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sweetchup · 3 years

Text

Bi•valve

Noun

an aquatic mollusk that has a compressed body enclosed within a hinged shell, such as oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops.

AKA

The Most Common Seashell in the Ocean

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Vol. 1: Just Keep Swimming // Ch. 2

Type: Poseidon x reader

Word Count: 4,000+

Masterlist

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Sounds of horns and shouting filled the air outside as you stood on the packed bus. Cramped in from every side, it was hard for you to tell where you were going. Not as if you were paying much attention anyways.

“Okay, you left fish and pasta in the fridge… he could use the tv or read a book for entertainment while you are gone…what about…” You ramble incoherently to yourself.

Even though the storm hit Athens hard yesterday, your studio art professor was still having classes today. Forcing you to leave Triton alone at home. You shouldn’t be nervous. There was no reason to. After all, Triton is a god, he was hundreds of years old.

But…, he was still a child. No matter how old or what type of being he is. He could still possibly injure himself or get into trouble. And that single fact alone made you feel sick to your stomach.

“Is this how parents feel leaving their child alone for the first time…?” You groan to yourself, leaning your head forward so it hits the window in front of you.

“Now Approaching *Athens International School of Art*. I repeat, Now—“ The robotic voice announces over the intercom. At the familiar name of your college, you squeeze your way through the other patrons on the bus to make your way to the doors.

Sweet, sweet air, you think to yourself as soon as you exit the bus. It was starting to get way too cramped in there. So much so, you wondered if it was a safety hazard. Though it wasn’t as if you were one to talk, you left a little boy alone—

“Argh!” You scream out, slapping the cheeks of your face. You needed to stop thinking of Triton. He was going to be completely fine. But, what if…

“I’m getting too attached already…” You groan to yourself. It had only been a day. One singular Day. But you were already smitten by the blonde haired child. “It doesn’t help that he's absolutely adorable as well…”

“Who’s adorable?” A voice calls out from behind you, making you jump in surprise. Whipping around, you let out a sigh once you identify who it was.

“Bryce… how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that…”

Bryce Kroger. He was studying abroad at Athens International School of Art for a year just like you except he was instead an architecture major. You met him by coincidence while taking art history so you didn’t know much about the guy, the only thing being the few stories he told you about his home country of Australia.

“Oi! It’s not my fault you're so skittish!” Bryce banters back with a huff.

“Whatever…”

“Eh? Wait, where you heading?” Bryce questions as he watches you walk away, “I thought you had Studio Art on Fridays?”

“I do. I’m heading to the library first though.” You yell back to the tall male who stayed put where he was standing. Not even bothering to follow you.

“You need to stop studying so much!”

“Shut up!”

“IT’S THE TRUTH!”

“SHUT UP!” You scream back with one final huff before storming off. So what if you studied so much. You just wanted to get good grades in the classes that counted. It’s how you got here in the first place. By working your ass off.

Unconsciously, you feel your hand twitch as you open the library door. So what if you spent hours studying. So what if you didn’t go out with friends that often. So what if you didn’t have a social life. So what—

You feel yourself pause, your expression turning sour. Lonely. That’s what you were. You were lonely. A miserable lonely girl.

“Miss!”

Startled out of your thoughts by the sudden call, you realize you were no longer standing at the front door but instead standing in front of one of the librarians. You must have unconsciously walked up to the front desk while you were lost in thought.

“A-Ah. Sorry, I was just looking for books on Leonar—“

You feel your voice trail off at the end as a book on the counter catches your eye. It wasn’t the gold detailing nor the leather texture. No. It was the simple words of “Greek Mythology: Tales of Zeus” printed neatly on the front.

“…Actually, Do you perhaps have any books about Poseidon?”

You just found something better to do with your time.

—.—.—.—.—

“Damn… this is extremely confusing…” You mumble to yourself as you glare at the pages of notes in front of you. Each book seemed to be a little bit different from the last. “Perhaps I should recap…”

Okay, so what makes sense to you is that Poseidon is the second eldest of three brothers and is the ruler of the seas. The things that don’t make sense are… practically everything else…

You weren’t sure if you wanted to cry or scream out of frustration right now.

According to the books, Poseidon has had many consorts over the years. One of them being Triton’s mother, Amphitrite…

“My mother… can be quite mean to other women. Even to some of the female servants around the palace. She believes that they are trying to seduce my father…”

…but that doesn’t match up with what Triton mentioned last night. According to him, it sounds like Amphitrite scared away any women that would even come near Poseidon. This also leads to another flaw in the mythology books. You doubted that Poseidon would be able to have an affair with any other women with Amphitrite antics, nevertheless have 10 other children with them.

“Triton also never mentioned having any other siblings…”

Letting out a groan, which you seemed to be doing a lot today, you banged your head against the table. It seems like these mythology books weren’t going to be of any help after all. Though…. you couldn’t help but wonder why the books were so off in the first place.

Lifting yourself back up from the table, you glare down at one of the book covers. It was blue, almost silvery in a way, with a giant black silhouette of Poseidon right smack dab in the middle. Or, at least, what Poseidon might look like…

“Well, my father is extremely strong and handsome. All the sea nymphs stare at him with big heart eyes half the time. Oh! B-but, father doesn’t pay any attention to them. Father is not a cheater like uncle Zeus…”

“…Is Father…? Oh. He’s alright… He’s nowhere as bad as my mother. He’s never hit me or anything. He’s just… cold. Extremely cold. He really just ignores me half the time…”

“…I do love my father…I just wished he would at least spare me a glance…you know?…Acknowledge his own son…”

“God damn jerk!” You hiss out in anger as you push the book aside. Your blood practically boiling at even the slightest thought of Triton’s father, Poseidon. He doesn’t deserve to have such a good and nice son like Triton.

However, as much as you want to curse out Poseidon more, you realized class would be starting soon and you really had to get a move on.

“Shit. I can’t afford to be late again.”

—.—.—

“Ugh. Why did the professor have to assign me this type of painter…?!” You whined to Yuri. Class had already ended by then with the professor long gone. The only people left were students that were conversing with others or trying to get a head start on their paintings.

“Well, it didn’t help that you barged into class late for the second time this week, (y/n).” Yuri explained with a sigh as she continued to set up her palette, not even sparing you a glance.

Yuri Saito, Or rather Saito Yuri, was an abroad student from Japan. She was the closest person you knew at the college as you both were similar in many ways. Especially since you were both homebodies.

“I get that but at least I showed up in the fir—“

“(Y/n)!” A voice shouts out interrupting your talk with Yuri. You turn around to see Bella Woods, a student apart of your major, approaching you. “(Y/n). You were part of your student council back in high school right?”

“Uh, Yeah. Why?” You answered hesitantly. You weren’t sure why, perhaps instincts, but you were already having a bad feeling about this situation.

“Well I need your help on something…” Bella explains, her voice trailing off at the end as she grabs something from her bag. It’s a piece of paper, a flier to be exact.

“A…A Cultural Festival?”

Bella nods her head at your words, “Yeah. The college wanted to put something on for the public to show what our art school is all about and Mrs. Yamamoto suggested this. A-Apparently, it’s something schools and colleges do back in Japan.”

“B-But how can I help? Wouldn’t it make sense for someone like Yuri to do this? Since she’s from Japan and all.”

It was the truth. You didn’t know a single thing about japanese culture festivals.

“Hey don’t drag me into this, I’m busy.” Yuri counterbacks with a glare before returning back to her painting.

“Well… you see… The school wanted to change Mrs. Yamamoto’s idea a bit since they really didn’t know anything about Japanese Cultural festivals either. So it’s like a Cultural festival, kind of not.” Bella rambled. You could tell all this information was scrambling her brain as well. “Basically, it’s like a Greek version of a Cultural festival where each major picks a Greek god and plans an event or booth around it.”

“…Okay… So it’s just like a school festival in a way?” You questioned cautiously. This was a lot for you to take in at once.

“Yes. Precisely. We are just taking inspiration from Cultural festivals.”

“Okay. Okay…” You answer as you rub the back of your neck, “I still don’t understand why you need me though?”

“Well, I kind of… kind of saw you reading the mythology books in the library today and we need more people on the planning committee…” Oh, god. It seems like everything is coming back to bite you in the ass, “…Just. Please (y/n), We need your help!”

You let out a small sigh as you watch Bella give you a pleading look, “Fine…”

“Yay—!“

“But…“ You start cutting off Bella’s cheers, “But I’m taking care of something really important right now at home so I can’t always make meetings and things like that. I can help with planning but that’s it. Okay?”

That was correct. As much as you wanted to help Bella and your department out with this festival, Triton was your top priority right now. His care and needs were above all else right now, even your own. So if this would get in the way of that then you would drop this project instantly. Instantly.

“Of course! Oh, thank you (y/n)!” Bella cheers, her body visibly relaxing now that a stress has been taken off your shoulder, “Well, I’m not sure if you're busy right now but… the committee is currently planning two classrooms down… so if you could…”

“I’ll go…” You sighed out. Damn, what’s with you lately. Less than two days ago, people hardly approached you. Now you are as busy as a bee. A person magnetic… Well, more like god magnetic as wel—

Wait, a minute. You feel yourself tense up as a thought flies into your brain. If Gods could travel and spend time on earth, could they live here as well? Just like how Triton wants to?

Shit. What if some that live here are able to identify Triton? You could be in big troub—

“(Y/n)? Are you coming?” Bella calls, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Y-yes.”

It seemed you would have to worry about that later. Not that it mattered right now, you could always just ask Triton when you got home. And even if he didn’t know the answer you would just have to be careful bringing him out of the house. Yeah… you would just do that.

“Guys, I would like to introduce you to (y/n). She’s a fine arts major just like us and knows about mythology. I think she would make a great addition to our group.” Bella introduces you as you enter the room. As you looked around the group of only 4 other people, you realized you really didn’t know anyone.

That is until everyone started to introduce themselves. You never heard of the first three—Brian, James and Kyle—but you found the last name, Marissa Samudra, quite familiar. You wonder if she was that Marissa.

Who you were talking about was Marissa, the hottest girl in school Marissa. Well, at least that’s what all the boys in your major told you. The girl in front of you at least seemed to fit the part. With white silk like skin, light green eyes and dyed coral pink hair, she truly was a sight to see.

“Okay. So shall we get started.” James suddenly spoke up, seeming to want to get the meeting started. You nodded your head in agreement before taking a seat next to Holly. As well as across from Marissa. “Well, I think we should first decide which god we should do. Culinary, Music, Visual performing arts and architecture already have chosen Aphrodite, Hades, Ares and Zeus. (Y/n)…”

You lift your head up at the call of your name.

“…as you know the most about Mythology, who do you think we should pick?”

“Well,…” You feel yourself pause, your palms growing sweaty out of nervousness. You really didn’t know that much about Greek Gods, only the class you took last year and the books you skimmed this morning. You also didn’t expect so many of the main gods to be taken already.

“…How about…”

You needed to think of someone fast. Someone that would satisfy all parties here. Someone that would bedazzle people coming to the festival.

“…Poseidon…?”

Why… Why was that what your brain had come up with? Poseidon? The very god that you were cursing out this morning. Wishing near death upon.

“Fish man?” Brian questioned, letting out a small chuckle at his own joke, “You really want to go with Fish man as our god? Isn’t there anyone better?”

“I think Poseidon is pretty…cool.” You feel a shiver go up your spine as you compliment the man. It was official, you might actually puke. “…He’s the king of the seas. It gives us a lot to work with for his character. Especially since most Fine Arts students are good at realistic elements, we could really do well on painting or using sea life.”

“True… but—“

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

You are shocked as you hear Marissa cut Brian off. When you first sat down, she seemed totally uninterested in the topic at hand. Caring more about her hair and nails than anything else. But now, now, she was paying attention to every little thing. You couldn’t help but wonder why. “Oh sorry. I really like the sea. It holds a special place in my heart… you know?”

Oh, that makes sense. You totally forgot Marissa’s paintings were mostly about the ocean and sea. Never drifting off to other topics.

“N-no. That’s actually pretty cool. You know what, we should totally do Posedin… or whatever the dude’s name is. He sounds really cool.” Bryan agrees as he bashfully rubs the back of his neck. Gross, could he make it any less obvious that he was smitten by her. And not in a nice way either.

You feel yourself shiver as you watch him sneak small glances down at Marissa’s chest area. Disgusting pervert…

“Well, with that decided let’s move on…”

…Great… You could already tell this was going to be a long meeting…

—.—.—.—.—

Again, for what felt like the hundredth time today, you banged your head against the wall. This time however it was against the door of your apartment.

“Seriously… a Café…?”

Yes, a Café. That’s the brilliant idea your group came up with. An under the sea type themed café.

In hindsight it didn’t sound all that bad. You could have a couple of students paint some props and decorations. Then another couple of students who know how to cook plan out the menu. Maybe even borrow some culinary students if you were lucky.

But,… there’s that.

Outnumbered three to two, the boys of your group insisted the girls that are serving customers should wear togas. Togas. They stated it was to bring in more customers but it was pretty obvious they had other intentions behind it. Especially since they didn’t even bother waiting a couple of minutes afterwards to ask if Marissa wanted to be part of the waiting staff.

“Poor girl… I feel bad for her.” You mumble to yourself as you pull out your keys, finally unlocking the door to your apartment. You wished you could just beat all those men senseless with a baseball bat. “That’s actually not a bad idea… Could I bring a wooden club and say that it's part of the character? They seem to not know that much about—“

“Miss (y/n)!” You hear shouted as something comes barreling into you. Knocking you onto the ground right as you enter your apartment. “O-oops I meant to only say (y/n)…”

Even though you got the air literally knocked out of you, you still let out a small chuckle as you reached up to run a hand through the perpetrator’s locks. Triton’s blonde locks. “It’s okay. I only told you this morning to stop referring to me so formally. It will take time for you to get used to it.”

Suddenly, you wince at a feeling of pain as you move slightly. Triton sure was strong. You, honestly, wondered if he held back some strength when he jumped at you. If so, you wondered how strong Triton was nonetheless an adult god.

Speaking of an adult god…

“Hey Triton.” The boy lifts his head up at your call, “Do any gods live on earth?”

The boy seemed to take a moment to think, “Well kind of? Not really Greek Gods though. Most of them are too proud to live with humans.”

“Oh well that’s goo— Wait, a minute! Other gods are real as well!?”

Triton nods his head furiously, “Yeah pretty much all gods. As long as it is considered as one, it exists. There’s Nordic gods…, Indian gods…, Oh! Even Buddha. I like Buddha, even though I’ve only met him once. He introduced me to salt water taffy! It’s delicious.”

“I-I see…I’ll try to get you some then. Another time.” As much as you wanted to hide your surprise you couldn’t. Learning that Greek Gods actually existed was one situation but learning that All Gods existed was a whole nother ball game. Did that mean demons existed as well?

“Hey (y/n). Could I ask you a question?” Triton asks, suddenly seeming bashful all of a sudden.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Could I…” Triton pauses for a moment, “Could I call you…”

You leaned closer to Triton as his voice slowly got softer and softer at the end. His ears and cheeks were bright red as he waited for you to answer. However, you couldn’t answer him as you didn’t hear the last part of what he said.

“I apologize. Could you repeat what you said, Triton? I couldn’t hear the end of it.” You felt bad for asking him to repeat it as his face only seemed to get even more red when you asked.

“I-I… Could I call you… Mom?”

It was silent as his question, or rather request, fell upon your ears. You thought about it for a moment. Especially whether it was morally right for you to have him call you ‘mom’. Even if his true mother was a terrible person, she was still his mother.

Though, then again, She really didn’t act like his mother. Especially in all her hundreds of years of existence of having him. At least from what you’ve heard from Triton. She’s had plenty of chances to show her love for him and she never did.

“Of…Of course you can.”

You feel yourself smile as Triton’s face lit up. And you knew, Deep down inside, that you did the right thing. You would show this boy the love he deserved.

“Hey (Y— Mom.” You giggle at how Triton seemed to practically beam with happiness once the title left his lips.

“Yes, Triton?”

“Could we have dinner right now?”

You feel yourself jump up a little in surprise. Since you stayed later than what you usually would, due to the meeting, you didn’t have anything prepared ahead of time for dinner.

“Ah, yes. Do you think you could wait in the living room while I prepare it?”

“Of course!” Triton answers as he scrambles up off of you. As you make your way to the kitchen—which was technically in the same room as the living room—to start dinner, you find yourself drifting off into your thoughts.

You realized you really hadn’t thought this through. Taking care of Triton and all. Your apartment was small, he didn’t have his own room, he seemed to eat a lot more than a human boy his physical age and so much more.

You wouldn’t be able to buy a bigger apartment right now. Going through college and all. But you could take more shifts at work. After all, it was literally down the street. You were also good friends with the owner of the toy shop next door. You bet he would allow Triton to play with a couple of toys while you worked.

As you continue to list things you would need to take care of Triton especially if it was long term, Triton was watching cartoons on the couch.

“…Wonder cats will be right back!…”

As the show goes to commercial break, Triton feels himself let out a sigh. Television sure was awesome and all, much better than the plays and coliseum matches used to entertain gods, but he despised ads more than anything.

“Who in the world created such a malicious thing…”

Triton’s voice trails off at the end as the ad changes to another. As he stares at the screen, he feels a shiver shoot down his spine. As quickly as he could, Triton changes the channel to another before shakily dropping the television remote. A cold sheen of sweat breaks out all over his skin as he collapses back onto the couch.

To anyone else, the commercial before looked like any normal hair dye commercial seen on Tv. But not to Triton. Especially when he saw something oh so familiar.

“T-that hair color…” Triton feels himself shiver at the thought, “L-looked too much like Aunties. Mom’s…No…

…Amphitrite’s Sister.”

Author Note: Ahhh this chapter contained so much but I knew I couldn’t split it up. Especially if I was doing posting Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was worried that the time frame in between would mess my readers up. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter. I know there wasn’t a lot of Triton moments but I wanted to get the ball rolling on the plot so that things and certain characters (*cough* Poseidon *cough*) will appear soon. Well that’s it for now, see you next time :)))

Taglist: @angeli-fucking-cat @marixxhq

#shuumatsu no valkyrie #shuumatsu no valkyrie x reader #snv poseidon x reader #snv poseidon #snv #bivalve

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falloutjay · 4 years

Text

Wait, you are my hero? - Kenny x Reader

This is my first ever published x Reader fanfiction ever and I tried my best.

Just as a disclaimer, its not fully proofread, so I am already sorry for that and English also isn’t my first language so sorry again. I hope you guys do enjoy it tho.

______________________________________

Kenny McCormick/Mysterion x Reader

You walked around South Parks nightlife district, the so called "SoDoSoPa" with your good friend Bebe, when you heard a loud sound from a few streets away. People were running and screaming, some were on their phone calling the police. Curiously, you ran towards the noise, like some others.

"YN, stay here! That's too dangerous!" Bebe called, while she sprinted after you. Coming closer to where fires were already rising, you saw him.

"It's me! Professor Chaos! Scream like the little ants you are!" Professor Chaos was a super villain that had been terrorizing the town for quite a while now. He and General Disarray were feared individuals that only cared about creating chaos and nothing more. But he was not the reason you and others remained here, while most people would leave. People like you stayed for the Professors sworn enemies. The superheroes that protected this town. There weren't many, especially good ones, but one in particular made your head spin, when you heard his name.

"YN please. Let us leave. It's dangerous!" Bebe pleaded looking around the street. Professor Chaos had blown up a construction side and the fires where ravaging among the building. He stood on top of it laughing like a maniac with Disarray be his side.

"We can't leave. I want to see him."

"You're insane!" Bebe said again and looked around, obviously distressed.

"Come on, where are you." You whispered and your hand clutched onto your phone.

You hope to finally snap a picture of him personally instead of always cutting out the imagines in the newspaper or magazines.

People were still screaming when a roaring sound broke through.

Your eyes grew wide and you pressed record on your phone, holding it in the direction of the sound. A purple motorbike came around the corner and the person on it looked just as amazing as you imagined. His purple cape moved beautifully behind him, when he pulled off a sick drift and stopped the bike.

Mysterion, the most badass and beloved hero arrived. You worshipped this man.

In your opinion he was simply amazing. He was strong, courageous, and not afraid to die. You were so busy drooling over this hero, that you didn't noticed Bebe shaking your arm and screaming about the fire. Then a second hero arrived.

The somewhat hated "Coon".

He stood there, somewhat out of breath while screaming at Mysterion. "Ah, Mysterion, my arch enemy." Professor Chaos laughed evilly and pointed at him from the top of the building.

"I'm here too Chaos!" The Coon screamed. Professor Chaos didn't even give him a glace and just waved his hand, while he laughed.

"Today, I will put an end to your hero career Mysterion." "Oh yeah? I'd love to see that." The purple clothed hero retorted cockily and laughed. “Stop ignoring me for fucks sake!” The Coon screamed angrily, stomping his foot on the ground.

"We will see who will be laughing at the end. Disarray!" Professor Chaos screamed and suddenly you felt yourself being pulled.

You screamed before a hand was put over your mouth. You managed to turn your head a little bit and catch a glimpse of the right-hand man of Professor Chaos, General Disarray. "I have someone, Professor!" He called out to the gigantic seeming blonde and he laughed evilly once more.

"I have a hostage, Mysterion. Now your chances are significantly smaller than ever!" He laughed again and thunder struck behind him.

"Mysterion?" He called out, after he noticed that the hero was nowhere to be seen. You felt yourself getting pushed around a lot and heard some fighting noises before strong hands grabbed you. You let out a quick scream, before you saw into deep blue eyes. You noticed immediately that Mysterion had saved you. You sadly had not seen much of the fight, like you wished you had. He must have looked amazing.

"Run. Now. Get out of here." He said in his extremely deep voice and you needed a second before you could process everything that had just happened, but you managed to nod hesitantly before you took off running. Running for your dear life. You kept a tight grip on your phone in your pocket and when you finally reached the street in which you lived, you took a short second to catch your breath. "What the..." You mumbled somewhat scared and giddy.

Hastily you took out your phone and looked through your gallery. Your heart started beating faster when you took a good look at the beautiful snapshot you took of Mysterion while he arrived on his motorcycle.

"That's so gonna be in my locker at work." You mumbled, smiling like an idiot and you probably were one. You barely managed to escape the sticky situation, but you felt like it was somewhat worth it.

For you it was worth it.

Your little obsession with Mysterion started back when you were in High School and he saved a little girl that was almost run over by a car. Back then he was not all that professional like he was today. He apparently received some funding by the government which allowed him to have that cool motorcycle and a little headquarters. No one knew who he was or where he stashed all of his belongings. But he was a hero. To the town and for you personally.

A little squeal escaped your lips, before you went to shower and then straight to bed. Mysterion was the only thing on your mind during all of this.

When your phone rang early in the morning, you were already up and going about your day. You had the picture you endangered yourself for yesterday already printed out and in your work bag.

You worked for a little company belonging to Eric Cartman. He founded it a few years back and it changed its focus ever so often.

Eric paid you well and that's what kept you in the job. When it was time to leave you simply got into your car and started driving to the outskirts of the town where Eric had his little company. You parked on your employee parking space and saw one of your close friends and also colleagues walk up.

Stan Marsh.

He was honestly better than this job, but he simply wanted to escape his father for some time, because he hated the weed farm he owned, and Eric promised him some good money.

"Morning Stan!" You called out and waved towards the raven haired. He waved back and quickly jogged up to you.

"Hey, YN. Did you hear about the whole thing yesterday with Professor Chaos?" He asked and you showed your phone.

"Already read all the articles aaaand..." You quickly pulled up the snapshot you managed to sneak yesterday. Stans eyes grew wide.

"Woah! You were there?" "Yeah! And the girl that almost got kidnapped by Disarray? That was me." You smiled and Stan shook his head. "weren't you with Bebe yesterday?"

"Yeah." You began, as the two of you sat down at your desks. "She's somewhat pissed about me standing around in danger but she's happy I wasn't hurt." Stan smiled warmly at you and you guys talked for some more until Cartman strolled into your shared office.

"Okay. Okay. So... I want a new article about Coon for my blog and I need you, Stan, to please sort out the client data and phone anyone who hasn't bought our new merch." Eric said and pointed at the "Who is the Coon?"-T-Shits and Hoodies that hang on the wall.

"But no one likes the Coon?" Stan questioned and Erics face grew a little red. "Everyone loves the Coon. Mysterion is just some asshat who plays dress up and tries to mingle with the professionalism of the Coon." Eric said through gritted teeth and Stan and you rolled your eyes.

"Sure thing." Stan mumbled and started typing. "YN, for today, please research me some new money-making ideas." You nodded and went searching.

Hours went by in which Stan and you would love to just bang your head against the tables. "Why is he so obsessed with the Coon? You could almost think he is the Coon." Stan mumbled. "Almost but... You never know. I mean, we probably will never know who Mysterion is." You answered and filled out the papers needed for a new money-making idea. Last time you guys tried NSFW-Patreon drawings; the problem was though that none of you could produce enough hentai to keep up with the demand. You guys did not notice that you had been working for a while until two beautiful blonde-haired boys poked their head in.

"You guys coming for lunch?" Butters asked. "Yeah, haven't noticed it's lunchtime yet." You said and peeked at your watch. "Hardworking as always." Butters smiled and just now you noticed he had a black eye.

"Butters, what happened there?" Stan asked and he looked scared for a second. "Just some guy who beat me up at the bar, nothing to worry about fellas." He smiled and honest to God, he was just a little sunshine all around. Unlike the blonde next to him.

Kenny was more of a player and very down to earth. He was super charismatic and confident despite his troubled upbringing.

You packed your bag and followed the guys.

Kenny didn't work for Cartman. He worked in a small car shop just a few buildings away. You didn't know why he refused to work with Cartman, but you could guess it was maybe due to Cartman being a little shit sometimes and him telling the blond always "You're pooooor Kiiinny."

Maybe Cartman’s terrible attitude really was the reason the blonde refused to work for him and only came here to have lunch with you all. "Where are we eating?"

You asked and watched Stan and Butters discuss on where to go. "How about Cafe Monet?" Stan proposed and you all agreed. Well, not really, Kenny didn't agree, he just tagged along. Once you all arrived and you were seated you guys searched through the Menu.

Kenny didn't and you knew he wasn't going to order since he was adamant about saving everything he had.

You know that since he once told you that he was saving everything he had for his sister.

You had met Karen a few times and she was a pure little angle, so you felt hard for the blond.

It melted your heart that he was trying so hard to better himself and help his siblings. Feeling generous you slid your Menu over to the blonde and smiled. "Pick something. It's on me." You whispered and he eyed you confused.

"I don't need some charity shit or something. I'm fine with eating my lunch later." He said, his blond bangs framing his face elegantly. "I know. Just see it as a friend treating a friend." You whispered back and he gifted you a half smile and went to look what he would like. Finally, you decided on a nice Fav/Dish and Kenny picked a bit of fish with potatoes and greens.

"Eating all healthy?" You questioned when the waiter out down the plate in front of him. "Yes. Staying fit is important." He said and winked confidently. You were so busy talking to the blond next to you, you did not notice the topic of your other two friends. "No no, YN was the girl." You turned your head to look at Stan pointing at you. "Huh, sorry, what was that?" You asked and Stan laughed.

"You were the girl who got almost caught up in professor Chaos evil plan weren't you?" Butters looked at you with wide eyes. He seemed trembling.

"Oh yeah, that was me. General Disarray was about to take me somewhere, but I was saved."

"Why were you there anyway?" Kenny asked with a full mouth. "Snapping pics of her crush." You eyed Stan angrily.

"He's not my crush."

"Tell that to your locker." You rolled your eyes.

"I managed to snap some good pics of Mysterion. I mean.... look!"

You digged out your phone from your pockets and showed the pictures around. "You should be a photographer or something I mean, damn. His ass Looks amazing in this one." Kenny said and inspected the pictures intensely.

"Don't encourage her to endanger herself anymore. And besides that, I don't think Mysterion would want to bang your boney ass." Stan commented snarky.

"Still more ass than you, flat cake." The blonde retorted and you and Butters simply watched the small verbal fight between them, before the two of you talked about some fashion things you knew about.

After lunch it was all back to work. It was getting tiresome around the last hour and it felt like a horrible drag. But eventually, you were finally done. You walked outside, together with Stan and you stood there.

"You need a ride home?" You asked him and he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm eating out with my family today. Just a small way to walk." You nodded and the two of you bid your goodbyes.

You got into your car and let out a deep breath. Work was tiring today, and you felt like just relaxing at home. It would be nice to maybe fill your bathtub with some loving hot water, some candles would also be nice. And cake. Yes. A cake would be needed.

So, you decided to make a small stop at the bakery before you would go home. You left your parking space and began driving through the night as you noticed a special someone sitting at a bench at the bus stop. You pulled the car up to the bench and rolled down you window.

