#agh!!!! so annoying i wish she could just help me it sucks to have to search & rebuild that relationship esp when id be looking for

[sydmarch]

might have a mutual breakup with my therapist tomorrow sigh

[lostacelonnie]

Thank you! I kinda just. Realized i pay for all my own stuff & have for years so whats stopping me y'know. Oh we love to hear about the fall of far right leadership i hope that turns out well & you can get your eventual hrt as well. Oh yeah i never wear swimsuits to the beach typically. Always been with people i dont like or too many strangers for my liking. But i like to find seashells & stuff. Oh? English is such a weird language having a partner to learn from who's fluent is like. Required almost. So im glad you had one. I appreciate when people are chill as long as you try its nice & leaves room for mistakes that'll happen inevitably. Got confused for a moment & the concept of having a birthname you dont have listed in your bio lost me like. What do ya mean you had any different name what. Both mine are easy so i dont have that as a first name problem. Where is tromso? I wish you luck in that fall/winter trips are so nice. I especially love to go camping in them because less people so more space. Oh she just gets all the counters wow. Gonna have to focus on her a bit for sure. I dont know if i have enough for guaranteed kafka but i will probably try. Just to see what happens. If nothing else i hope bronya or welt come home for you. Fontaine is one of the regions im most interested in so ill stick through for it but i might squeeze a break in towards natlan honestly. Chasm was. A pain anyways i do not blame you for skipping it honestly. Thats an average day in warsaw? Wild. Ohhh that sounds like it was a blast please pass belated birthday wishes to avery for me. Hair dye is such a fun thing to do congrats on the red! I wanna dye mine again soon. Eyeliner is a thing i wanna teach myself to do too ive just been. Forgetting a lot

yeah thats very understandable!!! and thank you!! after a long time i finally feel at least a little hopeful ab this countrys future but well see. yeah i have the exact same thing but at the same time drying a lot of clothes is Annoying [esp on camps since thats the main place i actually go into the water on] so i often just put regular clothes over a swimsuit. win-win situation. seashells ARE fun to find but i always forget to bring sth to carry them sjdjflksjf plus its pretty hard to find actually nice ones, over here at least. YEAH god plus the way english is taught in polish schools does NOT help so honestly if i didnt have additional lessons i probably wouldnt have learned anything despite studying for a looooong time. and yeah its that way with almost anything isnt it. AH I DO THAT EXACT THING SO OFTEN i genuinely forget that people Have birthnames. or even names in general i just treat usernames as first names a lot of the time. tromso is the place in norway i was in!! pretty far up north but very charming. thank you!! ahhh i almost never go camping but perhaps One Day..... yeah clara has been my best friend ever since i got her. shes so fun to use. thankies and good luck to both of us!!! already got 106 pulls ready + the 9 more from the login event + 20 days left to grind so while i defo wont get enough for guarantee i think it might be possible for me to get her. honestly the region im most excited for is snezhnaya and thats gonna be the last one released iirc so. still a while until that happens. but at least when/if i come back im gonna have a lot of stuff to check out so thats fun. i unfortunately suffer from having to see everything thats new Immediately so i often speedrun new versions in 3 days and them im like....... What Now........ until the next update and then the cycle repeats. ah i should play more games that arent released this way. but yeah while the chasm was quite pretty imo and the story was. well. it wasnt STUNNING but it was fun. but the exploration aspect SUCKED good lord i hated how i could never quite tell if im in the region displayed on the map or below it. agh. glad thats over. and well yknow how it is with big cities, at least i live in a fairly peaceful part so we dont really have big stuff like that often. i will!! and thanks!! i agree hair dye IS very fun but unfortunately my hair texture makes it really hard for dye to stick so it washes off quickly :'] but alas. and yeah fair jdjfklg i have the same thing PLUS. its annoying i can never get it even

[otomeramblings]

Welcome Home

Pairings: None Characters: Sakuya, Mankai as a whole. Warnings: mentions of abandonment because Sakuya’s relatives suck A/N: @flavovitta​​ posted a really wholesome headcanon yesterday and my brain’s immeadite response was “but what if we made it sad?” so this fic was born.

“Ya’ sure, man?” Banri questioned with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

“Yes! I’ll be right there!” Sakuya’s signature smile was plastered on his face; Banri’s quickly distracted by a notification on his phone and went inside with a quick mumbled “‘kay.” Masumi, on the other hand, stayed behind with a look on his face that many would describe as ‘annoyed’ but Sakuya could discern the tinge of concern and the silent question that hid behind his friend’s usually aloof expression.

“I’ll be okay, Masumi, really. It’ll only take a second,” he reassured him, the corners of his smile softening in response to Masumi’s unspoken worry.

The boy pursed his lips together but nodded nonetheless. As soon as Masumi went through the door, Sakuya accepted the call before she hung up on him. He knew it would only earn him a lecture if he made her wait too long. It was ironic, really, considering that she never really wanted to talk to him in the first place.

“Hi, aunt,” he greeted her.

“You took a while to answer,” she replied with a clipped tone. No “hello”, no “how have you been” and, as he felt how strained his smile had become, he wondered why he even expected anything else.

“Sorry! I just got home from school since class ran a bit long.” They had actually gone to get meat buns from a store Banri frequented since he had insisted to treat them after he found out they had never tried some from that specific place, but he knew she didn’t care and would probably reprimand him because if he had time to go out with friends, he had time to answer the phone, and he had time to study so that the money they put on his education wouldn’t go to waste.

She responded with a non-committal “hmph” and then started going through the usual list of questions. “How were his studies going?”, “Did he need to buy anything else for school?”, “Was he causing trouble for the company that had taken him in?”, “They weren’t gonna change their policy about housing, right? Because he would have to come back home if they started charging them” and the one that always made Sakuya grit his teeth: “Acting isn’t interfering with school, right? Because I know it’s your hobby but remember that it won’t take you anywhere serious in life.” Just like he did every month, he answered each question with a level tone. And just like she did every month, his aunt pretended to be interested in what he said.

It wasn’t until she hung up that Sakuya finally released the tight grip he had on his phone. He let out a deep sigh and felt his shoulders drop; he knew the routine and every step he had to follow to avoid any landmines when talking to his family, but even to this day a small part of him wished they would show even the slightest bit of interest in his life.

“Agh, get it together!” he taped his cheeks in an attempt to make himself snap out of it. That was just the way things were and there was no point in him being moody and making the others feel bad for him. With that thought in mind, he opened the door that led to the living room and he was immediately hit with the smell of chicken broth and vegetables that wafted from the kitchen.

“Uh….I’m back,” he called out while his feet took him in the direction that delicious smell came from.

“Welcome home, Sakuya!” Izumi smiled while she worked on setting the table. “Banri and Masumi said you were answering a call from your family, is everything okay?” Her smile didn’t waver but he could still see the concern that tinted her expression. The director was the only person in the company who had ever interacted with his aunt apart from himself; because of that, he knew there would be no point in trying to lie to her of all people but he still didn’t really want to talk about it so he settled for a shrug and a small grimace.

She didn’t push further, she knew that Sakuya needed his space from time to time, but she did reach up to run her fingers through his hair, pushing it away from his forehead. He jumped slightly -the open and sincere affection he’s been subjected to since he joined Mankai still took him by surprise- but he couldn’t help but lean towards her hand, thankfully for the reassurance her touch brought him.

Suddenly, her grin returned and she started pushing him towards the kitchen. “Omi’s making dinner! Doesn’t it smell wonderful? He asked me to tell you to go to the kitchen once you got home because he wanted to ask you something.” The barely hidden excitement in her voice sparked his curiosity, so he took a small detour to leave his backpack on the couch before going to find Omi.

Omi turned around when he heard his footsteps and beckoned him over with one hand. “Perfect timing, Sakuya. I’m making chicken noodle soup today and I would like your input.”

“Me?” he exclaimed in surprise.

Omi smiled. “Yes, you mentioned this was your favourite, right? I thought it would be best if you tried it first so I know if I have to change anything for next time.”

He had mentioned it, yes, and despite knowing that Omi had already done this for a couple of the others as well, a part of him couldn’t believe he had gone through the same effort for his sake as well. Omi was kind, so kind; all of them were in their own ways, and sometimes Sakuya had to discreetly pinch himself just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

So, after blowing on it, he didn’t hesitate to try the spoonful of soup Omi held in front of his face.

Honestly, when Omi had asked him what his favourite soup was, he almost told him he didn’t have one. He had spent most of his life bouncing from family member to family member, being tossed around like an old family heirloom that had lost its value after the original owners were gone; no one wanted to keep it but everyone was too afraid to throw it out. He was used to having to settle for whatever was handed to him, to not ask for extra things, to not be greedy because he was imposing so much on his relatives already, and that meant that he really didn’t have a lot of favourite things. But then it came to him, a distant memory from the time when his parents were still alive. He was probably around four or five years old and the details had been fuzzy, but he remembered the soup his mom used to make him whenever he caught a cold. That’s what he told Omi and the man had followed his instructions to a T: the broth was a perfect balance of vegetable and chicken, the noodles weren’t too big, and the chicken and the carrots had been cut in smaller than usual pieces because that’s what his mom would for him so he wouldn’t have any problems chewing when he wasn’t feeling well.

Omi’s startled voice brought him back to the present.

“Hey, are you okay? Was it too hot? Was it bad?” Omi had reached over to grip his shoulder and was peering down at him with a concerned frown on his face.

Sakuya was so confused that he almost asked him what he meant but he quickly realised how wet and hot his face felt. He brought a hand to his face and confirmed his suspicions: he was crying; it wasn’t full-on sobbing, but the tears were streaming down his face without him being able to stop them. They weren’t sad tears, no; well, not exactly. He had eaten just one spoonful but that was all it took to make the blurry edges around that old memory suddenly clear, and he was suddenly transported back to his old room, with his mother’s gentle smile and the soft hand on top of his hair. It was just one instant, but he could have sworn that he felt the tender touch of his mother’s lips on his forehead.

He placed his hand on top of Omi’s and smiled through the tears, “It’s perfect, Omi.” He couldn’t think of what else to say, the emotions were overwhelming him; sadness, longing, happiness, and a trace of slight bitterness, all of them were swirling inside of him and he didn’t know where to start. He needed a moment, and while he was calming down the director had come into the kitchen and had begun rubbing his back in a soothing notion; from his peripheral vision, he could also see Masumi and Citron, looking like they wanted to step in but waiting to see what he wanted. He could feel their worried gazes and the warmth of their hands seeping throw his blazer and his shirt and reaching his very insides. It was like his heart was being squeezed inside his chest, but instead of being painful, it felt grounding. He had felt alone for such a long time and he hadn’t realised how much he had gotten used to the cold loneliness that permeated his life since his parents had passed away. His parents weren’t by his side anymore, but as he looked around after wiping his eyes and with Citron draping himself over him and asking him if he was okay, a small smile settled on his face. Yes, his parents were gone, but his new family was now here.

[kounfetti]

[Diabolik Lovers: Paraselene] Vol. 3: Kou Mukami Translation

Happy Halloween everyone! 🎃 😼 I impulsively wanted to do something for halloween so, here’s this translation! I’m the least confident in my audio translation skills so excuse any errors there might be!  As always, please no reposting onto other sites, just link back to this post-and ask me before translating this into other languages!

The audio is from here: ☆

Track 1: “Our Time Together”

0:00

Thank you so much everyone! I feel really good about this new song! 

0:17

Aah, I’m beat. Aah, M Neko-chan! Hey, hey~ You listened to my song, right? How was it? I did really well, didn’t I? Haha, really? Aww, thank you! *he hugs you* Come on, I just want to unwind after working so hard.

0:43

I feel like I haven’t seen M Neko-chan in a really long time. I feel so tired. My manager is really awful, you know? Because of that song, my schedule got all taken up. So, I didn’t get to see you for so long. But, I understand. Of course I think idol work is important too. 

1:12

But, you know whats the most important to me? *he kisses you*  It’s you, M Neko-chan. It’s fine! Since I said my girlfriend would be coming, my manager made sure there wouldn’t be anyone backstage. So~ Won’t you give me a reward for working so hard? Your blood~ You’ll give me some, right? 

1:50

It’s fine~ No one is going to come in here and find us. There’s no way they’ll interrupt us. And, you know, it’s inevitable that I’ll suck your blood. I’ll make you feel real~ good, just be obedient. Now say, “I want you to suck my blood”, okay? I want to hear it from you~ 

2:30

Eh? You’re not gonna say it? You really think so? It’s easy, isn’t it? You just have to say “suck my blood.” Right? *you say it* Well said~ Now, as you wish, I’ll suck lots of your blood. 

3:05

You look so happy right now. You’re that happy that I’m sucking your blood? Your neck is getting red. There’s no need to be embarassed, you know? Hey, don’t look away. Look at me. Aren’t you stubborn? 

3:35

What a nice scent~ Smells tasty. Hey, It’s fine if I eat you all up like this, right? Hahah, I’m kidding. I can’t flirt around with M Neko-chan like that right now. So, instead I’ll take lots of your blood. Hey, don’t move your head away. If you don’t look at me properly, I’ll have to give you a punishment, okay? But, you like being punished, don’t you? 

4:28

I’m wrong? You heard what I said. Make sure to look at me. This time, I’ll take some from here. No? But, I haven’t had my fill yet. I still need more. Hey, you don’t hate me, do you? 

5:19

I haven’t seen you that much recently, so I felt bad. Since you didn’t get to see that often, I was starting to think that you’d prefer some other guy over me. I thought maybe you wouldn’t come today. Nevermind, I’m sorry you had to hear that. 

5:45

Really? That’s a relief. I really~ like you too, okay? You’re the one I love the most in the world. 

6:22

Okay, M Neko-chan, you first. Glad to have seen you today, see you later! *closes the door* Alright, let’s go, okay? What’s wrong? There’s a mist, and...Huh, the moon...It looks really strange? It looks like there’s two of them? I don’t think you’re doing so well. Let’s hurry and go inside. M Neko-chan, why are you so dizzy all of a sudden? 

7:25

What’s happening? All of a sudden, my head...agh.

Track 2: “Valuable Memories”

0:06

Huh? Is this my room? When did I get here? I remember my head started hurting outside of the house, but then... M Neko-chan, did my brothers carry me here? M Neko-chan? What’s wrong? You look dizzy.

0:44

*sighs* Hey, what were you saying before? Not knowing who I am, or remembering where you are? Cut it out. I’m the super popular idol, Mukami Kou! This is our house, and before now I was recording my new song. Okay? You’re not mad, are you? You got annoyed because you weren’t seeing me because of my job, right? So, you’re pretending as if you don’t remember me. I’m sorry. I’ll try not to make you so lonely. Forgive me, please? 

1:35

Maybe I have to prove it with my actions? *kisses you* Maybe I have to do it again? *you push him* Huh, what are you doing? You’re still mad? Hey, don’t don’t talk to me like that! It’s “Kou”, okay? Cut it out, I’m not some stranger.  [TN: You call him あなた/“you” because you don’t know who he is, and he thinks that’s rude.]

2:08

I told you to cut it out! You’re really gonna piss me off at this rate. Stop struggling and be obedient! You couldn’t have just forgotten me! If you keep acting like this I’ll make it hurt. Like this! Huh? Because I’m a vampire. I just decided I wanted some blood. 

2:45

Why are you so surprised? Your expression... Hurry up and tell me that you’re lying! Huh. You’re still gonna act like you don’t know me? Guess I have no other options then, huh. I know I said I wouldn’t use this eye anymore but, since you’re not gonna tell me then...! *uses his eye* Huh, what’s this? You really don’t remember me? 

3:26

This can’t be...Why? How? But you said we’d always be together! How could’ve you forgotten? Stop messing around! You’ve forgotten everything we’ve done together? What do you mean by that? I don’t get it. Was it really that easy to forget you loved me?

