story

[Y/N]: That's adorableeeeee! What fairytale did you read him this time? ;D

Seokjin : I didn'ttttttt. It was an alien story

[Y/N]: Ya, ya. I bet my feet you probs read him Cinderella and you're just too ashamed to admit that you still like to read stories of princesses

Seokjin : That's a serious accusation. ;( my Haneul doesn't like stories of pretty pink princesses

[Y/N]: I highly doubt that. Anyway..

You debated on whether to tell him of Jimin's arrival to the sleepover or not. But hey, maybe he wouldn't come, right? It was unlikely he'd come to the same sleepover as his ex-girlfriend who he cheated on, right? You hoped so. You weren't going to contact him. It was a matter of your pride, anyway.

Seokjin : Anyway?

[Y/N]: Anyway, I was thinking to give you a nickname and I think I found one.

Seokjin : What?? What is it?

[Y/N]: Princess Jin

Seokjin : That's the worst nickname if I ever heard one! Why do you have to abuse me like that? :(

That night had gotten a-hundred-and-ten-times better because of the response alone. You wouldn't be acting dramatic if you said you chatted for the whole night. You really did. Time just passed by, and you didn't notice till it was five in the morning. At some point, you had started to video-call him too, and then you'd just laugh along with him as he desperately tried to explain his dad jokes. It was at fifteen minutes or so past five a.m, that your eyelids grew heavy, and you drowsily fell asleep, then were awaken by Seokjin, who you had now decided to call Jin for short, when he decided to compliment how cute your 'sleepy expression' was.

You shushed him and decided upon ending the call, hence calling it a day.

By Wednesday, all you two were doing were having little, small talks through texts, because Seokjin had recently gotten a lot of paperwork to take care of, making him very busy. You had asked why he didn't pursue acting, but he simply denied it by saying that he wasn't feeling ready for the spotlight just yet, as he had a child to take care of, and pretty much no one (except for his cousin, who'd sometimes help if she wasn't busy) to help him take care of Haneul.

That, and also the fact that success wasn't always guaranteed in the profession of acting, and he lacked the amount of confidence he needed. Basically, he wasn't prepared as of yet for the life of an actor. So he decided to do an office job instead, which Jimin had been very generous with (as you had expected to hear). Since Seokjin didn't have a degree in engineering, an office job was hard to find, but an online application led him to a high-income job, which was apparently under the supervision of your ex-boyfriend.

Seeing Seokjin share all of this, you came to realise how deep a person's life is, that every human on the planet had their own problems, relationships, responsibilities and so much more to take care of. It made you smile, seeing how Seokjin was doing everything solo, yet he was doing well. Of course, he wouldn't mind company, and it would be better if he did have it, but who'd do that?

His smile made you feel lose you were flying to cloud nine, and his laugh made you laugh. It was adorable, and his personality was the most purest thing you had heard of. You could hear him ramble everyday, and still not get bored. Instead, you'd be willing to hear even more. He was… fascinating. You loved him. Or well… you loved his personality. That's what you told yourself, at the very least. Sometimes, at some of his compliments, your cheeks would burn so red, your heart would race so fastly, your head would feel so blank, and yet so filled with thoughts, that you couldn't explain it, even if you wanted to.

He had made you forget your past. He made you learn that… yes, your past was a part of you. But it did not define who you were meant to be. That was your choice alone, and you were living by the lesson he had taught you.

Not to mention, you had learnt to live. Not exist, but live. Whenever Hoseok was gone for his work, you'd stay home, cook, sing to your baby, and watch television. Whatever you wanted, you'd do. Not because someone was ordering you, but because you were doing it for someone's happiness - happiness that was finally not dependent on someone else's - happiness that had recently started to matter. Yours. And maybe Seokjin's too. He'd told you that he wanted to see you smile, always.

And you'd be lying if you didn't mention his flirty jokes.

They were getting a little out of hand, yes, but you loved them anyway. And who were to stop you, if you said two could play that game?

On Wednesday, since Seokjin's cousin was out of town, and his co-leagues, who he mentioned were persuasive (and to be truthful, they'd force him a lot too) as hell, had forced him to have a drink or two with them after work. He couldn't come home early enough, and had tasked you with taking care of Haneul. You basically spent the whole day at his home, which was quite cosy if you were to be honest with yourself.

You arrived just in time, after telling Hoseok, at Seokjin's house before he left for work. You'd be spending the day with Haneul, and you reckoned it'd be fun.

It was. Wishing Seokjin a goodbye, you shut the door, and the two of you began playing instantly when the little boy woke up. He was vocal, and he wasn't afraid to tell what he wanted either. But he never behaved rudely once, which, considering that you were pretty much a stranger to him, was a slight astonishment, but you went along with it. You were never one to question life too much, anyway.

His cute, little requests, and fun games were something that could never bore you, even if you were to play with him for a month or two straight, you wouldn't get bored. Like his father, he was always unpredictable, and quite intelligent too. He had tried memorizing some dad jokes from Seokjin as well, which made you melt and 'aww' in ways you had thought were imaginable. He would try to tell you some, but would mostly always fail.

And just like Jin, you got along with him well too.

It was about eight when you tucked the little one into bed, and making sure he was asleep, you quietly closed the door to his little room. He had tried to convince you that he wanted to play more, but at one point, you did have to be a little strict.

You waited for Seokjin in desperation that he'd come soon, sitting on the couch as you fumbled with hair strands. You were quiet worried, but you took a deep breath, and the door opened, for what seemed like a millennia later.

"Jin!" you got up, but seeing his disheveled creature came as a rude shock to you. His hair was all messy, and his face was all hazy and distanced, his clothes a bit poked with here and there, but still intact. At first, it almost was like he had been in a fight, taking support of the front door, but you soon realised he was drunk.

Had his co-leagues given him a little too much liquor? You sighed, jumping forward and putting his arm around your neck so he'd have support, since he looked imbalanced. You shut the door behind yourself. "Y/n-ah," Seokjin whined as you tried to move, but with his heavy arm around you, the action was practically impossible.

"Kim Seokjin, for God's sake, atleast try to walk! I know you're probably drunk as hell, but still!" you exclaimed, but made sure that it wouldn't reach Haneul. You tried to walk again, but his weight wouldn't let you.

You dragged yourself to the couch, him alongside you. This made you realise what a victim you were in the situation. Taking care of his kid, cooking food, and now carrying his drunk ass? You were pregnant but no one took care of you. You felt a little bad for yourself.

You plopped him down on the couch before sinking down yourself. Looking at his wrecked figure, and the dreamy expression it held, you couldn't help but let your breath be taken away for a bit. For some awkward reason, it made your cheeks heat up. "Jin, are you… okay?" it was a rhetorical question, but that was the most you could ask. "Do you want water?" you asked softly, running a hand through his silky, black hair. He purred like a cat at your touch, making you even more flustered. So was that a yes or no? You weren't very sure.

His arm, which was laying here or there previously, wrapped itself around your waist, making the distance between your bodies even smaller. You tried to get out of his grasp, though however he was drunk, he clearly didn't like the idea of you escaping, so now you were stuck.

But even in that simple moment, you couldn't help but admire his beautiful features. His plump, pink lips, his smile, his hair, his eyes, which were shut lightly for now - everything. It was devilishly handsome to you and you couldn't deny it even if you wanted to. "You're very nice, you know?" he murmured, his lips barely parting. You looked to him in confusion. "I know, Jin, but seriously! Get up and go to your bedroom," you were about to say further, going along the lines of, 'get some rest and I'll prepare for your dinner,' but he had interrupted you.

"Am I in trouble if I don't?" you didn't know what he meant, but by the grin on his handsome face, you might be getting the wrong ideas. "You… yes, y-you are!" you exclaimed at a loss for words, thanking God you had put Haneul to bed before this wreck came in.

You didn't know what you were to say. You had not carried many drunk people in your life - and you had never been particularly interesting in drinking anyway. Most of the time, you'd take care of Jimin when he drank a bit too much at times, but that was Jimin and this was Seokjin. Two different people, who had very different roles in your life.

"Bring it on."

You stared at him in confusion, almost about to punch him before you realised once more, that he was still drunk and it was the alcohol speaking, not his pretty, blunt mouth. You sighed. "Jin, I swear I'll kill you once you're sober, just…" you groaned, getting him to stand up and dragging him to his bedroom, and, this time, he listened to your commands and followed whatever you had to say.

Taking him inside, you were about to tuck him into bed too, but his arm was still around your waist. "Okay… J-Jin…" you debated on how to tell him he had to sleep, with his breath tickling the crook of your neck, chills ran down your spine. The situation seemed a lot more awkward when you pictured him in that way, and your heart only began to beat faster. Your hands, turning cold and ghostly pale from nervousness - or anticipation for what was next - you did not know.  You felt a little too vulnerable, your body against his, his arm around your waist - it all felt a little wrong.

You didn't know what caused the heat to rise to your cheeks. A thought bloomed inside of your mind, as if it was put aside for being ridiculous but was now possible - the idea of being in love with him. Were you? No matter how hard you shook yourself, told yourself that you were not, it all made sense to you. Why you'd start a smile like an idiot on an otherwise bad day, when you read his text. How'd you laugh around him a little too much, your heart would feel tugged on when he came near, or when you saw his beautiful face and just wanted to stare at it for an eternity.

Or how'd you feel warm and fuzzy with him around, how he'd make you feel safe and protected - it all came back in a circle. This exciting, warm feeling that enveloped you in its sweet embrace - love. It was a hard thing to explain, but if you were to describe it in one word, it'd be Seokjin.

And suddenly, it felt as it was all possible - like you owned the world. Looking up at him, you noticed that his eyelids were heavy, his sclera barely visible. Staring at his soft, pink lips, you couldn't look away. His cute, gentle expression that told you he was sleepy - it all made so much impact on you in a second. But you couldn't. It was all wrong, whatever you wanted to do. And not to mention, stupid. Or that's what you thought anyway, until his voice caught you off-guard.

"Taeyeon…?" it was barely inaudible - it would be if you weren't standing this close. But the name stopped your plane of thought. It was a mere whimper that made you realise how cold, and quiet the whole room was. In fact, it was chilling and dark, leaving you scared. If that fact came as an astonishment, the way he uttered a woman's name left you astounded. It sounded desperate, almost as if he was begging her to not leave him.

You shouldn't have thought of kissing him in the first place. It was stupid, and foolish to think you had any chance with a guy you had barely met, and with someone as wonderful as Seokjin. He needed someone who could fix his broken heart, not deepen the cut by being a broken person, such as yourself, themself. You wanted to hug Seokjin, because the way he sounded made you almost pity him. What hell had the poor guy been through? You wished you could've known more, but then again, you had no rights to.

You wondered why you started to fall for him anyway, when you didn't even know that he was seeing someone else. You blamed yourself for not knowing a lot. Sighing, you turned towards Seokjin, chewing on your lower lip. There were a million emotions inside you, but emptiness had never weighed heavier. It made you want to throw up, to dig a hole and bury yourself in it. Your heart could barely be held in your chest, and it felt like blowing up. Never having felt such a way, you didn't know what to do. The only time you felt such empty ache was when you broke up with Jimin. You never wanted to go through it again.

And yet still, you were experiencing it. An ache so deep, it cut through you, shattering you and poisoning your body. You could barely hold Seokjin. "S-Seokjin, please," you pleaded, fumbling with the hand he had around your waist. It took a few tries, and you were about to give up and try another method, which was most likely to awake him from his drunkenness, but he let go eventually.

Lowering him to the bed, you tucked him in, pulled the blanket over him so he wouldn't get cold in this time of October, and quietly shut the door behind you. You debated on whether to get him food, and decided upon leaving it in the refrigerator so he had something to eat when he woke up. You wrote a note, telling him of the awkward incident and that you had left food for him, leaving it on the table. After completing the task, you took your leave with a heavy heart.

By the time you reached home, it was ten, and after saying your farewells to Hoseok for the night, you went to bed instantly, your eyelids heavy. You didn't notice immediately how tired you were, but you were very sleepy. A yawn escaped your lips, and with the last thought of Seokjin, you took a step into dream land, hoping that the next day would be better than the last.

Thursday went by very quickly. You did your normal work - singing, watching television, cooking, cleaning around the house and whatnot - and the day came to an end rather fast. After having dinner with Hoseok, as you both sat down in the living room to watch some dramas together, your phone ringed. You reached out to grab it from the table beside the couch, and checked to see who it was that was calling you.

"It's Seokjin," you told Hoseok, getting up and leaving to the hallway. You didn't notice when you had started calling him by his first name again, because if you were to be honest, you two were getting along well and you were on nickname-terms, but the incident yesterday just reminded you of how much distance lied between you two, albeit being so, very similar.

"What is it, Seokjin?" you asked, your tone rather cold. You didn't know why it came out like that, because you still considered him a friend, but apparently your heart thought otherwise. "I'm so sorry about yesterday!" as you expected. You sighed, already done with the conversation. At least, you didn't write about how he called out a woman's name and made you feel so little.

"It's fine." Your reply was still as cold, and you weren't sure why you were blaming the ordeal at him, because even you knew that it wasn't his fault, yet your heart made him the culprit of such emotional distance you had acquired. "Let me make it up to you, please, Y/n," you heard Seokjin as he pleaded. The heart was a naïve and biased thing, Jin. If only he understood. "It's fine, I told you," you responded, not wanting to talk about the night. It brought back bad memories.

"Please! Who knows what other, weird things I did while I was drunk? I'm so sorry," you shook your head. "What're you planning?" like you had thought. The heart really was a naïve thing. "I'm... hmm, how about this… since we're having the sleepover this Friday, let me pick you up and we'll go and grab some snacks for it?" you stayed silent. "My treat! I'll pay for everything we'll buy," you were still not fully agreeing with it. He had to pay a little more than just that for what he did to your heart. "I'll bring Haneul too, so he'll buy snacks with us as well, okay?! Happy?" you smiled, something that happened for the first time in a while, at his desperation, but also at the fact that he was bringing the little cutie along. Something inside your heart changed automatically.

"Happy. Now we have a deal, so come over at about eight, 'kay?"

"Your wish is my command."

