#They're very amusing. I always wonder what the other person behind the screen is thinking.

[coworkerjonathan]

You aare delightful. I would testify for you in court if you committed grand theft auto or exploded a man,

This sounds like a drunken text one gets from one of those party people friends at 2am.

I never had any such friends, but I hope you are in a safe place if you are intoxicated. And thank you (?) for the kind message. You could hardly testify for something that you haven't seen ... I would never commit such crimes. /srs

[xpeachesncream]

off the grid | four

summary: it was as simple as swapping places with a stranger from across the world to get away from everything back home. that is - until you meet Jimin. things become more complicated as he unfolds a new chapter in your life that you were initially trying to avoid.

pairing: reader x pjm

genre: post-college au, christmas/holiday au | angst, fluff, smut (to come)

words: 3.0k

chapter warnings: slight cussing, possible inaccurate depiction of transportation, events and whereabouts in South Korea since i only did my research thru the internet, flirty, sweet jiminie so pls tell your heart to be still

> series masterlist <

"Y/N." Jimin whined. "Just stay still for 2 more seconds, please." Jimin laughed at how much you were fidgeting as he rose his polaroid camera. He quickly snapped a photo of you sitting on the ground, in the middle of the white birch tree lane.

"I'm so happy I'm here!" You squealed as you stood up and dusted yourself off. Jimin had taken you to Nami Island for the day, being that you had talked all night about the infamous gingko trees and how beautiful they looked in pictures. Unfortunately, since it was winter, the trees barely had any leaves left, but you didn't mind. You were just happy to be there.

"Okay, come on. There's still so much more to see." He led the way with you following behind him. You continued to walk through the remaining tree lanes before heading over to the gardens and the petit french village.

"Wait, this is so pretty." You gasped, instantly posing in front of one of the colorful replica houses. Jimin snapped his picture before you decided to capture some footage for your instagram and snapchat stories.

"I'm really glad you're enjoying this."

"I hope you are too."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you've probably been here thousands of times. You must be tired of it." He shook his head and pouted.

"Nope." He chuckled. "Absolutely not."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Huh." You scratched your head. "Like Disneyland is a huge staple of LA but I'm tired of it." He shrugged.

"I don't know, this is probably a little different. We're not really waiting hours in line for rides in a super packed amusement park. Plus, waiting under the scorching hot sun? No thanks."

"Very true."

"I just enjoy being out and exploring, even if that means doing it over and over again with you. I don't mind." You smiled. The feeling you felt being around Jimin, the butterflies - you couldn't explain. It felt new, yet unreal, almost like you had to pinch yourself to remember this was actually reality. You were living it right at this moment. How could he exist as the pure, wholesome angel he was? You had no idea, and it caught you off guard every single time.

But you were scared, because when this is all over, what happens? You and Jimin go back to living life before you even knew the other existed? That'll suck.

Fuck that. You weren't trying to think of that now.

"I really do appreciate you taking me around."

"It's nothing." He flashes his pearly whites. Majority of the time, you're running to pose for the camera, already feeling completely comfortable in Jimin's presence. He took you through the village and through the gardens, where you strolled slowly side by side. His arm brushed against yours a couple of times, and you couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to experience a super affectionate and flirty Jimin. The thought kind of intrigued you. What if you were reading too deeply into this? What if he was just really nice and didn't have feelings for you like that? What if—"Y/N." You heard him call your name as he looked down at you and laughed. "Did I lose you?"

"No, sorry, I'm just taking it all in." You chuckled.

"No, that's okay. I was just saying that Jungkook fell into the bushes over there." He pointed at the shrubs.

"Wait, what?"

"He tripped and couldn't catch himself in time so he fell in there. It left an indent." He laughed.

"Are you guys always chaotic when you go out?"

"What, us? Never." He smirked. "Seriously, we aren't. But we do have our moments." His smile instantly fell when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Speaking of—" He quickly flashes you his phone, showing Taehyung's name on the screen. "Mind if I pick this up really quickly? Just in case the boys need me to bail them out."

"No, go for it." He smiled toothlessly before picking up the call. You both continued to walk slowly while he spoke to Taehyung on the phone. He began to laugh, his cheeks tinted with a rosy color. He rose his voice and groaned playfully, which was followed by a ton of 'okays,' 'shut ups,' and 'ughs' before finally telling Taehyung he had to go and that he would see them later. "Is everything okay?" You giggled.

"Yeah, they're just being a pain in the ass." He cleared his throat. Little did you know that Taehyung and Seokjin just spent the last couple of minutes teasing the hell out of him about you. "So, the guys wanna head to the ice skating rink tonight and told me to bring you along. Only if you wanna go, of course. No pressure."

"That sounds fun! I'll come. But, I have to warn you. I'm not very good at ice skating."

"It's okay, I'll be there. Taehyung isn't either, nor is Hoseok. I've had to hold them a couple of times." You laughed. "I'd definitely rather hold onto you than them." He quickly looked at you, realizing he let that slip out without catching himself. He felt his cheeks get hot due to the embarrassment that overcame him, but instantly felt relieved when he saw you smile and laugh at the statement. He definitely meant it though. 

"I'll be sure to not be a piece of work tonight."

"Ah, you'll be okay. I believe." The rest of the time at Nami Island was spent walking through the the rest of the garden and going through the Gapyeong Rail Park on a two-seater bike. The view was spectacular and you honestly couldn't picture doing this with anybody else. At the end of the ride, Jimin took you to get some hotteok, which was just the snack you needed after the activities and walking you had done on the island. Before leaving, you saw a musician singing at the entrance while playing his guitar. There was quite a crowd, so you gently pulled Jimin to your side to stand and watch with you.

"He's really good." You clapped quietly to yourself as he wrapped up a song. "You should go sing up there!"

"I don't sing, though."

"Really? So all those times I've heard you, you weren't singing?"

"Mmm, nope. Don't know what you're talking about."

"Please?" You pouted and clasped your hands together. Your pouty face was becoming a huge weakness for him, making it incredibly difficult to say no to you.

"Y/N, I-I don't even know if he's--" You rose your hand and dragged him to the front. You signaled to the musician that Jimin wanted to sing. Jimin politely asked if he could sing a song, which the musician happily stood aside to let him take over the mic. Jimin showed him a song on his phone and asked if he could somehow strum along to the tune. He began to sing We Don't Talk Anymore - Charlie Puth x Selena Gomez, which had your heart skipping a few beats. His voice was the most angelic thing you have ever heard and he looked so fucking good singing. At the end, he smiled sheepishly and thanked the crowd and musician before waddling back over to you. "I hope you feel special."

"Me?!"

"I obviously don't like to put my singing voice out there, but I knew it'd make you happy."

"Why not? You have such an amazing voice."

"I don't know, it's just a fun past time for me. Nothing serious."

"Well, I really like it and I wanna hear more of it." He chuckled and nodded.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Jimin." You whined.

