#This trekking is a bit harder than other trekking but after reaching the mountains you get a lot of fun. highpasstrekking 3passeveresttrekk

[renu12345]

High Pass trekking a true adventure for hardy and strong trekkers encountering long and hard climb over high passes over 5,000 meters Himalaya range.

[cherrynojutsu]

Title: Years Past

Summary: Sakura haunts their small home in grief, feeling already a ghost even while surrounded with beautiful raven-haired children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As she sees each and every one of them over the months that follow, a select few stare back with her own eyes. Most of them are so like her husband's, though, luciform soot flecked with silver, and she feels so sorry when she looks too long and starts to cry. Romance, Character Death, Sad With a Happy Ending, Sakura POV.

Disclaimer: I did not write Naruto. This is a fan-made piece solely created for entertainment purposes.

Rating: T

A/N: A little late to this prompt, but better late than never, I suppose. This has been sitting in my drafts since June, but reading it made me emotional and I got distracted by writing things for Like Gold. I apologize for the tardiness!

Sasusaku Month 2021, Day 7 Prompt: Years Past @ssskmonth

AO3 Link - FF.net Link

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Sakura passes in her sleep, marcid and weary of a broken heart and missing mismatched eyes, at the age of eighty-two.

It is longer than most Shinobi make it by far, but she doesn't feel very grateful for it, in the last five excruciating months of her life.

Her husband hadn't made it to eighty-two; Sasuke-kun passed in December. It had been peaceful, all three of their children, most of their grandchildren, and even some great grandchildren, the ones not on missions outside of the village, at his bedside.

Sakura had been there, too, old and frail and holding his hand. She'd kissed him goodbye tearily, sensing it was almost time after decades of watching it happen to others inside secluded hospital walls. It had been in front of nearly all of their descendants, family the only thing helping to hold her together in his final moments.

He hadn't complained. He'd kissed her back, for everyone to see, and Sarada and the twins had started crying, then, squeezing their hands around those of their parents, because they knew it really was time.

He had thanked her, said her name one last time, all equanimity even then. Then, so softly, "I love you. I'll see you next time," before he went, bones settling wearily at long last.

There had been melancholy in his expression even in death, wrinkled skin turning glaucous and beginning to sag against old, hardened muscle.

Sasuke-kun was buried next to Itachi’s memorial. There is a plot he saved for her on his other side, his right arm, the hand she held so many times in life.

Sakura haunts their small home in grief, feeling already a ghost even while surrounded with beautiful raven-haired children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As she sees each and every one of them over the months that follow, a select few stare back with her own eyes. Most of them are so like her husband's, though, luciform soot flecked with silver, and she feels so sorry when she looks too long and starts to cry. Little Satoko, their newest great-grandchild all of eleven months old who she dotes on endlessly, reaches at her wrinkled cheeks to try to wipe them dry, babbling out a garbled version of "Oobasan, no cwy." He is talking earlier than most babies, stormy eyes eerily full of awareness and an endless lineage, just like Sarada at that age. Sakura laughs as she sobs, cradling him close to her heart, and looking out her window at their daughter's visage on the mountain. It is also Satoko's grandmother's image; it is hard to believe their sweet little baby is now old enough to be a grandmother. She remembers the first time Sarada had smiled at Sasuke-kun, the first time he held her at only an hour old, and he broke down sobbing.

She makes the trek to Sasuke-kun's grave every day for 138 days, each step an arduous agony, before stooping down to lay a fresh daffodil atop the soil where her husband's bones rest. She has also planted white lilies around his headstone, the same as those that surround Itachi's and the Uchiha Memorial Stone. Her children help her keep them watered as needed through a short spring drought; she is too old to carry a watering can now without spilling.

She misses him. It hurts worse than Sasori's poison or Madara stabbing her or giving birth or a giant shuriken nearly cleaving her in two.

There is joy to be found in the desolation, too, in her last few months of life. Their progenies throw her a birthday party like none other, and she eats her fill of cake while watching little hands eat some, too. Little Satoko dances, or moreso balters, with Sarada in time to a dramatic song he finds by pressing buttons on the radio; it is not a very appropriate tune for a dance with a toddler, all clumsy crescendo and orchestra, but amusing all the same. Sasuke-kun would have smiled, if he were there.

The white lilies bloom before her eyes one last time, resplendent and perfect. She gets to hear about Haruki making Chunin on the first try, every bit the pride of the Uchiha, reborn anew with Sharingan blazing. She even gets to see Akiko make Jonin in person, ambitious and ingenious with Sharingan and diamond seal on her forehead setting her apart from her adversaries in the arena.

But finally, at long last, it is her culminating day. 138 days doesn't seem like a long time to be without him, compared to the larger number of days he was absent in their youth, but she finds it is worse, following their life together.

She tells them all she loves them and falls asleep for the last time, watches their confluence of family say goodbye from above. Sarada and the twins cry the hardest, clinging to her body as her heart finally pumps for the last time. Satoko is too young to understand, but he pats at her, too, in a sea of dark-haired descendants that she knows will continue to bring honor back to a clan revived at the brink of death. She takes in each and every one of their beautiful faces one last time, faces so similar to Sasuke-kun's; not a single one of them has her nose.

It is a legacy of love they have created, exactly the dream they started willing into color the day they discovered they had made Sarada together.

Then, she is on a dock that has slightly singed edges, looking over a small, familiar pond.

It is a spring evening, the sun just falling beneath the horizon and cherry blossoms abloom, and she thinks that is strange, because it is June and Hanami has already passed them by. Satoko had been so cute in his new outfit; she had made it herself, not much else to do in their empty house filled with aching memories. The tiny uchiwa on the back of his collar was sewn with the utmost care, the kind that came from decades of practice.

Crickets chirp, cicadas buzz, and there are a few fireflies leaking out of the greenery, soft light reflectant in the stillness of the water. It is serene. She had sat on this dock many times with her husband, when he was alive, on his right side so she could hold his hand. He told her she was beautiful during Hanami here, every year. She shifts to begin the process of sitting down, planning on leaving the space he'd taken up in life empty for him, in case his ghost is around. She has felt it, sometimes, tugging at her own spirit; she leaves his side of the bed empty every night, trying to will him back to her.

As Sakura shifts, she looks down, and she is startled to see pink hair instead of white, and no wrinkles. She crouches to analyze herself more closely in water still as glass, and there are no creaking old bones. She is young again, somehow.

She is overjoyed; she will be able to water the white lilies herself again. She can even dance with little Satoko now.

Light footsteps sound behind her, and just as she stands and turns, she is being swept into an unfamiliar yet comforting pair of arms. A woman with long inky hair, black as night, is hugging her tight.

"Thank you for loving my son," she breathes immediately, and Sakura starts crying, because she somehow knew who it was before she even said anything, without even seeing her face. When her eyes focus blearily through tears over Mikoto Uchiha's shoulder, Sasuke-kun's brother is walking up not far behind her.

Itachi Uchiha is smiling at her like she's done something wonderful, like he has been waiting for years to meet her. He is younger, healthier here, flecks of silver dancing in eyes just like her husband's, just like their childrens'. There's an impossible ache in her chest.

He waits patiently for his mother to pull back. When she finally does, Sakura looks into her eyes, and Mikoto is smiling at her so big, like she hung the moon in the sky, beginning to peek out from behind clouds above them.

"I have waited so long to meet you," she says, eyes shining, and her eyes are like Sasuke-kun's, too. "You are so beautiful."

Then Itachi is embracing her, and Sakura cries harder, because his arms feel almost like Sasuke-kun's arm had felt, slipping around her for sixty-one years of marriage, the same height and strong.

"I have waited, too. It's an honor. Thank you, for everything," Itachi says as she sobs.

"They are so beautiful, too, Sakura," Mikoto adds softly, hand at her shoulder, and she knows she means their children, Mikoto's grandchildren that she hasn't gotten to hold yet, Sarada and the twins and their children and all the others. Little Satoko had made twenty-seven blood relatives; including spouses who married into the clan, the number was thirty-eight, and there were two more babies on the way, yet.

Itachi lets her go, smile tender when he pulls away. He directs his gaze momentarily to the path leading up the hill, as if he's looking for someone.

She follows his gaze; Fugaku Uchiha is coming over the top, all stoicism even as a spirit. He stops momentarily and gives her a nod of recognition, not breaking eye contact for a long time.

Then, he glances back over his shoulder, tilts his head as if telling someone to follow him down the hill, and Sakura is running, though she hasn't been able to for years.

Sasuke-kun is all of twenty again, young and strong, too handsome for his own good and every bit the sweet but stoic man she fell in love and grew old with. He's smiling at her, just for her, and she's in his arms - he has both, here - in the blink of mismatched, teary eyes.

His arms feel like home, two spirits together in permanence at long last. It is the same feeling as the little piece of heaven they touched together whenever they made love, souls intertwining, but this time for good. She has missed him. Oh, she has missed him.

"...I told you I'd see you next time," he murmurs against her hair.

[saltedpeppermintmocha]

into the night (bakugou x reader) - Chapter 1/?

Summary:

You were born to die.

It is a fact you’ve known since your quirk first manifested, and one you have been denying for just as long. You refuse your supposed fate and try to live the best life you can while remaining undetected.

But maybe fate has another plan. A chance encounter on a mountainside changes your life forever.

MATURE : MINORS DO NOT INTERACT // 18+

You were born to die.

It is a fact you’ve known since your quirk first manifested, and one you have been denying for just as long. You don’t want to die. Not now, not when there are so many things you haven’t done. So many views you haven't seen.

You pull yourself up some ragged rocks, muscles working harder than they have in months to successfully drag your body up. The small rock ledge isn’t close to the top of the mountain, but it’s a good stopping point for today. You look up at the snowy expanse still ahead of you, the sun leaving long shadows along the white and grey exterior, and can’t help but smile. No, you don’t want to die.

Sitting back, you let yourself breathe and watch the top. An old memory flashes in your mind, the first time you hiked to the top with Dad. You had been so little, and so proud of yourself despite Dad having carried you through the most difficult parts. You screamed so loudly at the top, trying to tell the entire village that you made it. Dad had only been able to quiet you by saying that you could “wake up” the volcano with your screams.

The memory makes you smile. There weren’t many good times in your life right after your quirk manifested, but Mount Yotei had been a part of almost all of them. You have missed the mountain since moving to the city. Sapporo might not be that far, but you haven’t been able to make your way home often enough. Being on-call meant that leaving the city even for the few hours it took to get to the village was almost impossible, let alone actually making the long trip up.

You breathe in the crisp autumn air and reach for your pack, grabbing some water and a granola bar. You don’t bring much in terms of food with you, careful of attracting the wildlife during this season, but this will do. Munching happily, your eyes don’t leave the top of the mountain. You will get back up there soon.

It feels like only a few minutes before you have to begin the trek back down. You had started the climb too late in the day to actually make it too far up, or to relax too much, but you couldn't resist the call of the mountain when you saw it on your drive up. Dad could wait, he’d understand. You slide carefully down the rocky ledge and begin your walk back down. The trail you  are using is rough, with roots and rocks sticking out all over the place. It is not a tourist trail, but the one used by locals the most.

Something moves in the distance.

You startle, on edge immediately. Your hand reaches down for the bear spray connected to your belt, fingers ready to release it from the clip at a moment's notice. Damn, you knew you stayed out a bit too late, pushed it a bit too much.

But it’s not a bear that emerges from the bushes. It’s a man. Equally as startling, really, as the tourist season has been well and over for a few months now. You feel the tension release from your body a bit, but not completely. People can be just as dangerous as animals, you see that every day at work. The man pauses too, although he does not look surprised to see you.

Your first thought at seeing him is that he is definitely not dressed to be out on the mountain. His clothes are dark and inappropriate for the altitude level: a long-sleeved shirt and baggy pants. At least he seems to be wearing boots. You don’t see any bag, no protection items, no water or food, nothing on him. It was something you would see on a casual hike around the bottom of the mountain, not this far up.

The more you look at the man, the more you realize that he is, well, really damn good looking. The man, probably around your age if you had to guess, is tall and built for power. He has spikey ash blonde hair and a handsome face that was...slowly turning angrier as you stared at him. Shit, okay. You should probably stop that then. You force your gaze away, looking down at your feet as you continue your descent down the steep terrain. Your hand fiddles with the bear spray, a cation brought on by city life. Just in case.

It only takes a moment before you pass him, each silently headed in opposite directions across the mountain. You bite your lip, thoughts focused on the other hiker. Why is he up so high on the mountain dressed like that? It's completely irresponsible, dangerous. The times you had been on the mountain after this late had been calculated and in dedicated areas where people knew to find you. You had protection from the elements and animals. It had never been this late in the year. The thoughts nag at the back of your head. Maybe it is a feeling of politeness towards a fellow hiker, or maybe it's just the want to not have the local police up on the mountain tomorrow over a dead body, but you stop in your tracks.

Fuck it.

“Hey, um, it’s pretty late.” You call out, turning around to the man.

“Hah?!” He pauses, turning his head just enough to look at you out of the corner of his eye. A shiver runs down your back.

“I’m just saying that you should probably begin to head down. The mountain gets much more dangerous after sunset. Oh!” You reach around to your backpack, hand rummaging around until you grasp a familiar can. “Especially the bears. They’ll start hibernating soon so they’re more aggressive than normal.” No response. Okay.  Maybe a peace offering. “I don't see any bear spray on you. You can take mine, I have extra.”

You give a polite smile and hold it out with your hand, prepared to throw it up to him if necessary. For a moment he just stares at you, eyebrows furrowed. Then he turns away with a small grunt, continuing his walk up the mountain. Your smile falls as your mouth opens in shock. Is he just...going to leave you standing here holding out the bear spray like a damned fool? Without saying anything?!

You watch him walk away, hand clutching harder at the can as your anger rises. Eventually, you lower your hand, shoving the spray roughly back in your pack. You grumble angrily to yourself and turn around, stomping harsher than normal down the path.

Okay, so he’s an asshole then.

Still, completely rude or not, you can’t help but be a bit worried. You make good time down to the bottom of the mountain and trek your way through the forest to the street you parked your car on. The sun has completely set by the time you turn on your engine and drive away.

Well, you tried to warn him. If something happens, it’s not your fault. Right? Right.

With a groan, you pop a rock CD into your stereo and turn it on full blast. Anything to distract you from that nagging feeling in your gut. Makkari isn’t too far from the mountain, so that feeling hasn’t completely gone away by the time you pull into your childhood home. Your dad though, sitting on the front step reading a book, does the job. You smile and turn off the engine.

The rest of the night goes by quickly, as both of you have a lot to say to each other. Dinner is a relatively calm affair, and you take a bath before heading to bed. The bed is much smaller and harder than the nice one you splurged on in your apartment, but being in it brings a sense of nostalgia and comfort that only a childhood bedroom can have. Dad hasn’t changed a thing since you left.

You sit on the bed, pulling your hair into a comfortable do for sleep, when your eyes catch the outline of the mountain in the distance from your window. You sigh, sending a quick wish that he made it alright, before sliding under the covers and passing out.

You wake up to sounds from downstairs. For a brief moment, you are confused, as you have been blessed with an apartment with thicker walls than normal, but then you remember. You stretch in bed and smile. It has been a while since you have had the opportunity to sleep in. Why do people rarely get in trouble during normal business hours?

Finally forcing yourself out of bed, you wander to the bathroom before heading downstairs in your pajamas. The smell of breakfast is already making your stomach growl.

“Get dressed.” His voice echoes through the house.

“But- how- you’re not even looking!” You protest, feet pausing on the stairs. “How do you even know?!”

“I always know.”

Ugh. “Such a Dad answer.” You grumble, turning to head back upstairs. You’re a grown adult, if you want to wear pajamas to breakfast you will. Not that you would say that to him though. Nope. Not going to die on that hill today.

You put a little more effort into your appearance this time, dressing and putting your hair into a casual do before heading back downstairs. Dad, already fully dressed, gives you a look but says nothing. You stick out your tongue at his back, feeling like a teenager again. You sit down at your usual chair as he begins to set the table.

The breakfast you ate regularly as a kid but haven’t been really able to replicate successfully since moving out gets placed down in front of you. You wait for Dad to be sitting down too before grabbing pieces for yourself. For a brief, glorious moment, you are both silent.

“So, have you met anyone?”

And it's over. You swallow your food, looking carefully away.  “I meet lots of people. It’s a big city.”

You can practically feel his eyes stare into you. “You know what I mean.”

With a breath, you put down your utensils. “Dad, we go over this every time we talk. No, I’m not seeing anyone. Can we stop discussing this now?

“Is it because of-”

“No! It isn’t because of him.” You interrupt, looking him straight in the eye.“Why does it matter? I can be happy on my own.”

“I just...want you to be taken care of and protected.” Dad finally looks away. “I need you to be safe.”

“Dad, I don’t need someone to protect me.” You sigh. “I can protect myself, you know? I’m a big girl.”

You watch his reaction, but he doesn’t say anything. His eyes flicker over behind your head, to the picture on the wall you know he is staring at. It tugs at your heart. “Move back to Makkari?” His voice is quieter now.

It’s an argument you’ve had countless times before over the phone. When you first moved to Sapporo he asked you almost every day. Luckily, it isn’t that bad anymore, but you can still rely on a call anytime a villain is even close to Hokkaido.

“No.” You shake your head, catching his eyes as he looks back. “I have my job, my friends, and my life in Sapporo. I love you Dad, but I can’t live here.”

“You could be happy here.” He insists. “There are no villain attacks. No heroes.” His eyes flicker back over your shoulder. “You can be safe.”

“Nobody is safe anywhere Dad.” You sit back, frustration draining. “We could die any day. I don’t want to live my life in fear. That is not a life.” The flinch in his shoulders makes a bit of guilt dig into your stomach. It was a low blow, but you were not going to let this escalate. Not this time. Not here.

You finish your breakfast in silence, both in thought. While he gets the sink ready to wash, you gather up the dishes. It almost feels like you never left. You grab the drying cloth and get ready to help dry. While waiting, you glance out the window. The mountain looms ahead, big and beautiful as normal. You can’t wait to get another crack at it. Not today, probably, but soon.

Wait. The mountain.

“Oh.” You turn to your Dad. “Is there anyone new in the village?”

“A resident?”

“I don’t know.” You shrug. “Anyone, really.”

Dad hums in thought for a moment before passing you a plate. “I believe Tanaka said he saw a guest at Fuccanchi. Why?”

“I saw someone on the mountain yesterday.” You explain, leaving out the part of you actually climbing up alone. “It was late, so I stopped the car and tried to warn him not to be out late. He still went in. I’m a bit worried.”

“It is late in the season to be going up the mountain.” Dad mused. “We can ask Tanaka when we’re in the village.” He hands you another plate. You grab it and begin drying.

“Okay.”  

---

NOTE: I will be posting these on tumblr approximately a week after the chapters are posted on Ao3 (we are currently at chapter 7, so I will be quicker with these ones). When caught up, Ao3 will be approximately one chapter ahead. 

[lady-z-writes]

What Lies Beneath - Chapter 1 (Heisenberg x Reader) (Heisenberg x OC)

Posting this here too! Feel free to subscribe on AO3.

Chapter 1 is up of my new Heisenberg/reader (Heisenberg/OC) story.

Summary: A trip to a neighboring village introduces Heisenberg to Reader – a Cadou experiment that didn’t quite meet Miranda’s standards. Reader was told to stay away from the Lords – as her powers will only make them weaker – but there’s something alluring about this rugged man, especially when he’s between her thighs.

Boot stomps sound through the halls of the church, their echoes drown out by the yelling in the lobby. Heisenberg lights a cigar as he shoves through the doors, returning to the brisk winter air.

“Fuckin’ idiots,” he mutters, stomping through the snow.

Every ‘family’ meeting is rough, each one getting harder to hide his disdain for his ‘mother.’ But today…especially today, given the timing of things.

Heisenberg doesn’t remember much about his childhood before Miranda, but he remembers that trip his dad took him on – it was around this time of year. It was a time when his dad could break away from the factory, trek through the mountains until they hit a nearby village where they spent some time fishing. That’s all he remembers…some big snowstorm, a collapsing snowdrift almost taking them out, and fishing. Other than that, it’s all blank.

Days like this make it impossible to get passed that resentment he feels toward Miranda. Snowy weather leaves him wondering just how many fishing trips his dad planned to take him on before he was killed, before his son was experimented on, before the whole village went to shit thanks to that bitch.

The cold air and the cigar should make his lungs ache, but he’s so used to it by now. Coat billowing around him, he makes a rash decision and takes a right toward the southernmost mountains.

It isn’t often that he can sneak away from the ‘family’ without anyone knowing. He’d only been away for a while once and thankfully Moreau covered for him when they questioned his absence. If Moreau actually thought he was with him is another question entirely.

The one trip he took led him to the wrong place – no village in sight and by the time he arrived back, it was too late to try another path before the questioning began from his ‘family.’

'Where were you?’

'Why did you miss a meeting?’

'Mother is pissed.’

'Did you get lost in that factory?’

This time around, he had a better plan: got ahold of some old maps left behind in the village, plotted out his path and where his assumption was for the other village, waited until the opportune moment to leave town for a bit. And the opportune moment was directly after a meeting.

He didn’t know exactly what he wanted when he found it. Surely there’s no father to go fishing with so what’s the point?

The point is that he shouldn’t be confined to this stupid village, shouldn’t be one of Miranda’s toys, should be finite and human – not a monster. The point is that he’s chasing something and that probably says a lot about him and needs unburied, but now is not the time for self-counseling.

The climb through the mountains is exhausting, even for him, but he keeps pushing through just in case he ends up empty again, in case the village doesn’t exist in this area either.

The journey makes him start to doubt again, like he’s done so many nights before: maybe this isn’t his memory, but something else entirely. Maybe this was just a story he was told as a child; one that his young imagination ran wild with. Maybe…

A few hours into the journey, several cigars later, frozen limbs, and a sopping wet jacket, and he spots it: several rooftops through the clearing. He lets out a huff then a laugh as his feet carry him forward.

So, it did exist…this whole time…

Thought leaves him as soon as he hears a growl in the distance. Hammer at the ready, he doesn’t even have time to attack when he’s knocked off his feet by something he can only describe as Lycan-adjacent.

The antlers are what get him – stab at his neck before he swings his hammer to knock it off. And then he’s running – dodging trees because, oh fuck, that thing got right back up.

The village comes into view quickly after a few more run-ins with this antler-beast. It charges him again only for him to dodge, grab it by the antlers, and snap them like a wishbone. Blood pools as he slowly backs away, watching the dying thing twitch in the snow.

Sauntering on, he swings his hammer back over his shoulder, touches his throat wound with a ‘huh’ leaving his lips.

Odd.

An abandoned house sits near where he remembers fishing with his father, but he can’t remember what this used to be. Everything seen with fresh eyes, it seems like a lifetime ago – feels more like a dream than reality.

He continues on.

“You’re a fresh face,” comes a voice, almost startling him. Almost.

Spinning on his heels, he shifts his hammer, scans around. A thin womanly figure floats down from out of a tree. She’s cloaked in moss and tree bark, her features soft and almost kind. Heisenberg doesn’t lower his hammer.

“Such a bad day for traveling,” though she doesn’t seem to be affected by the cold, Heisenberg sniffles at her. “What are you doing out here, stranger?”