That Friday night, Seokjin parked his car at your door, and saying goodbye to Hoseok, who was getting the living room ready for watching movies, as well as arranging the house for sleepover, you jumped out to greet Seokjin and Haneul. Sinking down next to the driver's seat, with Haneul cheerfully sitting in the passangers' seat, the three of you left towards the nearest supermarket.

Upon reaching there, you grabbed Haneul's hand excitedly and started to wander around the aisles, with Seokjin trying to follow behind you. "Yah! Y/n, slow down!" Seokjin exclaimed, barely able to catch up, but you couldn't hear him when the sight of the snacks hit you. "Jin! Stop being a slow bloke and come!" you replied back, then started to grab as many chips and other things you could, towering the bunch on Seokjin, then on yourself, and then having Haneul pick up a bottle of juice, since you weren't the biggest fan of alcohol.

Going to the counter, the moment reminded you of how you had met Seokjin in the first place. It made you smile like an idiot. "You know, this is kind of like how we met." You heard him laugh lightly. "You're right. Who'd figure that simple thing would bring us here?" he smiled softly, then reached for the counter and put all the stuff that he had been holding. You did too, and taking the bottle from Haneul, you put it on the counter. Seokjin paid, and taking the plastic bags in which the snacks had been kept, hand-in-hand with Haneul, you left for the exit.

Such little moments brought you so much happiness. You all looked like a family. It was a little ironic, you wouldn't lie. You sat down in the car, the plastic bags kept at the back with Haneul. "How many months are you gone?" the sudden question from Seokjin left you a little surprised, but you answered it, relentlessly. "About one and a half months now. Actually..." it was as if something dawned over you. Your body felt unready for the act, and you grew silent.

"Actually?"

"Hoseok told me about this test…" you bit your lip.

"What test?"

"The early gender DNA test. It's done at… I think, eight weeks in?" you answered, deep in thought. You didn't have to do it, but how far were you willing to go for your baby's gender to be revealed? You did want to know if it was a boy or girl. But the fact reminded you a little too much of Jimin. It filled you with this sudden emptiness, it was unexplainable, but it left you starving. You wanted the father to accompany you to such an occasion, but… was that even possible now?

As the silence drifted longer, you let out a heavy sigh. "You don't have to do it," you heard Seokjin say. "I know. But I want to know. But at the same time, I don't. You get what I mean?" you sighed again, feeling suddenly so down. Maybe it was because you were hormonal. Who knew? "Two more weeks, and I get to know my baby's gender. But it feels… way too early. I'm not ready," you continued. "I mean... I thought if something like this were to happen, Jimin would be with me."

Seokjin silently listened to you, but after you had said that and became quiet, he spoke up.

"I can go with you. Of course, Hoseok can go too. I get that you'd want him to go with you rather than me, he's your best friend, so…" his sentence drifted off into the silence. Why was the car ride suddenly so long? You nodded lightly at his words. "You can come. I'm... sure you'd like to know if it's a boy or girl," your lips broke into a gentle smile, thinking of a little child running around you.

"I just… kind of wish Jimin was here."

His name reminded you that Taehyung had accidently told him about the sleepover, and he may be at home for all you knew. "By the way… we might see him at the sleepover. We're in the same friends' group. One of my friends accidently let it slip, he didn't know that he had cheated on me, so… mayhaps, you will meet your boss tonight," you snickered, hoping you were wrong in desperation.

Seokjin parked the car at your house as you finished your statement and looked at you. "I'm not ready now," you rolled your eyes at his response. "He probably didn't even come. He doesn't want to waste his time, so…" you got out of the car, saw Seokjin as he grabbed the plastic bags and Haneul, and opened the door to enter inside.

The atmosphere was completely different - the house was dark, but some light entered through windows and the television was on.

"Y/n!" Jungkook's voice came first, and he hugged you tightly. You rolled your eyes, but you missed the little guy's, who wasn't so little anymore, embrace a lot. "Hey Kookie," you ruffled his hair, then parted to look at his face. He had grown up a lot since you had last seen him. Everyone had.

You looked around the house, seeing the older versions of Namjoon, the smart and intellectual one of your group back then, Yoongi, the one who slept through most of the classes and still got good grades, Taehyung, whose boxy grin never disappeared but he had certainly matured, and Hoseok. You introduced everyone to Seokjin back and forth.

But there was someone who he didn't need to be introduced to.

Jimin.

He was here. All along, he was here. And he wasn't alone, for God's sake. He had brought Minhee over. A great way to start off the night. "Seokjin?" his voice shook you, bringing tears into your eyes for some reason. It was the same as ever, but just one of shock. "Ah, Jimin. Nice to meet you," Seokjin put Haneul down, who automatically came creeping to you, and flashed a smile towards Jimin.

"How are you here?" Jimin raised a brow, as the area began to become less populated, with people wandering the house here and there. You didn't move. Partially because there was a child clinging to you, and also because you just couldn't. You were frozen. You could make out Jimin and the girl latched around his arm in the dark. It hurt a little to see that you were not her.

Maybe you were still not fully over him as you had thought. "Don't they look like a family?" Minhee's voice, high-pitched and soft, broke through the silence that had settled after Jimin's question. You just realised how close you were standing to Seokjin, and with Haneul clinging to you, you hardly doubted it didn't look like that.

"Ah, Jagi, even if they did, they aren't really a family."

Jimin's response didn't quite register right the moment it left his plump lips. You raised a brow, taking your eyes off of Haneul for once. The statement offended you in a way. Had he forgotten you were still carrying his child?

"Actually, we're together," the reply left you too quickly as your hand found Seokjin's. You were a little flustered when it came out, and the way Seokjin's hand went stiff in your embrace made you heart stop. Originally, you had meant to make Jimin jealous, but it became very wrong in only a little moment.

"Are you?" Jimin asked, his voice taken aback, rather quiet. You bit your lip, getting a little heated up. You took a deep, uneven breath. "Y-Yeah. We've been dating for a few days. Anyway, I need to go check up with Hoseok about the snacks, and… I think, you should show Haneul around the house, Jin," you tugged on his sleeve as you said the last few words, and then took your leave, picking up the bags of snacks. Seokjin helped you drop it off in the kitchen, where he set them off on the counter.

"What do you think you were doing back there?" he asked, a light frown on his face. You groaned, massaging your temples a little. "I'm under a lot of stress, okay?! I don't know what I did, I'm sorry, alright?" you responded, sighing heavily. "I couldn't have him show us up like this, I'm," words left your mind when Seokjin rested his hands on your shoulders. You saw Haneul running towards the living room.

Unlike the rest of the house, atleast the kitchen was lit up.

"It's fine. You're fine. It's okay," he looked at you in a reaffirming manner, smiling softly. "I'm here." You put your hands around his waist, your head against his chest. It felt like tugging at your heart. His embrace calmed you down. You closed your eyes, taking his scent in. Unlike the time he was drunk, his hug was warm and supportive, with his arms around your waist. "Thank you."

Hoseok came rushing in, but the sight made him freeze. You blinked at the doorway, staring at him in abrupt surprise. Feeling the heat rush to your cheeks, you let go of Seokjin and he let go of you, breaking the hug. "What just-?" Hoseok began to say, but Seokjin cut him off. "I'm going to go check up on Haneul," he said, as if nothing had happened and he wasn't effected by the awkward atmosphere. Giving you a sly smile and a wink that stole your heart, he left the kitchen.

Hoseok smiled innocently, coming to the counter, where you were standing. You didn't speak a word, still surprised by the crazy person Jin was. The way your bestfriend batted his eyelashes told you that he was thinking the opposite of what was reflected on his face. You crossed your arms, your cheeks burning more by the second. "I didn't know you two were that close," he said casually, taking a look in the bags you had brought. You rolled your eyes at his tone, then frowned.

"The worst thing isn't even that!" you were so used to having him know your feelings, that you couldn't help but tell him whatever had happened between the two of you these few days. "And now I just told Jimin that we're together! I wanted to make him jealous, I didn't want him to make fun of Jin, but now… it's all over the place," you finished. "And that's not even the worst thing."

"Then what is?"

"I think I'm falling for Jin."

The look Hoseok gave you was ridiculous, and on any normal day, you'd have a lung punctured because of it, but today, it just hit different. "Are you… sure?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "If so, just confess," he continued, taking out the juice bottle. "And ruin my already-so-perfect-not-friendship with him? No," you frowned, sighing. "Well, someone's got to make the first move, right?" he gave you a little smile. "I mean, yeah, but wasn't it obvious when I spoke up against Jimin, telling him that we're together?" you frowned even more, your brows knitting together.

"Some people need the confirmation, Y/n."

It was a while before the game began; the game everyone loved at these sorts of gatherings. While Jungkook thought that it was a little too much for his innocent eyes, and volunteered to take care of Haneul, the rest of you played the ominous game everyone knew by the name of, 'truth or dare.'

Jimin and the girl, Minhee, went mostly ignored after you told everyone of how he had cheated on you and how you were pregnant, while he and his new girlfriend enjoyed some drinks. Thankfully, all the guys supported you.

But back to the game. Sighing, you watched the bottle spin, and the mouth landed towards Seokjin, while the other side landed on you. This did have you pique some interest, you wouldn't lie, because the previous dares and truths had been either childish, or just completely gross - most of the gross ones came from Minhee, as you had imagined it to go.

"Truth or dare, Jin?" you raised a brow. "Truth," he replied firmly. You smiled slyly. You wondered what you wanted to ask, and there weren't many except for, 'do you love me?' but you wouldn't get the real truth out of him anyway, since Jimin was sitting there and you needed to pretend as if you were a couple and stay true to your words. It sucked how there were truths and real truths nowadays. Truths were supposed to be just… truths.

"Who's Taeyeon?" the next question was a valid one, and everyone beside you and Seokjin went 'ohhh'. It's as if the expected this to be a 'how to catch a cheater', but you weren't even together, so it didn't matter. You just wanted to sincerely know. Maybe you'd get to shield your heart before it is stepped on again. You looked at the person-in-question, who looked conflicted, but most of all, surprised. "How did you-?" he began asking, but you cut him off. You didn't want to tell him the truth, but there was no point in hiding it. "You… you muttered the name when you came back that night… after you got drunk."

Another wave of 'ohhh' went around the room, and you were honestly getting tired of it. This wasn't something that was going to escalate into a break-up scene, and yet everyone was very interested. Jimin's amused expression made you feel even more down, as if the question wasn't enough. Your ears had been waiting to hear the answer, and still, Seokjin remained quiet.

"Haneul's mother."

The response made your heart stop. You stopped breathing for a second, the thoughts that were about him seeing someone else completely disappearing. A few moments of silence passed. Nodding, you accepted that your suspicions were wrong. Understanding Seokjin's reaction, you beckoned everyone to continue with the game.

The mouth landed on you next. You groaned, seeing as the person who was on the other end was Jimin.

"Truth or dare, Y/n?"

You bit your lip. "Dare." You were feeling risky, you wouldn't lie. But you had asked for a little too much.

"I dare you to kiss the most attractive man here."

You stared at Jimin, finding his words heavier than you thought. Without even thinking, your eyes wandered to Seokjin. His eyes locked with yours in an instant, and you gulped. What had you put yourself through?

Trying to calm your racing heart, you simultaneously moved towards Seokjin, a little scared. You had thought of it doing this before, but now that you actually had to, you felt unsure. With everything that had transpired between you, this would only make your whole relationship a lot more complicated. Seokjin looked on with widened eyes, not moving a bit. You felt bad for him, and yet, you had thought of this before too. You sighed, whispering in his ear, "I'm really sorry."

With every bit of courage left within you, you forced Seokjin to turn his handsome face towards you, and cupping it with your hands, you closed the gap between his pink lips and yours, pulling him into a kiss. You wanted him to know your true intentions - how it hurt to kiss him like this, because you weren't really his girlfriend, and yet how you'd do anything to convey that you did want to be with him.

A round of applause and multiple squeals were heard by you, but you focused on the kiss, making it longer than you intended to. Seokjin's frozen posture scared you, but at last, you pulled apart, feeling nervous and awkward. Slowly, and quietly, with your cheeks burning red, you went back to your original seat. You were too scared to lock eyes with him for the rest of the game.

But still, the play continued on relentlessly. At one point, you were even asked who you would date if you weren't 'dating' Seokjin already, and you replied honestly with, "I'd… I'd date Jimin," which gave him the satisfaction he had been searching for from the beginning, and you could see how Seokjin glared at him. It made you smile like an idiot to see his protective nature.

He didn't let Jimin come near you even once.

Later that night, you munched on some popcorn, your eyes unwavering, staying on the television screen. The seating arrangement, went something along the lines of this. From left to right, sat Hoseok, Minhee, Jimin, you, Seokjin, with Haneul sitting on the ground next to your feet, who was occasionally being playfully troubled by Jungkook, who was sitting on the ground next to him, and then Namjoon sitting on one of the arm of the couch, and Yoongi on the other.

Jimin's presence was very much unwanted, but nothing could change the fact that he was a part of your group before hell emerged, and you supposed cheating on you after impregnating you wasn't going to cut him out either. He was just as much of a part in your group as he was several years ago.

You all watched the decided horror movie - great for couples who wanted to have fun - by which you meant Jimin and Minhee, and bad for... well, you couldn't call yourself and Seokjin a couple, but bad for people with sexual tension. The whole time you were debating whether to hug him after you somehow got frightened or not. Sitting next to Jimin was also, personally, making you very anxious. But it wasn't until you heard some noises from beside you that your breath got stuck.

Apparently, the 'couple' was snogging rather than watching the movie itself. Probably why, in the earlier stages of the movie, you heard Minhee yelp and whimper, meanwhile, for quite some time now, the two remained quiet. It seemed like everyone else heard it well too, and you got the feeling of being sick to the stomach. Something building up inside of you. Like you wanted to puke. Maybe that's exactly what you wanted to do.

Hoseok, who was sitting next to Minhee, opted to sit on the ground instead. You heard Namjoon cough a little, probably to gain the couple's attention and stop them from going further, but Jimin and Minhee only took further advantage of the facts that, one, the room was dark, and two, that you all were such pacifists. Any moment, you thought Seokjin would pick Haneul up and leave the room, and your assumptions were increasingly becoming more true as his body stiffened.