4:01

I won’t forgive you! I can’t forgive that. *bites you* At all costs, I’ll make you remember. Your strongest memory has to be the pain I make you feel, so, I’ll suck your blood. Surely, soon you’ll...What are you saying? I’m trying to make you remember. So, just be obedient. Hurry and remember! *buzzing sound* I’ll make you remember... I’ll do whatever I have to! 

Track 3: “Rejection”

0:05

Huh, this is... The living room? When did I...Right, M Neko-chan! Where are you? They aren’t here? Maybe I overdid it. But, she really didn’t end up remembering. Even though, just a moment ago we were backstage. How did this happen? I need to make her remember soon. This is really grossing me out. 

1:16

I finally found you. You were hanging out here? Wait, don’t run away! Really, I don’t know what got into me! I’m really sorry. I’m more calm now. I don’t want you to be scared of me, okay? Have your memories come back? Not yet.. Don’t run away! I won’t do anything. I know that’s hard to believe because of what happened earlier. 

2:01

Right! ...How about we eat together? Now that we’ve made up, I could really go for some of your vongole bianco right now. Right, you don’t remember. It’s my favorite, and you used to make it really well. Normal;y I could ask Ruki to make it but he’s not here, or anyone else for that matter. They didn’t tell me they were going anywhere tonight... Anyways, if you forget how to make it, there should be a recipe around here somewhere. Maybe you’ll be able to remember something if you make it, so, please! 

2:45

Your expression...You’re still pretty guarded right now, aren’t you? You feel as if you could set me off at any moment, right? Well, we don’t need to worry about that right now, let’s just focus on eating something. Hmm...Ruki’s recipe should be somewhere around...Found it! Here you go~ Hey, I’ll just stay over here so I won’t bother you. Thanks! Make some tasty vongole bianco, okay? 

3:27

I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you cook. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t come home to eat. Hey, I can help, you know. I can cut the ingredients. If you say so. 

3:56

Hey, have you remembered anything? Not yet...Let’s see...*he hugs you* Don’t be so surprised, it’s just for a little bit. I won’t interfere with your cooking. Hey, move your hands. You have to move around to cook, you know. Hah? Maybe what I’m doing is making you nervous? M Neko-chan is so cute~ 

4:44

But, we’ve done this many times before. You really like my hugs, don’t you? Have you remembered anything yet? You still haven’t been able to remember any strong memories. 

5:06

Hey, if pain won’t work, what about I try something else? This time, I’ll sweetly suck you blood~ *he kisses you* From here. It’ll be fine. I’ll make you feel real good~ Besides, what if you end up remembering. *he bites* Your blood still tastes the same, and it’s still you. How come your memories haven’t returned yet? 

5:52

Hey, why did you forget? You don’t know either? Well, it won’t matter once you get your memories back. Hey, before I sucked a lot of blood from your neck, so, maybe I should try somewhere else? Maybe your shoulder? *he bites* Wait, stop moving, it’ll hurt more if you do that. I’m trying to make you feel good. You still don’t remember? You like when I do this, don’t you? 

6:48

You’re crying, M Neko-chan. Is it that good? It’s not? It’s weird? Even though I was trying to do it nicely...Your body is stiff, so it’s not my fault it hurts. Calm down, I want to make you enjoy this. 

7:13

*you push him* That’s why I’m telling you to stop moving! Why? I’m trying to give you your desired sweet pain.Why don’t you like it? Ow! My hand...It’s okay, my hand will heal quickly. M Neko-chan, you really don’t like my touch that much? You’re scared? I guess that’s because I’m a stranger to you still, right? You’re not the same person who loved me. *buzzing sound* Again? Don’t come near me! I don’t need your sympathy! What's going on? *he falls down*

Track 4: “Unchangeable”

0:08

Eh? I’m in my room? Why? The window is open, so it’s cold in here. It still looks like there’s two moons. And, the night doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter either. I want to see the blue sky...! Why did something like this have to happen? I didn’t think being forgotten would affect me so much. 

1:03

What should I do to bring the memories back? I don’t want to stay with this feeling...! If the memories never come back, then... If that happens...I would have to give up at that point...

1:42

Who is it? Ruki, is it you? M Neko-chan? Why are you here? Eh? Were you looking for me? You’re still a bit scared of me, though. The injury from before? You’re worried about it? You don’t need to apologize. I’m a vampire, so I can heal quickly. So, everything’s fine. 

2:21

And, my body is littered with other injuries, so. Right. You don’t remember. It’s nothing! You don’t need to worry about that. It’s fine, really! I’ve already given up. You won’t remember anything. There’s nothing else I could do at this point. You don’t like me, so, there’s no point in it. You know I told you that you can leave aready. Why aren’t you moving? 

3:12

I’m telling you its fine! I don’t care about what you do anymore. Now, hurry and go. Why? You were pushing me away so much before. I could go without your sympathy. Huh? Even though your memories are gone...you can tell I look sad? 

3:45

I just decided to give up... Don’t get so close, I could suck your blood at any moment. Don’t do that. You want to know more about me? Why? Right, well we were boyfriend and girlfriend. But, it looks like you’ve truly forgotten about that. The person who you love forgetting about you, is sad for anyone. 

4:37

But, I’m just a stranger to you now. So you shouldn’t care about whether you’re hurting me or not. M Neko-chan...you really care about people, you know? You don’t need to worry about hurting me. You don’t have your memories back, so... But, it’s fine if you don’t remember. I told you before, I’ve given up. 

5:21

There’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to get your memories back, so. And, this would be your chance to find someone new. I’m just some vampire that grew up alone. I’m sure you can find someone who’s kinder and will treat you well. 

5:45

Why? After I did all those awful things to you? I scared you...What do you mean? Even though you don’t have your memories you know I’m not a bad person? ...I don’t need your sympathy. ...Really? If you really want me to then, I’ll tell you. I’m a vampire now, but I used to be a human. I didn’t grow up with a mother, so I lived in a manhole. 

6:30

It was a horrible place. I couldn’t eat because I had no money, so I had to look through trash. If I had money, I would go buy something sweet like bread. ...But food wasn’t enough to satisfy me. I always felt as if I would die this way. One day, some people found me and brought me to the orphanage. 

7:04

In that orphanage...it was just as bad as the manhole. Aristocrats would give us money if we were beautiful. I was super popular back then, and because of that I got beat often. I thought that if I made myself ugly that they would let me go, but it didn’t work. But, later on I met Ruki and the others. And I became who I am now. Do you get the type of person I am now? I do awful things, and on top of that I’m a vampire. 

8:03

If you were to remember me, I’m not sure that you would find any nice memories. And you would end up regretting remembering anything at all. Hey, you’re not... Lift your face. Even though you don’t remember me, you’re crying. Those tears...they’re out of pity, right? 

8:45

I’m right, aren’t I? Why, all of a sudden...Eh? No, I’m not gonna cry. It’s enough if you’re crying for the both of us. Hey, your eyes are getting red. If you cry too much, then your face will get irritated. I usually like when you cry, but... not right now. Eh? I’m crying? Really? I’m actually crying... I guess anything’s possible when I’m around you, but...

10:08

I’m glad. Even though you don’t remember me, you’re still the person I fell in love with. You’re kind...

10:38

I’ve decided I can’t give up yet. I can’t let you forget about me, because I still love you...Okay, let’s start over. Nice to meet you, M Neko-chan. Hey, can I kiss you? Thanks! *he kisses you* I love you. 

11:37

It still doesn’t look like dawn will come soon. It’s not that I hate the night time, but, I want to see the blue sky soon. I like looking at the sky. But, it hasn’t seem to change a bit. So, I was thinking that I wanted to look at the sky with you, but... Eh? Thanks. It makes me happy that you think the same way. That rose...

12:26

*he picks the rose* Here, M Neko-chan, this is for you. I don’t want you to have that sad expression. Here you go~ You’re welcome! I finally got your spirits up for a bit. Hey, I’m sorry for doing all those awful things. I love you, and the thought that you could’ve forgotten about me...I just couldn’t believe it. But, let’s not think about that! We can make new memories together. 

13:17

Thank you! I like you and  I love you, M Neko-chan. Hey, if you let me suck your blood it shouldn’t hurt. *he bites* It’s warm...I want more. Do you feel good? I’ll suck lots of your blood...

14:16

This time, I’ll take some from here...You;re not resisting like before. Hm? What is it? Don’t be quiet, tell me. Do you not like the way I’m sucking your blood?  So, what do you think? Tell me? Don’t be embarassed, it’s just me. 

15:07

Tell me you feel good. It’s easy, okay? Please? What is it, just say it. I can’t hear you. Heh, well said. As your reward, I’ll make you feel even better. I want to suck some blood from your arm, it’s okay right? *he bites*

16:06

Huh? I’m starting to get all dizzy...But I can’t stop yet. You think so too, right, M Neko-chan? You want more of my fangs. Your expression is so cute... As you wish, I’ll suck some more. Leave it all to me. *buzzing sound* Right now? Still? I’m fine... It’ll pass. Thank you...

Track 5: “Dawn”

0:06

Huh? M Neko-chan, are you okay? What’s wrong? You’re not in pain, are you? Where does it hurt? Eh? You remember now? Really? You remember everything now? I’m so happy! I was starting to think you’d never get your memories back, but they did. I’m so happy! You don’t need to apologize. I’m happy enough with you remembering me. 

1:04

Eh? What? Oh, it is starting to get brighter outside. I can finally see the sky. It’s so pretty...maybe our wishes have been heard. Let’s go look up close. I’ll take you out to fly. *he grabs you* Hold on tight, okay? I feel as if it’s the first time I’ve seen the sky. This is the biggest happiness I’ve felt! I love you. 

2:29

I’m so tired today too. Just when your memories come back, I get overloaded with work. It’s not fair! “It can’t be helped”? It’s not good to accept that so easily. I know it’s my job, but I don’t want to leave my girlfriend alone. Maybe I’ll quit being an idol? Kidding. But, I don’t like not being able to see you. What about you? 

3:10

You feel the same way? I’m glad. Just let me know if you’re feeling lonely, and I’ll rush back. Of course, let’s do some more fun things. You’re blushing! That’s so cute~ Eh? The sky? The stars sure are pretty, but you said that to change the conversation, didn’t you? You’re easy to figure out, M Neko-chan. Besides, the sky we saw the other day was still prettier. I don’t like looking at the night sky ever since you lost your memories that day. That moon grossed me out. 

4:02

Right, I asked Ruki about the memory loss thing earlier. If we don’t know the cause, then it could happen again, and that would be troublesome. Ruki said that it could be the “paraselene syndrome.” It’s basically where you see illusions. Remember before you lost your memory, you saw that mist and the moon? It’s that.

4:33

When demons see that moon, that’s how they can get infected with the paraselene syndrome. It’s supposed to affect only demons, but because of your blood it could have been that. It’s crazy that the moon was the cause of all this. But, thankfully, you were able to go back to your normal self. If you had completely forgotten about me, that would’ve been horrible. In that moment, I said that we should distance ourselves. But, as I thought, it’s impossible for me to forget about you. 

5:26

I love you more than anyone else. I want to be with you forever. You think so too? I’m glad...I’ll never let you go...We’ll be together forever. 

[moon-yeongjun]

Rabbit Asks Eeyore for Help || Moon Donkey

Summary: Jun plans for a trip away, and goes to Gregory for help. Featuring Eomma, who I love. 

Follows:  Dalmajung Cat Got Your Tongue? 

@notmuchofatail 

JUN: Jun was a cat.

Unfortunately, this fact had not changed despite Jun’s most fervent hopes that Ting-Ting’s, er, diagnosis of sorts was false. He had stubbornly clung to denial as long as he could that this horrible curse could only be lifted by the Royal Sorceress of the Nihon Court (a real thing...in a real place…). Maybe it was temporary, he reasoned! Maybe if he closed his eyes and wished very hard! When that didn’t work, he had bargained with every mysterious force in the universe to give him his human body back in exchange for a lifetime of good behavior. He’d never drink again! He’d go to church TWICE a week. Hell, he’d get married to a very nice Korean woman before the year was up! When that didn’t work, anger quickly dissolved into grief, and while he caterwauled for about an hour, at the end of it he only felt exhaustion, and a sense of dimming acceptance.

He had to go to Nihon.

Through the portal in the dumpster behind the Moon Market, where Haru had popped out over a year ago.

And he had to convince a sorceress (who was a CAT!) to have pity on him.

Dammit all to hell.

Now, Jun had never done this sort of thing before (traveling to other dimensions, dealing with sorcerers etc etc), so he really didn’t know how long it was going to take him. Which meant, before he left, he needed to sort out a plan.

Jun finally...revealed himself to Eomma first. It had been as terrible as one would expect. What mother wanted to hear their first-born son had been cursed into the form of a cat? The whole “Yes, I’ve been lying to you about Haru’s true origins all along!” and “Yes, she was actually a cat princess I’ve accidentally promised myself to!”  went over just as well. But after convincing Eomma not to kill Haru, she of course agreed to run over the market in his stead, because what else were they going to do?

The answer was: Gregory Eeyore.

Jun had thought long and hard about it. Moons didn’t like to ask for help. Questions and rumours would spring up if they turned to Eomma’s church friends, and Vixey was just getting her own business off the ground! So, Greg. Of course, Greg. Eomma called him up and asked Greg to come to the farm for a little meeting.  

Now here Greg was, sitting on the couch. Eomma put down a cup of tea for him before she sat down. “Now er...don’t be alarmed,” she said, as good-naturedly and calmly as she could. “You might find all of this a shock, but trust me, Junnie has it all under control. Erm, Jun-ah?”

Jun sighed and then hopped onto the coffee table. “Yes, hullo, it’s me, yes, really, yes, I am a victim of a curse! Just another day in Swynlake, isn’t it, eh!” he tried for humour, to bark out a laugh, but it came out a bit shrieky. Jun winced.  “Oh, that was embarrassing.”

GREG:

It wasn’t too bizarre that Gregory had been contacted to come to the Moon Farm. He’d been coming three or four times a week ever since Mr. Moon had decided he was going to work there for his mental health or whatever, at least. Sometimes he stayed for breakfast - usually when Eomma insisted, and rarely he swung by outside of those times to drop things off for them from his own mother.

So Gregory hadn’t really batted an eye at the woman’s phone call, agreeing to swing by after he’d closed up Ruff to Fluff for the evening. The only difference was, of course, the lack of Jun.

At least in the moment. However, he figured perhaps he had to stay late at the Market or..was on a date or doing something important. Jun always appeared to have very little free time to sit around and do nothing, after all. He was a very busy man - and...Gregory was sure with all his issues (re: mental breakdowns, possibly curses, etc) that he didn’t help with that. He wasn’t going to question it though, even if he was curious on what Eomma could possibly need from him that didn’t involve the eldest son too - instead just agreeing to tea and thanking Eomma quietly when she placed it in front of him.

His brows furrowed almost immediately however upon her comment - knowing that despite the words themselves, they only ever elicited a concerned response from him. Now don’t panic, but… - don’t be alarmed! I’m sure it’s nothing but-

Words like that were never actually followed by good things, were they? Head tilted slightly as she continued, his lips parting slightly as if he was going to question her almost immediately when he found himself caught off guard again. Jun-ah? Wait...what?

Try as he might to avoid it - Gregory could have sworn his jaw hit the floor when the delicate little paws of a cat hopped up onto the coffee table. Greg’s gaze swept over it almost immediately, always having been drawn to animals of course - and for a moment - he might’ve thought it was a joke. That the… shock that his mother was referring to was the fact that Mr. Moon had adopted a cat! That alone would have been quite a shock to him too. Enough of a shock for him to handle, really…. But then the cat spoke.

The cat spoke and the cat sounded just like Jun. Acted just like Jun. Was Jun. “...Oh my god.” Came the words before he could stop them, his hand covering his open mouth as concern knit his brows deeply across his features. Mr. Moon…. Mr. Moon was a cat. A cat. What the f— “...What… what happened?” He finally questioned, gaze slipping between the (admittedly very cute and adorable!!) Cat-Jun and Eomma.