"Kenny, what are you doing here?"

The blonde looked up from his phone and seemed surprised that you stood or rather parked there.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for the bus, the usual." He said and looked around. "But I feel like it's not coming."

He shrugged and you leaned over to open your car door.

"Hop in, I'll bring you home." You said and he reluctantly got it.

"Stop being nice, I feel like I am taking advantage." He mumbled and closed the door.

"What happened to your truck?" You asked, wondering what must have happened that Kenny had to take the bus.

"Some stupid racoons infested it and bit through some cables. I can swap them, but I had to order them online and it takes a while until they arrive." He crossed his arms, thinking about how much he wanted to strangle those stupid racoons.

"Honestly, I'm starting to see a pattern on why Coon is a raccoon."

Kenny laughed wholeheartedly with you. "That's the best thing I heard about him." Kenny bit his lip and wondered if it was okay for him to ask what he had on his mind for a while.

"Now that you already picked me up and all that..." You stole a quick glance at him before your eyes went straight back to the road. You nodded to signal him to continue.

"Would you mind hanging out for the evening?" He asked, charming as ever.

You thought about it for a moment.

"Sure, why not. I'll still get me some cake though." You said and pointed at the approaching bakery.

"Why?" He questioned curiously as you parked swiftly in front of the store.

"I feel like taking a nice long bath later and maybe I'll relax with some cake."

"You don't need cake to relax when you can have me."

Kenny's smile was incredibly devious and playfully. Normally girls would probably freak out or something about this comment, but between you and Kenny it had become somewhat normal.

"No thanks. The cake won't disappoint me after thirty seconds." You said and got out.

Kenny wanted to protest but you simply smiled devilishly and went straight into the store. Kenny used this time he was given to think of some witty comebacks.

He was not gonna let you have the last word about this. When you came back to the car, and got in, you were told: "You don't need to hide that you just wanna masturbate and think about Mysterion while touching yourself.

Kenny sat there with a smug expression and you rolled your eyes. You placed the package in the back and then gave him a light punch onto the arm.

"That one was good, I'll admit that. But you know, I'd rather think about Mysterion than be touched by you." You said and laughed.

Kenny needed to laugh too, mainly because the whole topic was simply in his favor, even when you were not aware of that.

"Ah, I love our banter." Kenny said and got comfortable in the passenger seat while he watched you drive.

"So do I. Oh, by the way, I got you and Karen some cake too. You'll treat me another time."

"Treat you with my dick? Or would you like my tongue?"

"If your name isn't Mysterion, no chance."

It was more banter to you than actually real. You were not that horny for Mysterion.

Everyone just loved to make this shitty joke at your expense ever so often, but you honestly didn't mind.

"Ah come on. And if I get a costume like his and change my voice a little?"

"Still no chance. Sorry Ken."

That still was a stupid lie. You sure were attracted to Kenny, I mean, who wouldn't. He was a tall, dirty blonde, blue-eyed hard-working man, with a soft spot for his family and great humor. You weren't surprised when you learned how many girls had little crushes on him. He was good looking and even when he wasn't the wealthiest, he was a kindhearted soul.

When you finally reach your apartment complex the two of you got out and Kenny followed you patiently to the fourth floor. Inside your apartment he went straight for the couch and relaxed. You let him be but reminded him of the no shoes rule. He begrudgingly took of his heavy and run-down boots and put them aside. He also, to your surprise, took of his orange trademark parka and tossed it into a corner.

"You'll pick it up later." You remarked from the kitchen when you saw him do that.

"Yeah, Yeah, I will."

You knew full when that he just said that so you wouldn't start a discussion with him. You knew that but still let it slide. For now, at least. You prepared a little sandwich for yourself before you plopped down onto the couch next to the blond.

"So, what are we doing?" You asked with your mouth full and he shrugged.

"How about you take that bath you were talking about and I watch you do so."

Did this shit eating grin ever leave his face?

"Nah, I'm good." You said and smiled back.

"Ah come on." He whined but laughed immediately after.

"Let's just watch some TV." You proposed and snagged the remote to put something on.

You guys were just lazily watching some random show while also being on your phones. All that was on your mind was that bath though. You loved Kenny to death but right now you were just craving some hot warm water all around you.

"Would you mind if I take that bath I was talking about? I really feel like I need that."

You said and the blonde smiled without taking his eyes off the phone. "I'd need you naked too."

You threw one of the couch pillows at him and pretended to laugh.

"Ha ha ha. You're sooo funny, it almost hurts me." You said, got up and walked into your bathroom to start the water.

In the next minutes you were setting up the candles and got your cake ready. When the water was almost ready, Kenny leaned in the doorway and watched you ignite the last candles.

"Jeez, you're going all out. Looks nice though." He said and gave you a low whistle.

"You wanna have me join you sweetheart?" He said and walked over to your kneeling figure. Kenny also got down to one knee and basically massaged your shoulders. You let out a deep sigh and rolled your eyes.

"Hey, Ken, listen, I really appreciate you and love our jokes and shit, but I don't think we should bang. It would be like... I don't know, super awkward if we had something and then just keep being friends and all that. And You're a great friend and I don't want to lose you, you know."

Kenny's smile faded and he frowned a little. "YN, I fucked so many girls and guys and I'm friendly with most of them and even their old or new partners. I'm sure it won't change a thing." He said charmingly and turned your head towards his.

You stared deeply into his eyes and you inspected the beautiful bright blue spots that highlighted it and the dark blue edges, while your heads came closer. You had never seen Kenny’s eyes up close.

And suddenly it struck you.

It felt like an ice cube slide down your spine and you trembled. You pulled your head back and basically fell onto your ass. Kenny eyed you confused and offered you a hand to get back up.

"No, I'm fine... I-I'll just take the bath if you don't mind." You laughed nervously and still confused Kenny nodded and held up his hands in defense.

"I get it, I get it. You won't resist me forever." He smiled and walked out. You were left there, breathing away the strange feeling of panic.

You quickly undressed yourself and went into the hot water. It calmed your racing thoughts down for a little bit and you managed to order them.

The blue, the highlights, the dark edges that formed a beautiful circle. The few freckles underneath the eyes. Why did Mysterion and Kenny have identical eyes? What, How, why, just... Argh!

You began stuffing yourself with cake and tried your best to make any sense of the situation. Was Kenny Mysterion, or did they just have similar eyes?

Or... You thought about it long and hard and eventually.... It kind of just... Clicked?

It made sense.

Kenny was living alone, he was young, in shape, the piecing blue eyes, the need to protect others, some jokes he made... It... It just fitted together like a puzzle.

You quickly finished up your bath and went outside after blowing out the candles.

"What a view." Kenny joked from the couch and you just went straight into your bedroom.

This perverted guy you were close friends with was really the pure and kindhearted Mysterion? In your head it barely made any sense but you kind of just felt like your theory was correct.

You got dressed quickly and just sat on your bed, trying to picture the blond in the purple costume without the hood.

It just fit.

The height, the figure.

Everything.

After a few minutes you heard a knock on your door and carefully Kenny came in.

"Good, you're dressed. Even if I don't mind you in less clothes."

You didn't respond or gave him any attention.

"YN, is everything, all right? You're suddenly so wei- You're Mysterion, aren't you?" You interrupted him and looked straight at him.

He seemed surprised, taken back, unsure.

Everything, Kenny was normally not.

"Me? Mysterion? Sweetheart, was the water too hot?" He laughed when he collected himself again.

"No. Not at all. When Mysterion saved me, he starred straight into my eyes. You guys have the same eyes, freckles, skin tone." You said and waved your hands around.

"I guess no point in denying then. I should have been more careful." He said and sat down next to you.

"Please keep it to yourself. I'm sure if someone knows who I am, they will target the people I'm trying to protect." He said and his hand went through his hair.

"Does anyone else know?" You questioned and he shook his head.

"Nope. Not even Karen. It is dangerous if someone knows who I am. So, I always kept it a secret. I guess my only mistake was trying to fuck you after you were that close to Mysterion but..." He grinned evilly, "You said no one could fuck you except Mysterion. So... Here I am." His hand moved from his head to his knees, presenting himself.

"I wish I was as confident as you." You mumbled.

"I can't believe the hero I always looked up to is... You?" You said, raising and eyebrow and inspecting the blonde once more.

"Disappointed?" He questioned and tilted his head.

"I don't know."

"You wanna know what's funny to me?"

You looked at him, waiting for his reply, but as soon as you saw that shit eating grin on his face, you knew it'd be bad.

"That ass you admired and took pictures of was mine. The guy in your locker is me. It is so funny. You obsessed over me, without knowing it was me. That's so fucking funny, I wish I could tell someone."

He laughed his ass off and fell onto your bed. He just kept saying how funny it is and you felt more and more like a fool.

"Can you shut up, this is embarrassing and confusing you asshat." He finally got back up and held his hands up in a defensive manner.

"Woah, woah, no need to be so hostile." He spoke. You simply rolled your eyes.

"I love that I now have more material to make fun of you. But also, I feel flattered that you love me, without having seen this beautiful face."

"Someday you'll choke on that humongous ego of yours."

"I'd rather choke you."

You had a small starring contest and you lost when you just busted out laughing.

"So, now that you know my secret, I'm sure you will not say anything about it..." He asked and took your hand.

"I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Good, otherwise I'd have to kill you." He said in his Mysterion voice and the grip on your hand got stronger. You felt scared for a second, before he smiled again.

"Just a joke." You just nodded.

"Ahh, come on Sweetheart..." You looked at him again and he had this smug expression once more.

"Don't you love this." And he switched the voice again.

Still somewhat embarrassed and also confused because the guy you had a small crush on turned out to be a friend of yours, your cheeks heat up and immediately Kenny picked up on it.

"I can tell you like it." He whispered into your ear.

"Dude, this feels like some weird roleplay or something." You giggled.

"We can make it that. I still have some of my older costumes."

You laughed once more and bit your lip, while Kenny pushed you slowly onto your bed and got on top of you.

"Oh, shut up Mysteribitch."

"Oh, I'll make you my bitch."

He laughed, before he slowly pressed his lips onto yours. His lips felt somewhat rough and at the same time smooth, kind of just like you imagined what it'd be like.

And also, just like you imagined, his tongue found its way into your mouth rather quickly.

You continued making out for quite a while and honestly, to you it felt like heaven. But eventually you carefully pressed your hands against his chest after they had wandered down from his soft hair and you pressed him away.

"What... Don't tell me you're thinking about this staying friends shit again." He said somewhat aggravated. You shook your head.

"No, I just wanted to ask if you could bring one of those old costumes next weekend. Maybe we can pick up on that roleplay idea." You whispered against his lips and he smiled into the now following kiss.

"Good. I was just gonna say that I don't wanna be friends. I kinda wanna be more. I like you a lot YN." He whispered in-between the kisses.

"I'm fine with that." You whispered back and the two of you just smiled into the many kisses you now shared. And pretty much, just like you expected, it didn't take long for Kenny’s hands to roam around your body and finally wandered underneath your shirt.

You did not just make out that night.

It led to much more and you loved every second of it. When your alarm woke you up in the morning, it felt strange to feel these strong arms around you. You carefully woke Kenny up and told him it was time to get up.

"I don't wanna. It's so nice here. The view it to die for." He said as you got up.

"Go shower. I'll drop you off at work."

"Fine." He mumbled and walked past you, naked.

"The pure confidence of this man."

You got dressed and ready for work, as did Kenny begrudgingly. While you also made him a bit of lunch, he stole some kisses ever so often. You honestly were surprised at this, you imagined this part differently, but of course you did not complain. When you were finally in your car and on your way to work, he proposed an idea.

"Okay, so of you wanna do that roleplay shit, I'll Go the extra mile. Just for you, I'll surprise you with the whole thing. Just leave your window open next weekend and you might be visited by the hero with the great ass." He winked.

You bit your lip, feeling aroused just thinking about it.

"I will do so. Hope Mysterions dick is as good as my boyfriends." You teased and Kenny laughed rather hard.

"Feels strange hearing you say that, but I can get used to it."

"Good." You answered and you two smiled like idiots, thinking all about your crazy plans, while you pulled into your parking space.

"You walk over to your work?" You questioned as you saw Stan approaching from the corner of your eye.

"Yeah. See you at lunch, Babe." He pressed a final kiss onto your lips and took off to his own work.

Stan whistled as you caught up to him.

"I thought you were crushing on Mysterion?" Stan questioned with a smile on his thin lips.

"I kinda got over it. Kenny's a pretty good catch anyway, I think he's the closest to Mysterion that there is." You smiled and Stan laughed at your comment.

"If You say so."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." You smiled, knowing this secret between you and Kenny will spice thing up in your relationship.

#kenny mccormick #south park #kenny x reader #kenny mccormick x reader #oc #mysterion

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airi-p4 · 3 years

Text

Face up - Chapter 2

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Epilogue

Finally!!!

I wanted to finish the fic following the rest of the song from Chapter 1: ‘Face up’ by Lights (Lyrics in bold), which would have been easy and quite short, but then I had a little drama / misunderstanding idea and when I asked @ladyfreya123 she said me to go for it soooo... this turned out to be way longer than expected ^^; There’s also going to be an extra short epilogue.

Thank you @livrever for checking this for me!

AO3

_____________________________

Chapter 2

The next day Marinette did something totally out of her character: sneak out of her apartment, neglect her work, and go to the ‘Liberty’, that bar ship she went to the previous evening with her friends. She hoped to see the blue haired guitarist that picked more than her attention again. She got on the ship and moved to the bar counter, where the purple-haired waitress from the day before was arranging some bottles.

"Hi… May I ask you something?" Marinette asked, earning an affirmative nod from the tall woman. "When is Luka performing again…?"

"Sorry, nothing until next Friday" the goth waitress answered.

"Oh… Is there- Is there a way to contact him…?" she blushed.

The tall young woman let a tired sigh as if thinking 'not again' before giving her an answer. "Sorry Miss, but we don't offer this kind of service. We like to keep our staff's privacy"

"I- of course… I understand. I'll come again next Friday…" the blue eyed lady apologized, with a depressing look returning her face- a look the waitress recognized.

"Wait, you're the girl from yesterday aren't you? The one who had been feeling down"

"Ah, yes… That's right… I'm the one" Marinette awkwardly admitted.

"Hmm…" The tall woman analyzed her for a few seconds, her fingers touching her chin. "I see” she raised her eyebrow with a faint smirk. “Luka had never done anything like that before. I think you piqued his interest"

"Eh? His interest…? Re- really...? How?" She opened her eyes in surprise, her cheeks getting warmer.

"I don't know" the waitress shrugged. "Look. Luka is not here, but I'll give you something special if you buy a drink" she signaled the grey haired middle aged woman to take her place. "Wait a minute, I'll be right back"

"Ok…"

"Hi. What will it be?" The bar owner asked.

"Oh… One mango soft drink, please"

"WHAT!? A real pirate doesn't drink that! Have some rum!" The woman almost scolded her, violently pouring the drink in a glass that pushed towards the perplexed young lady.

Marinette nervously gulped as she looked speechless at the drink. Noticing how the owner's gaze was urging her to take it, Marinette felt intimidated under her stare. Luckily, the blond-haired waitress called her and she could recover her breath.

"Captain! Official Roger is asking for you"

"Argh!! Not again!" the grey-haired woman groaned.. "What's his problem now? My music is too low if I follow his 'law'. So annoying… Rose, I leave you this customer to you"

"Yes, Captain" she answered, focusing on Marinette and shoving the rum glass aside. "Hi, excuse the owner. What would you like?"

"Anything sweet, please" she sighed, grateful and relieved with a faint smile on her face.

____________________________

A few minutes later, the goth waitress returned. "Sorry for the wait" she said, her eyes attracted by the rainbow colored drink on Marinette’s long glass. "Rose, don't tell me you gave her your crazy original cocktail?" She sighed.

"Yes, Juleka! She loves it!" Rose grinned happily.

"Really…?" Her eyebrow arched in doubt. "I bet she's only faking it to not hurt your feelings… Anyway, here" She offered a DVD case to Marinette. "I don't usually do this, but we record all our performances and I'm making an exception and letting you have a copy of yesterday's live"

"Can I really have it!?" The designer's eyes glowed in hope.

"Only if you erase this terrible depressed expression from your face" she flicked Marinette's forehead with her finger. "Luka hates unhappy faces"

"Ouch!” she complained, touching his forehead before her grin became wider one second later. “Thank you so much! It means a lot to me!" She jumped, hugging the DVD case while the waitresses exchanged smiles. "See you next Friday! Oh, how much is the drink?"

"Nothing. I could never let you pay for Rose's disgusting original cocktail" Juleka teased.

"Hey! It tastes good!" Rose pouted.

"It tastes like strawberry syrup but with triple the amount of sugar." Juleka rolled her eyes.

"That's not true!" Rose complained. "Tell her, Marinette!"

"Yes, I like it. It's good"

Rose was now showing a proud smile while Juleka shrugged in defeat, one of her hands patting the blonde's shoulder.

"Rose, you're lucky a pure soul is willing to drink that sugary cocktail." Rose giggled at the tall woman's comment. "Feel free to come anytime. Uhm… Marinette, was it?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you so much. For the drink. And for the DVD. And for having me. See you soon!" She giggled while waving goodbye.

"Oh.. wanted her to taste my sparkling unicorn special drink too…" Rose pouted in a low voice.

"Oh Rose, it's ok. I'll take your sweetness later for you instead, how is that?" Juleka spoke close to her ear with a smirk.

"Yes!"

'I think I wasn’t supposed to hear that' Marinette thought, rushing out the bar with flustered cheeks and hugging the DVD.

_________________________________

It was just Wednesday and she was at the bar again. 'Why do I keep coming every single day? I know he only comes on Fridays…'

Marinette felt lonely. After awakening feelings of love again, she noticed how lonely she actually was. When did her loneliness start? Was it something that comes together with growing older? She didn't even realize how single and solitary she was before Luka's performance. She seemed fine on her own, she mostly was... but last Friday proved her wrong.

It had been hours alone at the bar, ignoring her work and phone calls and, as expected, the guitarist was nowhere to be found. The bar was not as crowded as last Friday. In fact, it wasn’t to the point that it couldn't even compare- she almost felt bad for the blond guy performing. When the clock on the wooden wall turned to 11:30 PM, she sighed in defeat. She took her wallet out of her purse to pay for her 'sparkling unicorn drink' and her mango soft drink and got ready to go home, expecting to have better luck tomorrow. She raised her hand slightly to call the waitress.

"Excuse m-"

"Hey. Didn't I mention no sad faces were allowed here?"

A familiar voice cut her from the side, close to her ear. It startled her, making her gasp, but her pupils lit up as she turned and her gaze met the blue eyes she had been eager to see for days. She couldn't help to blush at his closeness, unable to control her wide but shy smile. He smiled back at her and her reaction.

"That's better" he winked, resting his arm at the bar counter. "So you've come back, huh? Did you enjoy your time here last Friday? Are you feeling better?" Luka attentively asked.

He kept smiling at her, melting the young woman's insides. She flustered in realization. "You remember me?"

"Of course. Not many people come here looking as terrible as you did. You seem better now. I'm glad"

"Oh- Uhm- Thank you…" she lowered her head to hide her blush under her bangs.

"What brings you here? Today's performances are Electro-pop, but you don't look like you're interested in those?" He curiously asked.

Marinette looked back at the stage. "I guess you're right… I've never really liked XY…" she confessed and Luka snorted.

"Wanna know a secret? Me neither. We just keep him because his father pays us"

"We? Us?" she blinked twice.

"Ah, crap." He noticed his mistake. “I mean the owner- Anarka" he answered.

"Oh…"

"Lu, it’s fine. You can tell her" Juleka approached, and Rose nodded in agreement. Luka seemed uncertain, but that didn't stop Juleka. "You see? Luka is my older brother and the bar owner is our mother. We all live together here, except for Luka when he's out studying abroad"

"Jules…" Luka glared at his sister. "You can't give customers private information about us, you know that. Mom is going to kill us if she finds out…"

"She's not a customer, she's our friend. We can tell a friend. Especially when she's-" Juleka's words were cut by Marinette in panic, scared she would let him know about her feelings for him.

"Aaahh! It's ok! Thank you for telling me, Juleka. I'm not going to tell anyone! Not even my best friend!" she promised. The women were smiling while Luka let a deep sigh out.

"Anyway, may I join you?" Luka asked Marinette, titling his head to get a better angle of her face.

"Her name is Marinette," Rose interrupted and winked at him.

"I think he already knows by now, Rose. Especially after-"

"Shh…" Luka signaled, his index finger in front of his lips in a warning. "Don't continue Jules, or I may spill the beans about you know what…"

"My bad" Juleka apologized under Rose's confused expression and Luka's knowing look.

"So… Marinette? Fancy a drink with me?" The young man returned his attention to her, making her blush as he pronounced her name in his voice. Marinette stared at him in awe. She short-circuited. "Marinette?"

"Ah- yes! I mean- Really? Is it really ok...?" She blushed.

Luka looked back at the designer after shushing his sister and her girlfriend, who giggled at the scene. "Yes, it's fine. I want to have some drinks too and I'm sure it's going to taste better with company"

"Oh… ok… Let me remove my jacket from this seat..." She offered.

"No, not here" Luka stopped her movement by placing his hand on her jacket and getting closer to whisper close to her ear. "We're starting to get looks on us. Go outside, turn left and go upstairs. It says staff only, but you have my permission to go. Wait for me there. I'll come in a second". He moved farther and lifted her jacket. "Don't forget to put on your jacket. It's cold outside"

"Oh- Ok…" Marinette blushed while rushing out to follow his directions. She tripped on her feet when walking up the stairs, still flustered by the unexpected invitation.

After Marinette left, Luka waited for Rose and Juleka to prepare some drinks, and kept unavoidably smiling while seeing Marinette turning left once out the door. The ladies smirked at his rare expression.

"Lu. We like her. Don't mess up, ok?" Juleka stated and Rose nodded effusively. Luka rolled his eyes with a subtle blush on his cheeks until he eyed the glasses Rose had just handed him.

"Are you really planning to make Marinette drink that?" He looked at Rose's original cocktail raising an eyebrow in disgust.

"Why does everyone complain about it? It's delicious! Marinette thinks so too!" Rose pouted.

"Think about it, Rose. Luka isn't much into sweet drinks. How can he kiss the girl if you make her drink that?" Juleka teased.

"Oh… Oh, no! You're right! Let me prepare something else!" Rose excitedly exclaimed and Juleka smirked triumphantly at Luka, who rolled his eyes in response.

"First she would have to want to get kissed, you know…? And what makes you think I-" he could foresee Juleka's counterattack before it happened, so he surrendered beforehand. "Nevermind"

"Oh, she would be more than happy to kiss you, I know that much" Rose grinned, handing him the new drink while sharing a knowing smile with Juleka.

"Whatever" the musician sighed, grabbing the glasses and a pair of bottles of his favorite liquor and moving upstairs. Juleka knew her brother well enough to know he had a smile on his face even if she could only see his back.

___________________

The upper part of the boat was nicer than Marinette had expected. The decorations there were fancier than downstairs and despite it kept the pirate theme, colorful flowers surrounded the space, like a little garden in the middle of the river. It was chilly since it was late September, but the breeze felt nice on Marinette's flustered face (perfect to help her cool down).

Marinette moved to the river side to enjoy the view of Paris at night time. The city was shining bright, beautifully, she has seen it multiple times from her apartment. And despite that, the view from the ship felt more special and even prettier and magical, she couldn't seem to find light inside of her. Her monotonous life was draining her, and her lack of inspiration didn't help her either.

Why…?

She shouldn't be thinking about that. Luka had invited her! And that was clearly the first spark she felt in a long time. She should be happy! Why was it always negative thoughts that stand out the most? She knew it was wrong, but her negativity kept spiraling... She had given Luka a bad first impression and he had probably invited her just because she looked pitiful. Why would he be interested in a workaholic and depressing woman like her, anyway? Someone plain and boring, more like a heartless robot than alive most of the time. It was impossible, wasn't it? Plus, he was going to find popularity and fame soon and he may have so many beautiful fans around him, definitely a better audience than her.

She sighed again. She knew she was being crazy- acting like one of those fangirls from the previous week. Because, in the end, she knew almost nothing about him. 'I'm not special. I'm not amazing as he is'. But she still wished, hoped, for this new found love to not end like her previous one. She wished to feel alive again, like last Friday night when he was on that stage and his eyes met hers.

And her crush on him was making her feel alive again, which was exactly what she wanted. But she was afraid everything could end in a blink before it even started. And with those thoughts in mind, some tears started forming in her eyes. What if he rejected her? It was crazy to think he would accept her feelings just like that. They had just met. Geez- it was the first time they even talked! What was she even expecting? He was out of her league, she convinced herself, and the thought alone made her feel lonely again. Back to her lifeless life.

"Sorry for the wait." Luka arrived, and when her face turned to him, he noticed her tears. "Hey, what's wrong? No crying allowed here, remember?" He emphatically said, placing the drinks on the table and approaching her.

"Sorry... I don't know what's gotten into me..." she tried to stop her sobbing, with no results.

"Easy. Shhhh... A beautiful face like yours shouldn't get tainted with anything, especially not tears" he said, offering her a handkerchief she hesitantly accepted. "Listen"

Luka took a few steps away to get some space as he took his acoustic guitar from his back and started playing a familiar song. When her eyes locked on his, he started singing the lyrics she had listened to hundreds of times on the DVD Juleka gave her.

The times you don't wanna wake up

'Cause in your sleep it's never over when you give up

The sun is always gonna rise up

You need to get up, gotta keep your head up

Look at the people all around you

The way you feel is something everybody goes through

Dark out, but you still gotta light up

You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up

"Sing with me, Marinette"

"Luka…" she whimpered.

"C'mon!" He encouraged her, and she started singing with him. At first, she just babbled the chorus between sobs, but after a few repeats, her voice started making sense as she sang in unmatching rhythms. His music dragged her face to smile faintly.

Alive again.

"There you go," Luka smiled tenderly, making her blush. "Your bad times are just a phase. This bad stage is going to end. Take it easy and be yourself. You are good enough"

"Am I really, though…?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"I have no doubts" he assured her with a bright smile that made Marinette's heart throb. But doubt and fear still remained.

"How can you say that? You don't know me. Or my life. Or my feelings! How can you say that so lightly?" She gasped at her own words, immediately regretting them. Why was she even getting angry? She was making Luka pay for her frustration and that was horrible. Before she could apologize, he interrupted her.

"Because you're sincere, Marinette. Your heart, your eyes, your gestures, your voice, your whole aura- they all tell me about you." He stared at her eyes. "Not only verbal language can communicate. I myself work better with music rather than words. And with those pieces of information together, I can tell you're going through a bad phase, lost motivation, maybe you're not even sure about where you want to go or your purpose in life, but that's normal. As the song says, everyone goes through that at some point. I did have one myself too"

"You… You did?" She asked, incredulous.

"Is it that surprising? You can ask Juleka, if you don't believe me. I'm not perfect- nobody is." He shrugged with a sympathetic smile. "But that's not the point. I can see your potential whenever I look at you. The Marinette from last Friday shone brighter than a diamond to me. I've known you were special from the first time my eyes landed on you, and, the more I see you, the more convinced I am. You're extraordinary, Marinette, and your heart song is the most beautiful I've ever heard." The young woman couldn't help but blush and show a hopeful wide smile at Luka's words. "Now, that's a beautiful smile! There's no way anyone can deny you anything to that" He smiled while staring at her eyes.

"Even you?" She involuntarily asked, and his eyes opened wide. "Ah-" her hands rushed to cover her mouth.

"I would be the first to fall for it" he laughed, but kept the second part to himself: 'if I already hadn't'

Marinette blushed even harder. Luka was even more impressive than she thought. Wasn't it too good to be real? Too incredible. Especially for someone like her.

This wasn't a crush, she realized. The spark in her heart was something more- the warmth she felt and the butterflies in her stomach… all of it made it obvious.

It was LOVE.

Was it even possible? So fast, so easily.

"It pains me to see how you don't believe in yourself and your potential," Luka continued. "Besides, Juleka and Rose like you, and let me tell you, that's already a big accomplishment."

Marinette's smile became even brighter but shy. "I like them too. Do you think they'll want to become my friends?"

"You heard them downstairs. I'm quite sure they already consider you that. Just how much time have you spent here since last Friday?" He teased, and Marinette flustered red, mumbling something incomprehensible that made Luka smile even wider before returning to the topic. "Anyway, don't put fences or walls to yourself. Life itself will already do that, there's no need for you to add more unnecessary difficulties. Try to give more credit to your positive features instead of blaming yourself for the negative ones. Flow with it"

"What if I can't? Or what if it's not a fence, but an unbreakable wall?" She asked, thinking of her neverending work routine and Audrey Bourgeois.

