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satxnsupreme666 · 15 hours ago

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Risk this heart of mine: Agatha Harkness x fem!reader x Rio Vidal

Masterlist

Requested by: @midnight-lestrange

Summary: You are Agatha´s girlfriend, and you have been with her for over 10 years, you are also the one who freed Agatha from Wanda´s spell after almost three years, Agatha decided to stay in Westview to work on regaining her magic, but what happens when a teenager breaks into your house looking for Agatha, asking her to take him to the witches´ road, Agatha fearing for your safety and caring about you, is not sure if she wants to go and take you as well to the witches´ road, but as always you managed to convince her to do what you wanted.

You have been feeling sick for the past few weeks, making Agatha feel worried sick about you for not knowing what is going on with you, what you didn´t know, was that you were pregnant with Agatha´s child, and none of you knew about this, until Rio arrives and is the first one to notice this about you.

Rio who has been visiting you for the past years only leaving flowers to you never staying to talk visits Agatha again, and instead of talking thing out, they fight as always, but this time Rio decided to come fight with Agatha because she thought the blue-eyed witch had let you go, after knowing you were still with her and realizing you were pregnant, Rio, who cannot tell you nor Agatha the reason as to why you have been feeling sick over the past weeks, decides to go with you to the witches´ road, to try and keep you safe from whatever the road would make them face.

What happens when the truth is revealed to Agatha? How is Agatha going to react knowing that her girlfriend is pregnant and on the witches´ road?

Warnings: Angst, unknown pregnancy, angst, I think that´s it.

Word count: 29k+

Author’s notes: Hello, so, this was requested a while ago by the amazing mind of the creative @midnight-lestrange, I have always loved her requests because she has such an amazing imagination and writing her requests is always a joy, thank you for requesting, by the way I always have loved your amazing ideas! Sorry that this took me too long to finish, you know I had some bad days, things happened, then I got a temporary job just to keep my mind busy, and now I finally was able to finish writing this, also, I am sorry that my stories keep getting longer, I will try to write a little bit less next time, also I decided to add a small prompt someone sent regarding Agatha putting some of her own cologne on reader´s neck because I thought it would be a nice addition to this story as well.

In this story Rio is in love with reader and Agath knows it, since Rio is the only one who is aware of you being pregnant, she worries a lot for you.

Another thing I want to say about this story is, that in this one, the road will be real and not something Billy created.

I hope all of you enjoy this!

Taglist: @italianaidiota @midnight-lestrange @eliscannotdance

Agatha had been taking a shower when you heard the noises coming from the other room, and confused, you went to see what was going on, opening slowly the door of the room and turning the lights on, you saw a surprised teen with half of his body in the room trying to get unstuck.

“Do you need help?” You had asked him with a chuckle and the boy in front of you just stayed there completely frozen not knowing what to do or say.

You couldn’t help but laugh and seeing that the boy in front of you was not going to move or do something else, you walked slowly towards him, and stretched your hand out for him to take, he looked at your hand and then at your face, unsure of what to do but you gave him a soft smile and he slowly started to stretch his hand out to take yours.

You helped him to get him inside the room and he started to look around the place nervously, after some seconds of you analyzing him and seeing that he didn’t seem to be more than 16 years old or even less he uncovered his face and he gave you an awkward smile.

“I am sorry, I thought someone else lived here” His voice was timid as if he was ashamed and you got curious for whom he had been looking for.

“Who did you think lived here?” You asked him gently and pointed at a chair so he could sit there, he sat in the char and you sat as well in front of him in the single bed to look at him properly.

“I was told Agatha Harkness lived here” He said without taking his eyes off the floor, and you raised your eyebrow.

What did this boy want from Agatha, your girlfriend? You didn’t want to scare him off so you started to think properly how to ask the next questions.

“Agatha Harkness? One of the most powerful witches? Why are you looking for her?” You asked him in a soft voice trying to get as much information as you could before making sure how you had to act.

“I know it may seem as something dumb, and many people say it doesn’t even exist to where I need her to take me to, but I really was waiting for her to be here, someone told me she was under some kind of spell and I came here to break that spell, I really need her help” Interesting, you thought, and if you were right, he seemed to be talking about the witches’ road, the teen didn’t seem to be a threat and he sounded sincere, you would have sensed if he had been threat, but this boy didn’t seem to actual want to harm you or her.

“So, you needed a personal object from hers to break the spell, right?” You asked him and he lifted his head hastily to look at you with his mouth open in surprise.

“I know the spell, it is sweet that you want to break her spell, but you’re about six months late” The dark-haired boy frowned and you laughed.

“You are lucky I was the one who caught you, Agatha would have tied you first and then ask the questions” He opened his eyes widely and you laughed again.

“You are funny, maybe I can convince Agatha to keep you, she is taking a shower, do you want to go to the kitchen? I can offer you tea, coffee” You stopped talking to think a little bit more of what you could offer him.

“We also have water if you prefer” You remembered the way hours ago he had walked with you to the kitchen and shyly took the cup of tea you were offering to him, he seemed to be curious and to you it seemed he also had a lot of questions so you decided to encourage him to ask you whatever was on his mind.

“I know you have a lot of question so, now it’s your opportunity to make them” You smiled at him to show him you were sincere, he took a sip of the tea and then put it back on the plate.

He cleared his throat and prepared himself mentally to ask every question he had.

“How do you know Agatha Harkness? How is she not under Wanda Maximoff’s spell? Why are you here on her house?” He asked everything so fast you had to make sure not to forget his questions.

“I have known her for many years now, I released her from the spell she was under and I live here with her” You squinted your eyes and laughed slightly, you heard the steps coming to the kitchen and smiled, Agatha had already finished her shower.

“Honey, where are you?” Agatha asked out loud and entered the kitchen, she already had the purple pajamas you had given to her on, and had a hand in her hair, brushing it to the side, her still slightly wet hair, she was too focused on trying to get her hair in place that she didn’t notice the teen sitting on the other side of the table, his expression completely priceless.

Agatha came to you and pressed her hand in your waist, hugging you she left a soft kiss on your forehead.

“I thought you were already in bed doll” She commented while she pulled you closer to her, you happily rested your head on her chest while she caressed your waist lovingly.

The teen had his mouth open, out of all the things he could have thought and waited, this was not what he was waiting for.

“We have a guest” You said to her and lifted your face to look at her, she froze for a second and then after making sure her hair was completely in place she hastily turned to look where you were looking.

She saw the awkward teen sitting on the chair, sipping his tea for too long, and she squinted her eyes, the teen nervously started to shake a little, and then Agatha looked at you again with a smile on her face.

“Do you want some tea? I can prepare it for you” You said and started to stand up, but Agatha gently placed her hand on your shoulder to stop you from standing completely.

“It’s fine doll, you can finish your tea I will make mine alright?” You nodded and Agatha leant to kiss your lips, she started to deepen the kiss and playfully you pushed her away, not wanting for the kid to witness the scene, Agatha winked at you and walked towards the stove to pour herself some tea.

“So, who is this teenager, who seems to have arrived at…” She quickly turned her face to look at the clock on the wall, it read 10:45 and then looked at the teen to shook her head, disapprovingly.

“At 10:45, shouldn’t you be in bed by now?” Agatha asked raising her eyebrow and still shaking her head, trying to make the teen feel guilty for appearing at this hour.

“I am sorry, I thought you were, I mean, I thought no one else was here, I thought no one could caught me if I entered through the window…“ The teen started to stutter and you closed your eyes, you knew Agatha would get angry at his last sentence.

He kept talking saying he didn´t want to intrude and that he really wasn´t thinking properly, but the way Agatha stopped doing what she was doing with the cup, and placed it slowly on the counter, showing that Agatha was analyzing what he was saying, your girlfriend slowly turned herself around and walked idly until she was next to the talking teenager, you saw the way he slowly backed his body up, or at least he tried since he was still sitting, he was about to say something else, when out of nowhere Agatha kicked the teen out of the chair you quickly stood up to see if he had hurt himself but he seemed fine, so you decided to sit back and let Agatha handle the situation, and smile a little.

“Oh my god, what was that for?” The teen asked out loud grabbing his shoulder and Agatha rolled her eyes, she moved the chair out of the way, and kneeled down to grab the teen by his shirt.

“You broke into my house! And you are expecting to be received with open arms and gentleness?” The teen frowned and stuttered because he didn´t know what to do or say.

Agatha was still tense, because even if she knew you also had powers and you were able to protect yourself if something happened, she still feared that someone could actually hurt you and she would not be able to do something, someone entered to your house and she was not even able to sense it like before! So, of course she felt scared and angry for not having her powers and being able to protect you.

“I- I already said I´m sorry, and I was not going to hurt you, I didn´t even know there was someone else living here! I wanted to release you from the spell you supposedly were under!” Agatha furrowed her eyebrows again and looked at him straight into his eyes, trying to see if he was lying but she did not find any type of deception in his voice, he sounded sincere but decided to have an eye on him, she pursed her lips and released him from her grip.

“How did you know I was here? And how did you know I was under a spell, but most important, why were you looking for me?” Agatha sounded serious, and you decided not to interrupt her, you wanted for her to handle this the way she knew, so you only stayed the in the chair, sipping your tea and listening to the two of them talk.

“I did my research, a man told me about you, about the Wanda Maximoff incident, he told me that it was told you were under a spell, I swear I don´t know how he knew about it, and I was looking for you because I want to go to the witches´ road” You stopped drinking your tea at the mention of the witches´ road, it was just a myth right?

“The road doesn’t exist” Agatha said to him, and finally, stood up to get her cup of tea, after she prepared her tea, she went to sit next to you, she pulled the chair next to yours and placed it closer to you, you gave her a smile, when Agatha saw you were smiling at her she felt herself relaxing a little.

“You and I need to talk doll” She said gently almost whispering and you nodded, she may had been smiling but you still could see the worry in her eyes, she took the sit next to yours and you leaned into her body, resting your heat against her shoulder.

“You can sit down again, you know?” You said with a smile, loud enough for the teenager to hear who was still on the floor, some noises were heard and the teen slowly rose from the floor to sit back on the chair.

“What’s your name?” Agatha asked again after a couple of minutes of silence but what surprised her was that she was not able to hear what he had said and a symbol appeared over his mouth.

Agatha turned to look at you, realizing you were to looking at your almost empty cup and noticing you hadn´t seen the symbol appearing on the teenager´s mouth, you hadn´t seen what happened, but there was no doubt that the boy had a sigil on him.

“Interesting” Your girlfriend commented while eyeing the boy in front of you, she had so many questions but decided not to ask anything.

“We can keep talking in the morning, we have a spare room-“ You were going to offer him to stay in the other room but Agatha interrupted you and talked directly to the teen.

“You are sleeping on the floor” Chuckling slightly you looked back at Agatha who was drinking from her tea slowly and nonchalantly, rolling your eyes playfully at her you went to look back at the dark-haired boy who had his eyes wide open and you shook your head, you mouthed to him a quiet “Don´t worry” and he visibly relaxed.

The three of you just stayed there not saying anything else and waited until all of you finished your respective cups of tea, after that, you made sure to take the teenager back to the bedroom where he had first entered through the window, Agatha kept saying he had to sleep on the floor and use his own jacket to cover himself but you only laughed at Agatha’s comments, you told her not to worry and kissed her after you told her she could go back to your shared bedroom to get ready for bed and to wait there for you, she nodded and pressed her hands on your waist to give you a quick hug before walking towards your bedroom, you entered to the room in which the boy would be staying the night and you found him standing in the middle of the room looking awkwardly at the ceiling.

“I told you, you were lucky I was the one who found you when you were trying to break in” He tried to laugh but the sound that came from him was more of a whine.

“You can sleep in that bed, and use the same covers, this room has never been used and everything is clean so you don’t have to worry, alright?” He nodded slowly and you looked back at him, he seemed familiar but you were not sure why.

“So, you’re a witch too, right?” The boy asked you suddenly and you nodded, he seemed to think deeply and you just shrugged your shoulders, you needed to go back to Agatha to talk to her about what had happened and what you would do.

“I’ll let you rest, please, don’t try something dumb, Agatha will notice and I’m afraid I will not interfere, alright?” He nodded quickly and you left the room, laughing a little.

Opening the door of your bedroom you saw Agatha standing in the middle of the room, she had her hand on her face and seemed to be deep in thought, not wanting to interrupt her thoughts you decided to go and sit on your bed, after a couple of minutes of watching her making faces and brushing her hair, she finally looked at you and smiled at you.

“So, are we going to take him to the witches’ road?” You were really curious, there were many stories that said the road was real but there were also a lot of stories that said the road was a lie, Agatha had never actually told you anything related to the witches’ road and you had never asked, so you were really curious about it.

Agatha visibly tensed, the way she suddenly straightened herself and pursed her lips showed you she was not sure, you just kept looking at her with a curious expression and Agatha suddenly knelt in front of you, putting her hands on your knees and brushing them gently.

“The road is a death wish” Her baby blue eyes stared right into your eyes, her expression completely serious, it was strange to see her this serious.

“So, it’s real?” You placed your hand on one of her hands that was brushing your knee and started to caress the back of her hand, Agatha nodded and tried to smile.

“It is, but just a few have been able to get to the end, many witches died on the road” If it was true, then it was true that at the end the ones that finished it got what they wanted right?

“You can get your powers back” She realized where this conversation was going and decided to stop you right there.

“No, the road is dangerous, too cruel, too harsh, it is never known what awaits in the road, we are not going, I-“ She stopped for a moment taking a deep breath before speaking again.

“I don’t want anything to happen to you, just look at what happened tonight! I didn’t sense someone had broken in, what if it had been someone worse! Someone who could’ve wanted to hurt me? I wouldn’t even have been able to protect you” Agatha felt useless, without her magic she was not able to make sure you were safe, her worst fear was losing you, and she hated the fact that being powerless meant not being able to keep you safe, you saw the way she was so tense and you didn´t want to make her feel more worried, so you decided to leave the talk for tomorrow, right now you just wanted to lay down with Agatha and let her hold you, you still would have the chance to talk about the road with her, so you decided not to mention again the road for tonight.

｡ ˚ ︶︶✩︶︶ ₊ ˚ ︶︶✩

“What was that?” The teen asked you suddenly when you heard a loud crash on the first floor of the house, you quickly got up from the chair, out of the bedroom and headed downstairs to look where the sound had come from.

And what you saw surprised you, there was another woman pressing Agatha against the wall, you were about to use your powers to push away the woman who was covered completely in black, but something about her seemed familiar, and as you sensed no threat you decided not to use your magic and try to talk things out.

You had started to walk slowly towards them and the laugh that came from the taller woman made you remember who she was.

Agatha hadn’t tell you completely what had happened exactly between Rio and her, and you never tried to push her into telling you everything, but the first time you had met her had been years ago and it had been in a very similar situation as this one, they had been fighting until you arrived to stop them from hurting the other.

You panicked when you saw the knife in Agatha’s throat but you tried to keep calm, trying to think of how to approach them, in order not to make things worse.

“Hey, I don’t know what’s going on, but can you please put the knife down?” You asked out lout while walking slowly towards the two of them with your hands in the air in order to show the woman in black that you meant no threat, you tried to keep your voice steady, but it was hard seeing a trickle of blood in Agatha’s chest.

The two women hastily turned their heads to look at you, Agatha felt a wave of fear taking over her whole body, afraid that her former lover could do something to you to get back at her, so the next thing she did was done out of pure impulse.

Agatha grabbed the other woman by her neck with her left hand and with the right one she grabbed the hand that was holding the knife to put it as far as she could, up in the air, the brown-eyed woman grabbed Agatha’s neck, which left the two of them in the same position, grabbing the other’s neck and with two hands up in the air.

“Can we please take a moment to breathe and stop wanting to hurt each other?” You asked them slowly and made sure you were only a few centimeters away from them.

Agatha and the brown-eyed woman looked at you and then, slowly, they looked at each other, straight in their eyes.

They stayed like that four a couple of minutes, Agatha chuckling from time to time with disdain and sometimes rolling her eyes, the other woman laughed softly and tended to squint her eyes a little, it was as if they were having a conversation inside their minds, as if they were communicating telepathically and you tilted your head to the side, watching them carefully, after some more minutes of what it seemed that they were discussing things in their minds, they finally nodded at the same time, carefully loosening the grasp they had on the other.

Agatha started to brush some strands of hair to the side to make sure they were not on her face and licked her lips a little after turning herself to face you, the brown-eyed woman cleared her throat and started to move her head to the side a few times until it cracked a little, she sighed in relief and turned herself around to face you as well.

“Can I trust you not to try to hurt each other?” You asked them with a soft tone in your voice while raising an eyebrow.

The two of them started to look around the place, looking at the wall, the ceiling, Agatha flipped her hair a little, and brought her hand to her face to scratch her jaw slightly, while the brown-eyed woman flipped her knife in her hand a few times, and the two of them answered at the same time.

“Yeah, whatever” Agatha replied before pursing her lips not wanting to look at you.

“Sure” The brown-eyed woman replied while she took her knife back into a small pocket that she had on her waist, then she lifted her hands up in the air to show you she was not holding anything else in her hands.

“Thank you, now, can you tell me what’s going on and why everything here is completely destroyed?” You asked them and walked towards the living room in which everything was all over the place.

Everything was upside down, you could only shook your head in disappointment, sighing you walked towards the small broken pot that had dirt and a small yellow flower with almost no petals, taking it carefully in your hands with some dirt you made sure to bring the flower to its original state, after some seconds of pressing your hand over the dying flower it finally came back with its bright color.

“Next time you want to fight, make sure to do it outside, please” Carefully you took the broken pot and in only some seconds using your powers the pot was good as new and you placed the small flower inside of it putting in back near the window.

“Sorry” The two women said at the same time causing to look at each other and they proceeded to roll their eyes.

“I thought you had already sorted things out last time this happened” Rio couldn’t stand the way your voice sounded so disappointed and Agatha felt a little bit ashamed, she hadn’t been waiting for something like this to happen, and of course she had not been waiting for her former lover to appear.

You kneeled on the floor to take a small flower that was completely crushed by pieces of glass and you couldn’t help but feel suddenly so sad, you were not sure why, but suddenly the wave of sadness took over you, the flower on the floor completely dead and crushed by the heavier material on it, it made you want to cry, you tried to take the flowers in your hands and due to now doing it carefully a sharp piece cut your skin making you hiss in pain, you stood up so abruptly that when you turned around to face the two women again, you felt suddenly dizzy, and unconsciously tried to hold onto something.

Agatha and Rio quickly noticed the way your body had suddenly reacted and without thinking too much, the two of them walked quickly closer to you, to make sure you were not going to fall.

Rio quickly took your right hand which had been the one who had the cut made by the sharp glass and with her other hand she made sure to grab you by your lower back, in a way to help you become steady.

Rio quickly started to examine your wound, taking closer your wounded and bleeding hand to her eyes, making sure you didn’t have any more pieces of glass inside.

Agatha was quick to place both of her hands in your waist and her grip became stronger to help you balance yourself, she did not even mind that also Rio had gotten closer to you to make sure you were fine, the blue-eyed witch was not going to comment anything about it, but it was sweet that Rio had gotten just as worried as she got, she did not understand why the sudden paleness and the dizziness as well as the sickness you had been feeling for the past weeks, she would have loved to help you to make sure what was going on with you, but without her powers, she was not even able to help you with that.

After a couple seconds when Rio made sure you did not have anything else in your hand such as another small piece of glass she carefully caressed the back of your hand, her soft touch made your heart skip a beat, you remembered getting to have such long talks when she first had come looking for Agatha, thinking the blue-eyed was on her own, but just as it happened the night before that the teen had thought the same, she was surprised to be face to face with you, the way Rio had always been so careful around you, making sure not to annoy you nor to make you uncomfortable, if you were near Agatha and Rio it was sure they would at least try not to fight or hurt each other, Rio´s sad eyes always made your heart ache, you had wanted to help the two of them to talk as well, you were not sure what had happened centuries ago, since Agatha always avoid the topic, never wanting to get into details, the only thing you knew was that many, many centuries ago, the two of them had shared their lives, they had loved each other, and you were sure, the love for each other was still there, the way they tended to look at each other when they thought the other was not looking, you were not dumb, and the first time Rio had been around you, you noticed so many different things about the two of them that they didn´t realized you observed them, Rio always had that sad look in her eyes, it hurt you to see her that way, even if she was a cosmic being, Death herself, you couldn´t fathom what was the cause of her sadness, but one thing you were sure, was that Agatha was the cause of that sadness Rio was carrying with her.

Agatha had mastered the craft of hiding her feelings, what she truly was feeling when it came to cases like this, she didn´t like to be seem as vulnerable by other people, it was different with you, with you she left her strong façade behind, she showed you the real her, her real feelings, she didn´t care if you saw her sad, scared or even angry, with you everything felt good, she felt safe showing her emotions, she trusted in you the same way you trusted in her, but when it came to Rio and what had happened, she always avoided the subject, quickly changing the conversation to something else, and you didn´t want to push things, you didn´t want her to feel pressure, so you never insisted more, but you could see the grief her eyes reflected whenever her and Rio´s past was touched, only knowing the more superficial things about them, but never getting to know the actual deepness and full story they shared, so, even if you had wanted them to talk and sort things out, and help them to get to talk, you knew it was not going to be possible, if neither of them actually talked about what had happened whey they fought, there was no way they were going to let you know.

During the past years you had been with Agatha, you were sure there was always something, or more like, someone watching you from afar, always in the depths of the shadows and darkness that came with it, you were not going to say it out loud to Rio, that you knew she visited you from time to time, at first, you had thought she only came to see Agatha, and you were fine with that, even when you knew they shared a history, you didn´t feel any type of threat, and you always felt safe when she was around, but Rio never stayed, she always maintained her distance, only watching from afar, and when she realized you had noticed her, she always left, never saying anything, not even a goodbye.

When you first felt a presence years ago, weeks after you had met her for the first time, Agatha and her fighting just as you had found them now, weeks after that incident you noticed the intense presence of something near you, and when you finally spotted where the presence was, it had been in your back garden, it had been late at night, around 8:00 pm, it had been raining for the whole day and Agatha was on your shared bedroom reading a book, but the feeling that something was there made you want to look all around the house to know what was that feeling you had, just when you were about to turn the lights on of the kitchen, the feeling that you were being watched grew stronger and unconsciously you turned your head to look at the window that pointed at the backyard, deciding to walk closer to the window, you squinted your eyes, and the silhouette of a woman started to become more visible, the crown on the head was so familiar that you couldn’t help but smile at the silhouette, slowly you brought your hand close to your chest, and waved at the barely visible woman who´s silhouette blended with the darkness of the night.

Waving your hand to greet her, you thought she was going to come inside, but she only waved at you as well, and that was when you finally saw her face, she had part of her face covered with a black piece of cloth, leaving her eyes to be only visible, her big brown eyes staring at you, you were about to move your hand to invite her inside, but before you could have done that, she disappeared, leaving you there in the middle of the night feeling curious, deciding to sleep, you went to Agatha, who had asked you why you were smiling but you only shrugged.

The next morning when you woke up, something told you to go back to the backyard where the woman covered in black had been standing, so, going back to your garden, you saw a single red rose fully grown exactly on the same spot where Rio had been the night before, it was the most beautiful red rose you had seen, the red color so vibrant, that it made your heart skip a beat, feeling your face getting warm, you decided to take such good care of the flower, you were not sure why Rio had left it there, but over the past years she had been visiting you constantly, never staying for too long, and never talking to you, always leaving a trail of flowers behind her, and you had made sure that every flower she had given to you was taken care of.

You felt something warm in your hand that made you come back to the present, looking back at your hand that was being held by Rio, you saw that the wound was not there anymore, the aching feeling had disappeared and the thick liquid of scarlet color has stopped from coming out of your palm, Rio then caressed again your hand and gave it a soft squeeze.

“Thank you” You whispered to her, Agatha and Rio were so close to you that they heard your soft voice, Rio nodded and you turned your head a little to look at her face, her brown eyes staring right into yours, making you feel as if she was staring straight into your soul, she smiled to you and nodded slowly, looking briefly at your lips, only for a second, you had not noticed if you had been looking or more like, analyzing her expression, it had been so quickly that it made you think she had looked at your lips by mistake.

But how wrong you were, Rio enjoyed feeling you so close to her, getting to feel your warm body was enough for her, even if she wanted more, for her this was enough.

You remembered the mess that was around you, and also Agatha being as well so close to you made you remember what had happened first, turning your head a little to the side to look at Agatha you saw the way she was smiling at you, her baby blue eyes still held the same worry she had been feeling for you for the past weeks, but her loving stare was there, taking her left hand to your face she brushed a strand of hair that was on your face and gently put it behind your ear.

“Thank you” You said again, this time to your girlfriend, she always knew how to make you feel better, always knowing what to do or what to say, the way she always knew how to reassure you were going to be alright made you feel loved and warm on the inside.

Rio knew exactly what was going on, why you felt dizzy, she had noticed a change in you, the way another life was growing inside of you, but she knew she couldn´t say anything, it was not something she had to let you know, it was not something she had to let you or Agatha knew, the two of you had to realize it on your own, she was not allowed to announce things like that, and the way her heart ache for that and so many more things, she wasn´t even sure if she would be able to let you know even if she was allowed.

Agatha had of course seen the way Rio had been so gentle with you, making sure not to hurt you more, and even healing the wound on your hand, Agatha felt guilty, because of their fight, everything in your house, or at least in the living room was broken, shattered and even all over the place, and because of their actions, you had gotten hurt, it had not been a really bad wound, but Agatha hated to see you hurt, it didn´t matter if it was small, she still worried awfully, and the way Rio had made sure the wound was completely healed, made Agatha felt grateful, it had been the same thing she would have done if she had her powers, making sure you were alright was her priority, and it looked that to Rio, the priority was the same.

“Oh my god! What happened?” The teen suddenly appeared running down the stairs, seeing how everything in the living room was completely ruined and even the furniture was all over the place, or at least, the remnants of the furniture, it was as if a hurricane had happened inside the house!