It was in the middle of the movie that he had heard the end of it.

"Can you please stop the movie?" he asked Hoseok, who nodded lightly and paused it. You saw Seokjin as he went over to turn on the lights. Jimin and Minhee were all over each other, but you were thankful that it hadn't gotten any more crazier than just some really passionate kisses. You signalled Jungkook to pick Haneul up and take him somewhere else, which he understood and did so. The little child could do without seeing whatever was going to happen.

The atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a knife. Yoongi was glaring on Jimin like there was no tomorrow, and Hoseok, naturally passive, was fumbling madly with the remote in his hand. Namjoon stayed as quiet as ever, and Taehyung tried busying himself with some popcorn. You felt uneasy beyond explanation, and you low-key wanted to just get up and leave the room, but you couldn't and you knew it would be childish to do that. You had to stand up and become independent for once. Getting up, you didn't leave the silent room, but instead went over to Seokjin to check up on him. He was still standing near the switch, still as ever, and you assumed he was trying to calm himself.

Seeing him like this, you couldn't help but let a pang of regret and guilt wash over you. After all, it had been your idea to invite him, and you were the one who decided to share the news of Jimin coming over later than sooner, even if it wasn't confirmed. Grabbing his hand, even if you knew he really needed less of you right now, you looked up at him with your eyes full of hesitation. "Are you okay?" you whispered, tilting your head. You wished you could be more of a comfort, but you knew how uneasy Seokjin must be.

"I'm sorry but," you watched him turn to the other guys and Minhee, but his hand remained intertwined with yours. Your heart did hurt at the situation, but it was scared for what was to come. But no matter what your mind could've thought of, it couldn't have prepared you for the outburst that was next.

"Do you really have no shame?" Seokjin's voice sounded conflicted, as he walked towards Jimin and Minhee, dragging you with him. Your breath got caught into your throat. You froze in the position, the only part of your body that was moving was the hand that held Seokjin's. You squeezed his hand out of anxiety, not wanting to be in the center of everything, and yet here you were. The room remained quiet, a deadly silence engulfing all of you, till Jimin spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"I meant that, could you really not wait till you got to the bedroom or whatever arrangements were made for sleeping? If not for a comfortable atmosphere here, at least be patient for the innocent child that was sitting amongst you?" the response left everyone in the room silent. No one spoke a word after what Seokjin had said, and your hands were turning colder with every passing second. Jimin had, thankfully, untangled himself from his now-girlfriend, thought that did not help to make the situation any lighter.

Your heart swelled at the question. It showed the endless care Seokjin gave to Haneul. If anything, it made you appreciate him even more. It was in this moment you realised what an inspiring being he was - hard-working, caring, independent, with the right set of morals, his priorities were made clear, and he wasn't afraid to speak up for what was right and for what mattered to him. He wasn't going to suppress his opinions and deem them unimportant just because he was fighting against someone who was in a higher position than him. It showed real strength and bravery. Fighting for what was right despite the dangers involved.

"This is no way to treat a guest, though," Jimin's brows furrowed. "The whole time, I and Minhee have been being ignored and treated as slaves of a sort! It's still happening," you rolled your eyes at the reply. This time, it wasn't Seokjin who spoke up. It was Yoongi.

"Maybe if you didn't treat Y/n the way you did, this wouldn't be happening."

Silence - heavy and immensely cold silence. You wanted to shout at Yoongi for bringing you into the fight and yet, you would've given him the same answer. If he didn't treat others nicely, how could he have expected to be treated right? It didn't make sense to you and you wanted to slap some sense into him, but you knew it was impossible, for he wouldn't learn. "You could've told me if you didn't want me here."

Jimin got up, taking Minhee alongside him. Passing by Seokjin and you, he muttered words you couldn't ever let escape your mind.

"And you're fired, Seokjin-ssi."

It had been two weeks since then. Seokjin had left Hoseok's home that night with Haneul, and he hadn't contacted you ever since then. Thanks to Jimin, your friendship with Seokjin had taken a one-eighty degree turn for the worse, and the worst thing was that you couldn't stop it, because he had basically decided not to talk to you.

Everyday was filled with fuming rage and frustration that he still hadn't called you. Not a single day went by when you wouldn't whine about the fact, and you knew Hoseok was getting sick of your temper tantrums, which you basically threw everyday, and on poor him too.

"Y/n! Calm down for a second, will you?" it was a Thursday evening when Hoseok had grown a little too tired of it to keep it all inside him. You didn't blame him for this, as much as you hated it, your mood changes and the temper that had consumed you wasn't letting go of you. Likely due to your preganancy, but you didn't bother with the reasons much. "I'm sorry, okay?" you huff, crossing your arms and sinking down on the couch. "I'm tired of him not picking up the gazillion times I've called him, or not responding to any of my messages! And tomorrow we're going to find out the gender, are we not? He wanted to come too!"

It was going to be your two-month-mark tomorrow, which meant you could take that test Hoseok had told you about. You didn't care if Jimin wasn't there with you anymore; Seokjin had to be. Somebody had once said that someone's absence made the heart fonder. It had certainly made you realise the impact Seokjin had on your life, and once, you even wondered if you could live it without him.

He had made you so happy - just to leave you here in the dark. You didn't know how you got where you did, but picking up your phone, you looked at the spam of texts you had sent him. You were surprised he hadn't blocked you, and the thought made you snicker. You really were a pesky, little thing for him.

[Y/N]: Jin?

[Y/N]: Seokjin?

[Y/N]: Are you receiving these textsssss

[Y/N]: God, I miss you, please forgive Jimin :(

[Y/N]: I'm so sorry for everything he did and I know he fired you and all, but please respond to me

[Y/N]: At least tell me you're okay!

[Y/N]: Seokjinnnnnn

[Y/N]: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!! Please don't ignore me

You weren't even scratching the surface with those texts. There were a million more, but your hands didn't have the energy to scroll up to see those. All held the same message - forgiveness and to not ignore you anymore. You weren't even sure if he had seen these, but you knew he was definitely ignoring your calls. Unless he was in the bathroom everytime you called. Which was, in your opinion, impossible.

"Y/n, if you're so desperate, we can go to his house but I doubt he wants to see you right now." Hoseok's answer made you turn to him in surprise. "Really?" without further thought, you agreed to your bestfriend's offer, changed into something nicer, and buckled up.

Your heart wanted nothing more than to see Seokjin's handsome face right now. It was longing to see him, practically being tugged to his house from the very first week. But you were willing to give him a chance to speak to you over phone back then, and Hoseok wouldn't agree to take you there, no matter how much you pleaded him. He had truly astonished you with the sudden exclamation that you could go to Seokjin, but you did not mind one bit.

Everyday, you had thought of doing this - going to meet Seokjin, but life wouldn't let you. Now that you were going, your heart was racing at a very fast pace. You were nervous, yes, but also very excited to see him again. Maybe he only saw you as a friend, but you couldn't deny your feelings for him. He was the most beautiful thing you had seen - just thinking of how he made you feel was enough to make you tear up.

It felt like a millennia had gone by since you had heard his sweet voice - since you had seen his gorgeous face - since you had met someone as caring and loving as him. Your heart was heavy and impatient as Hoseok parked in front of Seokjin's house.

"Would you like to come in too?" you ask him, but he politely declined, saying that he'll wait for you outside instead. Mustering up all your courage, you got out of the car and left for the door.

It was a beautiful night. You hoped it symbolised new beginnings, hope for the future. You hoped it meant that your relationship with Seokjin would strengthen instead of fall apart tonight. Appreciating the twilight sky, you looked down at the polished door, and then, taking a deep breath one last time, you rang the bell.

You stayed utterly quiet as you waited for the door to open. You looked back to see Hoseok staring at you expectantly, letting your nerves get the best of you. It was in that moment that the door opened, making your heart skip a beat.

"Y/n?" there it was. The sweetest of voices - smooth like honey, it sounded like one of the most ethereal ones you could hear - almost something you'd hear in heaven. You locked your eyes with Seokjin's dark ones, losing yourself. Your heart felt at home, and a smile found its way to your face. You didn't reply with anything. You could only stare into his eyes and see the warmth in it, adore his heavenly features, and hope he'd want to be friends with you again.

You were willing to be a friend for now, if that's what he needed.

"Hi Seokjin. It's been a while, hasn't it?" you giggle softly, your hands cold but you couldn't be happier than with him. "Do you… want to come inside?" he moved aside and you went inside, your heart feeling fulfilled. "I was wondering if you were okay? You haven't been answering my calls or responding to my texts… and I really missed you." You could see how Seokjin tensed up at your words, and at the mention of the incident.

"I... You know, it's fine, things will turn out t-" but Seokjin had cut you off before you could explain anything. "Y/n," his voice was meek as he spoke. "I'm unemployed, for God's sake! I-I don't have any money after I spend the saved up one, and I-I won't be able to feed Haneul in the near future! I-I wouldn't be able to afford anything. T-Then we'd get kicked out and live on the streets…" he stammers, breathing unevenly.

You listened to him in acute silence, taking in each and every word. "Things are not going to turn better. Who's going… to pay for his school fees when he has to go…? How will I buy him his toys…? H-How will I provide for him?" he sat down on the couch, holding his head in his hands. You wished you could have offered him something, something that would fix everything, but nothing came to mind.

"Jimin… he fired me because of the fact that he thought we were together. And because I made him look bad in front of his old friends, but what he doesn't understand is that he was already bad in their eyes!" he exclaims, the words hitting you like a dagger to your heart. A chill ran down your spine. "I'm... s-so sorry…" you whisper, walking to the male and bending down in front of him.

You moved away his hands to look in his eyes. "I…" and then something hit you. Like an explosion, an idea formed in your mind. An alternative way to solve his problems - to fix it all if fortune was on his side. If only he was willing to go through it. There was always a resolution.

"I have an idea."

"What?"

"Follow your dream. Try becoming what you've always wanted to become - an actor."

Seokjin's eyes widened. "You're not serious, are you? Who'll take care of Haneul?" he asks, a horrified expression covering his face, but you could only smile. "What am I here for?" you took your chance. "Look, Jin, I've always… really enjoyed your company. And…" you could feel your heart beating against your chest so violently, that you were scared he'd hear it. "And if you don't like me back, it's fine. I'll still take care of Haneul. And we'll still remain friends. O-Of course, if you want that," you added the last few words hesitantly, stuttering a little.

His response was silence, but it wasn't uneasy. It felt like home. It felt like a welcome back, acceptance. You looked down at the ground, nodding to an unheard melody. Maybe you were accepting the fact that he had no answer for you - because he didn't have feelings for you as you did for him. You could feel his unsteady gaze on you. Getting up, you gave his wide-eyed face a soft smile. "It's fine," you could hear the rejection coming. For once, you didn't need to hear it to know it was a reality. "People fall in love and whatnot," you shrugged lightly, letting a hollow laugh leave your lips.

Your heart was empty and heavy. But your words were lighter than the air that surrounded the two of you. The silent melancholic atmosphere made you smile softly. Another end, another goodbye.

"Wait," his voice stopped you from going any further. "I didn't deny it yet," you looked at him, conflicted by his words. "Then deny it now?" you turned away. "Well… how do I put this…?" he laughed.

"I meant… I can't deny it. I love you. I mean... wasn't it obvious?"

Even the heart mistakened things sometimes.

Especially that one time, when you had given your blood sample to the doctor, so you could find you the gender of the baby as well as see for the possibility of chromosomal conditions. You had definitely thought karma would be giving you a boy, that forever symbolised Jimin in your life, but you couldn't have been more wrong. Approximately, six months later, you welcomed a little baby girl in your arms. It was impossible at the time who she looked more like as - you or Jimin - and you and Seokjin would constantly argue over that playfully, but in the end, life turned out to be a little more happier from then on.

Especially seeing as you had, not only your little girl with you, but also Seokjin and Haneul - symbolizing you were never alone from the very beginning.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #209: The Resurrection Stone

July, 1981

“The Resurrection Stone: will it save the universe -- or destroy it?”

Well, the universe hasn’t been destroyed, at least circa the comics I read this morning. But it hasn’t really been saved either.

Still, pretty intriguing tagline. Pretty intriguing cover.

And written by J.M. DeMatteis. One of the Kraven’s Last Hunt guys. He doesn’t seem to do a lot of Avengers.

Let’s see how he do Earth’s Mightiest Team of Specifically This Four On the Cover.

We start with some silent intriguing intrigue as an alien ship crashes into Nevada and an alien crawls from the alien wreckage. Instead of distributing rings to people, he gets shot by a green guy who likes purple. I sure can’t think of several people that this applies to.

The shooter checks some possibly alien PDA but then beams up as the ship explodes.

How baffling.

Ok, J.M. DeMatteis. You have my interest.

So we start chapter one-

Chapter one? What is it with fill-ins and putting chapters in Avengers books. That three dooms one from a while back also did this.

Anyway, chapter one of this normal length Avengers adventure: “Love... and Death!”

So on specifically April 10th, 1981 2:17 PM (a fact which we must firmly ignore in these sliding timescale days), Beast has brought an old flame to Avengers Mansion to meet Wonder Man, Vision, and Scarlet Witch.

Presumably all of the other Avengers couldn’t make it. Or Beast didn’t want them meeting Vera.

Oh, and she’s not a new old flame.

Vera Cantor goes back to X-Men #19 in 1966. She knew him before he blue it! And she was the one who got away because mutant biz kept getting in the way.

But they had a chance meeting in a Soho bar and they’re giving it another shot!

I guess Beast is finally settling down from his wild party dating multiple women at a time days.

And y’know what? He and Vera are cute together.

Beast is exuberantly in love with her. He’s apparently been talking about nothing else for weeks.

Scarlet Witch: “Vision -- just look at the Beast’s eyes -- I’ve never seen them sparkle so. He must be in love.”

Beast is so excited he’s bouncing on the couch and jumping all over the place and bumping into Jarvis. Knocking the tea tray out of the butler’s hands.

Beast, pls. Reign in.

He does manage to catch the tray in his feet though. No spilling.

Its a bit weird that Jarvis is here to be bumped into. He’s supposed to have one of his days off to visit his mom and get some of that “near-mythical Yorkshire pudding.”