"Nothing is unbreakable, Marinette. You just need to believe you can do it. And if you can't go straight through it, then you can go around it, or even jump over it. Maybe get help too. There is nothing wrong in getting support when you need it. Definitely nothing to be ashamed of" Luka strummed the strings of his acoustic guitar lightly, in an unknown melody that spoke to her heart. She could relate those new tunes more than to any song she had ever heard. She closed her eyes to enjoy the notes that ran from her ears to her heart. Luka looked at her smile, pleased. "That's my favorite part of playing music, you know? Help people feel better and put smiles on their faces. And it's specially rewarding when is someone as beautiful and pure as you"

Marinette stared astonished at his fond expression. His smile was so perfect she wondered if it was even real.

"Marinette?" He called. "Let's enjoy this moment, this view, the breeze. Forget about all bad things for now. Take it easy and relax. Have a drink with me?" he suggested, pointing at the glasses on the table with a welcoming smile.

Marinette’s eyes glowed in awe. She had thought she would be fine with just a little bit of Luka, even if it was only during his performances. But now? She wanted it ALL. She wanted to feel as alive as she felt whenever he was close. She wanted her love- this electric feeling to be mutual and last forever.

With those feelings in mind, her face rose up to meet his blue eyes with conviction.

"Thank you, Luka. I won't be looking down anymore," she proclaimed, and took the glass Luka offered her. Once in her hand, Luka lifted his tall glass, encouraging her to cheer with him.

"Face up?" he smiled, satisfied as she confidently bumped her glass to his. "Face up" she replied, and drank the alcohol while staring at his eyes and returning him a shy smile under his gaze.

With their empty glasses on the table, and without even noticing, naturally, they started leaning towards each other, lost in the deepness of their eyes. Their faces were barely a few centimeters apart, his fingertips brushed her skin and her hands moved to his chest. Their lips were almost touching when two voices interrupted them.

"OMG!! Isn't that Luka!?" "OMG, yes he is!!" "LUKA!!" KYAAAH" Two fangirls called from the nearest bridge.

Marinette jumped and backed away, nervously, and Luka turned around to awkwardly wave at them from afar after giving Marinette an apologetic look.

"Lukaaa!! Let's go have some fun?" "Yeah, like old times!" "Yeah, come have fun with us"

Luka turned to Marinette in alarm, and her mouth twisted.

"Sorry, girls! I'm not interested. Go have fun on your own" he told them off, somewhat angry, and they protested.

"Shh… He's already with someone!" One of the girls said to the other. "Hey! Didn't you say you didn't do that anymore? Liar!" "Oh, c'mon! She looks boring! Come with us instead, you'll have more fun!"

Marinette's expression turned into a mix of betrayal, sadness, anger and embarrassment.

She felt like the spell he had casted on her just faded away and Luka's heart ached in guilt and frustration.

"Shut up! I told you I’m not interested! Stop insisting! Don't you know what NO means!?" Luka finally yelled, losing his usual cool. But the fangirls continued.

"Oh, we may be scaring the lady! Poor thing, thinking she can have Luka all by herself..." "Have fun with your boring catch. How disappointing…" "What a shame…" "It's his loss, girl! Let's go" "Yeah, whatever" the pair of fangirls finally walked away.

Luka exhaled deeply and nervously turned to Marinette. "Sorry, Marinette. It's not what you think. Fangirls can get very annoying..."

Marinette's eyebrow arched, both demanding and hurt. "Not what I think? You owe me no explanation..." she was more hurt than she was willing to admit, and her face was at the lowest yet.

'It was my fault for having expectations… of course it was too beautiful to be real… Why did she even think she could be special to someone like him? To have him all by herself? She didn't know him! She thought he was amazing and sweet and caring… but her first impression has been proven wrong- absolutely wrong' she thought.

"Marinette! You're misunderstanding! I don't date fans, that's my policy!"

"So you just play around with them? Is this why you invited me? Am I your toy for tonight?"

She wanted to cry. She had fallen in love with an illusion. Of course someone that perfect couldn't exist. What was she thinking? She should have learned her lesson with Adrien, but this time was even worse. It hurt. A lot. More than a heartbreak ever hurt her. Because, this time, it also took hope away with her.

"No! Of course not-! You're getting it all wrong! That's all in the past! I was young and stupid- and... I don't do that anymore." He sounded so desperate Marinette almost believed him. "I wouldn't have invited you if I didn't genuinely mean it. Believe me, please" He pleaded, but she directed a glacial glare at him.

"Right… so that's what you say to all your fangirls, huh? No wonder they all fall for you. But I guess I have nothing else to do here: I know your policy now. I won't make you break it. Goodbye"

'How stupid of me to have hope something magical or exciting could happen to me. All that time invested for nothing. Not only out of his league, but also a playboy who had taken advantage of her weak state to seduce her with pretty words and music. How pitiful she was!

She wouldn't have minded to be his even if it was only for a night until moments ago. But now, she had decided she wanted it all- mutual love. And it was obvious he didn't feel the same.

Before leaving, her eyes darted to the empty glasses of alcohol. She grabbed one of the bottles Luka brought with him and refilled her glass violently. Luka was too late to react, before she drank it in one shot.

"Marinette, wait-"

Too late. The alcohol was already making her feel dizzy. That wasn't the soft drinks she used to drink, neither water: it reeked of alcohol. Logical, since it was something strong Rose prepared for Luka, not for Marinette. And her tolerance was incredibly low (which is why she always went with soft drinks in the first place). Luka rushed to catch the young woman when she slowly fainted.

"Marinette? Hey! Wake up. Open your eyes. C'mon! Don't do this to me" he lightly shook her small body. "Come back, please. You've got it wrong" he insisted, but Marinette left a light snore that made him calm down in relief. "Why are words so complicated…?" He sighed in worry.

After confirming she was deep asleep and nothing made it seem like she would wake up anytime soon, Luka carried Marinette in a princess style downstairs in concern.

"Marinette!" Rose gasped and rushed to her friend in Luka's arms.

"What have you done, dumbass? Is she ok?" Juleka slightly hit his arm, before checking on Marientte.

"Yes… Yes. She's just sleeping. The alcohol was too much…” He lamented. “Do you know where she lives? Or any relative or friend?"

The waitresses shook their heads in negation, and exchanged a worried look. "Lu… What happened up there?"

"I guess I'm still not good with words…" he shrugged, after a long silence, letting the Marinette's body rest on his bed. Juleka and Rose exchanged a worried look watching Marinette sleeping in distress, mumbling Luka's name in her dreams.

________________________________

The next morning, Marinette woke up in an unknown room. 'Where? What? How? Why? When…?'

Music coming from the next room startled her. 'That song…?' It was a song she had never heard before, yet it felt familiar for some reason. 'Who is playing it?' stepping out of the room, she realized where she was: the Liberty.

She jolted in realization and she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked horrible, but her clothes were still the same. She sighed in relief. 'What happened?' before she could think more, her eyes met Luka's in one of the couches.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" He asked her with a soft and apologetic smile.

"I- ugh… my head… what happened?"

"You don't remember?" He asked and she shook her head. "You passed out," he explained, signaling for her to take a seat. She complied. "You seriously startled me, Marinette. It was so sudden... And since you didn't seem to wake up, I let you sleep on my bed"

"Oh- sorry… and thank you…" she muttered, looking down, embarrassed.

"Hey. No more looking down, remember? Face up" He raised his own face in encouragement.

"Face up" she repeated, following his lead with a shy smile.

“You know? About yesterday… I want to-” Luka started, breaking the silence, but Juleka interrupted them.

"Lu, the label called you. You better say yes this time or-" Juleka noticed her friend. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were still here, Marinette. How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you," Marinette answered. 'Label?' She wondered.

"Jules. Marinette's got a headache. Could you give her some medicine while I'm on the phone, please?" Luka asked Juleka and she smiled tenderly, aiding her friend to the counter.

"Here" Juleka offered her an aspirin and a glass of water, and Marinette accepted. Juleka noticed how Marinette kept staring at Luka's direction with curiosity.

"Luka had an appointment 10 minutes ago. Jagged Stone's label wants him to sign a contract with them" Juleka explained, proudly. "He has been turning them down for weeks, but this time he seemed to have decided to sign. That's why he came back one day earlier than usual, actually. Isn't my dumbass brother amazing?"

A contract… with Jagged Stone's label? Luka was going to sign it? Marinette remembered Nino's words: 'he's gonna be big in no time'. She had agreed with that affirmation… She just didn't expect it so early. So sudden. Where would their chances be if he became famous…? With all his fangirls- wait- what was that about fangirls?

She remembered.

"Fangirls" Marinette mumbled to a confused Juleka. "Why did you lie to me, Juleka? You said I was special, but Luka just thinks of me as a fan! And he doesn't date fans! Were you making fun of me?"

"What? Of course, no! Where did you get those ideas from?"

"Those fangirls from yesterday said it, and Luka confirmed"

"That dumbass…" Juleka's tongue clicked and Marinette started to cry. "Hold on, Marinette. You're misunderstanding everything. It's true Luka had a 'rebellious stage', but that's part of the past now, he's different now. If he invited you it's because he is really interested in you. I promise. He ditched the meeting with the music label so he was there when you woke up and he even-"

"How can I know you're not lying?" Marinette demanded in a yell and Juleka looked at her in shock.

"We hate lies, Marinette. We may be chaotic and a bit crazy, but we're always honest. Luka too." Juleka explained, hurt by her friend's distrust.

At that moment, Luka returned. "Sorry- I have to go now. Will you be- Marinette?" Luka cut them, and the fashion designer showed him an enraged expression and took her things and rushed out.

"Marinette, wait!" Both siblings called, but she didn’t stop. Luka ran and somehow caught her by the wrist and Marinette was finally letting go of the tears she had been holding. "Marinette…!"

"Let me go, Luka!”

"You remember the misunderstanding," Luka realized. "Let me explain, please," he begged.

"No! I don't want to hear it. Do you want to make me look even more pathetic? I'm sick of it! I'm sick of my own stupidity. Falling in love with you was a mistake!"

"Love...?" His jaw fell, leaving him puzzled with his mouth open.

"You have fun with your fangirls, you don't date fans as per your policy and you'll soon be famous internationally and forget I exist! Coming here every day was a waste of time. Goodbye, Luka. Good luck with your life" she freed herself from his weakened grip and started running away.

Luka's feet were glued to the floor in shock. Did she really say love?

"What are you doing!? Go after her, stupid!" Juleka shouted and Luka snapped out.

"Shit!" Luka ran, "Marinette!" but she was nowhere to be found. "No… Dammit!" He cursed.

When he returned to the Liberty, Juleka and Rose scolded him. "You better pray for her to be here tomorrow evening for your performance. But now go and sign that contract before they give up on you. Hurry up!" Luka nodded, took his guitar with him and started walking, deep lost in his thoughts.

____________________________

As soon as Marinette arrived at her apartment, she let herself fall on the bed and started crying uncontrollably. She received some phone calls and messages, but she didn't feel strong enough to check. She was supposed to be working at Audrey's at that hour- of course she would call. Her boss was going to kill her. But she didn't care. Instead, she played again the live performance of the previous Friday, when she felt more alive than ever. Music to accompany and silence her tears- tears of heartbreak and betrayal.

Once again, she let her negativity win. Again… And without listening to his excuses.

She felt at her lowest yet.

____________________________

And just with that, in a blink of an eye, Friday arrived.

Marinette coped with heartbreak with stress working- she had a lot to catch up after the time she had spent in the Liberty the past days, and she worked better under stress, anyway. At 6 PM a message from Alya arrived on her phone.

'Girl, we're going with Nino to Liberty again. Wanna come? Your hot guitarist will be playing tonight! We'll be waiting for you there!'

She ignored the message.

________________

Just before 11PM, the Liberty was absolutely crowded. The last performance had ended, and people could already feel the rush in anticipation for Luka's performance. But the musician wasn't feeling it as he usually did. He had been rewatching past Friday's performance in loop, focusing on Marinette exclusively. He felt terrible. An unfortunate misunderstanding due to the past he was ashamed of, had come to chase him at the worst possible moment- the moment he had finally found the person with the heart song he had always wished for.

It was past the time for Luka's performance, so Juleka knocked and entered his cabin to call for him. "It's time"

"Marinette…?" He asked and she shook her head in negation, biting her lip. He sighed deeply.

Once at the stage, he looked at the empty chair he had reserved for Marinette in the first row, and then he looked around to confirm she wasn't there, indeed. He was sad, more than he had been in a while, but the Liberty was a place to be happy and he was a professional, so he had to give it his all, like always. Only those who really knew him (or really devoted fans like Nino) would be able to notice something was wrong with him.

"Good evening, everyone! Thank you for coming. Ready for some rock & roll?"

"Yeah!!" "Woohoo!"

_____________________

Marinette checked the clock on the wall of her apartment: 11:58 PM. Despite her efforts, she couldn't take Luka and the Liberty out of her mind.

Luka's performance would be ending right now, she thought, moving forward the DVD recording to the moment he thanked the audience and fans had asked for an encore. At that moment, he had asked her and only her, if she wanted one too, and she raised her voice like she never had before. It felt great, she remembered. ALIVE. The video ended when Luka left the stage, mentioning a new song. Did he play it tonight? She wondered, but she had no way to know, because she hadn't been there and his performance had already ended...

The clock pointed past midnight when she buried her face in the pillow, tears finding their way out.

________________________

At the same time, at the bar, Alya and Nino were talking at the counter.

"Woah Alya! It was amazing! Too bad Marinette didn't come. I thought she enjoyed last week?"

"I know… She's been stress-working since yesterday, it seems. Something must have happened, but she's keeping it for herself. I wish I could help her more… She should be enjoying her youth! Falling in love and-"

Suddenly, fangirl squealing started and Alya and Nino felt a hand on their shoulders that startled them. Neither expected to find Luka when they turned.

"You two- You're Marinette's friends, aren't you? From last week-" He asked and they nodded when their voice refused to come out, shocked and processing what was happening. "I need a favor, please." Luka asked.

Alya and Nino exchanged a look and followed him to his cabin, shoving his fangirls away as they walked through the crowd.

_________________________

‘Girl. You better tell me what's going on asap, because I'm losing my mind’

Marinette stared confused at the screen as a new message arrived on her phone: a video. Marinette was a little unsure to play it seeing Luka in the preview image, but her longing feelings for him and her curiosity won over her fears.

She played it.

"Hi again, everyone. Ugh" Luka looked unexpectedly nervous. "I know it's way past the time we're allowed to 'be noisy', so I'm going to make it quick before agent Roger comes and gives the owner one of his fines." Some people laughed at the back. "I composed this song for a special lady who, sadly, isn't here today- which is why I asked these amazing people to make it reach her. Thank you, guys!" 'He called us amazing!' Nino fuzzed and Alya laughed at her boyfriend. "Anyway- I hope I make myself more clear with this song than with words. This song is for you, Marinette"

Marinette's eyes opened big and she audibly gasped. A song for her…? She knew that melody- the one he was practicing and that reached her heart. And the lyrics…

A confession of love…? Could it be…? She felt tears in her eyes, moved by the perfect harmony between the acoustic guitar's melody, the lyrics he sang with his beautiful angelic voice and the conveyed feelings through it… His feelings for her- his love and his wish for her to be confident and shine.

The song ended and he looked directly at the camera.

"Marinette, I'm sorry for our misunderstanding. I hope I made myself clear this time. Whenever you want, if you want- of course-, you know where to find me. I'll wait for you."

Marinette let out a restrained cry as she pressed the replay button.

______________________________________

Luka was at the upper part of the ship, alone, with a tall glass in front of him. He had only taken a sip, and had focused on his guitar instead, playing 'Marinette's song' tunes.

It had been hours since Marinette's friends- Alya and Nino- had sent her the video, but she didn't appear or reply to them. Being almost 4 AM, he wasn't expecting much. 'So my feelings didn't reach her, huh?' He sighed in defeat.

"Didn't you say no sad faces were allowed here? Or do you have privileges? Because that's unfair"

Luka turned his head and met Marinette's eyes, who had just seated next to him, bringing out all her courage. His face immediately lit up in relief.

"Marinette. You came" he smiled. "Did you-"

"Did you really mean it? The song… those feelings..." she asked in determination. Her heart was about to burst out in both fear and expectation.

"All of it" Luka didn't even flutter, no doubt in his voice.

"Hmm…" Marinette secretly smiled under her bangs and soon, her eyes darted to his drink. She blinked in surprise. "Rose's unicorn special drink? I would have never expected you would like it."

"I don't. I have no idea how you can drink this, actually. It's way too sweet" he stuck his tongue out in disgust and Marinette's lips curved wider.

"Then…" her hand moved to cup the rainbow colored glass. "I hope you don't mind it if…"

"Go ahead- sorry it's not very cold anymore..."

Was she doing it on purpose? Licking her lips, so teasingly after taking a sip… He was feeling all hot out of the sudden, so he rolled his sleeves up. His throat felt suddenly dry.

Still seated next to him, Marinette moved her head to rest it on his shoulder. "Could you sing again...?"

"Of course. Which part?" He strummed his guitar's strings, but she didn't answer and just hummed, as if she was telling him to guess it. "Ok, let me guess. Maybe that you're…

'An extraordinary girl. Clear like a musical note, sincere as a melody. The song that's been playing in my head since our first encounter'

He sang and she blushed, shaking her head. "Not this one? What about this then?" He continued.

'Clear all the fog around you and raise your voice to shine, like the diamond you are. A bright smile no one can deny. Don't be afraid to feel ALIVE'

She shook her head again, and he sang another part, hopefully.

'You're the one in my heart, the perfect melody to admire'

Marinette's smile widened, but she shook her head once again. It didn't pass him how she looked at him from under her lashes.

'Face up, so I can see your glowing eyes and your dazzling smile'

Always up, never behind, don't be afraid to take my hand. A new love story to write, the clock no longer in standby. Give me a second chance and I'll never say goodbye'

Redness found its way to Marinette's face, as she hummed happily. Luka smiled back at her, equally happy, but Marinette didn't have enough yet. She stood up and yelled loudly to the river: "Encore!"

Luka laughed, remembering their first meeting one week ago. "You want an encore? Any requests?" He asked, confidently.

“I want to listen to something PURE” she blushed. “Something that tells me your feelings are genuine as mine. Something that tells me that I’m special to you. Something to clear all the uncertainty I may have left…"

Luka listened to her attentively, and after giving a thought, he knew exactly what to play. He left his guitar aside and took a step closer to Marinette- very close. She was trembling but expectant when he held her hand, exhaled deeply and pressed the palm of her hand on his chest.

His heartbeat.

"This. This is new, even for me. It only happens when you're around, Marinette. And if you allow me to kiss you, I'll prove it right. Shall I?" Marinette opened her eyes wide and her face flustered again. Next, she nodded, and looked up so he could brush his lips to hers softly, carefully, treasuring the feeling the contact gave them… With her hand still on his chest, Marinette noticed how their heartbeat soon beat as one. In unison. Matching tempo, same feelings of love. And that was the best encore she could have ever received.

She was certain now: like the song said, she had cleared up all the fog and was ready to hold his hand without ever looking back.

And with that, all her fears vanished. No more redness on her face. No more stammering. No more nerves. No more negative feelings. She just felt as she always wished.

ALIVE.

More than ever.

Confidently, Marinette raised her glass and drank it whole while staring at Luka’s eyes. Luka gulped, feeling thirsty out of the sudden.

"Marinette. I think I made my feelings clear now. Will you give me an answer? Or at least say yes to a date?" Luka asked, a little impatient.

"I thought you didn't date fans…?" She teased.

"You're not a fan, Marinette. What kind of fan would miss their favorite artist's live performance on purpose? You're the one my heart chose and the most beautiful person I've ever met. You inspire me to compose a thousand songs"

"I can't be your fan, then?" She tilted her head to the side, playfully.

"You can be whatever you want, Marinette," he assured, and her smile brightened.

"Even your one and only official girlfriend?" She said, reaching for his arm.

"Please be?" He almost begged.

Marinette felt shy out of the sudden. "Yes… I really want to" She nodded and hid her blush burying her face on his shoulder.

"Marinette. Face up" Luka reminded her, happily, and she raised her head to meet his eyes directly, lost in its blueness and his loving smile. One of his hands moved to her hair, brushing her bangs to have a better look at her face, while the other held her hand steadily. Her face flustered and her fingers squeezed back at his. Slowly, they moved closer until their lips melted in a tender kiss. A slow, longer kiss followed.

"That drink sure is sweet" Luka mentioned, licking his lips and making Marinette smile. "But it's not that bad, I guess. I think I could get used to it…" he said, and Marinette giggled.

"See? I told you it was good!" A high-pitched voice yelled from the stairs, followed by a loud gasp.

"Rose!" Another voice called.

"Ah-" the blond lady covered her mouth. "Sorry, keep going! We're not looking! Or listening! We're just here- chilling- we won't interrupt! Go on!"

Luka rolled his eyes and Marinette giggled again. Soon, Juleka excused Rose and dragged her downstairs, giving the new couple some privacy.

"They were worried about you, you know? Don't get mad at them"

"I know" Marinette smiled widely. "I have to apologize to them later, especially to Juleka. What I said… I'm sorry I didn't listen to your explanations…" she lamented, looking down.

"Shhh… That's for later." Luka shushed her and tilted her face up with his hand under her chin. "Do you have more spare kisses to share or are you tired?"

"I- I do have them… a lot, actually" she blushed at his closeness. "And you?"

"For you? I don’t think I could ever get tired of them" he gave her a short kiss, before continuing. "But next time drink something else, please. You're sweet enough, I don't need the extra amount of sugar" Marinette laughed and pressed her lips to his. And he immediately kissed her back. "I love you, Marinette"

"I love you too, Luka" she embraced him closer, her face finding comfort in his arms.

And like that, they kissed until the sunrise.

#my fic #fic: face up #airip4 #airipyon #lukanette fic #endgame lukanette #Pro LukaMari

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purpleyellow · 4 years

Text

When my love blooms

BTS 8th member

Sunny’s masterlist

“Sunny's expeciences during When Our Love Blooms”

a/n: JUST FYI, Jinyoung plays a dude named Jaehyun and Sunny plays the character named Jisoo. Your opinion is very important for me, send feedback and requests anytime 💜 Also, don’t be shy and interact a little, ask box is always open

DAY 1

Looking at herself in the mirror, Sunny fixed her now brown hair and snapped a quick picture. Sending it to the BTS group chat with an “I should have bangs more often :p” she quickly locked her phone and put it away, leaving the small changing trailer the stylists had led her to.

“Sunny, let’s go this way so you can do a table reading before we start shooting” One of the producers called her to one big room where most of the staff were already seated in a big table.

Looking for her name tag, she saw her empty spot next to Got7’s Jinyoung, who was already seated playing on his phone. The few times Sunny had met him before, they never really interacted that much, since she usually stuck to talking to Bambam because they’ve known each other since trainees. Bowing respectfully, she sat down next to him trying not to stay too close.

“Excited to start shooting?” Jinyoung tried to make the atmosphere less awkward, turning towards her as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Yes, a little nervous as well” Sunny nodded, suddenly trying to remember all of the acting classes she had taken the week prior.

“You’ll be fine, table readings are a great way to get used to the storyline and build confidence in your character” he smiled sweetly at her.

Smiling a thanks to him, she paid attention as the director and producers started giving out tips to the actors and fully explaining the storyline to every little detail. “It’s important all of you get in sync with the ages you’ll be interpreting” was a sentence heavily repeated, since the story would be set in two different times.

After about two hours, when the meeting ended, the two idols stood up and grabbed their stuff from the table. “Your character is really in love with mine” Jinyoung nudged her with his elbow smirking.

“He’ll be just as whipped for her in less than two episodes” Rolling her eyes, Sunny joked back and started walking side by side.

Looking around to see if anyone was paying attention, she decided to share one of her worries with him. “I know this might seem out of nowhere, but I’m dating Sehun from EXO. And by what they said a few minutes ago there will be a lot of kissing involved. Do you think I should tell him about it?”

With wide eyes at the sudden confession, Jinyoung assessed the situation before speaking “Does he know you’re acting and I’m the love interest?” After Sunny confirmed he shrug his shoulder, face back to its relaxed state “Then it’s implied. Mentioning it to him would only make it look like it’s a bigger deal than it actually is”

Still a bit unsure about it, Sunny tried to assure herself it would be fine, Sehun had never been the jealous type and he looked very excited when she told him about the project. Sensing her uncertainty, Jinyoung placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Look, seventy percent of the shots will be manipulating camera angles and lighting, we’ll just need to stand very close to each other” She rose an eyebrow at the last part and he sighed “I swear everything will be strictly platonic, just try to look like you’re in love with me when the cameras are rolling” With a breathy laugh, Sunny calmed down a little.

DAY4

Stepping out of the fake bedroom, the girl grabbed a tissue handed by a staff member and started to dry a few tears. Waiting for the director to tell her what to do next, she looked around and found a very excited boy jumping and waving her way.

“Okay everyone, that’s enough for today” The middle-aged man shouted and Sunny took off towards J-Hope.

Engulfing her in a hug, he patted the top of her head and smiled brightly “I missed you so much. You’ve been working a lot lately, we barely see each other on the dorms since you always leave way too early and come home very late”

“It’ll only be for a couple of weeks. Here let’s go to catering, I haven’t eaten yet” Sunny grabbed his arm and took him to a bunch of trailers parked.

After she got her lunch, they sat down in a table and she started eating with him stealing a couple of bites here and there. “Jungkook said he will pay you a visit as well, he’s trying to set a date with Yugyeom so they can come together”

“He’s really tight with his 97 friends huh? I wonder if he would come at all if Jinyoung wasn’t in this” Sunny rolled her eyes remembering the many times she had to repeat what she had said because Jungkook was too absorbed in his group chat to pay attention.

“Let’s just be happy he’s making friends” Hobi smiled and Sunny laughed “I’m being serious, you were very quick to befriend other idols and do your thing, I thought Kookie would never leave our side”

“But he did talk to other people” Sunny tried to reason with him.

“Yeah, only when V or Jimin was around, the boy took introverted to another level” he looked around and reverted his gaze to her. “And you, have you made more friends here?”

“I talk with a few actors and the staff are nice I guess” Sunny shrug her shoulders “You just said I made friends easily, why so worried out of nowhere?”

“Because I know you” Hobi smiled gently at her “You probably spend most of your day worrying about doing a good job and studying the script. Not trying to break this to you, but I don’t think you’ll ever get the chance to do this again, do you really want to let the experience pass instead of making connections and having the time of your life?”

Sighing, Sunny placed her arms on the table and looked around as well “It’s just, people here are always working. I know that seems like heaven for me, but it gets tiring only talking about techniques and obsessing over the storyline. Also, I don’t think other people are interested in talking with an idol. I’m like a choir kid who wanted to try out the drama club”

J Hope laughed at her comparison “I’m glad you’re not leaving Bangtan to become an actress then” He smirked and she rolled her eyes with a small smile “How about the other actors? I guess Jinyoung’s on the same boat as you”

“I guess so. We talk in between shots sometimes, he’s probably the closest I have to a friend” as she said that the boy raised his arms in victory.

DAY6 (yes, it was on purpose)

“Okay, cut” The director yelled and Jinyoung retreated his lips from the corner of Sunny’s mouth “Please don’t leave the phonebooth, I’m going to check if we need to do that once again”

With the amount of space restricted, Sunny rested her back on the glass and the Got7 member tried to back away as much as possible, but it wasn’t enough to be a respectable space.

“I’m sorry if this is awkward,” Jinyoung said looking everywhere but at her. Not that Sunny knew because she was literally doing the same. “I’d open the door, but I’m sure he’d yell at me for doing so”

The girl didn’t have time to respond back, as someone yelled they were done for the day. Finally breathing properly, she stepped out of the small place and saw Yugyeom and Jungkook on the back watching the staff work.

Looking at Sunny with wide eyes, her groupmate walked very fast towards her and dragged her somewhere more secluded. “Do you know how intimate that looked?” he said like he was scared making the girl laugh.

“Well, it is a romantic drama. I’m sure it was supposed to look like that” she said shrugging her shoulders and leaving to get out of her costume.

Grabbing her arm again, Jungkook prevented her from moving “Still, it’s awkward. Aren’t you uncomfortable with it? We can talk to your manager and get them to change the script or something”

“Are you crazy?” Sunny put her hands on his shoulders and shook him a little, getting him out of his shock “They signed me to play their character, I’m sure they would straight up fire me if I did anything even remotely close to changing the scenes”

“Well… I-I’m uncomfortable with it” He stuttered a bit but ended up crossing his arms and fixing his posture as if he was some kind of authority, all Sunny did was raise an eyebrow at him “Sehun Hyung won’t like this either. Plus you’re like a child, isn’t this like, illegal?”

“I’m literally a year younger than you” she reminded him,

“Well, it’s legal then” He nodded “But, Sehun? Does he know this?”