JUN: Jun grimaced. Well, he supposed not really, because cats did not have the same facial muscles as humans. So his lip curled a little and his eyes narrowed and he looked off a bit to the side, squirming in his own fur. Aish, he knew this was going to be embarrassing, but he was never ready for just how embarrassing! Every single time he had to reveal himself to someone (ahem, so far-- Tae, Ting-Ting, and Eomma) he was sent further down a hole of humiliation he never wanted to crawl out of.

With Greg, that hole was especially deep.

He was supposed to be Mr. Moon after all! Not many people called Jun that-- not many people respected him the same way Greg did. Now, Jun didn’t quite understand why and he definitely didn’t deserve it, but that didn’t mean Jun wanted to lose Greg’s respect either. Over the last few months, his quiet and steady presence had grown into the grooves of this place, as if he were one of Jun’s most beloved fruits. And my, wasn’t that an apt metaphor? When Greg had arrived on the farm, he was wilted; now, he had bloomed!

At least, he wasn’t threatening to disappear into the country sides of France or what-have-you. A marked improvement.

Would that all be lost now? Would Greg find the Moon Farm unsafe? Would he be horrified to learn of how Jun had lied? His ears flicked back and forward. He didn’t want to tell him any of it.

But Jun had to. If he didn’t, Eomma would.

“It’s-- it’s a bit of a story,” Jun chewed out after a prolonged beat of squirmy silence. His tail lashed again. “Agh, and it’s going to sound ridiculous, trust me, I know! I thought it was ridiculous the whole time--”

“진짜 !” exclaimed Eomma, followed by some more annoyed Korean that only Jun (thankfully) could understand. It translated roughly to: So you say, and yet you brought that beast straight into our home, let me feed her at our table--

“Eomma, I know!” Jun mewled in distress.

Eomma just sucked her teeth and picked up her cup of tea. “Go on then, tell him about the 걸레같은 년.”

Jun winced. Not going to translate that.

Whiskers twitching, he glanced toward Greg with a pathetic expression, struggling for another few seconds for the words and then finally bursting out--

 “Yah, fine! Haru is a CAT! She was a cat all along, from a distant cat kingdom and I didn’t know, I tried to take care of her, eh, I thought-- oh, she was a stray! And then POOF! One day she was a woman! She didn’t know what to do, so yes, I helped her again, I signed her up for a cellphone and gave her a job, and then I thought, hey, what a good idea, I’ll pretend to date Haru so my eomoeni gets off my back! I didn’t know it would end like this!”

“You made a deal with a cat demon!” Eomma shot back at him.

“She’s not a demon, Eomma! She’s a normal cat! It’s a spell, it’s-- a weird marriage spell!”

“You really didn’t like Kim Do-yeon that much? Why, because I like her?”

“Eommaaaaaa, this isn’t about Kim Do-yeon!”

“My son made a deal with a cat demon and now look at him!” Eomma repeated to Greg this time, flourishing a hand. “Gregory, this is why you should always listen to your parents. I bet Gregory would go on dates with nice girls that his mother likes.”

“I AM A CAT, CAN WE PLEASE NOT TALK ABOUT MY LOVE LIFE!” Jun mewled, his fur puffing up.

Eomma raised her hands again, then sipped her tea.

Jun turned back to Greg, flattening his ears and crouching down. “...Does that answer your question?”

GREG: Okay.

...okay. That was… that was a lot of information that Gregory tried to follow in a very short amount of time. His head whipped back and forth easily between Jun and Eomma, like he was invested in a terribly long volley of a tennis match. Back and forth - the quick and sharp words between mother and son as Gregory felt himself tug his lip ring between his teeth, gnawing on the metal like the discomfort gnawed in his gut.

He tried to focus on the big picture. To...process it in his mind in a more simple and compact way. In his head, the story went something like this: Eomma wanted Jun to talk to a ‘nice girl’ that she liked by the name of Kim Do-yeon, and evidently Jun did not wish to do so. He hadn’t a clue where on the timeline that fell, but not important. Then Jun found a stray cat that he helped take care of (which was good!! Very cute that grumpy Mr. Moon would take in a stray!!) Not so cute was the fact the stray turned into a full grown woman. One that… as of five minutes ago Gregory had thought to just be the man’s girlfriend.

Oh - and said cat-woman (normal cat?? So… cursed...to be a woman??) was from a distant… cat kingdom.

...what?

Belatedly - Gregory realized quite a bit of time had passed since Jun last spoke. He’d simply been staring in his direction with that same blank look on his expression as he struggled to take that information in and form… any cohesive thought about it. Straightening up mechanically, Greg cleared his throat, hand moving to rub at his temple as his tongue wrapped around words a few times before he could only shake his head.

“...uhm---... n-.. No.” He admitted. If anything, it just opened up so many more questions for him to ask. There were a lot too!! However they were… likely not as important at the moment (even if Greg was… incredibly curious about a cat kingdom). Priorities though. Jun was a cute cat right in front of him. That was kind of a problem. “..I-... I still don’t uhm…. I don’t...see how that involves...you becoming a...cat. I--.. Did… did she turn you into a cat??” Is that why his mother kept calling her a cat demon? “...Or-- I-... I’m sorry I just..” This is a lot he almost said. However...if it was a lot for him he couldn’t imagine how Jun felt. Or..well, actually he could. At least an idea, given he thought he’d been cursed just recently too.

“I...I mean are you … okay?” Stupid question, perhaps.

JUN: “Am I okay?” Jun responded incredulously. And he stood up on all four paws again, fur puffing up. “Do I LOOK like I’m okay to you?! I could be stuck like this forever!”

Hopefully not. He was getting ahead of himself.

Luckily, Eomma chimed in. “Aish, hush,” Eomma said to him, swiping a hand through the air. “That’s no way to talk to a friend. Just answer his questions.”

Jun growled low in his throat. He didn’t want to.

The fact of the matter is that he had purposefully avoided the how. Part of Jun still did not understand himself. This was what Eomma kept forgetting in her quest to make Jun the bad guy here-- this was all news to him too! When Haru first appeared, she’d not explained the details of the spell that sent her to Swynlake. She hadn’t mentioned a mysterious cat sorcerer named Purrseph, who obviously had her own motives.

Maybe Jun should have inquired more deeply into these things. But he wasn’t a sorcerer, or a fairy, or a...a...animal shapeshifter! He was a gardener. A grocer. A mundus. 

Just…Jun.

So to him, Haru’s story was something out of a faery tale. He wished it could stay that way. Why he of all people-- a gardener, a grocer, just Jun-- had been thrust into the narrative made no sense. Look at him! Did he look particularly heroic? He was no knight in shining armor. And definitely not a prince.

Aiya, at least the black fur hid the fact he was definitely blushing. His blood felt like it was on fire!

“Haru...did not mean to. She-- agh.” He grumbled again and swiped an annoyed paw over his whiskers like he was batting away an annoying fly. “I suppose I should have mentioned Haru is not just a cat, she’s...a Cat Princess.”

“HAH,” Eomma barked.

“And she...had to wed a Cat Prince in a different kingdom to unite the lands or… stop a war or something.”

“HAH,” another laugh from Eomma.

“But she didn’t want to--”

“Children are all the same,” sighed Eomma.

“So she asked a cat sorcerer--yes, very funny, Eomma, I know! Erm, anyway. She asked a cat sorcerer for help. According to her, the cat sorcerer cast a spell that would lead her to her own happiness. That’s how she ended up in Swynlake. And apparently, the theory is that once Haru and I … we… uh... ”

Eomma tsked under her breath.

“It isn’t like that!” Jun shot quickly toward Eomma. “We shared a moment of true happiness together! It was just-- a cup of coffee after Chuseok! We fell asleep watching a drama! It was nothing inappropriate or, or grand, or anything! But I woke up and poof, I’m a cat, and I’m supposed to go back to Nihon and marry her, I guess!”

“Over my dead body,” said Eomma.

“Obviously. I just need to get the spell lifted, that’s all. And then everything will go back to the way it was and we can all collectively agree to never mention this again!”

GREG: Gregory shrank back a bit almost immediately at the older man (cat’s) response. Half of it was because that tone that Jun used so easily made him uncomfortable in any situation - but the other half stemmed simply from the fact he….appeared as an angry cat. And while Greg had gone through a lot of things in his life, he’d always been incredibly good with animals. Never had one turn on him in anger in any walk of life. Even the scared dogs at the shop would never turn on him in anger. So it was… weird to see a cat angry. Weird to feel like he might reach out and try to bite or scratch him (and truly he didn’t know if he would).

Either way, the urge to reach out and comfort him like he would a normal cat was immediately ignored. He was not going to have the very first time in his life that he was attacked by an animal be from Jun.

So instead Gregory just leaned back slightly, putting a bit more distance between the pair of them as he listened with a deep frown to the hesitant explanation of.. What exactly had happened to cause this. An explanation, of course, that had him adding new little tidbits to that already too wild story in his mind. Cat Princess. Got it. Right… why not at this rate.

Though Gregory had half a mind to hush Eomma the same way she had Jun for him - though he didn’t dare. He didn’t find the humor in this at all. Even if he could tell it was… bitter humor, Gregory still didn’t feel any inclinations of a smile. Of a laugh or even the slightest shift of humor in his expression. If anything he felt his frown tug down even deeper as he rubbed his hand over his mouth in deep rooted concern.

His expression did shift slightly at Eomma’s tsk, his gaze lifting immediately to Jun’s own with raised brows - and he was just about to interrupt and tell him whatever detail he was about to share was… not important. Gregory didn’t need to know whatever Haru and him had done together to… seal whatever curse this was!!! Jun was quick to interject though, filling that gap quickly and Gregory cleared his throat lightly in relief.

So - ...alright,..Eomma →  Jun+Kim Do-yeon=Happy Eomma, unhappy Jun. Caring Jun adopts stray cat. Cute. Stray Cat (Princess Cat) → full grown woman. Not cute. Fake couple. Not cute. In place of a true love’s kiss - a… true moment of happiness or something. (Cute) Poof, Jun is a cat and needs to marry the Princess Cat in the Cat Kingdom. (Not cute!). Again - as noted when Jun was originally helping him with his ‘maybe curse’, this wasn’t Gregory’s first rodeo. His boyfriend and him broke up to leave the country to find a way to break his curse and he hadn’t returned. Hadn’t...spoken to him.. Seen him. It’d been...well over a year. Honestly it was terrifying to never know what became of him. To think that.. Something like this could happen to Jun and that he’d just up and disappear forever too!

Blowing a deep sigh through his lips, Gregory leaned forward again as he swept both of his hands over his face - massaging his temples roughly. It was...a lot. A very large amount of things to process and Gregory didn’t know if he was mad at Haru for letting this all happen or for Eomma for blaming Jun so much for something that was clearly out of his control. Being angry wasn’t going to help though - and clearly he was called here for a reason..

“....———okay…. So… What can I do? How--.. How can I help?” A hopefully… less stupid question.

JUN: Finally! The reason they were all here.

If only Jun could have started here, but Greg had deserved the explanation, especially because the truth of the matter was-- Jun had no idea how long he was going to be gone. He hoped he could get everything sorted in a matter of days. Get in, find Purrseph, claw her until she listened, lift the spell, and poof! He’d wake up in his bed with thumbs and everything! Whatever happened to Haru, he didn’t know-- it was one of the thoughts he was pushing away. It wasn’t his business. Despite whatever friendship they’d been building… and maybe something more, or at least, he’d had that brief, ill-advised thought last night which was clearly part of the reason he was LIKE this-- it was probably over. Good riddance, and all that. He-- he didn’t care.

But he would need her up until the point he was human again. And he needed Gregory too.

He cleared his throat. “Right, yes. Er, see-- Ting-Ting told me the only way to lift this sort of spell is to go to the sorcerer who cast it. Very annoying. I’ve got to head off to Nihon later today with Haru, and I’m not exactly sure how long I’ll be gone. Probably not very. Haru assures me she knows exactly where that cat sorceress is hiding. So, well, they don’t have boats and cars and things there-- it’s all wild terrain, you know, um, think Lord of the Rings, I guess-- so it might just be a bit of a trek… maybe a-- a week, tops.”

Eomma sighed. She had no comment for all this-- he knew it worried her. It worried Jun too, but he was trying to pretend like it didn’t.

“So I er, just need a bit of help with the store. Eomma will do most of the work, but...but well, if you could help her out. Mostly during the weekdays, er, opening it up--she needs to get my sisters to school, you know. It won’t be that hard, I can walk you through everything, and I created a whole manual of instructions after my um, my abeoji died, just in case, so-- it should all be sorted.” He licked his muzzle, eyes darting down and then up. “I know it’s quite the favour to ask. You...you have your store too.”

GREG:

I’ve got to head off to Nihon. I’m not exactly sure how long I’ll be gone. Maybe a week, tops.

Gregory felt himself stiffen at that - straightening up a tad as that discomfort clenched again in his gut. Jun was leaving. Jun was leaving Swynlake to find a way to lift his curse. He still remembered that night his ex-boyfriend last flew into his window. The way he stood in his room and tried to explain that he was leaving - that he didn’t know for how long, but he needed to break his curse. That he was closer to doing it than he’d ever been before and that this would be it. The final steps. That he’d come back when it was over… I’m not really sure how long it’ll take.

What if Mr. Moon never came back either? What if he left to lift his curse and Gregory found himself alone again? He’d lost his boyfriend. His best friend left for University and never said goodbye. Hadn’t contacted him since graduation. He couldn’t lose Mr. Moon too - but he also couldn’t ask him to stay. It wasn’t fair - and it wasn’t… realistic. The man was a cat and… obviously had a very good idea of how to solve it.

But the thought still terrified him. He didn’t want him to go.

“I--.. It’s fine.” He said perhaps too quickly, offering a slight dismissive wave of his hand. “I-... Ian can..basically run my shop without me.” Any of his employees probably could. They were all incredibly trustworthy and he’d trained them to. They’d all learned quickly - but Ian covered a lot of the important business work aspects. Knew how to operate the books, to close up or open, how to handle appointments and customers and inventory. That was why Ian would always be the one to get the keys when the time came.

So Gregory wasn’t worried about that.

“It’s not..it’s not a problem. I uhm… I mean I can..I can just come here and help on the farm a little earlier - and then go back and open for her like you would. And uhm… - Go to class or my shop or Board stuff during the day and check in again near closing. It’s.. - it’s more than doable.”

JUN: People often thought that Jun was not a very emotional person, or that he wasn’t very empathetic.

This was a mistake.

Now, he wasn’t as empathetic as he could be, and yes, he did make decisions based on logic and facts. But Jun knew when people were upset. Maybe it was all the training in hospitals. Maybe it was growing up with three sisters, being raised by Haleomoni and Eomma before his abeoji was ever in the picture. Whatever it was, he’d become especially attuned to Gregory’s stormy emotional states-- and he saw the boy stiffen, and knew that this was not good news.

But Eomma had cried too. This annoyed, sarcastic version of herself was a shield she was putting up for Greg, so she wouldn’t cry again. But she had asked him-- how long will you be gone? How can I live without you, my Yeong-junnie?

Jun frowned a bit, squirming again as Greg looked away from him and, naturally, agreed, like the very good boy he was. How readily and easily he agreed too. It tugged Jun’s heart. It made him feel worse.

He was bringing so much worry to all the people he loved, when it was supposed to be his job to carry it.

And so that was why Jun hopped from the table onto the couch, where he situated himself next to Gregory. He put a paw on the boy’s leg. “That would be wonderful, Gregory. Really, from the bottom of my heart… thank you,” he said. “And… and look, it really is not as scary as it sounds. Haru tells me there aren’t even any predators where she’s from! They’re the, er, top of the food pyramid so to speak! So I’ll be back before you know it! I promise. Who else can keep this town in check, eh?”