But he brushes off the question with concern over the bad impression all of this is giving the guest.

Vera doesn’t mind though. She’s used to his obstreperous (“noisy and difficult to control”) nature and finds how energetic he is to be part of why he’s so cute.

The blue fuzz surely does not hurt!

Oh. And then Vera takes a sip of the tea Jarvis brought and immediately keels over dead.

The butler did it??

Jarvis. You made it too strong!

No, no. Surely not. Jarvis would never make such an error or miss out on Yorkshire pudding.

“Jarvis” is actually... A SKRULL!

Beast wastes no time slamming the Skrull into the wall but said Skrull says ‘hey you want the woman to live again maybe keep your hands to yourself.’

And Beast backs off, sensing some truth in the Skrull’s tone.

The Skrull: “Ah -- that’s a bit more like it. Even in this vile atmosphere, I do so value my ability to breathe!”

By the by the by, this guy goes unnamed until 2008 in a Secret Invasion infobook but I’m not about that. His name is Jaddak.

Jaddak channels his inner-Darkseid and sits in the comfiest chair provocatively and begins on THE TALE OF THE RESURRECTION STONE!

Seems that millennia ago there was a space civilization in space that merged high science and high sorcery to bring an epoch of peace and plenitude to all then known worlds.

The epoch of peace and plentitude looks a lot like someone jammed Medieval knights and castles into rocket times.

Which I guess fits the whole union of science and magic thing.

And then the greatest scientist-wizard, Tus'Au, invented the Resurrection Stone and ruined everything.

The stone, as the name implied, could bring life back to the dead. And while that doesn’t seem too impressive by today’s standards where plot devices to resurrect the dead are so numerous (including just teleporting out of heaven) that it doesn’t bear counting, remember that this was an earlier, more innocent time. A filler time.

Everyone wanted this Resurrection Stone and a great war ignited that eventually ruined a thousand, thousand planets.

Amidst that nonsense, the stone itself was lost forever.

Until an Anthigorite archeologist named Krru, like, did some serious research. Around about 5,000 years worth of research. And thanks to all his book learning, he eventually found the stone.

Which was unfortunate because Jaddak had been stalking him this whole time, sure that he’d eventually find it.

He chased Krru over twelve solar systems, finally blasting him out of the sky over Earth. But when Jaddak searched Krru’s ship and checked the recorder-log, as we saw in the opening two pages, he learned that Krru had decided that the Resurrection Stone was inherently corruptive and should have remained lost.

You know an ancient magical stone is bad news when an archeologist goes ‘actually you don’t belong in a museum.’

So when Krru was shot down, as a last ditch effort, he broke the stone in two and sent both halves into Earth’s past so they’d be lost forever.

I have so many questions.

If they were sent to the past then they’d be in the present now unless destroyed in the past. That’s how time works.

Two, dick move, Krru. You think this thing is inherently corruptive and you drop it into Earth’s past, possibly altering the timeline? Fuck you.

But with the stones in the past forever inaccessible clearly, Jaddak decided, hey this should be the Avengers’ problem and not mine.

Jaddak: “I knew then that I needed... pawns. Powerful pawns.”

Wonder Man: “Pawns... as in -- Avengers. And that’s why you struck down an innocent woman?!”

Jaddak: “It seemed a splendid idea at the time!”

Pffffffft.

Ok, I know. I know. This is a terrible situation in-universe but also out of universe because they brought back Vera only to immediately stuff her into the fridge.

But this skrull going ‘look it seemed like a good idea at the time’ cracks me up.

Seemed like a good idea doesn’t cut the mustard with Wonder Man who just hauls off and punches Jaddak into the bookcase.

Vision even verbally pats him on the back for it.

Vision: “Well played, Simon. -- There was no need to listen to this madman's rantings any longer.”

But as the Avengers congregate to stomp on Jaddak’s head a few times, I presume, Beast stops them.

Cradling Vera’s body he says he’ll do anything to bring her back.

;__;

And that brings us to chapter two: “DOOM in the DARK AGES!”

Let me just get ahead of any hypothetical questions I wouldn’t even be able to hear until after the fact anyway. Tragically Doctor Doom does not show up.

Whoof, a lot of exposition at the beginning of chapter 2. Because a lot of stuff happened off-panel, between pages.

Real Jarvis had been contacted to make sure he’s okay. The four Avengers took a Quinjet to the Fantastic Four and told Reed Richards what’s going on. Reed went ‘sure I’ll lend you Doctor Doom’s time machine and send you to the coordinates a SKRULL gave you.’ And Jaddak went to go wait in his spaceship with Vera’s body.

So now the Avengers are in September 16, 1348, England. Prompting Vision to start giving a lecture on the bubonic plague.

Scarlet Witch: “Darling, please. Not now.”

Save it for the bedroom, Vizh.

The locals respond, understandably enough, with hostility to the people that just appeared in thin air dressed like clowns. They call the Avengers demons and unholy creatures and tell them to tell a wizard Devlunn to fuck off and that he can’t have any more of their dead.

Wanda decides that explaining time travel and superheroes from the FUTURE is more trouble than its worth. Instead, she plays along.

Scarlet Witch: “Devlunn? We are far greater than that upstart! He is a mere wind -- we are the storm!”

And then she fires off some of her bolts to cow the villagers so she can ask if anyone wants to take her to “this weakling Devlunn.”

See Wanda figured out based on the one comment that someone toying with the dead might be linked to the half of the Resurrection Stone they’re here to find. Or one would hope someone toying with the dead has a dumb magic reason for it!

One of the villagers does volunteer to take Wanda to Devlunn.

Villager: “I pray you four are as powerful as you appear -- for it will take great magicks indeed to best this lunatic child.”

Because, yup, Devlunn is a ten-year old child.

And yup, he has half of the Resurrection Stone.

He also has a big crowd of locals begging him to return their dead since they did promise to follow him and give him all that they own. Really, that’s a fair trade for some moldy old corpses, right?

Devlunn: “Why should I listen to you? When this talisman fell from the sky and whispered to me -- I knew then it could make me a god! And gods do as they please!”

Welp.

Beast: “No one should play god, Devlunn. -- Least of all obnoxious little boys! C’mon guys -- let’s get this over with!”

And Wonder Man punches the tower Devlunn is standing on and Vision SOLAR BEAMs it and a ten year old child falls off a tower.

And then he just stops in midair and floats.

Not sure why the Resurrection Stone also has flying powers. That seems beyond the scope of what it was designed to do.

That’s like if you had a scroll of fireball that also did your taxes.

Yes, that would be amazing. But the two things aren’t related things.

Anyway, Devlunn takes these four weirdos in stride.

Devlunn: “Ah -- so I’ve impressed you with my little trick! Good! For, you see, I know who you are! You are spirits from heaven to test me to see if I’m worthy of godhood -- to see if my talisman can do more than merely hold me on high like some wingless bird! You wish a show of strength -- a little play! And what you wish -- Devlunn-the-god shall grant!”

And then he sicks a horde of zombies on the fearless foursome.

The four realize the truth of Devlunn’s half of the Resurrection Stone. Because this is a cool magic artifact that conceptually splits in half instead of just physically or in terms of output or whatever.

Devlunn’s half gives life to the dead but only life without the spark of the soul. Aka, zombies.

Also, not very impressive zombies. They’re more pitiable than formidable. And Devlunn isn’t much of a necromancer.

The Avengers fight them. Well, except for Vision. Vision just lets them flail against him ineffectually.

Beast rushes through the pack of zombies, even grabbing one with his thighs to toss out of the way?, towards Devlunn and then takes the 1/2 Resurrection Stone like candy from a baby.

Revealing Devlunn to not be a great and powerful wizard but rather a very sad child.

Devlunn: “My stone give it to me! Give it back, I say! I was... nothing until it came to me! My family -- my friends -- all died! But the stone made me important! It gave me control over death! It made me safe! Please give it back! Please -- I want to be a god! I have to be a god!”

And then he collapses to the ground and starts crying while the Avengers are whisked away into the future by Reed.

So, that’s sad.

And I don’t imagine chapter three (“Rosenblatt’s Dance!”) is going to be any cheerier.

It’s now April 13, 1945. Dachau.

So. Yeah.

The Avengers blink into existence right in the middle of some Allied troops chasing some Nazis. And not being ones to miss a chance to go ape shit on some Nazis, Wonder Man goes ape shit on some Nazis.

Unlike the dark ages peeps, the Allied soldiers see some random people with superpowers wearing bright clothes and go ‘ah, superheroes’ and ask if they’re with the Invaders or the Liberty Legion.

Wonder Man: “Right. I’m... uh... Captain America.”

Phew. Timeline secure.

Anyway, they’re glad to see some superheroes because they’ve got a messy situation at Dachau. And its nothing that punching Nazis can fix.

So, yeah this is set at a concentration camp so its not going to be particularly happy.

The one who has the other half of the Resurrection Stone is a man named Rosenblatt. And this half of the stone also has half the power of the full stone. But in this case it returns the soul to a lifeless husk.

And Rosenblatt has used it to revive his dead wife and daughters and he’s joyfully dancing with their lifeless bodies while they beg him to let them go and free them of this existence.

It’d be really messed up if the usual superhero methods had to be applied here but thankfully the less employed but still common superhero empathy is in the quiver.

Beast approaches the guy and just talks to him.

Beast: “You have to set their souls free.”

Rosenblatt: “Are you the devil, come to take them? Well -- they’ve been in hell long enough. They’ll never be yours!”

Beast: “Look at them, my friend -- they will never be yours either. Not the way you knew them. The way you cherished them. Give me the jewel. P-please...”

And his words get through to the man who hands the half Resurrection Stone off to Beast.

And as before, the instant they have the stone, Reed yanks them forward in time.

Y’know. This only occurred to me on my second read. Maybe if Reed hadn’t instantly pulled them out of that time, it would have occurred to Beast ‘hey wait I have both halves now, I could combine them and bring this guy’s family back to life for real and not in some cursed half existence.’

Doesn’t really work with how the book goes, but it’s a thought.

And now for the thrilling conclusion: Chapter 4 The Cost!

April 10th, 1981, SPACE.

So we’re back in the then present.

A Quinjet flies into space, as Quinjets can apparently do, to meet with Jaddak’s spaceship. Jaddak contacts them over the space Zoom and tells Beast that he’ll have to teleport over alone with the Resurrection Stone.

The other Avengers think this is reeeeeaaally fishy and don’t really like the idea of letting Jaddak get the Resurrection Stone but they can’t tell Beast what to do. This is his weird fill-in issue quest and it has to be his decision.

So Beast teleports over alone. And finds himself in a chamber with a video screen. Skrull ain’t taking any chances.

He’s hidden behind an unbreachable wall. Through the video screen he tells Beast to deposit the stone in a portal which will send it over to the skrull who will test it for authenticity.

Then, he’ll use it to revive Vera. Swearsies.

Beast: “And why should I trust you?”

Jaddak: “Because I am a Skrull. Treacherous and savage as my people are -- we value honor more than life.”

Doubt.

Beast pauses to consider the power of the Resurrection Stone. Thinks about Devlunn and his zombies and Rosenblatt’s dance.

Beast: “Vera... I’m sorry. But this power is too much for any man to hold. I hope you can forgive me for what I’m about to do -- and I hope I can forgive myself!”

And then Beast slams the two halves of the Resurrection Stone together, KRUNCHing them into dust.

Jaddak: “Y-you crushed it! But that is... impossible! My plan was perfection! The vagaries of human love should have assured me victory!”

Wonder Man: “There are higher forms of love, Skrull -- but don’t strain your brain trying to figure out what they are!”

Because, yes, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, and Vision are also here now.

Vision intangibled onto the ship while Jaddak was distracted and used Jaddak’s own teleporters to bring the other two aboard.

As for that unbreachable wall?

Nah. Totally breachable. Wonder Man peels it open like nothing.

Jaddak tries to use Vera’s dead body as a hostage but Scarlet Witch blasts the gun apart in his hands with a SQUAKK.

So there may be a bird that used to be a gun loose on the ship.

And that just leaves one thing to take care of.

Beast jumps at Jaddak and starts slamming him around.

Scarlet Witch protests that Beast is going to kill Jaddak but Wonder Man tells her that Beast has to left off some steam.

Wonder Man: “He has to vent some steam or he’ll really snap! Besides you know Hank as well as I do -- that Skrull will get some much-needed lumps -- but that’s all!”

Beast: “Yeah. That’s our Beastie. A hero to the end. Can’t even bring myself to play the old ‘eye for an eye’ game. Not that it would do me one stinking bit of good. I’ve lost her -- forever.”

AND THEN AN EPILOGUE. Later that day at the Baxter Building.

Reed has been involved between panels this whole story and now he gets exposition exposited to him to fill in the gaps and in return he’s going to exposit too.

Wonder Man explains that he, Wanda, and Vision always intended to destroy the Resurrection Stone if Beast went through with the deal with Jaddak. Not that they thought he would. Knowing Hank McCoy and all.

But its a subversion of the ‘this is something he must do himself’ trope. Where they left the decision in Beast’s hands but also planned to go over his head if he made the wrong decision and put the scary power of phoenix down in the hands of the Skrulls.

Gotta keep your friends honest or something.

So now Reed has news. Weird news about Vera.

The poison that Jaddak used was super rare, so rare that Jaddak didn’t even know how it worked. He just had to be a murder hipster and goofed up.

Its actually a slow-acting poison that takes days to fully kill someone so Vera is technically only mostly dead. She could theoretically be cured one day.

So Reed has thrown her into a suspended animation tube and hopes to come up with an antidote eventually (which he doesn’t but Vera ends up cured anyway in Defenders #105 about a year later in another story by J.M. DeMatteis).

What is it about weird filler stories and having someone end up in a freezer tube to be maybe cured later?

Reed Richards: I know it’s not much of a chance, Beast -- but at least there’s hope.”

Beast: “There’s hope -- !”

Follow @essential-avengers​ because one day I’ll be up to date on that blog and it’ll have Essential Avengers stuff and no miscellaneous reblogs of other stuff. Wouldn’t that be nice? Maybe? Also like and reblog if you like to reblog.