“Just out for a stroll,” he drawls. “Passing through.”

She steps closer and he steps back, aware that there’s nowhere to board up except the abandoned house. The tree woman extends her palms forward in an almost-innocence.

“Let me take you somewhere nice,” she motions behind her, as if that tree is ‘somewhere nice.’ Heisenberg doesn’t want to find out what she means. “Handsome guy like you…I could indulge in.”

He’s about to swing his hammer when he goes toppling to the ground again, the Earth feeling like it’s shifting beneath him – a dizzying in his head as he fights off another one of those antler-creatures.

Shifting his hand, he can feel the metal from objects inside the abandoned house. With a blink, they go flying through the air to impale the beast atop him. Growling sounds louder, foot stomps, and then a puncture to his neck. It’s not an antler this time, doesn’t feel as thick or grating, and when he looks out of the corner of his eye it’s the tree-lady crouched over him with a needle poking from her wrist into his neck.

Shoving her off then rising to his feet, he collects himself, pulls the metal scraps to float around him, but falters in a dizzy spell.

The tree woman laughs. “Much mightier than I thought. And powers, too!”

Blinking hard, Heisenberg sways on his feet, slamming his hammer down to catch himself. Breaths coming out ragged, he lowers his head to his hands.

This can’t be happening.

Shoving the metal forward as best he can, he realizes that he’s missed: the woman is beside him now.

“Aw, poor man,” she’s seductive suddenly, reaching for him, touching his arm. She seems to ignore the horned beasts surrounding them – or, rather, they ignore her. “Don’t you want to come and warm up?”

He wants to shove her off, but his body isn’t functioning properly. He feels like he’s stuck in a trance. Fingers twitching to shift the metal around them, he manages to kill one of the beasts before she grips his jacket and pulls him closer.

“You bitch,” he huffs, feeling her body pressed against him, his own reacting to their proximity.

She laughs. “Don’t fight it, sugar. You could use a nice release, couldn’t you? So pent up.”

Her lips are pressing to his and it’s almost as if he’s completely lost control. Her taste is exquisite, enticing, he can’t get enough. The hammer falls to the snow as he kisses her back, hand trailing behind her, pulling her into him harshly. A low moan leaves him but it sounds far away. Feeling is leaving his fingers – from the cold or something else, he isn’t sure. All he knows is he needs this.

“Serena, stop!” comes a yell from behind them and it feels like a slap to the face.

The beasts are no longer tame, but they growl in place.

Heisenberg is shoved back as another woman steps in between him and this tree woman Serena. His hands are grabbing for her though – contact, he needs contact – but they fall short and land on this new woman. He can’t seem to stop himself.

“Leave us alone, [Y/N]! This has nothing to do with you,” the tree woman Serena says.

[Y/N]? Heisenberg isn’t familiar…

Breaths are coming out in deep huffs like he’s been running. His head is foggy, trance-like still.

“Do you have any idea who this is?” [Y/N] asks, a small squeak leaving her as he loops his fingers up under her shirt, traces his calloused hands over her belly, inching up toward her breasts, dips his head to the crook of her neck.

“No, but my pheromones seem to work well on him. I was so close to total control.”

He’s sort of aware of this comment from the plant lady – enough that he pulls back from [Y/N] completely.

[Y/N] turns to him then, presses her hands to his shoulders. “Snap out of it,” she urges, “focus.”

Heisenberg finds himself staring into her eyes, focusing on the surroundings, has so many damn questions right now, but the scene before him keeps spinning.

Serena takes a swing at [Y/N] but she dodges, ducks under her blast of whatever-the-fuck-petals-those-are, and delivers a strong punch to her face. As the girls fight, Heisenberg blinks heavily and tries to shake this trance off.

Wide eyes stare into the snow as he’s a little embarrassed by the pants tent he’s currently sporting. Jesus. Fuck.

Anger pounds through him, his hand quickly snapping for his hammer…only it doesn’t work. A nervous gaze is shot to the women but he realizes that the tree lady isn’t using her powers either. He has a sinking feeling as he tries to force the metal pieces to float again.

Hoisting his hammer up the old-fashioned way, he realizes its weight.

“Duck,” he tells [Y/N], shoving her out of the way before delivering a blow to this tree lady, knocking her out.

[Y/N] stands back then, sees the anger flash in Heisenberg’s eyes. The antlered beasts still growl in place.

“Talk,” he snaps. “Now.”

“Your teeth are chattering,” she acknowledges. “Can’t we at least-”

“I said talk,” he slams the hammer down in the snow.

A nod. “Serena,” she nods over to the moss-covered lady on the ground. “She’s…we’re all…” she shakes her head then finishes with, “-like you.”

He can feel his shaking now, attributes it to this news when it could full-well be from the cold.

“Cadou?” he asks to which she nods. “Fuck.” He runs a hand down his face then shoves his hands in his pockets to keep them warm and to hide the half-chub he’s still got. “Where the Hell did my powers go?”

She looks sheepish. “I have everything to do with that.” At this, he reaches for his hammer again. “I-I didn’t take them or something, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He doesn’t look convinced. She sighs. “Here.” She steps backwards about 15 feet. “Try now.”

Begrudgingly, he removes his fists from his pockets and his hammer flies into his hand instantly. With a blink, he watches the metal pieces float up around him then rain back down into the snow.

Ah. So she can block power…

He remains silent which clearly makes her a little uneasy so she starts speaking again.

“Serena is a Dryad,” she announces as if he’s supposed to know what the fuck that is. “She has power over plants. You got to experience her pheromones…” she looks him over, eyes landing on his half-chub before she inhales and looks elsewhere.

“And what do they call you?” he steps closer.

“They don’t have a term for me. I…wasn’t given enough time…” she looks away, steps until her back is to the abandoned house.

He’s close, peering down at her. “And what are they,” he thumbs behind him.

“Wendigo,” she breathes out. He doesn’t reply. “She feeds them…” Heisenberg nods, grabs a cigar from his pocket, lights it, turns to walk away. “Where are you going?”

When he’s far enough away from the power cockblock, he pulls his hammer to him again, slicing up the Wendigos with his metal until there’s a heap of bodies around his feet. That should stop them from following.

[Y/N] tries to not let her surprise and approval show in her expression as she watches him, but he sees a small quirk of her eyebrow. Exhaling smoke, he takes another drag then starts coughing from the cold air.

“Powers or not, this weather isn’t good for you,” [Y/N] sighs.

“What, are you the ruler here? Kicking me out so soon?” he swings his hammer over his shoulder.

“We have no ruler, just…a monitor,” she shakes her head, turns, stops herself from saying more. “What is your business here, Lord Heisenberg?”

“Ah, so you do know me. Different village, yet word travels, hm?”

“You…don’t know of this place, do you?” at her question, he bites down the memories of his father. “Come, we have much to discuss.” As she begins walking, she doesn’t hear his footsteps following behind. She turns, tries another angle, “Or I could get Serena back up and she could show you more of her powers. Trust me, you don’t want her spores getting…other places. You’d have greater concerns than an awkward boner.”

Heisenberg can feel his cheeks heating up.

“Mouthy little bitch, aren’t you?”

She holds her hands up in innocence. “Just looking out for a mighty ruler.” She laughs. “Shall I start a fire or would you rather freeze your ass off out here? Maybe you need a minute to cool off – like a cold shower.”

He can’t help the laugh that comes from his throat at her quips.

“Spunky. I like you.”

[Y/N] inhales sharply, surprised and flattered.

And so begins their silent walk – Heisenberg trailing further behind just in case his powers are needed. The village is bigger than he remembers, though he doesn’t remember much.

[Y/N] picks up the wood she’d left outside of her door right before Heisenberg’s run-in with Serena and the Wendigo. If her fire hadn’t died, she wouldn’t have seen the pack of Wendigo charging down the hill at them. Any slower and Serena may have gotten her claws into him to use at her command.

Sometimes these powers come in handy, despite what Mother Miranda may think.

[blu-joons]

Welcoming The Family ~ Lee Felix

“See, perfect,” you hummed as Felix walked into the living room, propping the tree up as best as he could against the fireplace. His expression failed to match yours, you could see perfectly how exhausted he was as he brushed the pine from his hands.

“I perform on stage for hours but getting that through the front door was harder than anything I’ve done before,” he groaned, sitting down on the arm of the sofa.

As he did so, you pulled several boxes from around the sofa, whilst he went to pick up the tree, you went on a trek around your home to find all its decorations.

Felix’s exhaustion was heard as he let go of yet another groan, spotting just how many decorations the two of you had somehow managed to accumulate over the years together.

“Don’t even think about getting yourself comfortable, we need to finish this off before your parents arrive tomorrow,” you scolded, passing him one of the boxes to rip the tape off of and open.

The effort it took just for him to lift his arm was huge as he opened up the box, peering in he spotted all the decorations his parents had sent over for your first Christmas together, each one was still in a pristine condition.

“If we don’t put these ones up, I promise mum will never speak to us again.”

You nodded, placing the box down in your keep pile, whilst you discarded a box of much less appealing ones to send off to the charity shop. In a few minutes, the two of you had managed to sort through every box of what you wanted to keep.

“You know, I’m sure even if we closed our eyes just for a few minutes we’d still get this done today,” Felix whined from beside you, staring hopefully into your eyes.

Your head shook, grabbing his hand and pulling him down from the sofa to continue giving you a hand. “It was your idea to invite your parents, and your idea to leave everything until the last minute, so you’re helping.”

His eyes rolled, feeling the weight of a box crash into his lap. “It’s not my fault I was busy with work and couldn’t get things done, this isn’t fair.”

Whilst he was right, the last minute raid for decorations had been because of how busy he’d been at the studio, it was too late for now for you to get everything done by yourself, and just like Felix, you wanted to make sure everything was perfect for his family.

Felix began to untangle all the knots in the ribbons of the decorations while you started hanging them around the tree, keeping a keen eye on all the colours so there was no mixes or too much in one space.

Felix had always admired your eye for detail, your house was always decorated so perfectly for Christmas, everyone would always compliment what a good job you’d done.

“Are you excited to see everyone?” You absentmindedly asked him as you hung a bauble, glancing down at his face of concentration.

His head nodded immediately, it had felt like forever since he last got to see his family, and even longer since he got a Christmas with them too. As tired as he was, he kept reminding himself that all of this was for his parents who were on their way.

“I can’t wait to give them all a massive hug,” he smiled, pausing for a moment. “I just have such a good feeling about the next few days being together.”

After all the decorations had been placed, you stared down at the knot of lights that you’d also found. Felix was quick to grab it and start untangling it, knowing how stressed these things made you.

“I keep thinking if there’s anything that we’ve missed or that your parents would like,” you told him, adjusting a few of the little bits you’d found around the tree.

His head shook, his family didn’t expect anything from the two of you, they were just thankful that you’d invited them to be with you both and giving them the time to spend with Felix. Anything past that was just a bonus to all of them.

“Nothing is forgotten, trust me, they’ll love what we’ve done with the place,” he assured you, passing you the fixed end of the lights.

“I just want to be sure,” you mused, feeling his arms wrap around your waist as he dropped the lights, scattering several reassuring kisses along your jaw and to your cheeks.

He knew that you felt the pressure to do the perfect job, he was anxious too, but it was Christmas, there was no way his parents couldn’t arrive at your place with a smile.

Once all the lights were untangled the two of you worked together to wrap them around the tree, dodging each of the baubles you had meticulously placed on each branch of the tree.

“Now all we need is a topper,” Felix spoke, reaching into one of the boxes and pulling out the traditional one you used everywhere, “I’ll let you do the honours as most of this is your hard work.”

You took the ornament before stretching up on your tiptoes to place it to the top of the tree. The both of you sighed in relief as finally the job was done, one less thing for the two of you to worry about before his family arrived tomorrow.

“Looks good,” Felix hummed as you both took a step back, “I don’t think I’ll want to take this down at the end of Christmas.”

“It’s bad luck if you don’t,” you reminded him, feeling his arm wrap around your waist, “maybe we just take a photo instead so we can remember what to do next year?”

It was a huge relief for you to get the tree done, you still had a mountain of things that you wanted to sort out, but Felix was right beside you to get it done, even if was absolutely knackered from fetching the tree in the first place.

“You know, I actually bought something else to go on the tree this year,” he whispered to you.

“Yeah? Go on then, show me what it is.” He didn’t move away from you, but stuck his hand into his pocket, rummaging around for what he was looking for. You could hear the money and keys in his pocket too clattering around as he felt around for it.

“We can’t have my family here without a little something for them.”

Your eyes lit up as you watched him pull out a small kangaroo attached to a piece of string with a Santa had sewn to the top of its head. It was exactly what you tree needed as Felix hung it on a small space that he could find that needed filling.

As soon as he saw it in the store a few days ago he knew it would be the perfect addition to your tree, and your parents would love it. You reached across and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, watching as he dimples appeared.

“That’s super cute.”

A light blush appeared on his cheeks, he wasn’t always into grand gestures or anything like that, but when he was, he always managed to take you by surprise in the best possible way.

“The tree’s perfect now,” he remarked, nudging against your side, “I just can’t wait for them all to get here now and really start celebrating Christmas.”

“Less than twenty-four hours left, it’ll fly by.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, I feel like a kid all over again having my family back with me,” he honestly told you, resting his head above yours. “But now I’m the grown up one who’s hosting Christmas.”

You chuckled lightly, resting your hand against his chest, “I bet they’re just as excited to be here, and enjoy Christmas without any responsibilities.”

“I’m sure mum will still get involved.”

You knew exactly what Felix’s mum was like, and he was probably spot on. “I’ll probably be thankful for the help; you’ll be too busy entertaining guests to give me a helping hand anyway.”

“Well someone has to make sure that everyone’s drinks are always topped up.”

Your eyes rolled at his comment, but it was that, that so often made you both such a great team. You were always in sync with each other, whilst he did one thing, you did the other, and in that case, everything would work out perfectly. The next week would be no different as you coped with having all his family round.

“It’ll all be alright, you don’t need to worry,” he assured you, feeling your body tense up. “Nothing can go wrong, I promise.”

“I know, I’ll feel better when they’re all here,” you assured him.

“Less than twenty-four hours and they’ll all be here.”

“I know, I’m so excited!”

---

Masterlist

[sooghostwriter]

Only on the weekends

Member/Pairing: Do Kyung Soo x OC (Nameless) Genre/Type: Mature, Romance, AU. Warnings: None yet. Word count: 9, 668

Notes: This story takes please wherever you want. You will see why it would be weird to centered it in Korea.

Also, kindly reminder that this is not Instagram. 

Summary: She is saved by a caring man from a little mishappening in the middle of the forest. A small act of kindness turns into seasons of laughs, food, fun, care, love and sex.

Chapter 1

- Summer -

Someone recommended her to go hiking. They said it would fun, that she would get in touch with nature and that when you reach the top, you get this immense feeling of accomplishment. Sounded really good. And she enjoyed going to the gym and running, and this was like that but in a mountain. A friend told her once that it was as good as sex. Clearly, she was wrong, because there was no comparison. One was clearly better than the other.

But a gym is a gym, and nature is nature. All those spinning classes were nothing compared with a steep mountain. There was a coordination she didn't possess, and it was something necessary for this environment. The path was unpredictable, and she wasn't quick enough to adapt to it. She was now last in line and the guide wasn't the best dude out there, hardly checking in with any of the hikers. The clean air made her nostrils cold, breathing was hurting her nose a little bit. The path was a bit scary too. It was very narrow and although the slope wasn’t very high, it was still a little bit terrifying. She was sure she was far away from dying, but it would still hurt. All the negativity of focusing on how bad the situation was, ended up screwing her one on one experience with mother nature. She could barely see the back of the hiker in front of her, and the path was quite slippery due to the last rain. After a short break, she took one step with her right leg, stepping in a small piece of wood. A cylindric piece of wood that suddenly decided to act like a roller skate. She tried to hold herself with the trekking pole, but she didn’t have the skill to do so. The pole reached for thin air as her right leg slid down the slope. Her left leg followed suit, and as if she was in a water park, her body slid down the slope. There was no three to stop her fall, only grass and tiny rocks that hurt her elbows and hands. She shouted for help, hoping that her group could hear her, and kept trying to hold onto something, but it was useless. The fall was short, but hurtful, to her body and her ego. She checked her body, especially her arms and legs, and although there was some pain, her bones were intact. The fabric of her pants had survived also, so the skin of her legs was fine. Her arms were another story. Since it was summer, she went for a t-shirt, so her elbows got the worst part. She stood very carefully and not without some difficulty. Her body still wobbly from the fall. Going back to the path was impossible, it was a pretty decent slope and pretty slippery from the rain. The only option was to walk down the slope, just a few steps, she tried to convince herself. She could see another pathway there. Not the one they used, but a track, nonetheless. She was in pain, but bearable. She held to the pole and stuck it in the loose soil, hoping that it would help her. And it did for the first 10 steps. She was very close to reach the path when, this time, her left foot slid to the front, taking her to the floor. This was the second time the land turned into a slide, and she was the five-year-old screaming on her way down. This time the landing wasn’t very bad. She didn’t fight the fall this time, keeping her arms up and just letting it happen. Her elbows didn’t need more exfoliating for the day. She was now seated in the damp floor, muddy legs and scratched elbows. Two deep breaths helped her keep the frustrated crying inside. She could cry later, now she needed to find her way back to the group. She checked her phone. No signal and almost no battery. So now she had a very expensive brick in her hands. It was hard to keep it cool when you were pretty much lost in the mountains. Doing 100 squats a day did not help her find which way was north and south, or how to find water “Is everything alright?” The sound of a male voice in the middle of the forest just added to this terrible experience “You need help?” She turned around slowly, jolting at the sight of a horse, far away, but still a horse. The person riding the horse jumped down swiftly and walked to her, slowly. He was a bit taller than her. She could see some pecks through his white shirt, he was buffed, but not like a gorilla. Strong tan arms peeked out from short sleeves, the muscles flexing as he reached up to take his hat off. She felt herself relax once she was able to see him better. He looked worried, not as shocked as she was, but still, a little bit taken aback by her sudden apparition “Are you hurt?” He insisted “I’m ok, I just scratched my hands and elbows” She pouted, showing him her arms. He tried to hide his smile, but she saw it anyway “How did you end up here?” “I was with a group, hiking, but apparently my body was not ready for the wilderness, and I was left behind, the guide is clearly a scam” “Is it the guy from the tourist office next to the city hall?” She nodded “Yeah, that guy is a joke…let me help you” Is not like she could choose either. She could walk, but as soon as she presented that option, the guy shook his head, still worried “Is a long way until you can find cell phone signal, and also, it’s monsoon season, the forest is thick and cold, someone who’s not familiar can't walk around here” “And you are familiar with it?” “I live on the border of this forest, is pretty much my backyard” She knew there was a risk in trusting a stranger, but it was also a risk to go alone. He was her only option. And the more she spoke with him, the more she trusted him. Call it instinct.   “What's your name?” She asked, sealing the deal “Do Kyung Soo” She repeated his name for herself, and notice how it fit him. The name started hard and ended softly just like him, just like his features. He asked for her name, and once the formal introductions were made, he faced his horse “It could take you 40 minutes to reach the main road by feet, I offer you a ride” “Can we ride it together?” He patted the horse’s neck thoughtfully “Is not recommended, but for a short period of time it’s ok, we need to share the saddle otherwise it could hurt him” He told her about his horse personality traits “What do you mean he is not very social?” She asked. Apparently, his horse was a kicker, and only his previous owner was able to ride him, besides him “Try to approach him slowly, and wait until he touches your hand with his nose” She looked at him with distrust. He didn’t look quite confident either “What’s his name?” “Chanyeol” That was a special name for a horse. Now that she knew his name, she felt more confident approaching him. She did as Kyung Soo instructed, smiling when Chanyeol didn’t move his snout away. She scratched his long nose and he moved his ears in contentment. Kyung Soo gasped in surprise “It’s that good?” “Yes! Come here, you can get on now” She stood between Kyung Soo and Chanyeol “First you have to put your left foot here,” He said pointing at the stapes “Hold on to the saddle, take one bounce and pass your right leg over the horse and sit down gently” She tried it once since it sounded pretty easy. But the angle of her leg didn’t allow her to jump correctly. The first attempt was a complete fail “I’m going to help you, I’m going to push you from your thigh, just above the knee, is that ok?” “Sure, thanks for asking” She arranged her position, focusing on using her core strength to help her up. This time the leap was probably worst than before, it was really Kyung Soo’s push that did all the work. His hand felt strong and rough against her leg. A very nice feeling, not invasive, but very present. Chanyeol barely reacted to her, he kept chewing the grass “I’m going to go up now, I’m going to sit behind you, sorry but it’s going to be a bit close” He said, looking at the floor “How close?” “Like in a motorcycle, right behind you” That wasn’t very bad. She’s ridden like that before. She sat very close to the front of the saddle to give Kyung Soo a little more space. It didn’t surprise her how smoothly he got on. He wasn’t kidding when he said that they would be sitting very close. She could feel his hard, warm chest against her back. She could feel everything against her back “Why I’m at the front? I don’t know how to drive this…him…it?” He chuckled behind her as he reached for the rains, pressing his chest against her back even harder “It’s him, and don’t worry, I will drive it, I’m just sitting behind you because it’s safer, if you sit in the back and lose your balance and fall, you could bring me down with you” “It’s ok, you don’t have to give me so many explanations” She commented looking over her shoulder at him with a small smile. He didn’t answer, only grinned and shook the rains. Chanyeol took a couple of steps and after Kyung Soo made some kisses noises, the horse began to gallop. Kyung Soo was right when he said that the forest wasn’t for everybody. The threes got taller and the bushes covered the road in some parts. She was now used to the movement of the horse, it wasn’t very scary, probably because Kyung Soo gave her a strong sense of safety “Are you ok?” He asked for the third time in 15 minutes “Yes I’m ok” “How are your scratches? You need to clean them as soon as we arrive at my place” She was so focused on not falling down the horse and in Kyung Soo’s presence that she had forgotten about her wounded hands and dirty clothes “Check your phone, you may have signal now” She did, so she made a quick call to the tourist office to let them know she was alright. They could later inform the incompetent guide at some point. They must have some kind of radio communication. She made sure to show her opinion about the so-called guide. Polite but hard. She couldn’t keep herself under control, so when she hung up she cursed at the phone. Kyung Soo chuckled behind her “What a gutter mouth” He whispered, too close to her ear “Yes, I am very bad” She answered, out of reflex, not trying to sound like anything. Her phone chimed in her hands, telling her that there was only 5% battery life left “Can I charge my phone at your place?” “Sure, what are your plans by the way? Did you come here by car?” Her car was parked at the town’s main square. A van drove her group there and was waiting on the other side of the mountain.“I would drive you to the town, but my car is at the mechanic, I can ask a friend that has a tow to bring your car” “I’m so sorry to bother you, but that would be very helpful” “Don’t worry, we will be there in about 10 minutes” A sudden chuckle escaped his lips. She asked him what was entertaining him “I’m sorry…I just remembered when I saw you fall down the slope” He said, holding his laughter “You saw me?!” She turned around, her face almost colliding with his “I did, I heard some grunts and yells in the distance, and then I saw you, I was shocked at first, a bit scared, you know, this forest is a big one, and we were very deep into it” Again his laugh ringed harmoniously in her ear. She didn’t quite understand what he meant so she asked him for more details “There are a lot of stories about creatures that live here, for a moment, a very short moment, I thought you were a Hulder” “Who’s that?” He moved slightly uncomfortable, clearing his throat a couple of times “I will leave the research to you I don't feel comfortable answering you” “What? Is something bad?” “I wouldn’t say bad, but…you will see” She smirked, amused by the mystery and his deep voice on her ear “You are making me curious, I like that…but have you ever seen something in the forest? Something weird?” He arranged his arms tighter around her, humming before answering “Of course not, those are just legends to keep people away from the danger of the forest, sure you are not going to find a werewolf, but a wild boar can cause the same damage, also, slopes” “Slippery slopes” She corrected him “But how do you know that I’m not a Hulder? Maybe I am one, and I’m going to do whatever a Hulder does” “They have long tails hidden under their long skirts, I don’t think you have one” She had absolutely no bad intentions when she moved her hips unconsciously, rubbing herself against him. Kyung Soo grunted softly but made no comments. At least, he was now sure that she had no tail “What were you doing in the dangerous forest then?” “Picking some wood for something I want to do" Chanyeol’s steps were slower now, the sway of his walk softer. The forest ahead was less dense. The trees were shorter, most of them with fruits on them, and the path they were walking on was covered in small rocks “We are here, that over there is my house” He pointed at a wood house in the distance, past a field of grass were a couple of cows, cheeps and a bunch of chickens were idling around. The silence of the field made her notice the clean sounds of their surroundings. Instead of cars, planes and chatter, there was wind, a distant chicken announcing her job done and the murmur of the river “Is there a river close by?” She asked, looking around them in excitement, she loved water. He pointed at his house again “On the other side of my house, during the summer is calmer, some parts are deeper than others, but if you know how to swim, there shouldn’t be any trouble” Chanyeol stopped walking next to a couple of cows that were eating hay under the shadow of a tall tree “He is not allowed around the house, he’s already made a mess of my garden a few times” “Chanyeol, bad boy” She said patting the horse’s neck, getting a happy neigh in return “I can’t believe how welcoming he is with you, one time he almost bites my friend’s hand, and he sees him very often” “I'm not gonna lie, It feels great being liked by animals,” With a chuckle Kyung Soo jumped down from the horse, looking insanely manly in her eyes. She knew she had to do the same but had absolutely no idea how. Kyung Soo noticed her expression and quickly explained to her how she should go down the horse, and it sounded fairly simple, but suddenly, she felt as if she was too high up “Don’t worry, I will help you” He offered, probably sensing her fear “Ok, but careful... I'm heavy” He rolled his eyes and reached for her waist. She held to his shoulders and with a decisive jump she went down, trusting in Kyung Soo, again “You are kind of heavy, but I'm strong” He said, his face too close to hers. His voice had gotten a little lower and almost sultry. She couldn’t speak even if she tried to say something back to him. He let go over her waist, taking her own hands from his shoulders was harder than she thought. His shoulders were wide, slightly damp, and hot thanks to the sun that fell on his back. The same sun that tanned his skin so beautifully. He looked at her entertained, his left eyebrow slightly raised. She let go of him as if burned “What now?” She asked, looking around distracting herself, still feeling his hands on her waist “Let’s go inside so I can call my friend with the tow and maybe eat something” “Yes please, I am starving” Kyung Soo’s house was small but very cozy. Minimal furniture, a couple of pictures hanging on the walls, very warm and clean. There was a delicious smell lingering in the air. Apparently, Kyung Soo was a cooker “I’m going to warm some food for us, and you should go clean those scratches” He showed her where the bathroom was and gave her the first aid kit. The scratches weren’t that bad. They stung like hell when she cleaned them, but that was the alcohol fighting the forest bacteria.   When she came back to the kitchen, Kyung Soo was serving two plates of food, humming along with some melody “I have good news and bad news” He told her as she sat at the table “Good news, my friend can bring your car, bad news, he isn’t going to be able to get here till 6” “Well that’s not really bad news. I mean not unless I’m bothering you, then I guess there’s a road I can follow back? Maybe find a ride?” “No more talk about walking, we are quite high in the mountain, you are going to have to walk at least an hour to reach the main road, I would recommend for you to enjoy your food, and wait here for the tow” There was no way she would say no to that. Not only because she didn’t feel like walking an hour, but also, because she felt like staying with him for a little while. Again, intuition. But she needed more than intuition no know him. So she began asking questions. Kyung Soo was the estate manager of a property in the vicinity. He managed over hundreds of acres, dozens of employees working a variety of jobs for it. He was one of those strange people that loved his job, and spoke about it with sparks in his eyes. Lucky guy. When she complimented his house, he looked very pleased. She quickly added how much she enjoyed the food, earning her a shy shake of his head looking down at his hands. Adorable. They were done with their lunch by two. Kyung Soo’s roasted chicken was incredible “I have to go and untie my dog, want to come?” He asked her after cleaning the table. She said yes, not that she had anything else to do “Is your dog like your horse? You know, picky with people” “No, but even if he was, you would have a good chance of him liking you, right?” He commented, raising an eyebrow. They went to the front of the house where his dog, Baekhyun, was waiting for him, wagging his tail. Baekhyun was a big German Sheperd with large pointy ears, fluffy hair, and big paws “Why do you keep him tied up?” “When I go to the forest I can’t take him with me, he goes nuts, if he smells a rabbit he runs behind the trail not thinking about anything, then Chanyeol gets nervous and it’s a mess, sorry buddy but that’s just how it is” He told him sweetly as he released him from the chain.  Baekhyun jumped on his owner, giving him some licks, and then looked in her direction locking eyes with her. Kyung Soo tried to stop him, but Baekhyun was already jumping on her.