GREG: The sudden blur in front of him startled him, a hand raising slightly away from his side as Jun hopped across the gap and settled beside him - a fuzzy little black paw resting against his thigh. Much like the gentle hand that would rest across his knee or shoulder in an attempt to comfort him - Gregory knew that even if it didn’t physically carry the same weight, it carried the same implication. Despite the fact Jun was the one in this situation this time around, he was still doing his best to comfort him. To make sure Greg was okay.

His fingers curled gently into a fist, if only to resist the urge to reach out and scratch the small kitty behind his ears - to pull him against his chest and hold him close like he might’ve Calliope or Faith at the shop. Maybe then he could stop Jun from going. Keep him safe and find a way to get him out of his curse without him having to leave.

Lips parted to say something - but the words caught a bit in his throat. Forcing him to swallow that small lump as his gaze shifted briefly to Eomma before it landed back on Jun’s own again.

Despite his furry appearance, his eyes were so incredibly telling. Still the same dark eyes. The same bright, expressive eyes that often told him more than Mr. Moon ever would himself. The conversations the other man could hold just in his looks - from the gentle assurance, to stern reprimands. Even now - he could tell Jun’s words were genuine. Even if he knew there was… uncertainty there. But...he couldn’t blame him. Who wouldn’t be uncertain about going to a cat kingdom to demand your physical form back - but… the promise was genuine.

A week tops.

“...Of..of course. It’s..no big deal. It’s like--...the least I can do after all.” He was still...forever in debt to the other man, after all. Whether Jun wanted to acknowledge that or not. Clearing his throat a second time before offering a quick smile, Greg shifted again slightly. “That’s uhm...that’s good though. I uhm… - I’m sure it’ll be fine. ...knowing you - it’ll just take a look and you’ll be back to..to normal and on your way home.”

JUN: Yes, Jun was trying to comfort Greg, but he needed to hear it himself. The more he repeated it out loud, the easier it became to believe the strange story of it all-- that he would go, do his silly little hero’s journey, and come back in the end. That was how it always went, after all! At least, in every book and tv show and movie he had ever seen. The hero always came home.

Some hero you’ll be, he thought sardonically to himself. But if Greg believed in him…

Jun glanced back at Eomma, who gazed on worriedly. He cleared his throat. “Well-- er now that that’s settled-- I can go over a few specifics with you. Eomma, you don’t have to stay.”

Eomma nodded. “Thank you Gregory. This is very kind of you.” She got up and then reached over to squeeze one of Gregory’s hands gently, a small, tight smile on her lips. “You are a good boy. Jun-ah, tell me before he goes, eh, I want to send him home with more leftovers!”

Eomma went back out to her pottery studio, leaving Jun to talk to Gregory about the second part of his favour-- the most important part, really.

“I just wanted to say-- if you could look after her too,” he said much more quietly. His ears flicked backwards, as the shame bubbled up from the pit in his stomach. This was his job. It was one thing to let the store down, all those customers, and another to leave his eomoni all alone. She was a capable woman, of course, but-- only a year had passed since Abeoji died. He could sense her dread, her fear, almost like it was a smell caught in his ridiculous cat nostrils. And it was all his fault.

When Jun came home, it was where he was supposed to stay, so he could care for her, and his sisters, and Tae-yah. What if he didn’t come back?

No! Of course he’d come back. It was not an option. And until then…

“She might come across as very casual about this whole thing, but I know it scares her. Please, try to keep her spirits up. An-anything you can do.” A note of pleading sharpened Jun’s words. “If you need any help at all, also, please don’t hesitate to lean on Yeong-tae as well. Remind him that he is the eldest son while I am gone. He has to take that seriously-- but not too seriously, he should--focus on his studies too, of course, that’s first--”

The more Jun spoke, the more panicked he started to feel. Best to just stop, and so he did, abruptly.

GREG: Somehow Gregory managed a smile for Eomma as she got up and squeezed his hand - his head nodding gently. “...s’no problem.” He dismissed easily one last time, letting that smile stay on his lips just until the woman stepped from the room, where it then quickly faded back into the same frown that was often etched onto his features. The very one that still carried the worry he held for the older man.

A worry that only seemed to grow tenfold when Jun spoke up again, Gregory’s gaze immediately falling back down to that black cat beside him. He looked so… small. Scared. The ears pressed back against his head, the uncertain movements of his tail. See, Greg had always been good at reading body language, it was one of his skills of knowing when people wanted nothing to do with him, but even better than reading human body language? Was Greg’s ability to read animal’s body language. A skill that became especially important with his job at the shop.

So...he could see the discomfort in Jun’s figure. The… anxiety that seemed to spike through his small frame, only confirmed by the way his words grew seemingly faster before they abruptly came to a halt in all.

Mr. Moon’s request was a valid one, of course. One that Gregory would agree to quicker than he’d agreed to watch the store. It was...a no question situation - but the hint of desperation in which Jun requested it made him nervous too, and in the end - his own empathy overruled his logic.

So his fingers uncurled from his palm as they gently reached out to wrap around the back of Cat-Jun’s neck - thumb softly petting behind his ears as he nodded in easy agreement. “...Mr. Moon.. You don’t have to worry about that.” He spoke quietly, letting his hand rest upon his neck before it moved down slightly to gently scratch against his shoulders and the stiff tension he might’ve held there. “...course I’ll watch out for her. ..Keep an eye on her, Tae and your sisters while you’re gone… - but..” He trailed off slightly, his brows furrowing again as he swallowed another slightly larger lump in his throat.

“...You--.. It’ll just be a week. You’re coming back.” He finished - firmly, even. It wasn’t a question. Mr. Moon would come back (and as a human, no less) in just a week tops. “You promised…” He reminded, a little softer before his fingers stilled in the other’s soft fur. “...You promised. N’I promise I’ll look after them.”

JUN: Yes, he promised.

And oh, it was humiliating, everything about this was humiliating, but Jun closed his eyes at Gregory’s touch and let himself relax, if only for a moment. He hated this body-- it wasn’t his-- but with his eyes closed, he could at least forget that. With his eyes closed, he did not have to be a cat. He did not even have to be Mr. Moon, not anymore. Though he didn’t know what that made him-- if he were not Mr. Moon, the eldest son of the Moon family, what was he?

But Jun did not have to answer that question, at least not in those few seconds where he was not Mr. Moon at all, because only Mr. Moon would have the answer, eh? Instead, Jun got to have a few seconds just to himself. He got to have a comforting hand, and let himself listen to a friend’s kind words.

When he heard a rumbling, like a gentle murmur of rain, he didn’t realize it was him, purring, until he opened his eyes again.

And then the purring abruptly stopped.

And Mr. Moon was Mr. Moon again. Mr. Moon did not purr. Mr. Moon did not need comfort. He had quite a lot of work ahead of him actually. Normally, that work was familiar and routine: get up, do farm chores, open the store, run the store, run the errands, close the store, wake up, do farm chores…

But really, what was so different about this if he thought about it as one long errand, eh? It was bound to frustrate him, as most of his errands did!

Yes, one long errand, and dealing with people-- er… cats he did not want to deal with, and plenty of red tape, but then: home.

Jun cleared his throat. “Er-- yes-- of course. Exactly. One week, and then I’ll be back,” he said confidently, like he’d never doubted at all. “...Thank you again, Gregory. It’s… very…” Jun cleared his throat, feeling the heat under his fur. “I’m glad I can depend on you.”

GREG: He wouldn’t mention it.

Not if he wanted to live, of course - but Gregory was always going to remember the way the cat in front of him seemed to relax. The way his eyes closed and that soft rumble of purring filled the empty space between them. Perhaps if it had gone on any longer, he might’ve even seen the jet-black paws curl against his leg and knead the material of his jeans gently. But it didn’t - quick as it started, the purring came to a halt as Mr. Moon opened his eyes again and Gregory quickly took that as his cue to let his hand slip off the other man’s figure and instead rest on his own thigh.

Greg wouldn’t dare be weird about it. It was a cat - but it was still Mr. Moon. Still his elder. Still a respected businessman - and still in a situation that Gregory could only begin to understand. So he wouldn’t mention this, likely ever in his life. He’d consider that another addition to the endless debt he owed to Jun. Keeping this secret safe with him for as long as he lived, even if the man hadn’t yet asked that of him.

“...please don’t mention it.” The younger man said instead with another dismissive shrug. “It-... it’s never even a question.” And while Gregory didn’t know if Jun could depend on him, ...well at the very least he could try for him.

No matter what he asked, he’d try for him. Which was perhaps why he was even still here in the first place. Mr. Moon had basically asked him to try. So he was. So he too would try with this - make sure he did his very best to keep an eye out on Mr. Moon’s family and his store. To help his mother open, close or anything else she needed in between. Hell - Gregory would have gone to a Cat Kingdom to fight for him too if Jun asked.

“...maybe uhm…” He cleared his throat then, knowing better than to let them get stuck in an awkward gratitude cycle. “...Maybe we should actually go over a few things, yeah? I wasn’t cool enough t’get the summer job at the Market like everyone else so.. We gotta touch the basics.” He teased with a small smile.

Anything to lighten the mood.

[soulwillower]

pink lemonade • richie tozier

some roommate richie x reader smut that i wrote really quickly agh 

warnings: smut, swearing, oral (fem receiving), praise kink, kinda jealous richie, drunk friends

[the losers + reader are aged up to college!]

2.7k words

♡

"richie, are you sure you don't want to come out?" you ask with a frown. he knew you were concerned for a pretty fair reason - it was very unlike him to skip out on a night of partying and stay home. he shrugs though, nodding with a smile. "i'm fine, doll. just not in the mood. go have fun with them." he insists, nodding his head towards bev and stan who sit in your kitchen. he's trying his hardest to stop himself from sounding frustrated. "i'll be here when you come home. and if you get home late, remember to lock the doors and tell your night guest hi for me." he says before shutting the door to his bedroom. he can hear you through his door, "um, okay. i guess let's just go." you say, sounding dejected, slightly pissed off and confused. great, now he's done it. "bye rich!" richie hears bev and stan call before the front door shuts.

hours later, richie's sitting on your shared kitchen counter staring at the wall, a bowl of chips discarded and untouched to his left. it was well past one and he was kind of regretting not going out. it was the not knowing that was killing him, really - were you kissing some guy right now? grinding with him, pulling him into a stall in the bathroom?

he wasn't judging, he could never do that. but he's jealous, that's for sure.

after another few minutes, as richie's chugging his glass of pink lemonade you finally stumble through the door. he's relieved that you're safe and opens his mouth to ask about your night until he sees that you're not alone. his heart drops to his ass in disbelief and heartbreak as you giggle quietly, shushing the tall figure whose arms are around you. "stan, come on, i think richie's sleeping." you mumble, laughing as you look at the figure. stan?

richie wants to snap stan's neck. of course you'd like stan, who wouldn't? he can't believe he's going to have to listen to his best friend fuck his roommate (who he may be in love with but that is not important) all night while he wallows away by himself in misery, stuck to imagine that he was the one who was making you moan. "i'm not." richie speaks up, sliding off the counter.

you jump at his voice, turning to him with a large grin. stan looks to him, "hey, rich! c-can i stay here?" stan hiccups with a charming grin. richie's eyebrows shoot up. he looks to you. "you think this is a good idea?" he asks you and you frown with a confused shrug. "what? our place was closer. i didn't think it would be a big deal, i thought you'd be asleep." you say, making richie scowl. "yeah, sure, he can stay. whatever, i'm not the boss of you." he grumbles, finishing the last of his lemonade. with that, he walks back to his room, shutting his door but not before hearing stan mumble, "well who pissed in his cereal?"

richie can't fall asleep, not after the sugary drink he just downed, so he just sits idly in the dark until he hears footsteps and a groan from outside his door. he rolls his eyes, about to tell you to at least shut your fucking door before you and stan sleep together, for richie's ears' sake. as he pulls the door open, he sees you in sweats and a tank top, a duvet and pillow in your hands. "what are you doing?" richie asks, still sounding hostile. "can you shut your door before you and ramen hair do anything?" he asks grumpily. you frown at him, looking annoyed and not even chuckling at his nickname. "what's your fucking issue, tozier? did i do something to you?" you frown.

ignoring your questions, he asks, "y/n, are you drunk?"

you roll your eyes. "no, asshole. i only had one drink like four hours ago. i had to stay sober and take care of stan and bev, but now stan's dead asleep and there's no room in my bed, so i'm gonna take the couch." you grumble.

richie sighs, feeling guilty. he was being a jealous asshole to her all night for no reason. he needs to control himself. "you can just stay in here, y/n/n." he says with a tight-lipped smile, opening his door. you blink up at him, smiling and lifting up on your toes to peck his cheek. "thanks, rich." you say softly, walking in and sitting on his bed. "so what's on your mind, then? did i leave the milk unopened again?" you ask, worrying your lip as he shuts his door. he smiles gently at the look on your face.

he shakes his head, sitting down on the other side of the bed from you. "no, y/n/. you did nothing." he sighs, not wanting to explain himself so that you wouldn't fucking move out or something when you find out he's into you. "bullshit. you've been acting weird all night." she says, throwing him a glare with barely any heat.

"i just... i guess i've been feeling lonely lately. i didn't want to see you hook up with anyone, especially stan." he says quickly, laying back to stare at the ceiling. you're quiet for a moment but he hears you lay back as well. "okay... well why is that?" you say slowly as if trying to piece together his feelings.

"i don't know. it doesn't matter." richie grumbles, knowing his voice sounds angry. "richie, you aren't the one that should be mad." you quip to him, making him look at you. you're propped on your arms, laying on your stomach and he wishes you weren't because he can see right down the hem of your tank top. "wait...oh, my god!" you say, a disbelieving smile on your face and he knows he's been caught staring. richie quickly darts his eyes to yours. "you're lonely? ... you're just horny!" you yelp.

fuck.

richie groans, "no fucking way, you're just annoying when you flirt with our friends. it's annoying. and if i was just horny, believe i could fix that." he says, instantly regretting saying it. he's just panicking, and annoyed, and kind of turned on and he just needs to sleep so you'll forget about this whole thing.

"so you're more than just lonely, then?" you say, tilting your head. you don't seem upset, in fact you've got a slight smirk on your face. it looks sexy. richie shakes his head, "fuck off." he mutters. your eyebrows shoot up, biting your lip.

"because i'm also a little lonely." you say quietly and richie swears he imagined it. fuck, he's already turned on. "why don't you have stan take care of that?"

"i don't think he could give me what i want." you say in mock disappointment, finger reaching out to trace lines down richie's chest. he snatches your hand from his chest and pulls you closer to him, staring at your lips. you look a little shocked but you lean in closer. "and... what do you want?" he asks. you shrug, "it's always been you."

he doesn't waste any more time, pulling you into him and kissing you. you kiss back feverishly, your teeth clashing and noses bumping but richie doesn't care because all he can think about is you. his hands roam over your body, squeezing your hips, ass, then up to your breasts. you're letting out little moans that richie's dreamed of ever since you moved in together.

he pushes you on your back so he can crawl on top of you. "you taste like pink lemonade." you mumble breathlessly, your cheeks flushed with arousal.

he lets you pull off his shirt and he slips off your tank top, groaning when he sees you're not wearing a bra. his room is cold enough that your nipples perk up and he kisses your chest, his tongue flicking over one of your nipples before moving to the other. you gasp, your whole body shivering under him. richie chuckles, grinding down on you lightly, relishing in the mewl you let out. "you have no idea how long i've wanted you." you whisper, causing richie to groan.  your hands slide down to palm him through his jeans and he bites back a loud groan. "please fuck me richie." you whine, eyes shut.

he chuckles, intending on making you work a little harder for it. "so needy, hm?" he hums, smiling as your beautiful face flushes red. "you want my cock?" he asks, grabbing your jaw softly. your eyes open and you whimper as he kisses you. he reaches down to slip a hand into your waistband, fingers fluttering over your underwear. "please, please," you mumble, bucking into his hand. he chuckles, slipping his hand under your underwear and swirling his fingers through your wet pussy. "so wet, all for me?" he asks, watching you as he teases your clit with his finger tip. you nod and he grins, amazed at the immediate change in confidence that you'd had minutes ago. now you're a moaning mess, desperate for him and he loves it.