And when he saw Agatha and another woman holding you, the way you looked pale, he got even more scared, without thinking twice, he came running towards the three of you, when he got closer to you, he was about to take your hands in his, he brought his hands to yours but seeing the way the two women where fiercely grabbing both of your hands and didn´t seem that they were going to let go of your hands he just placed his hands on his chest, still alarmed about the state you were in.

“Are you alright Miss… Miss Harkness?” The teen had no idea how to call you, would it be disrespectful to call you only by your name? He hadn´t thought twice, so he only assumed your last name was the same as Agatha, but now he was not so sure.

You laughed at the way the teen had called you, Agatha felt her face getting warmer, blushing even, and Rio couldn´t help but laugh as well.

“I am fine, don´t worry, it was just, I felt dizzy suddenly, maybe I have to go lay down for a while” You said and started to separate from the two women, Agatha pursed her lips, not wanting to let you go.

“I can take you to the bedroom” Agatha quickly said to you, but you didn´t think it was that bad, you would be able to go to your room, a little bit scared if the dizziness hit you again, but you decided to come up with something for the two women to have a conversation, the two of them alone.

“No, it is fine, he can help me to get to our bedroom, please?” You looked back at the teenager in front of you, whose face still held worry all over his features, he quickly nodded and rose his hands to help you walk.

“You two destroyed everything here, I expect you to fix this mess, and please don´t hurt each other, that´s the only thing I ask from you, don´t fight please” You said to them with a pleading tone, to which they couldn´t say no to you, Agatha and Rio quickly nodded, agreeing not to get into another fight, you smiled at them and started to walk with the teen next to you, his hands up in the air close to you, just to make sure he would be able to catch you if you fell.

“When I come back here, I want to see everything in order, alright? And again, I will know if you start fighting, I will send Mr.Scratchy to keep an eye on you, so you better not fight”

You finished saying that and turned yourself to keep walking towards you bedroom, leaving the two women alone, they did not dare to look at each other, so they just stood there looking at you making sure you were fine, still afraid that you could fall, they stared at you climbing up the stairs, the teen behind you ready to do whatever he could.

After a couple of minutes, they heard the door getting closed and the teen came quickly running down the stairs towards them.

“I will make sure she is fine, I will ask her if she needs anything, I´ll leave you two now” He gave them an awkward smile and heard the footsteps of the teenagers disappearing again.

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“I am not dumb Rio, I know you have been the one leaving her flowers whenever you can” Agatha said to the taller woman, and Rio only smirked, Rio had powers and would be able to use her powers to put everything back in place, but decided to take a seat on the only cushion who seemed not have been destroyed, waiting for Agatha to finish doing the cleaning.

“I know you have been aware, but if it had annoyed you, you could have told me to stop” Rio only shrugged her shoulders, it had not been a crime to gift you one of the things you loved.

“Whenever she sees a new flower left there for her, she always gets the biggest smile, how can I compete right now, when I don´t even have powers?” Agatha couldn´t help but feel a little bit jealous and frustrated, she couldn´t get you anything out of thin air, without her powers she felt so useless.

“I am not looking for a competition, we both know her heart belongs to you” The way Rio was saying that, her voice becoming a whisper and her gaze going to the floor, it was clear the brown-eyed woman felt hopeless longing a one-sided love, Rio felt her heart break more and more, how could it be, her first love didn´t reciprocate her feelings, blaming for what had happened, never getting the chance to explain herself more, and now, centuries later, the woman who was with her former lover, you, a woman whose eyes shone with so much happiness whenever she was doing something she enjoyed, whose laugh sounded so sweet and with such a harmony that Rio wouldn´t mind listening to all the time, she couldn´t believe she had fallen for you, the woman who was in a relationship with her former lover, who hated her, how could her dark heart belong to two people who were so out of reach from her?

Agatha saw the way the woman in front of her was looking at the floor, a cosmic being like her, mourning over love, mourning the love she thought would never had, deep down, Agatha would have liked to go and hug her, explain to her how things had gotten so bad, talk to her and reassure her that whatever she was thinking was not right, but being so prideful was impeding her to speak with her heart on her sleeve, even after everything that had happened between the two of them, she still felt the need to try and cheer her up, seeing her so sad always made her heart ache.

Agatha was also not blind, she was aware of how you would react whenever Rio was near, she knew you too well for her to know that you also felt a spark for the brown-eyed woman who was seated right now in front of her, she should have been feeling jealous, being irrational about the fact that Rio made you feel something, but the truth was that, it didn´t bother her, of course only with Rio was the fact that she did not feel annoyed, because if she saw a different woman flirting with you, whoever it was, that other woman would completely be ten meters rotting underground.

“Her heart is split in two” The blue eyed-woman said in a whisper, and Rio hastily lifted her head to look at Agatha, a spark of hope suddenly was visible in her brown eyes, Agatha cleared her throat and decided to look to her right.

“I mean, the bigger part of her heart and love belongs to me, of course, I would even dare to say that her love is divided into 80 percent, no, 85 percent loving me, and maybe the other, what is it? 15 percent maybe, and just maybe is what she feels for you, not love, don´t get me wrong, maybe she is just fond of you” Agatha finished saying while she flipped her hair and turn around to get a glass of water from the kitchen.

Rio chuckled, she knew Agatha so awfully well, she knew when Agatha was lying, when she was saying the truth, and she was sure that when it came to you, she would never dare to lie, you were so important to her, she treasured you with her whole heart, that even the thought of doing something to hurt you destroyed Agatha completely, and due to what Agatha had just said, Rio felt her heart skipping a beat, the sadness had gone away, and a spark of hope had been implanted inside her heart.

“Can you now help me to get this back to how it was?” Rio just remained there, where she was sitting, a smile on her face, if she was honest, she had thought that maybe at one point you and Agatha would separate, and when she came back to fight Agatha again, she thought you were not there anymore, the thought had made her heart ache, but when she saw Agatha had been the one that had opened the door, she instantly felt her blood boil again, she had not felt you at first, Rio had not sensed you, and part of her felt disappointed, she felt angry because it had been a while since she had come see you or Agatha, she had been busy with so many things, her job was not an easy one but it was what she had to do, so when she arrived at this house on this town, and she did not fell you, her anger came back with such a force that was even unknown to her, angry because not sensing you meant you were not there anymore, which also meant Agatha and you had ended things, which to her meant that Agatha had been the one to push you away and leave you, because it only made sense that Agatha would ruin something good with you, the best woman she had also met, but after listening to your voice again, the anger suddenly disappeared, leaving a sense of relief, but the first moment her eyes landed on you again, she noticed the way you had changed, the way you were carrying another life, and maybe that had to do with her not being able to sense you, there was not any other answer.

“I want to keep her safe” Rio suddenly said, Agatha turned herself around to look at her, raising her eyebrow, until the blue-eyed woman realized that Rio was talking about you.

“I want to do the same, to keep her safe is my priority” Agatha replied to her with a serious tone.

“And yet you are taking her with you on the road” The way Rio sounded upset made Agatha feel guilty, she knew that taking you to the road was a risk, she would be putting your life in danger, but how would she be able to deny to you something you wanted, she knew you were strong enough to face whatever you would encounter, you broke the spell she was in! The one the Scarlet witch had put her under, you were strong and powerful, yet Agatha still feared something may happen to you.

“She is strong, she is really powerful, she was the one who released me from the Scarlet Witch´s spell” Rio nodded, taking in the information, she was aware of your powers being strong, but the new life growing inside you was what made her feel even more worried.

Rio however, knew everything about you, the way you had survived so many years without a coven, a coven-less witch you had been called, powerful magic, even other witches were scared of you, and yet, you didn´t need a coven to survive nor to teach you anything.

But Rio knowing the truth about what was going on with you, if going to the Witches´ road was a death wish, a great risk of losing life, high chances of not making it to the end, now with another life growing inside of you, she was conflicted, she couldn’t tell you or Agatha what was going on, she would be breaking the rules, she had once broken the rules for Agatha and still, Agatha did not realize what she had done for her, blaming her, she did not want for the same to happen with you.

“Let me go with you, she doesn´t have to be part of the coven you need, she can be… “a tourist” If you will, only visiting, but not being part of the coven, it would grant her not to have any trials, right? She wouldn´t have to encounter nor fight against anything” Rio said out loud, if she had to take your place, she would do it, everything to keep you safe, and now more than ever, you needed to be taken care of, Rio also knew you were too stubborn, so if Agatha didn´t allow you to go, you would find a way to break into the Witches´ road, which only would be more dangerous to you, so the only way to grant you would be safe, would be to keep you close, but not making you part of the coven.

Agatha stood there, looking at the brown-eyed woman, she actually had a point, that way your life would not be put at risk, they would only make sure you were safe, you would be a bystander, not taking actual part, and that way, they would grant you would make it to the end, with them, safe and alive.

“The Salem seven are not going to know where you are” Rio said again, she knew she had threatened Agatha to alert the entities and let them know where Agatha was, but now that she knew you were still with her, she would never forgive herself if something actually happened to you, Rio looked back at Agatha who was also looking at her, looking at her in a way she had not done in a long time.

“I am doing this for her, not for you” Rio said with her eyebrows furrowed, her jaw clenched and took a deep breath.

“Thank you” The blue-eyed woman replied, feeling grateful that Rio cared so much about you to even offer this.

“We have to call a truce, after all, you are coming with us down the road” Agatha said with an honest smile, the thing that they had in common right now, was to make sure you were safe and would make it alive, if they needed to do something else to protect you, they would do it.

Rio nodded slowly, agreeing with what the blue-eyed witch had said, protecting you was their goal, they could try and make sure their hatred for the other, would be pushed aside, she knew it was wrong not to let you know or Agatha about the life that was now growing inside of you, and she was sure Agatha would be surprised when she realizes she was the mother as well of the life that you were currently carrying, but still she felt guilty for not being able to let you know, she knew the rules, things like those were not allowed for her to announce, never knowing what could happen, she still was not even sure what could happen or if everything was going to be alright, but she vowed to herself, that you would be protected, she would make sure to keep you safe along with Agatha and that was what the two of them were going to do.

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You were sure only around 20 minutes have passed and you really hoped that Agatha and Rio had already finished cleaning the mess they did.

“Are you feeling better?” The boy next to you who was sat in the chair next to your bed asked worriedly, you had been laying on your bed for the past 20 minutes, with your eyes closed, the teen had helped you to get to your room and had ran way only to come back with the same velocity he had left only to let you know he would stay in that same room to make sure you were alright, and then he had said “Sorry for intruding in your house and for forcing myself to be here right now with you, but I really want to make sure you are fine”, you had only laughed and nodded at him accepting he would stay there with you, you opened your eyes to look at him, he had his eyebrows furrowed and was looking at you expectantly.

“I´m feeling better, thank you, I should go and see what Agatha and Rio are up to, leaving them alone for so much time is never good, and they have not made any noise, so I should better go see what is going on” You said to him and were about to stand up but the teen quickly stood up from the chair and lifted his hands up in the air, in a way to tell you to stop moving.

“No, I told Agatha I was going to make sure you were fine, I can go and see what is going on and come back running again to let you know” He said while also he moved towards the door and opened it.

“I will come back to inform you what is going on, please don´t stand up” He smiled at you widely and nodded before leaving the room and closing the door, you could hear his footsteps running through the hallway and then hearing him running as fast as he could downstairs.

When he quickly arrived to the first floor, he got surprised to see that the mess that had been before had completely disappeared, the were not pieces of shattered glass, the furniture seemed to be brand new, placed where the old cushions, couches and the glass table had been before, everything seemed to be in place, and there was no trace of the mess that was before.

Agatha was sitting in one of the couches, she seemed to be deep in thought, her hand on her chin and staring directly to one of the walls, the other woman who he remembered you had called her Rio, was caressing some of the plants that were placed near one of the windows, he could not remember if you had that many plants inside your house before, were they new or not?

Everything seemed to be back in order and the two women were not fighting so he decided he had enough information to go back to you and tell you what he had seen, nodding and happy with the information he had gotten, he decided to go back to your room, but before he could turn himself around to run back upstairs he heard Agatha calling him.

“Hey teen, what are you doing here? Shouldn´t you be checking on Mrs. Harkness?” Agatha smirked and started to stand up from the couch to go to your room.

The teen visibly tensed, his shoulders stiffened and cleared his throat.

“She wanted to come and see what you two were doing since everything was quiet, but I told her I could come and see and go back to her” He just stood there not daring to move, the older witch narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips slightly, slowly walking closer to him, he felt as If Agatha was analyzing him, trying to see something he didn´t know.

“I will tell her myself everything is fine, you stay here” She ended saying to him and walked past him to go downstairs to check on you.

The dark-haired boy just stood there in the middle of the living room not knowing what to do and he saw when Rio turned herself around to look at him, she tilted her eyes and just stared at him, her deadly stare made him feel unnerved, Rio smirked and suddenly she bit in the air, the sound of her teeth biting in the air making him jump in fear not knowing why.

She slowly went to take a seat on the small couch, the smirk never leaving her face.

“So, Mrs. Harkness?” She asked, looking at him straight in the eyes.

“Yes, I mean, yes?” He wasn´t even sure what he was answering, and Rio laughed again.

Meanwhile, Agatha had already arrived at your shared room, she slowly opened the door and entered trying not to make as much noise as she could, she noticed you still were laying on your bed with your eyes closed, and her face changed to an expression completely full of worry, she couldn´t stand the feeling in the pit of her stomach, the fear of not knowing what to do or what you even had.

“How are you feeling doll?” The blue-eyed witch asked you while she knelt down on the floor, next to you, placing her hand on your shoulder and caressing it slowly.

“I´m feeling better, don´t worry, I was just feeling sleepy, I think I relaxed too much” Chuckling a little bit you opened your eyes and proceeded to move to sit on your bed, Agatha quickly understood what you were trying to do, so she being the loving girlfriend she had always been, stood up and took your hand in hers, her free hand went to your lower back to help you sit on the bed.

“I know you are worried, but I can assure you there is nothing wrong, you don´t have to worry this much” You looked at her, with a smile on your face, your hand never leaving hers, you gave it a soft squeeze to reassure her everything was fine.

Agatha tried not to purse her lips again, she couldn´t help but worry about you, she had no idea why you suddenly felt dizzy out of nowhere or why in the mornings you suddenly felt like throwing up, she wanted to know what was going on with you, she even tried to talk to you about going to an actual doctor to see what you had, but you only told her you had maybe caught a bug or something and just waved the thought off, Agatha pressed her free hand against your forehead and then placed her hand on your cheek, you leaned against her touch, enjoying the warm feeling, you could see the way Agatha´s lips pursed, meaning she was thinking too much, and before she could say something else you decided to speak.

“Hey, were you not supposed to start gathering the coven for our trip to the witches´ road?” Agatha knew exactly what you were trying to do, you were trying to change the subject, you were even batting your eyelashes, knowing very well that was something Agatha loved, so she decided not to bring up again the subject about seeing a doctor.

“Yes, we are supposed to do that, but we still have time, that teenager can wait, but I am thinking if it would be better, not to go, you are clearly not well and-“ You didn’t like where she was going.

“Please Agatha, you already told him we were going to go, and I am not that bad, please, you already agreed on letting me go with you” You pouted and even if Agatha found your pouting to be cute, she still worried about you and everything that could go wrong.

She really didn´t want you to go, if something happened to you she would always blame herself, she was not sure what she would do if she lost you, your beautiful eyes were looking at her, she still couldn´t believe how lucky she was for having you, she would never let you go, how could someone so sweet, caring and beautiful as you be with her? She had wondered the same thing so many times, always feeling deep down that you would realize how awful she was, that some day you would realize that she was not worthy of you, but all these times when she was at her lowest and she felt deep hatred for herself, you were always there, always reassuring her that you loved her and that you would never let her, not matter what, so she really couldn´t lose you, the love she felt for you was immense, she sometimes could not even describe the feeling she got when you looked at her with so much love.

Even when Rio had agreed on going to the road to help her look after you, she still felt scared, she knew the feelings the other woman had for you, so she also knew Rio would not let anything happen to you, and even after that, she still felt scared.

You were the best thing that had happened to her since she had lost everything, she had been alone for so much time, wandering and just killing other witches, killing them because she had nothing else to do, she had nothing left, she was alone, not having anyone to hold to, since that day in the woods she had not just buried her feelings and heart with the most important little person she had ever had, since that day, she had vowed to herself not to care about anyone else, not to even look at anyone else, she couldn´t, after losing two people she had loved so much, she thought she would never be able to love again, she thought she would not be capable of loving someone again, and she did not even want to, the mere thought of caring for someone else had even made her feel disgusted, she would even had wrinkled her nose in aversion when it came to the word “love”, so she had just spent her centuries getting to study and increase her knowledge about her magic, increasing her power with each witch she murdered, only caring about power and nothing else, until she met you years ago.

The way you had made sure to stay by her side, making sure she was fine, every little loving action you had had with her, it made her open her heart slowly to you, she knew she was in too deep the first time she saw you and she had felt her heart skip a beat, since the moment she had felt the way her face got warmer when you first got closer to her, she knew, what she had vowed to herself years ago, she would not be able to keep that promise, not anymore, and she had been grateful, thanks to you, she had found the love she thought she would never feel again.

A soft knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and made you look from her to the door, then you looked back at her with a confused look on your face and Agatha only shrugged her shoulders.

The door started to open slowly without anyone entering, until you heard the teenager clearing his throat.

“Is it safe to look?” He asked out lout behind the door and you laughed.

“No, we are naked and-“ You quickly patted playfully Agatha´s shoulder and laughed looking at the way she was smirking.

“Come on in, it´s fine, it´s safe to look” You said to him and he still seemed to doubt, he did not enter but slowly opened the door a little bit more, he only peeked his head in a slow motion until he saw the two of you there, holding hands, he visibly sighed and proceeded to enter just a little bit, not wanting to intrude.

“Sorry, uhm, Rio sent me to tell you that we have to get going if we want to find the coven we need” He said without looking at Agatha, he seemed to be a little bit scared of her, and you only laughed, Agatha wasn´t scary.

Agatha looked at you and rolled her eyes, she quietly started to mimic what the teen had said and you just laughed, the teen looked at you confused, not understanding what was so funny.

“It´s fine, thank you for letting us know, also, I don´t think I asked your name” You suddenly remembered, because you couldn´t even remember if you had already asked him or if he had told you, the next thing that happened made you gasp in shock, when he tried to tell you his name, a sigil appeared on his mouth, not letting you hear his name or who he was, Agatha sighed and turned her head to look at you, it was clearly someone had put a sigil on the teenager, not knowing what to do or say you only looked at Agatha surprised not knowing what to do.

“We will leave in a few minutes; can you go back to wait on the living room again?” Agatha said to him and the teenager seemed to be thinking if he should leave or not, being alone with Rio scared him more than being alone with Agatha, the blue- eyed witch raised her eyebrow an looked at him expectantly, he got the message and quickly left closing the door behind him.

“Did you see that?” You asked Agatha, still surprised, she nodded and sighed again.

“Someone put a sigil on that boy, the question is why?” You were surprised, you had heard of sigils but never once in your life had met someone who had it or someone who had casted a sigil.

“Do you think that is one of the reasons why he wants to go to the road?” Agatha didn’t have an answer for that, because even if they asked him what was the reason or the reasons, the sigil would prevent you from knowing.

“I´m not sure, it could be, but without us actually knowing who he is, we can´t know for sure, we don´t even know if he is dangerous” Agatha said to you in a whisper her mouth set in a hard line.

She had a point, you couldn´t deny that, but you had always relied on your intuition, if you felt there could be danger, it meant there was a threat, but if you actually didn´t feel any type of threat coming from someone you would always made sure to trust your instincts, it had happened with Agatha, even after everyone claimed she was witch-killer, a bad person, a monster, you had not listened to any of that, you didn´t consider her a threat and your gut agreed with you.

“You know I have always been good at reading people and their intentions, and I don´t feel any type of threat or danger coming from him, we don´t know what is going on with him, what if he actually needs help? If I had felt he could be dangerous I would have got rid of him, and you know it” You tried to reason with your girlfriend and even if she had wanted to tell you how wrong you were, she couldn´t because you were right.

“See? You know I´m right” The way you were smiling at her made her feel so lucky, she was lucky for having you, she was lucky because you loved her.

“You know how much I hate when I´m wrong, but this time, you´re right doll” Agatha started put her left hand on your face and caressed the skin on your cheek in a gentle way, she then put her face closer to yours and gave you a soft kiss on the lips, she loved the sensation of your lips against hers.

“Listen, since I agreed on you coming with us, you will have to wait here until we go look for the witches we need, alright? I know you would like to come with us, but it is only going to take a couple of hours and it would make me feel better if you stay here, at home, please?” The way she sounded so gentle, letting you know what would make her feel better, she was letting you see her vulnerable state and you would never take for granted what she felt or wanted, she was right, you would have loved to go with them to get to know the witches that would be part of the coven, but if that made Agatha feel better you would do it.

“Alright, I will wait here for you” You smiled at her and nodded, she felt happy you had listened to her, it made her feel a little bit more relieved.

“Alright doll, I don´t want to keep you waiting too much in here, so we will make sure to finish this as fast as possible, alright?” Her blue eyes looked at you with so much love, she had the most beautiful eyes you had ever seen, she gave you another soft kiss on your lips and hugged you carefully, you pressed your head against her chest, after a minute of hugging you, you felt her moving away slowly.

“Stay here, please? I can´t believe what I´m about to say, but, if you need anything, I´ll make sure Rio stays here with you, alright? I don´t want you to stay here all by yourself baby” She sighed and closed her eyes for a second, she felt distressed at the thought of letting you alone, and the other person who she knew cared for you just like her, was Rio, and even if she would not say it out loud, she trusted in her to make sure you were fine while she was not there with you, you nodded and gave her a smile, you didn´t think it was necessary to have constant supervision, but if it made her feel better you would accept it, and you also didn´t mind sharing a little bit more of time with the brown-eyed woman.

“I will let her know, I will try not to take too much time, alright?” She hugged you again and you let her engulf you in her arms, feeling her so close was always such a delight.

“I love you” You said to her while you hid your face in her chest, she separated from you a little bit and leaned to press a kiss to your forehead.

“I love you too darling, please, don´t go downstairs alone, I will let that teenager know we have to leave, alright?” She saw you nodding and smiled again, you were so pretty, feeling her body getting away from you slowly made you want to pout but you stopped, not wanting to make Agatha think something else or get her worried, you only loved the way her body felt against yours.

She walked to the door and opened it, but before she could leave the room, she turned around to look at you again.

“I love you, please take care doll, I will be back in a few hours” She then winked at you and left the room, leaving you with a warm and nice feeling inside of you, since you didn´t have anything else to do, and were not allowed to go downstairs alone, you decided it would be nice to take a nap.

Agatha on the other side of the room closed the door, and sighed deeply, she still was not sure if this was a good idea, but she had already promised you all of you would go to the road, the unsettling feeling was not leaving her, and that made her stomach twist in fear.

Walking down the stairs she saw that the teenager was standing here in the middle of the room, he seemed to be looking at the plants that Rio had placed when the two of them were cleaning, when the blue-eyed woman had asked her why she had put more and new plants the brown-eyed woman had simply said that it was a gift for you, Agatha didn´t question her anymore, she also knew how much you loved plants and flowers so it had been a nice gesture from the woman covered in black.

“Alright pack up your things, we are leaving right now to search more witches” Agatha said to the boy when she was close enough for him to hear what she had said, he quickly nodded and ran upstairs as fast as he could, he needed to get his little backpack and his phone that he had left on the room you had kindly let him sleep on.

When Agatha made sure the teen had left the two of them completely alone, she walked closer to Rio who was still sitting on the same couch, Agatha took the seat in front of her and looked at her with a serious expression on her face.

“I need you to stay here with her, I trust you to make sure she will be alright, during these hours I will not be here, just make sure she doesn´t try to come downstairs alone, she has been having these episodes where she feels dizzy and I don´t want her to fall” The way Agatha´s voice was full of worry made Rio feel guilty, she was aware why you were feeling like this, but she couldn´t say what was going on, the guilt was eating her alive.

“You can count on me with that, I will stay here with her” Agatha looked straight into Rio´s eyes, there was a part of her that didn’t trust or didn´t want to trust completely in this woman, and she was trying to see or find any type of deception in her eyes, but she didn´t find anything, the woman in front of her was sincere, so Agatha only nodded and stood up to walk to the door and open it.

“You better take care of her while I´m not here, if you are going to be stuck with us for a while, you need to start showing you really care about her, don´t mess this up please” Agatha said with a straight face and got out of the house, to wait for the teen outside, Rio took a deep breath stood up, ready to go downstairs, the last phrase Agatha had said made her flinch.

The teen then came back running and looked everywhere around the room with his eyebrows furrowed, confused as to where Agatha was, Rio just shook her head and pointed at the opened door, he quickly gave her a smile and ran towards the door, after he closed it, Rio went to take the small pot in the window that had a single red carnation in the middle, sighing again she decided to go knock on your door with the flower in her hands, she didn´t know why she still felt a little bit nervous, even knowing what Agatha had already told her.

You were waiting on your bed for the sleep to arrive, until you heard two soft knocks on your door, you had already heard the engine of a car leaving outside your house, and the way this person was knocking on your door was different to the way Agatha usually knocked, Agatha used to knock three times, the teen you realized knocked more than three times and in a rush, and this person, who you assumed was Ri, had knocked only two times and had waited a few seconds after knocking the second time.

“You can come in” You said out loud for her to hear and sat up in your bed, the door slowly opened and Rio entered with a shy smile on her face, when you noticed the flower she was carrying on her hands, you smiled widely, Rio saw the smile that formed on your face and couldn´t help but give you a big smile as well.

The brown-eyed woman inquired while looking at you with a sheepish smile on her face, her big brown eyes shining with the light of the sun that came through the window, your heart warmed at her question.