Kyung Soo walked her around his small farm, showing her with proudness his small orchard and the coop he had just built for his chickens. He looked at her smiling widely when she made a big deal about how cool he was for being able to build a tiny house for his chickens “Well, I built a big one too” He said, pointing at his house “I didn’t do it all by myself, but I built my home” She was stunned with how incredibly sexy that was. Men didn’t build houses anymore “You are like a Bowerbird” She commented as a chicken begging pecking her shoelaces “Bowerbird? The ones that build houses to attract their mate?” “Yeah, that one” He looked up pensive as she tried to reach for the chicken that was playing with her shoe “Who am I trying to mate with?” It was too soon for her to know if he was joking or asking seriously. But she knew she wanted to keep joking because a good laugh is a good flirt “Maybe that Hulder you were talking about earlier” The chicken was gone, so she was able to focus her eyes on him now. He already had his eyes on her, and a playful grin on his lips. He didn’t say anything, only smiles. But when he winked at her, she knew he was hers.

After walking her around his farm, showing her his adorable animals, the tow arrived with her car. He invited his friend over but he excused himself saying he had to go back to work. She had to bit her tongue when his friend introduced himself as Chanyeol. And only when he was gone, she asked Kyung Soo the obvious “You named your horse after your friend?” “Yes, he hated it, so mission accomplished” “What about Baekhyun?” “Same, although this friend liked the fact that I called my dog after him, because Baekhyun was a gift from him” She commented on how sweet that was “I was trying to annoy him too, but it backfired, and he made it worst saying that now he feels like he is here to take care of me” “Kyung Soo, that’s adorable” He grunted and walked back inside his house with Baekhyun following his steps.

After eating a small snack, she prepared her things and got ready to leave. Kyung Soo followed her to her car like the gentleman she was sure he was “Thank you so much for your help Kung Soo, and thank you for entertaining me, I had a great time” He held the door car opened for her so she could get in “Well, you already know where I live and how to get here” “Are you inviting me back?” “The door is always open and help is always welcomed” He commented looking around his land “Then I will come next weekend, I'm not joking” “Me neither” She got inside her car, smiling at him, a bit disappointed that she had to leave “I’m really coming next week, I’m going to be here by lunch” She said looking up to see Kyung Soo with an amused grin looking down at her “Go ahead, should I prepare the guest room?” “Sure, if you don't want to share your bed” She groaned internally. That was a bit too much, she knew it. But Kyung Soo was laughing “What can I bring you?” She asked him over the sound of her car “Bring wine, I'm going to cook” She felt a little jump in her tummy “Sounds great! Goodbye Kyung Soo, have a good week”             “Goodbye Hulder” She was really digging that name, although she still needed to know what a Hulder was. On her way home, she had to stop at the gas station for gasoline and a bottle of water. As she waited in line to pay, she remembered her homework. Searching for what in the world was a Hulder. She clicked the first link she saw:

-  A Hulder is a seductive forest creature. Appearing frequently as a beautiful alluring female, with long, golden hair, Hulder lives in the mountain or the forest. A number of stories recount the experience of encounters with these beings, leaving deep traces in the human mind. Many legends talk about a lonely guy at the shieling, in the forest shanty or at coal mine, encountering the alluring and bewitching hulder. She may very well appear as the man's wife's or fiancé, if he has any, and often her visit leads to sexual encounters” She read that twice, just to be sure. “The Hulder lures men into the forest to have sex with her, rewarding those who satisfy her and often killing those who don't. If one decided to kidnap a human, they'd be used for sex. Those who had sex with the Hulder would often become mentally insane or die” 

She had to read that sentence twice too. She was glad Kyung Soo told her to search what a Hulder was, because it would have been mortifying to hear everything she had just read, from him. She appreciated the carefulness and was intrigued by the comparison. She was sure he wasn’t implying anything. The connection was almost too basic, the Hulder was a woman that lived in the forest, and she was a woman that got lost in the forest. And that was about it. But she was digging the idea of being called after a forest creature that fucked man to madness.

--

She spent the entire week wondering if she should go. Did Kyung Soo remember his invitation? Was he really inviting her or he was just being polite? Did she have any reason to go? The image of him winking at her flickered in her head, and she had her answer. She had a reason to go. She needed to see if that pull that she felt from him, that comfort, that intuition, was something, or just her hormones. Or could be both. But she needed to see. Also, his house was gorgeous, and she wanted to see his animals again, and that river that she only got to hear. She wanted that feeling again. Expectation, comfort, and easy fun. She was having a bit of trouble remembering Kyung Soo’s face to the detail, but she could remember his voice and how things felt around him. So that Saturday morning she got up early, went to the supermarket, and then took the highway and drove the hour and a half that separated her city from Kyung Soo’s town. But when living one’s life, there has to be a balance between craziness and protection. She could be her wild self, but she needed to protect her existence on some level. So before driving up the mountain to Kyung Soo’s house, she stopped at the town’s supermarket. She bought some candies for the snack bag in her car and a bottle of water. The girl behind the register great her happily, and after the formalities, she asked her “Can you help me? To get to the mountain, I have to go back and take the other road right?” “Yes, follow that road, and at the first entrance turn to your right, then is just one way up? You are going to one of the camping sites?” “No, I’m visiting my friend Kyung Soo” She answered, looking at the girl, so she could remember her face. But she was shocked when she saw some clear signs of discomfort on the cashier's face “Oh, yes I know him, you are going to the estate?” “No, to his house” She nodded, pulling a smile on her lips, back to her professional self “Have a good day then” She grabbed her bag and waved the girl goodbye. The exchange had been strange, but now someone knew where she was. So if Kyung Soo ended up being a psycho and she disappeared, they would be able to follow her trail. The safe thing to do was probably not go to the mountains, to the house of a man she barely knew. But where was the fun there?

The engine of her car took the drive up the mountain better than she expected. Of course, she was extremely careful so it wouldn’t overheat. Although the day was very hot, she kept the AC off and stopped a couple of times to let the engine cool off. She would probably need to change her car for a car that can take mountains. She shook her head, surprised with her line of thoughts. Why would she need a new car to drive to Kyung Soo’s house? Why would she keep visiting him? She hasn’t even spoken to him since that day. Because in a very dumb move from her side, she didn’t ask for his number. But he invited her, she told him when she was going to be there. There was nothing else to discuss.

The gates of his house were open, so she just drove inside, announcing her arrival by honking her horn. The first one to appear was Baekhyun, who dashed to her car barking but shaking his tale. Immediately after him, appeared Kyung Soo and she could swear she felt her crutch jump in excitement when she saw his new hairstyle. His head was completely shaved. If she didn’t control herself she was going to take him right there, on the hood of her car. But she was a responsible, mature adult who could control her primal needs. Kyung Soo reached her car, smiling widely and holding Baekhyun to his side. She took a couple of deep breaths and went out of her car “I was waiting for you” He said, taking a step closer “I’m a woman of my word” “I can see that” He held her stare for a little too long, steering things inside her, again “You look different” She commented, throwing herself a lifesaver. Kyung Soo lowered his eyes, as she expected, and rubbed his bald head looking shy “There was a heatwave this past week and my hair was annoying me, so I shaved it” He kept rubbing his head, as if he was bragging about the fact that he could do it, but not her “It looks damn great Kyung Soo” He chuckled, still looking embarrassed “Well, is not going to last a lot, my hair grows really fast” “Really? How so? My hair grows really, really slow” Kyung Soo didn’t answer her question. He only gave her a naughty grin, keeping his secret to himself.

Kyung Soo praised her for her wine choice. Since she didn’t know what they were eating, she played it safe and brought a bottle of white and red wine. The red `wine went great with the amazing Zucchini and tomato penne he prepared. All with vegetables from his orchard, he announced proudly. It was a light meal, but so full of flavor, that it was hard to keep down the amount of pleasure the first bite gave her. Lunch went on comfortably. Kyung Soo took a special interest in how she dealt with the guy from the tourist agency. When she told him how harsh were the words she used with him, Kyung Soo threw his head back, laughing loudly. She looked at him with a wide smile. She liked to make cute boys laugh, so of course, she enjoyed making him smile.

Only after lunch, things went out of control for her. Inside her. Upstairs and downstairs. Maybe it was the wine and the food and how her stomach was processing it, but she began feeling dizzy around him. Because since she arrived, she only paid attention to him. That tiny bit of sauce on the corner of his mouth, and the way he closed his lips around the fork. But those were innocent stares. Kyung Soo had the bright idea of finishing some work that he had to do in front of her. He needed to chop some wood for a small food project he had. He shared with her, very excitedly, about how rich, flavor-wise, was smoking a pig with certain woods. Her only knowledge about pigs was that if you want to eat one, you go to the supermarket. But Kyung Soo liked doing it the hard way. So now, he was chopping wood for this cooking project. It was a damn torture for her to watch him doing it, and not being able to touch him. The muscles of his arms and back showed proudly under his t-shirt. Not being able to clean the sweat from his forehead as he worked on his wood was incredibly frustrating. They were covered from the sun, but his skin still shined like gold. With a shaved head, his nape looked more appetizing. She laid back on her seat and crossed her legs, getting comfortable to enjoy his little show. She suspected he wasn't doing it on purpose, although she loved the idea of being courted by a young man as he chopped wood with a white t-shirt sticking to his skin. Or maybe he was doing it on porpoise, after all, she didn't know him well. She didn’t know if he was conscious of how attractive he was. But if he knew, there was no doubt he was an amazing seducer. She was appreciating how well his dark jeans framed his sturdy thighs when he called her name " Hulder, let's go pick up some things for you" "Things? What things?" He walked to her, cleaning his forehead with the hem of his t-shirt. The gesture allowed her to see a set of humble, yet very present abs. She groaned, feeling too hot to do whatever he was proposing. It was summer after all "I have lettuces, cucumbers, and eggplants ready to eat" "Are you giving them to me or do I have to pay?" He chuckled, standing in front of her, still drying his face with his hands. She looked down at his feet, looking for a scape "You have to pay, but not with money" Everything in a conversation was about context and the messenger. Because that same sentence, in any other lips, would have made her skin crawl. But hearing it from his lips made her hopeful "I need to pick up some squash for my cows and sheep, help me with that and in exchange I’m going to give you some products from my orchard” She stood up and followed him, she couldn't refuse. She didn’t particularly like the idea of working under the sun, but the other option was to say no and look like a bitch. And that wasn’t on her road to success. She didn’t work too much. Only pulled the wagon around as Kyung Soo put the enormous squashes and the deep purple eggplants in it. Kyung Soo looked thrilled as he picked the vegetables from the floor. She had several questions about the whole process of growing vegetables, and he answered all of them. As she pulled the wagon with her on their way to the piece of land where his animals were, she shared a thought that came to her head as Kyung Soo gave her a cherry tomato for her to taste “I don’t know about you, but I’m not a particularly religious person, but I don’t know… in this environment, and watching all this gorgeous product from the soil, I can only call them miracles, it feels like a miracle when you see something like this grow from a seed, developing a color, smell, a texture, and a taste, and then giving back a seed so you can repeat the process…I know it's not a miracle, there are work and science behind, but still, it’s just too precious, it feels miraculous” He didn’t answer immediately, so she looked at him, sure that she had made a foolish comment and he was trying not to laugh. But he wasn’t. He was looking at her, a small grin on his lips. It reminded her of the smile he gave her the day they met and she had that overly possessive thought. That day though his expression was one of amusement. Now he looked thoughtful. She had to look away laughing nervously “I have that same thought every single day,” He said. She didn’t look at him, but nodded, glad that they shared the same thought. The nervousness and the soft smiles dissipated with how cute and funny was to watch the cows and sheep eat the squashes. The crunchy noises they made, made her giggle uncontrollably. One of his cows surprised her with how fat she was “She is about to give birth, probably during this week, so make sure to come next weekend to meet her calf, they are so adorable” She promised him that she will.

The light of the sun had changed, ready to set. It was time for her to go. Kyung Soo helped her load her car with all his gifts and followed her as she got inside her car. “ By the way, I searched what a Hulder was?” He moved slightly uncomfortable, resting his left hand on the roof of the car “Should I apologize?” He asked, not looking at her “No, of course not, don’t worry, I liked it actually, never heard about a creature like that, but why did they come out with it?” “To keep people, especially men, away from the forest, no men with good intentions lurkes around the forest by himself” She lifted one playful eyebrow at him “You were walking in the forest by yourself” “Yes, and I ran into you, so lesson learned, also, I wasn’t alone, I was with Chanyeol” “And I’m not hiding a tail under my clothes” He laughed, the sweetest laugh she had ever seen “We will see, it’s getting dark Hulder, have a peaceful drive home” “Thank you for the lovely afternoon Kyung Soo” He lowered his head to her window, more relaxed now “Thank you for the company, are you coming next weekend?” “Of course” He smiled again and took a step away from the car. The roaring of the car made her jolt, breaking the pseudo spelling he always managed to put in her.

Her third Saturday at Kyung Soo’s house was a short visit. She had to leave early due to family matters, so she only stayed until lunch. She felt so frustrated when she got in the car and the sun was still up, burning. The afternoon was long, and she wanted to enjoy it. But there was nothing she could do “Is it too nuts if I come again next week?” “Hulder, I didn't know you could read minds” By her fourth Saturday there, she stopped asking if she could visit again. On her fifth visit, an event made her get greedy and want more. That Saturday was an especially hot one. She arrived at his place at 9 am, and it was already too hot for her. She would’ve rather stayed in the car with the AC on. Kyung Soo was in shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, his head freshly shaved. But the weather was too hot to lust over his look. He invited her in for a glass of water and then took her to a sitting area under a set of trees “It’s too hot to do anything, so let’s just laze around here” He proposed, getting comfortable “What do you do in heatwave days?” “Just lay down in the shade, reading, drinking, eating…and after lunch, I go to the river” She almost jumped on him “We have to go to the river! Please take me there” “Did you bring a swimsuit?” She shook her head “It’s ok, you can swim in your t-shirt and shorts, let’s go after lunch, right now the sun is just on top of the river, you could get a sunburn” She liked how motherly he sounded. He behaved like that all the time. Always asking how she was doing, if she ate well during the week, how was work and the drive to his place. He was someone who worried about everyone and took care of everyone and everything. And she wasn’t bothered by it at all. She liked it when people took care of her. They spent the whole morning laying on the lounge chairs talking, only interrupted by Baekhyun’s barking. He grilled some chicken and prepared a colorful salad for lunch. Quick and light for the hot day. She was entertaining him with a story from work, getting all his smiles just for her “I can tell you take your untamed personality everywhere” He commented between laughs “Untamed? You think I’m untamed?” “Sounds better than wild” She chuckled, moving her empty plate to the side “Sounds way better than wild, you are right…I guess I do…I try to act like that at least” Kyung Soo did the same with his plate and rested his arms on top of the small table leaning closer to her “You try to act? You are not always like this?” She moved closer too, playing with his feet under the table “I’m not always like this, although I’m not quite sure what you mean by it…but no, I’m always half out of and half in. Sometimes I'm very…untamed and sometimes I’m extremely shy, depends on the day and the company I guess” Kyung Soo shook his head, a small smile on his lips “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you act shy with me” “Of course not, because I don’t feel shy with you, I’m very comfortable” He smiled the way she liked the most. Heart-shaped lips, wrinkly nose, and shyly looking down.

After resting for an hour, Kyung Soo finally took her to the river. Coming out of their shadowy nook was hard, the 4 PM sun was ruthless, but Kyung Soo promised a good reward. And he wasn’t lying. The river appeared in front of her flowing with unrestrained wildness. So fast that it created a fresh breeze. She could see big rocks covering the bottom, bathed by the deep green water. Kyung Soo walked her along the riverside, to a place where the river was deeper and wider, so it moved flowed calmer “Careful, is a bit cold” He shouted at her as she got into the now calm water. And he wasn’t lying. It almost hurt her feet “This water is the melting snow from the mountains, of course, is cold” He told her when she made a snarky comment to him “But you get used to it quickly, look” Kyung Soo got rid of his sandals and pulled off his t-shirt, making her jolt in surprise. She completely forgot men did that. He walked past her, giving her a wink, and got into the water. She didn’t have enough time to appreciate his half-naked body, but for what she could see, all the work at the farm paid off. He came out screaming, the water covering half of his chest “ It’s so fucking cold!” She erupted in laughter, taking a couple of steps into the deepest part, closer to him “ What a gutter mouth ” “Come here, it’s cold, but it’s delicious” He went under the water again and came out floating on his back. She really wanted to go closer, more for him than the water. She just wanted a closer look. The water was already covering her shorts, and Kyung Soo was right, it got better. He floated to her side, and stood in front of her, offering her his hands “Come on, let me help you” She accepted his help, holding to his hands as he walked backward pulling her with him “I can’t believe this is the first time you are bringing me here” “You are right, I guess we never have enough time” He stopped walking when the water was already covering just under her chest “No, we don’t, a day is too short” “Yeah, and when you are entertained it goes away faster” Kyung Soo didn’t let go of her hands, so she just played with his fingers under the water “You have a good time with me Kyung Soo?” “Yeah, a very good time” He answered with confidence “I’m glad” By now her body had familiarized itself with the cold water and it only felt refreshing. At least the parts of her body that were underwater. She wanted to swim like Kyung Soo and sink her head under the water. The rocks shine in the bottom of the river, calling her, and she looked around, amazed by the sound that surrounded her and the comfort that held her hands. She looked back at Kyung Soo, who was looking back at her with an amused smile “You can swim?” He asked her “I can” “Go ahead then” He let go of her hands slowly and took a couple of steps back. She took a deep breath and went down, no hesitation.