[1000roughdrafts]

Reverse Supernatural Part I

A/N: written for @pitterpatter-letsgitatter​ for the request: “Hi!! I have been tossing an idea around for a bit... What if... Now hear me out... What if the Reader was the experienced hunter and she/he has to save Dean and/or Sam who have never known the supernatural existed...?” again, sorry it took so long, tumblr ate the first one :/ 

Characters: Y/N Y/L/N, Dean, Sam, Mary and John Winchester, Jess, Jo Harvelle, Ellen(mentioned)  [[ I also want you guys to remember that if the Winchester boys didn’t get dragged into hunting, a lot of things have changed that are pertinent to this fiction; their mother never dies, so John never needed to destroy his sanity in search for her killer, which mean’s Ellen’s husband is still alive. With the boys never taking the lead into hunting, Azazel never needed to destroy the Roadhouse, they never met Charlie or Lisa, they never met Castiel, and Ellen and Jo are still alive and they’re still hunters. ]]

Warnings: spn style monster violence, maybe OOC Dean/Sam, language, description of a bloody monster 

Word Count: 5000 (sorry, it was just flowing) & this is unbeta’d so all mistakes are my own (hope their aren’t any) 

Your mother only had two rules: never fall in love and don’t follow your father’s footsteps into hunting. You suppose she was coming from a place of wisdom, maybe even heartbreak, when giving these to you. Though, you had failed to grasp the concept and never honored the latter. 

After your mother’s passing, you felt a calling, a summons if you will, towards the mysterious, and dangerous world of hunting. Despite the job taking the life of your father, you couldn’t help but to search for answers, to continue what he started and save as many people as you could... or die trying. 

Your faithful mission takes you to a bar in a quaint town in Kansas, where you believe vampires lurk in the outskirts. You despise the repulsive creatures, and long to dispose of every last one. 

There’s a part of you, a part that you detest, that has an incandescent passion for this life, bordering on a lust for blood. The electricity that rattles your body after gutting whatever monster it is that week is like standing on top of the tallest building in the world, arms stretched out with the wind beating against against your chest. The guilt that follows that feeling, though, pushes you off of the ledge for a nose dive straight to the ground. 

Sitting in a booth, one hand wrapped around your glass and a pen in the other, you tap the pages of your notebook as you review your plan for the week. Today was the morgue, and tomorrow will start your search for the blood sucking bastards. 

Bringing your drink to your lips, you close your eyes as the beer cools your throat. When you bring it back down, your eyes open on a hand that rests on the edge of the table. Your eyes follow it up a flannel clothed arm and drop onto the simper, yet strikingly attractive face of a man. 

“Hey there, gorgeous,” he says with a smile. “You new to town?” 

“Just visiting,” you say, folding your notebook shut and slipping the pen through the rings. Scooting over to step out of the booth, you hold it close to your chest and smile up at him before standing, “excuse,” you say, intending to leave. 

When you get to your feet, he holds his hands up, palms facing you, “woah, hey, wait a minute,” he chuckles, “sorry, I’m Dean,” he says, hand stretched out between you, a smile still stuck on his face. 

“Y/N,” you offer, eyeing him curiously as you shake his hand. 

“Can I, uh, buy you a drink?” he asks, gesturing over to the bar. 

“I’m sure your intention are,” you tilt your head with a smug smile, “affable, however, I should probably be leaving.” 

“All right,” he shrugs. “Your loss,” he quips with a wink. 

With your back turned to him now, you stop walking. A strange feeling rustles inside of you at his words, and your head tilts just barely at the thought of it. There’s something about his arrogant manner that brings out your combative side, a competitive urge for social dominance. 

Flipping around, you squint your eyes in a smile, “know what? Sure, one drink won’t kill me,” you say. 

His eyes light up in a smile, “really?” he says, and you nod before following him over to the bar. 

He leans slightly to speak to the bartender, “I’ll take another beer, please,” he says, throwing a hand onto your back, “and whatever this little lady would like,” he smiles. 

Shimmying yourself from under his hand your eyes meet with the woman behind the bar as you lean in, “whiskey please, on the rocks,” you smile and hear Dean scoff in a chuckle. 

His eyes are wide and frisky when you look over at him. He holds up two fingers, keeping his eyes on you but speaking to the bartender, “actually, make that two,” he says, lips touching before he looks back over to the woman, “two whiskeys, please.” 

When his eyes meet back with yours, despite your urge to look away, you don’t. A smile creeps on his face and you only look away when the drinks are slid in front of you. He rests his elbows against the bar, using it to hold up his weight. 

“Didn’t take you for a whiskey kind of girl,” he says softly. 

“Why’s that?” you lightly scorn.

His lips turn down as he gives his head a single shake, “just didn’t.” Scooting the bar stool back, he pats on the pad of it for you to sit, and then plops onto the next one over. “So, where ya from?” he says. 

You scan your mind for an answer. The way you live your life, always on the road, leaves you pondering if you really are from anywhere at all. It’s a dreaded question that you have yet to answer, even for yourself. Lying, you decide to say, “California,” and bring the drink to your lips to hide your tells. 

“California, huh?” he says, shifting his weight in the seat. “So tell me, Y/N. What’s a Cali girl doing in little old Lawrence, Kansas?” he laughs. 

“I’m here for work,” you say flatly. 

“Oh, what do you do?” 

Naturally, you can’t tell him why you’re really here, because ‘tracking vampires so I can kill them before they kill anyone else and then skip town’ doesn’t exactly have a people friendly ring to it. You ponder which profession to impersonate tonight, and settle on the safest option, “I work for the FBI, here on a case.” 

“No shit,” he chuckles, shaking his head. “Awesome,” he says. “So, uh, you must be here about the Blood Sucker, then, huh?” 

Upon hearing the words, you accidentally inhale your drink. Setting the cup down amidst a coughing fit, you look over at him through squinted eyes, “what?” you say, words coming out hot. You feel like you’re breathing fire. 

“Yeah,” he says with a single syllable chuckle, “it is pretty silly, isn’t it?” he says, taking a sip of his drink. 

You clear your throat, taking another gulp of the whiskey in hopes to clear your airway, “what is?” you ask, voice thick. 

“The name they came up with,” he says. When he sees your furrowed brows and tilted head, he adds, “the serial killer. It’s all over the news, posters all over the town, everyone’s freakin’ out,” he chuckles, “but me?” he shakes his head, “eh, I’m not too worried about it,” he says bringing the cup to his lips. 

“Why’s that?” you ask. 

“My family,” he starts, shifting his body to face you. Holding out his hand, he says, “okay, this is probably gonna sound real weird to a city girl,” he jests, nudging you, “but my family, we have this nice, big plot of land, miles out of town,” he says, hands gesticulating as he speaks. “My mom and dad, they got a little cabin at the front of the property. My brother and his wife, Jess, got their own space and I got mine,” he says, smiling at you before gripping onto his glass, “I come from a long line of hunters,” he says, pausing to take a drink. Your heart thumps in your chest at the word ‘hunter’, of fear or excitement you can’t quite tell, but you hold your breath in anticipation. 

“Deer, rabbits, beer, hell, even a couple mountain lions, whatever comes our way, we got it. So we got loads of rifles, ammunition, you name it,” clearing his throat, his lips form a straight line, and in an earnest tone, he says, “and we, uh, we protect each other, you know?” he says, nodding his head. 

Your smile transforms into an unidentifiable frown for a short moment before you move your eyes to your drink. Swirling it around, you can’t help but to think how unprepared they really are for what’s actually lurking in the dark. It reminds you of how fragile non-hunters are. 

Pushing down the knot in your throat, you look up at him and force a smile, “that’s very sweet, Dean,” you nod. Scooting your empty cup towards the other side of the bar, you rotate to face him, clutching your notebook in your hand, “thank you for the drink, and the talk, but I should really get going now,” you say, “early morning, long day, and all that,” you say with a grin. 

His eyes vacillate between yours, the smile lingering briefly before eyes eyebrows pushed together, and he purses his lips. Glancing down into his drink and then back up at you, he waves his hand before dropping it onto his knee, “yeah, no, of course,” he smiles, “it was really nice talking to you, too, Y/N.” 

Standing up, you place your hand on his forearm, “have a good night, Dean,” you say before taking a few steps away. 

“Wait,” he says. You breathe out a sigh and turn to face him. Smoothing out his shirt, he drops a few bills on the counter and stands, taking his time to walk the short distance over to you. “Any chance I could get your number?” 

“Dean, I-” you begin to decline, searching for a reason to tell him no, but he interrupts, hands held up at you. 

“I’m not looking for a long term thing,” he waves a hand, “believe me, had my fair share of those, it’s not for me,” he chuckles before dropping his arms and letting out a thick sigh through his nose, “I just figure, while you’re in town, if you want to let off some steam...” he clips the sentence short and trails off. 

“I’m flattered, really,” you confess, “but I-” 

“Tell you what,” he says, cutting you off again. He pulls your pen from the notebook’s rings and reaches onto the bar for a napkin. “I’ll just give you mine,” he says leisurely, focused on writing the numbers down onto the napkin, “and you can just call me when you make up your mind,” he grins, clicking the pen closed and putting it back between the rings. Holding the napkin out to you, his eyebrows waggle, urging you to take it. 

You sigh, “okay,” you say, before smiling and turning away to leave. 

****

Groaning loudly at the sound of your alarm, you throw the blankets off of your body and spring forward. Bringing a hand to your forehead, you wait until your head isn’t spinning before getting out of the bed. 

While a pot of coffee brews, you dress yourself, pulling on the pants you had the night before. Reaching into the pockets, you pull out your car keys and a napkin. Inspecting the napkin, you see Dean’s number scribbled neatly in the corner and with a sigh, you decide to place it in your notebook. 

Coffee in hand, you rush out of the door, heading for the trunk of your car to prepare for the day. You’re not sure how many of these damn creatures you’re going to walk in on, so you want to be prepared. 

As you dig through your arsenal of a trunk, Dean’s words fall into your thoughts: You must be here about the Blood Sucker then, huh? 

How eerily accurate humans can be without even realizing the actual meaning of their words prompts you to feel a bit worried for the ones who don’t know about the creatures that stalk this god-forsaken planet. 

You shake away the distracting thoughts by slamming your trunk shut, moving your keys in your hand as you walk to the driver’s seat. Your phone pings with a notification from your best friend, Jo, who you met while visiting the Roadhouse.

 The two of you bonded when discussing the abhorrent rules your mother had given you. She’d said that her mother had a similar jurisdiction, and the rest was history. After warming up to you, Ellen is more forgiving these days, but still only really allowing Jo to go out when she’s with you. 

With fingers too cold to tap on the screen of your phone in response, you call her. It rings a few times before she picks up. 

“Y/N!” she squeals. “Did you get my text?” 

Smiling, you say, “yes, that’s why I’m calling you,” you chuckle. 

“Where are you?” 

You look out your window at the sign of the motel you’d been staying at, “Red Rock Motel,” focusing back on the steering wheel, you bring the phone to your other ear, “but I’m leaving right now. Meet me at that diner on the corner of tenth and main, yeah?” 

***

Pulling into the parking lot of the diner, you see Jo leaning up against the hood of her car. She smiles brightly, waving at you, and skipping over to your car. When you step out, you pull her into a tight hug. It’d been a few months since you’d last seen her, and can’t hide your enthusiasm for seeing her now. 

“I missed you,” she says in a pout, yanking you in for another hug. 

“I missed you, too,” you say, chuckling a bit before you pull away and reach into your car for your notebook. 

Heading inside, your taken to a booth, where you order food and plan the day out with Jo. 

“I’m happy that you’re doing this with me, Jo,” you confess. “I’m kind of going into this one blind, so it’s nice to have backup.” 

“Absolutely,” she says, crunching down on a piece of bacon and reaching across the table for your notebook. She opens the book and flips to where you have the date highlighted at top of the page, the napkin falling out. Her eyebrows raise when she sees it, holding it between her fingers and looking up at you with a shit eating grin. Tilting her head, she asks, “who’s Dean, Y/N?” 

Heat filling your cheeks, your eyebrows furrow and you take a monstrous bite of your breakfast sandwich as an excuse to stay silent. When she asks again, you swallow the bite, letting saliva fill your mouth before swallowing again. “Met him at the bar last night.”

“Yeah?” she giggles. 

“No, come on, it wasn’t like that,” you laugh, playfully tapping her arm. “He just gave it to me after talking for a bit,” you shrug. Your eyes widen as you smile with the thought, “you take it.”

“What? No,” she says, squinting her eyes at you. “He gave it to you, not me.” After a pause, she takes a sip of her water, “are you gonna call him?” 

You scoff, “hell no.” She raises her eyebrows, looking down at you, “Jo, no. Depending on how this goes, I’m leaving town today. There’s no point.” 

“Whatever,” she says, slipping it into her pocket with a wink. 

***

Jo packs up her weapons and drops them into your trunk. Skipping over to the passenger side of the car, she slips into the seat, offering you a smile. You nod as you peel out of the parking lot and drive down the highway. 

“At the bar last night-” 

“Where you met Dean,” Jo interrupts, giving you a sly smile. 

You glare over at her, “yes, but before I met him, though, I overheard some locals talking about a camping trip they went on. Well, tried to go on, they said there was this cabin out there that gave them creepy vibes. I thought that that’s probably the best place to start, and if they aren’t out there, then we’ll have to track them down from there.” 

She nods, giving you a thumbs up and continuing to scroll through her phone. 

****

At the campsite, you stand at your trunk and slide your machete onto your shoulder. Collecting a few more weapons while Jo does the same, you look at each other. “Ready?” you smile. 

“Ready.” 

Hiking up the hill, much to your dismay, the leaves crunch under your feet. The air is cold and visibly leaves your mouth as you breathe, but you push on until you see the cabin. The roof appears to be caving in, with a tarp draped over one side of it. The windows look to be single paneled and broken in different spots. Motioning to Jo that you’re walking around to the back, she nods and skips up to the front of the cabin. 

She creeps along the side, waiting for your signal. Hearing your caw, the both of you burst open the door, guns drawn but pointing them at each other. 

After sweeping the small building, you meet up in the middle. You let out an exasperated sigh, looking around you at the scattered newspapers made into bedding, and the putrid smell of death. 