“I´m feeling better, thank you Rio” She nodded and walked closer to you, you patted the chair next to your bed to show her she could sit there, she bit her lip and took the seat next to her.

“This is for you, I left more flowers for you downstairs, since the old ones you know got destroyed” Rio lowered her head not wanting to meet your eyes, she didn´t want to see the same disappointed look you had before, when you saw her and Agatha fighting, the pot with the flower was resting in her lap, she felt truly sorry and hoped for you to forgive her.

“Hey, it´s fine, I just, I don´t want you to hurt each other, I don´t care about the things that got broken, I just don´t like seeing you two fight” Rio slowly lifted her head to look at you and the way you saw a hint of sadness flashed over her face made you smile sadly, you still didn´t know what had happened between them to the point that it seemed they hated each other so much.

“Thank you for leaving flowers for me whenever you came, I am glad you are here today, you always left without actually saying something” Your hand came to your face to brush a strand of hair and put it behind your ear, you saw the way Rio´s smile grew wider and she handed you the flower she was holding, when her hands came closer to you, you stretched your hands out to her to take the flower in your hands, for a second your hands touched hers and you had sworn you felt a spark of electricity there.

“This is for you, my lady” Your face suddenly started to feel warmer, and you gladly accepted the flower, placing it in your lap and caressing the delicate petals of the vibrant red flower.

“Thank you, I love every flower you give to me, I always take care of them, I promise to make sure this has enough water and enough time in the sun, it´s beautiful” You commented while looking at her, Rio´s face lit up, and her eyes seemed to get brighter.

“Sorry for the mess we made and…” She stopped talking and seemed to think what she was going to say next.

“And sorry for appearing like this, out of nowhere, I didn´t want to cause any problems, it was not my intention to destroy almost everything” Rio scrunched up her face remembering the state they had left the entire room downstairs in, and you chuckled, for a second you saw the way her hand was about to stretch out to you, but she placed it back, you noticed how she hesitated to actually touch you, and it was something that Agatha had done as well years ago when you were starting to know her, the way Agatha had hesitated as well many times to get closer to you or to touch you, so you decided to encourage her and show her she didn´t have to hesitate.

Stretching your hand out and putting it in the air, you saw the way Rio´s eyes grew wide.

“It´s fine, you can give me your hand” Rio slowly gave you her hand and you took it in yours, she gave it a squeeze and loved the feeling of finally feeling you this close to her, she had yearned for years to be able to touch you somehow, and you being the one to initiate the contact made her beam with happiness, a happiness she had not felt in centuries.

You wanted to reassure her, to let her know that her presence would always be welcome.

“You don´t have to feel sorry, please, never feel sorry for appearing here, I would never mind, I would have loved for you to stay more all these times in the past, I would have loved to have a chat with you, and I, even if I don´t know why Agatha and you hate each other so much, please have in mind that I still don´t want any of you to get hurt, I would love for you to talk things out, but whatever happened in the past, I can sense it still haunts you and her, I don’t even know if what had happened can be fixed” The way your voice sounded so sincere and so caring almost made her cry, but she didn´t want you to see her cry, she didn´t want you to think she was weak, you were right, what had happened still haunted her, the guilt Agatha had made her felt for something she had tried to even stop from happening, the way Agatha didn´t understand that she had done everything in her hands to give her more time, but Agatha didn´t see any of that, Agatha didn´t see the hurt and pain she was also feeling, only focusing on her grief and pain, never realizing that she felt the same way Agatha felt, for centuries she had been completely heartbroken and with time, these feeling shaped into anger, anger because Agatha had been so selfish to only focus on her own pain, Rio had stopped looking at you, her eyes staring at the floor.

“What happened cannot be fixed, we have hurt each other so much, for many centuries, we left the pain and anger took over us, blaming and accusing the other one, there is no way for us to fix what has been broken” You would have loved to comfort the grieving woman, her sad eyes made your heart ache, you would have loved to make her feel better, but you weren´t not sure how.

“Can I hug you?” The words came out of your mouth, you hoped for Rio to accept, she slowly lifted her face to look again at you, her eyes shining again with what seemed to be happiness, and she nodded slowly, placing the pot with the flower on your nightstand and with her hand still in yours, you stood from the bed and dragged her gently to make her stand from the chair she had been sitting.

Rio grinned and her eyes squinted a little, looking at you with curiosity, laughing a little you pushed her a little bit closer to you and she quickly pulled you closer to her, you were surprised by the strength she had suddenly showed but quickly recovered, her arms passed over your waist, pressing you closer to her, and out of instinct you passed your arms around her neck, resting your head on her chest, listening carefully to her beating heart.

Rio placed her chin on top of your head, in such a gentle way not wanting to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable, feeling your body so close to hers filled her with happiness, she had wished for this since a long time ago, the way your body fitted against her made her heart skip a beat, a feeling she had not felt since centuries ago, it overwhelmed her a little, filling her completely with so much joy, and again, she felt like crying, Rio pressed a soft kiss on the top of your head, her right hand started to caress your back slowly, making you feel relaxed, she wanted to let you know everything that had happened between Agatha and her, she wanted to be honest and sincere, she wanted to let you know about the life growing inside of you, but again she knew she couldn´t, it was not her place, a single tear rolled down her face and you felt the way she tried to pull you impossibly closer to her, and you let her, you let her hug you as much as she wanted, trying to ease the pain the brown-eyed woman carried with her.

“If I could, I would take all the pain you have in your heart away” You words resonated in her head, if only you knew you had been helping her all these time, when she saw you taking care of the flowers she had given to you, when you smiled, even if it was not directed at her but at Agatha, she still felt joyful to see you were happy, she had not felt the courage to make sure to stay by someone´s side since a long time ago, she wanted to make things right, she did not want to be away from you again, so she would have to prove to you and to Agatha if needed that she was worthy of you.

“Agatha and I, we, we talked about you” Her words made you feel curious, so you lifted your head to look properly at her.

“What did you two talk about me?” Your voice sounded playful and Rio started to smile, it was impossible not to smile when you were looking at her that way.

“About the way the two of us feel about you, about the way I feel about you” Your heart started to beat faster, you had your theories about Rio and why she left flowers, certain flowers through all these years, you knew the meaning behind the flowers she had given you in the past, but always tried to push that feeling aside, the red carnation she had given you meant admiration, affection and was a symbol of passion, it was an amazing flower to give to someone whom you tried to show the romantic feelings you had for them, or the first flower she had given to you all these years ago, the single red rose that was associated with love and symbolized passion, strong emotions such as love and admiration.

“I know Agatha knows about my feelings as well, then, right?” You asked and Rio nodded, remembering the way Agatha had told her about your heart being split in two, and her heart started to beat faster.

“She is not mad then?” You asked shyly and Rio separated from you a little to have a proper look at you and see the way your eyes started at ther.

“She is not, but we still have to talk, the three of us have to talk about this” Listening to Rio´s soft voice made you feel better, taking away the guilt you felt deep down about the way you felt for the two women.

“I hope we get to talk soon, just the three of us” Rio hoped the same, but she was not sure when the three of you would get the chance to have a proper talk, and Agatha and Rio´s priority was to keep you safe no matter what, so even if they didn´t have the chance to talk about it right now or soon, they would make sure first to protect you from everything, Rio gave you another smile and you rested your head again against her chest, the brown- eyed woman loved how you felt being this close to her.

“I don´t know how long they will take, but would you like to do something? I can show you the house, show you the books I have, I can give you a tour through the garden, or we can stay here, just holding each other and lay down on the bed?” Rio loved the idea of doing things with you, she had never had the chance to do anything with you next to her, she had never had the chance to be this close to you, but now, you were there, letting her hold you, and even if she had wanted to do more things with you, she didn´t want to stop the amazing feeling of having you this close to her, she wanted to enjoy as much as she could being like this with you, holding you and inhaling your sweet scent.

“Can we stay a little bit longer like this, and then lay down for a while?” You nodded, agreeing to what she had said, your smile growing wider and you face getting warmer, Rio had never felt this happy in centuries, and she loved it completely.

You stayed with her, letting her hold you, and feeling her hands caress your waist gently, enjoying the quietness of the room, and only listening to your beating harts, the proof that what the two of you felt was reciprocated, genuine and sincere, no matter what Rio would make sure you were going to be fine, and she knew Agatha would do the same.

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The sound of a car stopping outside your house made you slowly open your eyes, the dim light was comfortable enough for you to open them without any trouble, the bed was cozy enough and the person next to you held you tightly and gently, her warm making you feel comforted and protected, her presence was lovely, giving you a sense of security.

“It seems that they just came back” Rio´s voice next to you was soft, one of her hands around your shoulders and your head resting on her chest, she loved having you like this, you nodded and closed your eyes for a second before taking a deep breath, you were not sure how much time had passed, because being this close to Rio made the time seem as if it had passed so quickly.

“I really hope you also get to talk about what happened, I know maybe it doesn´t concern me, but I really don´t like seeing the two of you fighting, I know she doesn´t like to talk about how she feels, I know it´s really hard for her, but I can see the pain in her eyes whenever she hears your name” Rio would have loved to tell you what had happened, why the two of them in her mind and Agatha´s mind could never get along again, but she decided not to say anything, the pain burning in her chest with the warmth of a thousand of fires, she knew Agatha needed to tell you, how things had happened, again, it was not her place to start telling you the story that had been haunting her and Agatha as well.

“One of these days, everything will make sense to you, right now, you should go check on Agatha and make sure she doesn´t murder that poor boy” You opened your eyes so quickly because she was right, the boy had left with Agatha a couple of hours ago and he had passed all these hours next to her, you didn´t know if Agatha had already had enough of the teen, before you could quickly stand up from the bed, you heard the door opening slowly, and you knew instantly it was Agatha.

So you decided to wait for her, Rio who also noticed Agatha was the one who was on the other side smirked just a little bit, waiting for the other woman to enter to the room, Rio still had her arm around your shoulder and the two of you were laying on the bed, relaxed and in a comfortable position.

When Agatha opened the door fully, she entered and looked at you, the first moment her eyes landed on you her gaze softened, you could see her shoulders being a little tense, she had had some quite stressful hours, she was not used to pass so much time with someone so younger, except for you, of course, but it was totally different, the teen made so many questions, and talked so much, she felt on edge.

You noticed this and quickly understood what she was feeling, you sensed her mood so you worried, before Rio or Agatha could foresee what you were going to do, you quickly stood up from the bed, in a hasty way that when the two women realized you had almost jumped out of bed to go check on the blue-eyed witch, their eyes opened wide in panic.

Agatha caught you in her arms as quickly as she could, afraid you could lose your balance and fall, so her strong grip holding you tightly against her and her eyebrows furrowed trying to understand how fast you had gotten up from bed.

“Doll, be careful, you have to be careful please” Agatha commented looking at you straight into your eyes, fear still visible in her face, you didn´t listen to her you wanted to make sure she was fine.

“How are you? You seem tense” Taking her face in your hands you started to cares her jaw softly, Agatha felt herself melting at your touch, for a moment she forgot the stressful sensation and heaviness Inside her mind, she closed her eyes for a second enjoying the feeling of your soft hands on her face.

“I am better now that I´m here with you” You couldn´t help but smile at her words.

“Always a charmer, I love you so much, you got me worried, you look tired” The way Agatha sighed confirmed what you were sensing.

“I just need to take a shower” Rio realized she needed to get out of the room and wait for the two of you downstairs, so she stood up from the bed and started to walk with confidence towards the door, when Agatha opened her eyes again she saw the brown-eyed woman smirking and rolled her eyes a little but still, even apart from the slight annoyance she felt, she also was thankful for actually staying here with you, so the blue-eyed woman quickly stared at her and nodded at Rio, in a way to show she was thanking her for being here with you, the brown-eyed woman realized what she meant with that and she nodded back at her, acknowledging what she wanted to say, the two of them smiled at each other and Rio stopped close to the two of you, looking at you.

“Be careful mi amor, please” Rio said to you and Agatha rolled her eyes playfully at Rio´s pet name for you but didn´t comment anything, you smiled at her and nodded.

“Thank you for staying here with me” You replied to the woman covered in black and she only chuckled.

“I will see the two of you later downstairs, don´t make us wait too long” The woman walked past you and disappear in the hallway, you only laughed and Agatha rolled her eyes again playfully.

“Do you want me to help you relax a little?” You inquired looking at her while batting your eyelashes and she chuckled, she really loved the idea so she nodded, agreeing to let you take care of her, she leaned to give you a soft kiss and you gladly accepted it, feeling her soft lips.

“What did you and Rio do during these hours?” Agatha had separated from you to take off her hat and place it on the bed, and you saw the way her eyes squinted a little.

“We talked for a while and then we just rested on the bed, the time passed quickly but I still missed you” You came closer to her and sat on the bed in front of her, her eyes pursed a little and she sighed, she knew she had already had a short talk with Rio about you, and even if she didn´t mind the other woman passing time with you, she still couldn´t take off her mind what had happened centuries ago, Agatha didn´t like to think about awful things happening to you, but if it happened, if something happened, would Rio do the same she had done in the past? She really didn´t want to think about that, so she shook her head and decided to relax with you, before going to the actual road, her eye caught her perfume on the vanity of the room, and an idea crossed her mind, she would make sure to do what she had in mind after the shower she so much needed.

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“Hey, so, when do we start?” You asked Agatha when you reached her basement, it looked like you had arrived a little bit late since the other witches seem to be already placed in the middle of the basement forming a circle, Agatha had been looking for something in one of the shelves near to the wall and Rio was waiting for her centimeters away from the blue-eyed witch.

Agatha quickly turned herself around, confusion all over her face, what were you doing there? She had already told you to wait with the teenager upstairs, wait for her to come let you know it was time to leave, she was going to go for you.

“Doll, didn´t I tell you to wait upstairs with the teenager?” She asked while quickly walking over to you, and you furrowed your eyebrows, she had told you that, but you had thought that it was only to wait for her until everything was gathered and then you thought you had to come looking for them to join them to open the door.

Agatha hoped that you didn´t put up much of a fight, she didn´t want you there because if you took part on opening the door with them that would make you instantly part of the coven, and she knew that your life would be put in danger, if she remembered the rules of the road, being a member of the coven, would mean you would have to face a trial, a trial who no one had any idea of what could be about, what dark illusions could be shown, or how the road could mess with your mind, they were not even sure what type of trials and dangers the road would make them face, and she didn´t want for any of that to be thrown at you, she had agreed that you went with them, but she hadn´t agreed on you being part of the coven to face the cruelties of the road, and she was not about to risk your life more, she saw the way you nodded and how your beautiful eyes were looking at her with curiosity, so she had to think of something in order to make you wait for her upstairs, where you would be safe, at least by now.

“Well, baby, remember the song? Water, earth and air?” She asked you with a loving smile on her face and you nodded.

“Well here we already have every element around us, in order for us to open the door, it is strictly necessary that a certain number of the elements stay here to chant the sacred song and open the door, that´s what I told you to wait with the teenager, he also needs to be upstairs because here we have to be the ones to make sure this opens correctly, alright?” She hated herself for lying to you, she hated not telling you the truth, but if that meant she could keep you extra safe through some lies, then she would do it, no matter what, her priority was to make sure you were safe.

You seemed to understand because the way you smiled to her and nodded again in understanding made her heart feel warm, but at the same time it pained her to see how much you trusted in her, she hated lying to you, but she was not sure if you would have agreed on going back upstairs if she had told you the truth.

“Alright, I will wait for you upstairs, I will se if the boy wants to play some card games, I already placed Señor Scratchy in his safe place, I put enough water and food, so he will be fine, I will be waiting for you” You replied back to her and gave her a quick peck on her lips, Agatha unconsciously closed her eyes when she felt your lips on hers and a big smile formed on her face, before you could leave she quickly pressed her hands on your waist and pulled you closer to her body, the happiness you were feeling was immense, and you let her hold you against her.

“I love you so much, I won´t let anything happen to you” Her words made you feel so much love, the way her voice sounded so sincere, you knew she would do everything she could to protect you, you trusted in her, and you nodded, she had always been such a protective girlfriend.

“I know, I will also make sure nothing happens to you, we are going to protect each other, alright?” She smiled against you and chuckled, you were the best, slowly you separated from her and gave her one more smile, before you could turn yourself to leave, you turned around to look at the other witches who were looking at the two of you with smiles on their faces, they still couldn´t believe that Agatha Harkness, the witch that so many people other witches feared and some other hated, had found someone as sweet as you to love her, not listening to the things that were said about her, the myths, bad tales and scary legends told about the mysterious witch, and the way Agatha seemed to get soft when you were near her, made them believe that maybe, even after all, the fearsome woman had a heart after all.

You smiled at them and waved your hand to greet them again, with your eyes bright full of happiness, it was hard not to smile at you, you had such a pretty smile and had a contagious laugh that made them smile at you as well, such a kind soul, offering happiness wherever you went.

Rio who had moved to the corner, watching you with a grin on her face, felt her heart skipping a beat, she had vowed to herself to protect you, and was happy to see how Agatha had handled the situation, that was the thing with her former lover, Agatha always knew how to handle things, how to make sure things always played in her favor, but she knew now, that this time, she was doing it not to gain something for her, Rio knew whatever she had said to you, was to keep you safe, and she knew that feeling very well, she knew she had made some mistakes in the past, but some of them had been only her doing her job, she wanted to keep you safe, and she only hoped that when the truth would be revealed, she hoped that you would understand her reasons, she only wished that you would let her explain why she hadn´t said anything, just as Agatha wanted, Rio wanted to protect you as well.

All of the witches saw the way you left happily and closed the door of the basement with a soft thud, Agatha sighed deeply and when she turned herself to look at the witches, she noticed the way they were looking at her.

“Shall we?” Rio came from her spot in the corner and placed herself where Alice, had made a space for her to enter, she placed herself next to Agatha and Alice, and even though Agatha pursed her lips slightly, this time, she found how surprising it had been, that she hadn´t felt any type of annoyance at Rio´s proximity, Rio decided not to say anything at the lack of sarcasm or witty comments about how close she was next to her, and when the time came for all the witches to hold hands, Agatha didn´t hesitate to grab Rio´s hand in hers, part of their minds tried to think that it was because of the truce they had agreed on having in order to make sure you would be fine.

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“Can I ask you something?” You heard the dark-haired boy asking, the two of you were sitting on the couch while the other witches were looking for a clue in the perfect elegant house, you had wanted to help but Agatha, Rio and the coven had told you it was not necessary, so they sent you to sit with the teen.

“Yeah, sure, what is it?” You smiled at him and nodded.

“Why do you and Agatha smell the same?” You didn’t understand his question so you frowned.

“What do you mean? We smell the same?” Your face had a confused expression, you were not understanding his question, did you have a smell?

“Yes, I mean, the perfume, it seems like the two of you use the same perfume, at first, I couldn’t quite place my finger in what it was, when Agatha grabbed me by my shirt yesterday, I smelled her perfume, kind of a hint of vanilla? Lavender? I don’t know, and you just smell the same, it’s nice, maybe you can tell me what is the name of the perfume? It really has those sweet floral hints you know?”

He said while he looked at the small table in front of you, he seemed to be deep in thought, and you felt your face getting warmer just as the seconds passed.

And the reason why the two of you had the scent of the same perfume, it had been due to Agatha spraying some of her own cologne on your neck, “So everyone knew you belonged to her” just s she had said, and you couldn’t help but let your mind wander back to this morning.

“I can’t believe we actually have a coven!” You had commented excitedly to her, Agatha didn’t seem to be really happy, the way she sighed and looked at you through the mirror on your vanity while she made sure the collar of her blouse looked good, you saw the way your girlfriend was having a hard time accommodating her own blouse, so you decided to help her a little.

“Here, let me help you” Pressing your hands on the collar of her blouse you made sure it was perfectly accommodated and with not wrinkles, you patted gently her chest and smiled at her.

“There you go, all nice and neat” Agatha smiled widely at you and put her hands on your waist, for a moment you gasped in surprise but ended up laughing when you felt the way Agatha pulled you closer to her.

“I love you so much doll, I can’t believe you convinced me to let you go with us” The way her eyes still showed the fear she felt due to not knowing what could happen and the constant reminder that she was powerless, the way the fear of not being able to protect you if something happened was eating her alive.

“Hey, it’s fine, we will be alright, I am going to be alright, you don’t have to worry about nothing, I have magic as well, remember? I released you from the spell the scarlet witch had put you on” Agatha smiled softly, you were right you had been powerful enough to release her from the Scarlet Witch’s spell, she still was fascinated by that, you had already explained to her that you had tried to release her several times before it actually worked, but in the end you had done it, you were right, she was sure about you being powerful enough to take care of yourself, but still, she was scared, scared of something actually happening to you.

“I know, I know you are powerful, remember when we met? I could feel the strong magic coming from you, you don’t need to say incantations to use your powers, I just… I want to make sure nothing happens to you, I want to protect you, my job is to protect you, not the other way around doll” Agatha finished saying with a loving smile on her face, her hand left hand on your face, caressing slowly your cheek with her fingers.

“But you always protect me, even without powers, I know you will find a way to do it, please, let me go with you, I will make sure to stay near you, please” Agatha couldn’t help but feel her heart beating faster, you looked so cute when you begged, and she always find hard to say “no” to you.

“Fine, but you will stay close to me, not wandering off, alright?” The way your smile grew wider did not pass unnoticed to your girlfriend who laughed out loud noticing your excitement.

“I promise not to wander off and stay close to you the whole time, thank you” Passing your arms around her shoulders to hug her tightly she couldn’t help but close her eyes and pressed her hands in your waist, with the same strength you were hugging her, she loved feeling you so close to her.

“We have to hurry then, we don’t know if the women you went to look for the coven are going to arrive sooner” You sounded so excited that it warmed her heart, once you separated from her you went to the mirror to take a look at you, just to make sure you looked decent.

Agatha watched you brushing your hair with your hand making sure not even a single strand of hair was out of place, she always loved the way you would brush your hair in the mornings after you got out of the shower.

“You always look beautiful, there’s only one more thing that´s left to apply” You stopped what you were doing and turned yourself to look at her, confused as to what she was referring.

You only stood there with your head tilted to the side and then the older witch laughed, she walked towards you and passed her hands around your waist again, you thought she wanted to hug you one more time but then you felt the way she leant a little bit more and her hands were searching for something behind you on the vanity, before you had the chance she separated from you a little and placed her left hand again on your neck, caressing gently.

Closing your eyes, enjoying the feeling, Agatha started to brush with her fingertips your jaw and you leant into her touch, after some seconds you felt a few drops of what it felt to be water, and then the sweet scent of Agatha´s perfume was surrounding you.

“You are going to meet some new people now that we agreed you are coming with me, and everyone needs to know you belong to me, isn´t it right?” You smiled with your eyes still closed, and chuckled, the way Agatha´s voice sounded so raspy and had started to whisper close to your ears, it made your heart beat faster.

“Don´t be shy, answer me doll” The hand that Agatha had on your jaw grasped you a little bit harder but without hurting you, she still knew Rio would be coming with you, and even if they had already talked a little about you and your feelings, Agatha couldn´t help but be possessive of you.

“You´re right Agatha, people need to know I belong to you, only you” Agatha licked her lips unconsciously and sighed deeply, her grip on your neck loosening just a little.

“Good girl” The older witch said to you with a raspy voice. -

“Uhm, did I say something funny?” The teen´s voice brought you back to the present.

“No, not at all, why?” You asked him a little bit confused not understanding his question.

“I asked you why you and Agatha smelled the same and then you started to smile” The teen said looking a little bit worried wondering if he had said something stupid.

“Oh yeah, no, no, sorry, I just I remembered something nice, to answer your question, we, uh, we keep some of our clothes together in the same drawer, I think that´s why we have the same perfume, you know, the scents tend to get mixed” You said with your face completely red, the teen squinting his eyes, looking at you with a curious look.

“Oh, well, it smells great” He said after a minute and smiled widely.

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“Oh my god, that smell, I used to love the scent of wet dirt but now, I don´t even know why I can´t stand it” You said to Jenn when she grabbed a handful of it on her hands, Alice nodding agreeing with her on how it was a pleasant smell, you had also found the smell to be pleasant weeks ago, waiting for the rain to actually fall all over town and wait for the rain then to go away to go check on your beloved garden, the smell always bringing a sense of comfort to you, until some weeks ago.

“It is almost as if you were pregnant” Jenn said jokingly while chuckling a little, and you stopped dead in your tracks, your eyes opened widely and looking at the ground. It had been intended to only be a joke, a simple funny joke, but suddenly everything started to make sense, you put two and two together.

Some weeks ago, you had woken up around 6:00 in the morning, feeling a little bit thirsty, Agatha had still been asleep on the other side of bed when the sudden wave of nausea had hit you, it had happened the same thing whenever you woke up, feeling dizzy and even starting to feel disgusted at certain smells you liked or tolerated before, but you had thought and said to yourself that it had been due to maybe catching a bug or a slight cold, but everything seemed to make sense now.

Agatha was talking to the teen a couple of meters behind you, she was listening with so much attention at something the boy was saying, Jenn had walked a few centimeters more and didn´t notice you had stopped walking, Alice was next to her walking and smiling softly, while Rio had stopped next to you and Lilia had stopped as well, with a worried look on her face.

Rio looked at your stomach for a minute and the way her eyes were wide open made you feel worried for a second, she seemed tensed, the way her shoulders stiffened and didn’t dare to move, after a minute she dropped her gaze to the floor, not daring to look at you in the face.

“Is it true?” You asked her, while looking at her, your voice had come up almost in a whisper and trembling a little.

Rio took a deep breath, she felt guilty for not telling you or Agatha the life that was growing inside you, but it was not her place to say it, she was not the one who needed to let you know, and still, she felt guilty because you were here, walking the witches’ road, you had no idea, maybe if you had known, maybe you would haven´t agreed on going with them but right now, but the what ifs didn´t matter.