"No promises, princess." He shrugged. "Race you to the car?" He flipped the switch and began to run off before you could even respond. You ran as much as you could because running definitely wasn't your thing, but eventually you made your way to the car, where Jimin was catching his breath.

"See, look at you. All tired from that unnecessary effort." You laugh.

"Good race." He high-fived you before unlocking the car. The ride back would be about 2 hours, so you both would be making it just in time to meet his friends at the ice skating rink. You had fallen asleep without realizing, with Jimin smiling and silently laughing to himself as he glanced over. He made sure the car was warm and comfortable enough for you, before taking one more glance at you. He didn't know how someone could be so effortlessly cute, and it's crazy, because before you came around, he was fine minding his own business. He wasn't looking for love. His last relationship ended a year ago, and he had just been taking it day by day with the boys. No negativity on his end, no bad blood, nothing.

Then, you came along. You came along and changed things for him. Quick, too. He couldn't even explain it, even if he tried. He just knew he had become undeniably attracted to everything about you and he didn't give a fuck about anyone or anything else.

"Y/N." Jimin gave you a gentle squeeze on the arm. "We're here. Are you still okay to ice skate?" You opened your eyes and fixed your position in the passenger's seat, catching his concerned facial expression.

"Yeah, I'm okay." You gave off a good stretch just to fully wake yourself up. "Shoot, I didn't even realize I fell asleep."

"That race to the car really did it to you." He laughed, making you playfully hit him on the arm. Getting out of the car, you both had to walk quite a bit before finally seeing the ice rink in view. The first person you spotted was Taehyung, but he was speaking to another tall gentleman, who was dressed in a plain white tee, light denim jacket, black distressed jeans and black chucks. He had on a black hat, where the brim covered his face pretty well.

"Jimin-ah!" The unknown gentleman yelled as he held his arms out, in which Jimin openly accepted. They hugged each other and patted each other on the back before Jimin turned to playfully smack Taehyung on the arm as his greeting.

"Hey Y/N! I'm glad you came along." Taehyung engulfed you into a hug.

"I can't miss out on ice skating!" You chuckled.

"Y/N, this is my Jin-hyung." Jimin stepped aside as Jin also held his arms out to hug you.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N." He caressed your back as you pulled away. "I'm surprised you're not sick of him yet." He tilted his head towards Jimin.

"Eh, he's not too bad." You joked, watching Jimin shake his head and bite onto his bottom lip. "Where's Jungkook?"

"Buying a snack with Hoseok." Jin replied as he dug his hands into his pockets. "Which reminds me, did you want to eat now or later Y/N?"

"It doesn't matter to me, whenever you guys want."

"Are you okay to hold off until after ice-skating?"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, why don't you ask us?" Taehyung nudged him, making him shake his head.

"It's simple. You guys don't matter. Only Y/N does." Jin winked at you.

"Stop flirting, hyung. It'll make Jimin ma--" Jimin grabbed Tae by the shirt and pushed him against the wall, pretending to beat him up. You bit your lip to prevent yourself from laughing and smiling too big, but you heard that for damn sure. As the two stopped playing and made their way back to you and Jin, Jungkook finally made it back with another gentleman dressed in a black beanie, black and white track pants, a black fitted hoodie, brown coat and sneakers. How in the hell were Jimin and all his friends so damn good looking?! You couldn't understand it for the life of you, but you sure as hell weren't complaining.

"Y/N! Jimin-ssi!" Jungkook yelled as he waddled over to you and hugged you before making his way to Jimin.

"He always calls me like that." Jimin murmured as Jungkook swung him around. Jin laughed and pointed at how ridiculous the two looked on the side.

"Y/N, Hoseok." Jin took the initiative to introduce you while Jungkook and Jimin continued to play around.

"Hi!" Hoseok waved and smiled sweetly. "You can call me Hobi."

"Nice to meet you." You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

"How was Nami Island?" Hoseok walked by your side as you followed the group to get your tickets and skate rentals.

"Fun! It's beautiful."

"Isn't it? I'm glad you were able to go with Jimin. It's definitely a must."

"Yeah, he's been taking me to a couple of places already. I appreciate him enough." Hoseok smirked.

"You two are cute."

"Need any help?" Before you could respond, Jimin interrupted as he walked over, already on his skates. You bent over to slip the skates on, doing your best to tighten the laces as you tied them.

"I think so." You tried to get up, but instantly stumbled on your own two feet, causing Jimin to hold your wrist.

"Woah there." He laughed and held your hands to help stabilize you as you tried to stand. "Good?"

"Yeah, I got this, no biggie." You chuckled nervously. You held onto his arm as he walked you into the rink, where Taehyung slowly took his time to try and get used to the feeling and Jungkook was already skating freely. Jin was accompanying Hobi on the side, giving him words of encouragement to get him to let go of the wall.

"Okay, take it slow and hold onto the wall until you get a feel for it." Jimin stayed by your side as you tried to get your two feet to work properly in the skates. It didn't feel too bad, but every time you got a little too excited, you squealed and clung onto the wall due to your skates betraying you. Jimin laughed and held out his hand. "Come on, you can do this Y/N." You grabbed his hand, your legs stiffening without the support of the wall.

"Ah, Jimin!" You yelped. "Please don't go too fast!"

"We're going a whopping 3 miles per hour. Maybe even less."

"I am not that slow!"

"Highly debatable." He laughed. "But it's cool because you'll become a pro in no time." He reassured you and pointed. "See! We're getting faster. Progress." You started to get the hang of it, releasing the stiffness as Jimin continued to coach you through alternating the movement with your legs. Sooner or later, you were feeling a little more comfortable as you held onto his hand and kept a solid, slow and steady pace.

"I got it!"

"Wanna try to go alone?" At this moment, Jungkook appeared in front of you, holding his hands out, signaling for you try and skate to him alone. He nodded and reassured you, watching as Jimin slowly released his hand from yours. You stood there in a slightly bent position, afraid to move an inch.

"Y/N, I promise you'll be okay! Come to me." Jungkook said. You practiced the movements you had just done not too long ago and quickly grabbed his hands as soon as it was in reach. Because of the abrupt movement to rush over, Kook had to hold onto you to make sure you wouldn't fall, making Jimin laugh.

"So cute." Jimin said as he bent over to grab his stomach while laughing. "Y/N you don't need to rush, we aren't going to leave you."

"I'm just scared!"

"You're doing great! Look at Hobi, he hasn't even left the wall. The kids are skating around him." You laughed as you began to slowly skate on your own, eyeing Hoseok and how frightened he looked while hugging the sides and damn near doing the splits trying to move from point A to point B. Jin had obviously given up on reassuring the guy, leaving him to do whatever he pleased to do at this point. You had gained more confidence as time went on, skating on your own with Jimin popping by your side every now and then. It made the hour and a half go by rather quickly, but you all were starving by the end of it.