“Well, they were here at one point,” you say, kicking a few of the newspapers, “can tell by the stench. God, do they stink,” you say, crinkling your nose. 

“It’s only eleven in the morning,” she spits out, “they should be here, sleeping, right now,” she whispers, as if not to wake them. 

“Guess times are changing,” you shrug. “Come on, let’s go look around the woods.” 

Following your lead, she places the gun in her waistband and creeps out of the door behind you. 

After walking around the forest for a few hours, you are frustrated, hungry and extremely dehydrated. Deciding on taking a food break, you head back to your car. 

“Why do you think they weren’t at the nest?” she asks. 

“I don’t know, but it looks like there’s only a couple of them, judging by the layout. Maybe they’ve adapted to hunting in the day, sleeping at night.” 

“That doesn’t make any sense, though,” Jo says, “why would they just randomly change patterns like that.” 

You shrug, “maybe they just abandoned that nest.” 

“Yeah,” she says, “it is pretty close to the campground. There’s silence for a moment before she lets out a long breath, walking around to the front of the car and reaching for her phone. She taps the screen a few times before you hear static. 

“You have a police scanner on your phone?” you ask, eyes wide. 

“Yeah,” she smiles. ��Pretty cool, isn’t it?” You nod, staying silent to listen in. 

Through the static, you hear a female voice dripping with fear, “code eight, code eight, anyone copy?” 

A male voice hits the wave, “Officer Barry here, what’s your twenty?” When he hears nothing, he speaks again, “go ahead,” he offers, but is only met with silence, “officer?” he shouts, alarmed at her silence. “Dispatch, I’m gonna need a twenty on Officer Lynn with backup,” he pauses, “requesting for code three.” 

“Copy that,” another voice speaks through, “last location on Lynn is the Manor, sending an officer your way.” 

Jo shuts off the radio as you slam the trunk shut and in sync you sprint to the front of the car, jumping in and peeling out of the parking lot. 

When you arrive at the manor, bright red and blue lights fill your eyes. Three police vehicles sit lined up on the side of the street, and behind them is an ambulance. 

Reaching into your glove box, you pull out your badge, turning to Jo, “you got yours, yes?” 

She nods, pulling it out of her pocket to flash it at you. 

Stepping out of your vehicle, you run towards the paramedic and a few police officers. “Hi,” you say when the three look your way, “I’m Agent Adams, and this is my partner,” you say, gesturing to Jo. 

“Agent O’Malley,” she grins. “Can you bring us up to speed?” 

The officer with his eyes wide stutters out the words, “we got an officer down, that’s what’s going on,” he says. Another officer places a hand on his shoulder, presumably trying to calm him. He shouts, “the fucking Blood Sucker got her.” 

You and Jo share a wide eyed glance, “do you mind if we take a look around?” you say in unison. 

The officers shake their heads, gesturing to the house, “have at it, but we’re getting the fuck out of here.”

Following Jo up the steps, you bend to walk underneath the caution tape and head inside. Officer Lynn, you assume, lays sprawled out on the floor. Bowing down next to her, you flick her hair to the side and see two puncture wounds on her neck. Jo leans down, resting her arms on her knees. 

Looking up at her, you tilt your head and narrow your eyes, “I don’t know where this is coming from, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a reborn,” you say in a low whisper. “The abandoned nest, all the killings in one spot,” you say, eyes working their way around the room as you speak, “it’s almost like that case we had in Newport, where... where that freshly turned vamp just went on a massive killing spree. The nest turned him and let him loose,” your eyes widen at the thought of it, “maybe it’s the same nest, moving from town to town, turning people and letting them wreak havoc.” 

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” she shrugs. “Where do we go from here?” 

As if it were an answer to your question, you hear a jarring, but muffled scream in the background. Running out of the back door, you see a long trail leading up to a lot of three or four little cabins. You can see the silhouette of a woman standing by the fence, and  next to her is a dark shadow. 

You rush back to your car and high tail it for the top of the driveway. The woman lays on the ground, and when the dark shadow sees your headlights, it whips around. Seeing the fangs emerge from the shadow, and the woman out of the way, you mutter, “hang on,” to Jo and slam against your pedal to hit the vampire with your car. 

It screams out as it flies onto the ground. With it immobilized for a short period, you turn to Jo, “get the jar and syringe,” you impatiently spit out. When she nods, you run to the trunk and pull out your machete. 

The vampire growls at it brings itself to its feet, head dipped down, and eyes narrowed at you. 

“Come at me, you son of a bitch,” you scream, and as it runs over to you, you switch the machete to your other hand and wind it up to slice through the vampires neck. 

Jo at your side, you drop to your knees, “is she bitten?” 

“Yes,” she says handing you the syringe. 

You insert the needle into the bit of neck that’s left of the creature, and draw enough blood to fill it. When you pull the needle from its neck, you toss your machete at Jo, who catches it with ease. 

“Go look around, make sure he was alone,” you shout, breathing heavily as you bring yourself to your feet.

Running over to the woman, you pull her up by her shoulders so that she’s sitting. Her eyes are droopy and weak, but narrow at you. Her instincts tell her to swat at you, but she feels too drowsy. 

“Here,” you say, putting the blood into the jar. “Drink this,” you hiss, handing her the jar. Her eyes clenched shut in disgust as she shakes her head. “Come on,” you say impatiently, “your life literally depends on this,” you say, and with that, her eyes widen. 

With a shaky hand, she takes the jar, looking up at you before bringing it to her lips. After a small sip of the blood, she gags, trying to hand it back to you. 

You shove her hand back to her, “no, all of it, please.” 

In the near distance, you hear the bustling of feet as they run towards you. As you urge the woman to drink the liquid, you turn your head in the direction of the sound. Three tall men and a petite, blond woman, sprint at you, and you can almost recognize one of them. 

You bring your attention back to the woman, watching her struggle to get the liquid down. “Good,” you breathe in relief, “good job,” you say, letting out another breath and leaning back slightly. 

“What the fuck are you doing to my wife?” an older man shouts as he approaches you, shoving you back onto the ground. 

At this point, Jo has returned, and grabs the man by the arm before he can land his punch, “wait!” she screams, holding up her hands defensively as he squares his shoulders to her. “We can explain!” she squeals. 

Getting back to your feet, you meet eyes with none other than the man you met at the bar last night. 

“Y/N?” he says, in utter disbelief, his eyebrows pushed down into his eyes as he drops the gun to his side. “Sam, hold your fire,” he says slowly and quietly. 

“Dean,” you exhale, almost relieved to see a familiar face, “please, get this woman inside, put her in bed and make sure she’s comfortable and I promise I’ll explain everything.”   

Something about the crazed look in your eye tells him to believe you. He nods, to you and then to the other men. The man that had attacked you lifts the small woman in his arms, and she whines with the movements. He lovingly shushes her as he carries her up the rest of the driveway and into the cabin, the younger woman at his side. You, Jo, and the men following closely behind him. 

When inside, the man gently settles her onto the couch, pulling a crocheted blanket on top of her. He kisses her cheeks before turning to face you, a scowl on his face. 

“What did you do to her?” he accuses.

“Okay, look,” you say, taking your time to examine each other their hurt and confused faces. “That was,” you pause, glancing up at Dean, whose face is softer than the rest, “that was a vampire,” you say, looking down at your boots before continuing. 

“Vampire,” the three men dubiously say in unison. The young woman crosses her arms with a scoff.  

Jo, almost as if she’s offended, points a finger at them, “she’s telling the truth, and if it weren’t for her, your woman would be one right now, too!” 

Placing a hand on Jo’s arm, you speak softly, “it’s okay, Jo.” Turning back to the men, you say, “it’s true, though. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, shit, even demons are real,” you say somberly. If it were up to you, they wouldn’t exist, and every time you have this conversation with someone, your heart breaks a little more. 

“Seriously?” Dean asks, taking a careful step towards you. “You’re... serious?” He says, hands padding the air. 

“Dead serious,” you say, eyebrows raised. “Shit, I’ll show you the fangs on that thing if you don’t believe me.” 

Saying nothing, the two younger men stepped towards the door, looking back at you to indicate you should follow them. 

“Stay here with them,” you whisper to Jo, “make sure that cure takes?”

She nods, and you lead the men down the hill and back to where your car sits. You whip out your phone for a flashlight, shining it on the face of the vampire. The two twist their face in disgust as blood drips from the severed head. Dropping to your knees, you lift the top lip up just enough to expose two fangs.

 Looking back up at the men, they lean down to your side, “holy shit,” they say. 

“Yeah, it’s no joke out there,” you say quietly. 

The three of you bring yourselves to your feet, and the two men stare at you in shock. 

Dean clears his throat, rubbing his thighs anxiously before speaking, “so you, uh, you,” he says, wagging a finger between you and the dead vampire. 

“I hunt them, yes,” you nod. “I hunt vampires, werewolves, whatever needs to be killed, I kill it,” you say. 

*** 

Back at the cabin, you sit at a table, drink in hand.Jo stands with who you learned to be Jess and John, as they nurture Mary. After a lengthy conversation between the two of them, Sam and Dean storm inside and plop down at the table across from you, their own drinks in tow. Sam sits silent, staring at his hand as he twists his wedding ring around his finger. Dean keeps his eyes on you. 

“So, everything you told me last night,” Dean says, “was all just lies?” 

“I’m sorry,” you say earnestly, “I couldn’t just up and tell you this then.” His lips fold down as he shrugs, and you take that as an acknowledgment. You lean forward against the table, “but you have to understand that I have to lie, I can’t just go around telling people that monsters exist, do you know what that would cause? Half of ‘em wouldn’t believe me and the other half would probably panic.” You pause, letting your voice drop in volume, “so those of us who do know fight it together,” your eyes flash up at Jo. 

“How many of you are there?” Sam asks, finally looking up to meet your eyes. 

You shrug, “hundreds, probably thousands,” you say, watching their eyes go wide. “In comparison to what’s out there, it’s not enough,” you say, shaking your head. 

Sam and Dean look up at you, eyes wide, “where do we sign up?” Dean asks, his voice deep and thick. 

You shake your head, a finger held up at him, “no. Dean, no, seriously, I can’t drag you into this.” 

He leans back a bit, “you’re not dragging me into anything,” he shrugs. “If there are monsters out there killing people, I want in,” he says sternly. 

After a small moment of thought, Sam drops his hand against the table, “yeah, me too,” he says, looking over at his brother. “I want to help, too.. Would you, uh,” he says, focusing on you, “would you show us the ropes, maybe?” he asks, and eye squinting.

“I guess so,” you say apprehensively, “but I think you should think on it for a while.” 

Dean shakes his head, “no. We’re doing this,” he says. “Right, Sam?” 

“Right,” he agrees, eyes still on you. 

Dean shoves his chair back and stands.. After taking a few steps he turns to face you, “so you gonna help me get rid of that body, or what?” 

You smile, using the table to push yourself to your feet, “got a shovel?” you ask.

 “Of course I do,” he says. You follow him into a shed for two shovels, wasting no time to dig a big enough grave to drop the body into. He’s a hard worker, you’ll give him that, but hunting? You’re not quite sure it’s for them.

He glances over the hole at you, wiping the sweat from his brow with a smile. Smiling back at him, you can’t help but to think about your mother’s rules. You’d followed the first one, and never found yourself falling in love, but now, with his eagerness to help you, you predict you’ll be breaking both very soon. 

“Sorry mama,” you whisper under your breath. 

“Huh?” Dean throatily says, and you smile at him. 

“Nothing. Keep digging,” you instruct.. 

****

PermaTags<3: @waywardblueshun​ @81mysteriouslyme​ @drakelover78​ @soab1967​

A/N2: I’m kindddd of thinking about making this a series, let me know if you’d be interested in something like that :) 

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Out on the Town

A/N: This is the first fic I’ve written in a while. Bear with me while I shake the dust off.

 It started as a night out. Thor was back from Asgard and celebrations were being had. Drinks were beginning to flow at their favorite little dive bar, and everything was right. Except for Natasha sending a frenzy of text messages in the corner. Thor looked to Bucky in askance, and all Bucky did was shrug “I dunno, man. She knows everyone.” 

Thor wandered over to the table where she sat and pulled out a chair, “You have to come out.” he heard Natasha say. “Please? Don’t let that piece of shit make you hide away.” She looked at Thor, sudden inspiration on her face, “Besides, Thor’s here, and he’s never even met our Kitchen Witch.” Natasha hit a button on her phone and held it out, “See, listen. It’s fucking boring. We need you.” Thor heard a snuffle and a pale laugh. “Okay. Okay.” said a female voice. “I’ll pull myself together and come out.” The line went dead, and Natasha nodded, satisfied. 

Thor quirked an eyebrow, “Who am I meeting?” he asked, amused. “Y/N,” she said smiling a little. She paused for a moment, chewing on the straw in her drink. “She’s S.H.E.I.L.D.s very own Doctor of all things Occult and Terrestrial,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt that she’s young, cute, and was raised by actual witches.” Clint brought Natasha another drink and grinned, “Y/N is back?” he said, “Excellent! She owes me a drink.” The redhead accepted a bottle with a smile of thanks. “This is a rescue mission Clint,” she said thoughtfully.  The smile faded from Clint’s face, and Thor felt his own brow furrow. “We’re saving her from herself. When she got back from Crete today, she found her fiance in bed with her best friend.” Clint flinched, “I think this calls for a team meeting before she gets here.” he said, going to round up the posse. 

It was a quick meeting, mercifully. Everyone, even Thor agreed that it was necessary Y/N have a good time. So by the time Y/N actually arrived a plan was more or less solidified. They would have missed you had Steve not been waiting to usher you to a frankly too small table. You looked like you’d been crying and Sam, Clint, and Steve all swore to find a way to make the bastard pay. Natasha’s solution was the one to actually make you Thor though. A Convoluted plot that ended with the Ex-Fiance naked, alone, and sans passport on Canada with $20 in American money stapled to his scrotum. Thor watched from the pool table with Tony. He already felt the affection for you; the other’s seemed to feel. And he saw the pain they were all so desperate to fix. The tears that seemed to well up unbidden when you thought no one was looking. Your hoodie was at least 2 sizes too large, and your jeans were drawn on and torn. You looked just... adorable. Even heartbroken and uncertain. Tony watched Thor and nodded, “She’s a good, kid.” he said, “Too emotional to be an agent though.” Thor nodded, “What does she do?” he asked. “Who knows?” Tony said laughing a little. “She studies artifacts. She writes papers. She and Bruce have worked together on a few things. She’s pulled our bacon out of the fire a few times with some weird shit... But I don’t think she has a title. She’s kind of like a pet.”