"be a good girl for me and you'll get what you want, okay?" he mutters, thumb rubbing your bottom lip. you open your mouth and he slips two of his fingers in, groaning as you suck eagerly on them, your tongue swirling around. he pulls your sweats off with your help and then he pulls your underwear to the side, slipping his middle finger immediately into your warmth. he feels you clench slightly around him as you moan and he realizes that it must have been a while because you're so fucking tight.

"so good," he mutters, pumping his finger before adding another, palming himself as he grows fully hard watching your reactions. "so perfect and ready for me."

his thumb rubs your clit and you cover your mouth with the back of your hand, groaning loudly. "nope. none of that, sugar. i wanna hear how good i'm making you feel." he says, smirking as he sees your eyes roll back in pleasure. "you're being such a good girl."

you moan loudly at his words and he smirks, not surprised you've got such a thing for praise. he takes note of that and curls his fingers as he pumps into you. he feels you clenching and leans down, replaces his thumb with his lips to flick your clit with his tongue. "r-richie, i'm gonna..." you say with your hands threaded through his hair. he just pumps harder and he feels you clench around him as you cum.

he pulls away and you whimper, your chest heaving. you sit up, looking fucked out and completely beautiful, and you kiss him hard. he groans when you slip your hand into his waistband, wrapping your hand around his cock and pumping slowly. "holy shit, you're huge." you whisper, eyes wide as you pull away from his lips. richie tries to keep the cocky smirk off his face, "what, you thought i was joking all those times?" he asks, and you bite your lip, shaking your head, seemingly slightly nervous now. he kisses you and lays you back down, pulling off his sweats and boxers before sliding your underwear down your legs. you look at him as you lick your lips, waiting. he stares at you, completely naked in his bed, and thinks you look like a fucking dream. "you sure, sugar? we don't have to." he asks with his bottom lip between his teeth. you nod, "yes, richie. one hundred percent. i'm yours."

he lines up and grabs your hands as he pushes in slowly, holding himself up with one arm. you gasp as he slides all the way in and he moans at how tight you are. "god, so good for me." he says into your ear. he starts slowly, giving you time to adjust until he feels you slowly letting out little moans and moving your hips with his. he immediately picks up the pace, his hips sliding into yours as you both let out curses.

he attaches his lips to the column of your neck, sucking and biting marks onto your beautiful skin as he slams into you. your hands are still intertwined and he loves how you whimper as you clench around him.

after a few more minutes, he lets your hands go and snakes his hand to your already sensitive clit and you gasp, hands scratching down his back. "fuck, y/n, so fucking tight for me." richie groans, loving the feeling of your nails dragging down his back. "you gettin' close again, honey?" he asks, smiling as your face, as always, contorts with a blush at his pet names. "yes, yes," you mumble, kissing him fiercely. he's thrusting into you passionately, hitting you deeper with every thrust and you hold him against you, moaning. he can tell you're about to cum again and he sits up slightly, grabbing your hips and hitting you deeper, making you moan his name loudly. your lips plant themselves on his neck. after a long stroke, he knows you're going to cum and he moans as you hit your high, still thrusting as you clench through your high. "fuck, rich." you moan and he stills his hips, cumming inside you with a groan of his own.

you're breathing heavily as you grin up at richie. he meets your eyes when he pulls his head from your shoulder and he pulls out of you slowly. you gasp at the sensation, looking dazed and in disbelief as he slides your underwear back up your legs, patting your stomach. "such a good girl," he mumbles, seeing you blush at the praise. he plants a kiss at your waistband, rubbing your stomach before pulling on a pair of boxers and crawling back to you.

you look at him with a tired smile and he swears his heart soars, pulling you towards his chest. you curl into him and he can feel your legs shaking slightly. "you okay, y/n/n?" he asks softly into your hair. you nod, "yeah, yeah. you're such a fucking trashmouth, even in bed." you say, breathing heavily.

richie bites his lip, brushing your hair back as you look up at him. "i-is that okay? i wasn't too much, was i?" he asks nervously. you smile, shaking your head, "that was so fucking good." you assure him, kissing his lips again. "you're.. god, i really like you." you trail off looking nervous, as if he'd ever reject you. never in a million fucking lifetimes would he ever reject you. "i really like you too, sweetheart." he mumbles, cupping your chin with his fingers. you smile at his admission, "can we do this forever? i hate being alone." you ask shyly. richie smiles though, pulling you closer to his chest and laying his head atop yours, kissing a kiss to the crown of your head. "i'll be yours for as long as you'll have me, sugar." he mumbles, feeling the pull of post-orgasm bliss lull him into a tired state. "g'night, rich." you say sleepily, nuzzling into his chest. he feels warm everywhere. "goodnight, y/n/n."  

the next morning richie wakes up to an empty bed, but something tells him you haven't ditched him. he knew you better than that, so he brushes his teeth and walks out into the main area to find you and stan in the kitchen eating eggs and fruit. "there's some left for you." you say, giving him a sweet smile which he immediately returns. you've got a string of hickeys hiding under the collar of what he notices to be his own sweater. richie pads over to get himself some breakfast, sitting next to stan and rubbing his shoulder. stan gives him a smile and it's blissfully quiet for a few moments.

"so, did you guys have sex?" stan asks bluntly, making you choke on your coffee. richie snorts, eyeing stan as he looks at him quizzically. "yes." richie says with a grin, yelping as you smack him with a towel from across the table. "nice," stan responds, high giving richie. "proud of you, man." stan says, yawning into his eggs. you roll your eyes, looking up at richie as he blows you a kiss with a wink.

[just-another-author-i-guess]

Boiling rock:

Requested: yup

Warnings: she/her pronounced reader, more gross making out stuff

Pairing: Zuko x reader

A/N: I’m so sorry I haven’t been posting in a while, but I think I kinda killed my creativity or something. Tbh, I’ve just been sleeping a lot. Anyways, I’ll try to post some more from now on, now onto the story! Also, I don’t really remember the exact plot line of the episode, so I’ll just kinda make my own thing up. Anyways, in this you’re a water bender and you’re in the same prison as Suki (boiling rock), when Sokka and Zuko comes to rescue you, and Zuko instantly falls in love.

~

As soon as Zuko’s eyes locked on you, he froze. Never had someone captured his attention like you had, and the only thing he could do was stand with open mouth and wide eyes, as Sokka who came running down the hall, ran directly into him, not expecting him to stop all of sudden.

“Agh! Why are you stopping?” Sokka asked, annoyed, as he adjusted his fire nation helmet on his head.

“You’re going to get us caught, if you don’t start moving soon!” He pointed out, and started almost dragging Zuko in the direction he was previously going.

“Uh, w-who’s that?” Zuko asked, and stopped in his tracks once again, to point out the little window to the courtyard, where you and Suki were sitting.

Sokka squinted his eyes, looking closely out the small window in the direction Zuko was pointing, his eyes following yours and Suki’s move as you talked.

“Oh, her? Besides Suki? That’s (y/n), from the northern water tribe, they caught her and Suki, when they helped us escape,” he explained, and Zuko nodded slowly at every word, eyes still intensely focused on your form.

“You done staring? We got people to rescue,” Sokka said, as he quickly put his helmet back on and dragged the lovestruck prince down the hall.

~

All around you was chaos, people were running around, trying to destroy the prison, while the guards shot fire everywhere.

The word about a rescuing team coming to free you all, were out, which had surprisingly given the prisoners a whole new energy to fight with, and you were no different.

Standing alongside with Suki, your newly acquired best friend, you were doing the best you could at blocking out the guards fireballs, with water from the sea below you.

Blocking fire left and right, you were so consumed by keeping an eye on the prisoners, you didn’t notice a guard quickly approaching you, already readying his fire.

Only when you felt flames lick up your cheek, did you look up, and gasp. The man was standing only a meter or two away from you, and were ready to attack.

The fireball dancing in his hands, almost seemed to move in slow motion as the world around you stilled. You realized it was already too late, there was nothing you could do now.

A tear slit down your cheek, mixing with the burning wound on it, as you closed your eyes and braved yourself for the flames to consume you. But they never came.

When almost a minute had passed, you dared to open your eyes, and instantly met the eyes of your mysterious hero.

Quickly standing up form your crouching position, you brushed your clothes off and put a hand against your burning wound, which was beginning to hurt more and more.

“Are you okay?” The stranger breathed, and you noticed a slight redness and something that look like soot scattered across his nose, which made you laugh lightly.

“Yeah, thank you,” you said, a kind smile on your face, as you looked up into his golden eyes, and you immediately felt save.

“I-“ the stranger started, when suddenly you spotted Sokka in the distance.

“Zuko watch out!” He yelled, and instantly Zuko’s attention were on the ball of fire quickly approaching you, and without as much as a second thought, and wrapped his arms around your waist and threw you on the floor.

The fireball missed you, only by and inch, but you had other things on your mind.

Sokka had called the stranger Zuko, which could only mean one thing.

The one and only banished prince Zuko, had just saved your life, twice!

Your cheeks reddened, as you could feel his chest heaving quickly, into your back. He was so so close.

“You’re prince Zuko,” you panted, as he helped you up, and immediately looked down at you with a guilty look.

“I wish I wasn’t,” he awkwardly chuckled, praying that you wouldn’t turn your back on him, like so many others had done in the past.

You furrowed your eyebrows at his words, a look he found very endearing, as you spoke, “Why? I don’t care who you are, you just saved my life, twice! And, once Aang defeats your father, I’m sure you’ll be a great firelord!”

Zuko raised his eyebrows, surprised by your honesty, but let a little smile creep onto his face.

“Oh! I haven’t even presented myself yet! I’m (y/n), from the northern water tribe,” you spoke, and Zuko couldn’t help but widen his smile at your innocence.

“I know, Sokka already told me about you-“

“God damnit Zuko, stop flirting and watch out!” Sokka yelled, as he stormed over to you, and pushed you both down to the ground right as another ball of fire flew over your head.

Instinctively, Zuko wrapped his arms around you again, pulling you to his chest and bracing you from the fall.

The gesture certainly didn’t go unnoticed by you, as another thick blush covered your cheeks and you were once again thankful for the handsome prince you could now call your savior.

~

Later that night, you and Suki where safely back in team avatars camp, Katara tending to your wounds.

When she reached you, she gently put a hand on your scarred cheek. “I’m so sorry (y/n), but I don’t think I’ll be able to make this completely go away,” she said, her eyes filling with worry and sorrow as she spoke.

Your eyes saddened a bit, but you quickly covered it up with a comforting smile. “That’s okay, this will just be a new part of me,” you offered, and she gently squeezed your shoulder, as a layer of water wrapped around her hand.

“I can still try to make some of the pain go away, if you want?” Katara kindly asked, and you nodded gently as she began working her healing powers.

~

“Does it hurt?” Zuko quietly asked, as he bravely let his hand wander up your face to cup your burned cheek.

You flinched a little, but soon relaxed into the careful touch of the prince.

“A little,” you mumbled, and sadly looked down into his palm. “Katara says it’s gonna feel better soon,” you added, more to yourself than to him.

“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled, and stroked the burn gently with his thumb, as a quiet tear slid down your cheek.

“It’s fine,” you sighed, and angrily whiped the tear away, and looked up at him.

“At least we match now!” You giggled, and Zuko quietly admired your ability to turn even the saddest of situations happy and hopeful. A thought struck his mind, you were exactly what him and his people needed in a firequeen.

“What?” You asked and cocked your head to the side, and Zuko realized he had been staring at you.

“Nothing, nothing, you’re just perfect..” he mumbled the last part, and even though you heard it, you decided to tease him a little.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” You grinned, and by the sheer look of cockiness on your face, Zuko could tell you were teasing.

“What about I show you instead?” He said, finally feeling confident enough to make the first move, as he quickly bend his head down and molded his lips to yours.

Instantly, you responded, and wrapped your arms around his neck, as you stood on your tiptoes and deepened the kiss, making a breathy groan escape from somewhere in the back of his neck.

You giggled, as he gently lifted your legs up, one by one, making you wrap your legs around waist, and tangle your fingers in the hair on his neck.

You practically clung to him like a koala, faces so close, your breaths was mixing, as he continued kissing you more needy by the second.

He wanted to prove to you, exactly how perfect he thought you were.

Forcefully, he pushed his tongue against your lips, as you playfully denied him, making him growl into the kiss.

With a breathy chuckle, he grasped your tights a little harder, making you slightly gasp, and he took his opportunity to slip his tongue inside, instantly meeting yours and in a battle you had no chance of winning.

You sighed, and licked at his tongue, as sinful wet noises escaped the two of you, and you wrapped your legs tighter around him, making your hips grind against his lower stomach.

Zuko whined breathily, sucking your tongue into his mouth one last time, before pulling away, resting his forehead against yours.

“We better stop while we can,” he panted, looking hazily into your eyes, and you giggled.

“Do you really wanna stop?” You giggled, and lifted yourself a little higher up in his embrace, so you could look down at him, as you kissed his forehead a little sloppily.

“No, but I think Toph would really appreciate it, if we continued this later,” Zuko cheekily pointed out, and you turned your head, to see Toph standing a few feet away, with a horrifying expression on her face.

Quickly, you unwrapped your legs from Zuko, as he carefully sat you down, and you wasted no time in hiding your face him his hard chest.

“Why didn’t you say that sooner?!” You cried out, cheeks burning up as you lightly hit him in the chest, feeling his chuckle vibrate through his chest.

~

Finally, the war was over, Aang had defeated Ozai, and everyone was cheering. Quickly, you glanced over at Zuko, as you all made your way out into the big balcony, so Zuko and Aang could speak to the crowd.

As Zuko and Aang started speaking, you spaced out a little, as you noticed how big the crowd was. You gently squeezed Zuko’s hand, as you gulped slightly, trying to get the nervousness out of your system.

Suddenly Zuko stopped his speech.

“O-oh, that reminds me-“ suddenly Zuko let go of your hand, and started to fiddle with something in his pocket.

“As the new firelord, it is my responsibility to find a firequeen, a-and I couldn’t have been more lucky to find the perfect one,” as he said those words, he turned to you, making your heart race as his golden eyes met your soft ones, giving you a breathtaking smile.

“And now, I can only hope that she wants to be my firequeen.” Then it finally registered, Zuko was asking you to be his queen, and your eyes filled with tears, as you threw your arms around him and buried your face in his neck, not able to do anything but gently nod into the crook of his neck.

The crowd erupted into yet another fit of cheers, as you engulfed yourself in Zuko’s red and golden ropes, smiling and crying not carrying wether his shirt got wet.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Zuko mumbled into your ear, gently smiling and burying his own face in your hair.

To be continued...?