The group decided to walk down the street to a nearby boba cafe that apparently also had really good rice bowls and snacks. The walk wasn't too bad, but your jacket wasn't thick enough to mask the cold. Jimin had taken notice of you shivering, peeling off his coat without hesitation to put on your shoulders.

"Here." He says as you grab the coat to wrap it around you tightly.

"Aren't you cold?"

"I have this cardigan on, I'll survive. I'm used to this." He smiled down at you. Entering the cafe, you all had ordered your food and drinks and sat on the barstools near the wall. Jimin stood in front of you, while Jungkook and Hoseok sat on the remaining stools next to you. Jin and Taehyung pulled up some chairs from a nearby table, and you all had faced each other to talk about the day and everyone's whereabouts. Not to mention, there was a whole Hoseok roasting session due to his performance on the ice today. Jin had discussed his plans for his late birthday celebration coming up and demanded ever so politely that you grace him with your presence.

Getting home later that night, you felt exhausted to the bone. But, you had a ton of fun and really enjoyed spending more time with Jimin and his friends. The loft was quiet, only bringing in sounds from the cars out on the nearby streets. You revisited your photos and videos from the day, smiling to yourself at the memories you were able to capture, especially of Jimin enjoying himself and having fun with you.

[Y/N] 11:38: I know I say this time and time again, but I really do appreciate everything you've been doing for me, Jimin.

[Jimin] 11:39pm: You're welcome, cutiepie. Glad you're enjoying yourself. Get a good night's rest for me. I'll see you tomorrow.

Alexa, play: Good Company x Mahalia

[zenith-impact]

Landslide - Part Three

Master List

Read on AO3 here!

If you wish to be added to the tag list, please let me know!

Part Two - Part Four (Coming Soon!)

The place Childe took you too was a quaint third-floor apartment overlooking the docks on the far side of town. “You usually keep the key in your right side pocket,” Childe said. 

“How would you know something like that?”

“I’m a very observant man.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

He snorted. “You’re awfully brazen for someone in the predicament you’re in.”

“Just providing entertainment,” You said. Truthfully, you were still terrified, but sarcasm had always been your way of dealing with stressful situations. That and this Childe person seemed to be a willing recipient of your snide remarks. He brushed off most of what you said and seemed rather easy going. Though you had a feeling that he was humoring you and would have snapped a long time ago if you weren’t in the body of his friend. And when he gave you that look of amused annoyance, you fished out the key and messed with the lock for a few seconds before finally prying it open. 

“Well this is nice,” You said as you took a step inside. The living room was well furnished with a beautiful screen covered in hand painted pink and red flowers. A dark brown bench sat in front of a matching coffee table where an ornate, silver tea set sat waiting to be used. In a room to the right, you saw a glimpse of an office with a similar design and more books than you would know what to do with. To the left was a kitchen, followed by a bathroom in the corner. 

“Bedroom’s attached to the study,” Childe said as he jutted his finger to the right. “So if you want to doze off until this is fixed, feel free.”

“I have a feeling that won’t work,” You said with a sigh as you tugged on the tie again. This Zhongli person wore an ungodly amount of layers. You didn’t know how he survived every day wrapped up like this. You wondered if the weather in this Liyue was really that different from your own or if he was just one of those fancy people that wore suits like they were going out of style. “So… what’s next?”

“This seems like an adepti problem,” Childe said, leaning against the front door as if he needed to stop you from running away. 

“Adepti?” You repeated. “Are they real?”

“Are they not where you’re from?”

“I’ve never seen one.”

“They’re very real,” Childe said with another amused smirk. “As I’m sure you’ll figure out.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He flicked his fingers through his hair as he gave you a dramatic shrug. “None of the adepti I know will even think of talking to me. Lucky for you, Zhongli’s good friends with them.”

“He is?”

Another snort. “Of course he is. Your best bet is to meet with Ganyu if she is able to give you any time out of her very busy day.” 

Ganyu… that name sounded familiar, but you couldn’t quite place your finger on why. “And where would I find her?”

“Here and there,” Childe said. “I could help you track her down, but you’ll have to speak to her. Though I doubt you’ll be able to keep up appearances for long. Anyone with half a brain can tell you’re not Zhongli.”

“Lovely,” You said. 

“It’s still your best bet.” Childe said as he reached for the door. “Stay here. I’ll see what I can find.”

“But I need to…”

“It’s late,” Childe said. “That body of yours hasn’t slept all day.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Sleep anyway,” He swung the door open and gave you a bow. “Make some tea. Take a bath. Relax. Try not to think about this too much.”

“All the easy things,” You said. 

He laughed. “You’ll be fine. I’ll be back soon.” The door shut behind him and you sank to the floor, miserable. What were you supposed to do now? Wait around until the solution simply fell into your lap? Frustrated, you pulled off your gloves and tossed them onto the bench. However, you froze when your gaze fell to your hands. They were golden and completely unlike the rest of Zhongli’s skin. Curious, you rolled up your sleeve. The yellow shifted to a dark brown with golden symbols that ran along his muscles. When you traced the lines, you swore they lit up under your fingertips. You reached behind you, unclipping the vision that you had felt bouncing against your back during your walk. Geo. You brushed your fingers over it, but nothing happened. Odd. Hu Tao’s vision always glowed when she did something with it. Maybe your inability to use visions in your world would keep you from using this one. You quickly decided that was probably for the best as you placed it on the table. You shed his coat, letting it fall around your form as you finally undid the top button to give you some room to breathe. The skin along his neck was at least the same as his face, and you wondered where the dark brown ended and everything else began. 

There was something off about this Zhongli person, but you weren’t quite sure what it was. You glanced down at his -your - arms again and frowned. A stray thought crossed your mind - Is he even human? - but you pushed it away. Of course he was. You could tell that just by looking. Now whether or not he was fully human was another question entirely. Maybe if you looked more around the house you could find some information. But you already felt strange examining him the way you were. How were you supposed to manage in the body of someone you didn’t even know? You didn’t want to pry into his life, but you didn’t have many other options. You hoped that he would understand if he was in the same predicament. If someone was stuck in your body, you knew that Hu Tao would notice that something was off. She knew you too well not to. And you were certain she would help. How could she not? But then again… how could she without thinking you'd gone insane? 

You leaned your head back, knocking it lightly against the wall. You let your eyes close and searched your mind for anything you could find. None of his memories surfaced and your own were jumbled at best. Wonderful. You took a long, slow breath letting it settle in the pit of your stomach. There was nothing you could do but wait now. Maybe you could make some tea to soothe the nerves. But then that made you question whether tea bags were a thing or not. Deciding that it probably wasn’t yet, you then wondered how you would go about making actual tea that wouldn’t taste terrible. 