Clint grunted, “A pet that if pressed could level half the City.” he said, “Even before Hydra got a hold of her as a kid and started futzing with her DNA she packed some serious Magical Mojo.” Thor looked from Clint to Tony and nodded, “A valuable Ally then.” he said, “And a dangerous enemy.. He turned and shouted over his shoulder at Natasha, “That I was supposed to be introduced to!” Steve laughed as Natasha dropped her glass and slapped her hand over her mouth “Fuck I forgot!” “Some fucking spy you are.” Clint teased as she dragged Y/N by the hand, blushing and stammering. Natasha squeezed the hand she held and smiled before turning to give Clint the Finger casually. “Thor,” she said, “This is Y/N.” You glance cautiously up at Thor and smile a little, holding out a hand, “Pleased to meet you, finally.” your voice is quiet. Especially quite in the crowded bar. Thor can’t help but feel you making yourself smaller, ill at ease with all the attention. “Lady Y/N,” he said, gentling his usually booming voice, “The pleasure is all mine.”  He took your hand and kissed it, the barest blush of his lips across your knuckles, and when he met your eyes, he watched, fascinated as they shifted colors from grey to a crystal blue.

Tony rolled his eyes, “Flirting is my game.” he pouted. You weren’t sure how long you had stood there, a literal God holding your hand but when Tony spoke you felt the connection break, and you withdrew your hand slowly. “I-I think I had a better head home.” you hear yourself say. The whirl of feelings is too much, and everything is too raw. You have too many secrets bursting to get out and well... Secrets weren’t secrets if everyone knew them. There were things you didn’t even want to tell yourself.  You notice the god in front of you looking crestfallen but you just... can’t. Natasha pulled you into a hug and kissed your temple, “Come by the Tower tomorrow.” she said, “We’ll train a little.” Clint pulled you into another bone-crushing hug and whispered something that made you smile. As much as you love your friends, all the attention could be hard when you still felt like nothing. 

Steve looked over to the table a short while later, after you were gone. You had one drink in a still full glass on the table. So he took a picture and sent it to Nat. Nat frowned but made a point to file it away for later.

__________________________________________________

The next morning things start slowly in the tower. Thor is the only one without a hanger and takes his time about breakfast. Pop Tarts and coffee, enough to feed a small army. When Natasha appears bleary-eyed and fumbling for her favorite mug Thor gives her half a wave, “Hair of the dog?” he said, offering her a flask. She took it and smiled a little, “Many blessings on your house.” she said, pouring some into her coffee. Thor chuckled, “When you’ve recovered, perhaps you can make sense of your small friend for me.” he said. Natasha nodded, “Y/N is a puzzle that can take some time to piece together.” she said. “ We had one directive, Clint and I. It was our second mission together.” She paused and took a sip of her coffee. “We were supposed to kill her,” she said. “We made a different call.” Thor nodded, “I see, and why were you supposed to kill her.” Natasha sighed, “Because Hydra took a little girl and tried to make her into a monster. S.H.E.I.L.D thought that she was basically a living Atom Bomb.” Thor grunted, thinking, “But she wasn’t?” She shook her head, “She could be. In fact, she can do some terrifying things with her powers but she just... doesn’t. She was maybe 10 years old when they snatched her off the street in front of her school.” Natasha said. “And by the time we got to her, she was 14. She spent 4 years in a cell being tortured and remade and the first thing she did when we rescued her was ask if she could still die.”

Thor blinked, and Natasha nodded in understanding.” That’s what made us decide against killing her, she practically pleaded to die on the floor of that cell because she was so afraid of being experimented on again.” Thor felt a pang in his chest, “Y/N must be very brave.” The spy nodded, “She’s coming by today, I hope. I miss her when she’s away.” Thor smiled a little and Natasha drifted out of the kitchen to go get ready for the day leaving Thor to his thoughts. He kept seeing you, shrinking away from the light, a mouse among giants. An adorable mouse. He decided. And one he would very much like to get to know better.

As it turns out, he got more chances than he thought he would get. Your ex-fiance got you thrown out of your apartment and Tony, in typical Tony fashion, installed you in a room in the tower. Thor learned quickly why the others liked having you around so much. A natural empath you were ever helpful and even-tempered. Always appearing with precisely the right thing to lift some one’s spirits or cool a hot-tempered argument. Not to mention you were a gifted cook. Thor could feel himself thrill at the light tread of your feet. You also felt some attraction to the god but... you held yourself back. Hiding away parts of yourself. Keeping your secrets safe. Saving the biggest secret safe for as long as you could. Though, living in the tower made it hard. Morning Sickness didn’t just happen in the morning apparently. It happened whenever the wind changed. 

A few weeks after you moved to the tower on your morning run, Thor decided to accompany you. He offered you his arm as you headed out the door and smiled, “We’ll greet the day together!” he boomed jovially, and you smiled up at him. God. He was big compared to you. You had to try hard not to stare as he stripped off his shirt and motioned for you to set the pace. You started out, finding a steady rhythm and losing yourself in the sound of your breath and the pounding of your feet. Even still you felt like you had just barely started when you felt your stomach turn over and you had to stop and turn away to avoid vomiting what little you managed to eat for breakfast of the path. Thor made an alarming sound and fumbled for a way to help you, “Lady Y/N,” he said, awkwardly rubbing your shoulder, “are you unwell?” You took a sip from your water bottle to rinse your mouth and nodded, “I’ll be fine.” You look away from the god, ashamed and feeling foolish, studying the ground between you. Thor tipped your chin up, gently, and brushed the hair away from your face; “Whatever battle you face, you need not fight it alone.” He smiled a little, his eyes warming, “I- We- we all care about you very much."

You feel your cheeks heat under his hands. “I... can’t,” you hear yourself say. “Not yet.” tears started flowing down your cheeks as the full weight of it all bore you slowly and inevitably to your knees. Thor said nothing more. Words were small consolation to pain this immense. So he lowered himself to the ground next to you and simply pulled you against his side. Gently but firmly insisting on holding you until you had had the cry out you needed. You didn’t know why you felt this way. Why it had all broken you the way, it had. Why you felt so ashamed. Shit. The Avengers loved children. No one would look at you any differently. But... but what if they did. She had nowhere else to go.

When you had finally stopped crying Thor wiped tears from your cheeks with his massive thumbs and smiled a little, making you blush. “I’m sorry.” you murmur, “I shouldn’t be such a baby.” Thor took the hand where you still wore the engagement ring you couldn’t make yourself take off, “This man broke a promise to you.” he said seriously, “He broke a vow and he broke your heart.” He touched the ring carefully, “Such a man does not deserve you. You deserve to be treated with reverence. Worshiped and adored.” Thor let go of your hand and made himself stop before adding, “And I would do all those things.”  The two of you stand on the path for a long moment before you find your voice, “Thank you, Thor.” The man took your arm gently and guided you back down the path, staying quiet. Giving you time to gather yourself together. Trying very hard not to let himself think about how nice it was to be the one to hold you and help you weather whatever storm had come. 

____________________________________________

“Where has Lady Y/N gone?” Thor boomed over the cacophony at the dinner table, “It’s ill done of us to eat the bounty she prepared without us.” Steve shrugged and swallowed his bite of bread, “She said something this morning when I saw her about going to get some things back from her fiance.” Nat raised an eyebrow and glanced at Clint, “Wait...” she said, “It’s almost 8 o’clock.” Tony laughed a little, “Makeup sex?” he suggested. Thor felt his fists clench involuntarily at the thought. That man... that bastard didn’t deserve any of her affection. The table grew silent, and each Avenger rose slowly. They were going to find her and see her home. Then go find her ex. 

It was Sam who found her. In the hospital. It turned out the Ex had been worse than they had thought. He had shoved her down the stairs. Her body was broken and bruised. Battered enough to land her in an ICU room. By the time Thor arrived Clint and Natasha were there. Clint looked furious, and Natasha was pale. Paler than Thor had ever seen her. “What. Did. He. do?” Thor said, his voice low and rumbling. Steve bounded up the hallway and pulled Nat against him gently. It took Clint a long moment to find his voice. “He shoved her down the stairs. 11 floors over a railing,” he said slowly, fighting to keep himself contained.

"It's a miracle she’s going to make it but...” Clint glanced at Natasha who swallowed hard and nodded. Clint sighed, “The neighbors heard him yelling right as she was leaving... She told him she was pregnant and was going to keep it. With him or without him. So he pushed her down the railing... told the cops that one way or another he’d have solved his problem.” Tony made a queer choking sound and Bruce pulled him against his side. For the first time, as a team they were helpless.  There was nothing they could do to save her or the child she had lost. Thor gazed through the glass, willing her to fight, longing to kiss her, begging her silently to just open her eyes for him. He was only slightly aware of Bruce asking if anyone had even known she was expecting. Thor stayed silent. It wasn’t his story to tell but... after that day on the path he had noticed things. A slight change in her body. And her eating habits. It was a conversation that he needed to have with her. No one else.

___________________________________

Recovery happened. Slowly. You healed and your body healed. It was your spirit that was lagging. Thor was there, just quietly there to hold you up and help soothe all the raw places. For Thor, it was like watching a tree bloom in the Spring. Color flowed around you like a river, and steadily you took your life back. Thor found himself awed by the intensity of the way you hurled yourself into your work. He visited you often, bringing flowers and small gifts from his homeworld. 

He wanted to court you. To give you the things he would give a queen. His queen. But he had time. He could be patient. You found yourself becoming slowly enamored of the god. It wasn’t the gifts it was just... he didn’t ask questions. He accepted you as you were. All your scars and all your secrets. He treated it all as if you were a gift unto yourself and each part of you was one more piece to be cherished. 

The first kiss took you both by surprise. It was a quiet Sunday. You and Thor were practically the only people in the tower. Thor made his rambling way into the kitchen, and you greeted him with a sleepy smile over your coffee cup. “Lady, Y/N,” he chirped, “I thought you were to be gone another week!” You shake your head, “The artifacts were mundane.” you said, “No major significance. Trifles I could make in my spare time.” Thor beamed, “Ah, yes. You have made some remarkable improvements to the wards around the tower. Your craftsmanship is impressive.” You blush at the compliment, and he could feel himself practically preening. “Thank you,” you murmur towards your cup. Thor helps himself to coffee, enjoying the quiet of the morning. Enjoying the way the sunlight made the silky strands of your hair shine. It struck him, watching you blow gently on the coffee that he loved you. That he could do this. Precisely this, every morning. Softly, gently, you feel his rough, calloused hand close over yours. The engagement ring is gone, laid in a box and hidden in a drawer; the tan line it left behind is still there. Slowly he raised the hand he held to his lips and kissed it. “Thor.” you start softly, but the blonde shakes his head. “Just... let me say this,” he said quietly, “I will do whatever you wish after this moment, but I beg you. Let me unburden myself to you now.” You can feel your throat tighten, and you want to pull your hand away, but Thor tightened his grip gently and kissed the tan line across your ring finger. 

“That day at the track,” he started, “Why did you not tell me?” You bite your lip and look down at the table. “I was ashamed. And petrified.” you hear yourself say after a pause. “What did you have to be ashamed of?” he said softly. “Your past? Your choice in men? Giving yourself to someone you loved?” He chuckled, “You have nothing to be ashamed of in this house. With me. With us.”  You nod but say nothing and Thor continues. “If you had told me that day, my opinion of you would not have changed. Whatever your choice. You are a woman worthy of better than me, but it has been my honor to be your friend these past months. In another life, you would have made a fierce Valkyrie.” He smiled fondly. “I am honored to be your friend but if I were to be able to call you my love, I would never want for anything.” 

You feel tears sting your eyes and before you can stop yourself you’ve pulled him down, tangling your fingers in his hair to give him a kiss that Thor would one day swear felt like taking a shot of good whiskey. He gentled you and when you pulled away he chuckled, kissing your nose. “Is that a yes? My fierce little Valkyrie.” You nod unable to find the words for him and he laughed, tugging you into his lap careful of your still healing body, and for the next few minutes there was no more talking. Thor wiped the tears from your cheeks and kissed you again, beaming. You snuggle into his broad chest and sigh. Safe and warm. Feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.

[weirdochick56]

Oblivious- Thomas Shelby Mini-Series Chapter Two

Thomas Shelby x Reader

Warnings: Explicit language. A bit of depression and angst. 

Disclaimers: I don’t you or any Peaky Blinders characters/plots

Word Count: 3, 107 words

A/N: I just want to thank @tscamander for all the ideas they gave me on how to continue this story!

Reade Chapter One here!!

***

(gif’s not mine!)

You keep your distance from Tommy and the Shelby’s for the next few weeks. 

And by “keep your distance” I mean you avoided him at all costs.

Kept away from his house, didn’t go to the Garrison and certainly didn’t walk by the offices. 

After what he’d done to you, the way he treated you- like your feelings didn’t matter. Like you weren’t even worthy of his effort or precious time...you weren’t going back to him. 

He made you feel like a small spec of dirt. Tiny, forgettable. Insignificant.

It was horrible and not an emotion you would wish upon even your worst enemy.

Of course, it hurt you to be apart from him, maybe more physically than it should’ve.

You had a constant ache in your heart. Like a piece of you had been ripped from your very being. That piece was Thomas Shelby and with every day that went by, the ache only intensified into a sharp stabbing right into your chest. 

The pain was so bad that you were left gasping for air, gulping down as much oxygen as your lungs could take because the mere pang of hurt that resonated through you, sent your whole body into shock, spiraling into your deepest darkest depths. 

...and there was no one there to pull you out. No one to catch you.

You struggled to wake up every morning and go to work.

You couldn’t sleep or eat or do anything and had lost a significant amount of weight.