She looked back at you, straight into your eyes, and she nodded slightly, not daring to say something else, the guilt eating her from the inside, and the worry more present than ever, she started to feel scared of your reaction, and how you would take this new information.

“But how? How is it possible?” You asked suddenly, panic taking all over you, your heart started to beat faster and Rio and Lilia noticed it right away, Rio quickly came closer to you and placed her hands on your face, brushing slightly your hair, in a way to help you calm yourself.

“Hey, it´s alright, it´s fine, don´t worry, alright? Agatha and I are going to make sure nothing happens to you, please baby, take deep breaths” Her soft voice was recomforting and it helped you to feel grounded, right now it was not the time to panic, you needed to think straight, and you also needed to think how you would tell Agatha, how were you going to even explain that you were pregnant? How were you going to explain that if you didn´t even know how it had happened?

Lilia who was next to you sensed the fear in your mood, the way you seemed you were about to faint terrified her so she had come next to you to hold your hand and keep you steady, her heart filled with fear at the thought of you being pregnant and being on the road.

“Oh, sweet girl” Was the first thing Lila could say, her furrowed eyebrows and hand covering her mouth in shock.

Rio kept brushing your hair softly, her soft hands pressing from time to time your skin, which made you lean into her touch, Agatha who was only meters away from all of you noticed how Rio and Lilia were holding you and she started to walk faster to get to you, alarms started to sound in her head, and her heart started to beat faster, afraid that something had happened to you.

“What happened doll? Are you hurt?” Agatha quickly started to check on you looking for wounds all over you, she then placed her hands on your face and started to examine as well your features, you had your eyes closed and she thought you were about to faint, she hold you closer to her and looked at Rio whose eyes were full of worry.

“We should help her sit down” Lilia said nodding and pointed to a place where there was a tree trunk in the middle of it, Rio and Agatha nodded and gently started to push you towards the trunk tree, the two of them helped you to sit down and Agatha sat in knelt down in front of you on the ground, taking your hands in her, Rio came to knelt down as well next to her, her hands on your knees, stroking them gently.

The other witches were looking at the three of you with worried faces, they would have wanted to go and help, Alice was about to go and walk closer to you to see If she could help you somehow, ask if there was something she could do but Lilia stopped her, knowing the three of you needed space to talk.

Things had already been going fine over the past two trials, with the poisoned wine and Alice getting to break her generational curse, things have been fine at least for now, no one had been harmed, no one was hurt, and Lilia hoped for things to keep going this way.

You thought about just blurting out to Agatha what was going on, but you were scared of her reaction, you didn’t even know how it had happened! Magic could be the only answer and even though your gut told you that was how it had happened, still you doubted to say it out loud, to acknowledge that there was a life growing inside of you.

Rio wasn´t sure how would Agatha react, she wasn’t even sure what could happen or what she would do when she realized you were pregnant with her child, Rio knew Agatha loved you deeply, but she also knew that the blue-eyed woman had never let you know about Nicky, being something that still affected Agatha so much, not knowing how the blue-eyed witch would take the news, would she understand? Would she be taken aback? Rio didn´t know for sure how would the woman next to her would take the new information, and she worried, not only for Agatha but for you as well, she knew that right now you were in such a fragile state, and whatever happened if it was slightly bad could affect you deeply, and Rio didn´t want for your emotional state to get worse.

You knew you had to say something, anything to stop the two women in front of you from worrying so much, but how could you when even yourself were panicking awfully? It was now or never you thought, just when you were going to let Agatha know that you were pregnant, the first thing you noticed when you opened your eyes, was the strange cabin behind Agatha and Rio, it was only some meters away from you, and you knew the road wanted for the next trial to take place now.

Agatha noticed you were looking behind her so she hastily looked at the same direction you were staring at, Rio proceeded to do the same, and Agatha´s heart filled with pain and sorrow when she also noticed the blood moon up in the sky, the next trial was hers, and seeing your face contorting in terror and fear when the curse had actually attacked her made her think that the best would be for you to stay out of the next trial, everything had been going fine, and she hoped that during this trial of hers everything still would be the same, but, what if thing went south? What if she was shown something awful? What if you saw how much a monster she was, so turning herself around to look at you, she decided to let you know what was going to happen next.

“You are going to stay here with the teen, here at least we know the road is safe, the trials are only counting for five of us, I am not really sure if rules apply to her” Agatha pointed with her head at Rio before continue talking.

“But it would be better if she doesn´t go and break the rules, this time I am asking you not to break the rules, I hope you listen to me for once” Agatha´s voice was filled with something you hadn´t heard before, was sounded like resentment or bitterness and Rio´s shoulders tensed, you supposed they were referring to whatever it had happened, but you, being a little bit too stubborn as Agatha would sometimes say, you quickly shook your head, you were not going to leave her alone or the witches, how could she even ask for that? Weren´t you supposed to be all together?

Agatha realized you were about to contradict her but her expression became hard and her lips were pressed in a thin line, she was visibly on edge, she knew she had told you that you would be close to her at all times, but seen that you had been about to come next to her to help her when the curse had attacked her, she didn´t want for you to risk your life if something happened to her, so she needed to change the rules for you.

“No, you heard me, I know the rules, I know what is the best for you, right now you are not in a good state, at least not physically, you almost fainted! Can´t you see I am trying to protect you? We are trying to make sure you are safe, why can´t you listen just for once?” Her voice had broken completely, tears had already started to fall down her face, and it hurt you to see her that way, so broken, feeling so stressed over you, maybe, if you had listened to her, if you had stayed at your house, maybe Agatha wouldn´t have been feeling this way right now, but it was too late to actually think about the what ifs, you didn´t want to cause her to be more stressed, so maybe, it was not even the time as well to let her know why you had been feeling sick for the past weeks, that would only add for her to feel more worried than ever, and you wanted her to keep her head cool so she would keep on being the best leader she was, so you only nodded, and Agatha visibly relaxed.

“I will stay here, I will not move from here, but please be safe alright? I will be waiting for you here, I will be waiting for you to come back, alright?” Agatha sighed and a smile formed on her face, she nodded again and pressed a soft kiss on your lips.

“Thank you doll, I will come back here with you” You girlfriend whispered softly to you and then she looked back at Rio who couldn´t help but feel guilty and Agatha did something she wouldn´t do ever again, she pressed her hand on Rio´s shoulder and then looked back at you again.

“We will come back to you” Rio smiled widely and nodded at Agatha´s words, she knew they would have a long talk when they came here next to you.

Agatha stood up and called the teenager to come over, he nodded quickly and ran towards the three of you, when he was standing next to you, he looked at Agatha waiting for her to talk.

“Listen boy, I know you are hiding something, and I know you can take care of you, we will have a talk later as well later, but right now, I have to ask you to please stay here with her, I don´t want her to be alone” The boy was surprised to see her so vulnerable, he hadn´t seen her this way, and he knew she was being sincere, Agatha´s eyes showed so much emotions, fear was the most visible, it was clear she feared for you, she was scared of losing you and if he was honest he didn´t want that anything happened to you as well, and he was sure that any of the other witches of the new coven wanted for that to happen as well, all of them cared for you deeply and he was sure every witch here would do something in order to protect you.

He nodded and looked at Agatha with a serious expression on his face, however, their plan hadn´t go according to what they had wished.

You had seen them entering to the cabin, all of them, the teen had taken the seat next to you, the two of you had seen the other witches closed the door behind them, not even a minute had passed, or that was what you thought, that when you closed your eyes for a second and you opened them again, you were inside the cabin the teen was shocked as much as you and when you heard Agatha´s voice yelling your name, you knew things were going to get complicated.

“I told you to stay outside!” The witches were looking at you, they had turned around to look at you, Agatha was in what it seemed to be some stairs, Rio was at the front with a knife in her hand and another person was in the front. Someone you had never seen before, white hair and with a strange aura all over herself, the boy and you didn´t even have time to say you had in fact waited outside but the next minute you were inside with all of them!

“Let the girl and the baby inside of her with me, and I shall not harm anyone, you will be free to go” Agatha froze in her spot, her hands up in the air as she had tried to brush her hair out of her face after the ghost of her mother had tossed her the in the stairs, her mind freezing as well, for a second she didn´t understand, until Rio placed herself in front of the ghost of her mother.

“You can´t do that, she is not part of this, there are rules, and I will not let you take her” That was the moment when Agatha realized Evanora was talking about you, without realizing she walked down the stairs slowly until she reached the end of them where Evanora was floating, her lip almost quivering, the unsettling feeling growing stronger in her stomach.

“You don´t know what you are talking about” Was the first thing Agatha could say to the paler woman, getting a loud cackle from her.

“I don´t have time for this” Said the ghost and what happened next happened so fast you didn´t even have time to process exactly what was going in front of you, only catching glimpses, the ghost entering into Agatha´s body, Agatha starting to run towards you with such a strength that seemed inhuman, Rio trying to hold her, stopping her from taking a step forward to you, Agatha tossing Rio to the other side of the room, Jennifer and the teenager trying to keep her in place, Lilia had ran towards you to place herself in front of you, too shocked to even know what to do, how could they even fight a possessed witch, how were they supposed to fight a ghost? And the next thing you saw was Alice placing herself in front of you and Lilia, throwing strands of her power to Agatha, expulsing the ghost from your girlfriend´s body, Rio running to place herself next to Agatha to stop her from absorbing all of Alice´s powers, and then Alice falling to the floor, grunting but still alive, it felt as if everything had just happened in a matter of seconds, watching everything unfolding in front of you.

When the door opened, Agatha´s blue eyes stared at you, her eyes filled with tears, her expression unreadable, her hand on her mouth, covering it completely, her hair completely disheveled, but her eyes were always so easy to read, her blue eyes were looking at you with worry, showing how scared she was, how terrified she was feeling, and she did what she was used to when she didn´t know how to deal with her feelings and with the cruel world, she ran towards the opened door, getting out of the cabin as fast as possible, you had wanted to check on everyone, make sure Alice was fine, make sure Rio was not hurt, ask how Lilia felt and check if Jenn and the teenager were alright, but as you had sensed the complete wrecked state Agatha was in, you decided to go after her, no listening to the voices from behind calling out for you.

The first thing you saw after getting out of the cabin was how the scenery had changed completely, from the forest and the path being covered completely in leaves that had fallen from their trees, the sky that seemed to be dark as if you were late at night, the blood moon was nowhere to bee seen, the weather seemed to have changed completely, from the cold sensation that made your toes long for a pair of warming socks, to a different sensation in the air that it was even hard to describe, the light made the place look as if it you were in the middle of an abandoned forest that seemed to have ben burnt in some places, the trees didn´t have leaves and after squinting for a couple of minutes trying to locate Agatha you saw her walking some meters away, so you ran, you ran as fast as you could to reach her, and when she heard you calling out her name she abruptly stopped, but she didn´t dare to turn around to face you.

The fear and her awful thoughts had taken over her completely, she didn´t feel ready to face you, not yet, she needed time, time to process what had just happened, what she had just heard, trying to do something you did what you had done so many times, you took her by her arm, softly trying to make her to turn around to face you, but you felt the way her body stiffened, how her shoulders tensed, and the way she almost flinched, you heart broke when you felt her reaction, she had never rejected any type of contact, never before, until now.

“Agatha I´m-“ Before you could continue what you were about to say, what you had just learned today, what you had realized and Rio had confirmed, you heard a sob coming from her, and then her broken voice talked to you.

“I know, I know sweetheart, I just, I need time, please” She said without even looking at you, without facing you, and you were not sure what was hurting you more, the fact that she didn´t want to look at you, or if she didn´t let you address what was going on, so, with tears in your eyes you took your hand away from her arm and the moment Agatha felt you had let go of her arm, she started to walk faster, where to? You didn´t know, but you were sure she wanted to be alone, so for the first time in years you let her get away from you, alone, giving her the time to be alone, with her thoughts and her feelings, she hadn´t given you the chance to explain yourself or to talk with you, she just decided to leave, and it was breaking your heart, you felt the hot tears falling from your eyes, staining your shirt, feeling ashamed, not knowing why, you aggressively wiped the tears off your eyes with your sleeve, not caring if it left your face red and irritated.

Before you could do something else, Agatha suddenly turned herself around and walked back to you, as fast as she could, when she reached where you were, in a quick movement she pressed a quick yet soft kiss on your forehead, she didn´t even give you time to do something because just as she pressed the soft kiss on your skin she turned herself around hastily and started to walk away without saying anything, you were not sure where she was going or if she was going to be safe alone there in woods of the road, but you knew she wanted to be alone, and you did not even know what to do, the only thing you thought you would be able to do was just to stand there, on the same spot she had left you in, not even knowing what to do, your mind completely blank, unable to form a coherent thought, your mind was a complete mess, what were you supposed to do now? Or at least, what were you supposed to think?

Hot tears were falling down your face, it seemed impossible to stop them from coming out of your eyes, the pain in your heart felt as if it was getting stronger and stronger with each passing second, for a moment everything seemed to go in a slow motion, the sensation of you getting out of your body, your hands feeling suddenly numb, and that was when you realized you had started to panic.

“Hey, come here, don´t worry, everything is going to be fine” Feeling Rio´s arms around you, engulfing you completely in a warm hug, her hands caressing slowly your back and you let her hold you, it helped you to stay a little bit calm, it helped you to bring you back to where you were, her warmth making you feel secure, safe, and you wanted her to hold you forever, that was when you realized you needed Rio as much as you needed Agatha, and the mere thought of Agatha made you cry harder, Rio´s heart was aching for you, she had seen the way Agatha had quickly left the place, but she knew the reason why Agatha had reacted that way, Rio knew the immense pain that Agatha had been carrying alone for so many centuries, the suffering Agatha had been having inside her since she lost Nicky, you still didn´t know what had happened to the blue-eyed witch, the reason why Rio and Agatha had separated ways for centuries, how much the loss of their beloved boy had affected the two of them, how much it had affected Agatha, to the point that the blue-eyed witch had seemed to shut everyone off, until you.

Rio let you cry more and more on her chest, giving you as much comfort as she could, trying to help you ease the pain, why did it hurt so much? Because you didn´t know what Agatha was thinking? Or because it seemed to trouble Agatha knowing you were pregnant? Was she mad? Was she disgusted? Could she be disgusted? What if she didn´t want children? You hadn´t had the chance to talk about having children during all these years you had shared, you in fact, hadn´t even think about having kids, it was not something you had not stopped to think about it thoroughly, let alone, having the chance to discuss it with Agatha, the love of your life as you had told her so many times, but you were terrified, you were not sure why Agatha had reacted that way, and it only made your anxiety grow incredibly fast.

“She is going to leave me” Was the only thing you were able to say to Rio between sobs, the mere thought of Agatha leaving you made your heart ache more, you were not sure if she would be able to do that, would she start treating you like she treated others? Would she stop caring about you? It terrified you and the thoughts were only making you cry harder, it hurt Rio to see you in such a vulnerable state, to see you so hurt, but she also knew that when Agatha didn´t know what to do or what to feel, she would just leave, that was how she coped, the way she had learned all over the years to cope with hard feelings, with unknown feelings or things, and this had taken Agatha by surprised, so Rio could understand why the blue-eyed witch had decided to leave, but you didn´t, and that was the reason that was causing you so much distress, not knowing what Agatha would do or why she had acted the way she did.

“She is not going to leave you, alright? She is just, she is afraid, she just needs a little bit of time to take in everything that just happened, alright?” She said to you in a whisper, tightening her hold on you, her firm voice made you feel comforted, the way she sounded so sure about Agatha´s feelings made you feel a little bit less anxious, she was the one who knew Agatha a lot more than you, you were sure about that, and listening to these words coming out of Rio, helped you ease the pain, a little.

Nodding against Rio´s chest, and after a couple more minutes of letting her hold you close to her, the sobs coming from you started to lessen and the tiredness started to take over you, Rio sensed the change in your mood, how your shoulders started to relax a little, your body didn´t seem to be so tense against her, she saw the witches behind the two of you, their sad expressions in their faces, she knew all of them cared for you, and how could they now? You were just so sweet and caring towards everyone, and she was sure they would make sure you were fine, even if she didn´t want to leave you, she knew she also needed to go look for Agatha and talk to her, Rio knew she could trust in the witches to take care of you while she went to look for Agatha.

“Can you stay with here and have an eye on her, please” The voice echoing in the minds of the witches behind the two of you made them lift ther heads to look at the brown-eyed witch holding you in her arms, and all of them nodded, they would stay there with you, take care of you while Rio went away.

Lilia who was the one who took a step forward, walked towards the two of you, she slowly pressed her hands on your shoulders, caressing them slowly and you felt Rio gently separating from you.

“You are going to be fine, don´t worry please, I will come back with Agatha, I just need to talk to her, alright?” The way Rio talked to you in such a soft tone made you want to cry again, she was being so gentle and you only wanted her to hold you, but you nodded, not wanting to be more of a burden, so you separated from her, her hands slowly slipping away from you, giving you one last squeeze to your hands, Lilia was quick to take your hands in hers, taking your right one into hers and her left hand was placed on your back, giving you a slight and gentle push to make you walk towards the nearest tree trunk in the middle of the road, you were still trying hard to stop crying completely, you were not sobbing anymore, but still you felt the need to cry, and it made you feel a little bit ashamed, it made you feel guilty.

Lila turned her head a little, just enough to look back at Rio for a second, and when Lilia nodded back at her, in a way to reassure they were going to stay with you until they came back, Rio gave her a smile and nodded back at the Sicilian witch, taking it as her cue to leave, she turned herself around to start walking to where Agatha ad left minutes ago, she was not sure how things would go, or if Agatha would let her talk, but she hoped the blue-eyed witch would let her, they needed to talk, to face what had happened.

After some minutes of walking through the path covered in leaves, she saw the silhouette of her former lover, Rio sighed deeply, they needed to talk for once and all about what happened, that would be the only way to get back to you and figure how things would work out from now on.

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Lilia was holding you, she had taken the seat next to you, your head resting on her shoulder and her arm over your shoulders, letting you stay close to her, she even caressed your arm up and down, soothing you, making sure you felt safe, it was helping you, the tears had stopped coming, but the sadness was still there, so many questions on your mind, not knowing what would happen now, Lilia was worried, you were so quiet, it was as if the light that was around you had started to become dim, and with each passing minute of not knowing where Agatha and Rio were, that light would become duller, to the point in which only darkness would take all over you completely.

The other witches were around you as well, Jennifer was next to Lilia, watching you with a worried expression on her face, Alice was next to you on the tree trunk as well, her hands in her pockets but with her eyebrows furrowed, she didn´t know what to say to try and make you feel better, she knew that what had happened was a touchy subject for you, and she was afraid she could make things worse, or even make you cry again, Alice was happy at least that you had seemed to stop crying, but you still had that lost look on your face, just staring at the floor, your head on Lilia´s shoulder and completely quiet, not even moving, she looked at the teenager who was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, looking at the ground, he didn´t know what t say, because just as Alice, he didn´t want to make things worse for you.

“What if Agatha doesn´t come back?” You suddenly asked out loud, feeling your heart shrinking at the thought of Rio coming back without Agatha, coming back to announce that Agatha had decided to finish the road alone and that simple thought made your heart ache in so much pain.

Lilia sighed deeply and separated a little from you, you only kept looking at the leaves on the ground and Lilia gently placed her hand on your chin to lift your face to make you look at her.

“Oh sweet girl, your mind is playing awful tricks to you, I understand the deep pain you are feeling right now, but trust me when I say, that witch, is completely in love with you, she is so smitten by you, trust me when I say, we have heard so much about her, we have got to see the way she just doesn´t care about anyone else, and we have never seen acting so caring about someone else, I can see the bond you two have, and I can assure you, that woman would not leave you, she would not let you finish this road alone, just as you right now, the hurt you feel right now, I can see Agatha carries her own burdens, something she has to come to terms, I know she only needs a little bit of time, and I know Rio is going to help her with that, she just needs a little bit of guidance, you will see” Lilia´s eyes were so bright, she transmitted you a peace you so much needed now, her words, just as Rio´s were making you feel at ease, her presence also made you feel relaxed and safe, and deep down, you felt her words were right, but even if she was right, the pain in your heart was still there.

“She´s right, if someone would have told me someone had tamed Agatha, I would have not believed it! But you have her wrapped around your finger, she makes everything to keep you safe” Jennifer said with a small smile, she had never thought a woman like Agatha would be so whipped, she was sure that whatever had happened to Agatha, or the reason why she had suddenly left, she would sorted it out with the help of Rio, and the two would come back, she was sure about that.

“You should have seen Agatha when I broke into their home, she was ready to fight me and tie me, she even pushed me out of the chair” The dark haired boy said with a slight chuckle, Agatha had been so wary of him because she didn´t want anything to happen to you, his comment made you smile a little, remembering how worried she had been about you.

“Oh my god! You broke into their house?” Alice asked him with her eyes wide, now she needed to know the full story.

“Yes, I mean, I told her I was sorry, but, now that I think, it was not the smartest idea” He commented while nodding slowly, it had been definitely not the best idea he had come up with.

“I am lucky she was the one who found me, because Agatha would have thrown me out of the window for sure” For the first time in what seemed like hours, you finally laughed, the heaviness in your heart leaving slowly, and the witches couldn´t help but smile as well, feeling a little bit relieved that you were coming back slowly.

“Yes, she would have done that” You said while lifting your face to look at him, Lilia smiled as well, seeing you laughing, even if it was just a little made her heart feel warm and her grip around you tightened a little, in a gentle way that it made you want to thank her for not letting you go and keep holding you, so you looked back at her to give her one big smile.

“Thank you” You said to her while looking straight into her eyes, and Lilia felt her eyes getting a little bit glossy, before she could say something to you, you turned your face to look at all of the witches sitting around you.

“Thank you, for being here with me” Your heart felt warm, the heaviness was almost completely gone, Alice, Jennifer and the dark-haired boy gave you a watery smile.

“You don´t have to thank us for anything sweet girl, we are a coven, we are not going to leave anyone behind, and certainly not you, we are going to make sure you are fine, and we are going to make it to the end, alright? No matter what” Lilia´s words made you feel face, her words gave you the security you needed to feel at the moment, you nodded and smiled at her again, you felt your eyes getting glossy again, but this time, it was not because you were hurt or in pain, it was because your heart filled with warmth and love, you had never had a coven, you had been a coven-less witch, being on your own until you met Agatha, but having this, a coven, and being told you were part of them, it made you feel happiness, a sense of belonging you had never felt, and you felt grateful for that.

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Rio and Agatha were walking slowly next to each other, their steps being careful, trying not to make too much noise while stepping on the leaves scattered all over the ground, Agatha was feeling nervous, afraid, remembering your beautiful face full of pain, your eyes filled with tears, tears that she had made to fall from your beautiful eyes, she was feeling guilty, she got scared and she just needed time to think, to get her feelings and thought back in place, she hadn´t mean to hurt you on purpose, and she didn´t know if you were still crying, but one things she was sure of, she would make sure not to make you cry again because of her own fear, you didn´t deserve to be in pain because of her.

Agatha knew that what Rio had told her was right, she needed to come to terms with her own feelings, with her past in order not to affect you, in order not to hurt you, she needed to let you know the truth, even if it was too painful to even say Nicky´s name out loud, but she knew she needed to tell you everything.

When they got closer to the group of witches gathered around the tree trunk, they saw Lilia holding you close to her, a slight smile on your face, while listening to what the boy sitting on the ground was saying, Alice was talking as well and you seemed content being surrounded by all of them, Agatha could see how kind they were trying to be with you, how careful they were trying to act around you not to hurt you more, and she knew, Agatha knew, she would need to thank them for that, for treating with so much kindness and making you feel alright, for taking care of you while she had just left, while she had decided to fly away while you were in a vulnerable state, all of the witches were trying to cheer you up, Jennifer was listening attentively to what the dark-haired boy and Alice were telling, but just as Lilia, she would from time to time take a glance at you to make sure you were feeling fine, looking for any trace of discomfort while Lilia would caress slowly your arm up and down.

“She really likes being with them” Rio said suddenly while also looking at you from afar, Rio´s heart was feeling warm, she knew they witches would be able to take care of you while the two of them were not there with you, the blue-eyed witch knew she had to start being a little bit, just a little bit friendlier to them, just maybe she would thank them for being with you.

The closest they got to all of you, Agatha felt her heart bit faster with each step forward they took, the nervousness taking all over her, not wanting to see you cry again because of her, she didn´t have time to think what she would say to you, or how she would say sorry because, before she could actually come up with something, the two of them were already in front of the group, the witches´ laughter and words started to decrease slowly until there was only quietness surrounding all of you.

Rio waited for Agatha to talk to you first, she knew Agatha needed to take the first step, you still felt a little bit wounded for having being left alone by Agatha, so you just started at the ground, not daring to look at the two witches who were standing in front of all of you.

Agatha cleared her throat and after some seconds that seemed to be so long like hours passing, she finally got the courage to talk directly at you, she stretched her hand out for you showing you that you could take her hand.

“Can we please talk, doll?” The pet name made your face get warm, she definitely knew that you always loved to be called like that by her, and even if you still were hurt, you couldn´t say no to her, so you just nodded and Lilia encouraged you slightly giving you a gently push to stand up and take Agatha´s hand, you took the soft hand that the blue-eyed witch was offering to you, and Agatha felt her heart skipping a beat, the nervousness started to dissipate, and a little bit of confidence started to invade her body, Rio placed her hand on your waist and the two witches that had come for you looked at the group of witches sitting on the tree trunk and at the boy as well who was still on the ground, the two of them nodded at the witches letting them know they were grateful to have been there for you, and all of the witches gave them a smile, they knew that after the three of you talked, they would be able to continue walking down the road and finish it, they felt all of them would make it to the end, and now, their goal as well, was to help you make it to the end and make sure nothing happened to you or the baby who was growing inside of you.

The group saw Agatha and Rio guiding you slowly towards they had disappeared before, sighing deeply they knew that once the three of you came back, you would have a smile on your face as well as Rio and Agatha.