[afaithy]

A Crinkle in Fate; Ch 5

AVAILABLE IN AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896918/chapters/39835008#workskin

Chapter 5: Some things are more than what meets the eyeNotes:

"We do not know what things look like. We know what things are like. It must be a very limiting thing,this seeing.” — Madeleine L'Engle

Days turned to weeks, and soon into months. Tonks had already gotten used to the rhythm of a Hogwarts student and she soon discovered that she wasn’t such bad student as she had anticipated, she wasn’t the first of her year, but she was among the top ones, and that gave her a small pinch of pride. If only her social skill could be improved as easily. After a month living among them, she was finally comfortable enough to chat with the other Hufflepuff girls, but the interaction was still a little too cordial; something that didn’t pass unnoticed by her dear cousin. Tonks seemed to have a strange standards when it came to choosing her friends. She had easily accepted Sirius “family” love, and she befriended Lupin almost instantly; with James she’d been a little bit wary at the beginning, but she eventually seemed to trust the boy with glasses. With Peter, she was still a little tense, as Sirius liked to note. Against all odds, Tonks befriended both Lily and Snape. The first one had been more welcoming to the girl than the later. It was more than obvious that Snape would have prefered her to leave him alone. “Seeeeeeveeeeruuuuus….” Tonks fuzzed with a -purposely- annoying voice that made Lily giggle when the boy had glared at the younger girl horrified. “What?” “Help me with this. You are good in potions….” “Leave me alone…” Snape groaned “Go tell your useless cousin…” “Sirius sucks at potions! You said it yourself!” “Then Lupin. He’s the brain in there, is he not?” “He’s busy….” Tonks pouted “Come on Severus….heeeeelp meeeee….” “No…” “Pleaaase...please...please...please...” “Agh...shut up. I’m trying to focus….” “Come on…” “No…” “Help me Severus, you’re my only hopee….” Lily giggled. She was having too much fun seeing how Tonks purposely annoying Snape and how the boy pretended to be annoyed. “Seriously...don’t you have better things to do? Can’t you go hang out with your Hufflepuff mates or something?” “That’s not fun at al. I like to hang out with you and Lily…” Tonks replied winking at Lily “Pleaaase...just help me…..” “Agh fine...let me see that.” Snape took the parchment from her and his dark eyes scanned the letters on it carefully. The pale boy raced and eye-brow and shook his head irrirtated. “It’s three times counter clockwise, and then two clockwise before you add the convallaria leaves. Otherwise it’d turn red instead of light purple…” “Ah...really? Severus...you’re a genius…” Snape rolled his eyes and turned back to his own book. “I’m not a genius...it’s common sense. Use your brain…” he mumbled. Tonks and Lily exchanged looks and giggled. “Oh no...there he comes…” Lily groaned “Potter…” “James?” Tonks said tilting her head. “Yes, he’s playing clown with Black again. Annoying…” “They can be a little goofy at times, but they’re good. It’s like Severus, he can be a grumpy pot, but deep inside he’s just a little sweetheart…” “I’m not…” “Hahaha, she might be right on that, Severus. You’re a kind soul hiding an annoyed face...” “Lily, don’t …” Snape begged. Lily and Tonks laughed again. The hooded girl turned to where Sirius and James were busy putting up a show of paper birds that flew in circles around their heads and her gaze met Lupin's, who was looking with a mixture of amusement and disapproval at his friends. Tonks smiled and waved at him enthusiastically. Perhaps a little to enthusiastically that she accidentally knocked over a pile of books that she had by her side with a loud thud. “For Merlin’s sake, Nymphadora!” Snape glared at her. “Don’t call me Nymphadora! It’s Tonks, plain and simple Tonks!” “I don’t know why you don’t like your name…”Lily asked “it is such a pretty name…” “Lily is a pretty name, Nymphadora is just ridiculous…” Tonks said picking up the books. “No, it isn’t…” a new voice muttered close to her. To her surprise, Lupin had sneaked into the seat next to her and was smiling warmly at her. “Hey, Evans...Snape” he greeted the pair. Lily replied with a smile and Snape only nodded his head at him “I find your name really nice and fitting…” “Remus...you can’t be serious. How is Nymphadora fitting at all?” “Why not?” “First...the name is just...uff; second...it’s all...girly, lady, elegant...as far as I’m aware….I don’t have any of those attributes…” “You got that right…” Snape snorted. “So no… Tonks suits me better…” “If you say so…”Lily chuckled “I still think, Nymphadora is a cute name…” “Ah...you could be my mum’s best friend then…”Tonks said dropping her head on the table with a loud thud “Let’s not talk about my name, please.” “As you wish, because I’m leaving now…” Snape said snapping his book close. “Yes, I should go, too. I promised Mirtha that I’d help her study Charms.” Lily said. “Have fun with that, Lily…” Tonks smiled “Severuuuus...don’t miss me too much!” “Who’s going to miss you, noisy girl?!” Tonks broke into a laugh. She just enjoyed teasing Snape, because she knew that despite his bitter remarks and his constant glares, Snape actually accepted her and considered her his friend. “You know...Sirius still can’t believe you’re Snape’s friend…” Lupin chuckled. “Oh, he’s being silly. Guess the Black genes still get him at times…” Tonks replied turning her head to Lupin “Prejudice...I mean. Severus is a nice boy...you just need to know him.” “I’m not saying anything…” Lupin chuckled “I don’t have anything against him, to be honest. It seems the rivalry is between him and James…” “Let me guess...Lily?” “Too obvious?” “A little, but James is silly. How does he expect Lily to like him if he keeps bullying her best friend?” “I don’t think James thinks so much into it…” “Are all boys that silly?” “I guess we can be…” “Oh, not you. I’m sure you’re the exception of the rule there…” Lupin smiled and shook his head tiredly. Tonks raised her head from the table and looked at him with a frown. Her dark eyes staring into his green ones. “You’re a little pale…” she said “Are you feeling alright?” He wasn't’t. Full moon was in three days and he was starting to feel its effects on his body, but Tonks didn’t know it, and he didn’t want to tell her if he could help it. “Oh, I’m alright. I’ve been putting some overnights...that’s all…” he said rubbing the back of his head. Tonks stared at him for a minutes, and he could tell, by her look, that she wasn’t buying his excuse. She was too smart for her own good. “Hey, are you busy?” “Now? No, why?” “I need to get this back to the library. I was wondering if you’d like to come.” “Sure. I don’t think Sirius and James are missing me now, anyway…” “Nah, they’re too busy being themselves…” she laughed picking up the books. The pair left the hall and walked to the library engulfed in a random mudane chat. They talked about the classes, the teachers and the mischief they had done recently.Tonks loved her little chats with Lupin, because she felt so relaxed when he was close, and Lupin loved his brief minutes with Tonks, because it made him feel happy. Lupin helped her put back the books and eventually, they ended up in the Muggle Literature section. It was one of the less frequented sections, and so it was usually deadly empty. “Ah...they don’t know what they’re missing…” Tonks chuckled “Some of these are really nice…” “You’ve read them?” “My dad has them in his library. I’ve read some…” “Me too…” “Oh, you like Muggle Books?” “Mmmm you could say so…” Lupin answered “My mother is muggle, so we have some of these at home too…” “Oh, well. Look at that, something more that we have in common…” she chuckled “ Oh...Fairytales by the Grimm Brothers. My dad used to read me those when I was a kid. I could never understand why the wolf was always the bad guy…” “It’s not the wolf. That’s just the Muggles misinterpreting the...role of a werewolf…” Lupin replied. The last bit had come out a little bitter than he’d intended. “Wolves...werewolves…” she replied as if it didn’t matter, her hand caressing the books in the shelves “What’s wrong with that? Werewolves are not any less people…” Lupin seemed confused at her words. Had he heard correctly? “Werewolves are monsters….dangerous and horrible monsters…” he said automatically and he saw Tonks turn to him with an irritated frown. “Oh, and how would you know this? Because it is written on books? Or because that’s why everyone says?” she replied firmly “Werewolves are still people 29 days in a month, that makes them human 348 days in a year. Just because they turn into a wolf once a month doesn’t make them monsters. The person chooses whether to be good or not, that’s not different from being normal. I mean...I’m sure there are werewolves out there that are 100 times more decent people than some wizards out there…” Lupin was left speechless. That wasn’t what he had expected to hear about werewolves. With the exception of his friends, whenever the subject of Werewolves came into conversation, the immediate response was either fear or hate; and there he was, standing in front of an 11 years old who defended werelwolves with a reasoning that could slap at any older wizard. “You don’t know any werewolves, that’s what you’re saying that.” “And do you know any?” Lupin didn’t answer. He was afraid of how she’d react if he told her the truth, but Tonks took his silence as a no. “See? Maybe if people stopped for a bit and tried to know them, understand them, they’d see that they aren’t the demons they think they are…” “Werewolves are dangerous…” “They are, as any person is.” Tonks agreed “A werewolf might bite...yes, because he is a wolf. It’s their instinct to prey, to eat...to survive. Just like anyother animal. It isn’t a crime to act according your nature; but put it like this… If the werewolf is a good person when he or she isn’t a wolf, and then dangerous when he turns just because he follows its instinct, can you really judging him? Look at that arse of Boreas, he’s a wizard...and he hurts people just because of the fun of it. Why isn’t he judge the same way? There’s a keyword there, Remus… Choosing.” Lupin didn’t know what to say. Usually he could come up with any statement that would make a werewolf, make himself, look like a monster, but as he stood there watching Tonks walking between the shelves he realized that maybe, just maybe, she had a point there. “Ah...there it is…” Tonks voice interrupted his thoughts, as the girl pulled out a book from the shelf with a smile “I feel like reading this again…” Lupin glanced at the book on her hands. The cover was brown with golden letters printed on it: Whitefang by Jack London. Their talk then switched to a lighter subject as they headed back to the Hall, but Lupin was still thoughtful; the words that the young witch had told him in the library kept replaying in his mind and later that day when he’d casually commented them with his friends, their reaction had left him in shock. “HA, I knew she’d be a werewolf lover…” Sirius laughed “Don’t ask me how. I just did…” “But isn’t that good, Moony…” James said with a smile “You now know that she wouldn’t care if she knew about your furry little problem…” “That’s not the point…” Lupin said shaking his head “That line of thinking could get her killed. Werewolves are dangerous!” “And she said it. She knows they’re are, but she also knows it isn’t their fault…” James reasoned “You’re sabotaging yourself, Moony.” “She got mad at you for bad mouthing werewolves…” Sirius laughed “I should have seen that. If only she knew she was talking to one…” “But why isn’t she afraid of werewolves?” Peter asked “I mean normal people are scared…” “Wormtail...would you stop calling my cousin a freak, for Merlin’s sake?” “He’s right…” Lupin said shaking his head “ She should, and yet she isn’t. You three were scared at the beginning…” “Maybe her parents taught her not to be scared?” James suggested. “Unlikely. You know what how wizards see werewolves.” “Then maybe she’s reckless…” Peter suggested. “Or maybe...she has a brain…” Sirius said annoyed “Moony, don’t be so dramatic. This is a good thing. Means you have another friend that won’t abandon you for what you are...so I said you shut it, and enjoy it.”

Lupin knew that there was no point trying to reason with Sirius when the boy used that tone and for the first time, he thought he’d follow his friend’s advice.

***

It was a nice night. That’s what Tonks thought when she sneaked through the main gates and walked to the school grounds. She’d always have troubles to sleep during the nights of full moon. It wasn’t that she wasn’t sleepy, but more like there was something roaming her head, a ghost worry that wouldn’t let her sleep at all. When she was younger, she would sit on her bed and stare at the moon quietly from her window; as she grew older, she realized that her sneaky night stroll helped her feel more calm. The night was warm, but the breeze kept her cool as she made her way to lake. The surface was calm and quiet; so stiff that the it almost looked like a black mirror. The view sent her a sense of deja vu once again. She had gotten used to them as she grew older, she’d casually get one every now and then when she was at home, but ever since she had come to Hogwarts, that sense of deja vu had become more and more common. “Maybe I studied here in a past life…” she giggled to herself thinking of what her dad would say if she told him. She had borrowed a couple books from the library out of curiosity, but after reading them through, she felt like some of the things they mentioned didn’t match her. Maybe her dad’s hypothesis about her past life was just a silly invention to make her laugh after all. She should have known better. Tonks strolled past the lake and made her way to Hagrid’s cabin. She knew there were Lumin fairies in the forest. Her dad told her he used to take her mum to watch them on their romantic secret dates; perhaps with some luck she would be able to see some today. She reached the edge of the forest in once piece. She had almost tripped with a large root that laid well hidden in the shadows. Maybe walking in the dark wasn’t the brightest idea, considering her innate gift of accidents, but she didn’t want to catch Filch’s attention by casting a light. “Maybe he’d think it was a will o’wisp “she chuckled “but no, the moon should be enough.” Tonks found a big boulder and sat on it staring into the darkness of the forest. She probably looked like a fool, but then again, nobody would see her, so who cared? Suddenly a soft crack made her jump and she looked into the shadows in front of her. A pair of amber eyes that seemed to glow in the dark was staring at her and she could hear a low growl. It wasn’t a threatening growl, but more like a warning growl. The kind of growl a dog would make when he wanted to be left alone. It was too dark for her too see well who the owner of the amber eyes was, and it seemed that it didn’t want to let itself be seen anyway.. “Wotcher…” she said softly. Some people would say it was stupid to talk to an animal, but her grandmother always told her that contrary to common beliefs, animals did understand and that was why she always baby talked her scottish terrier whenever Tonks was on a visit. “I mean you no harm…” she said softly and the answer was once more a soft growl “I’m jus here hoping to see some Lumin Fairies. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to invade your territory…” Silence. It wasn’t like she had expected an answer. It was a dog for Merlin’s sake, dogs couldn’t talk! “I always get a insomniac on full moons. It’s silly and I just can’t explain it, but it’s like ...I’m too restless to sleep. It’s weird because I don’t even know what’s worrying me...you see? So I have the habit of taking strolls on nights of full moon…” There wasn’t a growl this time, and if it wasn’t for the bright golden eyes that wee staring at her, she would have thought the dog had long left. “You can’t sleep either?” she asked softly “Well, I wouldn’t blame you. It’s such a beautiful night. Do you live here?” Tonks chuckled. She really was stupid if she thought the dog would answer her. “Oh, yeah...silly me. It’s not like you could answer me…” she laughed “So...if it doesn’t bother you, I’d do the talking…” There was no growl, so she took that as a good sign. “My name is Nymphadora Tonks, but I prefer to be called Tonks; just Tonks. My mum, however, loves to call me Nymphadora….” she said rolling her eyes “and she says she won’t call her daughter by her last name. My dad agrees to that. He says it’d be too hard to know which Tonks you’re addressing, but my dad doesn’t call me Nymphadora. He calls me Dora, which I think is okay? It isn’t as flashy as Nymphadora. My parents are wizards. My mum was once from a.. Very important family or something like that, but she was disowned after she ran away to marry my dad. You see, my dad is a muggle born….not sure if you’ll know what that is, but the point is...my mum’s family didn’t like him. They didn’t think he was worthy enough for my mum, of course my mum thought otherwise. So my parents ran away and got married, and they had me…” She said the last part proudly. “But because of my mum’s background, I didn’t get much friends when I was younger. From one side, the ones that were on my grandparents side saw us as traitors and deserving of punishment; and the ones that weren’t...well, they were intimidated enough to not want to have anything to do with me and my family. I know what you’re thinking, if my dad was a muggle, then why I didn’t I look for friends on my muggle side? Well, I just couldn’t….” Tonks pulled down her hood revealing her hair. It was silvery white, waist long and straight today. “I’m a Metamorphmagus. I was born one...so I can change my appearance at will, like ...this…” She focused a little and her hair began to turn black. It looked as if someone had dropped a vial of ink over her head. “Dad says it is a very rare gift, unfortunately, I don’t know how to control it well, yet. So sometimes, I change by accident. You can’t do that in front of muggles! They don’t even know that magic exist! Professor McGonagall, she’s a nice lady is teaching me how to control it. It’s helping, but I still can’t control it….at least not when it comes with my hair. I think I can manage my face. That’s why I use the hoodie…” she said covering her head again “I don’t want the other kids finding out and calling me a freak along the usual blood traitor insults. I don’t mind. It’s not that it hurts me, because I know they’re wrong, but well...I just want to have some peace and quiet, if you know what I mean. THe teachers know, so they don’t mind me wearing the hood. It’s great…” There wasn’t a growl this time, but she saw the amber eyes going lower. The dog had decided to lay down. Well, at least it wasn’t bored about her story. “I haven’t made too many friends in here. I don’t know, I just feel like I can’t trust them; but not everyone. I have made some real friends too, even if there are just a small bunch. There’s my long lost cousin, his name is Sirius. He’s a dork, but I think I can accept hims as family….that’s all I need to tell you and there are his friends. James is...nice, I guess. I just think we don’t connect that well...if you know what I mean...and Remus, he’s great. I really like him, it’s like we knew each from long before we met ...it’s silly, isn’t it? And then there’s Peter...I don’t know, I don’t think we get along. I’m sure he doesn’t like me, and I am not sure how I feel about him. It’s like I have this...unreasonable sense of distrust about him…” The golden eyes had raised once more and Tonks could almost picture the dog’s heat tilting sideways. “I know it is ridiculous. He hasn’t done anything that should make me feel like that…” Tonks shrugged “ Oh there’s also Lily. I think I was a little wary at first, but she’s really nice...and she’s become a good friend and of course there’s Severus. He’s an interesting boy. He’s really kind and a big softie, but he wouldn’t admit it...he prefers to play the bad guy part before admitting that he’s done something good. For example, he always complains about me being noisy, or stupid and ridiculously clumsy, but he always helps me with homework, and seats with me on lunch and dinner, and I’m sure he worries when I trip…” Tonks giggled. “Sirius and James doesn’t like him, but well, that’s fine for Severus.He doesn’t like them either. Maybe it is because they’re to proud...if they actually tried...I believe they’d would be good friends.” Tonks let out a sigh and looked at the sky. The moon was high in the sky sprinkled with stars. It was a view that you wouldn’t see in the city, and she felt lucky to be seeing it now. “The moon is pretty, isn’t it?” The answer to her question was merely a soft growl. She looked back at the amber eyes and smiled at them. “Thank you for your company. I think I better get back, before Filch catches me. Maybe we will meet again…” Tonks jumped on her feet and waved at the dog one last time before walking back to the castle. The pair of golden eyes stared at her back until she was no longer seen.