“Of course, I’m not going to lie to him about where I spend most of my day”

“I’m not talking about that” it was Jungkook’s turn to raise an eyebrow, making Sunny sigh.

“I haven’t told him about the kisses, if that’s even what they are, but he does know I have a love interest” She linked arms with him and started walking towards a trailer, she desperately wanted to get out of those clothes and go home “I’m scared if I talk too much about it it’s going to seem like I care too much about what’s going on”

“But if you don’t it might seem like you’re trying to hide something” Jungkook pointed out being led by her “If it were me I’d want to know. I would probably become petty though”

“Yeah, you would” Sunny smiled at his personality.

“What do you mean by those not being kisses by the way?”

“Oh. Fake kisses are so boring, like, lips aren’t even fully touching. Plus, the real feeling of-”

“That’s enough” He cut her off flustered “ I already know that I don’t know why I needed for you to say it. Please forget I even asked”

DAY 7

“So, that’s what has been going on” Sunny said to her phone. Pacing from one side to the other on the empty makeup trailer.

“Okay” She heard Sehun’s muffled laugh on the other side “I already know you would be doing stuff like that. It does worry me a little that something made you feel like you had to tell me this now”

“I had talked with Jinyoung about this and he told me it wasn’t a big deal, but Jungkook came yesterday and said it would be better if you were aware”

“Oh, so you asked your fake boyfriend what to do about your real boyfriend?” Sunny could feel him smirking through the phone and unconsciously rolled her eyes.

“This really isn’t going to become a problem right?” She stopped pacing and faced her brunette figure in the mirror.

“Trust me it isn’t. You’re going to give me double the kisses to make up though” Sunny smiled at his silliness “I have to go right now. I love you”

“I love you too” she blew a kiss and he hung up.

Leaving the trailer, she saw Jinyoung also walking towards the set she was going to. “Hey, settled everything with the boyfriend?”

“Yeah, and he said he already expected it” Sunny started walking with him, the space between them enough to fit another person.

“I told you, you should have trusted Sunbae” Jinyoung smiled at her, using his nickname from the drama, and Sunny rolled her eyes once again.

“Keep talking like that, and I’ll have to start calling you Jaehyun” she spoke with a mischievous grin and it was his turn to roll his eyes.

“Aah Jisoo, your friendship means the world to me”

2 Months later

Sunny was laying on her bed while scrolling through social media and checking out people’s reviews on the latest episode when her notification bar rolled down showing a new message from Sehun

“Come to my place, we need to talk”

(please don’t kill me, pt 2 will be coming soon)

145 notes · View notes

ikenbar · 3 years

Text

Mr. Love: Ike’s Choice CH4 PT12 (end)

Warnings: (mainly in epilogue if you want to skip that part once you reach it, go ahead) Blood, insinuating a bone breaking, threatening, broken skin, desperate begging, and just evil things all around

... meanwhile we also have fluff!, Gavin fluff!, Victor Fluff!, surprise guest fluff???, also Bart being an icon!, also some insinuated ~✰☽Gayness☾ ✰~ so if you have a problem with any of that you can leave now before you are hooked by the heckin cliffhanger that I have all cooked up for you!! :D

(Chapter Four (Victor and Gavin) Prologue, and part one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and eleven can be found here!)

Please read the author’s note (and the beginning of the story) on chapter one part one if you’re new here :D

Chapter Four:

Part twelve (end):

She was there again. After all these years, my queen was standing right in front of me. She really hadn’t changed. Sure she had grown quite a bit but,

It was her.

She wasn’t very tall. Or plump for that manner. She looked to be only the size of a teenager but, after all the time that had passed from then, I knew she couldn’t have been that young.

Her hair was brown and shoulder length. She wore a layered white skirt with a striped blue shirt tied just on top of it. She was there. But she was facing away from me. I moved to touch her but my legs wouldn't budge. Why couldn’t she just turn around? Why couldn’t she just let me see her face again?

I called her name

Everything went black.

Screams and cries for help filled my head. Scattered footsteps, soft cries, stone grinding stone, a loud bang, and then silence. Pain welled in my chest. A pain I hadn’t felt but somehow seemed familiar. Horribly familiar. It wretched at my insides, breaking me without giving me any kind of release. I wanted to tear the feeling out of me, pull apart my chest until I could find peace again. I just wanted it to stop. To see her again. I just wanted to see my-

I gasped and threw my eyes open. I sat up quickly, clutching at my chest and breathing heavily to steady my racing heart. The dream was over but the pain was still there. It wasn’t as prominent but it was there. What could have caused that? Why was it familiar?? Who was that girl?!

I closed my eyes and breathed out slowly. "It was just a dream." I whispered to myself, "That girl doesn’t exist. It doesn't mean anything it's… it's just a dream." I repeated those words in my head over and over again but something about it still bothered me. Where had I seen that girl before? Where had I felt that pain before? Why was it all so familiar to me?

I groaned and held my face in my hands. I had a lot of memories that I had repressed from my childhood. That pain was heart wrenching. It’s no wonder I wanted to forget it…

But that girl. She didn’t make me feel bad. In fact, seeing her made me calm. I wanted to be closer to her, to see her face, to hold her. Why would I want to forget that? Forget her?

I looked at my watch. There was just a few minutes until my alarm to work out would go off. I sighed and lay back down. A pain pushed through my chest, not the same one from my dream but a familiar one nonetheless.

I clutched my side as memories from the night before came flooding back to my mind. I looked over to the living room. Adri stirred from the couch, letting the blanket on her shoulders fall slightly. I slowly got out of bed and approached her cautiously. Being sure to move slowly, I pulled the blanket up and tucked the blanket into her shoulder. She snuggled into it, still fast asleep. I smiled slightly as I looked up. Gavin was sleeping in the recliner. He was sitting up in it. Despite how uncomfortable it seemed, Gavin looked to be sound asleep. I moved to walk back to my bed but paused as something on his lap caught my eye. It was a book. But not just any book.

It was my high school yearbook.

A pen rested in the middle, as if marking the page he was on. I smirked and carefully pulled it from him. He sure was obsessed with this book. I put the book away in its rightful place and pulled out a blanket out from a small bin. I gently placed it on Gavin, draping it carefully down his body. He breathed deeply and sunk into the chair further, falling farther into his slumber.

A soft smile blossomed on my lips. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping like this. Not to mention vulnerable. I wonder how he would look with a mustache…

My phone buzzed. I quickly plucked it from my pocket and turned it off. I glanced at Adri and Gavin. They didn’t seem to be phased by it. Sighing lightly, I looked around my apartment. Well, now that I’m up, I might as well continue with my day…

>>>

I smoothed out my work out clothes before carefully picking up my gym bag. I walked to the door and reached for the door knob. Gavin stirred in his seat slightly. I glanced at him. I should probably leave a note if I’m leaving them like this. I tapped my chin and looked around. My eyes landed on the note pad that I kept on the fridge. Taking that and the pen that Gavin had in his yearbook, I wrote a quick note:

I’ve already headed to work. You’re welcome to anything in the fridge as a thank you for staying over. I think I have some homemade casserole in there if you're interested. Maria should arrive around seven so, Gavin, you shouldn’t be late for work and, Adri, have a good day at school. Let’s do this again soon.

Talk to you both later,

Ike.

I placed the note in the middle of the coffee table. I gave one last look to my guests before heading back to the door and grabbing my keys. I moved to reach for the doorknob again but paused. The spare key to my apartment enchantingly dangled before me. I looked back over to Gavin.

Gavin’s eyelids were overwhelmed by the morning sun. He squeezed his eyes tightly, hoping to get some more sleep. But he found that to be impossible from a craning on his neck. Gavin slowly blinked awake, his memory slowly coming back to him. He looked down. Wasn’t he reading the yearbook? Now, not only was the yearbook gone, but a blanket sat in its place. Gavin looked around the room, stretching as he did so. Adri and Ike were nowhere to be seen. Gavin quickly stood up and looked around again with more fervently this time. The bathroom door opened and Adri walked out of it, eyes looking down at her phone. She glanced up at the room and paused when she saw Gavin.

“G-good morning.” Adri stammered, cheeks becoming slightly rosy, “How’d you sleep?”

“F-fine.” Gavin faltered, his once racing heart easing at the sight of one of the sisters safe, “Where’s Ike?” Adri gestured to the coffee table, leading Gavin’s eyes down to it. There sat a folded note with his name on it. Gavin picked it up swiftly.

“Also, I think she wants you to have this.” Adri said, cutting Gavin short of reading the note. She tossed something to him, which he caught with ease. It was a key with a separate note attached to it in Ike’s handwriting. Gavin read it.

Just in case.

“I would guess she’d want that for me but I can’t even drive yet.” Adri laughed sheepishly. Gavin smiled sweetly. Much to Ike’s perceptible dismay, Gavin had expected to use that key whenever he had the chance.

I stood in the elevator next to a nervously sweating Bart. “How do I look?!” He asked for the umpteenth time that day.

“Like a nervous wreck.” I honestly answered yet again. I had spent the whole day with my team, trying to put together the plan for next week’s filming. We had spent so much time together that day that I hadn’t seen Victor since he had picked me up that morning. It wasn’t like I wouldn’t see him at all that day. In the car, Victor told me that he would like to meet with both me and Bart. I didn’t know why. All Victor said was that it was important. I was unphased by the sudden invite but Bart on the other hand…

“What if Victor hates the color purple?!” Bart asked, looking distastefully down at his violet tie, “I knew I should have gone with vermillion!”

“Honestly, aren’t you the one that does all the interviews?” I asked, arching my eyebrow, “Why are you so nervous?”

“Because! What if Victor is taking back the investment?!” Bart said quickly, as if he had been waiting for my question, “What if the lunch from yesterday was enough to realize that we spend too much time as a family and not enough time as a company?! What if he hates me and wants me out of the picture so you can take over?!”

“Ok, now that we have all the dumb ideas out of the way,” I rolled my eyes, “let’s start thinking of the good ones. He probably has something that he would like to discuss about the investment to the both of us. You know, to make sure we are all on the same page.” Bart relaxed slightly, “Or he has trained ninjas waiting just beyond this door to take us out so he can take over our company.”

“EVELYN!?”

“We’ll be fine… but maybe let me take the lead.”

“Out of the elevator or in the meeting?”

“Yes.”

The elevator dinged and, after checking for ninjas, Bart and I hurried to Victor’s office. I knocked on the door. “Come in.” Victor called. I walked in and immediately froze.

Standing in front of Victor’s desk was a petite, professionally dressed young woman. She had brown hair that fell just at her shoulders, framing the knotted blue shirt she had on perfectly.

She turned to me.

As she did the flouncy shirt she wore twirled beautifully around her knees. Her eyes were big, brown, and laced with innocence. And her smile could out match a child’s with it’s purity.

It was her.

The woman from my dreams.

She was standing in front of me.

She was real.

I staggered in my steps as I watched her, dazed and astonished by the sight of her. Part of me expected to wake up. Another part wanted to continue dreaming. The last part was wondering why the heck I hadn’t said something yet.

Bart set a hand on my shoulder, “I’m sorry.” he said as he peered into the room, “Are we interrupting something?”

“Not at all.” Victor stood from behind his desk, “Bartholomew, Ikamara, this is Youran.” The name sent sparks in the back of my mind, “She is the producer of the Yu Yun Productions Company.” Youran approached Bart and I. Each step she took shockwaves into my head. For some reason, I felt nervous to greet her. I shouldn’t have been though, as her head barely met the top of my nose from how short she was. I could have thrown her like a football if I wanted to… or hold her close to me like a puppy.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Her voice was soft and sweet like taffy. Despite the strange feelings I had, I stepped forward. But before I could out stretch my hand, Bart had pulled me aside and took Youran’s hand instead.

“The pleasure is all mine!!” Bart enthusiastically said to her, shaking her hand fervently, “I have been a fan of your show Miracle Finder since I was, well, as young as you are!!” Bart belly laughed, causing Youran to smile sweetly. I gulped. “You’re show is the reason I decided to become a producer myself!! Your father was a legend! It was a shame to see him go... I am so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” She said meaningfully, accepting another handshake from Bart, “That’s really sweet of you to say.” Youran’s eyes landed on me, making my heart freeze. She held out a hand to me. “Hi!” She said kindly, “You must be-”

“Ike.” I said, finally finding my voice as I took her hand, “Call me Ike.” Something flashed In Youran’s eyes. Something indecipherable. I hesitated. Did she feel the same feelings that I had?... or maybe I was just scaring her with my staring. Speak, Ike, SPEAK! “I-it’s a pleasure to meet you, Youran.” I continued, hoping to ease away any awkwardness I may have conjured, “What are you doing at LFG? Does Victor have an investment with Yu Yun Productions as well?”

“What company hasn’t he invested in?” Youran grumbled slightly, she leaned forward and whispered, “I swear he has the whole city wrapped around his little finger.”

“Please.” I scoffed, folding my arms, “As if Victor would let in the entire city. He would only have the best of the best then leave the rest to wallow.” Youran laughed with such an intoxicating sound that it should be kept in a music box, ready to be played when I needed it.

“He could be some sort of super villain.” Youran whispered to me as she glanced back at Victor. I bent over next to her ear and away from Victor’s sight.

“Captain Capitalist.” I whispered back. Youran laughed harder, causing a warmth to bubble in my chest and a smile to spring onto my face.

“Alright ladies.” Victor called from the other side of the room, “Time for leisure is over. Youran, you have a report you need to turn in before the end of the week. Ike, we have a meeting.” Youran rolled her eyes.

“Good luck.” She said sweetly to me.

“Thank you.” I said, holding my smile, “Hey, if you need help with that report, you should let me know. I’m pretty good at writing what Victor wants to hear.”

“Really?!” Youran’s eyes became wide with enthusiasm, “That would be great!!”

“Ladies.” Victor urged.

“Sorry!” Youran said, waving to Victor. She turned quickly back to me. “We should continue this later!” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a business card. She handed it to me. “The second number is my cell phone! Text me next time you’re free!” She turned back to Victor and Bart. “Bye! It was nice meeting you!”

“The pleasure was all mine!” Bart waved happily to her. She turned back to me, gave me one last smile then briskly walked to the door and closed it behind her. I kept my eyes on her, the business card sitting strangely in my hand. She couldn’t have been real. That can’t have happened... Why did she seem so familiar?!

“Wow!” Bart snapped me out of my thoughts. I quickly turned to look at him, catching his teasing expression before it faded.

“What?” I asked, somewhat defensively.

“Nothing! It’s just… I’ve never seen you smile like that with anyone before.”

My breath hitched, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, it took us months just to get you to talk! You don’t trust anyone who we bring to the house, and you’re cold to everyone in the office.”

“Yes, Bart. Please keep insulting me in front of Victor. I’m sure he’ll appreciate the encouragement.”

“But one conversation with her and you’re already smiling!”

My face flushed. “Y-Yeah, well. you’re one to talk!” I stammered, slipping the business card into my blazer pocket and approaching Victor’s desk, “‘You’re the reason I became a producer in the first place!’ She’s like half your age, Bartholomew. Calm down.”

“I’m just saying!” Bart defended, throwing his hands up, “She must be a really neat person if she could pull a smile from you that easily!” I opened my mouth to retort but paused. I was inclined to agree with him. Being with her felt so easy. It was like nothing I had felt before. I wonder why that was…

I cleared my throat. “Don’t we have a meeting to start?” I said, taking on a power stance across from Victor and looking steadfastly at him. Victor had his hand to his mouth, seemingly lost in thought. “...Victor.” I appealed. He snapped to and looked up at me.

“Right.” He said, prepositioning himself in his chair, “Bart, have a seat.” Bart, who was still questionably giddy, sat down in the seat next to me. “First thing’s first,” Victor’s tone had become intensely professional, pulling Bart and me into the same professional mood, “As you can see, Ike, your office has moved.” I looked around. He was right. My desk was gone.

I whistled, “Geez, I didn’t even notice.”

“That was because you were too busy making googly eyes at Youran.” Bart sung.

I snapped my head to face him, “I was doing no such thing!”

“Yes, dear.”

“I wasn’t!”

“Just so you know, Maria and I will support whomever you choose to love.”

“Bart!”

“Focus, you two.” Victor snapped at us, bringing our attention back to him. “You can find your office a couple doors down from mine. It’s close enough to your offices that they don’t have to make too much of a trip to visit you, and yet far enough away for you to get some quiet while you work.”

Bart leaned over next to me, “And I bet if you leave your door open, you can see Youran come and-” Bart suddenly cut off. I looked over to him. He was frozen in place. I quickly looked at Victor. He was already looking at me, expression riding more into dourness then professionalism. We locked eyes.

“It’s also close enough for you to come to me any time you feel as if you are in danger.” Victor’s voice was stern but gentle at the same time, “It’s windowless so you need not worry about another attack. I also put a guard outside your door to stop any suspicious characters from coming in. You should be safe there.” I frowned.

“Didn’t I tell you specifically not to get a bodyguard?” I deadpanned.

“You were pretty quiet in the car.” Victor continued, ignoring my questions, “Are you well? How are your injuries?”

“I’m alright.” I sighed and touched my side out of habit, “I had a friend help me patch up. Though it was harder to work out at the gym with a cracked rib.” Victor’s eyebrows fell into a knot.

“Are you an idiot?” Victor tactlessly barked. I looked at him, clearly taken aback.

“Excuse me?”

“You haven’t even had a full day to recover and you’ve already gone to the gym?!”

“It calms me!”

“How does being in pain calm you?”

I rolled my eyes, “Stop worryi-”

“How can you expect to protect yourself, or anyone for that matter, if you can hardly breathe?” I froze. A sweet smile popped into my mind...

“...Ok, fine.” I huffed, “I’ll stop going to the gym... For now.”

“Good.” Victor sounded resolute but something was off about it. I didn’t have time to think about it as Bart finished talking.

“-go as you please.” I looked over to Bart, shoved his face away, then looked back to Victor.

“Now, for the actual meat of the meeting.” Victor adjusted himself in his chair, “After watching how the both of you run your company this past week, I’ve made two observations. The first being, you two have no control over your employees.” Bart tensed from next to me, “I’ve received countless complaints talking about how your employees have been disruptive in the workplace. From being too loud to leaving messes all over the offices.”

“They're just passionate about their work!” Bart defended.

“Your ‘passion’ is making it hard for LFG’s employees to focus on their own work.” Victor retorted. Bart opened his mouth to speak but I held a hand up to him.

“I’ll have a word with them.” I spoke sternly, “What was your second observation?” Victor trained his eyes on me for a second.

“... There is a potential in this company that LFG would like to underpin.”

Bart and I froze.

>>>

Bart held open the door for me as we stepped out of the office, still in shock. “LFG wants to invest in our company.” Bart whispered to me the moment the door had closed.

“Yup.” I breathed.

“Five hundred thousand dollars.”

“Yup.”

We both stood in silence.

And, as predicted, Bart was the first to break it.

He started wooping loudly and punching my left arm. “WE DID IT, EVIE!!” He yelled, dancing around the room. “We DID IT!!” Bart continued dancing down the hall, twirling and pumping his fists in the air like a lunatic. I rolled my eyes and walked behind him, heart still bouncing in my chest from the news. Victor actually saw potential in our company. In me. He saw my vulnerable side and didn’t leave. In fact,

He supported it.

This was all new to me... But, it wasn’t bad.

I looked out one of the floor to ceiling windows in the hall. It had started raining outside, basking the view of Loveland in a soft gray and cleaning it of what dirt it hid in. I closed my eyes and took in it’s sound against the window as my heart slowly calmed to match the underlying beat of it.

“Hey, Ike!” Bart called, making me open my eyes once again and turn to him. He was standing in the elevator, holding the doors open for me, “You coming?” I nodded, stealing one last glance through the window.

I stopped.

From where I stood, I could see the entrance to LFG where Youran was standing. She looked disgruntled as she looked up at the sky.

“You go ahead.” My voice drifted softly as I kept my eyes on Youran, “The next time I see the team, I’m going to yell at them for their behavior in the office.”

Bart hissed, “Ah right. Ok! See you soon, Evie!” I nodded lazily as the elevator doors shut.

>>>

By the time I had gotten to the front doors of LFG, Youran had taken a seat on the front steps, resting her head in the palm of one hand and using the other to draw circles on the ground with her finger. I adjusted the grip on the umbrella in my hand and opened the door. Youran’s eyes flashed to me once then landed on me again once she saw who I was. She smiled kindly.

“Hey!” She chimed, turning to face me better. “It’s Ike, right?” I nodded.

“I thought you had left already.” I said, trying to remain nonchalant. Youran sighed and looked at the rain.

“I didn’t bring an umbrella.” She placed her head back on her hand and pouted, “Even though there was an eighty percent chance of it raining today. Heh, I can be an idiot sometimes.”

“Can’t we all?” I popped open the umbrella in my hand and held it over Youran’s head. She looked at me, shocked. “Come on.” I held out my hand, “I’ll protect you.”

Victor watched from his office as Youran accepted Ike’s outstretched hand. She helped the little girl to her feet easily and they both walked down the front steps together. The umbrella was tilted to completely cover Youran’s small body, and, even though Ike’s blazer was getting wet, she didn’t show any signs of changing her position. Victor sighed and shoved his clenched fists into his pockets. “So she does remember her.” Victor spoke to himself as he let his mind wander. Old memories coursed behind his eyes, making his eyebrows furrow deeply. When the two girls disappeared from his sight, Victor walked to his desk and pulled open a drawer. A folder slid into view. On the tab, in big black letters, it read,

"BLACK SWAN"

“Perhaps it’s not too late.” Victor lied to himself.

Epilogue:

“S-sir!” Dylan choked, “Sh-she surprised me!! But I got a shot in her! I got her arm!!”

Montu ran to catch up but it was too late. The bike had already driven off and out of sight. They breathed heavily and marched back to the building. Dylan moaned from the floor as he slowly came out of his unconscious state. Montu jumped back into the room, charged over to Dylan, and grabbed his shirt. They raised him in the air as if the six foot man weighed nothing. “What did I say, Dylan?! What did I say about LOSING HER AGAIN?!”

Police sirens cut through the air. Montu cursed. “Sir, the cars.” One of the soldiers pointed out.

“Hit the sewers.” Montu growled, rolling up their sleeves, “I’ll deal with the cars. And lock up this disappointment of a man until otherwise instructed.” The men nodded without hesitation, taking Dylan by the arms.

“Quit your blathering!!” Montu threw Dylan onto the floor, emanating a loud crack as he landed on his elbow. Dylan screamed and cradled it. “I’ll deal with you further at the base.” Montu spat, glaring distastefully down at him, “And don’t for a second think I’ll let you off as easily as I did before.” Dylan gulped.

“But it’s true!!” Dylan pleaded his empty case as they dragged him away. “She was hurt when I saw her! I shot the bullet right into her arm!! It stayed there! She was in PAIN!! I SWEAR!!” Montu removed their mask and rubbed the bridge of their nose, hoping to stifle the rising migraine behind their eyes.

Unwilling to waste anymore time, Montu focused their attention on the cars. They breathed deeply, creating a rising aura of tense air around them. A soft wind tickled their bangs and brushed the warm blood falling from his forehead. Right as it seemed like something would snap,

Montu raised their hand.

The sound of creaking metal filled the air as each of the cars were lifted from the ground, groaning against the invisible force supporting them.

Montu walked to the window, preparing to leave, when they kicked something on the ground. Looking down, their eyes landed on a tool.

A grinding tool.

Pieces of skin were stuck in between it’s blades as drying blood dripped down the side of it. Montu bent to inspect it.

“She was hurt, huh?” Montu’s voice was as smooth as butter as they traced their finger along the tool, “How interesting…”

End of Chapter Four :D

(Next)

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shimmertrapped · 4 years

Text

I’ve Got You - Stiles Stilinski x Reader (3/?)

Summary: After being rescued from an unknown enemy, Y/N and Stiles grow closer whilst dealing with trauma and a lingering threat. (post-high school AU where Scott, Allison, Stiles, and Y/N are roommates)

Characters: Stiles x Argent!Cousin OC (Reader), Scott x Allison

Word Count: 1564

A/N: thank you to everyone who’s been reading/liking/reblogging so far! i hope you’re enjoying, feel free to comment what you think and also if you’d like to be added to the tag list just let me know!

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Stiles woke to sunlight streaming in through the gaps in the white curtains across the room. He opened his eyes groggily and was confused for a moment as his mind worked to remember where he was. He glanced over the arm of the couch to find Y/N’s bed empty. His stomach dropped, and for a second he wasn’t sure whether yesterday had actually happened, or if it had just been a dream that he was now having the horrible displeasure of waking up from. But at the sight of the fresh indent on her pillow where her head had rested, he calmed down a little. Still, he got up quickly, folded his blanket, and went to the restroom to freshen up before heading downstairs.

Relief fully set in as he caught sight of two pink slipper-clad feet dangling from one of the stools at the kitchen island. Y/N was perched there, looking out the window, a glass of water in her hands. She didn’t appear to hear his approach so, voice still rough from sleep, Stiles said, “Morning.”

Y/N turned then, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “Morning.”

Stiles padded into the kitchen, noting the dark circles under her eyes. “How did you sleep?”

Y/N shrugged. “All right. You?”

Stiles rolled his neck as he grabbed a glass for himself from the cupboard. “Not bad. The couch was surprisingly comfy.”

“Oh, good,” Y/N said from behind him as he went to the fridge to pour himself some orange juice. “Have you heard anything from Scott yet?”

“Hm,” Juice in hand, Stiles leaned against the counter and pulled his phone from the pocket of his plaid pajama pants. He tapped its glossy screen and frowned. No messages. “Not yet.”

He glanced over at Y/N, whose face bore a concerned expression. “Allison hasn’t messaged me either.”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Stiles said. “They probably just haven’t had a chance to text.”

Y/N nodded, looking as though she were trying to convince herself of that.

Stiles braced a hand on the counter and turned to her. "How 'bout I make us some breakfast, and if we still haven’t heard anything by then we can try calling them?”

Y/N considered this, and after a moment accepted his proposal. “All right.”

Stiles set his now empty glass down and moved back to the fridge. “What are you hungry for? We’ve got -”

His sentence cut off as he surveyed the contents of the fridge - or rather, the lack thereof. He supposed grocery shopping hadn’t exactly been their top priority this past week. Stiles scratched the back of his neck. “Err...”

“I think there’s some leftover pizza in the freezer.”

Stiles straightened and looked over his shoulder. “Really?”

"Mmhmm," Y/N said. “Unless someone ate it.”

Stiles turned back around and opened up the freezer. Sure enough, behind a bag of frozen corn sat a container of four slices of pizza. He spun around, holding it above his head and singing a note of triumph.

Y/N giggled.

And Stiles’ heart stopped.

His arms lowered a fraction and his gaze slid down from the container to where Y/N was smiling up at him. It was the first time since bringing her home that he had heard her laugh or seen her crack a smile. Stiles felt the lingering weight of anxiety from the last week lift slightly.

He grinned back at her and approached the kitchen island, bringing the container down onto it.

“Now, the question is,” he began seriously. “What is your preferred method of reheating frozen pizza?”

“I’m good with just microwaving it,” Y/N said.

Stiles looked as though she had just insulted his ancestors. Hand pressed against his chest, eyes wide, he said, “I’m going to pretend that I didn’t just hear you say that.”

Another involuntary laugh bubbled out of Y/N, surprising even her. “Okay then tell me, oh wise one, what is the proper technique?”

Stiles held up a finger and bent down to rummage through the cabinet below the island. Y/N waited, brows raised in amusement. After a brief moment, he popped back up, waving a frying pan in the air.

“Huh,” Y/N said, impressed. “I’ve actually never tried that.”

“Then allow me to blow your mind.”

Y/N waited patiently as Stiles crossed the floor to the oven. He flicked a dial on the stovetop and slapped the pizza onto the skillet before placing a lid overtop of it. A sizzling sound filled the kitchen as Stiles fetched two plates, setting one down in front of Y/N, and one at the spot to her left. After about five minutes, he returned to the stove, uncovered the skillet, and carried it over to where she sat.

“Which do you want?” he asked.

Y/N eyed the contents of the pan and pointed to the smaller slices of pizza, leaving the larger of them for Stiles. “I’ll take those two.”

Stiles obediently slid the slices she had indicated onto their respective plates before going to set the pan back down on the stove top, turning the element off as he did. Then, he returned to the island and settled onto the stool beside her. He grabbed a slice of his pizza and held it up. “Cheers.”

Y/N smiled and raised her own slice to tap his. “Cheers.”

She studied the pizza. It certainly looked good. She took a bite and her eyes widened in surprise. Indeed, it was perfectly heated through, the cheese sufficiently bubbly and the crust just crispy enough. Her eyes slid to Stiles as she chewed, and she found him watching her expectantly. Y/N covered her mouth as she half-coughed, half-laughed. She swallowed.