“Do you think Agatha would let us gift them clothes for the baby?” The teen suddenly asked out loud and the witches started to think about his question.

“I don´t know, you would have to ask her, you are the one who she seems to like a little bit more than all of us” Alice said to him with a curious look on her face.

“What do you mean? She was going to let me sleep on the floor because I broke into her house, if someone could ask her without having consequences of being made fun of, would be Lilia for sure” Alice, the teenager and Jennifer turned their face to look at the Sicilian witch who had her left eyebrow raised, she seemed to be deep in thought and after some seconds she nodded agreeing to what the teen had said.

“Maybe we could ask her when we get out of here first” All of them nodded and the teen couldn´t hide his excitement, he was sure all of you would make it to the end, and then, he would be able ask you so many questions he had in his mind, right now, they only needed to wait for you to continue.

Meanwhile, Agatha and Rio took you to the same place where Rio had found the blue-eyed witch in the middle of the misty forest on the road, Agatha´s hand was still holding yours, and caressing the back of your hand from time to time, while she turned her face to look at your expression, you hadn´t lifted your eyes from the ground and the guilt it was eating her from the inside, Rio never let go of your waist, she tried to be as close as possible to you, until Agatha suddenly stopped and turned herself around to look at you properly.

“Doll, I am so sorry, I-, I shouldn´t have left like that, I made you cry, I made you feel distressed, I am so sorry, please, I didn´t want to make you cry” Agatha had started to cry, the tears were falling down her eyes, her beautiful baby blue eyes were covered in hot tears and it made your heart hurt, it was so rare to see her cry, she never cried and it only made you feel the need to hold her tightly and wipe the tears off her face, so with your right hand you brought your fingers to gently wiped the tears off her face and Agatha´s heart melted at the gesture, she placed her left hand on yours and brought it to her lips to press a soft kiss to the back of your hand.

“Please forgive me for making you cry, I was scared, I am still scared, I had so many emotions in me, so many thoughts that made me walk away from you, that made me leave you there, and I feel so bad for what I did, I shouldn´t have left you standing there, I was scared, I am still terrified, because I don´t want to lose you… I don´t want to lose you or the baby, I am so scared doll” Agatha´s words made you cry again, her words hitting you hard, and listening to her talk about the life growing inside of you, the baby inside of you, it melted your heart, her words filled you with happiness and so much love, so you hugged her, you passed your arms around her shoulders and she instinctively placed her hands on your waist, pulling you impossibly closer to her.

“I don´t want to lose you, you are the one that I love the most, and it makes me happy to know that we created another life, but there is something I have not told you, and it is the reason of why I am so scared, I want to be honest and tell you everything” Her voice so close to your ear and the way she sounded so serious made you realize that it was something really important, you just nodded against her and separated from her to look at her with your eyebrows furrowed, Agatha thought how sweet you looked with that serious expression on your face, she took a deep breath and looked at Rio to nod at her to let her know she could come near the two of you.

Rio came behind you and slowly took your right hand in hers, while Agatha took your left hand, they guided you to a spot in the ground, where the leaves seem to be greener, Agatha quickly took her coat off and placed it on the ground, only to guide you to sit on it, which only made your face become red because of her gesture, while Rio playfully shook her head, the two of them sat in front of you and each one of them took one of your hands.

You saw the way Agatha´s shoulders tensed for a second before she took a deep breath, Rio looked at her with a sad expression on her face, her brown-eyes full of concern, so you just waited until Agatha felt ready to tell you what she wanted to say, giving her a squeeze to her hand to encourage her and help her feel alright.

“Centuries ago, when I killed my coven, I wandered off, studying and gaining knowledge, stealing power from other witches, and then, I met her” Agatha stopped talking and turned her face to the side to look at Rio, who suddenly just stared at the ground, not wanting to look at Agatha.

“We, we fell in love, I knew who she was, I had seen her from time to time when she arrived to take the souls of those whom I have killed, but we fell for the other, we started to saw each other from time to time, she would appear out of nowhere in the forest, but as the time passed more and more, we started to see each other more and more, then, just like you, I got pregnant” You gasped in shock at what she had said, and Agatha chuckled a little bit, her breathing becoming faster, her hands started to tremble slightly and your hold in her hand became stronger.

“Nicholas was his name” Agatha´s voice had become shaky, the tears started to fall down her face more and more, and even if you had wanted to hold her or say something to her, you knew you needed to let her finish.

“He was the sweetest boy, calling me mom, following me all the time around, going behind Rio and following her when she needed to go, she would always take him by his tiny hand and bring him back to me telling him he needed to stay with me until she came back” You turned to Rio to look at her, her sad look, still staring at the ground, not daring to look at you or at Agatha, crying silently on her spot, you gave a squeeze to her hand to try and comfort her somehow.

“I knew he was supposed to have been taken away since he hadn´t even been born, but Rio granted us time, she gave us time, she gave me time with Nicky, the three of us, we were so happy, a family, time running I knew, with each passing year I knew our time would come to an end, I knew he was sick, I couldn´t heal him, no one could, and I knew our time with him would come to an end sooner or later, but I tried to be with him as much as possible I tried, I did everything I could, until his time came” Agatha couldn´t keep herself together anymore, her free hand was covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face, her eyes closed and Rio was crying as well, so silently you were afraid she would choke on her own tears for not allowing herself to cry properly, you wanted to comfort the two of them, you knew and you were sure that it had been too hard for Rio to take her son with her, that was the reason of her pain, of the sorrow and pain that she carried with her, and knowing the reason behind Agatha and her separating ways, broke your heart apart, why had life been so cruel to them? You would have loved to tell the two of them that you understood, but actually you had no idea how you would react if something like that happened to you, with any one of the two of them, how would you take it? Would you even be able to stand something like that?

“That is why I am so scared, I don´t want to lose you, or the baby we are just expecting, I don´t want to pass through that again, I know I shouldn´t have brought you here with us, but we are here now, and I want to make sure you are safe, but without my powers I am so useless, I will not be able to protect you from anything” Agatha´s voice sounded so broken, and for the first time you didn´t know how to comfort her, Rio pressed her hand on Agatha´s shoulder and you looked at the brown-eyed woman, your could feel the pain coming out of her, and god, how much you wished you could just take the pain away from the two of them.

“I will make sure nothing happens to her, this time, things will be different, nothing will happen to you, or to her, and I can assure you, the baby will be just fine” Her beautiful voice filled your heart with warmth, she was assuring Agatha nothing would happen to you, her brown eyes wandering from Agatha to you, and you only smiled at her, Agatha quickly lifted her head to look at Rio, giving her a big smile, making you and Rio smile back at her, you knew, they still had to talk, and the three of you needed to talk more, regarding how this relationship would develop, but you knew, you would have more time when you get out of the road, in Agatha´s house, you knew, you would be talking about the three of you when all of you make it safe out of the road.

“Thank you for letting me know about this, I can only imagine the pain and sorrow you have been carrying alone for so many centuries and I know I won´t be able to take it all away, even if I want to, I know I won´t be able to take all the pain away, but I want to be there with you, with the two of you, I want to be there for the two of you” The way Rio and Agatha were looking at you with gentle smiles on their faces, the brightness in their eyes let you know they liked the idea, Agatha´s heart started to feel the heaviness and sorrow becoming a little bit more manageable, after telling you what she had been hiding for centuries, what she had been hiding for years from you, she could feel a heaviness going slowly away from her shoulders, she was sure with you, knowing this and having you by her side she would be able to keep on carry on, to start a new phase in her life, along with Rio as well.

Rio could feel the sadness in her heart slowly decreasing, she and Agatha knew Nicky would always be a part of their hearts and they would never be able to forget him, but the memory of the beloved Nicky had started to become less painful, she knew that with time and with your help the two of them would be able to talk about Nicky and remember him without feeling that immense amount of pain, and they would be able to remember him with the love they had for him and the love the two of them used to share, it would be a long path for the two of them, to come to terms with their past and with each other, but Rio knew, that with you there, with your help, with your kind smile and caring nature, they would be able to do it, in the end, they wanted the same thing, and it was to keep on loving you.

You threw yourself to them, passing your arms around their shoulders, taking them by surprise, but after some seconds of taking you in ther arms, they quickly pressed ther hands on your body, Agatha and Rio´s hands touched when they hugged you as well, but they didn´t mind, for the first time in so many centuries, they felt comfortable enough to be touching the other again, thanks to you, they knew they would be able to be in peace, to get to talk to each other again without fighting, but first, they needed to get you safe to the end and take you back home, they knew they still have a lot to talk, the two of them and also they would have so many talks with you as well, but they would do it later, after getting out of this place, right now, they wanted to enjoy the feeling of you being on their arms, having you close to them, and they were not going to let you go, they were not going to risk losing you.

After some more hugs and sweet words from them to you, you realized it was time to go back to your coven, to continue walking to make it to the end alive, with the two of them, the woman whose brown eyes seemed to be so sad all the time, and the woman with the blue piercing eyes who always was so confident and always knew what to say, you were for sure lucky to have the two of them, and one more thing, was that you finally had your coven, finally you felt like you could have a family, and it made your heart fill with happiness.

“We have to go back to our coven” You said to Agatha and Rio, a smile grew instantly on their faces and nodded at the same time.

“Our coven” Repeated Agatha, it felt nice, Agatha thought, to have a coven after so many centuries, and she felt happy that you also got to be part of it, without you her coven would be incomplete, Agatha then looked at Rio who was looking at you with such a loving expression on her face, she was sure that Rio´s love for you was as intense as her own love for you, and knowing that, made her realize that you would always have as much love from the two of them as you needed, she knew that the three of you would come to build something beautiful, between Rio and her, the missing piece was you, you were the only one who could make them stop fighting and work together, she knew Rio loved you deeply and she didn´t mind, her heart suddenly skipped a beat when she saw Rio´s eye slight up when you smiled at the brown-eyed woman, and this time, the feeling didn´t scare her at all.

The three of you started to walk back to where you had left your coven, Agatha was holding you by your waist, holding you close to her, while Rio was holding your hand, bringing it to her lips, leaving small kisses to the back of your hand.

Lilia was the first to notice you walking back to them, the three of you seemed to be more relaxed, your shoulders were not tense anymore, and your mood could be sensed from where you were walking, she sensed contentment, the same feeling Agatha and Rio were exuding, the three of you had smiles on your faces, and a strong bond could be sensed as well, she knew that from now on, no one would be able to separate you, and it made Lilia´s heart filled with contentment, that was how love seem like.

The witches saw you getting closer to them, and a smile plastered on their faces, they still knew that they needed to finish the road, and the fear of the left trials was still there, not knowing what the trials would make them face, but they knew and they were sure, that all of you would make it to the end, safe and sound.

｡˚ ︶︶✩︶︶ ₊ ˚ ︶︶✩

“We are back” The teen, or now that you knew his name, and knew who he was, Billy said out loud, after the last door had finally opened and the bright light had almost left them blind, all of you managed to get out of the last trial safe and sound, after all of your eyes got used to the light of the sunny landscape in front of you, you were surprised, seeing Agatha´s backyard again was something you had not been waiting, but it only meant one thing, you had gotten out of the road, safe, all of you had made it back! All of your coven had made it out of the road, all of you were safe!

“It looks like we finished the road, no one was left behind” Billy said again with a smile on his face, Agatha had one of her hands on your waist, holding you tightly while Rio had her arm around your shoulder, her hold around you being gentle and caring, the two of them were at your sides, and you enjoyed feeling them this close to you, you were sure this would be how things were going to be from now on, and you loved it.

You still couldn´t believe how all of you managed to get out of the road, the whole coven was made it out safe, Lilia had been able to get control of her powers, she felt in control, because she was in control, you still were surprised how Jennifer had got her magic back, complimenting her about the nice pink that her powers were, the same tone of her pink dress, which made her give you a big smile, she felt like a complete new woman, you knew Billy was going to stuck for a while asking so many questions to Agatha, but you also knew he had the goal of finding his brother, and he would do it without problems you knew it very well, being the son of the Scarlet Witch made him too powerful, but he was still a teen, he needed to control his emotions as well, and you knew he would be able to do it.

Alice had broken her generational curse, she felt so much better without that weight on her shoulders, she had a different view of life, she felt like she could do anything she wanted, she felt free for once in her life, she felt powerful, and she knew, she would do anything she wanted from now on, not having to worry about things going south.

Your beloved blue-eyed witch had got her powers back, she felt complete again, having her “purple” back made her feel powerful again, and having got you out of the road safe and sound made her feel a lot better, having you close to her was the best feeling, and the baby you two were expecting, that also made her feel excited, the fear and overwhelming feeling of being on the road where anything could go wrong had gone away, finally she felt as if she could think clearly, as if she could feel a lot more, she could feel peace, her heart was not covered in fear, the sorrow of he first son Nicky and the pain would always be there within her, but she knew that with you and Rio, she would be able to learn how to cope with it, she knew this was her gift, this was the life she had wanted, it was her chance to have a family of her own and she would make sure this time it would last longer, a lot more, she would make sure to be with you all the time, and she knew Rio felt the same when it came to you.

You still were curious about what Agatha and Rio talked about when the two of them disappeared, but whatever they had talked, it had helped Agatha a lot, and you were grateful with Rio, you were not sure what type of conversation they had, but it seemed that it had helped the two to of them, and it made you happy knowing that Agatha and Rio finally seemed to be comfortable being near each other.

You saw Billy going to the middle of the backyard and he went to lay down on it, Alice, Jennifer and Lilia went towards him, the three witches were looking at the sky, they seemed happy, relaxed that they had got from the road what they were missing, and you were beaming with joy that all of you had made it out alive, they were your family, all of them your coven, you could now start a new chapter in your life, with Rio and Agatha by your side you were sure you would be able to have everything you always wanted, and the life growing inside of you also made you feel excited, You were sure Rio and Agatha would be amazing mothers, and even if you were a little bit scared, you were sure that whatever would come regarding the baby, Agatha and Rio would be there for you to make sure you were fine.

“We´re fine” You commented out loud, just for Agatha and Rio to hear, and they nodded with a smile on their faces, Agatha´s right hand was still on your waist, giving you a soft squeeze, while Rio had her arm around your shoulders, caressing your arm up and down with soothing movements, the two of them felt happy, genuinely happy, Rio could tell that the sadness that she had been carrying with her started to become more manageable, and she was happy she would get to be part of your life as well with Agatha, she wouldn´t miss this chance, she was not going to let you go, yes, the road had been messy, scary, terrifying, but in the end, it seemed that it had given her what she had wished for, as well as Agatha, now, Rio and Agatha would get a second chance to form a family again, to get to experience everything again, Nicky´s memory would always be with them, but they also knew they couldn´t let the pain consume them again, not with you by their sides, and Agatha and Rio knew that you would be there for them, when the darkest thoughts would take completely over them, they were sure that with your light, caring nature and love, you would be able to get them back to you, because that what they needed and wanted, was to be with you, and they would make sure that nothing would happen to you, ever, this time, they would make sure not to commit the same past mistakes, they had two lives to care for from now on, and they would make sure that everything would work completely fine.

That was what Agatha and Rio needed, their own little family, their own space, for sure, they still needed to talk more, about what happened, about how things would develop from now on, but the love they have for you was enough to make them feel they would be able to sort everything from now on, and they loved the way you smiled at the witches talking between them on Agatha´s backyard, they knew it would be amazing people around you and the baby, Agatha would make sure to have an eye on them, just to make sure she was keeping you safe, in the end, the road had given them what they needed, to all of them, a coven, a family, and you couldn´t be more excited to see how things would go from now on, you felt so lucky for having two amazing women loving you with so much intensity, and a whole new coven, a whole family to take care of you and to look after each other.

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midnight-bay-if · 2 days ago

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Hmhmhm, if you're up for it: MC tackling their RO out of the way of some danger and oh no! Now MC is pinning them against a wall/the ground/whatever and is taking slightly too long to let them up!

(I'm always up for some... tension, haha. Sorry, this took a while to get to! I have around 20 asks in my inbox right now. It also wasn’t specified whether the ROs are in a relationship at this stage, but for the sake of extra tension, I wrote it as if they were not. You know, for fun, haha.)

S: They are used to preparing for every inevitability. Their plans are organised, considered, and timely. But you are something of a wildcard, unpredictable and difficult to control. So, mid-fight, they are surprised, but shouldn't be, when you barrel into them to prevent their attacker from making a swipe for their head. Instead, their body collides with the floor, your weight pressing into them. They hear Taj dispatch the attacker, but they are much too occupied with how your breath tickles their lashes. It seems you are equally transfixed, neither moving to free yourself from the other.

It’s S who coughs and breaks the moment first if only to save themself the embarrassment of explaining the heat of their face. “Ah, forgive me,” they say, attempting to pull themselves out from under you.

With the spell broken, you move just as quickly. “Right. Are you… okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yes. Thank you for the timely assist,” they offer, readjusting their shirt and pointedly focusing their attention elsewhere. Then, they smile. “Perhaps a verbal warning the next time you deem to thrust yourself upon my person?” The double entendre was not lost on you.

Rain: Fighting was never really Rain’s forte. Or, well, not any longer. Luckily for Rain, S mostly agreed with Rain’s pacifist nature and endeavoured to control a battle with as little bloodshed as possible. Rain knew basic hand-to-hand combat, but if they were beside a bed of water, Rain was much more useful. They were not. Taj always hovered close to Rain, ready to defend them at any moment, but they were already caught up with several attackers. It is you who comes to their aid this time.

Without a second thought, you push them down to the ground after a particularly vicious swing of a dagger swipes towards their stomach. It’s enough to save their skin, if not their clothing. Taj finishes the job, breaking away long enough to knock their attacker out. Rain stares up at you, wide-eyed, in disbelief. What you did was terribly reckless, yet you did it for them. They don’t know whether to kiss you or kick you.

“Are you okay?” You ask, chest heaving. “They didn’t hurt you?”

“No,” they gasp, their eyes misting over. “My clothes didn’t survive the ordeal, but otherwise…” They trail off, trying to ignore the heat of you seeping through the frayed piece of clothing. “MC?” They whisper, tucking a loose piece of hair behind your ear. “Please don’t do that again.”

Taj: They rely on synergy during a fight. If they are not fighting alone, it takes knowing exactly what Rain and S think during a fight to navigate it successfully. It’s a reliance on their skill and S’s knowledge of their own that makes them an effective team. You, on the other hand, are an irritant. Your insistence to involve yourself means Taj, while combatting two separate assailants, has one eye trained on you at all times. It’s instinctive. It's not an instinct they are at all pleased about, either.

So, when another combative runs out towards your back, Taj is the first to notice. Dipping beneath a fist aimed for their skull, Taj skids across the ground towards you. Before the man can careen into your side, Taj does so first, knocking you flat beneath them. S, never being far behind, intercepts the attacker and finishes the job. Taj glares down at you, breathing hard, hands flat on either side of your head. You stare back up at them, doing much the same thing. The eyes soften almost imperceptibly when they realise how terrified they felt.

Growling, they push themself off of you, flinching away as if burned. “Try to pay attention, Koel. I won't make a habit of saving you," they lie.

N: In the Haels, they had seen a great deal of death. Much brought on by their hand. It was familiar. Like home. Even in an army, however, nobody truly cared for their fellow soldiers. It was every demon for themselves, as it should be. If you survived, you were strong. If you didn’t, well, you ceased to matter. So, it was quite amusing being pinned beneath you after being knocked out of the way of a deadly blow. How quaint. How strange.

Their heart hammered against their chest, their palms clammy, as they stared up at you with wide eyes. At first, it doesn’t completely compute why your elbow is crushing against their gullet. Then Umbra finishes off their would-be assailant, and all becomes clear. You had risked yourself for them. Why? What did you hope to gain? Their co-operation? Their compliance? Their… submission?

They mask their fear behind the salacious mask they are so prone to wearing. “It’s about time you threw yourself at me, my dear,” they goad, ignoring how their chest clenches. “Mm… I had hoped for a softer landing. Pillows, silk, by candlelight, but I’ll accept whatever it is you have to give.”

You don’t apologise when you dig your elbow deeper into them as you rise.

Umbra: They move without thinking. They do not need to. Their body has a way of directing itself, flowing like water as they dance across the battlefield; death follows. And yet, they are used to watching from a distance. Once, you would have been safe from such horrors as they carried them for you. They failed in this once before, and you forgot. They do not want to repeat this mistake. They want you to remain unscarred, unbroken, and untethered from darkness. So, they continue to dance.

But having you so close leaves them distracted. They focus too heavily on your movements and fail to notice another assailant lying in wait in the darkness.

“Umbra!” Your voice calls to them, so they turn towards you instinctively. But you are rushing towards them, and before they can even process the change, you tackle them down from the line of bullets destined for their chest. N expertly dispatches the shooter, blood splattering across the ground beside you. Neither move, fear gripping you still. Their hand hovers close to your cheek, shaking. They want to hold you, to describe the depth of the feeling, but words fail. As they so often do.

It is you who makes the first move, pushing off you with flushed cheeks and trembling legs. You hold out a hand to them, one they cannot bring themselves to take. “Thank you,” they offer, pushing themselves off the floor. “I… I will do better.”

“Just be safe,” you reply, denying Umbra’s declaration. “I need you to be safe.”

#ask answer #taj #umbra knight #nazu raumon #naera raumon #simon selby #rain #simone selby #interactive fiction

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heavysighing-dreamyeyes · 2 days ago

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Bestie! Once again, I am absolutely obsessed with your work! Jason is absolutely adorable and a bit of a dork, and I fall in love with him every time!! Just him doing things for you without looking for a thanks or a reward is so him. (I talk about my fav parts below the cut)

“That red tin man…” You firmly looked over to the window, the shiny, newly replaced lock calling your name. “Let’s see how well your safety measures work.” You shut the window, doubling the two locks installed by Jason himself, giving you a personal pep talk ensuring that no one is getting in. Not even him, especially him.

Using his OWN safety measures against him?? Incredible. Insane. I'm on their side.

Jason was off patrol, his muscles ached, his helmet felt heavy, but he was grappling his way to the small 24-hour mart that he has been cutting the cameras at.

ughh, this paragraph is just such great storytelling. He's tired, he's pushing himself too hard, but he's still just thinking of you. How he can make your life better, easier.

It was perfect for a quick look in, place the items, and go back to his safe house. He gripped the window, gently trying to lift with the shopping bag on his arm. When it wouldn’t budge, he tried one more time with a little more force.

See, I love him for this, fr. But also, you're stopping by and not even planning on saying hi! Come when they're awake! We want to see you, I swear! And the fact he expected the window to open reads to me that we have not been using that lock at all, which has me giggling. We're unknowingly supporting his bad (but sweet) habit.

As Jason was going to turn on his infrared lenses, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

HA! Love the casual usage of vigilante gear

You: yes, jay, you do. So please use my front door cause you are welcome to use it Jason reread the message. He held his eyes on the word “welcome,” feeling his chest tighten slightly.

Omg my heart. He's acting like a stray, but he's wanted and welcomed at home

Hey, sorry, I’ve just been breaking in and refilling your groceries and anything that seems to be running low? I also got you some seasoning salt, you were running out.

Off topic, but I just know he got the good spices! Honestly, he's so sweet for taking care of them, but also let us return the favor! I just wanna make him a warm meal and wrap him in a blanket so he can sleep.

Jason noticed how tired you looked. He felt even worse picturing you staying up until he attempted to open your window. What if he hadn’t come by tonight? He didn’t move from the door, watching from just outside your apartment.

my heart!! OW! I'm yanking him inside and making him hot chocolate.

“Five months, 2 weeks.”

!!! 🫢

“Jay…I’m not mad.” You reached out to grab his hand, kneading warmth into his bruised knuckles. “Really. I just need you to tell me when you do this.”

The little, comforting touches are just so ahhh. Love it!

“You were busy…and I thought I could get them for you. I made sure to get the right ones.” Jason watched your hands, refusing to look at you directly.

He's a sweetheart, and I'm weak in the knees. Someone get him a forehead kiss and tuck him into bed.

“I know. You did so well that I took so long to realize. But, I work. I can get these things and you can get me things too, but let me know, please. That would help me out a lot and so I can thank you.” “But I don’t do it for your words. I like helping you. If it lessens your stress, I’ll do it for you.” Jason reasoned.

Singing his praises fr, he deserves it

“I’m not a burglar.” Jason argued, taking off his jacket and laying into the couch, grabbing you to lay on top of him.

This is just soo fluffy! I love it, and I'm giggling and kicking my feet over them! He's not a burglar, but he is precious. Fantastic work as always 🥰💙

Delivery

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Summary: Lately your grocery list was looking a little small, your cleaning supplies were never running out, and you don’t remember buying these soaps? Who was the one refilling all your stuff?

Word Count: 1.5k

Something was off.

You were writing your list for your weekly shopping errands to refill any soap, groceries, or cleaning supplies running low, but nothing was empty. Half a bottle at best.

It had been bothering you that your large restocks that made you wince at the end of the month looking at the large receipt had minimized to five items at most.

How was this possible?

You didn’t cut down on spending or on using less items, but now that you look at your kitchen, everything was well stocked.

You counted the amount of extra paper towel rolls, the extra unopened cleaning spray that you do not remember buying, and the new bottle of cooking oil in your cabinet.

This was suspicious, very suspicious.

Call yourself the world’s second greatest detective because you narrowed down the culprit restocking your home.

“That red tin man…” You firmly looked over to the window, the shiny, newly replaced lock calling your name. “Let’s see how well your safety measures work.”

You shut the window, doubling the two locks installed by Jason himself, giving you a personal pep talk ensuring that no one is getting in. Not even him, especially him.

With some duct tape, you taped layers over the window seal. As you looked at your work, you thought to yourself…bookcase, yes. A large bookcase.

With heavy breaths, you pushed the bookcase in front of the window.

You were not letting in your not-an-actual-burglar tonight. Now you would wait.