[narika-a]

Which one?

||| Anon asked:  if you do smut can you make one about how jackson of got7 and jhope of bts have a crush on you and want you to choose one to date but you cant so they help you decide |||

Hoseok x Reader x Jackson

Genre: Smut, fluff

Word count: 1,739

You have known both of them since high school and somehow managed to stay friends for a long time. But lately something has been going on between them, they wouldn’t stay in the same room as the other and Hoseok became really clingy and protective while Jackson tried to keep you all to himself. Their behaviour and constant nagging started to really annoy you so you decided to ignore them for a few days till they stop acting like children. What you didn’t expect was to see them fighting outside your college. When you walked out you saw a huge crowd and heard people screaming and cheering, you decide to check out what was happening as well. When you approached the circle people have made and saw that the ones who were fighting were no other than Hoseok and Jackson you became so angry.

“What do you think you are doing? Especially here at all places!”

When they heard you shouting they immediately stopped and looked up to meet your gaze.

“I, we-“ Hoseok began.

“He was actually the one who started this.” Jackson finished.

“I was not you fuck-“

“I don’t want to hear your excuses.” you said grabbing their hands. “Come with me.”

You dragged them to your apartment and despite their protests made them sit on the couch.

“So I not talk to you for a day and you come fighting in my college.” you stated searching for the med kit. “What were you thinking?”

They were silent. You grabbed the kit and crouched in front of Hoseok.

“This is going to sting.” you told him pressing a cotton pad with disinfectant on his face.

“Aish. I don’t need this.”

“Yes you do. You both look horrible.” you said glancing between them. “What’s up with you lately?”

They didn’t answer this question either. When you were all done with Hoseok you came up to Jackson. You were about to clean up his face when he grabbed your hand.

“What?” you asked.

“We need to talk to you about something.”

“We?”

“Yes we, as in me and Hoseok.”

“Okay.” you said putting the med kit down. “Then talk.”

You saw how Jackson looked at Hoseok and then back at you.

“Lately-“ Jackson began.

“I think I’m in love with you.” Hoseok interrupted.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Is this some kind of joke?” you looked at Jackson for some reassurance but found none.

“And that’s the thing we wanted to talk to you about, because you see, oh fuck this is awkward, I think I like you too.”

“Are you being serious right now?” you asked trying not to laugh. “I need something to drink.”

You went to the kitchen and could feel how their eyes followed. If they are telling the truth than all of that strange behaviour was because of you. No, no, no. They can’t have these types of feeling you have been friends for too long. You searched your bar and took the bottle with the highest percentage. After drinking a few shots you looked up and saw Jackson.

“Maybe you should slow down on this.” he said trying to take the bottle from you.

“How about no.” you stated pouring another shot.

“Look, Y/N, the thing we wanted to talk to you about was that we would like you to choose.” Hoseok explained walking into the kitchen.

“Neither.” you said taking another shot.

“Come on don’t be like that, we know you must also feel something.”

You tried to glare at him but deep down you knew he was telling the truth.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t.” you said raising another shot to your mouth. This time however you were stopped.

“What if we help you decide?” Jackson asked.

You were about to ask what does he mean when Hoseok suddenly picked you up and threw you over his shoulder.

“What do you think you’re doing?” you protested.

“Helping you decide.” he replied.

“Put down.”

“As you wish.” he said throwing you onto the bed.

You wanted to know what they came up with but before you could realize Hoseok pulled you up and kissed you. His lips were soft and warm but you two were interrupted by Jackson walking in.

“Whoa, whoa not so fast cowboy!” he said pulling Hoseok off of you.

To say that you were shocked was an understatement and maybe it was the alcohol but you were completely lost as to what is going on.

“Could you two finally explain?”

“We make you feel good and the one who does it better get’s to keep you.”

You just looked at them in disbelief. Are they really suggesting you have sex with them. But you were already considering it. You bit down on your lip. Yes, you have known them for a long time and yes, both of them are extremely attractive. After a moment of silence you decided.

“Okay.” you said.

“Really?” they couldn’t believe you.

You stood up and went to the closet to get undressed.

“Let us help you with that.” Jackson said pushing you down on the bed again. His strong hands quickly removed your shirt and your jeans and to their delight you were only in your lingerie.

“So how do we do this?” Jackson asked Hoseok.

“Both?”

“Both? Yeah, I think both is good.” he replied taking his shirt off, exposing his muscular chest which you couldn’t help but feel.

“Like what you see?” he smirked.

You noticed how Hoseok pulled lube out of nowhere.

“Wait a second, I didn’t agree to this.”

“Oh I think you did.” this time it was Hoseok who slipped off your panties and took your bra.

“Look at that!” he whistled and your cheeks started to burn.

“Let’s get you ready.” he said pouring lube over his fingers.

He massaged around your other entrance and slowly put a finger in to which you flinched.

“Careful.” Jackson said.

“I know what I’m doing, she’s just so tight. Have you never been fucked this way before?” to which you nodded.

“How exciting! There is always first time for everything.” he cooed starting to finger you.

You looked to the side and called Jackson over. You commanded him to take of his pants and then slowly pulled down his boxers to reveal his erection.

“I don’t want you to feel lonely.” you breathed pressing your lips at the tip. You started kissing his erection up and down until finally taking him in. You swirled you tongue around it making him cry out.

“Oh shit, Y/N. Don’t stop.”

You could feel Hoseok pouring more lube and sliding a second finger in which made you gasp. Trying to focus back on Jackson you decide to use both your hands and your mouth. You could hear your hole beginning to make sloppy sounds to which Hoseok put his third finger in. You moaned and stopped for a second to get some air. When you began sucking him off again you heard how Jackson’s breathing became uneven.

“Oh fuck. I’m coming!” Jackson cried out. You decided to swallow so you could feel what he tastes like. Jackson came down to your eye level and kissed you passionately and deeply before crashing onto the bed.

You fell down besides him and as you did you felt how Hoseok pulled the fingers out and tugged you closer to him.

“Now it’s finally my turn.” he said taking his dick out and making sure to lube it.

He positioned himself and slowly pushed himself in. You put your arms around his neck and started to leave small kisses along it. He looked at you and bit down on your bottom lip. Hoseok was starting to set a pace and you couldn’t help but moan.

“Gosh, you’re so sexy.” he breathed out and kissed you lusciously.

You were panting heavily when all of a sudden Hoseok stopped and pulled out.

“Agh, no don’t stop.” you pleaded.

“You look so cute when you’re begging.” Jackson said taking you into his arms and making you sit on him. “You see, I also want a piece of you and I’m pretty sure you’re already wet down here.” he said caressing your clit.

You didn’t expect for his touch to feel this good so you fell over him. He kissed softly and lifted you up, above his dick.

“Do you need help with that?” you quickly realize what he was asking for and positioned his erection for a smooth entry. You couldn’t wait any longer and just sank down his cock. Jackson groaned. He didn’t expect you to be this fast. He put his hands on your ass and pushed you down deeper which made you gasp. He started rocking his hips and pressed your foreheads together to keep eye contact.

At this point Hoseok came for you again from behind. He slammed hard into you which made you cry out of pleasure and dig your nails into Jacksons shoulders.

Both of them managed to synchronize their pace which made you a moaning mess. Jackson bit down on your neck and sucked hard which left you a big purple hickey.

“Jackson.” you stuttered. “Don’t.”

“I have to mark you as mine.” he replied leaving more hickeys.

“That’s not fair. Then I should leave one as well.” Hoseok husked. Leaving marks on your shoulder from behind.

You could feel electricity going through your whole body as your orgasm approached. Hoseok began pounding his hips quicker and harder till you could feel him fill you up from behind.

“Agh fuck!” he groaned pulling out and falling over onto the bed. Jackson used this opportunity to roll you over and finish everything him being on top.

You both began panting heavily as Jackson thrust into you for the last time.

“Oh God.” Jackson grunted trying not to fall on top of you.

You could feel the Earth stop spinning as everything dissolved into pleasure. Jackson pulled out and fell down on the bed on the opposite side.

All three of you were breathing shakily. You couldn’t believe what just happened.

“So… Which one?” Hoseok asked.

“Well you both fucked me at the same time, so I guess we will have to decide another time.” you replied pulling a blanket over the three of you.

“Gosh, both of you always make me so tired.” you said snuggling into Hoseok’s neck as Jackson hugged you from behind.

A/N: I don’t usually post smut cuz I believe I need to improve my smut writing skills but since this was requested… 🙈 Anyhow, feel free to request more scenarios, reactions, etc. I keep up with a lot of groups, both male and female!! 😄

[aileen-hollingsworth]

B R O K E N   P I E C E S ~#14

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A/N: Ok, this takes place a few days after the funeral and the northern rebel attack that happened with Aliya ages ago. This fic mostly centers around Haiden and Aileen’s friendship, but there’s mild Colleen at the end. Thanks @haidenschreave for the rp. Ft. Haiden, Cole, and mild mention of Naomi. I hope it makes sense lol. Cass, watch out for the pun, it’s good.

||Aileen||

After visiting Naomi at the hospital—screaming with her for an hour about ‘how long has this been a thing’—I decided it was time to tell Haiden about me and Cole as well. And so I found myself knocking on his door repeatedly. I’m just gonna say it.

The door opened a few seconds later. “Haiden I—”

He gave me a puzzled look when I paused, but I was too focused on the way he carelessly leaned on the doorway and the exhaustion written all over his face. He smelled like alcohol.

“Aileen?”

I remained silent for a while, the words I’d been planning to say sticking on my throat. I knew he was still getting over everything that had happened in the last two weeks and it had been worse after the funeral—the sadness in his eyes could be seen by anyone after it—but I was hoping it wouldn’t get worse. Suddenly I remembered why I’d been waiting to give him the good news. Wouldn’t it be insensitive of me? What if he thought I was rubbing it in on his face?

I settled with embracing him in a hug and it took him a moment to react with a groan. “You've been gone for a week. You can't possibly miss me already.”

That didn’t make me let go. “I couldn't talk to you at the funeral; I just wanted to check up on you. And I can totally miss you if I please.”

He pulled me into his room and slumped onto his chair, pressing his fingers on his temples. “Agh, don't talk so quickly.”

I tilted my head at his oversensitivity and asked, “How many?” as I sat on the carpet.

He shrugged. “I... don't know. It sort of blurred.”

Staring at the ground I scolded myself for not checking up on him before, especially after what I’d found in Cole’s room—the one thing in Cole’s room that wasn’t his. I thought he needed some space but… I sighed looking back at him. “Do you want me to get you something for the headache?”

“No, let me suffer.”

“You're a lot more dramatic when you're drunk.”

“I'm not drunk anymore. Just hungover and sad. Will you grab that bottle of vodka from my armoire?”

Sure, will. I stood up and went for it, but instead of offering him a glass I headed for the bathroom to throw it in the sink.

He watched as vodka slowly poured out of the nozzle. “That physically hurts me.”

“You need a break from it, sorry.”

“Come on, give me my fun.”

I wanted to yell at him that he’d probably been having fun with it for a whole week, but I knew that wouldn’t help, so I just kept on pouring it on the sink. “Haiden, this won't fix things.”

“Maybe not, but it makes me feel better.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow at the way he hazily sat on the chair—it seemed like he would slip off of it any second now. “You feel better right now?”

“Better than I felt last night.”

I wished I knew what to say. “Look, I won't pretend I know how you feel right now, but I don't think this is the best way to deal with it.” I walked back to him with the empty bottle. “We can talk about it if you want…or we can go to the roof, I know you like it there.”

“I don't really want to do anything.” He admitted with a shrug.

Maybe he doesn’t want you here either. I looked down at the bottle. “Do you... Do you want me to leave? Or is it okay if I stay?”

“No, stay.”

I nodded and walked over to his bed before sitting on the edge. “I'm sorry if I'm not being helpful.”

He shook his head. “It's not your fault... Uh, what did you need?”

“Oh, um…” I analyzed the craftsmanship of his bedposts in an attempt to hide my lie. “It was nothing really. Just wanted to see how you were doing.”

He didn’t buy it. “No, tell me. You're my best friend, Aileen.”

I smiled at his last sentence. Sometimes I wondered why he mentioned it so often, but it was nice to hear. “You're mine too...but it might not be the right moment.”

“Is it good?”

I failed to hide my grin. “I'd say so.”

“Then tell me, please.” He seemed eager to hear some good news. Okay, maybe it’s not a bad idea.

“We kissed.” I blurted out and he sat up correctly.

“We? Yeah, I know that.”

“No, no…” I shook my head, but then stopped. “I mean... yes, we did, but that's not what I'm talking about right now.” Nice going, Aileen, making a lot of sense. “Cole. And me. We kissed.”

Haiden blinked. “Oh. Oh! Uh... great?”

I reached for a pillow and threw it at him. He shrunk when it made contact, and then the pillow fell harmlessly to the floor. “Thanks for the enthusiasm.”

“I'm sorry, it just surprised me. I didn't think Cole had the guts to do it.”

I laughed, but then came to a halt when I realized something. “Wait...now that I think about it I never told Cole I wasn't actually competing in the Selection, yet he kissed me anyway...” Cole had known I wasn’t participating when he’d kissed me. I was sure of it. He knew there was a possibility I liked him back. Smirking at Haiden I asked, “Did you tell him?”

“Technically...” he admitted, begrudgingly, but then, “I didn't think he'd remember.”

“Why wouldn't he remember?”

“He was sort of dying.”

“Oh... You pick some lousy moments to talk about important things.”

“Better late than never.” He tapped his fingers on his knee. “So, uh, how was it?” He royally sucked at showing excitement for the news, but I took what I got with a smile as I let my back fall to the bed.

“Good. He told me how he felt about me, and we were both kind of cheesy around the whole situation” I laughed thinking of Cole’s lie detector “but it ended with a kiss...” And now we see each other all the time.

“Good, good. I'm... happy for you.”