After some laps across the peaceful river, she rested floating on her back, watching the trees above her and hearing the sound of the water. She heard Kyung Soo calling her name over the sound of the water. She ignored it first, just to hear him call her again, but answered after the third call “I think I was wrong, you are not a Hulder, you are a mermaid” “A river mermaid? Is that a thing? … How long I’ve been swimming?” “About an hour maybe, I like watching you have fun, but aren’t you cold?” She wasn’t cold, but she was pretty tired. But it was still hot up there, and the river was fresh. Kyung Soo offered her another option. They walked down the riverbank, holding their shoes in their hands, and their clothing stuck to their bodies. At least hers, because Kyung Soo was still shirtless, sharing with her those nice shapes that hard labor gave him. Kyung Soo took her to a shallower part of the river, the water only covered up her ankle. The stones were a bit slippery, so she held to his arm as they walked across the river “There’s a natural pool there, it appeared this past winter, we can rest there” Between a bunch of big rocks, there was indeed a round pool as big as a jacuzzi, and a bit deeper than a kids pool. Tiny rocks covered the bottom, making the water clear. Kyung Soo sat down and the water covered his legs and waist. She followed him and sat next to him. A big rock behind them was good enough to rest their backs. They laid down as if the cold water was an actual hot bath. Kyung Soo was lying back comfortably, his hands resting on his stomach and his eyes closed, as the sunlight played on his face. She took that opportunity to stare at him shamelessly. Not that she didn’t steal looks of his naked chest and back as they were swimming. But now he was closer, so now she could have a full look of his whole being. Which didn’t happen very often. She focused on his nose and lips, two mounds that rose from the soft line of his profile. The straight line of his nose bent cutely on the tip of his nose. She wanted to bop it. His lips distracted her from her childish fantasy when he licked them, sighing softly. He didn’t open his eyes, so she kept looking.  A set of beauty marks caught her attention. Three light beauty marks in his upper lip, so subtle that she could only see them clearly now that she was sitting close, so close. She was holding her breath. A loud squawk came from the trees above them, waking Kyung Soo from his slumber. She was caught red-handed staring at him. She wasn’t embarrassed, but it felt a bit scary. If Kyung Soo showed discomfort for being stared at like that, she didn’t know how to redeem herself. How not to look like a creep. But he only blinked and turned his face closer to hers “You have a mole on your lips” She said, trying to ease the tension, but failing. He hummed, a low noise that made her shiver, and nodded as his eyes went to her lips “It's very pretty” She tried again, failing “Thanks” Kyung Soo, magnetic as always, was pulling her even closer just by looking at her. She was about to kiss those moles, and the thought made her feel the familiar vibration of excitement. She was moving her hand up, to hold his face, when they heard loud splashing and grunts. They both snapped their heads in the direction of the sound and saw Baekhyun running along the river in their direction. He had free himself from the chain and was now a very non-welcomed dog. Kyung Soo grunted under his breath and stood up, holding him before he could lunge his German Shepard body onto her. The moment was dead and buried under cement. She stood up too and followed them out of the river. It was getting cold anyway. Kyung Soo was standing a couple of steps away from her as she tried to squeeze some water out of her t-shirt. Kyung Soo called her name with a calm voice, she almost missed it over the sound of the river “I bet you have broken a bunch of hearts” He said, smiling, but she knew he wasn’t trying to be funny. And she was going to be honest “Never on porpoise” Because she had a story, she wasn’t going to lie, but she held every break up with honesty and care. She knew what she wanted and when someone wasn’t going to give it to her, she let them go. He chuckled, clearly pleased with her answer.

Afraid of the awkwardness that the whole situation could bring, she joked as she looked down at her knees “Jesus, I’m dripping, people are going to think that I pee myself” Kyung Soo laughed loudly and turned around, looking at her “Gross” She laughed and walked next to him. Baekhyun gave her an innocent look, wagging his tail. But she couldn’t find him cute. He was more like an enemy now. As soon as they arrived at his house, she changed her clothes and then hanged her wet clothes to dry under the sun. From her t-shirt to her underwear. Just outside Kyung Soo’s kitchen. The water made them both hungry, so they ate chicken and bread as the sun began setting. It was time for her to go, and she felt the weight of the frustration in her chest. It was all Baekhyun’s fault. As always, he gifted her a basket with an assortment of different vegetables and fruits and walked her to the car. She knew how frustrated she looked. She was never good at hiding her feelings, so she didn’t even bothered. Her shoulders were low and her voice too. But Kyung Soo was the same as always, a smile on his lips all the time. She knew, or at least was very sure, that this attraction was shared. But clearly, he was dealing better with it. She could just go and kiss him, she was frontal like that, but again, she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable “I’m leaving then, thanks for everything, and thank you for that visit to the river, I loved it” “No need to thank me, I had a great time” Since she didn’t want to leave, she kept making small talk. Stupid questions and silly comments. Kyung Soo answered and listened patiently. She knew it could be annoying, but he didn’t seem to care. He was glancing at her lips the whole time while she was talking, which was making her extremely nervous and impatient. She was running out of sentences to form, so she said goodbye for the second time and turned around, to her car. She could only take one short step when Kyung Soo stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She heard him call her name softly, and before she could turn around, shortening the distance between them, he passed an arm around her shoulder and made her face him. His body was fully pressed against her, his face so very close to hers. Her ears were buzzing, and the air was stuck in her throat. Kyung Soo grabbed her face and didn’t even bother with asking for permission. He didn’t need to. She was sure he knew that much since her hands were already holding to his waist. She welcomed his touch with eager lips when Kyung Soo captured her lower lip between his own. He sucked on it, pulling her closer. She could feel his chest through their clothing and his hand guiding her face with a bit of dominance. It was cozy and incredibly hot at the same time. She tilted her head, asking, begging for more. More lips, more tongue, more touch. Kyung Soo began biting at her lips playfully, his fingers tangled between her tousled hair, kipping her close to him. She did the same, making him chuckle, but not breaking the kiss. She moved her hands from his waist, sliding them over his chest, up to his neck, and grabbed his nape, capturing him. Kyung Soo came up for air just as she was starting to get way too handsy. He gave her a last peck and took a short step back. He looked at her grinning, waiting for her response. If he was expecting a blush and a giggle he was going to get that, but also an attitude "You waited until now to kiss me" She chided. His big eyes grew rounder for a second, but then softened when he noticed she was just being feisty and not really mad at him “I couldn't find the right moment before” He explained, caressing her cheeks as he moved his eyes over her face “When you sat behind me on your horse was a great moment” Kyung Soo looked shocked for a couple of seconds, followed by a shy laugh “Why did you do that just when I was leaving?!, We could have made out the whole day" Her voice was filled with disappointment, which made him bring her closer in a hug "It's funnier like this" "It's not" She mumbled against his chest "Go, you are going to meet traffic if you don't " "Kiss me again" She made it sound like a plea, but it was a command. She needed another kiss "No" He was unable to control his playful smile "I'm going to do it then" She circled his neck with her arms, bringing his face to hers. Kyung Soo didn’t resist. She caught his lower lip between her lips, sucking on it lightly, finally doing something she imagined way too many times before in her head. Kyung Soo answered back tangling his fingers in her hair. With each little trick of her lips, Kyung Soo growled softly, fueling her. She wasn’t only enjoying his kiss, but also how her pounding heart reverberated through her chest and how her limbs tingled with his touch. Kyung Soo was the first to move away, showing way more control than her, but he didn’t let her go and hugged her closer to him "Dear God Hulder, you better be here on Saturday morning" He whispered against her temple “I can make it Friday afternoon” He kissed her cheek and released her from his embrace  “Drive carefully then, I will be waiting for you” “Should I bring an overnight bag?” “You should, and a swimsuit” She held his hand, and walked to her car bringing him with her. She wanted a goodbye kiss. Kyung Soo held the door open for her and closed it when she was seated inside. She opened the window, and he came closer, leaning in through the car window “Drive carefully” “I will, give me your number so I can tell you when I’m home” Kyung Soo’s eyes went comically wide “That’s right, we haven’t exchanged numbers yet” She couldn’t stop laughing as she searched for her phone. Hopefully, it was still charged, forgotten inside her car. She handed it to Kyung Soo, who smiled when he saw a close-up of Chanyeol as her screen saver. He saved his number as -Do Kyung Soo- in her phone. It felt very formal “I had an amazing day Hulder” “Me too Kyung Soo, started great, and it ended amazingly, by the way, when did you want to kiss me?” “Ah right, you said when I helped you at the forest…well for me it was when you said that my vegetables were miracles”  He gave her a shy smile and leaned in for a goodbye kiss. She held his cute face and gave him a long peck on the lips and one on each cheek. He giggled happily and took a couple of steps back so she could leave. Driving home was a mixture of frustration for having to leave him, but happiness overall since finally her feeling for her were able to fly free. Her music was playing loud in her car, windows down and one arm resting in the window playing with the wind. Pure bliss. As soon as she arrived home, she texted him and he answered back immediately. The texting didn’t end until very late that night. And before falling asleep she imagined all the things she wanted to do, starting from Friday, at Kyung Soo’s home. But mostly, all the things she wanted to do to him.

[kyoupann]

fic request: hyrule "getting lost" on purpose for some alone time from the group, and bringing someone with him to find a cool spot and just hang out a while! bonus if it turns out he very rarely actually gets lost and just uses it as an excuse xD extra bonus if it's legend 👉👈

Anon, I love you. You're the epitome of big brain.

Have Hyrule and Legend having a wholesome moment. It's not much, but it's honest work. <3

Bold of you to believe Hyrule gets lost easily

Being on an adventure with a party was quite different from what Hyrule had imagined; truth to be told, the thought never crossed his mind. But when it finally became a reality and he found himself surrounded by people 24/7, the closeness, the noise, started to suffocate him.

Don't take him wrong, he loves his new friends. He absolutely does. Ones more than others, but he still loves them all. But he could do with fewer people from time to time. And since some of the others didn't seem to be willing to separate for more than a couple of minutes, unless extremely required, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

The first time was almost accidental. He did go off-trail for a bathroom break, but as he waited for his business to be finished he realised how quiet the woods were; no clinking of armour, no footsteps, no small chat, just birds chirping and treetops rustling gently against each other. Just pure, comfortable quiet. He didn't even notice that he had finished already, so lost contemplating his surrounding and how much he missed this. Soon enough, he snapped out of it, fixed his clothes and started heading back to the main trail. The group was probably far ahead, so he didn't rush to reach them. Instead, he took his time, idly following the trail and admiring the beauty around him: massive trees, so tall they covered the sky, the only source of light slipping through the gaps between the leaves; so lovely and delicate and warm. Without the noise of a full travelling party, he noticed that the small creatures of the forest didn't mind his silent steps,  some hares peeking from their burrows and a couple of squirrels chasing each other down a tree trunk.

He didn't know how long it took him to catch up with the group, but he knows that it must have been a good half an hour or more; their faces showing nothing but annoyance, maybe a bit of worry etched on their youngest companion, but irritation definitely took the lead.

"Where were you?!" was the first thing one of them asked, followed by some concerned queries about his well-being.

He took exactly one second to think and answer "I got lost on my way back."

And from then on, he was never allowed to leave the perimeter without a partner. Which, mind you, fucking sucked. There he was trying not to hurt anybody's feelings, yet his answer ended up backfiring in the worst way possible; not only was it harder to have some quiet, but the group also started to underestimate his sense of direction in a way that felt almost insulting. Did he have to remind them that there are no maps in his Hyrule and yet he knows the land like the back of his hand? But go off, not like he cares, anyway.

He tried to not let it bother him, and not past a couple of days, he found a solution to the very same problem he got himself into. He started to sneak out without anyone noticing, and if they did notice, they were nice enough to not rat him out. To each their own, whatever. It became a habit, whenever he would feel the tingling sensation at the nape of his neck, he would begin to fall behind and leave the group as soon as he saw an opportunity. Often times, it was Wild and his weird wolf who found him pacing around somewhere, the blue-clad hero with a mischievous smile on his face while the wolf sported a frown, not thrilled to be on hunt duty. Other times, Hyrule made his way back to the group a couple of hours later, before anyone started arranging a rescue team for someone who clearly didn't need it. But he appreciated the sentiment; at least he knows that they wouldn't just ditch him anytime.

One day, though, he noted that their veteran was in a sour mood, more than any other day. He had no idea that could be possible, but, hey, you learn new things every day. He felt kindness fill his body more than usual and was willing to let the veteran in on his little secret. He didn't need to worry too much before turning to him as they unpacked their stuff for the night.

"Hey, I'm feeling a bit restless," he said and the other just hummed in response, "do you want to go for a walk with me?"

"No."

For a moment, he thought of dropping it right then; but on the other hand, he was feeling a tad overwhelmed by the noise coming from the guys helping the cook with dinner and the others taking care of their gear. Couldn't they be a bit more... silent? For mostly mute companions, they sure were extremely loud in their tasks sometimes.

"Please, everyone is busy," he pleaded, now moving to be face to face with the veteran, "please, Leg. It won't take long."

He saw the Legend drop his shoulders in surrender before agreeing to a short walk around the area. And as soon as they had their stuff ready, they took off.

Hyrule was excited to have some alone time after what had been entire days without the opportunity to sneak out. He didn't even mind Legend coming with him. In fact, he was delighted to have him around. While Legend often worried about his disappearing habits, he was also the most chill about it. He really liked him. He hoped that this walk would ease his mind of whatever was bothering him; he wasn't going to ask, that was not the point of this. If Legend wanted to talk, they would.

"It sure is nice around here," Legend said, as emotionless as ever, making Hyrule question if he even meant it.

There were no trees blocking the sky, the sea of constellations shining brightly above them as they walked up a hill. Hyrule guessed it was most likely a small mountain if his adventure had taught him anything. The path was becoming too steep for them to trek in a straight line. Just as soon as they got to what seemed to be a dead-end, Legend whistled, catching the traveller's attention.

"It was a great walk," he said, boots already turning around and retracing his steps. "Time to go back."

But Hyrule didn't follow him. Instead, he reached in front of him.

"Last to get to the top is a bald cuccoo," he shouted as he started his climb.

He didn't even look back to check on Legend, he knew he would be following him. They climbed in silence, saving their energy and attention for the slippery rocks that fell from their hands and under the weight of their boots.

About ten minutes later, when the moon was at its highest point, Hyrule reached a small plateau on the side of the mountain. It might not be the destination they had in mind, but he couldn't deny that the view from there was stunning. To their south, he could see the prairie they had passed through early in the day, the light of the moon illuminating every single patch of grass and rock; on the other side of the mountain, to the north, Hyrule could spot the light and smoke coming from their campsite. They weren't that far, after all. Just enough to relax.

"What the fuck? You can't just say shit like that and start climbing, Hyrule!" Legend wheezed as he dragged his body over the edge, completely out of breath and slamming his back against the cold ground.

Hyrule ran to aid him to stand up, extending small apologies as he offered his hand, his shoulders shaking with a stifled chuckle.

"What are you talking about? That was fun!"

He gave Legend the time to look around, hoping that the view would make him forget his irritation. In the end, he guesses he succeeded; a soft smile adorned the other's face.

"I wished we could stay longer, but we gotta head back."

Hyrules ears perked up in interest and a grin that showed nothing but mischief appeared.

"Oh, it would be such a shame if we got lost on our way back and we had to wait until morning to avoid getting even more lost in the dark."

It took Legend 5 seconds before the gears in his mind began to work and process what Hyrule said.

"You little shit," he punched him on his arm playfully, earning him a cackle from the traveller. "You. cheeky. little. shit." He marked each word with a punch, each less hard than the last.

Hyrule rubbed his arm, "so, what do you say?" He looked at Legend expectantly, " If you want to go back to the others, we'll go. I'm not keeping you here, but I think some time off would do us good."

It was then that Legend noticed that Hyrule had brought his bag with him. He sat down and started pulling a variety of items from it, a fabric too thin to be a blanket being one of them.

With a snap of his fingers, a nearby bush lit on fire, and in no time they had their own little impromptu camp set up.

"I have some fish if you want me to make something," he pointed to his bag, but as always, he didn't wait for a response, already elbow-deep into the bag looking for the food, "caught it this morning, it's basically fresh."

Two small fish stabbed through the middle with a stick later, he handed one stick for Legend to grill over the fire.

"So... you get lost... on purpose..."

"Yep."

"Why?"

Hyrule bit the inside of his cheek and flipped his fish over, " for the exact same reason you accepted to come with me, I suppose." He took the fish off the fire and inspected it. "Unlike most of you, I didn't have a companion during my adventures. Having someone to talk to whenever is nice and all but... well, I simply value my privacy. I like being alone."

Legend could only hum in agreement. He rolled his stick, half of his fish almost burnt, "Wow, thanks," he said, his words coated with sarcasm.

"I like being alone with you," he laughed at his own words, a bit unsure of how to fix what he had said, but no less true.

A soft smile pulled at Legend's lips. He sighed in contentment and extended an arm to ruffle Hyrule's hair.

"I like being with you, too."

[southerneldritch]

-A Year Later, Misha-

The smoke rose in a thick line from the burning embers of the tip of the cigarette, an off brand from the shop in town. Misha drew in a deep and long drag as he looked out across the night sky above the cold southern expanse of the Tronador valley. As he went further up the mountain, it was nice to look back towards the small lights of Puerto Varas, where he had received the intel that pointed him up this impressively cold mountain. Misha was no stranger to cold, but with how hot it was in the town this August he hadn’t expected the trek to plunge him into frigid temperatures. Nevertheless, with his collar lifted and another smoke lit, he marched forward.

The night was getting colder and the path, if you could call it one, was more than likely made entirely by wayward goats without intention or significance. Santino knew better than to give Misha bad intel, especially with something as important as this, but still there was a nagging at the back of Misha’s mind that this could be a trap. 

He’d had a few difficult tussles since he left the comfort of the states to pursue what truth he had seen, what memories had been returned to him. Briefly, he considered the nightmare of New Orleans and what he’d had to do with the good Doctor. The sight of what that man had become, what that man committed to before slipping under the floodwaters of the ill-gotten city was still clear in his mind. Misha liked that his mind felt less like a mystery than before, but he was torn when he thought of the life he had built in Avenyork, the friends….friend he had made. 

After another long drag of the cigarette, Misha found himself spotting the low light of a small cabin tucked into the mountainside. “Finally. I hope they have a fire going” he muttered to himself as he trudged on. Arriving at the small cabin, he could hear some music playing from inside. It sounded Russian. With a firm knock he stood out in the cold for a moment before the music fell silent and the door was cracked open. Dark brown eyes stared out from the warmth of the structure. “¿Sí, Qué quieres?”

“¿Oleg está aquí?” Misha responded. There was a slight look of confusion on the face of the man holding the door.

“Hablas español mejor que Oleg” He smiled and opened the door wider, gesturing for Misha to step inside. 

“lo hago pero no lo prefiero.” Misha smirked as he stepped through the doorway, adding “¿Habla usted Inglés?”

“Si, but is not as good. But Oleg prefer it too.” The man, short in stature, shut the door behind Misha and led him to a chair at a table in the middle of the room. Misha could smell some sort of soup or stew being made on the fireplace and there was a small phonograph player on a small table to the side. “Oleg tried to make me learn Russian, HA” he laughed “Not happen”

“Russian is not easy language to master. Don’t worry my english is very good.” Misha sat down roughly, tired as he was. “Where is Oleg?” His eyes drifted around the room and saw a small bed tucked in the corner and a single door into the back room.

“He went to gather last few ingredients for stew” The man sat down across from Misha “Mi nombre es Mateo, ehhh” A pause “My name, Mateo. You?” His clothes were a bit large for his build and he seemed calm, despite a stranger banging on his door at this late hour in the mountains. 

“Misha” Misha stated as he absorbed the room, gathering as much as he could. “And how did Oleg come to find you?”

“Oh as most. The people in town. They know my skills” He smiled and folded his fingers together. His nails were clean and bright yet something dark was under them. “And what is Oleg to you?”

Misha paused and considered the question. “Old friends,” adding, “How long do you think he’ll be?” He kept his eyes on swivel as he watched Mateo’s every move. 

“He not be much longer” Mateo smiled wide, teeth looking wet. “Last ingredients are most important.” He gestured towards the pot next to the fireplace. 

“Yes.” There was a pause in the room. The cold of the outdoors permeated everything despite the roaring fire. “The final touches are always important.” Before the pause could go on much longer, Misha asked, “So I heard music as I approached. Shall we put some on while we wait for Oleg?”

“YES!” Mateo exclaimed, his voice almost heavy with excitement. “Please go crank up the record” he half laughed “Oleg brought very good”. Misha stood and made his way towards the phonograph. It was an old thing that looked worse for the wear, and there on the pad was an old Russian record. The crank made an awful noise as he turned it. The creaking, clanking and the sound of the spring tightening was a mixture of bizzare and otherworldly sounds that caused the hairs on Misha’s neck to stand up on end. 

As Mateo reached the last click of the player, Misha noticed an imperial Russian coat on the floor by the fireplace. Heavy outerwear that would work well in the growing cold outside the house. A coat Oleg would not have left without care. Misha’s stomach turned to sand and there were alarm bells going off as he felt his muscles tightened without thinking to do so. 

“So Oleg?” Misha spoke as the record wurred to life with the sounds of a Russian folk tune, he turned back towards Mateo and regretted his decision immediately. Mateo with wide open eyes was looking directly at Misha, though he had not turned his body, only his head which was situated facing almost entirely the wrong direction. His mouth looked as if it had broken free and his head cocked backwards as a horrific guttural sound of nightmares filled the small cabin. Misha reached for his pistol as Mateo’s form folded and ripped and slid off of the large creature now flinging itself at him. His gun had only gotten out of the holster before the creature was on top of him. Slamming Misha down hard, the gun slipped from his hand. His head was spinning but his training kicked in harder than ever. The snarling maw of the grotesque thing was dripping down onto him as he kicked his heel back and slammed it hard into the beast. The creature folded back and shrieked. It grasped at its side that was bleeding a thick red ichor.

“Piece of Shit!” Misha exclaimed as he rolled over and tapped his heel again, the blood stained blade retracting into the side of his boot. Tumbling to his feet next to his revolver and snatching it up to look towards the creature writhing. Drawing a deep breath with a mixture of words under his breath Misha steadied his pistol on the shadowed and dripping beast. The upbeat tunes of the Russian folk music punctuated the snarl of the thing as it whipped around to face Misha.

“YOU ARE TOO LATE FOR FRIEND '' The voice spilled from various holes around the thing. With sounds of gravel being forced through flesh, the tone still somehow sounded like the small man of Mateo, even if the creature had very few traces of his flesh sticking to its dripping form. Within a second it lept towards Misha and without a second guess the gun belched fire. The small piece of metal tore through the creature, though it was not enough to stop its energy. Slamming down in front of him and bringing a thunderously hard slam into his side, the creature sent Misha hurling into the wall at the back of the shack. Wood splintered as the low light of the cabin was lost.  

Misha woke, lying inside the small back room, “Uhhhghhh.” He let  a moan escape before sitting up. The bodies of curious travellers and seekers of information alike were strung up and stored around the room. Likely as some sort of food source. “Oh Oleg,” he muttered as he eyed the opening now splintered through the wall into the main room of the cabin. “I guess you didn’t come as prepared as you should have.” Misha began to unload the revolver and slips his hand into an interior pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a few special looking cartridges with emblazoned symbols upon the shells. Before he was able to load them, the mass of the creature barges through, up, over and towards him.