“Well?” Stiles asked.

“I mean, I don’t know if my mind is blown, but...” she said. “It’s pretty damn good.”

Stiles grinned, cheeks full of food, as he banged a hand on the island top in celebration. He gulped down his food. “You’re welcome.”

Y/N shook her head, smiling, but then jumped at the sound of her phone vibrating on the marble countertop. She reached to unlock it.

Allison: Still on guard. Scott should have a chance to call in a bit.

Relief washing over her, Y/N showed the text to Stiles, who blew out a breath.

“Any idea what they’re doing?” Y/N asked him.

Stiles scrunched up his face. “Derek heard word a few days ago of another pack headed for Beacon Hills. It’s probably something to do with that. Nothing they can’t handle.”

Stiles stood and went to collect their plates, but Y/N reached to grab hers. “I’ll clean up, you made the food.”

“I heated up pizza,” Stiles brushed her off, taking the plate from her. “I’ve got it, you just take it easy.”

“All right, thanks,” Y/N said in resignation as Stiles went to rinse the plates before placing them in the dishwasher.

“So,” he said as he grabbed the pan from the stove and began washing it in the sink. He paused, as if carefully considering his next words. “I don’t know if you want to talk about - what happened. But if you do, I’m here, okay?”

A flurry of images flashed through Y/N’s mind as clearly as if she were seeing them in real life. Trees blurring past her. The inside of a trunk. She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Y/N?”

She opened them again to see Stiles staring at her, hands frozen mid-scrub on the skillet under the running water.

Y/N swallowed. “I... I don’t know what I want.”

Stiles' mouth pressed into a thin line. He set the skillet on the drying rack next to the sink. “I -”

An upbeat ringtone cut off his sentence as his phone lit up on the island in front of her. Y/N saw Scott’s name appear on the screen and Stiles lunged for it, hands still covered in soapy bubbles.

“Scott?” He said.

Y/N watched Stiles' face as he listened to their friend on the other line. His expression remained neutral.

“Okay,” Stiles said after a minute. “Be careful. Talk to you later.”

Stiles hung up and set the phone back down.

“What’s the word?” Y/N asked.

“Apparently the pack is larger than they thought,” Stiles said. “Derek’s going to need them to stay as reinforcements for now.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Y/N asked, though she was sure what the answer would be. Allison had been training Y/N to use a crossbow over the past couple months since learning about their whole world, but she was nowhere near skilled enough yet to be of much use. And Stiles mostly worked behind the scenes.

Stiles shook his head, confirming her assumption. “Scott says they’re not worried about it, they just need to make sure they have the numbers when the time comes.”

Y/N nodded, but chewed on her bottom lip as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Don't worry," Stiles said again, correctly interpreting her body language. "Scott didn't sound concerned at all. More annoyed, if anything."

In spite of herself, Y/N smirked. "Okay, I believe you."

She let out a yawn, then.

Stiles eyed her. "You sure you got another sleep?"

"Mmhmm," Y/N lied. "But maybe I'll go lie on the couch for a bit. Want to watch something?"

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AO3 link

tag list: @lzz-chaos

posted May 5, 2020

#stiles stilinski #stiles x reader #stiles stilinksi x reader #stiles stilinski imagine #stiles #stiles x oc #stiles x original character #stiles stilinski x oc #stiles stilinski x original character #teen wolf x reader #teen wolf insert #teen wolf fandom #teen wolf imagines #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf au #fic

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crushedbyhyperbole · 5 years

Text

Disco Ball Diva

A/N: For @buckyshelves Merry Christmas, I hope you enjoy this and have a great festive holiday

To @bucky-smiles for organising this secret Santa gift exchange, you’re awesome and so, so kind

Also... thank you to my friend Haz who beta read this for me. You are always so supportive of my writing and I love you

Summary: You’re inappropriate, sassy, have snazzy powers, and now you’re an Avenger-in-training. Not everyone appreciates your blasé attitude, and when a surveillance mission goes south you’re thrown together with one hot brooding super soldier. It doesn’t help that you can’t stop ogling his bum.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader w/ powers

Word Count: 7k. I actually feel bad that it’s so long.

Warnings: Violence, gun violence, Bucky kills people, mentions of blood and injury, bad language (which is a given for me), some sexual tension (light) but mostly just reader is an asshat XD

The Avengers compound is not like you imagined it. Or maybe it is but you haven’t found any of the secret stuff yet. Hidden jet hangers under the basketball court, labs in the basement, glass cases full of superhero suits. Wait. That’s the freakin’ X-Men.

Still, it’s nothing like you hoped. The conference rooms are boring, obviously, because meetings are the epitome of dull. The communal lounge and kitchen are both boring; there’s no espresso machine that doubles as a drone, no fridge that transforms into sentry bot, there isn’t even a SodaStream. Yawn! You don’t even need to see the fitness suite to know that it’s not a place you want to visit, and you’re not allowed below the ground floor yet. Talk about not trusting the noob.

Your room is a vision of extreme lacklustre, but you only moved in yesterday, so, no redecorating just yet, save for the peace lily your brother gave you.

Congrats on your new job and home by the way, here’s a half-dead plant I had but couldn’t be bothered to look after. Now it’s yours. Enjoy!

Your super power is definitely not green thumbs, nurturing life, healing, or anything even a tiny bit supportive. You can’t fly, don’t have super strength, speed, or a crazy-good aim. There’s not a green rage-monster just below the surface waiting to erupt and smash things. Well, if someone steals your cookies you might have to choke a bitch but hey, rainbows are cool, right? Super distracting, like oh hey, what’s all this shiny shit flashing around? Oh dayum, I totally didn’t see that badass super warrior coming to kick my ass.

You swallow hard. The small conference room feels like an interrogation room despite the polished wood table and plush leather chairs. Of four sets of eyes that are currently watching you, only one pair is encouraging.

Tony Stark. The guy who recruited you. Took you from a life of selling hotdogs on street corners in the City and apartment sharing with a crazy cat lady called Angie who you found on Craigslist. You had nothing against crazy cat ladies, per se, but you would prefer it if the pissy smell was optional. Angie had opted in, hence why you jumped at the chance to opt out. Ugh.

“Rainbows?” The scowly but buff brunette with the dreamy blue eyes and robotic arm, scoffs mockingly. “You project rainbows?”

The equally buff blonde who you suspect might be Captain America (or maybe his stunt double) snickers, his head lowered to hide his amusement. Does Captain America have a stunt double, for like, TV appearances and meetings with officials, and stuff? You’ll ask later. Right now, you’re annoyed.

“Oh, I’m sorry, fist-of-victory!” You snap your fingers like the queen you are. “Am I too snazzy for you? Do my rainbows ruin the whole Neanderthal vibe you got going on there?”

Loud snorts and chuckles pull you back. The redheaded vixen you know already as Black Widow is pinching her nose to stifle her laughter, and Tony is looking to the heavens in askance but emotional stability is not forthcoming.

“Wow.” The brunette says flatly.

“Fist of victory.” Tony ponders, eyes twinkling. “I like that.” He levels an amused gaze at you, rolling his next words around in his mouth. “Manchurian candidate is a little out-dated, wouldn’t you say, Barnes? Ready for an upgrade?”

Oh shit! Your eyes get big. The brunette is none other than the infamous Winter Soldier. You should have known by the arm. Show no weakness! Your brain screams.

“What’s the official title for that skill, you have?” Steve Rogers has gotten his face to cooperate, now there’s no trace of a smirk. “Light manipulation?”

“Walking disco ball.” You put on the light show again, manipulating the effects so the lights are dancing across the, now stormy grey, eyes of one Sergeant Barnes.

“It’s definitely distracting.” Natasha says objectively. “Could be useful.”

“See! That’s what I said!” You punch the air, sending the lights into a frenzy.

“I have a theory.” Tony is playing his cards close to his chest still. “That’s why y/n is here. She’s agreed to work with us, and at the very least she can be a supportive member of the team.”

“Team, frickin’, playahhh!” You holler, earning a concerned look from Rogers and a downright obnoxious groan from Barnes. “What? What you complaining at? You fucking love me already!”

The truth was that you didn’t know how your ability worked. You could feel it when you did your thang, like the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end and the air in your hand felt stiff and substantial.

Better not talk about hands full of substantial stiff things around grandad Tony, he might kick the bucket.

You could manipulate the amount of reflections in your light show by making the air heavier, make them move, dance, even adjust the size of them a little. Agreeing to work with The Avengers had been a no brainer; you get paid, get a place to stay that isn’t full of the stench of sadness and cat piss, and you get to find out more about your ability. Win, win, win.

+++ A couple of weeks later +++

“You really expect me to take Rainbow Brite on this mission?” Barnes has his arms crossed across his chest, refusal crinkling his brown and pursing his lips into a thin line. The guy looks hot in tac gear. One bicep straining against the material, the other is obviously free and oh-so-fucking-awesome. Thighs tight under those black tac pants, thigh holster accenting the flex of muscle as he shifts his weight. Wait-what!?

“Wait a fucking minute!” You squawk. “Rainbow Brite? Oh, hell no!” You march up to him, similarly decked out in black gear that makes you look like some tiny recruit in ill-fitting body armour instead of badass like him.

There’s a smirk on his perfect mouth now, dusky pink lips lop-sided with amusement, and the twinkle in his eyes is more than a little alluring. What the fuck?

“Huh.” You stop your tirade, blinking, baffled. He’s playing with you. Trying to get you pissed so you’ll refuse to go, or maybe he wants you to go so you’ll make a fool of yourself and Tony will see you’re not useful. Too many mind-games already, you don’t have the patience for this shit, so you go with an insult instead. “If I’m Rainbow fucking Brite then that makes you Twink. Dink!”

“Well, he does epitomise my sparkling personality.” Sardonic, deadpan. It’s classic brooding Barnes and you’re almost proud that he got an 80’s pop culture reference. Almost.

“And they did rename him Mr fucking Glitters back in 2014.” You pout, adopting his stance, arms crossed.

“Perfect!” Tony pops m&ms into his mouth, turning away dismissively. “Rainbow Brite and Mr Glitters it is. Head to the carpool, there’s a vehicle waiting for you both.”

There was no getting away from this mission. You’d grumbled, griped, whined, and begged Tony to send you with anyone but Broody Barnes but the Iron Man was true to his alter ego, he did not budge.

You are about to take a few pot shots at him in the insults department when Barnes’s voice comes over the earpiece you have already been fitted with.

“Earth to disco ball. Get in the damn car already.”

“It’s disco diva to you, giant cocksicle.”

He laughs at that and is still grinning when you slide into the passenger seat beside him.

“You’ve got some mouth on you, kid.” Was that acceptance? Admiration? Whatever it was it looked good on him.

“Yeah, you know you want my mouth.” It sounded better in your head but now that it’s out it can’t be taken back. Barnes looks a little frowny but at least he’s got nothing to say so you can quietly die in peace.

Can someone cringe so much they die? You might find out.

The mission is surveillance. Low-key observations of a facility out in Nova Scotia that makes products for iGoddess, a beauty company owned and run by Gabrielle Porter, the niece of one Alexander Pearce, crime syndicate king-pin and scumbag extraordinaire.

You know the company; you buy their stuff. Well, you do now you can afford it and it’s not wasted under the scent of cat urine and bleach. How can a company so devoted to making women feel special and empowered be mixed up with drugs, weapons and human trafficking? Fucking bullshit, that’s what it is.

Bucky had ditched the car in the parking lot of a lake-side leisure and visitors centre about fifteen miles away, and with gaudy waterproof outerwear over your tac gear, you had begun the hike that would set you smack-bang in the middle of nowhere good. Posing as hikers had been Tony’s brief but you’re cold and bored, and your body aches from being on the solid ground.

You’re both lay just behind the crest of a hill a little way away from your target building. Bucky mutters his observations into his comms as you look through your own binoculars trying to see what he’s looking at. He’s talking guard numbers and movements, the weapons they carry, security features and people entering or leaving the facility. It’s no use, you’re not cut out for this. Surveillance is soul destroying. You’d rather be interred in Tony’s kitchen, at least there’s coffee there.

Not even an hour in and you’re itching to get up and move around. The hike had gotten your blood pumping but now you’re going stir-crazy, joints tingling with the need for motion.

Boring. Boring. But at least you can entertain yourself. Where there’s light there’s beauty and you tease the air through your gloves, finding that your skin doesn’t need to be bare for you to create the effect. Well whadd’ya know.

“There’s movement.” Bucky warns. “Looks like some of the guards are exiting the compound.”

You snort, they’re probably bored too.

“A Jeep and a couple of motorbikes, moving quickly.”

“Sounds like they’re going home.” You mumble, focused on the lights in your hand.

“They’re headed this way.” He curses. “Grab your- What the HELL are you doing?”

Bucky tackles you to the ground from where you were on your knees almost at the hill’s crest.

“Asshole!” You’re trying to get away from him but he pins you to the ground.

“I’m the asshole?” He complains as he rolls off you, sliding down the hill on his ass, shoving his gear unceremoniously into his backpack. “Mission compromised.”

“What happened?” Tony’s disembodied voice doesn’t sound happy.

“We were spotted.” At the bottom of the hill, Bucky starts picking a path through the rocks and small fissures hidden by the wild grass and heathers. A quick glance back tells him you’re not following; you’re caught.

“Uh, hi, guys.” You chuckle nervously as one of the guards levels an assault rifle at you. “Would you believe we’re winners of a free weekend iGoddess Spa?”

Bucky is livid. If it had just been him, he could have taken them out and escaped, but, no. Tony had to insist that he bring you, show you the ropes, look after you. Babysit you.

He snorts. You don’t need a minder you need to be put in a padded room where you can’t inflict any more of your weird bullshit on him. Fucking rainbows. What kind of skill is that, other than one that gets you caught?

Eight hours ago you were both doing great. There’d been some small-talk in the car, he’d opened up a little and you’d responded. Even on the hike over you’d been great, your filthy mouth was a source of much amusement for him, and you’d listened. His instructions were followed close enough to the letter, and he was happy. Everything was good.

Now it’s all fallen to shit and he’s locked up in a heavy-duty restraint chair that brings back memories of dark places and dark times for him. To his side, you’re slumped forward in a regular wooden chair, cable-ties binding your wrists and ankles to the wood, pulling at your skin, making your hands and feet turn blue. How the hell are you both supposed to get out of this?

He’s watching the movements of your chest that tell him you’re still breathing. The cut on your head has stopped bleeding but you’re drooling blood-tainted saliva down your grey rash-guard. Both of you had been stripped down to your undergarments and checked for hidden weapons. He was the first to be incapacitated as they’d used you as leverage, holding a gun to your head until he complied, stripped, and submitted to the chair. When they’d took away your gear you’d fought and Bucky had seen red; he’d strained against the chair until the butt of a gun to the head had put a stop to that. When he came to you were out cold, beaten and bloody. How hard had you fought?

Your feet and hands are turning purple now. The weight of your body pulling the restraints against your skin is making the plastic ties dig deep, cutting off the circulation.

“Y/n?” Bucky hisses, hoping the noise doesn’t prompt the guards to come back. “Y/n! Wake up!”

The room you’re in looks like an interview room. Two-way mirror, camera in the corner, reinforced door with heavy-duty locks that were strangely not engaged. It’s grey and cold, and the only things in the room are the two chairs and you two. The device Bucky is locked into is bolted into the floor; a permanent feature, like they expected him or maybe Steve. He tests the chair again. It creaks but doesn’t give. He’d have to really put some brute strength into it to break out, and that would create too much noise. He’d wait.

“Y/n!” A little louder now, and you stir.

He keeps talking to you, just bullshit words, what he wants for dinner, what film he’s going to watch when he’s home safe. Anything to help draw you back to consciousness.

“You wana watch a film with me, y/n?” He thought for sure you’d tell him to go fuck himself.

You moan, head lolling as you come back to him.

“Hey! Rainbow Brite!”

“Fuck you.” It’s a whisper but he’ll take it.

“There she is.” He allows himself a relieved smile. “C’mon, sweetheart. I need you to sit up for me. Take the weight off those ties before there’s any permanent damage.”

It takes a few more moments before you can shuffle yourself properly into the chair, then you’re flexing your hands and feet to get the blood moving again.

“Oh-god-it-hurts-so-fucking-bad!” You are practically wailing as the pins and needles sensation in your extremities reaches a peak. The slightest movement now sends a cacophony of intense pain into your limbs.

“It’ll be over soon.” Bucky sooths.

“Why are you being nice to me after I got us caught?” You eye him suspiciously, flapping your hands to rush the blood into your fingers. Rip the band aid off. “Is this some kind of prank? Ohhhhhhh! This is an initiation isn’t it? Oh, I see. Where’s Iron Doosh? Hey! Tony!”

“Would you shut up? This is real. We’re really captured.” Bucky hisses.

“Tony Stank, Skank, Spah-hank.” You sing-song as you struggle against your restraints, examining your bound feet through spread knees. “I hope this is one of the chairs from his good dining set.” You stand, leaning forward and centring your weight above your bent knees.

“What are you doing?”

“Just need to…” You shuffle over to the mirror.

“No, y/n, wait!” Bucky begs. “Don’t break the glass.” His frantic expression says the rest. Your feet are bare and you’ll shred yourself to ribbons.

“What? You’re crazy. Why would I do that?” You chuckle, amused that he’s so worried. “There’s no one in there.” You wink at him. “They’d be in here by now if there were.”

You shuffle a bit more and grunt as you throw yourself backward to the ground. The chair cracks but doesn’t break.

“Fuck!” You struggle some more, grunting and groaning like a butch female tennis player in a grand slam. One of the arms loosens and you fight against the wood until you get your left hand free, then you’re reaching into your hair for a bobby pin to jam into the clasp of the cable tie on your right arm.

Moments later, you’re free and rushing to Bucky who is fighting against his own restraints. There’s sweat beading on his bare chest and his hair is sticking to his forehead. A quick swipe of your hand clears his brow and he stills, watching you as you search the chair for whatever mechanism has him trapped.

“There’s a big red lever at the back.” You muse. “You think it’s an ejector seat?” A cheeky wink. “If I sit in your lap we can both go for a ride.” You don’t have time for giggling and flirtation, but you do it anyway.

“Y/n.” Bucky chastises lightly.

“What? This is every girl’s wet dream. Every, damn, girl.” You mumble as you grip the handle. “And I can’t even enjoy it.”

“Just pull the damn thing already. We don’t have time to mess around.”

“Pity.” You tug the lever and a loud hiss fills the room, pressure releasing from the chair.

Bucky is on his feet and at the door before you make three steps. He’s rubbing his right forearm where the metal clamps had bitten into his flesh, there’s blood there too, long ago dried.

“There’s movement out there.” He has his ear to the door. “I need a weapon, we need our gear, and we need a vehicle.”

“I need some chocolate and bottle of wine.”

“What?”

“Are we not making a shopping list?”

Bucky rolls his eyes and grabs your wrist. “C’mon.”

With the door cracked open, Bucky can see movement at the end of the corridor; there’s a security room which is promising for retrieving your gear, but not if you want to avoid being seen.

“Stay behind me.” He pushes you towards his back.

You look down at his bum. “No problem.” You sigh and then you’re moving, your hand on his bare back so you can feel where he’s moving next.

Bucky suddenly shoves you down into a squat, shushing you with a finger held against his lips. The way he moves is like water, smooth and forceful, carrying the momentum of his body towards a lone guard who has paused at the corner by the security room. How he hasn’t seen you is a miracle but the man doesn’t even hear Bucky until the his own knife is slipped from its sheath and into the his temple. There’s no sound, no gurgling, not even much blood. Bucky lowers the body to the floor and cleans the knife on the pants of the dead man.

Looking at him now, you can see why people fear him. His expression is cold, calculating, and focused. It’s necessary, the distance he puts between himself and the act of killing. Even when Bucky was him, there was always a distance; a gap between him and his orders. Now the killing is his choice and he has to live with that, there’s no excuse of mind control now. This is all him.

The security room has one guard inside who is overpowered moments after Bucky opens the door.

Fucking amateurs, you think. Does that room not have cameras that cover the door and surrounding corridors?

Turns out that it does and the reason the guard hadn’t seen you was because he was sexting his girlfriend.

“Sexting?”

“Yeah. Like sex role play and talking dirty over text.” You snort. “Jeez, you’re old.”

“What can I say? You’re broadening my horizons.” He winks then and it’s so out of place in this grim situation that you laugh nervously. “Sounds fun.”

“Well don’t take tips from this guy.” You wave his phone in the air loosely. “He’s fucking terrible at it.”

“What’s bad about it?”

You’re not sure if he means to ask that, he’s busy trying to get outside communication through the phones which seem to be keycode protected and also checking through the security feeds to see if he can find your gear and a way out of this for you both; he’s clearly distracted. At least he’s happy now that he has a pair of handguns and a pair of knives, no weapons for you because you haven’t completed your firearms training yet. But let’s face it, who would arm you anyway? You were a disaster waiting to happen.

“He’s a bit of a wham-bam-thankyou-ma’am kinda guy.” You chuckle. Bucky is going to regret starting you off down this line of conversation. “His poor woman has probably never experienced even mediocre sex with this schmuck if his sext skills are anything to go by.”

“Too eager to bury the bone?” Bucky sounds distant, but he is listening to you as he checks drawers for weapons, keys and anything else that might be useful. God knows your gear was nowhere to be found.

“Check it.” You hop up on the desk near him and scroll through the laughable chat. You feel slightly guilty reading this guy’s private shit but he’s dead so he isn’t going to care. Reading from the chat, you do fake voices. “So she’s like ‘hey baby, you free tonight? I got something for you.’ Peach emoji, cat emoji. And he’s like ‘you off your period? Can we bang?’ I mean, what the fuck dude?”

Bucky is smirking when you look at him. “What did she say?” He straps both thigh holsters to his almost naked body. It’s comical how he’s gearing up from salvaged stuff wearing only a pair of skin-tight spandex shorts that leave nothing to the imagination. Once Bucky is packing (in more ways than one, now) you have to force your eyes elsewhere.

“’Yeah, baby! I missed you so bad. Can’t wait to be in your arms again.’ She just wants lovin’ y’know?” You spoke the line in a soft, breathy voice. Fake, of course.

“And what did he say?” Bucky is checking the monitors one last time before he moves to the door.

“You like a bit of sexting? Huh, Barnes?” You smirk, eying him mischievously. “Living vicariously through the sexting chronicles of Captain Dick-Down over there?”

“Just looking to know what not to do if the opportunity for sexting ever arises.” It’s light-hearted and completely unlike the grumpy Bucky you’re used to. Maybe there was something in the air; sex pollen or something. That’s totally a thing. “C’mon.” He says after a moment, eyes twinkling with mirth, soft lips pulling up to the side in a cute smile. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

It’s comedy gold, the pair of you running the halls of an apparently secret part of the factory, him in his tight little shorts and you in your panties and spandex t-shirt over a sports bra that makes your rack look like a uni-boob. You awkwardly tug your rash-guard down over your ass whenever Bucky is behind you and you’re thankful you didn’t wear a thong though that would be better than skid marks. God, you hoped you’d not shat yourself when they beat you.

You barely encounter anyone until you’re almost at the warehouse; Bucky is so stealthy that even with you hindering him, he only has to subdue one foreman and drag you into a cleaning supply closet once, to avoid a pair of patrolling guards. Not that you’re complaining, being squashed up against an almost naked super soldier gave you endless thrills, even if he was all stiff and awkward about it.

Bucky stalls before the double doors that lead to the warehouse. There’s a heavy plastic strip curtain over the exit too, it’s almost opaque with age and hinders your view of what is beyond the meshed safety-glass of the door’s small windows.

“They know we’re coming.” He whispers to you, mere inches away. “There’s a lot of them out there and I can’t keep you safe if you disobey orders. So, please,” he begs, “please do as I tell you.”

He begs so sweetly, you think, blushing. But you’re not one for passing an opportunity for inappropriate comments.

“I’ll be a good girl, Daddy.” You bat your eyelashes, feigning innocent. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“Really?” Bucky doesn’t know whether to blush or be annoyed. You never seem to take anything seriously; it’s always a joke, or something you can twist to your amusement. He gets doubly serious. “If you die, it’s on me. You think I haven’t lost enough people over the course of my very long life? You think I want to wash your blood off my skin later tonight? Bury you alongside all the other people lost to some fight or other in the name of SHIELD or the Avengers? I can’t save you if you don’t want to be saved.”

You watch him as he fervently tries to convey the dire nature of your situation, desperate to make you understand that he doesn’t want you to die here, he cares. His eyes are piercing and your heart is a ricocheting bullet in your chest. What if you don’t make it out ok? What if this is it for you? Both of you? Suddenly, you’re acutely aware that Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier, Fist of HYDRA come Fist of Victory, has cleared himself a little spot in your fucked-up soul, and is there to stay. You don’t want him to get killed because of you, but there’s nothing you can do, you’re not trained for this, or at all really.

You nod once, not trusting your voice in that moment. You could choke on your words or you could vomit all over yourself. It’s a lottery, so you say nothing.

“Good girl.” He gives your shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “Stay behind me. Be quick, keep low, don’t hesitate, and for Christ’s sake no disco ball.” There’s a small smile tempting the corners of his lips, like he’s saying he forgives you for getting you both into this mess. “Ok, sweetheart, lets go.”

Out in the warehouse there’s a whole host of guards and workers, patrolling and overseeing shipments being loaded into lorries. It look like it’s important, and probably why the majority of the facility is clear of security staff; the merchandise is being moved.

It’s a mad dash, crouching low as you ghost around the edge of the warehouse. The huge rows of stacks are packed full of boxes and crates, further obscuring your movement around the area. Bucky is silent, especially since he’s barefoot; he’s every bit the assassin he’s hyped to be, but you can’t take him seriously padding around almost naked with the top of his crack showing and his junk all jiggly in the front.

A radio crackles to life. Three personel down. Prisoners have escaped. Cameras last caught them headed your way.

They must have found the bodies.

“They’re in here somewhere.” A man says, loud and authoritative. “Search the rows, shoot to kill. They’re not low-life mob goons, they’re Avengers and can’t be allowed to live.”

Well that settles that, you think, gone are the chances of mere bodily harm. It’s death or death.

You watch in awe as Bucky scales a nearby stack to stalk one of the patrolling guards. When his opportunity arises he yanks the man up by the throat, snapping his neck in the process. You can’t help but admire that metal arm, so sleek and powerful. You groan, light and lusty, earning you a concerned look from the owner of said appendage.

Killing that guard has yielded an assault rifle, another knife and another handgun. You’d think Bucky would be too smart to arm you but apparently he’s not. Silently he points to his eye and then to the gun where he shows you how to turn off the safety, puts the gun in your hand and moves behind you to adjust your grip. He aims for you, pressing his chest against your back and you swear you can feel his junk against your ass. Once he’s satisfied that you aren’t going to injure yourself, he’s gone from behind you, crouching low at the end of the row.

He grabs another guard and drags him backward. The struggle is louder than he would have liked, and the man got out a partial shout before his throat was closed forever but Bucky is hopeful that he can thin the numbers down enough to make it possible to get you into a truck and away safely.

Bucky shoves the newest body under the nearest stack and beckons you to him. You both move like a two-carriage train, he’s the engine and you’re the caboose following in his wake. He only leaves you to commit murder but you feel lost when he’s gone, cold even. There’s something alluring about the way he uses his body and your mind drifts to other carnal things.

A hand on your shoulder makes you jump. There’s more of a commotion going on in the warehouse now, not just the sounds of men moving goods and silently searching for two prisoners. There are massive amounts of footfall, boots hitting the concrete at speed; bringing in reinforcements from outside.

Bucky is about to whisper in your ear when the squeal of a megaphone pierces the air; he stills with his lips almost touching your skin before pulling back with a frown.

“Sergeant Barnes?” Bucky knows that voice, he’d heard it for years, worked with it, even obeyed it on occasion. “Save the girl. Turn yourself in.”

You shake your head, panicked, urgent. Don’t leave me, your eyes are saying.

A noise nearby draws Bucky’s attention and he suddenly forces you to the ground under a stack where he slots himself immediately after; the security team are searching for you, stealthily stalking the rows. It’s cramped and dusty, the bottom shelf above you so close you can barely breathe without your back brushing the metal supports. How Bucky fits is beyond you, the man is a beefcake, all bulk and magnificently defined muscle. Thinking of him naked is the only thing that keeps you from succumbing to claustrophobia. Something brushes your hand and you jolt, eyes snapping to meet his. He grasps your hand properly and gives it a reassuring squeeze. In your chest, something gives. Maybe your permafrost heart is thawing, maybe you’re about to have a stroke, maybe you really like him.