I reached for a pillow to cover my face and groaned, the pillow making it a strange muffled sound. “I really like him. Why didn't I realize it before?”

“Because you're stupid.” Haiden replied with nonchalance.

“You're stupid.” My muffled voice countered.

“I know.”

I sighed and took the pillow off my face, using my elbows as support to raise my head from the bed. He seemed a bit better. More like himself.

“You doing okay?” he asked after my staring.

“You once said you would tell me who you were going to pick beforehand, to see what I thought of her, so I'll extend the same courtesy.” His judgment was usually confusing, but I trusted it when it came to things that really mattered. “What do you think of him? Not personally, but....you know...for me. What do you think of him as a person?”

“Obviously he and I aren't... friends. But we're family and maybe he's not so bad. If you like him, then that's all that matters. He's a good guy.”

“You think you'll manage not to kill each other?”

“We've managed for twenty years. I think we can manage twenty more.”

I raised an eyebrow with amusement. “Just twenty more?”

“Maybe twenty-one.”

“So... you'll kill each other when you reach your forties?”

“We'll both be old and crippled, we won't get that far.”

“My parents are on their forties.”

“So are mine. We can't have everything.”

“My mother would be highly offended.”

He gave an annoyed glance. “Well, you're not going to tell her.”

“What makes you so sure I won't?” I teased.

“Then you'll never date Cole.”

Is that the best threat drunk-Haiden can come up with? “I don't see how those two things collide with each other.”

“They do, shush.”

“Bad comeback, Haiden.”

“I never said I was gifted in the art of comebacks.”

“Pity.” I crossed my legs on the bed. “Anyway, what about you? How are things going with the girls? I know you'll pick the last four soon.”

“It's... tense, but easier.”

“Define tense.”

“I don't know. It's just... tense.” Haiden, clearly you’ve never read a dictionary.

“Hasn't it always been like that?”

“Yeah, but it's different.”

“In a bad sense?”

“Not exactly.”

“You said you thought you liked someone, is that person still on the...” I tried to think of the right term. “Uh, top of the list?”

“Wouldn't you like to know.”

“Oh, come on. I'm not even asking for a name.”

“Okay, fine.” He slumped on the chair again. “She is.”

“Does she like you back?”

“I mean, I hope so.”

“You hope so?” I repeated with a laugh.

“You know I can't read hints.”

“Have you kissed?”

“Maybe.”

“Did she seem to...” I made hand gestures “you know… like it?”

He threw his arms in the air. “I don't know!”

“Goodness, Haiden. Girls aren't as hard to read!”

“Yes they are!”

“Nuh uh!” We sounded like children, but didn’t care. “Guys, are a lot more complicated.”

“No, guys are not complicated.”

“Well, girls aren't complicated either.” I pointed at him accusingly. “I remember lots of girls thought of you as a complete enigma when this started.” That finally got a laugh out of him and I smiled at my small victory before going on. “They thought you were too distant and shy. You can imagine my confusion.”

“Maybe I am distant and shy.”

“I never thought of you as shy.”

“Really? Then again, our first date was actually interesting.”

I snorted. “Yeah, we stole bread and you pretended to be Rose from Titanic. Shyness wasn't the first impression I got.”

“Hey, at least we can say our ship sunk, am I right?”

He winked and I burst out laughing, my back falling to the bed again. “YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT.”

“Oh, I did.”

I tried to contain my laugh. Aliya would be proud of that pun. “I hate you.”

“I know.”

“Do you hate me back? I am trying to establish the deepness of our friendship here.”

“Of course I hate you. You are my best friend, after all.”

“Hmm, very well… Oh!” I did an awkward backflip on the bed to be on a sitting position again, a question popping into my head. “Have you brought anyone new into your room?”

He frowned. “What kind of question is that?”

I rolled my eyes with a grunt at his double meaning thinking, but then jokingly gestured at the bed to tease him. “Oh, you know what I mean.”

“Uh-huh, right.”

“Seriously though, I just mean your room in general. And don't pretend it's not a relevant question. Being comfortable enough to bring them into your room is very important.”

“Okay, maybe one or two.”

“Good, good. Let's see what else I can get out of you....you know who your last four will be?”

After that he admitted he wasn’t planning on a final four. Instead he would pick the last three and then choose ‘the One.’

“Really?” I was surprised he’d narrowed it down so easily after all. “Well, that's nice.”

He nodded, and then silence took over the room again as he placed his elbows on his knees to stare at the floor. “Aileen?”

“Mhmm?”

“I'm scared.”

He gave me a worried glance and I stood up from the bed to make my way to him. “That's ok... but you don't have to be. Things will work out.”

His jaw clenched. “Everyone keeps saying that, but...”

“But?” I asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“What if she says no?”

Giving him a sympathetic smile I pushed him off of the chair so I could sit on the floor with him. Always pushing limits. “Why would she say no?”

He groaned at my question. “I don't know. Maybe she's in love with a guard or something…Or maybe my cousin. Oh wait, someone already did that.”

I stuck my tongue out at him after his last statement. “Don't be bitter. We both knew we were just friends.” Then coming back to him and the remaining girls I added, “And I'm pretty sure if you pick someone it'll be because you know she loves you back… Also, I haven't heard rumors of anyone being secretly in love with guards, so there's that.” Not any of the remaining girls at least.

“Well, I am an awful judge in character. Makes sense since you're my best friend.”

I gasped, bringing a hand to my chest, playing the offended part. “You know, I can just leave right now. Then you can sulk by yourself. I bet it'll be fun.”

“I'll just find my other stash of vodka.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and started standing up. “Fine then. I'll leave.”

He reached for my wrist and made me sit down again. “I was kiddingggg.”

I grabbed the pillow that had remained on the floor after I threw it at him earlier and hit him with it again. “I feel like you call me your best friend all the time so I don't forget it's true.”

“No. It's for myself.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”

He looked the other way. “It's so that I... never forget that I'm not alone.”

“Haiden…” I felt the air escape my lungs, his words leaving me speechless as tears blurred my vision. It was like something inside me broke—that piece that belonged to him.

“You're not.” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. He squeezed my shoulders, crying softly into my hair. I could only hug him tighter as I tried to keep my own tears at bay. He rarely showed such vulnerability, but when he did it hurt me too. “You're not alone, Haiden. You hear me? You're not alone.”

“I know I'm not and that's the scariest part.”

“What do you mean?”

“For once in my life I have people that don't have to care about me but do. I keep wondering what I've done to deserve it.”

I finished the hug to look at him. “Haiden, you're incredibly kind with a lot of people. You're funny in your own way, you try to help when you can, and—whether you think you show it or not—you care about people. Why would they not care back for you? Sometimes one can earn things without realizing it.”

“It just feels like the universe hates me, you know?”

Seems like we both think inanimate objects hate us. I wiped away the tears that had formed in my eyes before taking his head between my hands to make him look at me. “The universe isn't a being, therefore it can't hate you, got it? You say you feel like you haven't earned these things...and yes, sometimes it's like that...but in those cases all you can do is enjoy what you've been given and try to make yourself worthy of it all. Try your best. Sometimes I don't think I've done enough to be deemed such a good friend by you...yet here I am.”

He shook his head at my last words. “But you are.”

“Exactly,” I nudged him lightly “and so are you. We all have our quirks Haiden, that doesn't mean we don't deserve the care of others.”

“I don't know. Maybe I don't.” He mumbled, and I contemplated hitting him again.

“Why would I hang with you if you didn't?”

“Because you're stupid.” He stated for the second time that day, giving me a weak smile before I hit him with the pillow. “You wound me so.”

“They do say love hurts.” I said, attempting a joke.

“Mmhm, Cole would know.”

“Are you saying I'll make him suffer?”

“Most definitely.”

I clicked my tongue. “I will not.”  Just the thought of hurting him made me feel horrible.

Haiden was determined on his point though. “That's what love is, isn't it? Pain.”

I shook my head. “No, love is trust and hope. It's caring and protecting the people you hold dearest...but it's also something you have to fight for sometimes in the world we live in.”

“Everyone must be doing it wrong then.”

“Sadly humans don't get it right half the time…I like to do my best though. I won't stop trying just because others fail. People say it's painful because it's hard.” I thought of Sam and how hard it was to be with him sometimes. We were better now, but not quite there just yet. Sometimes it was painful because it was a hard to forget what had happened.

“Maybe it's painful because you love them in the first place.”

“It does require sacrifice sometimes.” I thought of how my mother decided to leave her caste to marry my father—at the time not knowing her family would accept the decision one day—then my thought drifted to Sam once more. No matter how mad I’d been at him when he’d left, I missed him constantly. “It might also be painful when you're not with them.”

“Is that how you know?”

“If you love them?” I looked up at the ceiling. “I don't know... I believe love can be a lot of things. Blissful, consuming, crazy, sometimes complicated when we make it complicated...but I don't think it should be painful.”

I tried to think of a more specific answer. “You know because you want to spend time with them. Not only because you have fun with them but because it feels right. Because you want to know everything about them. You want to be part of their everyday.” I wanted to be a part of Cole’s every day. “You want to be the reason behind that smile.” That curious tilt before his laugh came. “And it's a love you’re willing to fight for even when it gets rough—because it does get rough. No matter how much you love someone, nothing is ever perfect.”

“You say it like you know.”

A grin slowly appeared on my face. “I like to believe I do. And I don't say it only because of Cole… though there's nothing like his stupid grin...” I cleared my throat “but because of my family and friends too.”

He nodded, absently staring at the carpet, so I elbowed him lightly. “Haiden…”

“Aileen…”

“That includes you as well.”

“I know…it’s just weird.”

“What is weird? Love?”

“Love. Life. Everything.”

I nudged him again with a wary smile. “Well, it's a good thing you're not alone on it, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” He mumbled, still not very cheery.

I stared at the carpet beneath us. “If you ever need anything you can call me...or get Cole.”

He nodded slowly. “I know.”

“And don't you dare give me the 'I didn't want to bother you' excuse. Ever.”

“But what if I don't?”

“No Haiden. I don't care. Whatever it is it can't be as bad as finding out you did something stupid because of it.”

“Chill, Aileen, I'm not suicidal or anything.”

His reply made me clench my jaw and I avoided his gaze as I looked the other way. “I'm not saying you are....I just...I talked with Cole.”

He stared at me for a moment before sighing and putting his head in his hands. “He told you.”

I sighed too, remembering Cole’s words. He would never trust me with anything else if I told people about this, don’t you get it? We’d agreed I wouldn’t bring it up with Haiden, but there was no going back now. The orange bottle with the word Xanax written over it came to mind. “He didn't mean to tell me, I just found them in his room by accident and he had to explain.”

“I-It's... not important.”

“Do you think he has a problem?” I’d asked Cole as I stared at the bottle.

He’d hesitated only for a second before saying, “There’s a possibility.”

“Haiden, come on...”

“Aileen, r-really, don't worry about it.”

“You promised you wouldn't lie to me anymore.” I stared right at him. “Look me in the eye and tell me I don't have to worry about this.” A lump formed in my throat. “I dare you.”

“What would you do to me if I did?”

“You mean, if you're lying?”

“Whichever.”

I wasn’t sure what I would do if he dared to lie. “I wouldn't risk lying if I were you.”

“Then I won't say anything.”

I pursed my lips, disappointment gnawing at me as I stood up. “If you can't admit there's a problem I can't help you.”

“You don't need to help me. I'm handling it.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.”

I crouched down in front of him. “Then look me in the eye and tell me I don't have to worry about this.”

He clenched his jaw. “I can't do that.”

“You're contradicting yourself.”

Frowning, he finally looked me in the eye. “I can't look you in the eye because I know you'll think I'm lying because I'm sweaty and clammy and my pupils are dilated, but that's only because I'm going through withdrawal and in reality I don't have a handle on it and I don't want to admit that to myself, let alone you. Is that a good enough explanation? Huh?”

“Yes.” I stood up again and headed to his desk to pour him some water. “That's good enough.”

When I handed him the glass he took it but only to drop it onto the floor. Now he was the only one acting like a child. I stared at the water and scooted away from its path. “Is that supposed to make me feel bad?”

He shrugged, staring the other way. I let out a “hmm” before pouring another glass, but instead of offering it to him like the first time, I let the water fall on his head. He only flinched as the water made contact with his hair, but didn’t move away. When the glass was empty he sighed, letting his gaze fall.

“I suppose I deserved that.”

I patted his head. “You needed to cool down one way or the other.”

He shrugged off his suit coat to wipe his face with it and I headed to the bathroom, grabbing one of his towels to throw on his face. “Accepting it is a good start, Haiden. I'm not trying to be pushy here, it's just necessary.”

“You were never supposed to know.” He mumbled and I smacked him lightly on the head.

“Well, too bad. And don't dare to blame this on Cole. He only told me because I threatened him.”

“Right.” He rolled his eyes and I scoffed.

“You don't believe me?”

“Whatever.”

“What do you mean whatever?”

“You probably should go.”

I frowned down at him. “Are you being serious?”

“I-I need to be alone. Before I say something I regret.”

I remembered when he’d said something he shouldn’t to Elaine. Apparently it had been bad enough to make her avoid him for weeks. “Haiden...”

“Aileen. Please.”

Closing my eyes I took a deep breath, accepting I should go. I might pretend to handle mean words well… but if they came from someone I cared about I was never unharmed. “Fine.” I made my way to the door, but turned around before opening it, unsure of what to say. I couldn’t just leave him like this.

He wiped the forming tears from his eyes and said, “Say hello to Cole for me,” yet I couldn’t tell if it was him being nice or him giving me some sort of jealous reproach. I just closed my mouth and looked at the ground.

“Sure...” I clenched my fists in anticipation. “I'll see you later...?”

“Yeah... maybe.”

I quickly turned my eyes to the door again, the use of the word ‘maybe’ hitting me harder than I would have liked. What have I done? “Right.” I didn’t leave in time. Opening the door I looked over my shoulder at him on last time, something inside my chest constricting. “Goodnight, Haiden.”

“Goodbye, Aileen” was all he mumbled back, and somehow the change of that simple word, made the pain in my chest worse.

I closed the door behind me and tears inexplicably appeared at the corner of my eyes. What have I done? Walking without thinking I headed to Cole’s room—half of me screaming I shouldn’t have brought the pills up and the other half telling me Haiden needed to acknowledge the problem himself—even if it made things hard for me, it was the right thing to do. Because that’s what friends do. They care for you even when things get rough.

||Cole||

I opened the door and found Aileen with glassy eyes. Instinctively, I reached for her face and asked what had happened—after all the stupid rebel attacks I even felt compelled to check if she wasn’t hurt. I could tell she’d been trying not to cry.

“I talked with Haiden…” she mumbled, her sight dropping to the ground. 

She always talked with Haiden, and usually she came back with a smile and some story to tell, so it took me a while to understand she’d talked with him. She’d brought up the pills I’d been keeping in my room for him.

“Was it really bad?” If he said something to her I swear…

“No. He asked me to leave before it got there…but still…two words…” her arms were around my torso before she could finish the sentence. “He’s mad at me. He’s never been mad at me.”

Her arm had grazed my wound. It wasn’t too bad anymore but after our encounter with that other rebel after Aunt Alize’s funeral I still had to hold in a grunt at the touch. For her. “He’ll come around.”

“But…”

“Hey, he’s stupid sometimes but he’s not an idiot.” Usually. “Just give it a few days.”

She nodded and I wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes. Then I kissed her nose, and her cheeks, and her forehead, and her cheekbones, until she started giggling.

“Stop that.” She smiled warily as she tried to pull away, but I’d linked my hands behind her lower back.

“Why?” I kissed the spot between her eyebrows. “I have to do something to stop you’re crying.” I kissed her nose again and she finally let out a small laugh. Nose kisses were her weakness.

“You’re hopeless, you know?”

“Anything to get a smile on your face, Firework.”

A grin spread across her face after that.

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