—

Jason was off patrol, his muscles ached, his helmet felt heavy, but he was grappling his way to the small 24-hour mart that he has been cutting the cameras at.

As much as he wouldn’t be shopping with his gear on, the small store was enough for him for a quick shop and the cashier was a tired college student who couldn’t care less about who walked through the sliding doors.

He remembered you were running low on some hand soap in the kitchen and a replacement seasoning salt.

He hummed as he shopped, walking up to the counter to leave extra cash and disappearing before the cashier had time to turn back to give him back his change.

Jason softly landed on the fire escape outside your window. He waited to watch and listen for any movement inside your apartment.

The lights were off and you had to be asleep.

It was perfect for a quick look in, place the items, and go back to his safe house.

He gripped the window, gently trying to lift with the shopping bag on his arm. When it wouldn’t budge, he tried one more time with a little more force.

He put down the plastic bag and noticed you were using the lock he installed. It brought a small smirk to his face at the thought of you utilizing something he made himself.

When he looked closer, he realized the small sliver of light on the edge of the window, blurring from the curtain.

Something was blocking the light, your lights hadn’t been off at all.

As Jason was going to turn on his infrared lenses, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

You: so you were my burglar

Jason held in his laugh, fully piecing the situation together.

Jason: but I haven’t stolen anything

You: so breaking and entering? This is illegal trespassing sir

Jason: glad the lock works, but have to deduct points for the duct tape

You: if it can hold cars together, it can hold my window shut, even better if it keeps vigilantes out of my home

Jason: but I still have your apartment keys

You: yes, jay, you do. So please use my front door cause you are welcome to use it

Jason reread the message. He held his eyes on the word “welcome,” feeling his chest tighten slightly.

Jason: let me change. Be back in 10

Jason felt like an idiot, realizing he had been caught. He pulled an ordinary T-shirt over his head. His matted hair slightly fraying to the movement.

He exhaled in exhaustion as he pulled a jacket over his shoulders and grabbed the plastic bag from earlier.

How was he going to explain?

Hey, sorry, I’ve just been breaking in and refilling your groceries and anything that seems to be running low? I also got you some seasoning salt, you were running out.

Jason smacked the side of his head.

You had to be pissed because you locked the window and clearly barricaded it.

Jason got to your door, somehow, he felt his eye-bags deepen, his frown get stronger, and his hands felt colder.

With reluctance, he knocked three times. You had unlocked the door surprisingly fast, he figured you were waiting right there until he got to your apartment.

“Come in.” You left the door open for Jason, walking back to the kitchen to pour your tea.

Jason noticed how tired you looked. He felt even worse picturing you staying up until he attempted to open your window.

What if he hadn’t come by tonight?

He didn’t move from the door, watching from just outside your apartment.

“I just wanted to bring these over, I’ll leave now.” He tried to run. He needed to leave before you told him to never come back.

“Jay…” You walked over, grabbing onto his sleeve while guiding him inside. He was cold. “Shoes off. Sit on the couch.”

He immediately obeyed not wanting to anger you more.

You followed and sat next to him, your comfy clothes sinking into the cushion.

Jason looked over to the bookcase you clearly moved not long ago.

“I didn’t realize I hired a delivery man. Actually, I’m more embarrassed I finally realized what you’ve been doing.” You sipped at your cup. “How long?”

Jason tilted his head at your question.

“How long, Jay?” You emphasized.

“Five months, 2 weeks.”

“Five months?!”

“I made sure to make it very subtle, but eventually I…got carried away.” Jason admitted, his body stiffening the more honest he became.

“Jay…I’m not mad.” You reached out to grab his hand, kneading warmth into his bruised knuckles. “Really. I just need you to tell me when you do this.”

“But the bookcase and the lock.” Jason subtly relaxed to your touch, but he was far from leaning into the couch comfortably.

“Okay, I was a little mad, but that was because I had only realized that I haven’t properly restocked anything in a while. I looked at my store apps and card history and I had nothing. Just snacks or last-minute purchases.” You sighed, signaling Jason to give you his other hand to warm.

“You were busy…and I thought I could get them for you. I made sure to get the right ones.” Jason watched your hands, refusing to look at you directly.

“But I don’t do it for your words. I like helping you. If it lessens your stress, I’ll do it for you.” Jason reasoned. He was stubbornly defending his actions because you were at the root of his mind.

You were at a loss for words.

“It did help me out a lot, but it also confused me when I had an unlimited bar of soap.” You chuckled.

The sound of your laugh eased Jason. His shoulders sunk a little lower at your tension easing.

“No more frowning.” You rubbed the edges of his mouth and his furrowed brow. “I found out, you owe me dessert tomorrow, and you can get back your window privileges when you let me know when you buy me something.” You yawned.

“I said that I don’t do it to hear you thank me—“ He tried to remind you.

“I know, but I’m tired from trying to catch my burglar and I want to cuddle.” You opened your arms, waiting for Jason to ease into your embrace.

“I’m not a burglar.” Jason argued, taking off his jacket and laying into the couch, grabbing you to lay on top of him. “Did you also take another shift? You look exhausted.”

You rubbed Jason’s eye-bags when you settled comfortably. You were probably matching his raccoon eyes.

“Kiss me and I’ll go to sleep.” You smiled, sleepily touching Jason’s stubble with your hands.

He leaned into your hands, while gripping underneath your chin to bring his face to yours. The sweet touch of your lips was enough to get Jason to fully relax into you, to take in the moment and trust that you weren’t mad at him for what he was doing. It had been with good intentions, but he was just taking a different route.

“Go to bed.” Jason leaned your head onto his chest.

Your eyes got heavy, your breathing was starting to even out, but you had one last idea.

“If you tell me when you buy something, I’ll give you a kiss.” You faded into a deep sleep.

Jason had never forgot to tell you again, he even purposefully bought you extra things you didn’t need to buy.

You eventually had to start setting limits and unlocked your window for your favorite vigilante visits.

#rae's fic recs #jason todd x reader

759 notes · View notes

callmeagardengnome · 1 day ago

Text

❤︎ office affairs ❤︎ | SONG MINGI

pairings ࿔ mingi x fem! reader

genre ࿔ office au, non-idol au, romance, SLOWW BURNNN

synopsis ࿔ working for a job promotion is the smart thing to do, but working to make song mingi fall in love with you is way more fun.

w.c ࿔ 8.1k

c.w ࿔ suggestive but no smut, mingi likes thighs woops, mutual pining (?) reader watches anime, reader also wears pencil skirts a lot of the time, this is an IT company, light swearing, alcohol, kiss scene

author’s note: this took way too long to finish but im glad its done! also rmbr to like and repost!

not proofread!

other fics

the moment your eyes found song mingi, you knew that he was the one.

okay, ‘the one’ might be extreme, but he definitely caught your attention on your first day.

you applied to ‘ATECH’ after graduating from college, hoping to land a job in one of the top IT companies in the city. you’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time learning how to code and develop software, so imagine the joy you felt when the job offer finally appeared in your inbox.

“over there are the bathrooms,” your boss, hongjoong, said as he pointed to a set of doors at the end of the room. “and this is where you’ll be working,” he patted the desk.

“thank you,” you smiled, letting out a quiet groan as you set down the heavy box in your arms.

you looked around. the office was pretty normal, each section had desks right next to each other with the company-issued computer sitting on each one.

you turned back to your desk, your eyes landing on who your deskmate would be - and you swear that your breath was taken away within a second.

he was the definition of your type: neat, built, handsome.

not to mention the way his glasses sat on his face or the button-up shirt he wore that had his sleeves rolled up slightly, exposing his defined forearms. he looked good. impossibly good.

“mingi will be showing you the ropes of the company,” hongjoong began, giving mingi a sharp glare when he was about to protest. “don’t hesitate to ask him for help.”

you nodded. “got it,” you replied, settling into the swivel chair at your desk.

as hongjoong walked away, you heard mingi mumbling something under his breath, but it was too soft for you to catch. he quickly returned back to his work, typing on his keyboard at speeds you didn’t know were possible.

“hey,“ you spoke up, sitting up straighter. “i was wondering if you could help me with-“

“-ask him,” mingi muttered, barely looking away from his computer screen as he pointed lazily to a guy at the next table.

you blinked. “but hongjoong told me to ask you?”

mingi sighed, finally stopping his typing to face you. “i don’t know why he did that. i’m not anyone special, i’ve just been working here for a while.”

mingi then pushed himself back slightly so that you could see who he was pointing to. “wooyoung’s the manager, you should be asking him on how things work.”

“oh.. okay,” you replied slowly. “mingi-“

“-mr song,” he corrected, cutting your sentence short again.

you raised an eyebrow, looking down at the polished nameplate on his desk that read out, ‘SONG MINGI’.

“right.. mr song,” you nodded slowly. “i guess i’ll just do that.”

you ignored the weird exchange and began to unpack your things. after sorting out everything, you decided to find this ‘wooyoung’ guy mingi was talking about earlier - it was actually easier than you thought since he was talking pretty loudly with the person next to him.

you took a deep breath as you walked over to his section, feeling your palms sweat as you wiped them on your pencil skirt. “hey uh..” you trailed off as wooyoung’s eyes widened.

“you’re the new hire?” wooyoung blurted out in surprise as he looked you up and down.

he then blinked and shook his head. “wait shit- that sounded bad.”

wooyoung turned his chair around to face you, waving his hands defensively. “sorry, we don’t normally get girls here- you know, it’s IT. not that it’s never happened but they’re usually.. a lot older.”

“cool..” you chuckled awkwardly, offering a polite smile as you were unsure of how to respond. “well, mr song said that i should ask you for help.”

wooyoung’s eyes widened even more than before. “mr song?” he said a little too loudly, making a few people glance in your direction - though wooyoung didn’t seem care. “did hongjoong tell you to call him that?”

you shook your head. “no? he corrected me when i called him by his name.”

“oh…

my…

god.”

wooyoung busted out laughing. “i’ve never heard anyone call him mr song- even jongho doesn’t! and he just started working here last month!”

“wait really? then why-?”

“-it’s definitely a kink thing,” wooyoung muttered to the guy next to him, who you now noticed was watching the whole interaction.

“what was that?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

“nothing, nothing,” wooyoung waved it off, still chuckling. “anyway, this is yeosang. if you ever need anything just come to either of us. we’ll help you out.”

yeosang nodded politely, giving you a small smile. “nice to meet you. welcome to the company.”

“thanks..” you responded, bowing slightly. “nice to meet you too.”

soon enough, you found yourself sitting between them - with wooyoung desperately trying to teach you the company software (though he was messing up terribly) while yeosang corrected him at every step, trying to fix his mistakes. the two eventually got into a mini argument as you sat there awkwardly, watching two grown men argue on whether to press the ‘s’ or ‘z’ key.

you eventually spaced out, looking around the office. your eyes landed on song mingi once more, watching how focused he was on whatever he was doing.

the more you looked at him, the more boxes he ticked in your books. but this rigid character of his was going to be an issue if you wanted anything to happen. you cracked your fingers, and only one thing was on your mind as you turned away from mingi.

you were going to break through that ‘serious’ personality of his.

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

you’ve learnt two things about mingi during your first month of working at ATECH.

number one: he seemed pretty reserved - at least, when you’re around.

it was a little odd. whenever you were nearby, mingi was quiet, silent even. but the moment you were out of sight or busy, laughter would erupt from his table.

you had a pretty important deadline coming up and you needed to work on it with your full attention. you put on your bluetooth headphones and got straight to work. the music did help you focus, but unfortunately, your headphones died with a loud beep.

annoyed, you took them off, moving to grab a wire to charge them when suddenly - you heard something. talking. coming from none other than your deskmate, mingi.

“no- you don’t understand, the fight scenes are incredible!” mingi exclaimed, almost jumping off of his chair. “the animation alone is on another level.”

“overrated,” jongho countered, smirking as he leaned back. “mingi, i don’t know why you keep recommending anime to me. i only watched one episode because you forced me to.”

mingi rolled his eyes. “you don’t get it- episode four is gonna change your life.”

it took everything in you to not laugh out loud. you’ve never seen mingi so passionate about something - and it was about anime of all things.

not that there was anything wrong with it - hell, you watched it. it’s just that seeing mingi so invested and defensive was.. kind of cute. maybe you should give the show a go.

but in the middle of mingi’s rambling, jongho yawned and suddenly glanced in your direction, giving you a friendly wave as his grin widened. “hey ‘___’.”

mingi froze mid-sentence, his hands moving to his keyboard almost instantly, the rant coming to an awkward halt. he quickly straightened his back and cleared his throat, acting as if nothing had happened.

jongho raised an eyebrow, clearly holding in a laugh. “you done with that deadline?” he asked.

you blinked. “uh- yeah almost,” you replied with a nervous chuckle.

you turned back to your work quickly, trying to refocus on your attention to your work but it was pretty difficult to ignore the scene playing out beside you.

from the corner of your eye, you could see jongho trying, and failing, to hold in his laughter, his shoulder shaking as he repeatedly hit mingi who was frantically typing on his keyboard like he was trying to forget what happened.

jongho wiped the imaginary tears from his face. “i’ve never seen you like this before.”

number two: he was definitely single.

thanks to your friendship with wooyoung and yeosang, you were spending almost all of your breaks together - which meant that you were always finding out new things about the office.

as the three of you settled down in a nearby food court, wooyoung started yet another rant about the office, but the topic eventually shifted to your coworkers and somehow mingi.

“he’s probably never felt the touch of a woman,” wooyoung snorted, leaning back into the chair.

yeosang immediately smacked wooyoung on the arm. “don’t say that, he’s our friend..”

“..but yeah, that’s probably true,” yeosang shrugged, slurping the noodles in his bowl.

you couldn’t help but laugh, shaking your head. “you guys make it sound like he’s so strange.”

“he is. he’s so weird around you,” wooyoung said, waving his fry around. “i swear- it’s like he’s never met a girl that can code or something.”

you sighed, stirring your iced coffee. “maybe he’s shy.”

“shy?!” the both of them exclaimed in unison, their wide eyes blinking at you.

“he is not shy,” wooyoung emphasised, to which yeosang nodded violently to his statement.

wooyoung took a sip of his soda before clearing his throat. “you should’ve seen him before you got here. he’d laugh at every dumbass joke we made. and now? he’s basically a robot.”

yeosang made a sound of agreement, wiping his mouth before adding, “i mean- he’s probably not used to women being in the office.”

“yeah, especially if they're young and actually, you know-” wooyoung wiggled his eyebrows at you, earning another smack from yeosang.

you rolled your eyes. “shut up.”

wooyoung shrugged with a grin, taking a bite out of his fry. “i’m just saying it how it is.”

you chugged your iced coffee. “is there anyway i can- i don’t know, get to know him better?” you asked as you looked at your coworkers. “how do i make him…”

you trailed off, resisting the urge to ask ‘how do i make him like me’, knowing that wooyoung would probably make fun of you.

you sighed, settling for a, “how do i make him not a dickhead?”

“i mean…” wooyoung bit his cheek, quickly glancing at yeosang before turning back to you. “you could try making out-?”

“wooyoung!” yeosang exclaimed. “we need to give her actual advice. she’s gonna be working here for a while.”

“fine, fine,” wooyoung rolled his eyes, leaning closer to you. “honestly? you want to get closer to him?”

you nodded, maybe a little too eagerly, making wooyoung smirk as he continued, “just talk about anime. trust me, once he gets started, he won’t shut up.”

you and yeosang chuckled. “noted,” you smiled.

“i’m being serious,” wooyoung leaned in even closer, his eyes bigger than before. “i would love to see the look on his face when he finds out that girls who code and watch anime exist.”

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

even though the whole office knew how awkward you and mingi were around each other, it wasn’t enough to stop hongjoong from pairing you two up for whatever work he had.

the two of you were tasked with test-running the company’s latest software before it was handed off to the client. you spent the next hour sifting through its features and finally, you found a bug.

“mr song,” you called, barely looking away from your screen. “can you come here? i found something weird.”

mingi rolled his chair over to your desk, glancing at the screen as you hovered your mouse over a link.

“so when i click here,” you explained. “it brings me to an error page. i tried all the reboot methods and it still won’t work.”

mingi leaned in a little closer to see the issue. “okay, that might be because-“ he began, but suddenly started to trail off.

you raised an eyebrow, noticing how he wasn’t really looking at the screen anymore. you followed his eyes and realised that his gaze had dropped, landing on your legs.

more specifically, on the way your pencil skirt had ridden up a little when you crossed your legs.

you swear that you could see the faintest hint of a blush dusting his cheeks as he stared - and it took a moment for him to catch himself.

“you good?” you tilted your head.

his head snapped back up, eyes wide as he cleared his throat. “shit- sorry,” he stammered, sitting up straighter in his chair as he quickly focused on the screen. “i was just.. thinking.”

you nodded, biting back a smile. “right.. thinking hard about that error, huh?”

“y-yeah,” he stuttered, his words rushed now. “it’s probably an issue with the script- i’ll need to check this out with yunho.”

“sure, you do that,” you replied with a grin, watching as he walked away hurriedly, running his fingers through his hair.

but of course this wouldn’t be the last time you caught mingi like that.

during meetings when the two of you were forced to sit next to one another, you began to notice the way his eyes would drop down whenever you crossed your legs.

or sometimes, you would adjust your skirt and you would feel his attention drifting towards you, only for him to blink repeatedly and turn back to the discussion. it wasn’t obvious, but it happened often enough for you to catch on.

you didn’t want to be delusional. what were the chances that the hot guy in your office you liked was actually interested in you?

you decided to wait for the perfect opportunity to test the theory - and fortunately for you, you didn’t have to wait long.

you were both working late and mingi sat at his desk next to you, trying to explain his thoughts on the layout of the software.

mid-conversation, you leaned back in your chair, stretching your arms behind your head with a soft groan. but while doing so, your pencil skirt rode up - a lot.

you pretended like nothing happened as you absentmindedly nodded to whatever he was saying. you could see mingi’s eyes shift downward, his sentence cutting short.

“what were you saying?” you asked, stretching a little more as if the movement was completely natural. you watched as mingi blink back to reality, processing what you said. “you were telling me about the layout.”

mingi cleared his throat, his eyes darting up to your face, then back to his screen when he realised he trailed off once again. “uh- yeah, the layout. it’s good.. it’s just that um- we need to fix the code if we want it to be usable.”

you could see his leg bouncing under the table as he turned back to his computer, his typing slowing down.

“are you okay, mr song?” you asked innocently, drawing out his name just a bit, watching his reaction worsen - his blush deepening and his hands coming to a stop, hovering above his keyboard.

“i’mfine,” mingi said quickly, pushing his glasses back up. he started to type on his keyboard once more, completely avoiding eye contact with you.

you smiled to yourself, giving him a hum of acknowledgment as you turned back to your screen.

so he likes thighs, huh?

oh this is getting fun.

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

mingi might actually be going insane.

he never realised how bad he was at talking to women - at least, not until you joined the company.

working at ATECH for six years taught him to keep his distance with new hires. watching friends come and go because of the draining job made it seem pointless to make friends with people who might disappear at any moment.

you were no exception. to mingi, you were just another person behind a computer. so even though you were seated right next to him, he barely made an attempt to acknowledge you. what was the point when you’d probably be gone soon? at least, that’s what he told himself.

mingi didn’t want to get attached.

he had to draw the line somewhere. he’d already betrayed his own words of ‘not getting close to anyone new’ with jongho, who only joined a few months ago yet managed to find himself a soft spot in mingi’s heart.

that was already enough for mingi to double down on his ‘professional’ act to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

when you started, he would give dry answers to whatever questions you had, hoping that you would keep your distance from him. but for some reason, the more he avoided you, the more he found himself paying attention to you.

not to mention how you were insanely gorgeous - which messed with him. a lot.

when you first joined, mingi was confused of why you picked IT to be your job of choice instead of modeling, acting or anything of that sort. but he quickly understood why you entered the industry when he saw the way you coded. it was way beyond any expectations he had.

so not only were you impossibly beautiful, you knew how to code well.

whenever you had to work together or you had a question to ask him, mingi would catch himself straightening his back, doing anything to hide his image of being the nerdy, anime obsessed guy in the office.

mingi knew it was ridiculous. he barely knew you and yet he felt this insane urge to impress you. he didn’t even know why he told you to call him ‘mr song’.

he had never done that before. it just slipped out, like he was trying to seem professional. though, it just made things more awkward.

but the worst part of it all would be those pencil skirts you always wore to work.

you seemed to have a wide range of them, he noticed. some days they would be neutral colours, some days they would be bright and patterned.

he never thought that something as simple as a pencil skirt could derail him of all the thoughts and human decency in his mind. yet there he was, looking at the way your things pressed against each other as you shifted in your chair or how the fabric lifted up ever so slightly-

-god, he felt like a pervert.

he didn’t know exactly when he started to pay attention to your attire or how your skirt hugged you in a way that left him stunned. was it when you had to work together on that one test-run? or during all those boring meetings the company had?

well, not that it mattered. all mingi knew was that he wanted- no, needed to stop being distracted by you.

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

“shit, i’m late for work,” you muttered through your teeth as you turned off your alarm. you quickly put on your clothes, grabbing your bag as you slammed the door open and headed out the house.

you unfortunately reached the office half an hour late. you were nearly out of breath as you rushed to your desk. as you slid into your seat, you noticed mingi’s gaze on you, looking.. relieved?

you logged in, pretending not to notice his eyes on you. you began to get started on your work, hoping to make up for lost time.

but just as you began to focus, wooyoung strolled over to you, leaning against your desk with a smirk.

“you’re late,” wooyoung tilted his head.

you looked at him with a deadpanned expression. “you’ve been late three times this week.”

wooyoung grinned, grabbing a random chair nearby and plopped himself between you and mingi. he began to talk about some ‘crazy’ thing he was going to do on the weekend, acting as a podcast as you coded.

just then, wooyoung’s attention shifted to your phone, which suddenly lit up with a notification, revealing your lock screen - a character from the anime that mingi had been talking about.

“wait..” wooyoung leaned in, his eyes narrowing. “is that anime?”

you glanced down at your phone, nodding. “yeah, i’m kind of hooked right now.”

wooyoung raised an eyebrow, turning to mingi then back at you. “don’t tell me he converted you into one of his anime minions..” he pointed to your deskmate.

mingi sputtered, completely thrown off by the conversation that he was suddenly involved in. “what? no, i didn’t- she just-“ he stumbled over his words, his face heating up.

you smacked wooyoung’s arm. “i did hear him talk about the show, but i got into anime itself on my own.”

jongho, who happened to pass by your desks as you said that, stopped. “you guys are talking about anime?” jongho looked at mingi with a wide grin on his face. “didn’t know anime recs were the new pick-up lines these days.”

wooyoung smirked as he leaned closer to mingi. “so she’s a weeb and can code. mr song, does that do anything for you?” he teased.

mingi’s face was now a shade of bright red and he kept his eyes locked onto the computer screen, avoiding any eye contact. “i didn’t even say anything to her about it..” he mumbled.

after wooyoung and jongho continued to tease him, they eventually walked away to do their own work. you glanced over at mingi, tilting your head when you realised that he had already been looking at you.

he turned away quickly, clearly flustered as he muttered, “don’t.. don’t listen to them.”

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

“have you done the surveys hongjoong sent in the group chat?” you spoke up, your voice echoing in the quiet office.

mingi blinked. the two of you had to work overtime again to complete a piece of software that a client wanted. he didn’t even realise how late it was until he looked at the time.

“he sent surveys?” mingi asked, raising an eyebrow.

you nodded, holding out your phone to him. “its all about ‘staff satisfaction’ and other bullshit like that. he’s forcing everyone to get it done quick so you should get started.” you turned back to your computer, putting your phone on the desk.

mingi watched as you returned back to work, but there was one thing that he couldn’t get his eyes off of - your lock screen.

he couldn’t stop thinking about how you were paying attention to that conversation. he had to admit that the fact that you actually took his recommendation did make his heart flutter slightly.

mingi’s fingers rested on the keyboard. ‘don’t say anything,’ he told himself. but then again… you liked anime?

his mouth moved before he could even think. “did you finish episode four yet?”

you looked at him, not knowing what he was referring to until you saw that he was staring at your phone screen. “mhm, i actually finished episode six yesterday. i can’t stop watching it.”

“wait, six?” he turned his chair to face you completely. “so you saw the fight scene right? and that whole backstory part?”

you nodded excitedly, matching his enthusiasm. “yes! and the twist with that guy’s brother? insane,” you replied.

“right? i told jongho it was genius,” mingi continued, words spilling out of him way faster that he could control them. “and there’s this one part- wait i can’t spoil it.. uh, but just know that it’s a whole new level.”

only now and then mingi realised how ‘out of character’ he got with you, especially when he saw the way you were watching him. your eyes sparkling with interest as you leaned in, actually listening to whatever he was saying.

and for a second, he couldn’t look away.

his heart stuttered and suddenly, he was back in his own head. what was he doing? he forced himself to turn back to his computer, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“well- uh.. anyway. we should probably get back to work..” he said, leaving you confused of what made him stop.

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

“alright, i think that’s everything,” hongjoong said, shutting his laptop. “you guys can head home.”

the sudden meeting your boss called dragged on a lot longer than anyone thought. so the moment it ended, everyone around you got up immediately, hurriedly packing their things.

suddenly, hongjoong realised something. “oh, i need someone to print out these reports by tomorrow morning.”

you barely had time to react before his eyes landed on you, then mingi who was almost out of the door.

“mingi, you’re familiar with the printer setup right?” hongjoong asked with a smirk. he then turned to you. “this is a good chance to teach our new hire how we handle our documents.”

both you and mingi let out identical, disappointed sighs - your frustrations perfectly in sync.

everyone, including you, knew that the printing room was a nightmare - old, dusty, falling apart and tucked away in a corner of the office building that was farthest away from the entrance.

“of course,” mingi muttered, his voice flat. “the printing room.”

hongjoong gave a shrug. “it’s not that bad,” he said, obviously lying.

you swore quietly but gave a polite nod to your boss. “got it. anything else?”