Your cheekbones and jaw were prominent in your face and your eyes had lost all glimmer of hope. Dead and hollow. 

Just like you. 

The last time you hadn’t seen Tommy for this long was when he was sent off to the war, and even then, you still wrote eachother letters to keep in touch.

And now that was all gone. He had made it clear he didn’t want you. And even if you had decided to stay it was done.

Your confession was done and he knew you were in love with him, there was no way you could take that back and not make it weird around eachother- much less go back to being the old Y/n. 

Sisterly, motherly, caring Y/n.

Many times you considered the idea of going back to the Shelby’s and ending your misery but halted yourself as soon as the thought struck. You wouldn’t humiliate yourself like that.

And as soon as you made that decision, you decided to push through.

And that’s when things really started moving. When you steeled yourself. And the time for yourself was helpful. To think and decide and...be.

Constantly stressing about the Shelby’s -not just Tommy- was tiring to no extent, more tiring for you than any of them probably even noticed. It was endless, the threats they faced, but you stood behind them every step of the way.

And now you needed to sort yourself out. Without Tommy or Ada or Polly or John or Arthur or even Finn.

For the longest time, your life revolved around them, but now that Tommy had rejected you, tore your heart right out of your chest for the hundredth and final time, ripped it to shreds then stomped on it, it was time to think and act on your own.

You were officially done with his bullshit.

And you needed to grow up. Move on.

Because no matter how much you denied it to yourself and how much you tried to convince yourself that he wasn’t, Thomas Shelby was the sole cause of all this pain. Because falling in love with him was both your dumbest and gravest mistake.

You decided maybe it was time to let Thomas Shelby go. 

It was time you ripped him from your heart.

And so you resolved to do just that over the months you were away from him and the family, focusing on your job at the book store harder than ever before.  

You lost yourself in it and tried to keep your mind occupied by reading stories. Of women, strong and unapologetically themselves. 

It got you thinking...would you ever be like those women? Unafraid of the dark and the truth. Strong-willed and independent and fierce? 

Thinking this and building resolve for yourself kept you occupied for the most part, mostly because you needed time to heal and build yourself up again, a new you. 

And yet, although you hated to admit it, your mind would still inevitably wander to Tommy from time to time.

And that kiss... 

The burning and edging desire that coursed through you during that kiss. You could still feel his lips moving against yours and when you thought about it, even briefly, your lips would tingle and then the feelings that coursed through your very being during that kiss rushed back to you just as vividly as if it were happening in that very instant. 

The feeling of his hair clutched tightly in between your fingertips. Of your legs wrapped around his waist, your backside settled on that kitchen counter. 

The cut his bite had left on your lip remained there for two weeks afterward and every time you looked in the mirror, you’d shiver in delight because you could close your eyes and right there behind your lids, you could replay the small film of that magical and all-consuming kiss over and over and over...until you were shuddering with pleasure.

You knew you shouldn’t. That you needed to forget him, but you...couldn’t help it that his lips and his hands and his scent and his nearness...did things to you. He was just so...beautiful. 

Even his flaws made him beautiful. 

It was infuriating as hell that even so far away for you, he still managed to affect you this much. To invade your thoughts like that.

But you were determined. 

You were going to forget Thomas Shelby even if it killed you. 

*

“Ada,” you sigh, pressing on your toes and carefully sliding a few books into the free slots. “You know I can’t go.” 

Ada had popped up in the bookstore today and to say you were shocked to see her here would be an understatement.

You were gobsmacked at her sudden appearance. You had made it clear to the Shelby’s to give you time and space. And up until now, you thought if you saw them in the near future you’d be prepared to face them. But that was before it actually happened and now you could feel the nervousness hit you like a truck.

Ada Shelby, your best friend- no scratch that. Your sister, who you had been avoiding for weeks, was here. 

She looked pretty much the same with her delicate lightly-freckled face and petite build paired with a pair of fiery blue eyes.

You couldn’t help but wonder if Tommy had changed or if he remained the same.

You thought you made it clear you wanted to stay away from the Shelby’s, not return to them. Seeing her made your chest squeeze painfully. 

Ada groans. “But why? Y/n you’ve been a part of this family for almost as long as I have. You have as much a right to attend this celebration as I do.” 

You sigh, slightly pressing your forehead against the shelf. 

“I can’t,” you whisper shakily after a few seconds of silence. 

Her face softens at the sudden drop of pitch in your voice. 

“You can’t hide forever Y/n.” 

You frown funnily and shrug at her. “Who says I’m hiding?” 

She responds with a ‘really?’ look and you bite your lip, sighing defeatedly. 

“I’m avoiding. There’s a difference.” 

She follows close behind as you make your way to the front of the book store, determined to evade going to this damned family dinner Tommy had put together. 

“Tom is worried about you,” she blurts. 

Your head snaps to hers and your brows raise to your hairline. 

“What?”

She can barely hold back a coy grin at your abruptly-peaked interest. 

“Oh yeah,” she confirms. “He keeps asking about you.”

Your heart skips a beat and despite yourself, your cheeks grow warm and your throat dry.

You frown. “To who?”

Her smile widens. “Oh...everybody. Anybody.” She shrugs. “But nobody can fucking answer him about your whereabouts if they haven’t seen you can they?” She looks you in the eye pointedly.

You groan softly and avoid her gaze, guilt-ridden.

“I’ve been busy,” you mumble sheepishly.

She scoffs incredulously. “Mhmm, I bet.” 

You roll your eyes. “Why is it so bloody hard for everyone to believe I actually have a life outside of the Shelbys?”

She exhales heavily, her gaze sympathetic. “We know you do Y/n. It’s just...you left so abruptly and we’re worried about you. I think we’ve given you your space can’t you just...come back?” She almost begs.

You sigh dejectedly and smile meekly at her, a dull ache returning to your heart.

“I’m happy Ada,” you almost whisper.

She flinches at your words and a pang of regret hits you in the chest.

She looks down thoughtfully before looking back up at you, offering a small smile that didn’t look content at all.

“I’m happy for you Y/n. I really am. I just...I want- need to know why you just left us all so suddenly. I know it has to do with Tommy but he won’t tell us anything. He keeps checking up on the family to see if any of them have seen you by chance but he refuses to come see you himself.”

You swallow thickly, fighting back tears. Her words sting more than you’re willing to admit.

“W-“ when your voice trembles too much, you clear your throat and shake your head as if to get rid of the hurt. “Well, he’s always been sort of a hypocrite hasn’t he?”

She laughs but pauses again for a beat then exhales softly, pinning you with her gaze. “He knows.”

“Knows what?”

She raises her delicate brows. “That you’re avoiding him.”

You shrug. “I don’t really give a flying fuck if I’m completely honest.” 

The truth is, you do give a fuck. And maybe more because hearing her say that and thinking about hurting Tommy’s feelings -despite your mental protests- makes your heart ache faintly. But letting her know that so she can tell him wouldn’t do you any good, would it? 

You continue speaking nonchalantly. “I’m not avoiding him as much as I am taking time to think. For myself,” you quickly add.

It was half the truth at least.

 She gives one final sigh and tugs her fur coat closer to her body. “Listen, you’ve loved Tommy for a very bloody long time. You’ve stuck with him for years, through his toughest patches. Don’t you think it’s a bit cowardly to leave now?”

You huff at her, rolling your eyes. “I’m not the one running from my feelings Ada. Thomas made it very bloody fucking clear that he didn’t want me. Just because I’ve finally decided to stop chasing after him doesn’t mean I’m a coward. It means I’m smart enough to know I’m not going to win this battle.”

Your words are meant to be said in a strong tone, but you can feel yourself faltering towards the end. Getting emotional.

It was the first time you’d said that out loud and although every single word was meant with full intent, somehow actually admitting it out loud to yourself made your heart crack only slightly. 

She smiles somewhat proudly up at you, her eyes shining mischievously. “You’re different.”

You tilt your head sideways, quirking a brow. “What do you mean?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know... You just seem more...sure of yourself. Like you know where you stand.”

“Does that mean I didn’t before?”

Her smile twists into a smirk. “No, I think you’ve always known where you stand Y/f/n Y/l/n. It was us who failed to see it.”

You can’t help it when your lips quirk up into a smile at her words. 

You missed her. You missed the Shelbys. A lot. You especially missed- no. Don’t go there Y/n. You blink back tears and chastise yourself for growing so emotional so fast.

Finally, you blurt, “putting distance between you and me wasn’t easy. But necessary. I need you to know that.”

Ada smiles sadly and tugs you into a small hug. She breaks away and looks at you a bit pleadingly. “Just...come to dinner, please. Just for tonight.”

You contemplate her words deeply, chewing on your lip. 

Doing that would be very bad. Very, very bad. You had worked so hard to avoid Thomas and the Shelbys for months. What would happen if the instant you see them again and all that self-esteem and fierceness just...dispersed? Like the air. Just...gone?

But you also had pride. Showing up and being the strong woman you swore you’d always been all these months was important to you. 

You were different and had moved on.

You stare into her big blue eyes for a few seconds and although you feel a pang of hurt course through you because fuck, they remind you so much of Tommy, you force a smile and nod.

“Okay.” 

She smiles widely and you’re forced to do the same. “Good.” 

She throws on her purse and whirls around to walk off but pauses just before stepping outside. “Oh, and Y/n?”

“Hm?”

She smirks. “Bring a date.” 

And then she swings the door open, stepping out in the chilly Birmingham air.

*

You were nervous as you considered your naked figure in the full-body mirror before you. 

You didn’t want to, but you could feel all those insecurities from before swelling up in your chest. 

Why wasn’t I enough for him?

Was it because my hair wasn’t soft enough? You run your fingers through your short hair and tilt your head to the side, trailing your fingers over your stomach and frowning as you pinch the skin. Maybe my stomach wasn’t flat enough? Or maybe it was my lips? Your hands fly to your lips, patting them gently. Maybe they weren’t soft enough? 

You begin regretting saying yes to Ada and asking your friend, Frankie, to accompany you. But then you remind yourself you’re...you. And if Tommy didn’t find that enough, it’s his loss. 

Abruptly, and fueled merely by the thought of Thomas's face when he saw you, you tug on clothes so uncharacteristically you. 

But that was before and this is now, you think ingratiatingly to yourself. This is you now.

The dress was darker than you’d usually go for and made a wonderful contrast with your skin. It was also shorter than you were used to and exposed your legs far more than you were usually comfortable with. It was a size smaller and hugged all your curves in a sensual but equally elegant manner.

The material was soft against your skin, glittering beads formed intricate patterns that glistened when you hit the light and the bottom of the dress fanned out into loose strands that curved around your legs charmingly when you walked. 

You pull on some cream stockings and black heels. Curling your hair backward and away from your face, you carefully put a crystal headband over it.

Finally, you stare in the mirror and spread a light line of eyeliner around your eyes and then accentuate your lashes with mascara. Then you applied a light coat of an intense deep passion red over your lips. 

With a satisfied smile, you twirl around in the mirror. 

You looked good.

*

When Frankie saw you, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened impossibly. Literally. You thought it’d fall off if he continued gawking at you like that. 

...You weren’t sure if it was a good sign though.

Deflating, you feel all the confidence from before rush out of you in a breath.  

“What? Is it too much?” You self consciously look down at yourself.  

His eyes widen even more and he swallows harshly, eyes completely taking you in. 

“Oh my God,” he breathes.

You groan, slapping your thigh impatiently. “Frankie! Is it or isn’t it too much?” 

He shakes his head furiously, still dumbfounded. “N-no. Y-you look...gorgeous.” 

You grin in relief and smack him upside the head. “You bastard. You fucking scared me. C’mon we’re already late.”

Looping your arms through his, you begin tugging him out of your house. 

He hisses and rubs his sore head, sending you a dirty look. “Yeah, well maybe if someone didn’t spend an entire fucking hour getting ready we’d leave earlier, eh?” 

As you both get in the car, you smirk at him, gesturing to yourself. 

“Yeah, well your reaction conveyed that it was worth the fucking wait so shut your bloody mouth and drive, yeah?” 

He gasps dramatically and starts the car. 

“So harsh,” he quips. 

You roll your eyes, leaning into the seat of the car and fiddling nervously with your clutch. 

*

Your heart is positively pounding when you pull up to Tommy’s mansion.

The red brick and extensive lawn are enough to make you lightheaded with overwhelming emotions you thought you had long buried deep inside yourself.

Your heart is beating so hard and loud in fact, that you don't hear Frankie saying something until he nudges your arm with his elbow gently.

He places a hand on your shoulder, hazel eyes glinting brightly with concern. “You okay?” He frowns. 

You take a deep breath and nod, forcing a reassuring smile. 

“Fine. Let’s go.” 

When you walk into the house you try not to fiddle too hard and bring your chin higher in the air, chest held defiantly out and strides confidently as you walk further into the living area. 

The older woman who’d answered the door, Mary you think her name was, smiles politely and gestures for your coats. You and Frankie hand it to her and thank her with a smile. 

“Right that way, please. Mr. Shelby is expecting you.” 

Hearing those words sends a shiver down your spine you somehow manage to ignore. 

He was going to be there. After all these months...you were finally going to see him.

Frankie stops you as you step forward confidently. 

You look up at him questioningly. 

“Are you sure?” he frowns nervously. 

You smile somewhat meekly and grip his hand in yours. 

“I have to.” Your voice is soft but firm and he slowly nods and sighs, offering you his arm. 

“Shall we?” 

You slip your arm through his and take a deep breath, walking with purpose towards the dining room where loud chatter was nearing the closer you stepped to it.

Tonight was sure to be an interesting night...

***

Hey guys! So I decided to make this three-parter cause why not? 

Anywho, exciting news!!

Thanks again to @tscamander, who gave me the idea, I have decided to make another three-chapter mini Thomas Shelby series! 

I’ll be posting the master list for that and this series at the same time sometime next week. 

A Special Thanks to: 

@ly--canthrope  

@tscamander - My “Oblivious” human beings 

@kaliforniacoastalteens- My only PB peep! (Ik how much you love when I say that, love. Lol.)

And of course

@sherlockedtash88

@lilypalmer1987

@mogaruke

@jessikared97 - my incredible forevers