You groaned. This was all too much to think about. Maybe sleep was the best option you had. Maybe you’d get to dream about something he did or who he was. Or maybe you’d see absolutely nothing and it would be a huge waste of time. Even though your mind was wide awake, your body ached. Your arms and legs felt heavy. Your head lulled to the side as your vision struggled to focus. You swore you felt something clawing at you from the inside, begging for you to rest. But just as you were about to comply, there was a knock at the door. Confused, you pushed yourself to your feet, only to realize that the sun had already gone down. 

Had you actually fallen asleep without noticing it?

“Mr. Zhongli?” A feminene voice echoed from outside. “It’s Ganyu. I was asked to come check on you.”

You rubbed your eyes as you stumbled toward the door, pulling down the sleeves of your shirt to hide the marks on your arms. You managed to slip on the gloves just before you opened the door. Standing there was a short, blue haired woman with a pair of dark red horns on her head. Her clothing was striking with black fabric and a white and blue blouse. The bell around her neck chimed softly in the breeze, but you were drawn to the look of pure worry in her purple eyes. A long distance behind her, you noticed Childe leaning against a wall in an alleyway. He nodded once at you, then turned and walked away. You didn’t know this person, but - for now at least - she was the only chance you had. 

“I have a problem,” You said. “And I’m not sure how to fix it.”

Ganyu tilted her head. “Your eyes…”

“I know,” You said quietly. “They're not his.”

She blinked slowly. Then, a look of understanding dawned on her face. “Come with me,” She said. “We’ll need to talk to the others.”

Xiao knew something was wrong the moment he laid his eyes on you. Maybe it was the lack of grace in your movements or the uncertainty on your face. Maybe it was because the prim and proper Zhongli wouldn’t be caught dead with clothes in such disarray. Or maybe, just maybe, it was that look of concern that plagued Ganyu’s face as she led you up the hill to Jueyun Karst. “Adeptus Xiao?” She yelled out into the wind. “I need your help.”

Xiao paused, watching from a distance. It was rare that Ganyu ever called his name, so he knew she never would unless it was an emergency. It was lucky, then, that he was in Jueyun Karst today and not at the inn like he usually was. Monsters had been rampant here as of late, restless and violent for reasons that Xiao didn't yet know. When Ganyu stopped, promising you that “help was on the way,” Xiao finally teleported out of his spot, landing directly in front of you. You nearly jumped out of Zhongli’s skin, but Ganyu breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Xiao. I haven’t had time to find the others.”

“What’s this about?” He said, eyeing you with a distrustful look. You didn’t meet his gaze, all but confirming his suspicions. It didn’t help that your eyes were distinctly wrong and your energy didn’t feel anything like his. Whoever was standing in front of him was not the former Geo Archon, no matter how much you looked like him. 

“Is there a place to sit?”

Xiao crossed his arms. “This will do just fine.”

Ganyu nodded. “I have reason to believe that Mr. Zhongli no longer inhabits this body.”

Xiao raised an eyebrow, glancing at you again. Still, you didn’t look at him. Instead, your eyes had dropped to the ground on your feet as you nudged a pebble in random directions. “That's rather obvious,” Xiao said flatly. 

“I’ve heard of this happening before,” Ganyu said. “When ancient magic aligns just right, souls can be moved between physical vessels. It used to be more common during the Archon War.”

“I’m aware,” Xiao said. It was a much greater problem back when the demons he hunted took over the bodies of humans and animals alike, destroying their souls until there was nothing but husks left in their wake. The concept was the same, and he had heard stories of other adepti or humans who were drawn into the wrong bodies through curses or other sources of magic. But the Geo Archon? Xiao would have thought it impossible if you weren’t fidgeting right in front of him. “We can perform a ritual to return the spirits to their rightful place.” He said. “Where is he?”

“That’s the problem,” Ganyu said with a quiet sigh as she looked up at you. “Tell him what you told me.”

You nodded, finally meeting his gaze. “I’m not from this place,” You said. 

“What?”

“It’s true,” Ganyu said. “The things they spoke of… machines that move on their own or speak to people. Metal that people can move in..” She shook her head. “I’ve never heard of any of it. And they were convinced the adepti weren't real.”

“We don’t exactly make ourselves well known,” Xiao said. 

“Some of us do,” Ganyu said. “But that isn’t the point.”

“I think I’m from the future,” You said. 

“And why would you think that?”

“Rex Lapis died last year, right?”

Xiao closed his eyes and lowered his head. “They don’t know?”

“Know what?” You said with a flash of frustration. “Childe wouldn’t tell me anything. Said I’d have to ‘figure it out’ or whatever.” You put your hand to your chest. “But there’s something… off about this body. I just don’t know…”

Xiao shook his head. “Off? Of course it would be. You’re human, I presume.”

“And he’s not?”

“Xiao…” Ganyu said. “We need to take this one step at a time.”

“Do you understand how dangerous this is?” Xiao said. “A human in the body of Rex Lapis?”

You stared at him. “In… what?”

“Xiao!” Ganyu said. “That wasn’t…”

“But he… he died.” You said. “All the history books… everyone knows…” You took a step backward, reaching for your head. “He died over 300 years ago. How could this Zhongli person be him? That doesn’t… make any sense.” 

“Neither does a human inhabiting his body,” Xiao hissed. “And whatever dreams this person has been having does not mean that they’re from some different world. We need to find Rex Lapis and…”

Xiao snapped to your side the second you crumbled, catching you just in time. But when he tried to stand you up again, you were out cold. “This is why we needed to wait,” Ganyu said. 

“We need to fix this,” Xiao said. 

“That’s why I brought him here,” Ganyu said. “I was hoping we could make some kind of plan.”

Xiao picked you up with ease despite the lankiness of Zhongli’s body. It felt strange holding the Geo Archon in such a manner, but Xiao knew he didn’t have a choice. “Meet at the statue of the seven on Qingyun Peak. I’ll gather the others.”

“Will he be alright?”

“Nothing will get to him,” Xiao said. “I'll see to that.”

Tag List: @sprayio​, @kimura-uzuri

[whattodowithace]

Roommates Code: How it Began (Seyoon’s Story)

Title: Roommates Code: How it Began

Pairing: Liju x Seyoon & Donghun (But can be reader x Seyoon & Donghun)

Genre: Humor, slight spice

Word count: 2187

Writer: Kpopmadness (Ju)

"Would you stop playing that video?" I groan, ready to throw my textbook at my schoolmate who sat on my head watching a music video for the hundredth time.

"I have to watch it closely. It's for science." She answers me, her eyes staying glued to the screen in front of her.

"You could help me with our homework project due in a few days. For science." I mimic her wording, making her narrow her eyes at me before shutting her laptop down to get her books.

This is how our relationship was. And how it probably always would be. My relationship with my classmate was fairly new. Both of us meeting one day at a study group in the library at our school. We continued to see each other for the next four weeks. The group we were with ignoring us most times, leaving us with just each other to talk to. Now we had moved our study sessions to my house. Us studying for school together becoming a weekly habit on top of sitting next to each other during lunch break at school as a excuse to hang out.