When the coast is clear, Bucky pulls you free and you emerge into a different row, one with fewer boxes, one you’ll likely be spotted in. You can just see the massive doorway of the warehouse, double sliding doors like a hangar, several half loaded trucks and maybe forty men with body armour and guns. One guy in the middle is wearing a full-face helmet with a white skull etched across the features.

“Holy shit! Is that Punisher?” You hiss before Bucky can clamp his hand over your mouth, the warning look on his face is stern as he leans in to you.

“Crossbones.” He corrects you, barely audible despite the proximity. You still don’t know who that is but he’s totally not as cool as the Punisher, so it doesn’t matter.

His hand is still over your mouth but there’s no point in struggling, you couldn’t break free of him even if you tried, so you push your tongue out and squirm it against his palm, making him recoil in disgust. Your chuckle is silent and his frown turns to the ghost of a wry smile before his attention is fully back on the man he calls Crossbones.

Bucky is taciturn at the best of times but he’s in full diagnostic mode now, assessing the situation. His eyes flicker around the warehouse from yet another new position. It seems like he’s trying to get you closer to the trucks but you suspect that’s what Crossbones expects. There are more men closer to the trucks too and Bucky has already had to kill another two in the latest relocation. The missing men haven’t gone unnoticed and Crossbones is issuing orders, plugging the gaps so you can’t escape.

“I will find you Barnes.” Crossbone’s voice sounds wet through the megaphone, like he’s salivating with excitement at the prospect of getting his hands on you both again. “If you turn yourself in, maybe I’ll let the girl live.”

Bucky’s eyes are downcast, like he’s actually considering it, but the moment passes and Bucky’s resolve hardens. He drags you away towards the end of the row.

“The end of this row has a direct line of sight to the exit. I need a distraction. Can you do that for me?” He whispers.

You nod, lips set in determination. “One disco ball distraction coming right up.”

“On my mark.”

The fluorescent strip lights overhead create more than enough light for you to use. With your right hand flat against Bucky’s left shoulder blade and your left manipulating the air to create a huge show of dancing lights, you move in tandem. Bucky steps out of hiding, keeping you just behind him with his metal arm, he surges forward squeezing off four shots. The way his arm snaps to aim so quickly is astounding, like he has a targeting chip implanted in his brain. Who knows, maybe he does. Four men fall and remain still. Another three shots, then another two and he’s pulling you into another row at a crouching run to the opposite end as he discards the empty gun and pulls out another. He’s saving the assault rifle for Crossbones.

“Again.” He instructs gruffly. “Can you get their eyes?”

“It’s not an exact science this, you know?” You huff and he seems to know that you’re saying you’ll try your best. Of course you’d try, but you don’t know much about your power, even after the few months you’d been training with the team. If it meant you both got out of this alive, you’d flash your tits at the enemy for Christ’s sake.

You emerge again, him with the gun in his metal hand this time, stepping out with you at his back. This time they are ready for you and they start firing before Bucky gets off his first shots. He makes a dash for a fork-lift with a huge pallet of crates sat at floor level. He shoots his rounds in threes until the 9-round magazine is done. The gun is discarded as you both slide behind the cover of the pallets. Machine guns rattle, pummelling the crates with round after round. Bucky prays the crates don’t contain munitions.

“I make fourteen down. Twenty-two left.” His breathing smooth where your is ragged. You curse yourself for being so unfit that even a tiny bit of stress and exertion leaves you heaving air like a couch potato made to climb stairs. “Crossbones is a problem.”

“What do we do now?”

Bucky has two handguns, four knives and an assault rifle, you have one gun and your rainbows. This isn’t going to go well, you think.

“You’re going to hide over there and watch the rear.” He points to your left.

You smirk. Now isn’t’ the time for joking.

“I’m going to thin the crowd some more and, if I can, take Crossbones out.” He looks determined but ridiculous in his underpants, dusted with dirt and debris from the floor that’s stuck to the slightest bit of moisture on his skin. “This might not work. Run to the left, hide in the stacks again, stay down and don’t expose yourself.”

You nod and he readies himself to break cover. The shooting has stopped now and it sounds like the guards are changing positions again. His muscles clench, coiling ready to spring.

“Wait!” You stop him with a hand on his arm, the metal is unnervingly cool. Tension builds. “I wanna fuck you until you pass out.”

“Ummmm.” Bucky blinks, eyebrows raised in surprise but he’s smiling. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah, well, no, but, uhhhh.” You splutter, this hadn’t gone well at all. “I couldn’t let you go without telling you, you know, what Captain Dick Down said to his girl. You asked, for future reference, and all.”

“Oh. Right.” He frowns, turning away again. “Move when I do.” He orders stiffly, preparing to move.

Well, shit!

“Bucky, wait.” Your voice is softer this time, tears prickling your eyes. There’s a chance that neither of you will make it through this and it’s suddenly hit you that there’s something missing.

“What now?” He grumbles, turning to find you closer than he expected.

You surge forward, cupping his jaw in your hands as you capture his lips in a kiss that’s both urgent and needy. You don’t care if he doesn’t respond, you need to feel this before it’s too late. All this tension between you, the jibes and snarky banter, it’s unresolved and sexual in nature. You want him, and if this is all you can have then so be it. One stolen moment before it all slips through your fingers, and you both go to your graves.

You’re already pulling back when he snaps back to attention, quickly pulling you back for another kiss. His tongue delicately touches between the seal of your lips and you sigh with longing.

“You ready?” You pull away but he’s still clearing his head, trying to focus again.

On your feet you’re running out, pumping your legs as fast as you can, heading to the wrong place. Machine guns stutter to life and Bucky is on your heels a second later, fear contorting his features as he scoops you up in his metal arm and returns fire almost blindly. He’s shielding your body with his own and yips like a wounded pup when the bullets find him.

On your knees beneath the curved shield of his back you see the enemy are far closer than you thought. Everything in you yelled stop and you felt the pressure rise through your body and out, cascading off you like a roiling storm.

The bullets stop but the guns are still firing, muffled by the thickness of the air. Despite the pain in his lower back and hip, he turns to see what’s happening. Bullets sluggishly pushing through the air like flies in syrup, all but stopped and slightly redirected on a path that will take them away from a central focal point that is you. You’re doing this, shielding you both as if by some miracle, your power not only refracting the light causing rainbows but acting like a forcefield.

“As much as I have to break up this little party, I really can’t have you killing my friends.” The voice of Tony Stark is heard a second before the Iron Man himself and several of his Iron Legion appear and shoot each and every remaining guard with a taser disc, stunning them into unconsciousness.

Crossbones is a different matter and is somehow resistant to the zapping he just got. He levels a grenade launcher at the stacks near where you and Bucky are crouched and fires. No air shield will save you from all of that falling metal, but Bucky is still fast despite his wounds. There’s blood running down his leg in rivulets as he pulls you to safety, and shields you instinctively with his body once more while the sound of explosions and grinding metal fill the air.

“I did not know I could do that.” You praise yourself.

“I still got shot.”

“It’s just a flesh wound.” You snort. “Walk it off.”

“You’re a real ray of sunshine, you know that?”

“I must be something special if you took one in the ass for me.” You wink. “I hope it heals puckered, then you’ll have two rusty bullet holes.”

“STARK!” He shouts but pulls you closer to him. “Evac for one. She’s walking hom-owwww!” You pinch the skin on the inside of his thigh viciously enough that he shoves you out of his embrace.

You both stay close on the Quinjet home. Bucky had been confused as to how Stark had known to mount a rescue mission but when you produced Captain Dick Down’s phone from your uni-boob bra it all became apparent. All of the comms in the facility had been locked down but that was a personal device, one that probably wasn’t allowed to be carried. Good old Captain Dick Down.

The facility had been put to a far worse use than drugs and weapons trafficking. iGoddess was a front for human trafficking and also human experimentation. The restraint chair they had strapped Bucky into had been used to restrain test subjects; Alexander Pearce was trying to replicate the super serum that made Steve and Bucky what they were.

“So, this was a win for us.” Steve said in the debrief. “Our intel was lacking but it worked out in the end.”

“Says you who didn’t get shot in the ass cheek.” Bucky grumbled, shifting cautiously on the Mr Glitters cushion you’d given him as a joke.

“I got to see some wonderful scenery,” you grin brilliantly, “so I’m not complaining.”

There had been no further discussion about the kiss you and Bucky had shared when you thought you might die in that place, but that’s ok. Your daily thrills are made up of making him squirm, and since you two had become closer since your ordeal, you have had several of moments like those. There’s plenty of time and you’re prepared to play the long game, starting with your newest idea. You pull out your phone and casually write a text while Steve is rambling on about seized research and assets.

[I’m so turned on right now].

Bonus add-on for this work: Captain Dick Down - External link to AO3

Because apparently 7k words wasn’t enough and I just had to try my hand at a little text chat/social media piece. It’s more of an embellishment. Enjoy

And if you liked this story, why not try Good Ole Stuffing, a smutty follow on for the same reader/character.

#cmmsecretsanta #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky fanfic #reader insert #reader with powers #marvel fanfic #powers au #my writing #cloudy's writing

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jaxl-road · 5 years

Text

Scar Tissue chapter 4

The boys reluctantly deal with the fallout the next morning. The road is looking long and rocky for all of them, but hey. They’ve got each other.

Pairings: Slash/Duff, side Axl/Izzy, side Nikki/Tommy

Warnings: ((not in this chapter)) Implied/discussed past abuse (non-explicit)

Read on AO3

“Please tell me I just smoked some bad weed last night and I didn’t actually punch Vince in the face.”

Slash was still half asleep when Steven barged into his room. “Uuuuh,” Rubbing his eyes, he glanced around and wasn’t surprised to find that Duff was already awake and out somewhere, “I mean, I don’t know if you technically punched him in the face. There was definitely some hair pulling, but…”

“Fuuuuuuuuuck…” Steven let out a long groan, shuffling over to fall face-down next to Slash on his bed, “Shoot me, Slash. Just put me out of my misery.”

Sitting up, Slash pat his back sympathetically, “Hey, we were all fucked up. Everything will be fine-”

“No it won’t!” Steven wailed into the mattress, “God, what the fuck is happening? I was acting like you last night.”

“Wait, what?” furrowing his brow, he shook at Steven’s shoulder, “What the fuck does that mean? I rarely get in fights!”

“I meant I was acting stupid.”

“Hey!” This time he shoved him harder, “That’s not better!” He may have been offended, but he couldn’t help but be a little relieved when Steven giggled softly. “Seriously, dude. What happened?”

It took a minute for the drummer to answer, “I have a crush and it made me act dumb,” he finally turned his face to look at Slash, smiling wryly, “just like you,” he explained.

Slash paused, “Oh,” he said, “that’s fair actually.”

“Yeah, I know,” Steven huffed out a laugh, but it quickly dissolved into a whine as he buried his face in his arms, “But at least you haven’t fucking decked your crush.”

“Wait, wait, hold on,” holding one hand up, Slash used the other to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was too early for this. “Vince is your crush?”

“Uh, yeah?” Looking up again, Steven looked confused, “I thought it was obvious?”

“Nope, definitely not obvious at all.”

“Well, you’re a bad judge, you’re so distracted by Duff I don’t think you’d notice if I dyed my hair green or some shit.”

“Am not!” He cried as Steven stood up, walking out of the room. Slash quickly followed after him.

“Izzy!” The drummer skipped over to the rhythm guitarist, the other man sighing into his coffee as he was approached by his band mates, “Izzy, did you know I have a crush on Vince?”

“I didn’t want to know,” he mumbled tiredly.

“Is that a yes?”

“It’s a fuck off.”

Slash snickered as Steven huffed, “Oh come on! If you knew you have an obligation to help me out! You and Axl somehow manage to be in a more-or-less stable relationship. Who else can I turn to? Slash??” he gestured at his friend, “He shares a room with his crush and he still can’t get it!”

“What the fuck, shut up, asshole!” Slash covered Steven’s mouth with both hands, head whipping around wildly in search of the tall bassist in case he had overheard.

“He’d not here, dumbass,” Izzy smirked, “Apparently he got called into work today.”

“Oh,” Slash should have been relieved, but instead he deflated at the realization that Duff would be gone all day.

“See! This is what I’m talking about!” Steven exclaimed.

“Shut up! You fucking punched Vince, I think I’m a step above you at this point.”

“You punched Vince?” Izzy raised an eyebrow, “Nice. I should tell Axl, it might help cheer him up.”

As Izzy walked out of the kitchen, the other two followed after him. They were surprised when they walked past Izzy and Axl’s shared room to find it empty; they had expected the singer to still be holed up. But when they entered the living room, their eyes immediately fell on a lump of blankets sprawled out in a patch of sun on the floor, a few strands of red hair peeking out.

“I put him out here since our room doesn’t get any sun,” Izzy explained with a shrug.

“You two are sickeningly adorable,” Slash pouted.

Izzy ignored him, crouching next to the mass, “Hey, Axe, Steven punched Vince in the face.” It took a moment, but the fabric shifted just slightly. If Axl spoke, his words were too soft to reach Slash or Steven, but Izzy responded, “Last night, I think.”

“There was also hair pulling involved,” Slash chimed in, grinning when Steven shoved his shoulder.

There was more shifting, until a pale arm managed to escape to give a thumbs up in Steven’s general direction. Chuckling, Izzy gave his boyfriend a soft pat around his shoulder as he wormed his arm back into his cocoon. Standing, he gestured for the other two to sit on the couch with him.

“Alright, I’m awake now. Tell me what the fuck you lovesick idiots got into last night.”

“Yeah, I actually want to know the details, too,” Slash agreed, the three of them lounging on the beat up couch as Izzy sipped his coffee and Axl stayed in his motionless heap on the patch of sunlit carpet across from them.

Sighing heavily, Steven dropped his head into his hands as he explained, “We were both drunk and high and shit, and he kept talking about who he could hook up with since Duff was gone, and he mentioned practically every fucking person in the room except me. And so I tried to like, be cool or some shit and mention that, hey, fuck, I’m available, y’know? And that stupid fucker offered to set me up with some chick, and then I think I called him a slut, and then it just… escalated.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Izzy nodded.

“At least you were interacting with him,” Slash mumbled, still feeling bad about his actions the previous night, “I was so determined to impress Duff I ended up ignoring him the whole night.”

“That also sounds right.”

Glaring at Izzy, Steven and Slash both slumped onto the couch, resigning themselves to wallowing for the day.

Izzy shook his head at the two of them, “You two are a sorry sight. I can’t believe you go out for one night without me and Axl and you both manage to fumble your nonexistent love lives. That’s gotta be some sort of record.” Steven shoved him weakly as Slash flipped him off, making Izzy roll his eyes, “Oh for fuck’s sake,” he grumbled, “Coffee’s not enough for this, I need a drink. Or a hit. Actually both. All of you just…” he glanced around at his three band mates, each in some sort of lifeless heap, before sighing heavily, “...stay here.”

After a few minutes of silence, Slash rolled his head over to look at Steven, “This is dumb. We should just, like, find someone else. We get enough hot chicks crawling over us after shows these days.”

“True,” Steven sighed, “maybe if we find someone hot enough to fuck we can just forget about these bastards.”

“You’re both pussies,” Izzy deadpanned as he reentered the room, coffee spiked to Hell and back and a fresh flow of dope in his blood. Dropping onto the couch, he stretched his legs out over the other two men’s laps, “If you really thought that would work you’d have done it already.” Receiving two groans of reluctant agreement, he continued, “And besides, you’re barely trying. You don’t get to give up until you actually put an effort into it.” Immediately they both started arguing.

“I have to put effort into it!” Steven exclaimed, “Were you not listening to what happened yesterday? The asshole was just too dense to notice it!”

“I spend everyday talking to Duff and I’m still getting nowhere!”

“He literally flirts with everything that breathes except me!”

“And I can’t even like, get a little handsy cause he’s jumpy as fuck!”

“He even flirted with Duff-!”

“Vince fucking flirted with Duff-!”

“But he didn’t even notice me!”

“And he didn’t even realize how jealous I was!”

“What else am I supposed to do?”

“What else can I do?”

When they finally ended their rants, they found Izzy giving them an unimpressed stare. He took a long drink from his mug before responding, “Steven,” he spoke slowly, like he was talking to a child, “I’m pretty sure next to no one knows you have a crush on Vince. You’re all loving and happy and shit with everyone. The only difference between the people you’re friends with and the people you bang is whether or not you bang them.”

Steven sputtered, wanting to deny Izzy’s words but, unfortunately unable to. Taking another drink, Izzy turned his sights on Slash, “And you,” he pointed almost accusingly, “your crush is obvious to us because we know you. Duff probably just thinks you’re being a nice roommate or some shit.”

“But,” Slash frowned, “even as friends, I feel like no matter how close we get he always…” he hesitated, casting a quick glance towards the mound of blankets on the floor, “he’s always closer to someone else. Like, he’s always more comfortable with other people than he is with me,” he finished sadly.

Humming thoughtfully, Izzy debated his response. But before he could say anything, a snapping sound cut through the room. Looking over, they saw Axl’s arm had emerged again, snapping his fingers to get their attention. After a moment, he waved his hand in a ‘come here’ motion.

Izzy raised an eyebrow, “All of us or just Slash?”

Axl held up two fingers, and Izzy kicked at Slash’s side, pushing him off the couch. Frowning in confusion, Slash crept over to Axl’s side, kneeling next to him and leaning close. Shuffling, the singer tugged the blankets down to reveal the top half of his face- eyes red with dark circles under them.

“How relaxed are you around Duff?” he asked, his voice soft and slightly raspy.

The question surprised him, “Uh,” Slash blinked a few times as he considered his answer, “I mean, I’m not… not relaxed around him? But like… I like him a fucking lot, so I guess I’m usually a little more nervous around him than you guys?”

“Hm,” Axl raised a tired eyebrow, and then, before Slash could say anything else, he burrowed back into the comforter, “Okay. Now go away.”

Slash spread his arms in confusion, turning to Steven and Izzy with a look of offended confusion. Returning to the couch, he repeated the short conversation to the other two, “Like, what the fuck was that about?”

Izzy leaned forward, putting his head in his hands and sighing long and hard while Steven giggled, “Oh my God, dude. Dude.”

“What?”

“Jesus fuck, I feel way better about my own situation now.”

Slash shoved at him, Steven still laughing as he ran into the kitchen, the guitarist following him still bickering and clueless. Shaking his head in amusement, Izzy stood and made his way over to Axl, laying down and stretching out next to him. The red head shuffled a bit to flop his head and one arm across Izzy’s chest.

“...We weren’t that dumb before we got together, right?” Axl mumbled into his chest.