“nope, just the reports. shouldn’t take too long,” hongjoong replied as he grabbed his things, heading to the door. “thanks guys!”

with a collective sigh, you took your notepad and followed mingi - who was already sluggishly moving his feet to the printing room.

he pushed the door open, the musty smell of old paper and ink greeting the both of you instantly. “why hasn’t anyone fixed this place yet?” he asked, mostly to himself as he used his hand to cover his nose.

you stepped inside, wrinkling your nose. “because no one comes here unless they need to?”

“right,” mingi muttered. he flipped the light switch, the fluorescent bulbs taking a moment to stop flickering.

the room was cramped and small. dust floated lazily in the air and the ancient printer hummed ominously at the end of the room.

“let’s get this over with,” you said, putting your stuff on an unstable metal shelf.

mingi took out his phone, looking for the files that hongjoong sent him. he glanced at the printer, then at you as he sighed. “i can load the paper. you can.. figure out how to make the rest work.”

“gee thanks,” you said sarcastically as you rolled up your sleeves.

mingi eventually taught you how to use the printer, which took a lot more steps than its modern-day versions. the sounds of each page churning out filled the silence in the small room.

when it was done, you reached for the stack of printed sheets as mingi went straight for the door.

but just then, there was a metallic clatter. you turn around to see the doorknob lying and rolling on the ground.

“you’re kidding me,” mingi muttered. he crouched down to pick it up, but the doorknob was useless. the door was jammed shut. completely.

the room was barely big enough to fit the both of you and now you were stuck here? it couldn’t get worse than this, could it?

mingi sent a text to yunho to come to the printing room to let the both of you out. even though he already heading home, he told you both to be patient while he made his way back.

soon enough, the both of you settled on the floor to wait. mingi sat with his knees close to his chest. when you sat across from him, your knee bumped against his, making him freeze slightly.

you crossed your legs, adjusting your skirt as you do, but you catch mingi glancing before quickly looking away, pink dusting his cheeks.

he cleared his throat, reaching for a nearby clipboard on the shelf and offering it to you. “uh, you can use this if you uh- if you need to cover up or anything..”

you raised an eyebrow, a smile forming on your face. “thank you,” you said, accepting it.

the room falls silent once more and the buzzing of the lights above began to become louder.

mingi shifted a little, clearly hyper-aware of how close you were. you could hear his breathing getting faster, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

after a while, he fumbled with his phone, typing another message to yunho. you watched as his fingers tapped quickly on the screen, slipping a couple of times.

you bit the inside of your cheek. “do i make you uncomfortable?” you asked once he slid his phone into his pocket.

mingi’s head snapped up at your question, his eyes widening as they met yours. “what?” he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

you leaned back against the wall. “do i make you uncomfortable?” you repeated.

“nono, of course not,” he said hurriedly, his eyes locked on the printer.

“are you sure?” you raised an eyebrow.

“i-“ mingi rubbed the back of his neck. he shifted in his spot once more, though his knee bumped into yours again - making him jump slightly. “i don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“come on,” you grinned. “you barely talk to me unless you have to, and when you do, you can’t even look at me- like right now!” you giggled as you watched his eyes dart around the room.

you fiddled with the printed papers. “i’ve seen how you act around your friends. you’re fun, you’re loud. so why are you so quiet now?”

mingi opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. his hands fidgeted with his shoelaces, his jaw tightening. finally, he let out a soft sigh and glanced at you - for just a second.

“i don’t know,” he admitted.

“you don’t know?”

“i mean-“ mingi stuttered, his eyes on the door. his lips were pressed into a thin line and his shoulders slumped. “i guess- i just don’t know how to act around you…?” he said, already regretting his words.

mingi wiped the sweat off of his forehead, adding onto what he said. “you’re just different from the people i’m used to.”

you nodded, giving him a smirk. “ohh, it’s because i’m a girl right?”

“nonono it’s just-“ he said quickly, his ears turning red. “you’re uh..” he trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. “you’re uh- focused? yeah.. and you’re good at what you do. that’s all..”

you let out a soft laugh, making him look at you nervously. “is this your way of saying you respect me or something?”

his cheeks flushed. “you can say that..”

“hmm.. okay okay,” you hummed, trying to suppress a grin. “so if that’s all..”

you leaned in closer, “..you wouldn’t mind if we went out for lunch together right?”

mingi blinked. “like with wooyoung and yeosang?”

you shook your head, tucking a stray hair behind your ear. “just us two.”

“well..” mingi looked at the ground, trying to find the words in his brain. “aren’t most places far away?”

“there’s a manga cafe nearby. it’s pretty cute and has a decent menu.”

his eyes widened at your suggestion. “a manga cafe..?” he repeated.

you shrugged. “i thought you’d like it.”

“i do,” mingi muttered, clearly unsure of how to respond. “you don’t think it’s weird? not a lot of people like manga.”

you frowned, shaking your head. “i don’t find it weird.. do you not want to go?”

mingi immediately straightened his back, his blush deepening as he stumbled over his words. “what? no- i do-“

you laughed, cutting him off. “relax.. we’re friends right?”

you could see a smile forming on his face as he nodded. “yeah.. we’re friends.”

suddenly, you heard a chuckle from the other side of the door as it creaked open. yunho stood there with a grin, leaning against the doorframe.

“sorry it took me a while,” he said, giving mingi a knowing look. “getting cozy?”

mingi’s flustered expression turned into a glare as he stood up, brushing the dust off of his pants. “just let us out.”

yunho moved aside, watching as his friend walked hurriedly towards his desk. “hope you two had fun,” he winked.

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

you leaned back into your chair, taking a bite out of your sandwich. “you know, i just finished the season this morning.”

mingi’s head shot up, his eyes wide with excitement. “really?” he asked, mid-chug of his drink.

“yeah, i was up all night watching it. i even got a little emotional at the end,” you replied with a nod, causing mingi to flash you a grin - one that you’ve never seen before.

the cafe around you had walls lined with manga shelves. the faint music of anime soundtracks playing in the background. the decor was adorable and you had to resist the urge to take a photo of every corner of the cafe.

the two of you continued talking and for once, it didn’t feel awkward. mingi seemed more relaxed, even joking around with you at times - but of course, he still had a habit of looking away whenever you made eye contact with him.

as the clock ticked closer to the end of your break, you stood up and pointed to the manga shelves. “i think i’m gonna grab something before we head back,” you said, wandering over, mingi soon following behind you.

“i don’t know what to pick,” you admitted, tracing your fingers along the spines of the books. “you got any ideas?”

his face lit up as he reached for a manga volume. “this one is really good. the world-building and plot is great. and the characters? the way they develop over time is just-”

mingi went into a passionate ramble, flipping through the pages as he spoke. you leaned against the shelf, listening to him as you bit back a smile.

suddenly, he stopped, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “sorry, i got carried away.”

you shook your head. “no you didn’t. i’ll take it,” you said, taking the book from his hands.

mingi blinked, stunned. “really?”

“yeah,” you replied with a grin. “you obviously like it, so it must be good.”

he stood there, a little speechless as you walked towards the register.

as you passed the manga to the cashier and reached for your wallet, mingi suddenly pointed to a random corner of the cafe. “woah what’s over there?”

you turned your head, confused. “what are you-”

before you could finish, you heard the tap of a card on the card-reader. turning back, you saw mingi sliding his card back into his pocket, acting like nothing happened.

you stared at him in disbelief. “..did you just pay for that?”

“would you be angry if i did..?” he said slowly, taking the bag where your manga was from the cashier.

you sighed, a small smile tugging at your lips. “no, but i can pay for my own things.”

mingi grinned. “maybe next time.”

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

it had been about two months since you and mingi started to eat lunch together. at least once a week, the two of you would grab a meal and talk about work or a new anime that either you or mingi were hyper-fixated on.

to be completely honest, mingi was pleasantly surprised at how your conversations evolved. what used to be a little awkward and dry now felt natural and easy.

mingi cracked his fingers. his screen had been glaring at him all morning, the same error popping up no matter how many times he rewrote the code. he leaned back into his chair, rubbing his temples in frustration.

“hey,” your voice pulled his attention away from the screen. “what do you want for lunch today?”

mingi blinked. “shit- i’m sorry,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “i can’t go today. too much work to do.”

you didn’t seem bothered by his response. instead, you tilted your head. “okay, then what are you craving?”

“uh... something light, i guess?” he replied hesitantly, unsure of why you were asking.

you just nodded, grabbing your phone and standing up. “be right back,” you said, leaving before he could question you further.

when you returned about 20 minutes later, mingi stared at you in disbelief. you set down a steaming cup of noodles, his favourite chips and a coffee.

“w-wait,” he stammered, immediately reaching for his wallet. “how much was it? let me-”

“-it’s fine,” you interrupted, brushing his offer off. “just eat before it gets cold,” you slid back into your seat.

mingi stared at the meal infront of him, his heart racing in a way that he couldn’t explain. it wasn’t just the food (though that definitely played a part), but it was the fact that you knew and remembered his favourites. you even went out of your way to do this without making it a big deal.

‘that’s just what friends do,’ he convinced himself as he took a bite out of his food. but when he glanced over to you, the butterflies in his stomach told him something that he wasn’t ready to admit.

not yet, anyway.

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

you were busy testing out a software when jongho appeared, dragging a chair behind him. he sat it in your section, right between you and mingi.

“guess what,” jongho began as he faced mingi. “i finally got that place i was looking at.”

mingi turned away from his monitor, eyebrows raising slightly. “oh? that’s cool. congrats man.”

“thanks. i’m thinking of having a little housewarming thing this weekend,” jonogho continued. “nothing big, don’t worry.”

mingi nodded, leaning back into his chair. “sounds good. let me know what time.”

it wasn’t until then when mingi noticed that you were listening in into their conversation, your fingers paused over your keyboard. his eyes darted to yours for a moment before he spoke. “do you want to come?”

you blinked, your eyes shifting to jongho. “i mean.. do you want me there?”

jongho shrugged. “yeah, you’re cool. bring wooyoung and yeosang too.”

mingi didn’t say anything, but the way jongho gave him a knowing look didn’t escape your notice. you bit back a grin, nodding slowly. “alright, i’ll be there.”

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

“damn you look good,” wooyoung said, looking you up and down.

you raised an eyebrow. “what are you talking about? i’ve worn this outfit to work before.”

“yeah but the work air does you dirty,” he said, earning him a smack from yeosang.

“focus,” yeosang said, pointing to jongho’s door. “who’s knocking?”

“not me,” wooyoung shook his head quickly. “i already carried the chips here. i’ve done my part.”

you scoffed. “you brought two bags and i’m pretty sure you ate one of them.”

“they’re big bags, okay?” wooyoung defended.

yeosang sighed. “fine, i’ll-“

before he could knock, a deep sigh was heard on the other side of the door. the three of you exchanged a look with each other before the door swung open.

wooyoung and yeosang, who were leaning against the doorframe, stumbled forward and landed infront of jongho’s feet.

jongho stepped back, opening the door wider. “welcome.”

you blinked, giving him a smile. “hey, jongho.” carefully, you tiptoed over the two fallen bodies on the ground as you entered the apartment.

the apartment had a warm and cozy feel. there was a decent amount of fake plants and the furniture looked new but comfortable. the dining table was lined with snacks and the kitchen counter was filled with a surprising amount of alcohol.

you walked over to yunho and mingi who were already standing around the kitchen. you waved to yunho before turning to mingi and giving him a quick hug.

mingi froze for a bit, though he quickly recovered, his response stiff. “uh- hey.”

jongho clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention. “alright, don’t get too comfortable. let me show you around.”

he led the group on a small tour around his apartment, showing off his bedroom, bathroom, living room and office space - he even had a guest bedroom.

after the tour, you found yourself back in the living room, chatting with yunho and mingi.

“so how’s the project going?” yunho asked, taking a sip from his drink.

“not bad,” you replied. “it’s a lot of coding but i’m enjoying it for the most part.”

mingi nodded. “yeah, and you’re good at it,” he muttered quietly, mostly to himself.

you glanced at him, giving him a smile. “thanks!”

the tips of his ears turned pink and he quickly turned to yunho, who was trying to hide a smile behind his glass.

after a while, you wandered over to the snack table where yeosang and wooyoung were hanging out.

“chips are food,” wooyoung said angrily.

yeosang sighed, turning to you. “this is his third bowl.”

“it’s a party,” wooyoung shrugged. “i’m living my best life.”

before anyone could say anything, jongho’s voice was heard from across the room. “wooyoung!”

wooyoung froze, a chip halfway to his mouth. “what?” he shouted back.

jongho stood by the door, his arms crossed. “tell me why there’s a group of at least 15 people outside my house saying that there’s a party here?”

wooyoung chuckled nervously, clearing his throat. “um.. about that..”

jongho’s eyes narrowed. “don’t tell me you-“

the doorbell rang and before you knew it, a large group of people poured in, loud music taking over the entire space.

wooyoung scratched the back of his neck. “i may have uh- spread the word a little.”

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚

the house grew loud, music bouncing off of the walls as laughter filled every corner. you squeezed through the crowd, heading over to the kitchen for another glass of soju. but when you reached, your eyes landed on mingi who was downing many shots of alcohol.

“heyheyhey, stop,” you said, stepping forward and gently taking the glass from his hand.

mingi blinked at you, confused, his cheeks pink. you looked at him with concern. “what’s going on? why are you drinking so much?”

he mumbled something incoherent, rubbing his forehead. without hesitation, you hooked your arm around his and tugged him toward the hallway. “you’re sitting this one out,” you said firmly, guiding him into the guest bedroom which thankfully, was unoccupied.

closing the door behind you, you made him sit on the edge of the bed. mingi groaned and slumped down, half of his body dangling off the bed while his upper body rested against mattress.

you sat on the bed next to him. “are you okay? what’s wrong?” you asked softly, rubbing slow circles on his back.

“...i don’t like people,” he mumbled, his face half-buried in the sheets.

a small smile tugged at your lips. “it’s okay. i get it.”

“i like you, though,” his said, his voice muffled but clear enough to make your eyes widen in shock.

“wait, what?” you blurted out, staring at him disbelief.

mingi got up abruptly, sitting on the bed properly like nothing happened. “why did wooyoung bring so many people? this isn’t a party party,” he said.

“i.. i don’t know,” you stammered. “can we go back to what you said before-”

“i didn’t finish the code i was supposed to give hongjoong,” he interrupted, looking at you with glassy eyes. “am i getting fired?”

you shook your head. “no, he gave you until next month to complete it. can we-”

“-i haven’t eaten pasta in so long,” his voice cracked, on the verge of tears.

“i’ll get you pasta tomorrow,” you said quickly, giving him a small, reassuring smile.

mingi’s face lit up. “really?”

“yes,” you nodded.

the two of you sat in silence for a moment, the muffled noise of the party bleeding through the walls. soon enough, you finally spoke up. “hey.”

mingi turned to you, his eyes a little clearer now.

“when you said you liked me,” you began cautiously. “what did you mean?”

“that i like you,” mingi said plainly like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“well, yes, but,” you cleared your throat. “as a friend or-”

“i like your eyes,” he cut in, his gaze locked onto yours. “and your nose.”

you blinked, stunned.

“your lips are pretty,” he added as he leaned in slightly. “and so are your outfits.”

“i-”

“i like your voice,” he continued. “and the cafes you bring me to.”

your heart raced as you stared at him. “...is this the alcohol talking?” you asked weakly.

mingi tilted his head, reaching up to touch his mouth like he was checking for something. “i’m pretty sure i’m the one talking,” he said, completely serious.

a wide smile broke across your face. “you’re cute.”

“me?” he looked behind him, seeing if there was someone else in the room.

“yes, you,” you laughed softly.

mingi’s face flushed a deeper red - whether it was from the alcohol or your words, you weren’t sure.

a comfortable silence fell over the two of you once more and you could tell that mingi was beginning to sober up. he shifted slightly, his movements becoming nervous.

“i’m sorry,” he began, but you quickly cut him off.

“don’t apologise,” you said.

“but i made you uncomfortable- oh my god i made you uncomfo-”

“i like you,” you said, pulling him out of his spiral.

mingi froze, his eyes wide. “are you serious?”

you nodded.

“b-but you’re so..” he trailed off, his eyes searching yours. “..pretty.”

“thank you,” you said, your heart fluttering. “though i think you’re really downplaying yourself.”

“why would you like someone like me?” mingi asked, his voice a whisper.

you shrugged. “for all the same reasons you like me.”

“because i watch anime?” he asked, confused.

“that’s a bonus,” you grinned.

the next thing you knew, your hands brushed against his, lingering for a moment as his eyes shifted to your lips. it was such a simple action and yet it sent your heart in circles. slowly, he leaned in closer, his warm breath against your skin.

“are you really okay with this?” he asked, worried that you were playing a prank on him.

you looked into his eyes, your voice soft. “i’ve been waiting for this.”

then mingi’s lips were on yours.

it was soft at first. but the second your hand found his jaw, tilting his head slightly - something in him changed. his hand was on your thigh, his fingers curling into the fabric of your skirt like he needed to hold on or risk floating away.

your hand moved to his chest and you could feel his heart pounding beneath your palm. mingi’s other hand found your waist, pulling you just a little closer.

“mr song,” you mumbled against his mouth, the name drawing a low groan from him.

“god- you’re so perfect,” he muttered, the grip on your thigh tightening, his thumb tracing the seam of your skirt, sending shivers up your spine.

you lost track of how long you stayed like that. the music from outside faded into the background and the room slowly disappeared from your mind.

and then the door slammed open.

you and mingi jumped apart, faces flushed and breaths uneven. just then, wooyoung stumbled in, his arm draped lazily around a girl.

“oh my god,” wooyoung’s eyes widened, darting between the two of you with unhinged glee. without waiting a second, he whipped out his phone and snapped a picture before slamming the door shut - his loud voice echoing the hall. “i knew it! i knew it! i knew it!”

you groaned, covering your face with your hands as you got up. “this bastard-”

“-hey,” mingi caught your wrist, his fingers gentle but firm as he tugged you back toward him. his face was still flushed and his lips were slightly swollen, but his voice was soft. “don’t focus on him. focus on me.”

your heart skipped multiple beats. you nodded, letting him guide you back into his arms.

this time, the kiss was much slower - no rushing, no interruptions, just the two of you. his hand returned to your thighs, this time squeezing it lightly, and you couldn’t help but smile against his lips.

when you broke apart, his eyes studied your face, his thumb gently tracing your lips. you brushed away the stray hairs that stuck to his forehead, adjusting his glasses which were lopsided.

“was i good?” mingi asked nervously.

“of course,” you giggled, your cheeks warm. “way more than good.”

he let out a sigh of relief. “i’m glad..” he said softly. your words made him smile, the stress in his shoulders easing.

“if wooyoung posts that picture..” mingi said, leaving a trail of kisses on your jaw. “..i’m deleting his league account.”

any and all feedback appreciated <3 remember to like and repost!

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something-wild-calls · 2 days ago

Text

Got another combo part this time! It's pretty long, so I'll put it under a Read More.

Minor warning for a past injury mention!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first thing he noticed was the warmth of fur pressed against his neck.

Eyes closed, he rolled his head to the side, muttering to his little companion.

He felt a wave of unease.

It was never this hard to wake up. Well, maybe once or twice, but that thought did little to ease his worry.

He tried to lift his arm to gently usher the hot lump of fur off his neck. But his arm barely moved, and an ache pulsed up it. He tested other limbs, only to be met with the same resistance.

What had happened? What horrible state was his body in this time?

With all his might, he cracked his eyes open. His vision was blurry and tired, but he could instantly tell he was somewhere unfamiliar. All he saw above him was brown. ...Trees? ...Without leaves?

Or sky?

His head rolled again, and he realized that the surface it was on wasn't hard. Even if it was grass, there was no solid earth, nor the scratchy unpleasantness of dry straw. He focused to see what it was.

A...

Pillow?

A pillow...

He was in a building.

He doubted he'd gotten himself here. Surely he'd remember that.

So how...?

The dragon had claimed—

He gasped, a wave of clarity crashing over him.

The dragon...

The poachers...

The...

He shuddered, and that was enough to rouse Pari from her sleep. Her head lifted beside him, her pale purple eyes blinking into alertness.

She gave a trill when she saw Cody's own green gaze fixed warmly at her. She nuzzled him, and he groaned as his habitual attempt to pet her was met with the aching resistance once more.

“Pari...” His voice was slurred with the haze he was still struggling to break free from. “Wh-wh're we? A hsp'tal...?”

The pink imp opened her mouth, but at that moment, a knock rapped. Cody strained his gaze toward the sound, and managed to see a door open and a plump woman in an outfit walk in. Pari buried herself in his blankets.

The newcomer gasped when she saw him looking at her, but recovered quickly. “Why, hello! It's nice to see you awake!”

Cody blinked in a fruitless effort to adjust his eyes, attempting and aborting a wave. It was frustrating, having his body rebel against his wishes.

Please, voice, don't you fail me... “H...hi....” He took a deep breath, starting to feel a bit more energy return, though his voice was still weak. “I... I'm sorry... I d'n mean t'... be rude....”

The woman waved her hand, wrinkles accentuating her smile. “Don't you worry about it, dear! You were in horrible shape when you came in. Even with magical healing, it can still be hard to recover. I'm sure you're exhausted.”

At that, a new wave of alertness jolted through Cody. “Magical healing? D... did you guys heal me with magic?”

The woman nodded chipperly. “Mhm! To the best of our ability. Can I get you anything, Cody?”

“Water, please.” Suddenly, he flinched. “How'd you know my name?”

“Our chief's sister claimed that's what your name was.”

Cody thought for a moment, but he was still too drained to make sense of it. So for now, he smiled. “Well, she's right, however that is. I'm Cody Rennard.”

“It's nice to meet you, Cody. I'm Atta! Now then, I'll go get you that water.”

~ ~ ~

For the next while, Cody drifted in and out of consciousness. Each time he woke, he felt a bit stronger. Eventually he ate—A simple soup, but the most delicious thing he'd eaten in a long while.

At one point, noticing that his shoes had been removed, he studied his left foot where the wound should've been. A neat scar shone on the top of it where it had been stabbed through, and he marveled at how effective the healing had been.

What a skill to have...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"We also located a bag near where you were found, presumably yours." Cody pried his attention from the glaring girl to focus on the brown-haired man. "It's being safely kept at our place until you're in a good place to have it back."

The blond werewolf nodded with a smile. "Thank you!"

He couldn't help flicking his gaze back to Jamie, who stood unmoving, her eyes fixed on him.

As Cody tried to find words to speak about the prior events, Jordan gave the girl a soft nudge. "Come on, Jamie, you're freaking him out. Ease up a little."

She glanced at her brother, but otherwise did nothing else.

Clearly she still didn't like the idea of him being here...

Jordan looked at Cody, a hint of annoyance flickering in his eyes. "Perhaps we should go. I hope you feel back to normal swiftly, Cody. It's nice to meet you."

"Y-yeah!" Cody waved at them. "Thank you! Likewise!"

As the door clicked behind them, Cody couldn't help feeling just a bit hollow. There was so much he wanted to say. To ask. To learn.

He whispered more to himself than to the imp who scuttled up onto his lap. "That was the dragon, right? She had to be... She brought me to her home after all..." He looked at Pari. "I suppose you probably had a hand in that."

Pari shrugged, flicking her long tail. "She acted pretty quickly by herself. I don't think she was as eager to leave you on your own as we thought."

"...Huh..." He laid back on the bed, his little companion reclaiming her spot on his chest. "I wonder what her story is... An actual real dragon..."

He sighed, his mind swimming through pages of books he'd read over the years of these beings known only to legends.

"I can't say I blame her for being defensive... She's probably had it as bad as we have..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#something wild calls #SWC #tw: injury mention

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hyuuukais · 2 days ago

Text

⋆₊‧⁺˖⋆˚.⋆ ͙͘͡★ LOOK UP TO THE STARS

pairing ▪︎ han jisung x fem reader

synopsis ▪︎ sent out on a mission to a neighbouring QZ that's gone radio silent, y/n falls into the hands of a post-rebellion group after things go terribly wrong. giving up on rejoining her squad, she joins the group on a trek to find a missing member, the group leader's sister. what's supposed to be a not-so-simple trip out and back to their base becomes a one-way ticket to the end of everything they know.

warnings ▪︎ general, y/n finally breaking down, also she can't swim cause i can't swim 💔, hyunjin x reader fight from previous chapter mentioned, errm radiohead lyrics jumpscare sorry (but also not cause it's my fic 🤨), errrm idk what else !

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

CHAPTER SEVEN ▪︎ WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING (6.1k)

At least a week has passed since you left that place, only a pile of dead bodies to signify you were ever there. It was too risky to go back to the home Chan and Jeongin were still in, waiting for the rest of you to return, so Felix had radioed them in order to get them ready to move. As the truck was loaded with supplies, Felix had Han carefully flip you onto your back to check the still bleeding wound left by that mans knife. He did what he could, packing the wound and instructing you to stay in that position. You barely registered his words, slipping into sleep.

When you woke, you found yourself on a firm mattress in the basement of a cottage. Pain shot through your body every time you tried moving, and you imagined that's how Chan felt after the hospital. Your sympathy for him rose, and so did your impatience to get back to normal.

Today, you're finally able to sit upright, legs hanging over the edge of the bed as you stare blankly through the doorway. Your back aches, but Felix says it's healing nicely, that you're lucky there isn't much real damage. You don't feel lucky. You feel nothing. All those years in the QZ mastering the art of hiding emotion came in handy, but you would give anything right now just to feel something. You sigh heavily, trying to release the weight on your chest. But today is different, because you can finally sit upright on the edge of the bed.