The room is silent for five minutes before she pipes up again; "You know, with the amount of times we talk to each other and see each other, we could move in together as roommates once we graduate." She tells me.

I look up from my book to meet her eyes, surprised to see she was actually being serious. I lean back in my chair as i say, "We would probably kill each other."

She shrugs, her long hair falling over her shoulder as she does so. "We might." She says, "Or we might not. We've been hanging out with each other for five months now and haven't manged to argue yet. And we don't seem to stress each other. And i don't see you or i getting boyfriends means how we like being alone so much."

I laugh,  the idea amusing and sounding fun. But it seemed a little outlandish means how we still had another nine months of high school left.

"We'll see where we are when we finish school. We might hate each other by then." I say before turning back to my book.

``````

The problem with us, however, is when we kid about something, it often times happens somehow. Two months after graduating high school we found good paying jobs and a available apartment.

"I'll let you two look around a bit more." The landlord of our new apartment said as she walked down the stairs, "Congratulations on getting the place."

We both thanked her with smiles on our faces before shutting the door and letting out an excited scream. Our place small but roomy enough for us, making it feel like a palace compared to our small bedrooms at home. And the biggest difference was this was our place.

"Which room do you want?" She asks me as we make our way down the hall.

"You can have the bigger room. You have more things than i do." I tell her, stepping into what would be her bedroom.

"You've never had a big bedroom before though." She says, sounding guilty.

I laugh, "Please, my room has a bathroom. That's a luxury by itself."

We both laugh as we continue walking around our rooms. At one point I stand in my room trying to think of how to arrange things when i hear her call,

"If we shut our bedroom doors can we still hear each other?" She asks, poking her head into my room.

Our bedrooms were stationed right next to each other, the thought of being able to talk even from our rooms making me giggle.

"Lets see." I say through a laugh. Shutting my bedroom door, hearing her do the same a moment later.

She taps on the wall next to my room, the sound echoing through my empty room. "We could learn mores code!"   I hear her say as she starts randomly taping the wall with her hand.

I laugh and lean my back against the wall, "If our walls are this thin that means our neighbors can hear us. Which means they're going to wonder why your using mores code to summon Satan."

I hear her laugh as she walks out of her room and into mine, "But if we ever get boyfriends it might be an issue. We'll hear more of each other than is wanted."

``````

Four years later:

I sit at the kitchen table one afternoon scrolling through my Ipad when the front door unlocks and my roommate steps inside. I open my mouth to greet her but quickly shut it when i see the man standing behind her.

"Thank you again for walking me home, Seyoon." She says, smiling at him as she leans her body weight against the door.

"It was no problem." He says sweetly, smiling back at her.

I bite my lip and slowly move off my chair to try to sneak away to my bedroom to give them some privacy. I had just stood up when she turns her head and looks at me,

"Where are you going?" She asks, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

I straighten and force a smile on my face, silently cursing her for drawing attention to me.

"Nowhere." I answer  in a sweet voice, my eyes narrowing at her.

"Hey Seyoon." I wave at him.

Seyoon waves back at me, "Hey, good to see you."  His smile widens as he looks back at my roommate before saying, "I should get going. But it was really good to see you all. Thank you for letting me walk you home." He says. I don't miss the way his hand slightly reaches for hers that rests on the doorknob or how he lingers at the door though. All of this making me smirk.

She thanks him again before shutting the door completely and whirling around to throw her bag at me. I let out a cry when it hits me on the shin.

"What the heck do you keep in there? Bricks?" I grumble as i rub my leg.

"I keep them in there for when i need to beat you to death." She fires  back. "I told you to stay in the same room as me if we ever see him. Then you try to wonder off!"

"He looked like he wanted to be alone with you!" I shout, a smirk on my lips.

She narrows her eyes at me before running up and kicking my feet out from under me, making me land on my back, air leaving my lungs.

She kicks me in the butt, making me scream.

"He walked you home! That's a clear sign he wants a relationship with you!"  I scream at her. Her face going red.

"I don't care, because i don't want a relationship with him." She mumbles quietly.

I stand up from the ground and brush myself off, "Are you sure about that?" I ask, making her hesitate but still narrow her eyes at me.

This had been an ongoing conversation between us for the past month. Kim Seyoon was her workmate, he also only lived a block away from our apartment. For the past month, he had been making it very clear he liked her. Making lunch for her, sending her texts to check on her when she didn't show up at work. He even brought over some soup once for me when i was sick and she had stayed home to make sure  i didn't die. Clearly trying to get on my good side as well.

Needless to say, i liked him for her. But her being the stubborn person she is, refused to admit she liked him or wanted a date with him. So for the past month we had talked, argued, and screamed at each other about the matter. Even though she denied it, i could see her walls cracking slightly. She was growing more of a weak spot for him than she wanted to admit.

"I'm going to go. I ordered a Pizza for dinner for us." I tell her as i pick up my car keys.

A smile grows on my roommates face at the mention of her favorite food. "This doesn't change anything. I still don't like you."

I laugh and roll my eyes, "I know." I sigh out as i walk out the door.

```````

"This one?"

"No." I answer after observing the dress briefly that she had pulled from her closet.

"I don't know what to wear!" She groans in frustration. Raking her fingers through her hair.

After three months of bucking liking Seyoon, she finally caved in to him. Tonight being their first official date that he was going to pick her up for in an hour.

"I still say this dress," I tell her, holding up a red low cut dress with a thick black belt around l the waist.

"But i don't want to wear it." She whines, stomping her foot slightly.

I sigh and put the dress down on her bed. "You look good in it and you know he would like it. You just are too scared to wear it."

My roommate glares at me, mumbling words under her breath as she goes to put the dress i picked out on.

For the remaining hour we walk around our apartment finding things she needed to complete her look. Which included her borrowing one of my necklaces, me doing her hair while she worked on her makeup, and us arguing back and forth like always.

The doorbell rain as she was putting her shoes on, the noise making her jump and look at me panicked. I smirk at her as i wonder down the hall to my door so he couldn't see me when she opened the door. She gave me a passing glare as she went to open the door, Seyoon greeting her warmly in a white button down shirt and black slacks. His blonde hair falling over his eyes in fluffy locks. His eyes widening slightly and his voice going nervous when he saw her.

I smile to myself as i watch the pair walk out the door. I retreat into my bedroom for a night to myself while she was gone.

```````

I stumble into the kitchen sleepily the next morning. My eyes refusing to stay open. I go to the fridge and pour some cold coffee into a cup when my roommate comes out of her room, her eyes sparkling.

"Good morning." She say brightly, going to the fridge to pour herself a glass of milk. Her long hair doing little to hide several of the dark patches that cover her neck and collarbone

I stand by the counter with a glare on my face as she does so. My gaze on her making her meet my eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that? And why do you look so tired?"

"Maybe it's because certain people wouldn't stop moaning and panting last night." I snap. Making her almost spit her mouthful of milk all over the floor.