Laughing, Izzy pressed a kiss onto the top of the singer’s hair, “Oh babe,” he grinned, “We absolutely were.”

~~~~~~

By the time Duff got home in the early evening, the sun had gone done, leading Izzy to carry the Axl burrito back into their room, and the kitchen was in disarray from Slash and Steven throwing things at each other as they bickered about their respective romantic stupidity. On the plus side, they had at least worn themselves out and come to a reluctant understanding that they were both dumbasses.

“Um…” Duff looked around at the mess, before turning to look at Steven and Slash, who were sitting at the kitchen table with a few empty beer bottles between them, “Hi?” The two boys mumbled out a greeting. Clearing his throat, Duff held up a paper bag almost nervously, “I brought food?”

That had them perking up. “Really?” Steven grinned excitedly, “Fuck, Duff you’re the best!”

Chuckling, the bassist set the bag down on the counter, “I mean, it’s not much. Just leftovers and shit from work.”

“It’s food, therefore you’re my new favorite,” Steven insisted.

He and Slash cleared the bottles off the table, allowing Duff to unpack the paper bag, “I’ve got some lasagna, a few pieces of garlic bread, and a bit or ravioli.”

Faced with actual food, Slash and Steven didn’t even bother with plates, each grabbing a fork and eating right out of the containers, expressing their gratitude through mouthfuls of food.

Duff laughed at their enthusiasm, “Save some for Izzy and Axl, you fucking animals!”

Some of the food was reluctantly set aside before the two continued devouring their meal, “You gonna eat any, Duff?” Slash asked.

Shaking his head, the bassist leaned back in his seat, “Nah, I ate at work.” The three band mates chatted amicably for a few minutes as the food steadily disappeared before Duff finally turned to the drummer hesitantly, “So, hey, Stevie, are you, uh, alright? After last night, I mean. Things got kinda intense at the end there.”

“Oh,” Steven blinked in surprise. With all the morning discussion and bickered they’d had, he’d sort of forgotten that Duff hadn’t been around to hear all the details, “Yeah, no, it’s cool. I mean, I’m gonna hang with Tommy tonight to get a feel for how bad I fucked things up but,” we waved a hand, smiling wryly, “just love and war bullshit, y’know?” Steven tried to keep his words lighthearted and nonchalant, but he could still see little flickers of fear, or sadness, or both, flash across Duff’s eyes.

“Hah, yeah, of course, that… makes sense,” he tried to laugh, to stay natural, but Duff's whole body seemed to deflate in something like defeat.

When the bassist looked down to fiddle with his bracelets, Steven sent a look of thinly veiled panic towards Slash. They had been friends long enough for the guitarist to hear the words in his head loud and clear: Holy shit did I fuck things up with Vince AND Duff??

Before they could press the issue further, Izzy wandered out, pausing when he saw the containers of food, “Oh Hell yes, something that’s not ramen,” he said excitedly.

“We were even nice and saved some for you and Axl,” Slash pushed one of the takeout boxes towards him.

“Awesome, hold on,” slinking back into his room, they could hear some shuffling, murmured words, and then soft curses. When Izzy returned, he was carrying a familiar bundle of blankets, but this time it was squirming and releasing a series of muffled expletives. Izzy paid it no mind though, unceremoniously placing it on the kitchen counter before turning to sit at the table with the rest of the band. The grumbling continued, and when he noticed the three sets of raised eyebrows, Izzy merey shrugged as he pulled the tray of lasagna towards him, “Axl is mad ‘cause I’m not letting him isolate himself for once in his fucking life.” A hand wormed out of the comforters just long enough to give a firm middle finger in the man’s direction.

It was strange, Slash thought. Steven was nervously chatting with Duff, scooting his chair closer to try to bridge whatever gap he’d accidentally created, rambling about how Tommy was going to help him fix things. Slash tried to insert himself in their conversation while also chatting with Izzy to keep the other guitarist’s mind off the unmoving, silent, hidden body on the countertop across from them. The dirty, run-down kitchen was packed with five kids who all seemed to carry their own flavor of deep exhaustion and pain with them.

But they also carried the same flavor of ambition and drive and determination. They still managed to fill their hellhole of a house with laughter and creativity, drawing each other out of their own heads, even managing to literally draw Axl out of his shelter after a couple hours (well, the top half of his face. But still).

When the night ended, Steven was still trying to figure out what to do about the Vince situation as he left to find Tommy, and Izzy still had to carry Axl back to their room, and him and Slash still shot up together to take the edge off, and Duff still got wasted before he went to bed, and Slash still didn’t know how to move forward with the bassist. Honestly, things still weren’t great.

But still. Still. Slash couldn’t help but feel like maybe they would be. He couldn’t help but have hope.

They'd get there.

#my writing #sluff #duff mckagan #slash #duff/slash #if you're wondering how the fuck Vince/Steven became a thing you're asking the wrong person #I have no fucking clue #just #just go with it #everything in this story is two steps forward one step back yeet

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santoteez · 5 years

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In the Bronx - Hongjoong (3)

Part: 3 of (?)

Part 4 is up NOW! (link doesn’t work, pls use masterlink, sorry!)

Genre: Drugdealer!Hongjoong, Drugdealer! SeonghwaAU, Angst, Eventual Fluff

Word Count: 2k

Requested: no

Warnings: MC is a black female, mentions of drugs, underage drinking, swearing, mentions of sex, Hongjoong’s brother is inspired by Mingi

NOTE: This fic does NOT, in any way, shape, or form, portray the way I view any member of Ateez nor does it depict their true personalities or actions. This AU is just that. An AU.

After standing there for what felt like an eternity, Santana rushed back into the living room, retrieving her clothes. She got dressed and ran out of the house. If she paced herself, she’d make it to the warehouse before the crew spread out to sell. She cursed once approaching the heavily bolted door. Hongjoong never gave her the key. On top of not wanting her that involved with his life, he figured she’d never need it. The statement was almost laughable in this situation.

Resorting to drastic measures, she banged on the door.

“OPEN UP, I GOTTA TALK TO DRAGON!”

“Selling hasn’t started yet. Wait at the usual spots.” A voice said from the other side.

‘Is that Carlos?’ Santana thought to herself. She always saw him walking around the neighborhood with his grandmother. She never imagined he worked for Hongjoong.

“Fool, I ain’t no junkie! I gotta talk to Dragon. Some shit went down with HJ, and ALL y’all cats gotta dip like, yesterday.”

“Who is it?” Santana sighed in relief as she heard Seonghwa speak to Carlos. “Shit. That’s Santana. Move.”

Santana came face to face with the blonde-haired man as the door swung open. Her body shook uncontrollably, and Seonghwa realized immediately what had happened.

He opened his arms. “Come here.”

Santana allowed him to pull her in, and after holding it in, she burst into tears. They stayed that way for a few minutes before pulling apart.

“C’ mon, come inside.” He said.

Once inside, Seonghwa’s voice boomed through the warehouse.

“Everybody listen up! 12’s got HJ. This means we’re hot right now. I need this place packed up and emptied out TONIGHT. Don’t worry about the product you’re cooking. We’ll risk the loss. Right now I need this abandoned warehouse to LOOK abandoned. Get to it.” Everyone immediately started tossing things out, moving plants and bagging what was on the tables.

“Santana, come with me,” Seonghwa said, not looking back to see if she heard him. Luckily, she was right on his tail. They rushed into the office and Seonghwa locked the door. Santana watched from the corner as Seonghwa rummaged the tiny rooms, gathering documents.

“Talk to me, Santana. What did the cops say when they got there.”

“Attempted murder. It was the Coca Twins.”

“Pussies. Both of them. Not once did Hongjoong shoot. He didn’t even take the fucking safety off! Do you know where they took him?”

She shook her head. “The officer that read his rights badge said ‘Bianchi.’ I didn’t get the name of the one that tackled him to the floor.” She answered, her voice quivering.

Seonghwa paused to look up at her. “Santana. I know this is hard. But you’ve gotta be strong. You knew what dating a kingpin entailed when you said yes. Cry it out now if you have to. But when you’re done, wipe your face and keep pushing. Because the sooner we fix shit, the sooner he can be back.”

She nodded, wiping her eyes. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Okay,” He resumed packing. “What else? Did he tell you anything?”

Santana raked her brain. “Go back to where it all started, and that’s where your future begins.”

Seonghwa furrowed his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“That’s the last thing he told me. He said to remember it.”

Seonghwa sighed. “Leave it to him to say some cryptic shit like that. I swear he too smart to be a kingpin.”

“You have no idea how much I agree. He also told the cops he acted alone.”

Seonghwa stuffed all the documents into his backpack. “Of course he did. He doesn’t want us both behind bars. C’mon, let’s go get Minjoon. I have his cell phone tracked.”

“Ain’t that shit incriminating?” Santana pointed to his backpack.

“More than incriminating, but with the police sniffing around, it’s safer with me.” He unlocked the door, walking out to the main area, which was already looking clearer than before.

“I am on my way to a side job. For your protection, no one besides Santana follows me. Carlos and Mitch, you will oversee the moving of the materials and equipment. Make sure all of this makes its way to the Castle Hill location before midnight. It’s fairly new but it will have to do. Like always, stay safe, stay together.” He headed to the back door.

“Whatever this side job is, come back in one piece, boss.” Lil Mike, a fairly new member said as Seonghwa approached the door he guarded.

“Don’t worry about me. Make sure you and everyone in here is safe. You may be new, but these your brothers. Have they backs.” Seonghwa opened the door once Lil Mike nodded. “Santana, stay close behind. Step quietly. Step quick.”

They got in the car and sped off down the street and onto the highway. They arrived in Brooklyn in 15 minutes flat, which was understandable considering Seonghwa was swerving and running red lights. They arrive at a brownstone off Chauncey St. The door was forced open by a piece of cardboard wedged into the hinges, and the music was booming.

Seonghwa double-parked the car, and Santana hopped out, walking straight into the apartment.

There were kids making out, smoking and drinking all over. Body shots and beer pong was going on in the far part of the house, and a smoke machine made it hard to see.

“Heyyyy, you’re too old to be in high school!” A girl slurred, approaching Santana.

“I’m looking for Minjoon Kim, you seen him?”

The girl giggled. “I don’t kiss and tell. Aren’t you too old for him anyway?”

Santana rolled her eyes. “Heffa, I don’t have the TIME, nor the ENERGY. It’s either you know where he’s at or not.”

The girl laughed again. “Wait your turn, cougar. He’s worth the wait, I promise.”

“This is getting nowhere,” Seonghwa said, causing Santana to jump. She had no idea he was standing there.

Seonghwa headed straight for the stereo, cutting the music off. Shouts of protest immediately ensued.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Seonghwa said, the room instantly becoming pin quiet. “I’m in here looking for Minjoon Kim. I shouldn’t have to explain who that is. Girls want him, guys wanna be him. Where is he?”

The room remained silent.

“If no one wants to talk, how bout we play a game? It’s called ‘Let’s see if the crazy blonde guy has a gun in his backpack.’ Unless you wanna play, start talking.”

“I saw him stumble out the house a while back.” A voice called out from the crowd.

“Did anyone bother to ask him where he was going?”

“He said he needed some air. He wanted to go home, but his DD got drunk, and his phone died so he couldn’t get an uber, so he was gonna take the bus.” Another voice called out.

Seonghwa smiled. “Now, I’m gonna turn the music back on. And all you little mongrels are gonna forget what I look like or that I was ever here. If not, I’m always willing to play my favorite game. Capiche?” just like that, the music was turned on and attention was taken off of Seonghwa.

“Wow, that was soooo hot. Who are you?” A girl approached Seonghwa on his way out.

“Dragon.”

“Dragon. That name is soooo cool. Maybe I can see you again? You might be a killer but you’re a hot one. My name’s Samantha!”

“Your hair is parted wrong. I can see all your tracks.” He said, causing Samantha to scream, running into the house

Santana burst out laughing. “That was quite the roast.”

He shrugged, smirking. “I guess that’s why they call me Dragon. Let’s go, we’ll just have to check every bus stop in the vicinity. We better hurry before the hour. At that point, he could be on any bus headed anywhere.”

They drove around in circles, checking every bus stop, taxi post, gas station they could find. Suddenly, they saw a boy in a pale-yellow shirt.

“That’s gotta be him!” Santana shouted.

“You’re right, I recognize that shirt.” Seonghwa pulled into a parking spot at the corner of the street. Just then, two men began walking opposite Minjoon. The teen, obviously disoriented, bumped into one.

“Watch the shirt, kid! This here Versace.”

“Oh, my bad.”

“Hollup, you look just like someone I know. Don’t he, Ray-Ray?”

“Yeah! What’s that cat’s name? HJ?”

“What? How- how do you know my brother?”

“Oh shit! This the little brother he been hiding. You’re in for a shitshow, kid. The twins done stung your big bro. Ratted him out. That’s what he gets for dealing with those punks.”

Seonghwa reached out, pulling Minjoon away. “Ray-Ray, Spider. Long-time no see.”

“Aw shit, here comes Dragon to save the day. Always cleaning up after your kingpin. You should’ve got that title, man. He not fit.”

“Yeah, well. That’s not your decision. Let’s go, Youngblood.” He tugged on the boy’s sleeve, jerking him backwards towards the car.

“Is that the Missus back there? Oh, baby, you way too fire to be dealing with HJ. Come find out what a real man feel like. Brooklyn’ll suit you well.” Ray-Ray called out.

“Play with fire, you get burned. Get in the car, MJ.” She opened the passenger door, and the boy stumbled inside. Once Santana was seated, Seonghwa sped off.

“Seonghwa, where’s Hongjoong? How does he know those men? Why do they think he’s a kingpin? You have to tell them they're mistaking him for someone else. Santana, make him tell them.” Minjoon said desperately.

“I’ll explain soon, Youngblood. Right now, I got one more favor to do for your brother. Just take a nap, okay, I’ll wake you up when we’re home.”

“Can you get me Popeyes? I was gonna take the bus, but I got hungry sitting at the bus stop. I remembered seeing a Popeyes on the way to the party, so I tried to find it but I got lost and my phone died.”

“Minjoon, I’ll get you the biggest order Popeyes has ever fucking seen. Just go to sleep, okay?”

The boy nodded, dozing off.

“Where we going, Seonghwa?”

“I think I finally know what HJ’s phrase meant.”

They drove to Cypress Hills Cemetery. Seonghwa turned off the car, leaving the AC on for Minjoon. They got out the car and Seonghwa retrieved a shovel from the trunk.

“I don’t even know why you have that just lying around.” Santana said.

“I wasn’t planning on telling you.” Seonghwa countered. “Let’s go.”

They walked to the top of the hill. Seonghwa suddenly stopped at a tombstone. It had definitely seen better days.

“What are we doing? Who’s buried here?”

“Technically, no one. In theory, your mother-in-law.” Seonghwa said, moving aside to let Santana read the epitaph.

Kim Ji Woo

1979-?

“HJ couldn’t move on without burying her, with or without her body. He tried searching for her, but never found any leads. So, he presumed her dead.” He shoved the shovel into the dirt. “Keep watch for me. If this is what I think it is, it should be a shallow dig.”

Santana looked out onto the street as Seonghwa tossed shovelfuls of dirt to the side. Santana turn around when she heard the shovel hit something.

“Found something,” Seonghwa said, using his hands to unbury it all the way.

Pulling at the object, it arose from the ground.

“A baby carrier?” Santana asked confused.

“Not just any carrier. The carrier Minjoon was in when the cops found them. HJ must’ve left it here.”

Seonghwa pulled back the blanket covering the large lump in the carrier, rolls of money peeking out.

“Holy shit, there’s gotta be thousands in there,” Santana said in disbelief.

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Seonghwa pinched the bridge of his nose. “This has to be Minjoon’s college money. If HJ wanted us to find this, it means he doesn’t expect to be out by the time Minjoon needs it.”

“So, what are you saying?” Santana asked, terrified of the answer.

“HJ’s gonna confess. He’s gonna turn himself in as kingpin.”

#ateez jongho #ateez #ateez seonghwa #ateez hongjoong #ateez yunho #ateez yeosang #ateez san #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez fanfic #ateez fluff #ateez smut

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faintblueivy · 6 years

Text

Matters of the Heart - BoruSara Fanfiction

Hey guys, I'm finally able to post this chapter! I did it first time and it showed a few technical mishaps. Although, I think, the app actually deletes spaces of the content I post when it is done from PC. It's getting seriously annoying!

Anyways, let me stop the complaining here itself and move onward of the last chapter. Yes, this is the last chapter of this story! Hope you'll enjoy it!

Love to amazing @anastasiapancake for helping me with this chapter!

Chapter 7

What She Loves

The morning sunlight streamed into the room through the window. The beams of the light flickered on his face and the rustle of leaves was soft. Boruto groaned and rubbed his forehead, wishing for the sleep to vanish from his senses.

His eyes went in and out of focus as he blinked but finally a mop of black hair entered his field of vision. The warm body pressed against his was an electrifying sensation and Boruto almost jumped out of the bed, a hand slapping over his mouth to prevent him from letting out a scream.

She was sleeping. Her serene smiling face was a sight to withhold. The soft sunrays illuminated her resting figure and bathed it in an ethereal glow, and for a few moments, Boruto just sat there, taking her form in and carving it into his memories.

Then the memories of last night’s events rushed in. He found himself blushing red when he remembered her being pressed into him and how her beautifully unique smell that filled his nostrils still lingered. He remembered the doubts he had confessed, along with the feelings that he has suppressed for so long.

And...to be fair, finally being honest with her felt as if the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders.

“You know it already, don't you? I always have and always will.”

Her words had engraved themselves into the deepest part of his mind and the memory of her expressive onyx eyes shining with so much warmth, all for him, made him feel like the luckiest man alive in the entire world.

He had fallen in love with his best friend and she loved him back. Honestly, it was such an overwhelming feeling that Boruto still had a hard time processing it.

In all his thoughts he never paid attention when Sarada’s eyes fluttered open.

“Good morning Boruto.” She gave him a small sleepy smile and it was the most adorable thing ever… aside from Himawari’s smile. Not that he’d tell anyone that.

Boruto almost squeaked when he realised how creepy he would have looked to be staring at her while she slept, so he ducked to hide his face.

Suddenly Sarada wailed slamming her alarm clock, “Are you kidding me?! I’m about to be late. And I have a meeting with one of the only contractors willing to work for damage repair in the outskirts of the village.”

“Oye! Calm down! You still have twenty minutes to make it.”

She nodded and jumped to the bathroom and Boruto quickly scampered around the house and went to the kitchen to prepare something for her to eat. Well, he was pretty well familiarized with the Uchiha house and it included the kitchen as well.

As soon as he entered the kitchen a familiar voice called out and he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand.

“Boruto-kun?”

He gulped and slowly turned his head towards the direction of the voice, unconsciously stepping back when he found a set of curious crystal green eyes stare back at him in confusion.

“H-Hey Aunt Sakura!” he raised his arm to wave at the older woman as a sign of greeting, already sweating buckets. He was aware of how feral Sakura Uchiha was when it came to her daughter’s safety. Well, he had seen her throwing a guy twice her size across the village when she had learned that the bastard was stalking her then fifteen years old daughter. He knows and swears on his life that he is not that kind of disgusting creep in any form but still… he would like to keep his bones intact, especially after coming out of the hospital a week ago, thank you very much.

“Did you… just come out of Sarada’s room?”

Shit. God may save him now.

Sakura had seen him practically since he was an infant so it was not exactly hard for her to read how his body tensed and he turned a burning shade of red. She inwardly giggled at how obvious the child’s affection was for her daughter.

“I guess you did. Did you two have se-”

“NO! We didn’t!” Boruto screamed, scarlet faced and almost hyperventilating.

Sakura took immense pleasure in seeing him so flustered and then wondered if the onset of old age is making her sadistic. The boy was generally so cocky and rambunctious that it was only during these moments that he looked like his mother’s son. And it felt good to see a little bit of Hinata in him.

Sakura grinned cheekily and Boruto turned his head on the other side.

“I thought you were in the hospital, with Uncle Sasuke.”

“Oh, I was. But it's nice to clean up and eat something at home once in a while, don't you think?” She winked at him.

“And your master is such a man child. He said he wanted home food.”

She stirred something in the pot and then pointed him to sit what he obeyed. She sat in front of him and a knowing smile graced her lips.

“So…?”

“So?”

“So…?”

Boruto tilted his head in confusion trying to map out the reason why his aunt was playing with him when his eyes widened in realisation.

“It... can't be! You know?!”

The smug smirk on Sakura's face was definitely more than enough of an answer.

“Your mother told me! She said you've been running around entire Konoha to find the perfect one for her.”

“Yes. Because she doesn't deserve anything less than perfect.” His voice turned small at the admission.

“You're wrong Boruto.”

Sakura's features softened and her green eyes glimmered with years of wisdom in matters of the heart.

“She deserves what she loves, you know.”

Of course. Yes.

“Thank you.” The amount of gratefulness seeping through his voice and the brightest smile she has ever seen him giving, warmed the older woman's heart. To her, these kids were someone who deserved all the love and happiness in the world. Maybe it was just a mother's heart speaking but Sakura would dare to pluck the stars off the sky for them.

“Help me.” She asked him and he immediately agreed, jumping off his chair and running around the kitchen to assist her. She prepared two bentos, one for herself and one for her husband.

Enough food was left for two people when Sakura patted him lovingly on the head, noticing how she had to tiptoe for it and left for the hospital.

By the time Sarada arrived, Boruto already had arranged a breakfast table for two. Sarada hummed at the sight of him in an apron, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows and large bangs falling on his cheeks.

The scene looked so domestic and so homey that Sarada could actually imagine this being a part of their lives forever.

He must have sensed her presence and looked up, his blue eyes glimmering with something she couldn't place a finger on.

“You're here! Come on!”

He invited her and she joined him on the table immediately, gulping down the well cooked breakfast.

“Mom was here?” She asked between the bites.

“Yeah. I know I'm good at cooking, but even I can't prepare a delicious meal like this in just fifteen minutes -ttebasa!”

Sarada rolled her eyes but then noticed something weird. His food was untouched and he seemed...fidgety?

Was something wrong? They sorted out everything yesterday night, didn't they? Is he trying to say that everything that happened that night was a lie? Or did she say something to annoy him?

A million possibilities rushed through her head, each worse than the previous ones.

…

“Sarada…I'll see you tomorrow.”

“No.”

“Eh?”

“Stay.”

“W-what?”

“I said stay. I don't wanna sleep alone.”

“Sarada…”

“Please!”

“Alright.”

….

When Sarada thinks about it, she might have behaved like a petulant, spoiled brat. It was too soon for them to share a bed (in literal sense, for actually sleeping). But it was her being so needy and cranky about it.

I am sorry.

She wanted to say but the words got stuck in her throat, refusing to come out and also not allowing her to swallow them down.

“Sarada.”

The call of her name brought her out of her stupor and she found herself staring into his brilliant blue eyes.

She was even more confused when he left his chair to approach her, stopping a few steps before.

“Boruto?” He might have heard the insecurity in her voice because he gave her a gentle smile which brought her doubts to an end.

“Look.” He started, a hand running up against his golden locks, a nervous habit, “-I know it's really out of nowhere and frighteningly too soon after yesterday's night. And specially after having made you wait for so long, I completely understand if you don't want to accept it immediately. But I have to do this. Because I want you to know that I won't be backing down. I'm completely serious about our relationship.” “Boruto?” Sarada felt a little alarmed at his words and even more when he knelt on one knee in front of her. She's seen this happening. Countless number of times - in movies and serials and even once or twice in real life. But nothing had ever prepared her for this. Pulling out a black velvet box, he offered her a ring - in fact, an engagement ring - a beautiful silver band, with a perfectly cut Ruby on the top. It was beautiful. “Sarada Uchiha, will you marry me?” Sarada still sat there, jaw slacked. She couldn't even begin to process the event happening in front of her, let alone force out a response. Even after waiting for a few moments, Sarada was unable to reply. But Boruto did not deter. It looked as if he already knew the answer. His blue eyes were calm and soft. “W-what is the meaning of this, Boruto?” Sarada asked shakily. His lips curved into a smile. “It is what it looks. I want to marry you.” “B-but-” He didn't let her continue, raising her hand to his lips, to drop a kiss of promise on the back of her hand. “I said it before, didn't I? I know it's my turn to wait now and I'm willing to do that as much as it takes. Because if it is you for me in the end, then it's worth the wait.”

There was a silence filled with anticipation before Sarada asked softly, “What if I refuse?”

“Then I'll ask again, tomorrow! No problem!” he said, loudly, with enthusiasm and Sarada found herself shaking her head fondly.

“But what if I say no again?”

“I'll ask again, the next day. I'll keep asking till you decide you want to say yes.”

A laugh escaped her lips at his stubborn will. And she will not be surprised if does this exactly. She has known him since they were infants. And by now she knows him better than he knows himself.

As much as the ring looked pretty, and as much as she wanted to say yes, she decided that she will not.

Call her cruel but she wanted him to have a taste of his own medicine. And now with the chance right in front of her she wasn't letting it slip through her fingers.

Smirking evilly on the inside, her heart filled with glee, she leaned down and pecked Boruto on the cheek.

And to her utter amusement, he instantly flushed red. Leave it to him to propose to someone with a straight face and then burn red from just a little kiss on the cheek. Sarada giggled to herself and left him on one knee there, his jaw still hung open, the shock from her actions still strong.

She had work to do after all.

She is almost at the exit of the house when he sprinted to her at a furious speed.

“Oi! Oi! Sarada! W-what was that? A yes or a no?!”

“Boruto.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up and kiss me already.”

Alright! My lovelies, this was the final chapter! So, what do you think? Was the ending satisfactory? Did you have fun reading it? I'm super-duper excited to hear your thoughts!

I know I should have included the link of all previous chapters but since the Tumblr doesn't let up posts with links show up in tags, I did not. (Well, it never does for me nowadays) But if you want the links then you can send me an ask or anything!

And...well, you might get an epilogue to this story! A oneshot! I hope you'll are interested!

Happy winters!

#borusara #borusarafics #boruto x sarada #boruto and sarada #boruto uzumaki #sarada uchiha #boruto #sarada #boruto naruto next generation #matters of the heart #adi writes

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hazzasgayvodka · 6 years

Text

17 * SNAP OUT OF IT * 17

Impact: Chapter 17

Chapter title song: Snap Out of It - Arctic Monkeys

JESS

I wake up to see the sky already dark outside his window. He's snoring softly above me and I turn in his arms to look up at him. The usual crease between his eyebrows is nowhere to be seen and the constant smirk that adorns his lips has been replaced with a parted pout. He stirs in his sleep as my phone buzzes on the nightstand and I curse under my breath as I untangle myself from him and turn it on silent.

Despite my efforts to keep him asleep, he rolls over into my lap and peels his eyes open with a groan. I mindlessly run my fingers through his bedhead as I scroll through countless posts I'm tagged in from the party last night. Most of them are just drunken sing-alongs and the beer pong game but a significant few are pictures of me and Harry kissing.

"What are you looking at?" He asks quizzically, straining to look at my phone while leaning on my shoulder.

"It's nothing." I sigh, turning my phone off and setting it back on the side table.

"It's not," He says, looking up to meet my eyes, "What's wrong? You went from being fine to being pissed in like two seconds."

"It's just," I huff, wondering why I'm even mad about this, "There's so many people posting about us kissing last night and rumors are everywhere about me dating two guys."

"So what? Who cares?" He laughs, standing from the bed and walking over to the mirror above his dresser.

"I do, Harry," I sigh, following him to the other side of the room, "I don't want to be known as some school slut."

He turns around suddenly, grabbing me by the shoulders, "Hey, you aren't, it's just a bunch of people with nothing better to do than talk shit."

I sigh, letting my eyes drift from his to the floor but he's not having that. He grabs my chin in his hand and tilts my face up to meet his again.

"If it's bothering you than let's do something about it." He assures me.

"What are we going to do? Never speak to each other again?" I huff.

"No, obviously not, who the hell would I play beer pong with?" He laughs, "No, we're gonna go somewhere."

"How is that going to help?" I groan, watching as he paces over to his closet, deep in thought.

"I've got it, The Stroke." He says simply.

"The what?"

"The Stroke, it's a bar on the rougher side of things but-"

"Wait, a bar? That's how we're going to fix this?" I huff, folding my arms across my chest.

"Listen dollface, think about it, I'm intoxicated in a room full of easy women, it won't take long for the student body to find another rumor to spread." He winks smugly, a smirk spreading on his face.

I roll my eyes, shoving him out of my way to get to the bathroom but of course he follows me all the way there defending his idea.

"My god Harry, you're so-"

"Charming? Charismatic?" He suggests, leaning against the closed door of the bathroom, "Oh wait I've got it, ruggedly handsome?"

"How about not nearly as badass as you think you are." I smirk, opening the door and shoving him back through it.

I close it again and hear him protesting on the other side, his fist banging against the wood.

"Jess! Oh come on, I'm joking you-"

I open the door abruptly to see him with his arm still raised in the air, the end of his sentence dangling on the end of his tongue.

"What was that you were going to say? You...fantastic person who is also my best friend in the whole world?" I grin and the worried look in his eye vanishes as he throws his arm around my shoulders and walks me back to his bedroom.

"Yes, exactly what I was going to say." He laughs, shoving me into his room and shutting the door behind us.

We agree to meet Sam and Louis at the bar in an hour. Sam is overly excited considering I never want to go out anywhere and both of them are overly in love from staying with each other for a solid week alone. As soon as we get inside they're sitting on barstools and grabbing all over each other, their lips super glued together.

I turn away from the burlesque next to me to see Harry snapping at the bartender to get his attention. He comes over with a pad of paper, a pen, and a name tag that reads Kevin.

"I'll have a Jager bomb and she'll have a vodka and sprite." He says nonchalantly, taking a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it between his lips.

I roll my eyes knowing that he is fully aware that I'm not a fan of vodka. He turns to me with a smirk and blows a cloud of smoke the other way.

"Can I get some I.D.?" Kevin asks, interrupting our staring.

Harry turns to him with his eyes narrowed, removing the cigarette from his lips. While Kevin looks unbothered I know that Harry's about to chew him up and spit him out.

"I.D.? Really kid?" He asks, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt to display his forearms completely covered in tattoos, "How's this? I didn't get these yesterday mate."

Kevin rolls his eyes, "Listen, it's procedure."

Harry huffs, his cigarette bobbing between his lips as he takes out his wallet and produces his I.D., sliding it across the bar counter and I do the same. Kevin takes a look at both of them and nods, handing them back to us but Harry grabs mine before I have a chance to.

"Harry, give it back, it's horrible." I groan, reaching around him to grab my I.D. from his hand.

"Wow, Jessica Rose, huh?" He laughs, handing it back to me.

Before he has a chance to put his away I snatch it from his hand hoping to see his middle name too. I'm surprised by his picture to see his hair cropped short and his arms free of tattoos. He looks like any regular guy without any metal in his face and his hair above his shoulders.

"Oh my god." I gasp, holding it out of his grasp as he wraps his arms around me to get it back.

I scan the rest of it, Harry Edward Styles. Birthday is February first, he's twenty-five.

"Hold on, wait," I think aloud, turning to see his face over my shoulder, "You're twenty-five?"

"Yeah, why?" He shrugs.

"Because we're both seniors and you're another three years older than me. You started college at twenty? I thought schools in the UK graduated from high school sooner than us, not later."

"They do, I just didn't go to college right away." He says carefully, taking the card from my hand and putting it away.

"What did you do out of high school then?" I ask curiously, the image of him tattooless still in the back of my mind.

He opens his mouth to speak but Kevin cuts in, placing our drinks in front of us as well as taking orders from Sam and Louis who have pulled away from each other long enough to get two beers. I desperately want him to finish explaining but we're once again interrupted as a blonde girl in a pink dress approaches him with a wicked smile on her lips.

"Harry! I had no idea you'd be here tonight." She smirks, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, Lynnette, what's up." He grins, turning on the charm as he turns to talk to her.

Suddenly I'm between two parties of flirting, third wheeling on all sides and wishing I could just go home. I take a sip of my vodka soda and gag, putting it back down quickly and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Lynnette grabs Harry's hand and starts to drag him towards the dance floor before he's barely taken a sip of his drink. I know he needs at least two beers worth of alcohol in his system to be up for dancing, but he lets her drag him to the middle of the crowd.

She grabs onto him, running her hands down his chest and moving her hips in ways that I could never. His hair is sticking to his forehead in minutes and his hands are roughly grabbing her waist and moving her against him. She presses her lips to his and I turn around, sighing as I come face to face with the bartender.

"You've got some shitty friends." Kevin remarks with a smile as he leans on the bar top across from me.

"They're just having a good time, this isn't my scene anyways." I shrug, mistakenly taking another sip of the vodka soda in front of me.

He laughs when I nearly choke on it, putting it back down and pushing it away from myself so I don't accidentally drink it again.

"Want a real drink?" He asks, taking the glass away from me.

"Please." I laugh.

He grabs a shaker and multiple bottles of schnapps and syrups. He measures them all expertly before pouring the mixture into a cocktail glass and garnishing it with maraschino cherries. He slides it to me and I bring it to my lips, taking a small sip of the sweet pink drink.

"I call it the love potion." He grins, expectantly.

"It tastes amazing, almost too good, I could probably drink five of these and not feel it until I stand up." I laugh, taking another sip.

"I'll make four more if you let me drive you home after." He smirks, finally working his play into the conversation.

I open my mouth to answer but I'm cut off by his voice behind me and his hand on my shoulder. I look up to see his face reddened and I can't tell if it's out of anger or being flustered on the dance floor.

"Don't you have some glasses to clean up?" He huffs, glaring at Kevin.

"No?" Kevin says innocently.

Harry grabs the cocktail glass and shoves it off the bar top, letting it hit the ground and shatter into a million pieces.

"Now you do." He smirks, grabbing my hand and dragging me away.

I rip his hand away from mine and shove him away, "What the hell are you doing?"

"You didn't drink any of that did you?" He asks, cutting me off.

"Yeah, I did, I was having a great time until you just had to-"

"Jess shut up, how much did you drink? Did you see him make it?" He asks worriedly, grabbing my shoulders worriedly.

I shrug him off, finished with his over protectiveness, "Harry this isn't some college party, he didn't lace my fucking drink!"

He grabs my hand midair and tugs me to him, keeping his voice low, "Jess, this place is famous for drugging girls up, they have a track record."

I roll my eyes, trying to decide whether or not to believe him. He's always like this, trying to scare me into letting him control me. My mind goes back to Kevin's suggestion of letting him drive me home. No, he's wrong, he's just trying to make me nervous like he always does. I was barely talking to a guy and he just has to ruin it. Meanwhile he's eating Lynnette's face on the dance floor and I do nothing. Not today, not tonight. If he's going to ruin my night, then I'll ruin his.

"You're right, I'm sorry." I say as confidently as I can.