Tears prickle at your eyes and you look down to where your hands sit in your lap, cradling your necklace. You took it off when no one was with you, keeping it in a drawer in the bedside nightstand. The metal charm is cold in your hand as you close it in a fist; looking at it for so long brings you back too far. Thoughts of before flood your mind, thoughts of Minho and the way he found the charm for you after you asked him about his own one night, a singular cat paw hanging down from his neck.

"Ah, this," He took the charm in his fingers, the metal glinting in the campfire light. "My mother gave it to me before she turned."

"Oh." You were only eight, leaning against Minhos arm in the middle of an abandoned campsite.

Unlike you, Minho had lived with his mom until he was about your age when he found you, then she turned after their camp was attacked. He found you a few years later, wandering the streets of a small town looking for shelter. You were just a small child, the age of seven, left alone to fend for yourself. It wasn't intentional- you'd been curious about a path in the woods and found yourself lost quickly. When you ran into Minho, you were trembling from hunger and on the brink of passing out from exhaustion. He took you into his arms and broke into the closest house, taking out some kind of canned food for you to eat. Ever since then, you were inseparable.

That is, until now.

Now, you're unlikely to ever see him again outside of dreams and memories. As you place the necklace back around your neck, you can feel something. It starts small, the hiccups and the burn in your throat, the way the prickling behind your eyes grows stronger; you can't breathe through your nose anymore. Salty tears drip down your face, down your neck, onto your hands in your lap. No one is around to hear you, so you let go, curling into yourself as your sobs rip from your body painfully. You can't even stay on the bed, slipping down to the carpeted floor with a hand clutching your heart as everything comes out at once. The pain of missing Minho, accepting what happened at the diner- you didn't let yourself truly feel fear there, thinking you would die one way or another, that it didn't matter how you felt in the moment. Waves of anguish flow through your body like a viral disease; you need to let it run its course.

You don't hear the knock on the door frame or see the way Chan leans against it, watching as you give into yourself. It's not until he's sitting next to you with an arm wrapping around your shoulders that you acknowledge him, face burying into his neck and your free hand being held by his. He whispers words you can't make out into your hair, running smooth circles in between your shoulder blades until you start to calm down, coughing and sniffling and breathing so heavily. Eventually, the room is near quiet again, only the occasional sniffle to be heard.

"Did I ever tell you about when Hannah went missing?" You look up at Chan, shaking your head. He's not looking at you when he continues, but at your clasped hands, giving you a squeeze. "I looked a lot like you after a few days. I was..."

"A complete and total mess?" You offer, and he gives a breathy laugh.

"Exactly. A complete and total mess. I locked myself in that house for what felt like forever." Chan sighs, looking up at the ceiling. "We were out in a nearby town looking for things like canned food and medical supplies, run of the mill stuff. She was practically begging me to let her explore the local art gallery, but I was so against it. Of course, she didn't listen to me and went off on her own when enough of us were distracted. If I had only-" Chan clears his throat, blinks a few times. "If I had only said yes, gone with her, she'd still be with us."

"What do you mean?" You're more upright now, but still leaning into his shoulder.

"The place was filled with infected," He starts, and you feel your stomach drop. "As soon as we noticed she was missing, that was the first place we looked. As we got closer, we heard her screaming for help. Jisung helped me get the door open and we saw she had climbed on top of a sculpture, but the infected were somehow making their way up to her. And after one wrong move in trying to stay up, she fell- right into the arms of this person that we hadn't even noticed."

The regret and pain in Chan's voice are enough to make you look away from him, now your turn to give a reassuring squeeze to his hand. Silence hangs heavily in the room for a few moments before he begins talking again.

"All the infected were trained on us after that, only a few stragglers going after the two of them. The horde was too thick to get through, but we took most of them out before having to fall back out the way we came from." His head drops down, lips quivering. "I- when we- ugh, sorry."

"Don't apologize." You bring your free hand to his cheek, turning his head to face you. "You don't need to continue if you don't want to."

"I do," He says, voice wet, cheeks wet. "I do. We, um, we circled around to the back where we assumed they took her out from, but only got there in time to see a large van drive off. Our own vehicle was too far at the time, we never had a chance of catching up. Hannah meant- means, a lot to all of us, so I tried to be strong for the rest of the group. A few days after getting back to town, I found a note she had written."

He takes his hand from yours, reaching into the pocket of his jeans to reveal a tired, leather wallet. When he opens it, you see the only thing inside is a folded-up piece of lined paper. Chan takes it out carefully, letting you read it over his shoulder.

Chan, Chris, whatever.

Thanks for finding me a guitar! You're the best big brother ever, but you didn't hear that from me. In fact, burn this after reading, I don't need anyone thinking I've gone soft for you.

Here are some lyrics I've begun (probably not the beginning of a song, maybe somewhere in the middle? I don't know):

Breathe, keep breathing. Don't lose your nerve.

Breathe, keep

The paper is ripped, cutting off the rest of the lyrics. When you're done reading, you look back to Chan, but he's still focused on the paper, his face red and scrunched up. You tuck some hair away from his face as he breaks down, gasping and wiping his eyes. He clears his throat again, tucking the paper back into the wallet, the wallet back into his jeans.

"I pull that out when I start to lose touch, when I start to think things are becoming hopeless." His voice quiets. "When I start to give up. She gives me those things back, grounds me, you know?"

Your fingers find the charm around your neck. "I know."

"Now that I know Hannah is still out there, I'd give anything to find her. Sometimes it scares me." Chan finally looks at you again, eyes watery. "We all have something that scares us, and we all have something to give us hope. Find it, Y/n, and don't give up. We need you."

Something in his voice, in his words, in the feeling of his body close to yours, has you breaking down again. You both sit here for a while, comforting each other by just being close and providing a safe space to let it all out. Once your eyes run dry, Chan stands and offers you a hand. You take it, following him through the basement doors to the backyard on slightly unsteady feet. There's a pathway from where the glass double doors are jammed open down to a fire pit, a small set of stone steps leading further down to the water. It's overcast and smells like rain, but you can see almost everyone out in the water. The sight is enough for you to tear up again, seeing them have fun and have just one day where they can be careless, not worrying about if they'll make it through the night.

Hyunjin is sitting on a cushioned metal swing on a porch that hangs slightly over a sandy area, the water not quite coming up the shore. He's sitting with Felix, who's chest is free of a shirt, but not free of sand grains covering his skin. His wet hair is tucked behind his ears; it's getting long, he looks good this way. They're lost in conversation, not paying attention to Jeongin and Chaeryeong essentially trying to drown each other by the looks of it, or Han, who's floating closer to the dock where Seungmin is sitting with his legs in the water. Nobody notices you and Chan standing from afar, watching with a heaviness in each of your chests.

"Go, have fun," Chan pushes you forward gently. "I'm gonna start prepping the campfire for dinner. I found some things we can eat in a storage room inside."

"I can stay and help-"

"No," He says firmly, shaking his head. "Hyunjin and I can't go in, doctors orders, but you can go join them and you should. Lix told me you should be okay since your wound has healed nicely. Enjoy it for me, yeah?"

You groan, barely containing a smile. "Fine."

"Y/n!" Chaeryeong squeals as you walk to the edge of the porch, avoiding eye contact with Hyunjin. "Come join us!"

"That was the plan." You laugh.

Stripping off your pants and socks, you carefully hop down onto the wet sand. Warm water touches your toes as you slowly descend, a small smile gracing your features. It feels nice.

"You should take your shirt off since it's your only one," Chaeryeong suggests and you blush. "The water temperature is amazing out here once you get used to it, so don't worry about being cold!"

You bring your hands to the bottom of your shirt, hesitating as you begin to lift it up. At just below your belly button, you stop completely, gripping your shirt tightly. It shouldn't be a big deal, but it is to you. Taking your shirt off means revealing the ugly bruises littering your body, the nasty scar across your ribs from when you were a child. There isn't much of a story, one similar enough to a lot of people you've met before. A zombie attacked you and left you with a permanent mark, only you've been able to hide the jagged, rough skin from sight. It healed terribly from the lack of proper medical attention, only a twelve-year-old Minho with no training to try and stop the bleeding, stitch up the wound, and keep it clean as you slipped in and out of consciousness. Soon after, he ran into someone from the quarantine zone who tried to take him with them, but he kicked and screamed until they understood there was someone else; you, alone in a cold garage, on the brink of death.

You think nobody notices your pause, much too focused on themselves and the water, but then somebody is standing beside you in the soft sand, an arm reaching behind you to grab a piece of green fabric. Watching as Han shoves his shirt back over his wet body, catching a glimpse of his small waist and bare golden skin in the process, your hands let go of the hem of your shirt.

"Chaeryeong is lying," Han says, then raises his voice loud enough for the others to hear. "The water is fucking freezing!"

Laughing, Jeongin tries to splash him where he stands, but the younger boy is too far away and it barely hits Han's ankles. Shaking your head, you look up at Han, who is standing entirely too close to you, but you find you don't mind. After what you experienced together, you don't view him like you did before; immature, kind of annoying, cocky. You see now that's how Jisung protects himself, by portraying himself as funny and unserious, to try and lighten the mood. You all have your armour, and he wears his better than you do yours.

"I'm not lying! Don't believe him!" Chaeryeong whines, but is soon distracted by some bugs skipping past her over the water. "Woah, Jeongin, look."

"She's right." You talk quietly, a shy smile on your face and you can't look Han in the eye. "I can feel the water on my feet, it really isn't cold."

"Yes, it is," He insists, taking your hand in his and walking backward. You look at him now, see the way his hair falls into his eyes and swoops up at the back, at his honey complexion shining in the vibrant light of the sunset to your left, his eyes teasing, but soft. "It's really, really cold. Keeping your shirt on is the smart decision."

"Okay." You whisper, letting him bring you in waist-deep before he lets go and maneuvers onto his back. "Wait."

Han cranes his neck up to look at you, raising an eyebrow.

"I- oh, this is so stupid," You say, hiding your face in your hands. "I can't swim, at least, not well. Going into deeper water freaks me out."

With your face still hidden, you can hear Han returning to your side. Wet hands bring yours down, big brown eyes staring into yours. "That's okay, you have a human-sized floating device right here! And we'll only go as far as that dock, okay?"

Smiling, he steps aside and points to a floating piece of wood not too far from where you're standing in the water. Then, he's back in front of you with his back facing you, reaching back to wrap your hands around his shoulders. You're holding on for dear life when he kicks out, somehow more scared than you are when fighting actual literal undead beings. What should be a walk in the park, and is for most people, makes your throat hot and tight. You want to nuzzle your face into Han's neck, but you know if you try that you'll just end up waterboarding yourself, which is more embarrassing than anything else that's happened since you've woken up.

The wood shifts under your weight and for a second, you think you'll fall over the edge when Han lets go of your body, but you don't. He sits on a different ledge, encouraging you with a nod to join him on that side, so you do. From here, you can see the sun setting behind the tree line, oranges and pinks and yellows painting a beautiful picture for you. To your left, you see bodies in the water and recognize them as more than just people you're surviving with, but as people you've grown to really care about. And maybe you're a little hopeful, but you think they've grown to care about you too.

Han traces light fingers over the tendons in your hand, over your knuckles, up your wrist. You think he's doing it subconsciously, but then his fingers intertwine with your own and he's sighing with a small smile on his face, and his eyes are closed, and his wet hair sticks to his forehead, and you can't look away, and he's the most beautiful person you've ever seen, and-

"You're staring." You blush, but the way his eyes look down at your lips then back to your eyes doesn't go unnoticed.

"I couldn't help it," You admit. Something in the way he's staring at you has your heart about to leap out of your chest, thumping hard and loud, and you wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it too. The blood rushing in your ears, the way your skin prickles where he's touched you; you've never felt like this before, not even with Hyunjin.

Finally breaking the stare, Han clears his throat and lets go of your hand; you're a tad bit disappointed at the loss of contact. "Chan found some canned food in a storage room in the basement, so we were thinking of having a campfire tonight. There's also stale marshmallows and I heard that people before the apocalypse would make these things called 'smores', but we don't have the stuff to make them."

"Yeah, I've had those-" You start, but are interrupted by an almost offended sound.

"You've had them?" Hans neck nearly snaps with the speed his head turns to you.

"Um, yeah." Why are you getting shy? "With Minho in the QZ. When he became a squad leader, he got some privileges we didn't, like access to the kitchens after hours. He told me about all the things they kept for themselves as we snuck out that night, contraband chocolate and graham crackers stuffed deep into out coat pockets."

You laugh at the memory, the stuttered excuse Minho had made when a soldier caught you both trying to leave stealthily. Luckily they'd trained together, and the soldier waved you both away with a suggestive smirk that made your cheeks go red. You think that might have been when the rumours started; you and Minho fell in love through all the trauma you went through together, that the only real place of comfort you had was each other. Only part of that is true- was true. He didn't bring you far that night, just outside of the patrol routes to a small, wooden shack of sorts in the woods. The snack was tasty, and the fire warm, but not as warm as the feeling in your stomach as you rested your head against Minho's shoulder in the night, his arm secure around you.

"Y/n?" Minho whispered, thinking you had fallen asleep; you didn't, but you were too tired to mutter any kind of response back. "Jagiya, I need to tell you something... maybe it's better to say it now and just have it out in the open." He sighs, and it's a while before he talks again. "You saved my life. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found you, where I would be. Certainly not here, I hate this place and the things they do and cover up. But you needed help, and I couldn't let you die. I stay here for you, do you know that?"

The night is quiet, save for your breathing and the sound of crickets and other bugs, but Minho's mind is loud and racing and he can't help but confess everything to you. How he couldn't imagine life without you, how you mean the world- no, the universe to him. The way he didn't think he'd even still be here if you hadn't come along, whether by the nature of the world now or by his own hands. Saying all these things thinking you'd drifted off, but you were more awake than ever.

"What do you think happened to him?" Han's voice brings you back, and you notice the way the night has taken over. "Minho. Since he lied for us."

"They value him a lot there, so I doubt there were any real repercussions as long as he kept up the act." Looking into the dark water and seeing the way your legs disappear, you shiver. "Can we go back to the others now?"

"Oh! Yeah, of course. Are you cold?" Han rubs his hands up and down your arms and you snort. "Why are you laughing? The water is gonna be colder than earlier and you're still recovering, I don't want you to get sick."

Right. Recovering. Time with Han had let you briefly forget all the shit that happened, existing in the moment with someone who didn't look at you like someone who might break any second. You saw the way their eyes lingered on you when you walked past into the water, the way Hyunjin and Jeongin tried not to stare as you struggled to take your shirt off. Even Chan as he let you walk away to the others, worry etched in his face.

"I'm fine." You grumble, opting to get in the water before he could say anything else. Struggling to keep your head above water, you only make it so far until he's caught up, trying to get you onto his back again. "I'm not a baby! Let me do this!"

"No, you're not a baby, but you're also not a strong swimmer." Han says, still trying to grab your arms.

Ignoring his comment, you continue to splash your way to the dock, but your arms and legs are getting tired quick. You stop for a moment, struggling to take a breath, and notice how damp your face has gotten. Assuming it's just the water, or maybe sweat, you're confused when Han is in front of you with a concerned look on his face. That's when you realize you're crying- again. And the realization makes you cry harder, upset with yourself for becoming so soft, for breaking down over and over and over again, for letting yourself be vulnerable in front of others.

"Hey, hey, hey." Han is wrapping his arms around you, keeping you from letting yourself sink. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"Everything is so stupid-" You choke out, cold arms reaching around his neck to stay afloat. As you keep talking, he slowly starts moving your bodies back to land. "Recovery is stupid, feeling sad is stupid, getting hurt over dumb words is stupid."

"Why is it stupid to be human?" He asks softly.

Hans words sit between you, and you don't know what to say.

"Y/n?" Han only stops for a moment, focusing entirely on you.

"I shouldn't feel this way." You say. "I should be back on my feet and not dwelling on some accident that happened. This world doesn't let you do that."

"So make it do that," Han says, like it's the most obvious answer in the entire world. "We all have our moments. Yeah, we can't always stop and let it take over, but we have to let ourselves feel it eventually or that's what's gonna kill us in the end." He shakes his head and begins to move again. "Not zombies, not the military, but ourselves. We're all zombies already in a way, eating away at ourselves in the name of self-preservation."

"That is definitely one way to put it." You laugh. "But I think I get what you mean."

Sand grazes your toes and you detach from Han, hopping back up to the dock and helping him up. Your shirts are soaked and heavy as they hang from your bodies, sticking to your skin uncomfortably.

"Y/n!" Chaeryeong comes jogging up to your side with two things in her hands. "I got you a towel and a fresh sweater. There are closets full of clothes in there if this doesn't fit. Check this out-" she does a spin to show you the back of her grey shirt, stark white angel wings on the other side.

"Oh, you're a cool girl now!" You take the things from her, giggling. "Thank's Chaerry."

"No problem." She smiles, then looks at Han. "Sorry, I didn't think to grab you something..."

"Eh, I can dry by the fire." He shrugs.

With a final nod, Chaeryeong returns to the fire Chan has started- if you can call it that yet. There are just a few pieces of wood barely smoking in the pit. Han shifts in front of you, blocking your view of the others. When you look up at him, he's straining his neck in the opposite direction.

"What are you doing?" You ask, giving him a weird look.

"Blocking the others from seeing you change." He answers with his head still turned away; that must be painful.

"Oh," is all you can say, an ache in your chest at his words.

It doesn't take long for you to discard your wet shirt, tossing it to the side with a schlap. Tapping on Han's chest to signal you're done, he turns his head back too soon and whimpers in pain, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You didn't have to do that, I could have gone inside." You say, reaching up to replace his hand with yours, massaging his neck. He's close; you can feel his breath on your cheek.

"I know," He says, and once you're done soothing his pain, you walk to the fire that's actually a fire now, and join the others.

"And then, get this, he threatened me! Me! Can you believe that?" Hyunjin is scoffing, hand in the air.

"Yes, actually, I can get how the guy whose gun you stole threatened you," Seungmin points out.

"But I didn't-"

"No, you just let it get stolen by your best friend-"

"Enough! Enough, please don't start an argument when I'm trying to cook us a nice dinner to enjoy on a nice night where we can actually have a nice time." Chan groans.

For a moment, no one talks, but then Seungmin leans over to Hyunjin. "How many times do you think he can say nice in one sentence?"

"Poor guy, old age is making him forget his vocabulary." Hyunjin says with a fake, sad sigh.

"I was going to say the same thing," Seungmin laughs quietly.

You sit next to Seungmin in an empty lawn chair, Han sitting across from you next to Chan. Chaeryeong is already falling asleep on your other side, Felix and Jeongin off in their own world next to her. Listening to Hyunjin and Seungmin bicker as you eat gives you a strange sense of normalcy, like two siblings on a family vacation to their cottage. As you place your plate on the pile by Chan's feet, you make eye contact with Han, who is placing his down too. He retracts his arm, letting you place yours first, and you smile at him. Reaching behind his leg, you watch Chan bring out the stale marshmallows Han had mentioned before as you sit back down.

Everyone is silent as they roast them over the fire, some blankets that Chan had ready being passed around. When you go to throw the other half of yours over Chaeryeong, you notice her pouting and her glossy eyes.

"Chaerry?" You nudge her arm gently and she appears to zone back in, a single tear dropping from her eye.

"Hannah would have loved this." She whispers, but it's heard by the rest in the quiet night.

Instinctively, you look at Chan, but his eyes are focused on Chaeryeong, lips pressed tightly together. He closes the bag. "She would have, you're right. Let's save some for when we get her back, yeah?"

No one speaks as he ties the bag closed. You accidentally burnt your little ball of sugar, but eat it anyway; it feels almost disrespectful not to. Jeongin is the first to go, excusing himself to bed. He's followed by Seungmin, then Felix, then Chaeryeong. The silence between you, Chan, Han, and Hyunjin has returned to comfortable, sleepy energy surrounding you. Finally, Chan and Han both head inside, leaving you alone with Hyunjin. Thinking it'll become awkward, you're about to head inside yourself.

"I'm sorry for what I said." Hyunjin says, the ghost of a pout on his lips. "I didn't mean it, I was just angry."

"I get it," You lie.

Hyunjin looks at you, really looks at you, and he's still as pretty as ever. The firelight glows against his skin, and you can see every little detail including your favourite, the mole under his eye. You can't count how many times you placed a soft kiss right there, whispering into his skin how unique it was.

"No, you don't." He says. "I called you a liability, who does that?"

"You?" You try to joke, but it doesn't land. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Hyunjin switches to the seat next to you that Seungmin abandoned. "Listen, no one here is doubting you. Nobody. Not even Han-" He cuts himself off, head turning away but eyes staying on you. "...what's going on between you guys?"

"What?" Your eyes widen and you sit up, at a loss for words.

"We've all seen you guys acting like lovebirds all of a sudden! Did it really only take some life endangerment to finally work up the courage to ask you out?" You're more confused than ever, and Hyunjin can tell he said more than he should have. "Forget I said that..."

"Yeah, I think I will." You laugh. Han, liking you? As in romantically? Han Jisung? You? Please. "Anyway, what you said is in the past. It doesn't matter now."

"What? It does matter," Hyunjin sits up in his chair, leaning his arm onto your chair. "Of course, it matters. Why would you say that it doesn't?"

"Because, I don't know... after the whole getting kidnapped by zombie-eating humans thing, hanging onto stuff like that seems unimportant." Hyunjin doesn't speak, just keeps looking at you with sad eyes, flickering fire reflecting in the dark of his iris. "You don't agree."

"No, I don't," He sighs. "My words hurt you and caused that whole fucking mess, so yeah, I don't agree one bit. You can't compare your physical and emotional pain, okay? Once you start doing that, you'll lose yourself, and we can't have you gone Y/n. We can't."

"Why do you care so much?"

He scoffs, actually scoffs, and you're confused. "You've become so important to our little family, you have no idea."

"But you said-" He cuts you off.

"Forget what I said!" Hyunjin clasps your closest hand in his. "I was angry, I wasn't thinking. Obviously, there was some truth in it, but only if we go back in time to when you were lying unconscious with a broken leg and we didn't know what would happen. None of us think that way about you anymore, no doubts or worries about whether you can handle yourself. If something happened to you, none of us would be okay. Me included. I still care about you, a lot."

The burning feeling behind your eyes has returned for the third time that night, but maybe it's what you need. To let yourself be seen by the others, truly, completely seen. Not the you who you present, who you act as, but the authentic you. Starting with Chan, then Han, now Hyunjin. One by one, you're beginning to learn what it's like to let people in.

"Can we go to bed now?" You whisper, holding his gaze.

"Of course." He brings your hand up to his lips, leaving a soft kiss there before helping you out of your chair.

Wincing, you clutch your side where the worst of the bruising is, holding onto Hyunjin with your other hand. Pain throbs underneath your fingers, somehow sharp and dull at the same time. When you try to move, the pain worsens. You must have overexerted yourself in the water, and now it's catching up to you.

"Here," Hyunjin guides your hands around his neck. "On three, you jump. One... two... three."

You do as he says, wrapping your legs around his waist, and you feel his arm come around your lower back to keep you secure. He starts walking and you can already feel sleep taking you, burying your head into his neck. The next thing you feel is the firm mattress under your body and the warmth of Hyunjin's chest.

"I enjoyed our time together," You say sleepily, angling your head up to look at Hyunjin with closed eyes, too heavy to open again.

"Me too," He presses a kiss to your forehead. "Me too, Y/n."

"We weren't made for each other, were we?" But you already know the answer.

"No," Hyunjin whispers. "Not like that. But we were- are, meant to be here together, with each other. I love you, you know that, right?"

"I love you too."

Your heart is racing with the confession, words you've only ever uttered a few times in your life. To your parents, before they died, to Minho, Seungmin. Yet you know you'd tell the rest you loved them if they were in this room with you two, too sleepy to hold back your emotions.

Crrk... crrrrrrkk... crrrrkk...

"What is that?"

Seungmin catches your eye from where he's sitting on the floor, hands feeling over the rough, matted carpet. You're standing right outside the bedroom where Hyunjin lies still asleep, door shut softly behind you. A strange crackling noise was enough to wake you, venturing out to the open space beyond your door. What you didn't expect to see was Seungmin already investigating, starting to pick at the carpet where it appeared to be cut in a square shape.

"There's a keyhole," Seungmin says. "But no key."

"A keyhole?" You walk over to him and lean over his crouched body to inspect the floor, and there is, in fact, a keyhole. It's embedded into the floor, just barely covered by the carpet fibers. Although there was no key, that was no problem. "Move over."

"Bossy," Seungmin comments, but shifts over.

Taking a bobby pin out of your hair, you begin to pick the lock. It's a skill you learned from Minho before the QZ, one you used often to sneak into the kitchens late at night. You're thankful he taught you what he did, otherwise you wouldn't be looking down a dark hole in the ground now, a dim light coming from somewhere beyond your sight.

"You coming?" Seungmin asks as he descends down a grungy, metal ladder. It creaks as he makes his way down, threatening to break from the wall. You wait until he's on the ground to climb down yourself.

The space is small, only meant for one or two people you assume. Directly behind you is a table secured to the wall, papers, pencils, and various scraps splayed across, but one thing stands out.

"Is that-" You gasp.

"It is." Seungmin confirms.

A radio- small, but still working when Seungmin flips a switch. It crackles to life, but doesn't last long; you frown at the machine.

"Here," Seungmin is under the table fiddling with some wires. "Something got unplugged."

When it turns back on, you lean against the table and watch Seungmin sit, playing with the dials and whatever else he feels like. You never quite understood how he worked his magic with these small machines.

"And- crrkk- but you didn't hear that- crrrrrrk-"

"Almost..." Seungmin mutters to himself.

"Anyway, for those tuning in for the first time-"

"Aha!" Seungmin tries to suppress his smile as he leans back in the rickety old chair, listening to the broadcast.

"I'm your host, Cadet Seo Changbin. Welcome to Military On The Road!"

Your head whips toward Seungmin, speaking at the same time. "Changbin?!"

▪︎▪︎▪︎

notes ▪︎ BINNIE !!!!!!!!!

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