"You heard us?" She coughs.

"Our walls are paper thin!" I say, "Your bed is close to the wall so i could hear everything. Until 3AM i heard many many things."

"No.. you... you didn't,  did you?" She asks, her voice cracking and her eyes wide from shock.

"That's a good boy." I mimic, using one of her choice words that night.

She gasps loudly, her face and neck going red. "I thought you would be asleep!"  

"I was. But all the noise definitely woke me up." I tell her, finishing off my coffee to put the cup in the sink.

"We need a code of some sort if he's going to be coming over here a lot for your make outs." I tell her.

She gives me a nervous look, her face still red. "What kind of code?" She asks.

"Something. An agreement that we will leave when the other one wants to spend time alone with their boyfriend or something."

"You don't have a boyfriend." She jabs, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"Shut up." I snap, making her laugh.

For the next hour we sit on the couch going back and forth on the rules of this code. The code being simple enough, but holding a measure of  trust that the other one would respect the others privacy when asked. We had just finished setting special text tones for each other as part of the Roommates Code when Seyoon walked out into the living room. His blonde hair sticking up in funny places and several dark marks littering his neck.

“Do you guys always laugh so loud?" Seyoon teases, a smile tugging at his lips as he rubs his eyes.

"I know someone else who's loud."   I mumble under my breath, making my roommate stand up quickly and chase me to my room, screaming at me the entire time. Leaving a chuckling Seyoon to stand in the living room alone.

[myinterestsvary-writes]

I wondered about this as well, and The Fortuneteller makes it apparent that she's not too adept at picking up on when someone is flirting with her as shown with Aang (or she just wasn't expecting it because they're typically so friendly anyways). Jet was a mutual thing that she most likely was surprised at him returning her affections in regardless of whether she knew he was purposely being suave back then as she was still very rash and blushy/shy around him after their first kiss (from what I hear of from "Avatar Extras"). Her realising at the end that Aang might be the powerful bender that she might marry (whether or not Aunt Wu was truly legit) I interpret as Katara being confused on what exactly she's supposed to take from that. Yet in the next episode she gives him a kiss of gratitude on the cheek anyways without any prompt from Aang himself.

Then in "The Cave of Two Lovers" we have Katara initiating a romantic trope that Aang reacts positively towards - suggestively adjusting his stance from the behind which Aang blushed at. Afterwards, Aang and Katara are trapped in a cave and Katara tells Aang that maybe they should kiss, blushing deeply with a little smile on her face. She even gets frustrated when he seems to reject her but is then shown to be airy and blushy once more when she gets her request to kiss Aang granted which shows even further to me of the fact that people deny this scene due to absolute, adamant and extreme bias. Her looking away just as Aang looked to her with a smug and teasing eyebrow raise and smirk (as Sokka watches in the background amused) is further proof of her shyness towards romantic endeavours.

Ever noticed how consent is brought up between these two the most out of any other pairing in the series?

By Season 2's finale, Aang is blushing as he attempts to express his feelings for Katara to her but is rudely interrupted by Sokka. Katara is unamused by this and gives Aang another kiss on the cheek and Aang interprets that as her telling him she'll wait for him.

Then we have The Headband where it's obviously romantically coded to where not even detractors truly attempt to take from this scene other than in claiming how OOC it was, as Katara notices the changes in Aang's behaviour and really likes it. Giving him a kiss on the cheek as a means to show gratitude (unnecessarily so might I add) to where Aang obviously blushes from just as he did in "Bato of the Water Tribe". Also how Toph kisses Suki after she saves her from drowning thinking it's Sokka, her crush.

Finally we have the first big on screen kiss initiated by Aang (the first of two times he's ever kissed her out of the seven times their lips have made contact with each other). It's a "Now or Never" kiss that makes a lot of sense to happen in context and isn't as egregious as others like to make it out to be (with their warped ass thought processes). Katara looks down after reciprocating the kiss in deep thought and someone might be thinking, "oh, she didn't like it, she was upset" yet in the next second she's watching him leave her in awe, eyes and mouth gaped then inching closer to his direction with her feet and stopping just as the submarine ends, blushing heavily and out of it until Sokka reminds her of their circumstances.

I personally think Katara didn't think too much of their interactions because she had other priorities but it was always in the back of her mind, her feelings for Aang. She just didn't think about it enough to decipher how exactly Aang felt in those moments they shared until he made what he was feeling explicit to her, which then kind of scared her due to him being the Avatar and ulterior circumstances being such a dreadful thing he carries with him largely due to the war as she says herself.

Just a small point here, but do you think Katara actually had any inkling of Aang’s big crush on her prior to their big kiss at the midpoint of Book Three? I mean, Katara’s not an oblivious type of character, so I like to think she’d have at least noticed when Aang was acting unusually around her. Yet at the same time their aforementioned moment seemed to take her completely by surprise, like it was the last thing in the world she was expecting. I dunno, it just seems sometimes that the show couldn’t really decide if it was something she was aware of or not 🤔

[shalebridgecradle]

Re: our convo about Five's past from last night: I kinda want someone from Mullins showing up at Abel now. Someone eager to see the famous Runner 5, someone who gets utterly baffled and incredulous when they bring them the weird girl from the fort that no one liked or cared about. He thinks they're playing a joke on him, snarks that if she was that impressive they wouldn’t have let Abel keep her in the first place. And then pregnant Maxine hits him with a chair.

…oops, my hand slipped and I wrote a thing. Which was probably your intention all along, you horrible enabler. :P (Couldn’t arrange the chair hitting though. I tried, but it turns out there’s a short list of people Maxine would 100% flatten with a chair, and this dude’s not on it. …Yet.)

[2,869 words, ft. a mute, female Five. Spoilers through S4M4. Maybe a tiny warning for abuse if you read between the lines too hard.]

“Iredid most of Abel’s security after the unfortunate…incident thatwas Ms. Spens’s brief tenure,” Janine explained as they turnedthe corner from the armory. “You can see it surpasses even Ministrystandards.”

Theman walking at her side, one Captain Morden of Mullins Base, began tochuckle. “I never doubted it, ma’am. But it also never hurts tobe too careful when it comes to a visit from the Minister.”

“Ofcourse not.”

Thegate alarm sounded at that moment, pulling his attention away fromher. Morden shielded his eyes with a pale hand, squinting through thelate afternoon sunlight. “Is that one of your runners?” Heindicated a silhouette running across the gate threshold under theguards’ watchful eyes.

Janinechecked her watch. “That should be Runner Five, actually. Right onschedule.”

Morden’seyebrows shot up. “Oh? I’d been hoping to meet the famous RunnerFive on this trip.”

Ashints went, she thought that rather obvious. “Yes, there’s beenquite a demand for that of late. Since Five’s mission is completedI don’t see the harm, and we’ll need to coordinate with therunners for the Minister’s visit in any event.” She motioned himforward. “After you, Captain.”