“YOU SOON DEAD NEW RUSSIAN!” The creature gurgled forward with a sense of pained anger. While the previous strikes may not have been lethal, they certainly hurt. It clearly was angry now. Seeing it close the distance with its previous speed, Misha abandoned loading the gun and braced himself instead. No amount of training can steel one against the purely physical blows of a wretched beast. Misha found himself tumbling back out of the hole his body had just made in the wall. He managed to land on his feet and was able to load the special rounds.

“Not quite yet you piece of SHIT!” He called out mocking the creature as the last round click into the cylinder and he snapped the gun shut. The hammer set, he began to speak softly as the chamber emitted a soft glow, faint but there. “I’m not done with you!” He exclaimed as he saw the twisted gleam of the eyes of the creature peer over the hole in the wall.

Releasing a growling shriek the creature retorted, “YOU DIE NOW OTHERS ARE FOOD ENOUGH!!!” as it launched over the broken timbers and slammed foot after foot, hand after hand towards Misha. Its jaws unhinged as it lept but before it bit down into the flesh of this painful nuisance, Misha dropped down, dodging the thing and letting loose two shots directly point blank into its belly. Hellish green and blue fire erupted from the wounds as large bulbs exploded around the impact zones. The creature cried out and slammed into, then through, the outer wall out into the cold snow of the mountainside. It let out a weak chitter of pain and confusion.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here Oleg.” Misha slowly stepped over the rubble of the wall and towards the thing. It’s body convulsing and folding, bones twisting inside its loose skin. “But this thing won't hurt anyone else.” Misha stood over it and let loose a loud single shot through what could best be described as its ‘head’. A few moments of the bright burn of green and blue light and the echo of the shot through the mountains, and Misha was alone. 

New snow began to fall silently. He flipped open his notebook to a page full of names. He crossed out the last name on the page, ‘Oleg Fedorov.’ The steam of his breath was thick as he let out a long long sigh. With a fresh cigarette in his lips, he glanced at the Verum Private Detective badge paper clipped into his notebook. He looked into the cold night. 

Softly, to the silence, he says, “I think I miss home.” 

(by J. Daily)

[sun-daddy-yoriichi]

Hello, may I request Giyuu with "I'll do it for you"? Maybe s/o is sleepy and can barely walk, so he offers them a piggyback ride?

Sure thing! I dunno how long future me is gonna take to finish it, but hopefully not long at all. Enjoy, lovie!

▬▬▬

Warning(s) : None

Giyuu Tomioka x Reader : "I'll do it for you." [ILY Prompts #48]

It was one of Giyuu’s first missions as a Pillar, and it was one that he couldn’t go on by himself.

He didn’t really mind the Demon Slayer he was sent along with. (Y/n) (L/n), the Thunder Pillar. She was his age, if not a little younger, but Giyuu would still admit that her speed and agility during training was rather intimidating. He had never seen her in battle, although they had crossed paths more than once in their time as Demon Slayers.

True to the rumours that he’s overheard, her fighting style was quite magnificent. Like his own, her Breath Forms were polished to near perfection, and her moves practiced until they were burned into her muscles. The mission was over quickly, the small pack of demons defeated hours before the sun rose. It ended up taking more energy than expected, however, and the two stumbled home, subtly leaning against one another in order to travel without falling.

“That was quite an experience, huh?” (Y/n) asked, smiling softly to her fellow Pillar. Giyuu couldn’t help but agree, nodding as they trekked through the woods, heading towards Giyuu’s estate. It was closer than the Butterfly Estate, and the Water Pillar had insisted that she rest before she make the trip back to her own estate. Of course, (Y/n) relented. She was powerless against her companion when his warmer side shone through.

Still, they were both exhausted, and the trip had taken longer than either of them expected it to. By the time they had reached the stone steps that wound through the mountain, and to the Water Estate, it was nearly sunrise, and they were both sapped of strength. Despite this, Giyuu still crouched down, slouched over and positioned as if he were expecting something. As soon as (Y/n) realised what it was that he was actually hinting towards, she immediately rejected it.

“You don’t have to do that for me!” she exclaimed, waving her hands around nervously, “I can make it just fine! You should save your energy for yourself!”

“You’re tired. I can carry you.”

Still, (Y/n) couldn’t help but blush, pulling at the edges of her skirt to try and hide some of her embarrassment. Sure, she and Giyuu had known each other for a long time, and it’s not as if these emotions she felt were new at all, but they still fooled with her brain whenever they were in the same room.

“I can walk, Giyuu. . .” Still, his only response was a soft sigh, though he didn’t make any move to get up or begin their travels again.

“It’s not a big deal. I can do it for you.”

Finally, after what seemed like several hours ticking by, (Y/n) gave in. A soft ‘fine’ left her lips as she fixed her skirt, before approaching his slumped figure.

While it took a while to get adjusted - seeing as (Y/n) was exceptionally embarrassed and Giyuu didn’t want to put a hand up her skirt - they soon set off again, this time ascending the mountain that posed as the last leg of their journey.

Initially, she didn’t want to agree to it, but (Y/n) found herself growing used to the contact, her arms comfortably thrown over his shoulders and laced around his neck. Subconsciously, the girl realised that Giyuu had a particularly unique smell. One that reminded her of mist and sea salt. It was particularly endearing, and the girl found herself leaning farther into him because of it.

Giyuu was having a different sort of crisis. Of course, they were just friends, and barely got to spend time together due to their Pillar duties, but he couldn’t help but feel heat well up in his chest at the contact between them. He had been the one to suggest it, but that was before he knew that having her chest pressed against his back, and his hands around her thighs, would make it harder for him to breathe.

“Giyuu, if you’re struggling I can walk on my own,” (Y/n) suggested, after noticing how much Giyuu was sighing. Still, the Water Pillar did nothing but shake his head, trying to bury the warm feeling under the guise that it was because she was a pretty girl, and she liked spending time with him.

Thankfully, the stairs didn’t take quite as long as either of them thought they would. The winding, shadowed appearance from the tall pine trees around the steps made the pathway seem so much longer than it was. Luckily, the Water Estate was quiet when they came upon it, most of the Demon Slayers that resided in it either sleeping, or writing their reports.

“There’s a spare room on the second floor,” Giyuu mentioned to her as he let her down, sighing in relief when the weight and warmth of her body left, allowing him to control himself a little bit better. (Y/n) nodded, rosy pink blush making its home on her cheeks.

They walked together through the Estate, Giyuu as her guide (even if the Water Estate wasn’t that much different from the Thunder Estate). Neither of them spoke for what felt like forever, until they stopped in front of the spare room that Giyuu had mentioned earlier.

“Thank you, Giyuu,” (Y/n) started, tugging at the hems of her skirt again, “If it’s not too much trouble, I really want to repay you somehow! How does dinner sound, tomorrow night?”

Internally, Giyuu’s brain malfunctioned. The surge of warmth was back again, making its home in his heart this time. It was simply too comforting to cage out, and Giyuu found himself battling to keep a straight face.

“Yeah. I think dinner would be nice.”

[me-and-your-husband]

Honey, I’m Home (Part 2)

Summary: After Steve went on the run from the government after the events of civil war, you await the day you can see him and your daughter again. When that day comes, a new hope s found.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader, Dad!Steve Rogers, Mom!Reader

Warnings: Angst, fluff, bearded steve

Word Count: 2.1k

Part 1

Sam opened the back door of the black Cadillac Escalade for me to take a seat inside. I did so as Bucky took his place in the passenger’s seat. When Sam got in, he started the car, put his seatbelt on, and put the car into drive. We sat in silence for a few moments, before I finally spoke up, the empty noise becoming too much to avoid.

“Where are we going?” I questioned as Sam’s eyes briefly met mine in the rearview mirror. Bucky drew a deep breath and huffed it out.

“After what happened at the airport, we brought Jane to a safehouse in Germany. After everything transpired and Steve broke the rest of the team out of custody, we all became fugitives. We’ve been on the run for the past year and a half,” Bucky clarified.

“Steve and Jane are in another safe house in the Canadian Rockies with the rest of the team that were on his side,” Sam added. I hummed in understanding and turned my face to look out the window.

Soon after, we were boarding a plane, using fake passports, of course. Once the plane successfully took off, Bucky put on a set of headphones and Sam nodded off. I noticed a small pad of paper and a pen in the seat pouch in front of me, and so I took it out and began sketching. My hand danced around the rough paper, crossing over lines and margins. I sketched from memory, and from what I remembered my daughter to look like.

I stared down at the completed sketch, coming out quite like the way I remembered three-year-old Jane. It was not as smooth and professional as Steve’s sketches, but you could still be impressed by it. My eyes started to fill with tears, the realization finally hitting me like a tsunami hits a small island.

I was finally going to see my family. After all this waiting, suffering, I was finally going to run my fingers through my daughter’s hair and tell her it was going to be alright. I was finally going to kiss my husband goodnight after a day of playing games at the beach and having a family picnic. I was finally going to have back the life that I missed so dearly.

I let a few tears make their way down my cheeks, before wiping them discreetly with the back of my hand. I looked to my right to see Bucky slipping his headphones off, a loft jazz tune revealing what he was listening to. Steve listened to the same type of music. It reminded him of a time when things were not so complicated.

“She looks almost identical to you, now,” Bucky said, staring down at the drawing on my lap. “She still has Steve’s blue eyes and blonde hair, but if not those then she would be your twin,” Bucky said as a smile crept onto my face, just imagining her. My five-year -old girl. My five-year-old girl. So much time has passed.

    I sit in silence and can’t help but wonder to myself the worst. What if she doesn’t remember me? She will. She has to, right? I’m her mother, there’s some type of bond there where you just, know, right?

My overthinking is interrupted by the flight attendant letting us know we’re landing over the intercom.

               When we land, I get out and am immediately glad I decided to wear a jacket. I never really believed people when they said that Canada was that cold, until now. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, trying to create some friction induced heat, but that did little. Luckily, Sam packed accordingly.

“Here, put these on over your clothes,” he said as he handed me a fluffy parka, a pair of sweatpants, a weird beanie (which I would later find out they called “toques” in Canada), some mittens, and winter boots.

“People actually live in the cold like this?” I queried, to which both Sam and Bucky chortled.

“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, we’ve been doing it for the past couple of months,” Sam stated.

“You think this is cold? Try spending a winter in Saskatchewan, Jesus, it’s got nothin’ on Alberta,” Bucky added.

“Is that where we are?” I questioned, and Bucky confirmed it with a hum.

Sam led us to another car, this time it was a black Dodge Ram. I guess if we were going to the mountains, we would need a heavy-duty vehicle, one meant to trek mountains.

I stepped up onto the foot rail, and hoisted myself in. We fastened our seatbelts, and I managed to read the time over Sam’s shoulder; 4:39 PM. It was already getting dark, a behavior I assume was regular during Canadian winters.

Sooner than later, my head fell against my chest as I slept a bittersweet sleep, thankful for the rest, as it would pass the time and bring me closer to seeing my family, but also not wanting to miss a single second of the journey to my imagination.

 When I awoke, it was to Bucky shaking me lightly and whispering my name. I blinked back the sleep, and drowsily climbed out of the truck. I took in my surroundings. It was pitch black outside, but it only felt like nine or ten. I spun around, to see a huge, cozy looking hotel with trees and snow surrounding it. My mouth hung agape as Sam and Bucky ushered me into the hotel.

Sam checked us in for a one night’s stay, and as much as I wanted to see my family, the sooner the better, I knew that not Sam nor Bucky were accustomed to drive through the snow in the dark.

Bucky and Sam ended up sharing a bed, whilst they insisted upon me having the other one to myself. They made it out to be them just being courteous, but I really think they knew Steve would destroy them for sleeping in the same bed as his best girl.

               The morning consisted of a quick pot of coffee to wake us up, and then we were right back on the road, Bucky driving this time. Casual conversations were made, just them asking me what I have been up to for the past while. Nothing much had happened, but I didn’t want to seem like a bore, so I only told them the interesting bits.

               Soon, we were in the mountains, occasionally stopping for gas and snacks at random pitstops. I couldn’t help but feel like a little kid on a road trip, constantly wanting to ask, “are we there yet?” or “are we almost there? How much longer?”. Eventually, Sam announced that we would be there in about five minutes, which really grabbed my attention.

“By the way, he doesn’t know you’re coming,” Sam said, which barely fazed me, as I was too excited. My leg bounced up and down like a giddy teenager during an exam, and I could feel my heart beating in my throat.

          In a short amount of time, we pulled onto a gravel road, which had recently been neatly shoveled. It weaved through a thick forest, sometimes catching deer in the headlights. The path was shadowy and was barely lit, considering the trees looming over us blocking the sun. The rocky sound of driving across gravel and freshly packed snow filled our ears as we made our way down the trail.

         Soon enough, which felt too long even in itself, we came to a clearing. In the middle of that clearing, was a huge, three story log cabin, with multiple vehicles, varying size, type, model, year, color, and brand, scattered around the lot. Before my jaw could fall off its hinges, a familiar female giggle caught my attention. I turned my head to look through the window, to where I saw Wanda and Vision having a snowball fight. I guess Vision must have reconciled with Wanda, and realized that our side was the right to be on.

      The truck pulled up to the front of the house, and I slowly, as if mesmerized, took of my seatbelt. Wanda and Vision greeted Bucky and Sam, and they froze when they seen me. I gave them both a small wave and a smile as my feet hit the soft snow, and I may have come across as rude for not greeting them properly, but that could be saved for later. I turned my head to Sam, who quickly understood what I was getting at.

“Inside,” He stated, gesturing towards the big double doors of the manor. My heart skipped a beat as I clambered up the few steps leading to the porch and grasped the wood door handles. I took a breath in and swung the doors open. My eyes wandered the wood interior, before getting caught in a movement at the other end of the hall. I sprinted to where I saw that movement, and looked to my left, where some type of bedroom was located.

       Clint sat on the bed, holding a framed photo of his wife and kids. Before he could see me, I made my way back down the hall, and started frantically running around the maze of a place, trying to find my family. It was around noon, so it was very likely that they could be in the kitchen, eating.

      When I finally reached the huge kitchen, nobody was to be found. I let out a small sigh, but before I turned to walk out, I heard a voice coming from the next room over.

“Okay, Janie! Ready or not, here I come!” said that voice I knew all too well. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I took fast steps to the entrance of that room, the living room.

        Standing beside the fireplace, was Steve Rogers, but he was different. His back faced me, but I could still see him in the mirror above the fireplace. He had a harder look to him, but those soft eyes I always adored were still there.  He had grown out his hair, and now had a nicely trimmed beard. I took a sharp breath in, which must have alerted him that someone was there. He always joked about me being the only one who could sneak up on him.

       His eyes met mine in the mirror, and his clenched jaw softened. He slowly lifted his head and spun around to face me. My breaths were shaky as he slowly took a step towards me.

“God, please tell me it’s you, Y/N, because I think if I have to convince myself that I’m seeing you one more time, I’ll go crazy,” He pleaded, his brows knit together.

“Yes,” I said, my voice cracking as my vision started to blur with tears. “It’s me, I promise you it’s me,” I said, as I ran towards him, immediately wrapping his arms around me and pressing his nose into the crook of my neck. I inhaled a long, sharp breath through my nose, missing the way he smelled, as well as the way he felt, the way his voice sounded in the morning, the way looked as his muscles flexed under his shirt when he was working out, and the way his lips tasted on mine. After I felt my tears had permanently stained his gray Henley, I pulled away. His blue eyes were so easy to get lost in, but the overwhelming need to kiss him, to feel him again, outweighed anything else in that moment. Our lips were together in an instant, in a passionate kiss. My hands rested at the back of his neck, and his on my cheeks, his body heat instantly warming me up from the chilly climate of Alberta. After we both pulled away for a breath, he rested his head against mine. I ran a hand down his beard clad cheek, and scratched it gently, to relay that I liked it, which elicited a smile from him.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

“I-“

“Daddy! What are you doing, are we still playing hide and seek?” said a little girl’s voice. My breath caught in my throat. Steve looked over my shoulder, and back to my eyes. He gave me a knowing look, and I slowly turned on my heels.

“Mommy?”

“Baby…”

“Mommy!” Jane screamed as she dropped her stuffed rabbit and sprinted towards me. I fell to my knees and held my arms open for her. I held her in my arms like that, like the day she was born, for what felt like forever. I don’t even remember exactly when Steve wrapped his arms around us. Silent cries and sniffles could be heard coming from either one of us.

Finally, I was where I should be, home.

Thank you guys so much for the support on the first part :)

Would you guys want an epilogue?

[juju-on-that-yeet]

Home Before Dark

Whumptober Day 26: If You Thought The Head Trauma Was Bad... Prompt: Concussion 

This cave trip was supposed to be a fun, easy adventure. Instead, Illinois falls through a hidden hole in the ground, and finds himself battling with a concussion as he tries to escape the cave before he can't anymore.

Warnings: Head injury, vomiting mention

Read on AO3 (Full Whumptober Series)

Enjoy!

~

Illinois could never get tired of this, of the dirt and sand under his boots, of the quiet tranquility of a cave system, of the places that haven’t seen a human in many years. He’s had his eye on this cave for a while, one of the rare adventures where he doesn’t expect a treasure at the end of the tunnel. Exploration and adventure is fun without a reward, and Lio likes traveling for travel’s sake. There doesn’t always need to be a goal, sometimes it’s fun to just be.

Of course, he’d like to follow the cave as deep as it can go. The cave isn’t totally explored, and he’s not foolish enough to go wiggling into a cavern he could get stuck in, but he’d like to see those caverns before he turns around and goes home. Caves are sometimes risky but they’re also a lot of fun. They aren’t as high-intensity as jungle treks or mountain climbs, but more strenuous and with more potential for unique experiences than hikes or forest walks. The cave he’s in now is quiet, no sound but water dripping somewhere far away. It’s dark, but not so dark that Lio’s headlamp can’t light his way forward. Lio sort of hopes he’ll see a cave creature at some point on his journey, but even if he doesn’t, there’s something exciting about being the only soul in a place.

These places make it easy to get lost in thought, and so Lio does, not coming back to the present until his foot touches an unsteady patch of ground just below him.

He tries to jump back but it’s already too late. The ground below him breaks apart and Lio falls among the rocks, a scream of surprise ripping from his throat. There’s not enough time to right himself in the air, and the first part of him to hit the ground is the side of his head. The blow knocks the wind out of him. Rocks fall around him, some bouncing off his back or legs, but they hardly register against Lio’s throbbing head. His vision swims and he lays there for a long moment, trying to remember how to breathe.

“Don’t pass out, Jones,” he thinks to himself, “Now is not the time for a nap.”

After several long moments, he’s finally able to lift his head and sit up. His head still hurts, but he can at least think straight and look around – mostly. Things are still a little blurry, but it’s nothing he can’t deal with.

He looks up to see that he hasn’t fallen too far, certainly not too far to climb back out of. He shrugs off his backpack to get his climbing gloves. He didn’t bring any ropes; there’s no use for them without a point at which to attach them, and in a situation like this, that’d be a two-person job. Once the gloves are on, he stands up – and immediately wobbles. His stomach rolls, and he has to pause, take a deep breath.

“Well, I’m definitely concussed,” he wheezes to himself. As if the blurred vision wasn’t enough of a clue.

Still, he doesn’t have any other way but climbing to get out of this hole. So he takes another deep breath, jumps onto the wall, and makes sure he has a good grip before he starts climbing.

It’s harder than he would’ve guessed. If his head wasn’t still giving him trouble it’d be easy, but as it is, he has to pause seemingly every inch to let his head stop swimming. But he knows this continual pausing is bad for the rest of him, and if he gets too tired, he’ll fall down again. He forces himself to keep climbing, forces his eyes to pick out secure spots for his hands to grab through the blurriness.

One hand slips, the section of wall he grabbed crumbling away. He scrambles for another, cursing himself for not seeing the integrity of the rock. He finds a place to hold onto and takes a moment for his racing heart to calm down. He can’t take long, though; his arms are beginning to tire of holding himself up, his feet are aching from curling around the rocks. He grits his teeth and keeps going.

Finally, after what feels like forever, he reaches the edge of the hole, and grunts as he heaves himself up and over and escapes.

“That sure was a workout,” he huffs, laying there on his stomach next to the hole he just climbed out of.

After a minute of catching his breath, he rolls over and sits up, looking ahead. The hole doesn’t span the entire width of the cave path, and considering the walls of the hole were strong enough to carry him, Lio should be able to walk around it. Hell, he could even jump over it if he got a running start; the hole is pretty small. His head still hurts, his vision is still a bit blurry, but a part of him wants to keep going and finish the adventure he started.

Then he stands up, and wobbles so much he nearly falls back into the hole. His stomach turns again as he takes a few steps back, putting some distance between himself and the hole.

“Alright, point taken,” he gasps. His head throbs, seemingly in response.

Still, he’s not overly worried. If he was able to climb a rock wall, surely walking home will be no problem, right?

It isn’t at first. The path he took to this point is a bit winding, but it’s mostly a straight shot to follow to the entrance – or exit, in this case. He walks slower than he did on the way in, still tired from climbing. He winces every so often as the pain in his head spikes in harshness. Things are still blurry...and if he’s not mistaken, they’re getting blurrier. He’s glad he decided to turn back. Really, he wants to take a nap. But he’s still cognizant enough to realize that that’s a bad idea.

When he comes to a fork in the path, he pauses. He’d forgotten this was here. He tries to remember which way is the right way back, but nothing comes to mind. He frowns at himself; he’s usually much better at remembering things like that, to the point where he hardly ever leaves himself markers to guide himself back. He stares at the forked path, hoping a solution might materialize. For a moment, the cave becomes darker.

He shakes his head, immediately regretting it, but at least his vision isn’t black anymore. Upon looking up again, he just barely spies his old footprints on one side of the forked path through his blurred vision. There’s no wind in this cave, so his prints were left undisturbed. Now satisfied, Lio walks over his old footprints and continues on his way out of the cave.

The satisfaction doesn’t last. His body feels like lead, each step is harder than the last. Blackness keeps fluttering into his vision, once or twice he catches himself standing still, swaying against his aching brain. It feels like jello sliding around in his skull, sending pings of pain through his head every time it hits a wall.

And here he thought he could walk home. At this rate, he’ll be lucky to make it out of the cave.

Fortunately, the warm light of the outside comes into view after what feels like an eternity of walking. At this point, it’s more like stumbling. Lio’s head is swimming, his vision is so blurry he can hardly see. But if he can’t go any further, then he’ll have to call or text someone for help. He fumbles around in his pocket for his phone, and it takes him a good few moments to get a grip on it. A sudden wave of nausea grips him, and instead of passing like the last two did, it only spikes by the second, until Lio has to use his free hand to brace himself against the mouth of the cave as he vomits onto the dirt.

“Ffffuck,” he mutters. The word slurs on its way out of his throat.

The vomiting only makes his head pound harder, and when he opens his phone, he can’t concentrate enough to find the right buttons. He ends up texting...someone, he can’t even tell who. He’s too out of it to care. He only manages a single word: h ekjp.