He eyes me warily, he knows this is out of character. I've never apologized, perhaps that was too far. I grab his hand and drag him back to the bar where Lynette is sitting with two beers for the two of them. My blood boils when I look next to her and my eyes land on none other than Ashlyn, waving Harry over to them excitedly. I grab Harry's hand and wrap it around my waist instead. I can read his eyes as we approach the only two seats left at the bar, I can nearly hear his voice in my mind, "What game are you playing, Lawson?"

He takes a seat on the barstool and Lynette offers me the only one left right next to him.

"No thanks, I've already got a seat." I grin, taking a seat on his lap and nearly making him spill his drink.

I reach for his denim jacket, hung on the back of his chair. I slide it over my shoulders and grab his beer from his hand, bringing it to my lips and taking a sip. Lynette and Ashlyn are looking at me with daggers for eyes and Harry is trying to suppress his surprise.

"Oh, it's you, what's your name again?" Ashlyn asks carefully through gritted teeth.

"Jess, you're Ashlyn, right?" I ask.

"Yup, that's me," She smiles, "so I didn't know you and Harry knew each other."

"We sure do, we hang out all the time, not sure it's in the same light that you two, hang out, however." I smirk, raising my eyebrows.

Her jaw nearly hits the ground and suddenly Harry is choking on his beer, spitting his sip back into his cup accidentally. I lean back into him, grabbing his arm and wrapping it around my shoulders. I smirk at Lynette, a confident grin to let her know to walk away. I know I've had the intended effect when they both stomp away from us and over to Sam and Louis sat at the other end of the bar.

Harry picks me up and sets me back on the ground, getting off the barstool and following them. I grab his hand and tug him back to me and he eyes me angrily, glancing between me and the other girls a few seats over.

"What the hell are you doing?" He huffs.

I wrap my arms around his waist loosely, catching a glimpse of Ashlyn's angry stare from the corner of my eye. I can't help but grin as I look up at him, his own face pulled taut and glaring.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I smirk, releasing his waist and taking his hand instead.

"Jess, I thought-"

"Call me dollface, you know I like it better." I tease obnoxiously as I lead us past them making it loud enough for Ashlyn to hear clearly.

He looks at me like I'm insane, he knows how much I hate the nickname. I decide we're both going to need another drink if I'm going to make this work. Just glancing at Ashlyn makes me livid and reminds me of the time I walked in on her and Harry in her dorm. It makes me sick just thinking about it.

"Fine, dollface, I thought we were here because we didn't want people to-"

"Let's dance, come on, Louis and Sam are already out there." I say quickly, cutting him off.

I feel Lynette and Ashlyn's eyes on me as I drag him towards the dance floor. I shove him in Sam and Louis's direction and go back to the bar to order two double whiskey cokes. I bring the glass back to him and clink them together, both of us knocking our heads back and chugging them down. He's eyeing me warily; does he know what I'm up to or have I fully confused him?

I grab his hands in mine and tug him to me, turning around in his arms and placing his hands on my waist. I move my hips to the pulsating beat coming through the speakers around us and bump into countless sweaty bodies around me. He's rigid at first, continuing to spew questions of what I'm doing and why I think this is a good idea, but I don't care, I only pay attention to the awestruck faces of the two bimbos sat at the bar.

I can feel the whiskey hitting him as his movements get sloppy. Surely enough his hands are moving all over me and my vision is doubling. The world around me is moving like it's under a strobe light. I can hear my heavy breathing echoing in my ears and the bass from the speakers is thumping in my chest. His hands are like fire on my skin, holding me against him and occasionally reaching to rub the sweat off his forehead.

Suddenly his lips are pressed to the back of my neck and I'm gasping as every inch of my skin is covered in goosebumps. He blows cool air against the veil of sweat on my skin and causes a shiver to run down my spine before his lips continue moving down my neck and to my collar bone. I'm nearly shaking in his arms as the fiery feeling of his lips on my skin lingers. Suddenly Sam is standing in front of me and grabbing my hand to tug me towards the pool table. I'm ripped away from him and as soon as I'm no longer intoxicated by his touch I can think clearly. What the hell was I thinking? What just happened?

"Come on, there's a pool tournament, Louis and Harry should play." She slurs, tripping over her own feet as she drags me along with her.

Louis and Ashlyn are already leaning against the table with beers in one hand and pool sticks in the other. I look around for Harry and my eyes meet his across the room. He's chugging a glass of water, blinking his eyes rapidly and swallowing hard. I walk myself over to him and convince myself not to grab his face and kiss his swollen lips.

"I thought we were, I thought we weren't doing this." He says exasperatedly.

"Doing what? Surely I have no idea what you mean." I smirk, my words slurring as they pour from my mouth.

His eyes follow me, and I can sense the anger in his glare but the way he's eyeing me with his lip ring pulled between his teeth tells a different story.

"You make absolutely no sense, dollface." He groans.

"I know, now come on," I grin, grabbing his hand and tugging him, "You said you were going to teach me billiards and I'm holding you to it."

He reluctantly allows me to lead him to the now crowded pool table. He picks up the remaining pool sticks from the corner and passes one to me as Louis and Ashlyn walk around the table, blindly shooting at the billiard balls on the table.

"Have you ever played pool?" He asks, leaning on the table and lining up a shot into the right corner pocket.

"Maybe once or twice." I say but it comes out sounding more like a question.

He brings his arm back and shoots the pool stick forward quickly, causing the sharp snapping sound of pool balls hitting each other before he sinks two of them in the right corner pocket. I don't expect him to be as good when he's drunk but he stands up proudly, his usual smirk adorning his stupid face as he tosses his pool stick back to Louis.

"Alright, Lawson, bend over." He smirks, obviously buying into my challenge.

"Cute." I muse, rolling my eyes as I meet his glossy, drunken ones and he moves behind me with that slumped grin on his face.

He guides me to lean over the table just like he was and wraps his arms around me, holding my arms in the right position. He pulls my right arm backwards and prompts me to shoot it forward just like he did. Despite being worried that I'll somehow injure him with my elbow, I do as he says and hit the striped ball straight into the left middle pocket. I look over my shoulder to see him already staring, a huge grin covering his face.

I hear Ashlyn's huff of exasperation from across the room and my eyes just barely flicker to see her walking back towards the exit into the full bar. Just seeing her sauntering across the room makes my blood boil and my eyes instantly move back to Harry to make sure he's not watching her little show. When his eyes drift to her, I'm livid. I hate that he's staring at her the same way that he was staring at me only a few minutes ago.

I position myself against him, leaning even further down against the table and I feel his arms tense around me as he helps me line up for my next shot. He sucks in a breath, his body going rigid against me.

"Fuck, baby, what are you doing?" He grunts mindlessly.

His words make me shiver and instantly I want to do anything that will make him say it again. Suddenly Ashlyn and Lynette are nowhere in my mind, only images of his swollen pink lips and dangerously green eyes. I turn around in his arms and he shakes his head, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, that just came out-"

I cut him off, grabbing a hold of his shirt and tugging him down to me, connecting our lips. Our lips meet with a smack and several gasps can be heard around the room. He's surprised at first, his lips like statues as he tries to take a step away from me, obviously I caught him off guard.

"Jess, what are you doing?" He mumbles against my mouth.

"Shut up and kiss me." I huff, wrapping my arms around his neck and threading my fingers through his hair.

He smiles against my lips, that devious smirk of his, I can taste the liquor on his breath. His hands reach around my waist and pull me flush against him, causing my breath to nearly catch in my throat. He presses his mouth to mine, much more elegantly than I did. His hands reach down and grip my ass, pulling me upwards to straddle his waist before he sets me on the edge of the pool table and positions himself between my shaking legs.

Every nerve in my body is exploding with fireworks as his lips move against mine and Howlin' For You plays through the speakers above us. I can feel Ashlyn's eyes on us along with everyone else's, the surprise in the air is tangible. He pulls away from me and rips his denim jacket from my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor, his burning eyes never leaving mine. The curve to his lips and the severity of his gaze sends a chill through me and I'm shaking as he leans back into me and tugs my lip between his teeth, making me shudder.

Suddenly he pulls away from me all together, grabbing his jacket from the ground and shrugging it back up on his shoulders. He takes out a cigarette and lights it between his lips, running a hand through his now messy hair, while I'm sat on the edge of the pool table, frozen. Why did he stop?

"Why did you-" I mutter, my voice barely audible.

"Show's over, right?" He quips, cutting me off, "They all left." He smirks, gesturing to the empty space around us.

"What?" I huff for the second time tonight, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just didn't think you were the type." He shrugs thoughtfully, leaning against the wall and twirling one of the pool sticks in his hand while he takes a drag of his cigarette from the other.

"What type?"

"The jealous type." He laughs.

"I am not jealous." I argue, "I have nothing to be jealous of."

"Oh, whatever. Look me in the eye and tell me that kiss wasn't just a stunt because you want to prove something to Ashlyn." He says maliciously, stepping closer to me and leaving the pool stick leaning against the wall.

"I have nothing to prove to Ashlyn! Who cares what some whore thinks of me!"

"Exactly." He smirks, "So why does she get to you?"

It takes every fiber of my being not to scream in his face that it's the way he wraps his arm around her waist that makes my blood boil. That thinking of the day when I walked in on her in his room makes my skin crawl. Any thought of her is enough to bring on a rage I haven't felt in a long time and all I want to do is shock her to the point that her perfectly puckered lips hit the floor along with her gaping jaw. If he would have just left me alone with Kevin none of this would have happened, he could have gone home with Ashlyn and I wouldn't have batted an eye. I wouldn't have wanted to ruin his night just like he ruined mine. This is his fault.

"I can't believe you think I'm stupid enough to get caught up in this jealously bullshit." I sigh, turning away from him.

He reaches for me as I'm walking away and calls my name behind me, but I just keep going. I'm not jealous, there's no way I'm jealous. What do I have to be jealous of? Sure, Ashlyn has him along with every other slut on campus, what do I care? But why would he kiss me back like that if he thought it was all a show? Why did he play along?

My head hurts as I approach the crosswalk and try to decide where to go. If I could go back to hugging Miles in the drive way I would, I never would have walked into that bar. I made a mistake, that's all, it was nothing. The tingles from my fingertips to my toes, the exquisite feeling of his smirking mouth pressed to mine, it was nothing. It keeps replaying in my mind over and over and suddenly I realize it was something, it was everything, because now I'm sat at a cross walk at midnight, miles from anywhere with my trembling fingers pressed to my electric lips hoping that the feeling of him pressed against me never fades.

#harry styles #harry styles au #harry styles imagine #harry styles angst #harry styles smut #harry #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #one direction #one direction fanfic #one direction smut

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choosingmylife · 6 years

Text

The Lost Years, Week One (Drake x MC)

Plot: Drake Walker and former Queen of Cordonia, Wren Danvers have had a long and tumultuous road spanning nearly 15 years. In that time, only 10 have been spent together. No one knows how the used-to-be Queen ended up leaving behind the Royal Court to pursue a lifelong relationship with the commoner, Drake Walker. Running from Cordonia not long after the news broke of the King and Queen’s separation, the two star-crossed lovers have mostly lived in isolation, denying any chances of getting the story. Now, years later, they’ve finally opened up to the world, to us, to let the truth be known. This is the story of a century, and we are the only ones to give it to you.

Word Count: 2354 (give or take)

Perma-Tag: @mymandrake, @liam-rhys

The Lost Years: Week One Writtten By: J. P. Somner

We are currently in the living room of Wren Danvers-Walker and her husband, Drake Walker in their cabin in Texas. There are coloring books, empty packets of juice and snacks, and socks without a match scattered throughout the room. The walls are lined with framed pictures of the couple and their two children, artwork their kids have done, and photos of their friends. The seats are slightly sunken in from years of use and the television, while muted currently, is set on a children’s show. While seemingly disorganized and chaotic, there is a sense of familiarity and comfort within it. The house is well-used, but the people inside have truly made it a home.

Wren is sitting in the corner of their stained couch, Drake has taken a place on the arm rest behind her, a hand running through her hair almost absentmindedly. I can hear sounds of children giggling and the light banging of toys in a room down the hall. Wren notices me looking around at the mess and gives me an apologetic look.

Wren: Sorry about all of this *gesturing around the room*. I cleaned it yesterday, I swear, but the kids are just-

Drake: Little hellions.

Wren gives her husband a sharp look and he shrugs.

Me: No, no, it’s fine, really. Kids can make it pretty hard to keep things clean.

Wren turns back to me and gives me a small smile.

Wren: They most definitely can do that, but I really wouldn’t trade them for the world. Do you have any kids?

Me: I don’t have any yet, actually. But I would like some, one day.

Drake: Don’t do it. They are more trouble than they’re worth.

Wren frowns at him.

Wren: Drake Walker, you don’t actually think that. You’re a bigger sucker for those kids than I am.

Drake: What? That’s not true at all.

Wren rolls her eyes before looking back at me.

Wren: It is absolutely the truth. I’m usually the one that has to be the bad guy when one of them gets in trouble because my husband here can’t stand to see them cry. I don’t think he’s ever even put them in timeout, in all the years we’ve had children. It’s always been up to me.

Drake pauses the movement of his fingers through Wren’s hair.

Drake: That can’t be right. I’m sure I’ve punished them before. Like…what about that time Noah colored on the wall in his bedroom? I made him sit down and not play for a while then.

Wren glances up at him.

Wren: Sure, and two seconds in, he started bawling his eyes out and you felt so bad about it that you let him get up early. He colored on the wall again the next day and I had to punish him for it instead.

Drake tilts his head as he thinks for a moment and then finally nods.

Drake: Yeah, yeah, that seems about right. Okay, maybe I am a sucker when it comes to the kids. But still, they are way more trouble than I ever thought they’d be.

Wren makes a sound of agreement as she nods back at him.

Wren: We’ve been through worse though and made it out okay, we’ll survive raising those two tornadoes, too.

Drake smiles at her and starts to move his hand through her hair again.

Drake: I’m sure we will, Walker. After everything we’ve been through, two kids are nothing. Especially when I’ve got you right by my side.

Wren grins widely at him as they stare into each other’s eyes. Neither one of them speaks, but it feels like a world of words is passing between them. It’s as if the whole world has fallen away and the two of them are the only ones left, the only ones that matter. I clear my throat to bring them back and Wren looks at me, sheepishly, as Drake smirks.

Wren: Sorry, um, where were we?

Me: Nowhere, actually. I was just about to ask you about your relationship, though, but I can see it pretty clearly. You seem…very happy together. Are you?

Wren’s eyebrows furrow in confusion.

Wren: Am I happy?

Me: Yes. Are you happy with Drake, with this life you two have built together?

Drake: *scoffs* What the hell kind of question is that? Of course she’s happy. Why wouldn’t she-

Wren cuts him off by placing a hand on his knee. Her thumb rubs soothingly on the fabric of his jeans.

Wren: I am very happy with my life, now, just as it is. It took a long time to get here, a lot of mistakes and regrets, but yes. I’m happy.

Me: You said now, that you’re very happy with your life now. What does that mean? Were you not happy with your life before Drake?

Wren looks away from me and stares at a wall, eyes squinting as she thinks. It’s quiet while I give her a moment and Drake places his hand over hers on his leg, a questioning expression on his face when she turns to him. She nods slightly and then looks back at me.

Wren: The simple answer is: no. I wasn’t happy before Drake. I don’t think I could ever have been truly happy if it wasn’t for him.

Me: So, with King Liam, you were never happy?

Wren: In the beginning, before we ever got married, when we were just two vastly different people looking for the same thing, someone to love and for them to love us back. But that changed, pretty quickly, when I realized my love wasn’t for him, and instead of removing myself from it, I stayed and only sunk deeper and deeper into this void of…nothing, basically.

Me: If you didn’t love him, then why did you marry him?

Wren: *chuckles* Because I had to. Because, everyone was expecting me to. The Beaumonts, who still hold a spot in my heart, had everything riding on me marrying the King. Not only that, but the public expected it after Liam ended things with Madeleine. The country knew who he truly wanted to be with and I just…I couldn’t let him, or the people of Cordonia, down. It was easier to disappoint myself than the rest of the world.

Me: Did that create a pretty rough start to your relationship, and, eventually, your marriage?

The corner of Wren’s mouth twitches down briefly before she answers.

Wren: Not at first. I knew that by making the decision to accept Liam’s proposal, I would have to make the love everyone assumed I had for him seem real. And, in the beginning, it worked out great. No one noticed my feelings for him were anything less than they thought it should be.

She glances up at Drake, who gives her an encouraging smile.

Wren: Well, no one but Drake, that is. He was the only one that saw through the façade I put on every day. You know, he almost got me to abandon the whole thing not long before the wedding.

Me: Really? How?

Wren: It was at the end of mine and Liam’s combined Bachelor and Bachelorette party. Liam went up to get some sleep and I went to Drake at the bar. I don’t know why, I think it was just something I felt I had to do. Sort of a last moment to be real with him before my life became...something else. We talked for a little while about everything and somehow we….

She trails off and bites her lip, looking down at her lap.

Drake: We ended up sleeping together that night.

I look back and forth between them with my mouth wide open, unable to speak for a few seconds, the new found secret leaving me momentarily stunned.

Me: You had an affair just before your wedding?

Wren looks back up at me at the accusatory tone in my voice.

Wren: With Liam’s permission, of course. A kind of “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” sort of thing. Liam knew the lingering feelings I had for Drake, although the extent of it I was sure he had no clue about, so he allowed me that last night to do with those feelings as I wished. So, I used them to spend the night with Drake before I became a married woman and the Queen of Cordonia.

Me: But still, you cheated on your fiancé, on the King of Cordonia, the man who loved you more than anything! You must have felt some kind of guilt for that?

Wren: *nodding* I did, for sure, but it wasn’t about the actual affair. I felt bad about the lying I was doing to him day in and day out. I didn’t love Liam the way he loved me, the way he deserved to be loved, and I felt so awful about that. I also felt guilty about what I did to Drake in all of it. I knew how much he cared for me as well and that night, allowing myself to fall into bed with him just before I was set to marry another man, was a terrible thing to do. I carried that with me for longer than I want to admit.

Me: How did that feel for you, Drake? Sleeping with her and then watching her marry your best friend?

Drake: Honestly? It felt like someone had ripped my heart out and was stomping on it over and over again. I didn’t think I’d ever survive it and having to pretend like I was okay with the whole thing? It felt like torture. Obviously, I think it was worth it now, but back then, I was a mess.

Wren looks away as Drake answers and I can tell that she still feels a little guilty about how it affected her husband. Drake shifts his hand from on top of hers and onto her shoulder, giving it a squeeze as she faces me again.

Me: I’m sorry to have to talk about it, because I can clearly see how it still gets to you, but-

Wren: *waving a hand at me* No, no, I asked you to come here. I wanted the world to know the truth, all the ugly bits of it, and this is part of that. It just….it sucks for so many reasons.

Me: What reasons are that?

Wren: I made so many people unhappy with all of the choices I made back then. I was trying to do the right thing and I ended up just…destroying everything. I gave a marriage I was already having to pretend to be into whole-heartedly a rougher start than it should have been. Then, from there, everything seemed to tailspin until finally, I had to get out. I couldn’t do it anymore.

Me: And how did that come to be? What caused you to finally say “This is it. I can’t handle this. I have to leave”?

Wren sighs and opens her mouth to speak but a loud banging stops her. She and Drake both look intently down the hallway and, seconds later, crying fills the house. The parents share a look and, leaning down to give her a kiss on the top of her head, Drake stands and walks out of the room. Smiling at me, she tries to talk again.

Wren: There’s something I want you and everyone to understand is that, it wasn’t just one thing that made me leave. It was something that built up over years and the world likes to tell it as if I was the sole reason the marriage fell apart, but that isn’t true. Liam had his faults, his own mistakes, that added to the ending of our marriage. It takes two to tango and Liam is one of the best dancers I’ve ever known.

Me: Can I ask you about those years,then, that led up to your leaving of Cordonia? I mean, what happened?

Wren takes a deep breath and then stands up.

Wren: Sure, you can ask, and I’ll answer every question you have with God’s honest truth. But, first, I need a drink. You want one?

Me: No, I…I’m not thirsty. Thanks.

Wren: You probably should have a drink because this story is a long one and the answers you want to hear, the truth, is just as hard to listen to as it is to tell it.

She begins walking to the kitchen, turning back to me just as she exits the room.

Wren: So, a drink?

I look down at the notepad in front of me, several pages already filled up, before lifting my eyes to hers.

Me: You know what? Yes. I would love to have a drink.

Wren nods and winks at me as she goes to prepare the drinks. I am left sitting in the room, listening to the sounds of ice clinking in glass and Drake’s soothing voice as he calms the last of the wailings of their child. The scene is so normal, so domestic. A far difference from the life Wren led in Cordonia all those years ago and it makes me that much more curious to know how she ended up here, the events that led to this.

As I’m thinking, Wren comes in with drinks in each hand and, after giving me one of the glasses, she settles back in her spot on her couch. We both take a sip, the amber liquid burning my throat as it slides down it. Wren grins and tries not to laugh at me as I attempt to keep a cough from coming out.

Wren: So, you ready to hear about the mess that was my marriage to King Liam?

I nod at her and raise my pencil up, poised to begin writing the moment she starts. Wren stares at me for a few seconds before beginning the story.

Wren: Well, I guess the start of all of our problems had to be the night I slept with Drake. At the time, it seemed like it wasn’t a big issue, but I had no clue how much it bothered Liam until several months later….

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planetjeon · 6 years

Text

hurricane | jungkook [pt.2]

part one masterlist

words: 2.6k genre: angst + a teensy bit of fluff at the end summary: as with the people wrongly convicted of crimes, you felt betrayed, hurt, anger, sadness, as the people you thought knew you, didn’t really at all.

a/n: if you've been following me for a while you'll know i absolutely suck at regular updates but i hope this will suffice as an apology for not updating in so fucking long :)

you weren't sure how long you'd sat on the cold floor of the dance studio after the boys left, trying to stop your tears from flowing and getting yourself to breathe normally again. you only got up when a staff member entered to call to you bang-pd's office.

the sense of foreboding that hung around you like a blanket didn't leave as you took a seat in front of bang-pd's desk. the man looked solemn, a change from his usual jolly face.

"i hear there's been some sort of.. trouble between you and the boys and jiyeon?" he asked.

you sighed. "with all due respect sir, i didn't have anything to do with jiyeon's injuries." that was all you managed to say. you were tired of trying to explain everything else.

bang-pd leaned forward over his desk, his hands clasped together in front of him as he himself let out a huge sigh.

"even if you did not inflict those bruises on her, right now, you are the main issue that's preventing the whole thing from being resolved." he paused, pursing his lips together as if he was about to regret his next words. "i'm afraid i'm going to have to ask you to leave your position at the company. i won't have the boys so caught up in this issue when they could be spending their time more wisely."

you felt your face drain of blood and the lump you'd tried to hard to suppress pushed at your throat. you wanted to laugh, maniacally. you wanted to burst out crying. you wanted to yell out to claim your innocence.

but instead, all you did was nod, and hang your head. "thank you." you said simply. "m-may i go now?"

bang-pd lifted his hand to gesture to the door and you stood up, bowing as best as you could while pushing all your emotions down, and left the room.

you maintained your poker face as you walked past the few bighit staff you'd known in all the years you'd been at the company on the way to the elevator. you daren't look up, for fear of seeing looks of disgust towards the girl they thought beat up their dear jiyeon, or looks of pity towards the girl who just had a solo sitdown with the big boss.

you took the elevator back down to the dance studio. the boys were back in it, practicing hard facing the mirror. jiyeon was nowhere to be seen. you took a deep breath before stepping in and walking as confidently as you could to your locker.

you could feel everyone's eyes on you but you focused on getting your locker open. the collage of polaroids and pictures of you and the boys stuck onto the inside of the locker door greeted you as you opened it. ignoring the smiling faces in the pictures depicting the much happier times, you grabbed your two extra set of clothes, sneakers, hair accessories and toiletries, piling them all into your arms.

when you were sure you'd cleared out everything inside the locker, you looked at the pictures on the door and in one swipe of your hand, grabbed and pulled all of them off, tossing them into the trashcan next to you.

without another glance at the empty locker or anyone in the room, you held onto the rest of your things and walked out. your face and neck burned in embarrassment as you thought of what the others might be thinking. they must've known you'd gotten kicked out of the company, or you wouldn't have had to clear your locker.

the next few weeks were more stressful than ever. somehow, word got out to the fans that you'd beat up jiyeon and people made the assumption that the fight had to be over jungkook. all the 'fans' who'd been against you and jungkook in the first place finally had a real reason to hate on you.

the hate came twice as fast, twice as strong and you found yourself terrified to even leave the house in fear of meeting a fan crazy enough to physically hurt you. the few fans that had dared to come outside your apartment complex to yell insults at your door and spout horrible things about you to the neighbours walking past had proven that there were some people capable of it.

your best friend, seolhyun offered her place to you to take refuge in while she was out of town but you declined. the last thing you wanted was for fans to find her address and turn their rampage on her instead.

you were a wreck. you daren't leave the house and you barely had any appetite - if at all - and you never managed to get much sleep either.

the thread holding onto your mental wellbeing finally snapped when the fans who hurled cuss words at your door turned to throwing eggs at it instead. the sound of the eggs cracking against your door and window were enough to break you down and you collapsed in the middle of your living room floor.

that was where your neighbour, a kind middle-aged lady found you. hours after you'd collapsed, she'd come home to see the eggs dripping down your door and knocked to check on you. when she didn't hear an answer, she decided to use the key you'd given her for emergencies to enter, meaning to leave some hot tea and food after she cleaned up your door and windows for you.

instead, she found you lying on the ground and called an ambulance immediately.

when you awoke, you found yourself lying in a hospital bed. the doctor came in to brief you on your situation. apparently, the stress from going wrong at once and your lack of proper meals took a huge toll on your body, causing you to collapse.

a few hours of rest later, jin walked into your ward, much to your surprise until you remembered that you'd put him down as your emergency contact as neither jungkook nor seolhyun were adults when you first had to fill in that information.

you were nervous about how he was going to treat you as you watched him get briefed by the doctor on your situation.

thankfully, the conversation was minimal as he helped you out of the bed and brought you to his car. on the car ride back to your apartment, he asked if you were alright. all you could do was nod.

when you got to your apartment building, he insisted on taking your things up for you. when you arrived to your door, you were shocked to see it clean of broken egg shells and raw egg. you realised why when you opened the door to see mrs kim from next door tidying up your living room, a pot of delicious-smelling soup on the stove.

"how are you feeling, dear?" she asked kindly after making sure you were seated on the couch.

"i'm a lot better now, mrs kim, thank you. for everything." you gratefully accepted the cup of warn water she'd brought you.

"it's no problem at all. i've also called the cops on the people who have been saying nasty things about you outside and throwing the eggs at your door." she said.

"who's been throwing eggs at your door?" jin asked from the kitchen, where he'd been put in charge of stirring the soup mrs kim was making.

you were about to speak up to tell him it was nothing but mrs kim beat you to it. "oh you don't know? the girls who have been yelling horrible things and cuss words outside her door have also been throwing eggs! hooligans!"

jin didn't answer, but you could tell he was mad. he waited till after mrs kim left to ask you more about it. "army?" he asked.

you shook your head. "it's just the same sasaeng fans who have been on my ass since jungkook and I were announced."

he simply sighed in response while bringing a bowl of the soup to the couch for you.

"thank you." you told him as he took a seat next to you on the couch. "you didn't have to do any of this for me. you didn't have to come to the hospital, or take me home, or just- any of this." you felt overwhelmed with emotion, and tears pricked at your eyes before you could push them back. you never thought you would see any of the boys again.

"i'm sorry for what happened. but i'm sure if you came back to apologise to jiyeon, the boys would forgive you. bang-pd would give you your job back." he suggested.

you didn't say anything, too tired to defend your name once again.

jin left after getting a blanket to drape over you after you fell asleep on the couch. he had to get back to the studio before any of the other boys wondered where he was. none of them knew he'd gone to get you from the hospital.

when he walked into the dance studio, he was shocked to see jiyeon sitting on the couch, the rest of the boys surrounding her.

the girl was crying and there were two new bruises on her arms.

jimin was the first one to notice he'd walked in. "hyung, (y/n) she.. she beat jiyeon up again."

jin stood still as realisation dawned on him. taking 3 steps forward towards jiyeon, he found himself shaking with rage. "you!" he pointed an accusing finger at the girl who'd managed to make herself look so convincingly small, like a victim.

"what the fuck have you done?" he yelled.

"hyung! what's going on?" hoseok asked.

"(y/n) didn't do this. she didn't do any of this." he gestured to the bruises that painted jiyeon's body.

"hyung, yes she did. you saw what happened the last time she-"

jin cut namjoon off before he could continue. "no, she didn't do it the last time, and she didn't do it this time either. a-and she tried to tell us, but we didn't believe her.."

"what are you saying, hyung?" taehyung asked.

"i was just with (y/n). i went to get her from the hospital. she fainted from stress. from all of this. she was at the hospital the entire day, then i brought her home and stayed with her until she fell asleep. she didn't do any of this, jiyeon is making it up!"

his last five words shook the whole room. the boys were frozen. jiyeon got up. "oppa, she did this to me yesterday. she came at me and just started hitting me and yelling at me and-"

"that's enough, jiyeon!" this time it wasn't jin who yelled. jiyeon turned her head to yoongi who was seated on the couch. "get out." he said, his voice dripping with venom.

jiyeon's face crumpled professionally, tears rolling down her cheeks. "yo-you don't believe me? look what she's doing, (y/n) beat me up and now she's turning all of you against me!"

"i said, get out, jiyeon. no one here believes a word you say. not anymore." yoongi got up and walked to the door, holding it open for her.

when jiyeon still refused to move, sejin entered from where he'd been listening outside the door and picked her up by her arms and carried her out kicking and screaming to be let go.

yoongi shut the door behind them and it was just left with the 7 boys in the room.

"hyung, did we- did we do that to (y/n)?" jimin asked. he was sitting on the floor, distraught at the newfound information.

the rest of the boys held their heads in shame at what they'd done to you.

jungkook, who'd been silent throughout the entire thing, finally spoke up. "is she okay?" he asked jin.

jin looked at the youngest in pity, he knew just how much jungkook would be beating himself up for this, for going against his girlfriend. "she'll be better once we all go over to apologise."

jin knocked on your door instead of using the key mrs kim had given him to ensure he would be able to go over to check on you in case anything else happened because he knew it would've been too much for all 7 of them to walk into your house.

you opened the door, hair disheveled from sleeping, eyes still tired from being woken up, the blanket he'd put over you draped over your shoulders. at the sight of all 7 boys standing in front of you, you were shocked awake.

"w-what's going on?" you asked.

"let us in to explain?" jin asked and you took a step aside to let the boys in. all of them shot you sheepish smiles of greeting, except jungkook, who avoided eye contact with you completely.

once everyone was seated around your couch, you looked to jin for an explanation but jimin and taehyung were the ones who spoke up to explain.

when they told you how jiyeon had tried to make it seem as if you'd hit her again, you felt your blood boil, but when they revealed that they'd found out she was lying this entire time, you wanted to cry. you were relieved your name was finally cleared and you were able to see your brothers again.

jimin, the ever-so-touchy one, was the first to get up from his seat and give you a hug. the other boys followed suit and before you knew it, you were in the middle of the best group hug you'd ever had. glancing out from under namjoon's armpit, you could see jungkook still in his seat on the edge of the couch.

as the boys released you one by one, taehyung was the last to let go. he wiped your tears from your cheeks and followed your gaze to jungkook. "alright, we should get going now, we'll come by for dinner tomorrow if that's okay?"

you nodded, excited at the prospect of having everyone over again like the old times. almost. you thought as your gaze flitted over to your boyfriend who hadn't said a word or even acknowledged you since he came in.

the boys got up and began to file out one by one. as jungkook made a move to get up off the couch, taehyung shoved him by the shoulders to make him sit. he jerked his head over to you and gave jungkook a reassuring squeeze on the shoulders.

the rest of the boys left and it was just you and jungkook in your living room.

the awkward tension was so thick you could cut through it with a knife. you didn't know what to say and you silently begged for him to break the silence.

"i'm so sorry." he said softly. his head still hung down in shame and you wanted nothing more than to go over to give him a comforting hug. so you did.

you planted yourself right next to him on the couch and wrapped your arms around his torso, squeezing it slightly. his arms moved around your waist and he pulled you closer onto his lap.

nuzzling his nose into your neck, he breathed the apology three more times into your skin.

"i should've known better. i should've trusted you." his voice sounded so broken, so upset with himself and you wanted to do anything to make him happy again.

pushing his chin up so you were face to face, you pressed your lips against his, shutting your eyes to relish in the familiar feeling. "you trust me now, don't you?" you asked him.

"i will always trust you now. i promise." he said breathlessly.

you smiled at his words. "that's all that matters to me." you said, moving your arms to wrap around his neck, fingers playing with the hair at the back of his head.

your lips connected once again and you let out a huge sigh of relief. you were finally out of the hurricane.

feedback is always appreciated!

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