Meanwhile, Runner Five foundherself preoccupied trying to brush all the dirt and dust off herclothes. She’d managed to trip into one of the outer trenches NewCanton had dug during their mind-controlled siege. They’d filledmost of them back in over the months, but this one had beenoverlooked—and was now overgrown with grass and weeds. Hence thetripping.

In her headset, Sam was telling herabout a massive DVD stockpile Cameo and Kytan had just stumbled overin between trying to fill out a work order to fix the trench. On topof that, the alarm still sounded as the gate slid shut and the guardswere all making idle small talk, both with her and around her. Itbordered on overwhelming and made it hard to focus on any one thingfor very long, which perhaps explained why she didn’t noticeJanine’s approach.

When she did finally look up,she took a sudden step backwards, almost into the gate.

A ghost out of her past stoodright there in front of her with that same old crooked smile.Lieutenant Morden. He didn’t look like he’d aged a day, save fora few new lines around the mouth. Maybe he’d lost a little weight.

It took him a moment torecognize her; when he did, his eyebrows shot up almost into his darkhair, but he said nothing. Just tilted his head to look at hersideways.

“Excellenttiming as usual, Runner Five,” Janine was saying. Five forcedherself to pay attention, hoping that if she ignored Morden he’ddisappear back into whateverhole he’d crawled out of.“This is Captain Morden from Mullins.” Apparently there’d beena promotion in her absence. “He’s here toreview our security ahead ofthe Minister’s visit, giventhat Mr. Sissay is occupied at New Canton.”

“RunnerFive,isit?”Something about the way he said her name made the hair on her armsstand on end. Heextendedhis hand,still smiling. Shedidn’t take it, and after an awkward moment he slid it into thepocket of his khakis instead.“Well.Pleasureto finallymeet you. Thewhole country’s singing your praises, you know.”

“Indeed.”Thefaint flicker of irritation in Janine’s voice made Five smile.Neither of them had quite figured out how to deal with all the fameand praisethathad descended on them over the past months.Mostly they’d mutually agreed to ignore it and hope it went away sothey could work in peace. “Ifyou have a minute, Five, I’dlike you toaccompany us back to the farmhouse. We need to discuss who’llbe running interference for the convoy. The Ministry trucks are boundto attract undue attention from the zombies.”

“Andit’ll give us a chance to talk,” Morden added. There was anundercurrent of mockery in his voice that Janine seemed to miss. “Getto know each other better.”

I’dsooner kiss a zom, wasFive’s first panicked thought. She didn’t say it out loud; it’drequire too much explaining. Instead she latched onto the firstexcuse that popped into her head.

“Later?I need to head to the infirmary,” she signed. On seeing Janine’sfrown she was quick to add, “Ran across some zoms. Routinescreening.”

“Isee. I was under the impression the route between Abel and New Cantonwas free of hostiles for the time being. Clearly my information isout of date.”

“Itwas clear,” Samchimed in at her ear. She could picture his brow furrowing inconfusion. “I mean, there was that scarecrow that looked likea zom, and we really need to talk to that one New Canton enclaveabout leaving their art projects lying around like that, but—areyou sure you’re okay, Five?”

Fivedidn’t answer him. She handed her overloaded backpack off to one ofthe gate guards while she waited for Janine’s response.

“Protocolis protocol for a reason,”she agreed with a short nod.“Go, Five. We’ll meetwith you later.”

“Thankyou.” She didn’t wait another moment before taking offat a quick jog, weaving her way through the scant crowd.

Notmore than ten feet later, she heard a familiar shout behind her.“Runner Five! Wait up!” Morden.Shethought about speeding up—running pell-mell through Abel wasgenerally frowned on unless there was an emergency, but she couldprobably get away with it. Thenin the next breathshe paused at a corner,decidingshe could hear him out. If only for a minute. She was a far differentperson than she’d been at Mullins—several times over by thispoint. She could handle him.

Andif she couldn’t, she could always outrun him.

“Itis you, isn’t it?Little Mouse?”

Well,he hadn’t changed at all.

“Mouse?”Sam was trying not to snicker. Five meanwhile was trying very hardnot to grimace. “I know you’re quiet, Five, but come on. Wait—youknow him? From Mullins?”

Mordengrinned at her, all teeth. “I don’t believe it. Imean, we heard all sorts of rumors—yousurvived the crash, you were dead orgone grey, the Exmoor Militiawere trying to hold you for ransom, all sorts of things. Thebrass never got around to telling us the real story. Guessthey figured it wouldn’t matter.” He tilted his head, waiting tosee if she’d notice the sideways jab. She had, but she refused toreact and give him the satisfaction. “Anyway,it’sgood to see you, Mouse.We all missed you, you know?”

Shebit the inside of her cheekto stop herself from laughingin his face. “I doubt it,”she retorted.

Morden,as ever, didn’t understand. “Sure, sure. Hell of a way from CBlock, isn’t it? Guess you’re living the high life these days.Ministry loves this littlehole in the wall.”

Somehowthe slight against Abel was what offended her the most. She turnedand resumed her jog toward the hospital. If Morden couldn’t keepup, that was his problem.

“Hey!Come back!”

“I’mguessing he’s…not your long-lost best friend?” Sam asked at thesame time. She heard his chair creak as he shifted hisweight.

“Notexactly.” That was all she was able to explain to her headcambefore Morden caught up.

“You’refaster than I remember. Now,where’s Runner Five?”

Thatcaused her to slow her step. She turned to look back at him, hereyebrows arched as if to say,what? Even Mordencould figure out what she meant.

“They’reputting me on, yeah?” He’dstarted to laugh. “It’s alla prank, right? De Luca wasin on it the whole time. AndI heard she had no sense of humor.Come on. Where’s the real RunnerFive?”

“Thisis the ‘real’Runner Five, you—” Sam stopped short of actually swearing, optinginstead for a frustrated, inaudiblegrumble. “Is everyone at Mullins as thick as he is? No wonder youdidn’t want to go back, Five.”

Five,her face drawn and placid, indicated the armband on her bicep, whichonly made Mordenlaugh harder. “No, come on!You’re really sticking with this, Mouse?Bloody hell,I remember back when youcouldn’t take a joke, letalone pull one off.”

“What’she on about?”

Shedebated switching her headset off altogether butknew that would only serve to upset Sam. It wouldn’t stop him fromwatching on the nearest security camera, either.

Mordenmeanwhile insisted on carrying on. Hesounded less and less amused by the second.“All right, fine, you’vegot me! Ha-bloody-ha. Now we’re even, Mouse. Is that what you wantto hear?”

Youcan’t deck him, shethought, schooling her expression into one of steely indifference.It’d just causean incident.

Whenshe didn’t respond he reached out and grabbed her elbow, jerkingher backwards a step and forcingher to stop. Inher ear she heard a sharp intake of breath.