At some point he sits down in the dirt, unable to keep standing. He’s not cognizant enough to tell himself not to nod off anymore. He would have, if not for his phone suddenly vibrating and ringing in his hands. Luckily, he’s still able to answer.

“Lio, hey, are you okay?” says Yancy’s voice on the other line, concerned. “That text you just sent me is really weird, it’s got me kinda worried about youse.”

“Heyyy,” Lio mumbles, smiling a little through his wretched headache.

“Noisy? What’s going on?”

“F...fffell. Hit muh head.” Lio pauses to groan through a particularly bad spike of agony. “G...got out, but ’m tired...”

“Hey, hold on, stay awake!” Yancy cries, voice going shrill with fear. “Just hang in there, babe, I’m gonna get help, someone’ll come get youse soon! Just don’t hang up, alright?”

Lio lets the phone drop out of his hands onto the ground. He’s too tired to understand anything. The phone lands face-up, he can still hear Yancy talking to him, but nothing registers. He sighs, leans against the mouth of the cave, closes his eyes against his headache. It feels as if his brain is splitting open. Yancy’s voice on the phone gets louder, and suddenly it gets quieter, and his blurred vision fades from the edges in, and then all of it disappears as Lio falls into oblivion.

[fanfalc-616]

Ok, so here’s my ‘literally elements’ AU, chapter one. It’s my first time making a fic on tumblr, so bear with me.

“Is- is there anything else that I, uh, that I can do for you, sir?” The shopkeeper stutters out, staring at Lloyd in awe.

The teen shakes his head. “No, but thanks anyway. And, er, call me Lloyd, okay?” He forces a smile. The reverence people show can get kind of annoying after a while. After all, he’s only been the Master of the Elements for a year now.

And with that, Lloyd takes the pack of supplies and heads out. It’s been over a month since he’s checked on the elementals, so he needs to get on that.

In all honesty, he’s been putting it off. He’d much rather play video games and read comics than micromanage them. 

With a sigh, the blond heads out. He’s in Jamanakai Village right now, so the closest place would be Zane’s home, the Glacier Barrens. 

It’s a good thing he can’t get frostbite.

—————————-

Lloyd sighs as he reaches the edge of the snowy area. Thankfully, the elementals typically seek him out as soon as he steps into their territory, which is nice.

And just like he assumed, moments after he crosses the threshold into what’s officially the Glacier Barrens, the snow beside him begins to shift, and Zane forms from the frost.

“Lloyd.” He greets. “It has been a while.”

The teen smiles. “It has.” He agrees. “How’s everything going?”

The Master of Ice frowns. “The snowfall has been quite heavy, and it has begun to grow beyond my territory. I am not sure what to make of this, but I do not believe it is cause for concern.”

Lloyd nods. “Interactions with the others?” He prompts.

“Jay has been visiting more often than usual, and I think something is troubling him. But beyond that, I have had no arguments or major difficulties with them.” 

The Master of the Elements opens his mouth to ask his next question, but Zane continues speaking.

“However, I have had some minor earthquakes disturbing my routine, and have not heard from Cole in a while.”

Hmm. Well, he’ll have to look into that. Cole typically limits the earthquakes to non populated areas- but there have been times when people have annoyed him to the point of more major tremors. 

“Anything else I should know about?” Lloyd brings himself back to the conversation.

Zane shakes his head. “No, that is it. Would you like to stay for lunch? I have been working on some new recipes.”

Lloyd smiles. Zane’s food is some of the best he’s ever had- likely because he’s practiced his cooking for millennia. And while he does need to check on the others, well… a quick bite wouldn’t hurt.

“I’d love to.”

So the Master of Ice leads him to his cooking space- he doesn’t really have a house, considering that he doesn’t need sleep. 

He actually has an abundance of ingredients, which seems kind of unexpected, considering where he lives. But he typically gets them from one of the others- usually Cole- in exchange for some of the food he uses said ingredients to make.

They talk idly while Zane cooks, and continue to do so while they eat. Lloyd shares news about the outside world, and the elemental eagerly asks for more details. 

But soon enough, he has to head out. Bidding Zane goodbye, he heads off to find some cave or underground tunnel.

It’s time to go talk to Cole.

———————

Before he makes it somewhere underground, he comes across a storm- or more accurately, the storm comes across him. Looks like Jay found him first.

And sure enough, the Master of Lightning materializes in front of him. “Hey!” He greets cheerfully. “How’s everything been? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Lloyd hesitates a moment, trying to come up with an excuse. He can’t exactly tell Jay that he was avoiding talking to them.

“That new Fritz Donnagen comic came out.” It’s not quite a lie, one did come out recently- and he was one of the first ones in line to get it.

Jay lights up- literally. Sparks fly off of him, and the smell of ozone that follows him grows stronger. “It did? What happened?! How did he get away from the Imperial Sludge?!”

Lloyd stifles a laugh and pulls the comic out of his bag. “I brought it for you.”

The elemental attempts to grab it from him, but Lloyd pulls back, leaving him grasping at air. “First, I need a report on how everything’s been going.”

Jay huffs. “Okay, okay. There’s been a minor heat wave- which affects my storms, by the way- and Kai’s been acting weird, so I’m not sure what’s going on with that. And it’s starting to get harder to control the rain- which I did have less control over already, rain isn’t lightning- but this level of minimal control is just weird. And I’ve tried talking to Zane a lot, but he seems pretty busy with something, so he hasn’t really been up for chit-chat. And-“

“Hold on.” Lloyd puts his hands up. “What’s going on with Zane?”

“I don’t know. He seems kinda stressed about something. Not sure what, it’s kinda weird, actually.” Jay frowns. “Come to think of it, even Cole’s been acting kind of suspicious.”

“You’ve spoken to Cole recently?” The teen frowns. Zane said he hasn’t had any contact with him, so it’s good to see that someone has.

“Yep. We were on top of a mountain and I swear, he got so upset that it nearly split in two! We weren’t talking about anything that could upset him like that, so I’m really not sure what set him off. Can I have the comic now?”

The Master of the Elements shakes his head. “Not yet, I have more questions.”

A pout crosses the ginger’s face, and he crosses his arms. “Ughhh. What else do you need to know?”

“You said that Cole’s been upset, Zane’s been hyper focused, and that Kai’s been acting weird. What do you mean by weird?”

“Well, there’s been a big heat wave down in the Sea of Sand, and the Boiling Sea has just been a mess. It’s so hot over there, I can’t even use rain to cool things down! Not to mention that trouble I’ve been having with the rain…”

Lloyd feels his brows furrow. Hmm. That doesn’t sound good. And why wouldn’t Zane tell him about whatever he’s worried about? Nothing seemed to be bothering him when Lloyd was there, but then again, Jay knows him better.

This is what he gets for putting things off.

“Do you have any idea why they might be so stressed out?”

Jay shakes his head. “Nope. Well, Cole mentioned something about Serpentine, but I’m not really sure why that’s such a big deal- they’ve never done anything he can’t handle.”

Lloyd nods and hands Jay the comic. “Thanks. I’ll check up on everyone.”

The Master of Lightning waves with a smile. “Good luck!” 

And with that, he vanishes back into the storm.

————————

Lloyd carefully makes his way down into a cavern- he doesn’t really have a particular one he heads to each time, he just trusts that Cole will find him once he’s underground.

And sure enough, rubble shifts, and the Master of Earth stands beside him, leaning against a cavern wall. “It’s been a little while. Is everything okay?” 

The teen nods. “Got caught up with some other things. How’s everything going down here?”

Cole hesitates. “I’m having some trouble with my powers.” He admits bluntly, getting straight to the point. “The earth hasn’t been responding the way I want it to, and some Serpentine have been taking advantage of that.”

Lloyd frowns. “What do you mean, it hasn’t been responding the way you want it to?”

“Moving the earth around takes a lot more effort than it used to, and, well, sometimes it doesn’t work at all.”

“And you’ve never had trouble with this before?”

Cole shakes his head. “Never.” He confirms. “I tried to head over to talk to Zane about it, but I couldn’t get there. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get inside his territory- it’s like there’s an extra layer of frost outside it.”

Lloyd nods slowly. “That’s… odd. Jay and I didn’t have any trouble getting in.”

“I’m not sure what’s up with that, but I have talked with Kai. I think he’s getting close to snapping with how upset he is at this whole thing.” The Master of Earth admits.

Lloyd curses under his breath. Kai’s always had difficulties with self-control, and having trouble with his element is just going to make all of that worse. 

“I’ll check up on him now, unless there’s anything else you need to tell me.” Damn, he should’ve gone straight to see him as soon as he knew something was up!

Cole shakes his head. “Good luck.” And with that, he disappears back into the rubble. 

Lloyd takes a deep breath. Time to find the nearest volcano.

————————

Torchfire Mountain was quite a ways away from where he was, and Lloyd didn’t even realize it would have been faster to go to the Fire Temple until he was standing at the base of the volcano.

With a sigh, the Master of the Elements begins to trek up. It takes several hours, and by the time he’s at the top, he’s exhausted. Maybe going to visit everyone in one day was a bad idea.

He sits down on the edge of the volcano’s rim, looking down at the lava below.

“Lloyd!” Kai greets. The teen almost flinches from the way he suddenly appears in the ash beside him. “I haven’t seen you in a little bit. Everything’s okay, right? You’re not hurt?”

He nods. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry to keep you waiting.” 

Kai scooches closer, looking him over carefully. “You sure everything’s okay? If someone’s bothering you, I can-“

“I’m fine.” Lloyd interjects. “Really. But I’ve heard about everyone’s powers fluctuating, and I wanted to see if you’ve been having trouble with them, too.”

The Master of Fire looks away with a sigh. “Maybe a little bit.” He admits. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle.” He tacks the end on quickly, but Lloyd knows him well enough to know that the elemental is just worried about being seen as weak.

“The others have been having trouble too.” Lloyd tells him. “I think that there’s something going on here.”

Kai pauses a moment, but then nods. “There might be something going on at the Fire Temple, I’ve been feeling something off around there for a week or two.”

“A week or two? Which was it, one or two? This is important!” Lloyd stares.

The elemental scratches the back of his neck, a sheepish expression on his face. “I’m not sure.” He admits. “When you’ve been alive as long as I have, time can get kinda fuzzy.”

A sigh escapes him, but he knows that he can’t blame Kai for that. The Master of Fire has been alive for eons, it’s a wonder he has a grasp on the length of human time periods at all.

“I’ll go check it out.” Lloyd decides. “Anything else I should know?”

Kai shakes his head. “Loss of powers has been the only main issue. I’ll see you at the temple?”

The Master of the Elements nods. “I’ll see you there.”

So he begins his trek over to the Fire Temple, which is a little under a dozen miles from where he is now.

Sometimes Lloyd hates his job.

[woodstockbtswriter]

Voyagers

Genre: Fluff/Headcanon

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader (Female)

Summary: A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join BTS on a Bon Voyage adventure leads to once-in-a-lifetime love.

Author’s Note: Just to let you know, I plan to update this story twice a week from here on out. I hope you’re continuing to enjoy it!

Part Eight

Rise and Shine

A knock on your bedroom door woke you from a deep sleep

As you rubbed your eyes blearily, Namjoon spoke from the other side of the door, letting you know it was time to get up

You acknowledged him, then heard him walk away

Stretching, you tried to remember the dream you’d just been in, but it had already fled your memory

All you could recall was that it was about Yoongi, and it was a good dream

Anxious to see the real Yoongi, you threw back your covers and hurried to get ready for the day

You found him with Namjoon and Hoseok in the main room, already dressed and getting ready to leave

And once again, Yoongi looked cuter than anyone had a right to in his headband, plaid shirt, khakis, and boots

The boys greeted you with kind faces, and your heart was warmed by the sight

You bid them good morning, then moved to help Yoongi clear off the dining table

Not looking up from his task, he passed you a granola bar and water bottle as you approached

You thanked him with a grin, then jokingly asked if he already ate or if he was going to do some more fasting cardio today

His lips twitched into almost a smile, and he replied that he’d had some mandarins and a granola bar too

The remaining boys wandered out eventually, and together you made quick work of packing up

Before you headed out, everyone gathered around to do your Bon Voyage chant to start the day, then you divided into vehicles 

Yoongi opted to drive the SUV, and you rode shotgun on the way to the grocery store

More Shopping

At the store, you and Yoongi worked together again, now like a well-practiced team

The others meandered up and down the aisles, leaving the two of you to collect all the ingredients for another dinner

As you browsed the sauce section, Yoongi casually asked you what your favorite food is

Pasta, you replied, of any kind

He nodded, agreeing that he could (and usually did) eat noodles everyday 

Choosing a jar of an Asian sauce you were unfamiliar with, Yoongi asked if you were enjoying Korean food or if you were tired of it yet

You were enjoying it, you told him, and you were particularly looking forward to his cooking again that night

He smiled at that, saying his food was nothing special, and when you begged to differ, he laughed

Later, while you were checking out, Hoseok noticed a coffee counter and asked for anyone who wanted coffee to raise their hand

Yoongi was distracted paying for the groceries, so you raised both your hands, telling Hoseok as he counted, “And Yoongi.”

You then helped Hoseok pass out the coffees, and Yoongi thanked you for ordering one for him

When you exited the grocery store, Taehyung wanted to show everyone else the zip-line that he, you, and Jin rode the day before

Namjoon, Hoseok, Jimin, and Jungkook were excited to try it, but Yoongi still wasn’t interested, so you accompanied him to wait in the car

As you followed behind Yoongi, one of the producers sought your attention, and asked if you were sure you didn’t want to join the others

Caught off-guard, you said it was okay, you already rode the zip-line yesterday

The producer seemed unsure, but allowed you to continue, and you noticed Yoongi give him a look

“What was that about?” You asked Yoongi, when you were back inside the SUV

He shrugged, “He probably thought they needed more footage of you with all the members.”

You sensed there was more he wasn’t saying, but you chose not to press him

While you waited, you sipped your hot coffee, and talked about what you normally do for fun

You told Yoongi how you loved to travel, take photographs, watch movies, read books, and, when you were younger, play basketball

He was intrigued to hear you played basketball, and asked you all about being on your highschool team

You admitted your skills were only slightly above-average, and not what they used to be, but agreed to a friendly one-on-one game with Yoongi at the first opportunity

A Watercolor Lake

As soon as the other boys finished riding the zip-line and everyone was ready to go, Yoongi started the SUV down the road and Jungkook followed in the camper

In the backseat with his coffee and a snack bar, Jin asked if he looked a New Yorker eating breakfast

You, Yoongi, and Namjoon agreed that, actually, he looked like a native New Zealander

Then Yoongi remarked that he hadn’t had any of his coffee yet

Feeling bad, you offered to help him drink while he drove, but he said it was okay because the coffee was still too hot

On the way to your next destination, you drove by a large, beautiful lake, and you were all stunned by the striking turquoise color

Over the walkie-talkie, a producer informed you that it was Lake Pukaki, and asked if you wanted to stop to see it

Yoongi quickly responded that he’d rather keep going, but Jimin requested a stop on behalf of the camper team, so you all agreed to pull off the road

As you all walked to the water’s edge, Yoongi observed that the scene was like a watercolor painting, and you agreed

You were more and more amazed by New Zealand’s natural beauty at every turn

And having Yoongi and the boys by your side only made everything better

Yoongi then asked if anyone knew how to skip stones, and Jin, Jimin, and Jungkook started a competition

You tried your hand at skipping stones too, but found it was harder than it looked

So you gave up, and took some pictures instead

But when you tried to take a selfie in front of the lake, you were photobombed by Yoongi, Jungkook, and Taehyung, grinning and jumping in the background of your shot

Mount Cook Trek

When you were back on the road, you and the boys passed the time singing songs

After some miles, the peak of snowy Mount Cook - your destination - came into view

Jin and Namjoon wondered if any of their songs talked about mountains, and you were struck with inspiration 

Syncing your phone to the car’s speakers, you began playing “Spring Day,” and the boys agreed that it was the perfect song choice

Finally, you arrived at the head of the trail and met up with the camper team for an hour and a half trek to Mt. Cook’s glacier beds

Before you took off, you gathered around for another 360-degree camera shot and a Bon Voyage chant, then started down the trail 

You and Yoongi found yourselves with Jin at the front of the pack this time while the rest of the boys lagged behind

The trail was level and the sun was warm and it was an all-around pleasant and leisurely hike

After a little while, Yoongi expressed his regret that he didn’t apply sunscreen, and you quickly produced a tube from your pack

He thanked you as he took the sunscreen from you, amusedly commenting that you always seemed to anticipate his needs, and your stomach fluttered in response

About a third of the way up the trail, you encountered a metal suspension bridge spanning a rushing creek the same turquoise color as Lake Pukaki

You stepped onto the bridge first, and were startled when you felt it sway slightly under your feet

Close behind you, Yoongi placed a hand on your lower back, steadying you, and his proximity immediately comforted you - and thrilled you

He asked if you were okay, speaking low and close so only you could hear, and when you said you were fine, just surprised, he dropped his hand and you continued across

Another bridge soon followed, but this time you were prepared and walked steadily over it

After about an hour of paced trekking, Jin grew restless, and suddenly took off running

He called to you and the others to join him, but most of the boys were too tired and refused

Jimin and Namjoon were game though, and after exchanging a glance, you and Yoongi jogged behind them for a bit too

Eventually, you crossed a third bridge and hiked over a rocky ridge to finally reach the glacial valley

A stretch of hard snow lined the gravelly shore, and you and the boys walked on it, joking around and taking pictures in front of the majestic mountains

Then, tired after the hike, you took a seat on one of the bigger rocks and a few of the boys did too

Yoongi sat closest to you, and you watched in companionable silence as Jimin and Namjoon threw snow at each other in front of you

Jimin then came over by you and started stacking stones to make a little tower

You and Taehyung joined him, making your own stone stacks, and when you were all done, you each took a moment to make a wish

You reverently clasped your hands, looking heavenward as you stood by your tower, and wished, hoped, and prayed that Yoongi cared for you the way you cared for him

And, if he did, that he would let you know for sure soon

Completing your wish, you looked to Yoongi and found him observing you intently

And when he caught your gaze, the corner of his mouth lifted into the gentlest smile

Previous - Next

[imaginexsa]

Coming Back (Bucky x Reader)

A/N: Hey guys! So sorry I took so long to upload hahah...I was having some issues with work and my mental health😗 Anwaysss, I don’t know if i made this angsty enough? And I hope this was what you requested haha I kinda struggled a little bit...uhHHHhH enjoy!!!

Request: @sarge-barnes-sir​: henlo was wondering if u can do a bucky one hehe where he didn't get dusted, its set during endgame and bucky & the reader (they've been together since pre-hydra/40s) were sent to vormir (i actually have a detailed concept about this but i suck at writing) it's kind of confusing :( so u don't really have to do it but if u wanna to, i can explain it further or maybe dm u but again it's pretty convoluted so it's okay if u don't want to do it, i understand 💕 thank you!! stay safe and healthy ☺️

Warnings: angst, character death

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You couldn’t believe your eyes.

He was back.

You had been called to help during the battle with Thanos when you saw him again. You remembered your old friend, Steve, telling you that he didn’t die but seeing him in person hit you a lot harder than you had expected.

Steve and you were both test subjects for the super serum and had both went under ice that time to get rid of the Tesseract, but instead of joining the Avengers like Steve did, you wanted a break. You remembered the traumatic experience of seeing your lover fall off the train and you felt like you couldn’t handle anything, you were lost.

However, now, he was standing in front of you. The emotions you’ve held back all these years came crashing on you.

You didn’t know why but even though he was the love of your life, you felt tense walking beside him as the two of you trekked up the mountain in Vormir. It was a tensed silence as the two of you had been tasked to retrieve the Soul Stone.

The Avengers had figured out a way to defeated Thanos and it was to go back in time. You were honestly skeptical about the plan after seeing Scott get turned into an old man and a baby using the machine they created. However, when Tony had come to help, the whole situation changed, making it a lot more reliable and trustworthy to you.

Bucky and you were silent the whole way, each of you stealing glances at each other as there were a bunch of things you wanted to tell him but just couldn’t get the words out. Just as you were about to talk, someone in a hood came out to stand in front of the two of you.

“Welcome.”

You and Bucky tensed up immediately and drew your guns. “Red Skull.”

He didn’t react to the hostility from the both of you. “I am not here to fight. I am just a guide. To you, and to all who seek the Soul Stone.”

“Oh good, you can just tell us where it is and we’ll be on our way,” you said, still not putting your gun down.

“Ah, liebchen, if only it were that easy,” he said as he turned away. You and Bucky looked at each other before following him.

He brought the two of you near the edge of the cliff before turning to the both of you. “What you seek lies in front of you.”

You looked at the edge of the cliff, an eerie feeling washing over you as Red Skull continued. “As does what you fear.”

“The stone is down there,” Bucky stated.

“For one of you,” Red Skull answered Bucky’s statement. “But for the other…”

“Spit it out,” you snapped.

“In other to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul, for a soul,” Red Skull finished as he moved away, giving time to think for the both of you.

“Do you think he’s lying?” Bucky asked after a while of watching you pace in front of him.

You stopped and looked at him, deep in thought before shaking your head. “I don’t think so. Thanos left here with the stone without his daughter. It’s not a coincidence.”

You and Bucky stared at each other as emotions running through your head as you knew what this meant. “Bucky­––”

“No, Y/N,” he replied almost fervently as he walked to you and grabbed your arms, he knew what you were thinking and he hated the idea with every fiber in his body.

“Please, Buck, if I don’t do this, billions of people are going to stay dead,” you said, giving him a sad smile. “Let me do this.”

“No, I-I can’t.” Bucky shook his head. “I’ll do it.”

“No!” You shouted immediately, shocking Bucky. You had tears in your eyes as you remembered the scene of him falling off the train. “I can’t see you die again.”

You shook your heard, looking at him in all seriousness. “I won’tsee you die again.”

“Y/N-”

You reached up and cradled one side of his face, seeing him lean against your hand almost immediately. You felt a sharp pain in your heart as you spoke. “I can’t do this again, Bucky. You know how much I love you and seeing you gone so easily…hurt so much.”

A tear slipped down your face as you saw Bucky’s eyes clouding over with unshed tears. You rubbed your thumb against his cheekbone gently. “I tried so hard to be okay, I wanted a fresh start. I couldn’t keep dwelling on this pain but…seeing you again, it was like the wound that had slowly been healing got ripped open again. It hurts so much. If I were to leave this place without you like what I did in the past, I’m never going to get back up.”

“Y/N,” Bucky choked out your name as tears fell from his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

You let out a shaky laugh. “Why are you apologizing, silly.”

The two of you quietly looked at each other before you pulled his head down and rested your forehead against his. “Please, please take good care of yourself. Don’t end up like the mess that I was. I know it’ll hurt but just know that I’m still here.”

You pulled away and took in a deep breath, turning to the edge of the cliff and walking towards it. As you stood at the edge, you closed your eyes and calmed your nerves before turning back to Bucky to give him one last smile before leaning back.

However, you suddenly felt someone hold on to your wrist as you dangled on the end of the cliff. Your eyes widened as you looked up to Bucky, his tears now freely flowing, drops landing on your face.

“Sweetheart, I really can’t let you do this,” Bucky spoke. “I can’t watch you die.”

You could feel your own tears falling as well as you steeled yourself. “Bucky, let me go.”

“No, please, no,” Bucky sobbed out.

“It’s okay,” you said as you used your free hand to hold onto Bucky’s wrist. “It’ll be okay. I love you, Bucky. I always will.”

With that, you ripped Bucky’s hand away from you as you felt yourself falling. Closing your eyes, you could hear Bucky’s shouts, despair in his voice before everything went quiet and you couldn’t hear anything anymore.

~

“Bucky, where’s Y/N?” Steve asked as everyone returned from their respective missions.

Bucky didn’t reply as he just collapsed to the ground, holding his face as he sobbed.

You weren’t coming back anymore.

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Tags: @sammysgirl1997​, @melconnor2007​

[jaylos]

descendancts gift exchange 2020

@descendantsgiftexchange

i’m so glad i made it within the deadline hehe (not in my timezone but shh..)

i apologize for the wait but here it is! @moorsgrimhilde i’m your gift giver and i chose to write a oneshot for umaudrey :) i hope you like it as much as i liked writing it and i hope you’re having a good time this winter <3

it has about 3700 words and the plot goes a little something like this: Uma has never skied before and Audrey helps her, but it doesn’t go so well! And then they have to take shelter from the cold, oh no! What will happen?? Probably romance!

here it is on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28439811

and here it is under the cut for those who prefer to read on tumblr:

When Ben invited all his friends on a winter vacation in the mountains of Arendelle, Uma was not that exited, but she was not going to sit around in her dorm room by herself, so she decided to join them.

However, when she was standing on skiis with shaky legs looking down the slope, she really regretted that decision.

She didn't have to get onto the ski lift and come all the way up here, but Mal had insinuated that she was too scared, so she really didn't have a choice, did she?

So, she was standing there, gripping her ski poles tightly, while Mal had stayed behind way further down the mountain on a beginner's slope.

“Do you need help?” asked a voice next to her, and she turned her head to find Audrey looking at her with a reserved smile and her eyebrows drawn together ever so slightly.

Uma's first instinct was to decline. She was, after all, not one to accept help easily.

There was also the fact that Audrey looked so regal in her coordinated soft pink wintersports outfit with faux fur and lots of tiny white pompoms, which was a stark contrast to Uma's borrowed and mismatched clothes.

Admittedly, she was less worried about their clothes and more about not wanting to look like a fool in front of Audrey.

But the clothes didn't help.

Another reason why Uma came along on this trip, though, was Audrey, who had also been invited. She felt drawn to the princess -  of all people – but had never quite found the opportunity to get to know her better.

A situation where Uma felt more in control would have been nice, but this was her chance.

So she tried to be nice.

“You think you can help me?” she asked, although it came out a little more harshly than she intended.

Audrey blinked, picking up on Uma's reluctance, but smiled through it. “My family goes skiing, like, all the time. I'm pretty good at it.”

Uma hesitated. She was still not quite used to people offering help out of the kindness of their hearts, and doubts were always gnawing at the back of her mind.

It seemed she took a second too long to respond.

Audrey's smile took on something that Uma would almost call mischievous. “Don't you want to see Mal's face when you make it to the bottom in one piece?”

Uma cringed inwardly, because Audrey had apparently not only overheard Mal's teasing but also seen right through her.

However, a smirk formed on Uma's face, because Audrey was speaking a language they both understood.

Audrey instructed Uma how to position her feet, how to balance her weight on the skiis and how to slow down so she would make it down the mountain safely.

Uma did fall on her butt a few times and she was embarrassed, but Audrey offered her hand, and her laugh was one of the sweetest sounds of Auradon.

Slowly but steadily they made headway, and Uma was starting to get the hang of it, but they had reached a part of the slope that was much steeper than the rest, and Uma looked down nervously.

Audrey came to a halt next to her. “You're doing really well for your first time!”

A part of Uma wanted to question her sincerity. Did she have hidden motives? What did she have to gain by being so nice?

In Remedial Goodness 101, they had learned about kindness for kindess' sake, but it was all still a bit confusing to Uma. Especially since she had heard some not-so-kind things about Audrey.

Maybe that was one of the reasons why she found Audrey interesting, as opposed to most other Auradonians.

The sky had been clear when they went up the mountain, but in the time it had taken them to get down little by little, grey clouds had started to gather.

Uma knew she had no time to waste and no choice but to keep going right away.

She took a deep breath. “Let's do this.”

She began her descent with all the confidence she could muster, but it vanished again in a split-second, when she lost control and started barrelling down the slope.

In the distance, Audrey called out to her, but her voice was drowned out by the wind in Uma's ears.

In an attempt to brake Uma steered to one side as best as she could. She was not going straight down, at least, but now she was speeding towards the edge of the slope and only managed to dodge a tree by a hair.

The snow was significantly deeper here, so she became a bit slower right before her skiis got stuck and she flew face first into a heap of snow.

She took a moment to recover from the shock and catch her breath. When she got up, relieved that she was still in one piece, she could hear Audrey calling her name as she hurried into the woods after her.

Uma patted down her clothes to rid herself of the snow. “I'm here!” she called.

“Are you okay?” Audrey asked as soon as she reached her. “Are you hurt?”

The worry in Audrey's voice was a small comfort to Uma. At least she was not going to mock her for making a fool out of herself.

“I'm fine,” she reassured her.

“..Do you think you can keep going?” Audrey asked, but seemed reluctant to even suggest it.

Uma sighed. “Do I have a choice?”

To her surprise, Audrey did offer another option. “Well.. I know a place where we could take a break. It's a short walk from here.” She looked around a bit and added, “I think.”

Uma did not have to be asked twice. “Lead the way.” She knew that she had to go down the rest of the way eventually, but she was grateful for any excuse to put it off for the moment.

They slowly trudged through the deep snow for a while, their ski boots making it even harder to move forward. On top of that, the wind picked up considerably, swirling up the snow around them.

As much as Uma hated this troublesome, freezing trek, she probably would have hated skiing the rest of the way in this weather even more.

Uma didn't notice the small building in front of them until she almost bumped into Audrey.

“We're here!” Audrey yelled over the wind and proceeded to take the few wooden steps leading up the the porch, where she dropped her skiis with a huff.

It was a lodge in the middle of the forest, but Uma didn't waste much time looking at it before dumping her skiis with Audrey's and quickly following her inside.

They were both out of breath. and it took Uma a few moments before she could get out words.

“How'd you know about this?”

“It's my family's.” Audrey took off her jacket and shook the snow off of it. “We used to come here all the time when I was little, but nobody's been here ever since my parents bought a new one.”

Uma let her eyes wander around the room. There was a big couch with a matching recliner and a fireplace with a fluffy fur rug in front of it. On one side there was a small kitchen unit, and the floor, walls and high ceiling were all made of wood. Everything seemed quite dusty, but charming nonetheless. How wasteful it was to just abandon a place like this.

“Are you getting service?” Audrey asked, pulling Uma out of her thoughts.

Uma turned to her as she was holding up her phone - to no avail, judging by the disgruntled look on her face.

“I don't even have a phone,” she replied matter-of-factly.

That made Audrey stop and look at her for a moment. “Well,” she began, “if we're lucky, somebody notices that we're missing.”

The sarcastic undertone in her voice did not escape Uma. “You're a princess. They're probably already looking for you.”

“Sure,” Audrey replied, but did not sound convinced.

Uma drew her eyebrows together slightly. There was something up, but she decided not to pry, at least for now. There were more pressing matters at hand.

“Let's just make a fire. We're gonna be here for a while either way,” she said.

“It's an old fireplace. It doesn't have a switch!” Audrey said, visibly distressed, as though she was making sense. “We're probably gonna freeze to death!”

Uma shook her head lightly, albeit with a small smile on her face. “Relax, princess. Making a fire is not that hard. Just see if you can find matches around here somewhere.”

Audrey did as asked while Uma took some firewood from the pile next to the fireplace and put it inside.

They did manage to get a fire going with little difficulty, which seemed to put Audrey at ease, and they waited a bit for it to grow bigger before they peeled of their outer layers.

Audrey dug out blankets from somewhere and they got cozy on the fur rug in front of the fireplace.

This was definitely the most comfortable shelter Uma had ever been in.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, only the fire was crackling and the wind was howling over the roof.

“I've never seen this much snow. Like, at all,” Uma said as she looked out the window. There wasn't much to see except white nothingness. It was not that strange to Uma, though, to feel cut off from the rest of the world.

Audrey followed her gaze, scrunching up her face a bit at the sight. “Was there no snow on the Isle?”

“There wasn't much weather at all,” Uma replied with a shrug. “Honestly, I prefer that over this.”

“You know what would make this a lot more bearable? Hot chocolate,” Audrey said and huffed.

The way her lips were drawn into a pout reminded Uma of the fact that she was still a spoiled princess.

“Is this, like, you worst winter vacation ever?” Uma teased.

Audrey averted her gaze, and for a moment Uma feared that she had upset her, but she looked up again. “Well, I guess it was pretty fun befor-”

“Before I almost died,” Uma finished with a smirk. She sighed. “It's all my fault. I just had to prove Mal wrong.”

“Right, so it's actually her fault! Again! What a shocker,” Audrey said.

Uma snorted. She still had a light smile one her face when she contemplated for a moment. “Nah,” she said, “Harry made chicken noises at me too.”

She really had no-one to blame but herself. Nobody made her do anything.

Uma turned her head to look at Audrey, although their eyes did not quite meet.

“Are you still holding a grudge?”

Still with a sarcastic undertone, Audrey replied, “What, just because she stole my boyfriend and is gonna be queen instead of me and always hogs all the attention?”

They looked at each other for one quiet second before they broke out into laughter.

When they calmed down, Audrey continued, “I'm over it. I mean, being queen would've been nice but honestly I'm kind of relieved that I don't have to spend my life with.. someone I don't really love.”

“Then why did you start dating him?” Uma asked.

Audrey gave a half-hearted shrug. “It just made sense. I was always expected to marry a prince, so why not take the most influential one there is?” She paused. “And Ben and I grew up together, so I already knew he was a good person.”

Uma could only shake her head at the absurdity of it. “I literally grew up on an island prison but I gotta say, that sounds like you didn't have much freedom either.”

Audrey's chuckle was bittersweet, but it helped her let go of a bit of the tension her memories had brought her.

“So,” Uma said with a sigh, “what are we gonna do now that we're both free?” Her choice of words was deliberate. She was up for spending more time with Audrey, whatever they were doing.

“Oh, I'm on top of my schedule,” Audrey replied, faking enthusiasm. “Being a huge disappointment to my family?” She made a check mark in the air with a flick of her wrist. “Check.”

Uma laughed. “Tell me about it.”

With a soft smile, Audrey inclined her head. “What about you?”

Uma pretended to think for a moment. “Absolutely no idea.” She was pondering how much she wanted to open up to Audrey. There was a feeling of mutual understanding between them, even though they could not be more different. “The Isle was awful in many ways, but at least I knew my place there. Here I'm.. a fish out of water.” She lowered her gaze. “And I had my crew, but they're all doing their own thing now. And that's great for them an all... but I'm just not used to it.” She let out a soft chuckle. “I never expected Gil to travel Auradon one day.”

He had always seemed pretty content where he was.

Audrey opened her mouth, but she took a second longer to decide if she wanted to speak or not. “Why don't we do that?”

Uma blinked at her. “What, travel Auradon?”

“Yeah,” Audrey replied and tried to rein in her excitement about her own suggestion. “I mean, nothing's keeping me in Auradon City.”

“Haven't you been everywhere already?”

“Pretty much. But I bet it'd be fun to go there again.. with you,” Audrey said and looked at her with big eyes, nervously awaiting her response.

Uma pressed her lips together to keep her smile from growing too wide.

Their eyes met.

“Sure,” Uma responded, “but let's say Arendelle was our first stop. I think I've seen all I need to see here.”

Audrey chuckled softly and Uma basked in the sweet sound of it.

“You know,” Uma began, “when I came here I didn't think we would get along, but you're cool.” She nodded with approval. When she spoke on her voice was more soft. “I had fun hanging out with you today. Even this,” she gestured into the room, “is not so bad.”

Audrey gave her a bashful smile and was unable to hold eye contact, which Uma took as a good sign. It felt like quite the accomplishment to make the beautiful princess flustered.

Audrey leaned a bit closer as though she was about to tell a secret. In a low voice she said, “I thought you were intimidating.”

“Thanks, I try,” Uma replied with a smirk.

More soflty, Audrey then said, “I had fun with you too.”

For a moment or two, they just looked at each other.

Uma's mind was racing, thinking about how many unexpected turns her life had taken so that she ended up here. Never in a milion years would she have imagined that she would find a companion in an Auradonian, let alone a princess.

She had been curious about Audrey ever since she read her diary – which she would not do again, of course – but she didn't think that there would become more of it than a ridiculous fantasy.

“Oh, but the first thing we're gonna do when we get out of here is get you a phone,” Audrey said, snapping Uma back to reality.

“Do I need one?” she asked.

Audrey tilted her head as though the answer was obvious. “Of course! How else are you supposed to respond to my texts and like my selfies?”

Uma wrinkled her forehead. “..I could just tell you in person?”

Audrey smiled solfty at her. “That's sweet, but it's not the same.”

They were talking about all sorts of things, about their lives growing up, about Auradon, about their friends. Not too much about their parents and their expectations, though. They decided that was too much of a bummer.

Audrey kept thinking of more things she wanted to show Uma, more ways to share her world with her, and Uma had soon forgotten that there was a snow storm raging outside. She wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere else.

There was a lull in the conversation. Not an unpleasant silence, though.

They had moved closer together without even noticing, even though the warmth from the fire had already spread around the room.

“Can I ask you a question?” Audrey's voice was quiet, so as not to disturb the peace.

Uma turned to look at her to find her watching the fire pensively.

“Shoot.”

“On the Isle... do people believe in true love?”

Uma shrugged. “Some might, but if they do they don't say it. It's pretty frowned upon.”

Audrey finally tore her gaze away from the fire. “Why?”

“It makes you vulnerable. On the Isle you can't – couldn't – afford that,” Uma replied. She herself had believed that too, although she had her doubts ever since she had found her crew. Caring for them was what had made her strong, after all. “Why are you asking?”

“We grew up very differently. I'm just curious about someone else's perspective.” Audrey's eyes were jumping between different spots on Uma's face, as though she would learn more by looking closely.

“Do you believe in true love?” Uma asked with a nonchalance that sounded fake even in her own ears.

“I guess so,” Audrey replied, not trying to hide her uncertainty. “I mean, it's what I grew up to believe in.” She paused, and her expression turned almost apologetic. “I would like it to be true, but I've certainly had no luck finding it.”

“That sounds like way too much pressure,” Uma said.

Audrey let out a chuckle. “Yeah. I probably would've stayed with Ben just so I wouldn't have to deal with it.”

A smirk formed on Uma's face. “Then maybe Mal did you a favor.”

With a soft laugh Audrey shook her head lightly, followed by a sigh. “I think Ben's heart wasn't in it either. It was probably only a matter of time anyway,” she said with a wistful smile.

Uma gave her a sympathetic look. “You people take this true love stuff way too seriously.” Her voice lacked the usual contempt she had for nonsensical Auradonian conventions. It wasn't Audrey's fault that she thought there was only one way to love.

Their eyes met, and Uma wasn't sure if Audrey had come closer again.

“You're probably right.. But what else am I supposed to do?”, Audrey asked in a soft voice, as though she already knew the answer but didn't dare to say it.

“Just have fun,” Uma replied and leaned in a bit. “You don't always have to know where it's going.”

Uma certainly didn't. Everything she did ever since the barrier was opened meant going into uncharted waters.

They were only inches apart now, looking into each other's eyes inently.

“What would people think?”, Audrey asked, her voice not much more than a whisper.

Uma didn't want to burden herself with trying to unpack all that this question entailed, at least not now. This moment was just for them, not for anyone else to scrutinize.

“That's their problem.”

This must have been exactly what Audrey wanted to hear, because a light smile formed on her lips. And to Uma's surprise, Audrey was the one who closed the gap between them.

When Audrey's soft lips touched hers, Uma curled her fingers into her blanket, else she might have floated away.

She stayed still and waited for Audrey to pull away first.

When Audrey did so, she smiled sweetly and cast down her eyes.

Uma almost had to laugh, because of all people, she was the one getting a kiss from a princess, and she liked it too.

“If someone had told me about this, like, two years ago..” Audrey said, but didn't finish her sentence.

They both giggled at the fact that, not long ago neither of them would ever have expected this.

Audrey leaned onto her, not too much, only so their shoulders were touching lightly, and told her more about the places they'd visit and the things they'd see.

Uma suggested a trip to the Isle as well. She wasn't particularly proud of the place she grew up in, but she was proud of her ship and what she made of it. And it was sure to be unlike anything Audrey had ever seen before.

The storm had settled a bit, but they barely noticed. Audrey never even checked her phone to see if a message did get through.

The sun was starting to set, and only then were they disturbed by loud banging on the door, and muffled voices calling their names made them jump to their feet.

They hurried to the door, and in stumbled Mal and Ben and lots of snow.

“There you are!” Mal said and threw her arms around Uma's neck, only to let go again immediately to look Uma up and down. “Are you okay?”

Ben hugged Audrey with a little less vigor but just as much relief. “We've been looking everywhere for you!”

“Until Ben remembered this place,” Mal added.

“We're fine,” Uma reassured them.

Audrey clutched her chest. “You've been running around outside during this terrible storm?”

“We couldn't just wait around not knowing if something happened to you,” Ben said.

Mal ignored the question, still too agitated to have a calm conversation. “I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have egged you on when I knew you've never skied before. It's all my fault.”

Uma and Audrey exchanged a look, both trying to suppress a smile.

“It's fine,” Uma said. “We've been holding out in here.”

Ben had taken off his mittens and was now rubbing his hands together to warm them up. “Could we maybe join you for a bit? I'm not really in a rush to get back out there now that we know you're safe.”

“That depends,” Uma replied and lifted her chin.

This earned her confused looks and Mal asked, “On what?”

Uma smirked. “You think you can conjure up some hot chocolate?”

“That's a great idea,” Audrey said and gave her the sweetest of smiles.

[idkthisisjustforfanfic]

two years too late, chapter t w e l v e

If there was anything in this moment that you hated more than Harry, it was the fact that you’d navigated all the way out to JFK in the rain to accompany your friends back into the city. 

Getting there was no easy feat in sunshine--but when the weather picked up and you made the trek on public transit, it seemed a bit too friendly for your current state of mind. Sure--they’d never been here before and maybe the subway system was a bit different from the tube or anything else they’d ridden overseas (rats eating pizza wasn’t unheard of, after all), but it still felt like a lot of effort to bring them all the way back over the bridge and part ways to avoid Harry altogether. 

You knew you’d have to see him at some point, but a Friday night after a full week of work left you too tired to deal--especially when you spent the day before (the 14h day of February) using all of your power to not sucker punch any single person who even mentioned love or relationships or any type of positivity whatsoever. 

Alyssa and Owen were the only exception--partially. She’d claimed it was too soon to do anything with him, but her tune changed when he happened to have tickets to a comedy show. She flew out the door with a scarf around her neck, promising to bring you any leftovers from dinner before she kissed you on the head. 

Everyone else was excited for the wonderful week ahead. Jessie had texted a selfie of the four of them--cheeks pressed together in first class before take off--you responded before you realized Harry was in the chat. Alyssa was begging to see them tonight instead of tomorrow morning, seeing as she’d had many FaceTime encounters but never the real thing! But when Jake informed you only thirty minutes ago that they’d landed, you knew it’d be a while before they got through customs and made their way to you. 

So you sighed, shoved your hands in your pockets and tried to ignore the echoing overhead voice of an airport worker. American Airlines Flight 1290 from Madrid: now at baggage claim 7. 

But then there was a voice, a tap on your shoulder and you swiveled quickly, a pair of blue eyes and a five o’clock shadow smiled down at you. “Hi--sorry to bother you--are you Y/N L/N?”

A nod--you tried to find words, but confusion took over your tongue. You were used to being stopped by girls your own age--people who read your work or followed you on twitter. Every once in a while it happened to be a guy, but it had yet to be one as attractive as the blond head  of hair in front of you. Adidas sweatpants, a backwards baseball hat on his head. 

“Yeah, hi--” you pulled a hand from your pocket and offered it towards him. “Nice to meet you!”

“I’m Patrick Martin, I work for Digitize--we’re a social media firm over in Long Island City--I thought I recognized you from your picture on The Scoop.”

“Oh god,” you scrunched your nose, an immediate flood of embarrassment through your bones. “I did not know it was staff picture day and I never wear my hair like that--”

“It’s a beautiful picture,” he laughed, “really.” An awkward beat. “But I just wanted to say hi. We’ve done some stuff with Whitney Hall--d’you know her?”

“Oh yeah, she’s my editor! She’s fantastic.”

“Yeah!” He adjusted the shoulder strap of a duffle bag he carried. “She’s great--I didn’t mean to bother you but I’ll give you this,” he fiddled with his wallet, produced a small black card that had his name, email, and phone number. “If you’re ever interested in growing your online presence independently of a media outlet, we’re here for that.”

You took it in your hands and flipped it over. “Thank you--yeah, I’ll uh, I’ll be in touch.”

“I’d love to take you for coffee or something sometime.”

“Incoming!” A crash to your side, arms wrapped around you before a gap tooth smile was in front of your face, freckled cheeks red from the running she’d done to leave the others behind.

“We’ll get in touch online,” Patrick smiled, his eyes scanning over Jessie as she adjusted the jacket she wore.  

“Sorry,” she laughed. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“All good,” he said, his accent American and stark in contrast to Jessie’s. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” you offered a hand again, another smile when he turned and waved goodbye, a nod to your friends who’d undoubtedly cut him short. 

When you turned to see them, a grin stretching towards your ears, Jake opened his arms. “Smalls in the flesh--in America--how cool is this?”

“Pretty fucking cool,” Adam answered, shoving past Jessie to wrap his arms around you. “Happy almost birthday!”

“Another two days of being twenty-three!” Bryn took her turn enveloping, she reached a hand up to smooth your hair from Jessie’s crash landing. “Gettin’ old, yeah?”

You rolled your eyes. “Feels that way! You all got through customs that easily?”

“For fuck’s sake, Smalls, don’t say it like they should search us again,” Jake looked over his shoulder, hoping no one would decide to give them a harder time than they’d apparently gotten. 

“M’not! M’not, I was just prepared to wait a lot longer.”

“Well we’ve got to get our bags and then we’re all yours!” Jessie offered another grin, taking a few steps towards the carousel that would soon spit out their belongings. 

“All Harry’s tonight, actually.”

“Oh god,” she let out a groan, her arms crossed over her chest quickly. “Is this some type of split custody thing? Mom and dad fighting again?”

“Very funny,” you made a face at her, “you’re staying at his cause I don’t have the room--and I’m tired. Worked a whole week, you know. Big story on my hands.”

They didn’t ask, luckily. A shrill noise came from the carousel, it started moving and soon delivered all seven items they’d been waiting for. Four suitcases, two duffle bags. Jake and Adam lugged them off one by one, dropping them by their feet until Bryn pointed to each one. “That’s all of them!”