“D’youreally expect me tobelieve that you’re the hero of Comansys Tower? The Minister’sgolden child? You?”His voice had dropped to a low, harshwhisper. She shook his hand off, elbowing him in the side in theprocess.

“Five.I can have a guard there in tenseconds. Just say the word.”

Shesigned a quick no toherheadcam and keptmoving.

Mordeninsisted on following her. He made another grab for her elbow but sheanticipated it, dodging sideways out of his reach.

Still,as she pushed through the doors to the hospital, hefollowed right at her heels. She could hear him huffing and puffingfor breath as she sped upstill more. Apparentlyhe’d fallen out of shape since she’d seen him last, she notedwith some faint vindictive amusement. “Come on,” he cajoledbetween one breath and the next. “This is just getting sad now!”

Fiveignored him, winding her way through the crowded halls to Maxine’soffice. She knew the route by muscle memory alone now. That made iteasier to tune Morden out. Atleast until they reached the office door—wherehe put on a burst of speed and beat her there by seconds. He grabbedthe doorknob and held it tight, blocking her path.

Fivemet his icy stare without flinching.A white-hot anger had started to burn its way up her chest. “Move.”She finished with a shooing motion that he couldn’t possiblymisunderstand. Still, he didn’t move. She could feel thefrustration practically rolling off him. Anger management wasn’t arequirement for promotion at Mullins, shesupposed.

“Faceit, little Mouse. You were never that impressive. Youthink the higher-ups at Mullins would’ve left you out here in thebloody boonies if you werethat special? You remember CBlock, don’t you? ‘The C stands for cannon fodder.’Isn’t that what we used tosay? Nobody from there’sworth a scrap. Not me, andsure as hell not you.”

Well.He was half right. She flipped him off beforeshe elbowed him right in the stomach, forcing him tomove out of her way. He letgo of the door to rub his sternum, grimacing. “You and your damnsharp elbows—”

Sheturned the doorknob at the same time someone inside the room did.“Five,” Maxine murmured in quiet surprise. She had one hand onthe door, the other rubbing a sore spot on her lower back. Behindher, Dr. Lobatse waved tothem over a stack of filefolders. “Janine radioed tosay you’d be stopping in.” Hergaze fell on Morden next, her lips pursing into a frown. Fivewondered how much she’d overheard. Sam had gone oddly quiet too.

“CaptainMorden.” The ice in her voice told Five she’d overheard more thanenough. She stood aside, leaving just enough room betweenher growing stomach and the doorframe forFive to slip into the room sideways.

UnfortunatelyMorden didn’t get the subtle message that he wasn’t invited. WhenMaxine tried to close the door in his face he caught it, pushing hisway into the room after them. “So sorry to intrude, Dr. Myers. Dr.Lobatse,” he added, nodding to Kefilwe. “Yourrunner and I were just catching up on old times. Isn’tthat right, Runner Five?”As he said it he clapped Fiveacross the back. Five didn’t move.

Maxine,still frowning, glancedback and forth between the two of them. “Is that right? Ididn’t realize you two knew each other.”At the same time she signedto Five, “If you want himgone…”

“Oh,sure.” Morden carried on,all cheer, like he hadn’teven noticed her signing. Maybe he hadn’t.“Mullins is divided up into all those wards and blocks since wetook on so many refugees,you know?” When Maxinenodded, he continued, “Iused torun C Block back in the day,where our friend here used tolive. Guess you got tired of me bossing you around, eh, Mouse? Tookoff for greener pastures?”

Fivesigned something. She’dbarely finished before Mordenclapped her across the shoulders again, laughing.

“Yousee? Old pals.” Ashe said it she’d tensed her whole back, shrugging his hand off her.

“Oh,”Maxine began, deadpan, “so you must understand sign language,then.”

Morden,jamming his hands in his pockets now,shrugged and kept grinning. “Ofcourse! Might be a little rusty after all this time, but—”

“ThenI guess what Five just said about you and that goat must be true?”Behind her, Dr. Lobatse hadstarted to snicker into her hand. “Ifyou’re not going to dispute it, I mean.”

“I—”Morden’swhole face had begun to turn red, starting from the ears on down.Five made a quick sidewaysstep to get out of the inevitable blast radius as he continued tostammer. “Listen, this isall just some stupid bloody joke you lot have come up with—we allknow that’s not the real RunnerFive. It can’t be! I—”

Maxinelistened to him for a few moments before she turned to Five, archingan eyebrow.

“Throwhim out,” Fivesaid, pointing backto the door for emphasis.

Dr.Lobatse reacted before Maxine could, jumping to her feet. In a momentshe’d taken Morden’s arm, spinninghim around so fast Five almost made herself dizzy watching it. “Thisis a secure area, Captain,”she was saying as she steeredhim straight back out the door overhis protests.“We really can’t have youin here while we have a patient. And I’m sure you’ve kept Janinewaiting long enough as it is—” Kefilwehad them moving at double-time. They’d disappeared down the hall inthe next minute.

“Janine’sdefinitely going to hearabout this,” came the grumpy mutter from her headset. “They can’tjust waltz in here and treat our runners like that. Idon’t care who he works for. Youstay with Maxine, Five. I’m going to go talk to her.” Hisvoice had grown more distant as he talked, until sheheard the door to the comms shack click shut andthen nothing.

Whenthey were well and truly alone in the room, Maxine sighed,tight-lipped and tense. “Youreally knew him from Mullins?”

Fivenodded. “He was telling the truth about that much.”

“And…whatwas all that about you not being Runner Five?”

“It’sa long story.” She shrugged, holding her palms up. “Things weredifferent at Mullins. I wasn’t much use to anyone, and they didn’thave much use for me, either.”

Frowning,Maxine had just started to respond when the door opened again.

“Well!”Dr. Lobatsecame back in, dusting off herhands. “He seemedthoroughly unpleasant. Ithink Imight’ve strained his shoulder a little more than was necessary.”

“Oh.Too bad.” The sarcasm inMaxine’s voice was so thick it had a palpable presence in the room.

“Anyway,I was about to go put thekettle on. Five?”

Shenodded, slipping her headsetoff and setting it aside now that there was nothing therebesides empty air. Dr.Lobatse smiled and ducked into the next room to start on the tea.

Whenshe’d gone, Maxine called after her, “You’dbetter make mine decaf, Kefilwe.” Then, lowering her voice, “Areyou okay, Five?”

Sheconsidered her answer for a long moment, fingers twisting together.“I thinkso.” Morden might be asunpleasant as ever, but she could take some comfort in knowing shewasn’t his mute little Mouse anymore. If he didn’t want to seethat, that was his problem. Not hers.

“Younever talked much aboutMullins. I hope he didn’t bring up any bad memories for you.”

Asfar as she was concerned he was abad memory. Five shrugged again.

“Right,”Maxine sighed. “Well, if he has any sense he’ll apologize beforeJanine or Sam forces himto. Come have some tea in themeantime, Five. We can talkif you want.”

“I’dlike that.”