“Alright,” you said, pulling out your phone. You figured that it’d be easiest to just take the AirTrain over towards the A Train--right up through Brooklyn and home by 9pm. “We’ll take the shuttle thing over here,” you pointed in the direction of the doors, leading them out to a concourse where cars had already lined up for their arriving passengers. 

When you crossed the threshold, Adam pointed towards a man with a sign. “Think that’s for us?”

Jessie, Jake, Bryn, Adam, Y/N--a big white board in Roger’s hands. 

“Oh thank god!” Jessie immediately moved towards the big SUV--windows so dark you couldn’t see inside. 

“What are you doing here?” You tried to hide the disappointment--and anger--in your voice.

Roger offered a smile, clearly unaware of the recent developments. “He said it might be a tough trip back with all of these,” a gesture to the bags by your feet as he started to push them into the open trunk.

“No--we’re taking the subway!” Your feet were planted on the gum-stained cement, hands back in your pockets to protect from the unforgiving wind. 

“Not if we have this option we’re not,” Bryn smiled over her shoulder, a look in her eyes pleaded with you to just roll with it. You stood, still, watching as they climbed one by one into the waiting vehicle. 

“S’fine--he’s just being nice,” Jake came and tugged at your arm, his voice low enough so the  others wouldn’t hear. 

“Headed to yours or to Harry’s?” Roger asked, the last of the bag fitting perfectly against the others--Roger had apparently played airport Tetris before. 

“Harry’s please!” Jake answered quickly, giving you a gentle shove towards the back row of seats. You did it begrudgingly. You settled in between he and Bryn--too stubborn to admit that the subway would have sucked. 

So you listened to them laugh about the fancy toilets in first class--Bryn had tried to eat her weight in peanuts and Adam was asleep before they even taxied the runway. Jessie listed off the things she wanted to do and Jake begged for dinner as soon as you crossed over the Manhattan bridge. 

When Roger pulled up to the big glass doors on Greenwich St, you climbed out alongside them, arms crossed as you watched them all try to pull their suitcases from the mountain Roger had built. 

“Good?” Jake reached up to shut the trunk after taking one last look. Jessie moved towards the entrance, the doors parting to reveal a hooded Harry, he didn’t even look at you. 

“Hi lovie!” Jessie wrapped her arms around his neck, Roger offered a wave before climbing back into the car, promising to see you soon while Harry offered hugs. 

“Coming inside?” Adam turned to watch you over his shoulder, a gust of wind blew hair in front of your face. 

“M’exhausted--breakfast in the morning?”

“Y/N are you serious? We just flew ourselves all the way over the ocean to see you and you’re going to sleep?”

“What? I just--I worked, I dunno.”

“Come up for tea, at least,” his voice was smaller than the others, a shrug of his shoulders, his hands hidden in the middle pocket of his jumper. Fleeting eye contact, another gust of wind that seemed to kickstart Adam into motion.

“Yeah, tea, Smallsy, come on,” he was the first to make a move, he picked up his luggage and headed for the door, Harry’s eyes still on you.

If Roger hadn’t already driven away--his assumption that you’d also be staying the night only spoke to how out of the loop he was--you wouldn’t have followed them in past Mark, offering a wave before Harry swiped into the elevator. 

“This is so fucking fancy,” Jessie giggled, her face only a few inches from yours. 

You reached for your phone in your pocket, composing a desperate plea to Alyssa as the lift rose up to Harry’s floor. 

Come to Harry’s--stuck here for a while. Pls!!!!

They did the same oohing and aahing that you had done--wide eyes tracing circles around the room. The high ceilings, the hardwood floor, the art on the walls and the rug on the floor. 

Harry headed for the stove to put on a kettle, he told you to show them the two extra bedrooms. 

“This one has a king so--if Jake and Adam are going to be weird about being in one bed and wanting to build a pillow wall between them, this should be theirs.”

“We already decided to alternate each night between the bed and the couch,” Jake laughed, earning an eye roll from Bryn. 

“You’re both fucking wankers--you’re not going to accidentally touch willies in the middle of the night.”

“Girls down here,” you ignored their bickering, flipping on the lights in the farthest bedroom, navy walls and a white duvet. 

“M’gonna change really quick!” Jessie dropped a duffle onto the bed, unzipping it when Jake spoke from the doorway behind you. 

“Yeah I’ve gotta wee!”

They all seemed to disappear into their rooms, changing, using the loo, inconveniently leaving you to walk back to the living room alone, a message on your phone informed that Alyssa was on her way. 

“Milk?”

“Hmm?” You looked up from your phone, swallowed down the anxiety when you realized it was just the two of you.

“In your tea--milk?”

“Yeah.”

He already had six cups out--each with a tea bag resting inside. He rested his hands on the counter, lips parted as if he was about to speak, when the kettle whistled. 

“Much better!” Jessie appeared in sweatpants, her hair up on top of her head. “I smell like airplane, but I'll live.”

Harry pushed a teacup towards you on the counter, lips in a thin line when you picked it up and locked eyes with him. 

“You alright?” Jessie watched him closely, he cleared his throat when he realized she was referring to the way he was looking at you. 

“Yeah--just, uh, tired. Had a bunch of meetings today.”

You had no clue if that was true or not--it’d been a week since you’d last seen him, a week since  you knew what he was doing or where he was. A week since you’d stood in his living room with tears on your cheeks and anger in your veins. 

“Both of you, Jesus. Want us to fly home?”

“No,” you said. “We’re fine. So tell me about the meeting you had with the programme director. You like him?”

“I mean,” Jessie let out a laugh, reaching for her own cup before walking to join you on the couch. “He’s a total babe. Terribly smart, I think, too.”

“Most important part is that he’s single and his last wife died--” Bryn emerged from the loo, her face a mix of amusement and mockery. 

“Well if he was divorced that would be a red flag,” Jessie tried to reason. 

“But you’re excited to start?” Harry came around to the living room, he sat in a chair opposite you, his eyes on Jessie has if nothing happened. It almost felt like you were back at square one--back to a time where your feelings were a secret and like you’d never even dream of being honest with him. 

**

July 2014

“I can’t believe he made us come all the way down to London when they played in Manchester the other night,” Jessie looked at herself in her front camera, using the pad of her forefinger to wipe lipstick from her teeth. When she looked up at you, her eyebrows furrowed. “Can’t believe you’re not mad at him, honestly.”

“Oh relax,” you said, a strange energy seemed to spread through you, starting in your core and out towards your fingers when you reached down to pat her on the shoulder. 

She was seated on a couch--one in a green room somewhere inside the winding corridors of London’s O2 Area--Bryn was too busy trying to flirt with someone’s sister. Cool air blew through the overhead vents--a steady hum that did a good job of masking the buzzing in your veins.

You’d all done the math in the car on the trip down, a whole six months since you’d seen him in passing over Christmas. A quick hello at Annie’s--his last day in town before he was heading on vacation with his mum. 

Sure--maybe your friends expected you to be less than thrilled to see the boy you once dreamed about, but things felt different. Mature and grown up and far removed from the sad 15-year-old he’d left behind. 

And besides, there was Charlie. 

“We just found a signed picture of Jennifer Lopez in the hallway,” Jake’s voice was low and measured, as if he expected you to be just as excited as they were. Charlie and Adam nodded beside him, their eyes wide with excitement.

“She’s so hot,” the words fell out of Charlie’s mouth without much thought, clearly. 

“Right,” you said, a quick nod as if it didn’t sting--as if you didn’t practice calling Harry three times in Bryn’s bedroom to ask for another ticket for your boyfriend. 

Is it serious--like, you really like him? Harry’d asked on the phone like it was any of his business. 

Super serious, you’d said, as if alliteration had your back. He might be the one. 

So he tagged along, given a fair warning at your parents’ house that morning that he wasn’t allowed to take the piss or give Harry an ounce of shit--after all, Charlie wasn’t the biggest fan of boy bands. He’d made that clear the minute he found out that your heart held a special place for the five-piece group. 

There was commotion from the other side of the room--people stirring when a door opened, Jessie stood from the couch. 

His hair was long--longer than the last time you’d seen him, part of it pulled up on top in an elastic as he locked eyes with Jake. A black silk shirt, unbuttoned low enough to see a bit too much of his chest--especially if you were running with the whole no feelings whatsoever idea. 

“Hey man,” he pulled Adam in for a hug, both their hands patting the other on the back before releasing Harry to greet the rest of you. He made his rounds, finding you and Charlie last. One hand in his pocket before sticking out the right one for him to shake. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “M’Harry.”

“Charlie,” he nodded. “Thanks for having us.”

He brought his eyes to you, lips curled into a small smirk, dimpled cheeks. “Smalls,” he opened his arms, letting you get a good whiff of whatever cologne he now wore. 

“How was the drive down?”

“Terribly long,” Jessie complained, her shoulders slumping. “Why couldn’t we come to Manchester?”

“Because--I told you--this is the better show to come to. Everyone brings friends in London. Better after parties, too,” he let an arm snake around Jessie’s shoulders, smiling down at her with raised brows. 

“Like--with famous people?”

“If you’re lucky--heard Ed Sheeran might come say hello at some point. David Beckham, too.”

“Fine,” Jessie said quickly, not missing a beat. “That would be cool.”

“Always so composed, Jess,” Jake teased. 

Harry’s assistant--he had his own now, not just one he shared with the other boys--offered cocktails, something to hold in hand while you made smalltalk with the friends of the other boys. The kids who grew up next door to Niall, Louis’ siblings and Liam’s best friend from college. 

It was nice to be in a room with other people who knew what it felt like to be left behind. Maybe they didn’t all label it like that, but you knew that they understood what it was like to wonder about the next time you’d see your friend. 

You reached for another drink the second Harry got you alone, a question about how you met Charlie. 

“Lived on my floor during my first year. We were friends for a while--or, in the same friend group, I guess.”

He nodded, he elbow resting on top of a water cooler he made a face before letting words slip from between his lips slowly. “He seems...nice.”

“What?” You laughed, “what is it? How could you not like him when you’ve spoken like ten words to him all night?” 

“I never said that!” He smiled, raising a hand in the air in defense. “Just--dunno--hope he’s not a tosser.”

You let out a small laugh, a space filler while you tried to gather your thoughts, or rather, your emotions. The idea that Harry cared about who you dated sent a spark through your system, but the rationalizing that soon kicked in--it’s because you’re friends, he’s just being nice--seemed to put out whatever fire had been momentarily ignited. 

After a while he was pulled away by someone whose job it was to manage his time--warm ups in another room and maybe one last puff of hairspray. You were left with the others to consume more alcohol, eventually led to your seats by men in bright yellow shirts with flashlights.

Charlie was entertained enough--he laughed with Jake and Adam and clapped for the opening act. He made a face at the screams when the lights went down again, but even Jessie typically pulled something similar. 

Ten songs, three more drinks, and a small bladder eventually had you wandering the corridors alone, tracing your way back to the room with the oriental rug and comfy couches. When you found the peaceful quiet of bottled waters and granola bars on the counter, you found yourself taking your time--staring at yourself in the mirror when you washed your hands. 

“Hi,” Bryn’s voice sounded from behind you. “Y’alright?”

“Yeah,” you said, a solemn nod. “Just--kind of weird, you know, to have them in the same place.”

She hummed, coming to rest a head on your shoulders. “I figured.”

“I really like him, you know?”

“Harry?”

“Charlie!” You rolled your eyes, but a piece of you knew that Bryn’s words weren’t false. You turned around to lean against the counter. “He’s great--he’s funny. I just--I dunno. I hope at some point I stop wondering about the what ifs.”

There were tears in your eyes--a small enough amount that you could claim it was an eyelash or a yawn, but with Bryn, you didn’t feel the need to. “You will,” she reassured. 

“And besides--s’a pretty good way to make them both jealous. Bring your new boyfriend to the concert of your friend who’s a rockstar? If Harry has half a mind, it’ll make both of them pretty antsy.”

You laughed, unsure of if inspiring jealousy was what you were going for. If anything, at this point, you wanted peace. Maybe things with Harry would never happen--after four years, it was safe to say that he’d moved on from your small town. Maybe another four years and you’d never see him again, save for tabloid covers in Sainsbury’s. 

“What’s up?” Jessie asked, leaning against the door from the greenroom. The bass line thumped through the cement wall--you were sure your eyeliner was smudged. 

“Just realizing she’s still not over Harry,” Bryn said quickly, no emotion in her words--as if it was as simple as discussing the weather. 

“Bryn!”

“Y/N,” Jessie seemed to laugh a little, coming over to brush your hair with her fingers. “Charlie’s great--he’s funny and he’s handsome and he’s--”

“Not Harry,” Bryn said, a shrug of her shoulders when you looked up at her with narrowed eyes.

“He’s great though, she’s right,” you said, enough conviction to convince yourself that you actually believed it. “Who cares if he’s not the one--he can be fun for now, yeah?”

“Yeah,” they said.

Locked arms when you went back to your seats, wristbands granting you access to the floor with ease. When you found Charlie you let him wrap his arms around you, hoping that one day, he’d be enough to erase the memories of the boy on stage. 

**

“Thank god you’re here,” you greeted Alyssa right in front of the lift, voice low enough so the others couldn’t hear you. 

She shrugged off her jacket and made a face. “That bad?”

“Hi Lyss,” Harry’s voice echoed over Bryn’s laughter--they all turned their attention towards your roommate as she smoothed out her blouse. 

“Hi,” she said. “Nice to finally meet you all!”

“Welcome, welcome,” Jessie laughed. “Many a FaceTime call!”

Harry seemed to watch in silence as you took your place back on the couch--Alyssa settling onto the carpet before looking up at him, a closed lip smile was the only interaction between the two. 

It didn’t feel as bad as you thought it would--or maybe it was the glass of wine that Bryn poured you an hour later. That paired with the laughter that laced itself through conversation left your heartbeat steady, easily ignoring the fact that Harry’s eyes would linger a second too long every time you spoke. 

Jake went off to bed first--claiming dramatically that his body really thought the sun should be rising. Adam made him promise to construct a sturdy enough pillow wall--Bryn once again pointed out their subtle homophobia with a raise of her wine glass. Twats, she said, once Adam left the room. 

But she was next to fall, slumping down the hallway while Jessie sang along to whatever song Alyssa played from her phone. So once you’d decided it was time to head out, Jessie disappeared into a dark bedroom and Alyssa used the toilet--leaving you to trail behind Harry as you brought tea cups and wine glasses back to the sink. 

“I hope it’s okay that they’re here.”

“Them?” You threw a thumb over your shoulder--reality setting in when you realized you’d yet to actually communicate with him about the birthday surprise. Anger fought its way up your throat. “S’fine--they’re my best friends.”

“Yeah,” he said, the next words came lazily out of his mouth like an afterthought. “Mine too.”

Back to the living room to get your coat, pulling it over your shoulders as if he hadn’t followed behind you, watching quietly when you scooped your hair out from the jacket. 

“Maybe we can talk in a few days. I know they’re here, but, you didn’t even hear me out.”

“Hear you out? You were seeing two girls at once and you want me to hear you out?”

The door to the loo shut--Alyssa appeared in the hallway but faltered when both you and Harry took a step back from each other.

“Relax,” she said, her eyes wide for a second as she came to meet you near the door. “S’just me. I know you broke up.”

You rolled your eyes at that--Harry’s expression was calm. “I’ll see you in the morning?” His voice was hopeful--his eyes watched yours for any sign of emotion. 

“Maybe--Jessie wants to do Times Square so I doubt you can come. And besides, we still need to minimize the amount we’re seen together. If people see you with them and then me with them they’ll start to put things together before--you know.”

“Before what?”

“Before I can figure out the story and telling Whitney, alright? If we have to be sneaky about this so people don’t know that I’ve known you forever--I vote that you’re the one to hide.”

His head tilted to the side, as if you’d started speaking a foreign language. “Hide?” 

Alyssa slung her purse over her shoulder. 

“Yes, hide. You can hang out with us but you’re on your own for making sure you don’t draw attention to us. This is my birthday gift, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, a sigh from between his lips when he looked to Alyssa. “Thanks for coming.”

She offered an awkward smile--you wondered what she’d say to him if you weren’t there, how they’d interact just the two of them.

“See ya,” you tugged Alyssa by the coat sleeve into the lift. You pressed a button and shut the door between you, welcoming the bitter air on the sidewalk. Quiet on the walk home--you would have taken the subway or called a car, but Alyssa probably knew you needed the silence.

A direct message on twitter that night when you climbed into bed. You didn’t even know Pat--his name sounded familiar and you trusted that he had to be decent at his job if Whitney had worked with him, but when you agreed to meet him for coffee next week, you wondered what it would feel like to love someone that wasn’t Harry. 

You hoped one day you’d know. 

**

The neon glow of Times Square was much more impressive at night, so the five of you stood in the center of a cement island, taxis and buses honking beside you as Jessie and Adam stared up with open mouths. 

“S’brighter than I imagined,” Jake said, pulling the hood of his jacket up over his ears. “So much electricity.”

“S’beautiful,” Jessie cooed, the reflection of the lights bounced off her irises. When she turned to look at you, she wrapped an arm around yours. “Thanks for taking us.”

“My pleasure,” you laughed. “You come less and less to touristy things when you live here. S’like how we stopped doing the Eye or riding the double deckers.”

“Right,” Bryn laughed, a shopping bag in her right hand. “Or how we wouldn’t let Jake take any more pictures with the guards at Buckingham Palace.”

“They’re funny,” he defended, shooting Bryn a look of anger before resting an arm on her shoulders. 

Adam looked around the group of you, a smile on his face when his eyes landed on yours. “Glad we’re here, Smalls.”

“Yeah,” Jessie said. “I can see why you like it so much.”

“Can see why you don’t want to come home,” Bryn added, another sweeping gaze of the billboards above. She counted the colors, pinks, blues, greens, yellows, reds. A cup of coffee sitting on the red chairs scattered about, laughing at costumes and watching the people who’d pass by. 

After a good hour and a half you navigated over to Hell’s Kitchen, walking through side streets to find the restaurant that Harry had chosen. 

Don’t see why he gets to choose, s’my birthday dinner, you complained as your boots shuffled along the sidewalk. 

He’s paying, Bryn reminded. That’s why. 

You were sat in a back room, wine was poured before Harry appeared in the doorway, shrugging out of his jacket before placing it on the seat across from you. 

“Sorry,” he said, “had a meeting. Happy birthday.”

“S’not my birthday yet,” you sipped at the Cabernet that’d been offered, setting it on the table before giving him a challenging glare. 

“S’your birthday dinner, though. A day and a half early, if you can forgive me,” a hand to his heart before Bryn raised a glass. 

“Here’s to Y/N--kicking ass in New York City and carving out an amazing career for herself.”

“You’re probably the coolest person who lives in New York, Smalls,” Jake lifted his glass and let it hit yours, a scowl came across Harry’s face as he held his wine in the air. 

“Was I even up for consideration?” He asked, a playful frown on his face. 

Jake tilted his head. “Of coolest people who live in New York?” 

You rolled your eyes--now wasn’t the time for his sensitivity. “M’the one who actually lives here,  Harry.”

“Is the rent I pay not enough to convince you that I live here too?”

“Not when you jet set off to LA or London for a week just because you feel like it.”

“So business travel? That automatically disqualifies someone from considering themselves a resident just because they travel for business? Probably disqualifies half the population then.”

Adam tensed beside you, an awkward sip of his cocktail when he looked at Jessie to say something.

“What type of visa do you have?” You asked, leaning forward to rest your elbows on the table. 

“What? I don’t know--my manager handles that for me.”

“I have an H1B, extendable to six years,” you said matter-of-factly. Jessie’s eyes were wide as she sucked some sangria through a straw. 

“Alright,” Bryn tried to hold up a hand, unable to steer you down the right path. 

“Well I don’t think the American government is going to kick me out any time soon.”

“They will if you lie to them,” you narrowed your eyes, a bit too much emotion in your voice. 

“Do you need us to leave?” Bryn’s voice was quiet but snarky, Harry’s head snapped over to her and he picked up his wine, leaning back in his chair. 

“No,” you both said at the same time--but you pushed back from the table and cleared your throat. “I’m using the loo.”

You heard Jessie say something about going after you, Harry’s voice stopped her, I’ll go. 

You walked straight into the single bathroom in the back, shoes clicking on the shiny floor. A waterfall sink and polished copper faucet reminded you of the caliber of restaurant this was. Too fancy of a bathroom to cry in. 

There was a knock on the door. “Let me in, Y/N, let me talk to you.”

You opened the door quickly, pushing your head through the crack to see him waiting in the dimly lit hallway. “No--I’m not doing this here.”

“You don’t want to do it anywhere, apparently.”

“Exactly,” you went to shut the door, his hand reached up to stop you from shutting it, fingers gripped around the oak. 

“Two minutes,” he said. “Just give me two minutes to explain something to you.”

You let out a sigh, hoping to calm your pulse before you pulled open the door and let him take two steps inside. He shut it behind him. 

“Go.”

“I just--I was seeing her, casually, yes. But the only reason I saw her after we got back here was to say I couldn’t see her again. I told her it was done.” 

You pushed out your lips in thought, a head tilt to show him you meant business. “Did you sleep with her?”

“No.”

“Did you talk to her all the time?”

“No, Y/N. We had dinner and hung out with some friends and sure we kind of hooked up but we didn’t have sex.”

“Did she keep a deodorant in your bathroom?”

“What? No,” he laughed, a step towards you, hand on your arm. “I saw her maybe five times--I don’t know, it wasn’t--it wasn’t anything serious.” A pause, shifted weight on his feet. 

“We’re not--we can’t do this Harry,” you said, kicking a boot against the black marble floor. “This never should have happened.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Because it would have worked by now if it was supposed to! It would have happened a long time ago! I was in love with you. I waited for you to come home and I hoped that one day you’d love me back. But it’s too late. I was here living my life on my own and you don’t get to just pop in and out whenever you please.”

He watched you, almost as if you’d laugh and say you were only kidding. Like a simple smile or a joke could take all of it back, wash it clean, and restart. 

“So what, then?”

“So what? So nothing. I shouldn’t have slept with you--it was...unprofessional.”

His chest deflated, a huff of air through his lips when he scratched at the back of his neck, tired and confused. The door swung open and Jake stood, blond quiff of hair reflecting the overhead light, eyes glancing between the two of you. 

“You’re lucky I fought Jessie off to come back here because they’re all bloody suspicious. So if you’re still keen on keeping this a secret,” a finger waved in the air between you, “you should get back to the table.”

“You know?” Harry’s head swiveled around, eyes locking on Jake’s. 

“Of course I know--I’m surprised they’re all daft enough to not know, really.”

You rolled your eyes, giving Harry a shove out of your way before passing between them, wiping beneath your eyes to hide any evidence of emotion. Bryn’s posture straightened when you got back to the table, her voice a quiet whisper so Harry wouldn’t hear.

“Are you alright? What on earth is going on between you two?”

“Nothing,” you said, pulling your napkin back onto your lap. “He’s just a twat--you know how it is.”

Her eyes narrowed, Jessie listened--uncharacteristically quiet. Adam typed away on his phone, as if the entire scene hadn’t just come to close with Harry and Jake back at the table, slumping in their chairs when the server asked if another round was needed. 

“Yes,” all six of you said in unison.

come talk to me about tytl

read the other parts here

AN: again this is kind of short but I wanted to update for y’all!!!! 

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