#and as much as I do feel she should’ve been promoted to Weird Girl (and appeared at least twice as often as she did)

[frenchtwistresistance]

On tonight’s episode of Bullying Lee Meriwether…

Or: Match Game Who Wore It Better: Lee Meriwether or Laura Ingalls?

Disappointed almost to the point of being offended that Nobody bullies Lee Meriwether about this ensemble in Match Game ‘77 episode 1057:

Guess I’ll have to do the bullying myself 🙄:

What is this outfit, Lee Ann? Your evening wear from when you were crowned Miss Irish Washerwoman 1896?

We’ll excuse any questionable answers just this once because we know you’re still all shook up from coming here today by wagon train on the Oregon Trail.

Better move this game along. Lee Meriwether’s got her audition for Maria Von Trapp in 45 minutes.

(I’m sure there are many zingers I missed. But it’s four fewer than Brett, Charles, Richard, and Betty White missed. Alas. 😔)

[hopeymchope]

Judging the Danganronpa x Sanrio character pairings

You may have already heard that a DANGANRONPA X SANRIO line of crossover merch was announced a few days ago! Which is obviously AMAZING, because they’re combining cutesy characters that have often been marketed to wee children with everybody’s favorite murderdeathkill game! I LOVE IT.

I have a niece who went through a Sanrio/Hello Kitty phase, so I actually know a few of these characters. In turn, this means that I have THOUGHTS on how the DR1 and Sanrio cast were paired up.

Granted, I still had to look up a lot of these guys and read about them. But now I feel adequately educated to the point where I can judge just how well the Danganronpa and Sanrio pairings actually match up. 

Makoto Naegi/Cinnamoroll - Obviously this totally works because Makoto IS something of a cinnamon roll, eh? EH? But Cinnamoroll is said to be shy albeit still very friendly. He also likes to seek out fun new adventures. So, aside from “very friendly,” I’m not sure that this sounds like Makoto. I also doubt that calling a character a “cinnamon roll” is common slang in Japan. So this is whatever.

Sayaka Maizono/Wish Me Mell - Mell has the power to connect people’s hearts by simply stating the feelings they keep inside. She was initially withdrawn and believed she didn’t have any friends, but the people who cared for her finally broke through her shell and convinced her that she DOES have friends. So uh, Maizono... I guess music can also bring out people’s feelings? And perhaps you could plausibly HC that Sayaka has often felt like her surrounding friends were “fake” and only there because of her celebrity status. There’s not really much to go on here. 

Leon Kuwata/Tiran - Tiran is an orange T-rex that is said to be scatterbrained but still a strong and reliable leader. Meanwhile, Leon has orange hair, and he’s certainly strong and kind of scatterbrained sometimes. It sorta works.

Kyoko Kirigiri/Marroncream - Marroncream is bright, positive, and fashionable. She is talented at making crafts and sweets. She lives in Paris. She has nearly nothing in common with Kyoko, although Kyoko did live abroad a lot in her younger years. So I could try to latch onto the Paris thing.

Hifumi Yamada/Pokopon - Pokopon is a raccoon that loves to read but dislikes ghosts and “the thunder god.” (uh... what?) He also finishes his sentences with the unusual suffix “-das.” Of course, Hifumi loves to write (which certainly is connected to reading), and he likes to end all names with a weird suffix (”-dono”), so I can see how they might make a cute pair.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru/Pekkle - Pekkle is a duck who is good-natured and kind. He loves to sing and dance. It kind of sounds like he should’ve been matched with Sayaka, but instead he’s here with Taka. While Ishimaru is definitely a good person, I don’t think most people would immediately describe him as “kind.” And he certainly isn’t known for his love of music.

Yasuhiro Hagakure/Monkichi - Monkichi is a laid-back, easygoing guy who is upbeat and loves puns. His dream is to become a poet. It’s said that once he sets his mind on something, there is no stopping him! And in comparison, Hagakure is... well, he’s kind of laid-back in the sense that he’s kind of lazy? But he’s actually pretty high-stress a lot of the time, too. Honestly, there’s not much linking the two.

Chihiro Fujisaki/Kurousa and Shirousa - Shirousa is the white one and is the older sibling to Kurousa, the brown one. Shirousa is described as an energetic leader and Kurousa is described as being nice but lazy. They like to make cakes. What does any of this have to do with Chihiro? Beats me. This particular pairing is nonsense.

Byakuya Togami/Badtz-Maru - Badtz-Maru is said to have a bad attitude and dreams of being “the boss of everything” when he grows up. He tends to act a bit selfish, and he mocks things he dislikes/disagrees with. He enjoys expensive food and collecting photos of movie villains. With the exception of that last point, I’d have to say that this sounds like a near-perfect match for Togami.

Mondo Owada/Goropikadon - The Goropikadon are a group of cave boys whose actual names are Goro (blue hair), Pika (pink hair), and Don (teal hair). Goro is always hungry and joking around. PIka is a thoughtful, shy mama’s boy. Don is serious and places a high value on honesty. Overall, I suppose that how quick Mondo is to get angry and resort to violence kind of makes him seem like a stereotypical caveman? But in terms of their distinct personalities, only Don’s focus on honesty rings true for Mondo. 

Toko Fukawa/Lloromannic - Another multi-character one. The Llormannic are a pair of creatures named Berry (the black one, who is male) and Cherry (the pink one, who is female). They are mischievous and love to play pranks on humans. Cherry was originally alone and created Berry for companionship; however, she mixed up her magic spell ingredients and used salt when she meant to use sugar, which resulted in Berry turning out to be a more hostile being than Cherry. I suppose the fact that Berry is a darker creation of Cherry’s sort of reflects the relationship between Toko and her other self, Genocide(r) Syo/Jack. However, Berry and Cherry are still best friends. Toko and Syo/Jack are definitely not that.

Celestia Ludenberg/Kuromi - Kuromi is the rival of a bunny named “My Melody” who doesn’t appear in this promotion. Kuromi is said to look “tough and punk” in her jester’s hat with the pink skull on it, but in reality she is very girly. She enjoys writing in her diary, reading romance books, cooking, and checking out good-looking guys. I suppose Celestia did have that dream of living in a mansion where she was served by handsome guys dressed as vampires? So... they both like hot guys? But that’s all I’ve got here. Pretty sure this pairing only exists for aesthetic reasons. And admittedly, their aesthetics mesh very well.

Aoi Asahina/Keroppi - Keroppi lives with his family on the edge of Donut Pond. He is bubbly, a fantastic swimmer and, because of the name of his home pond, is often associated with donuts and/or things that are donut-shaped. Ok, so this was an obvious pairing, then. They nailed it. Probably the single best pairing they came up with.

Sakura Ogami/My Sweet Piano - Yes, the character’s name is literally “My Sweet Piano.” She’s described as soft, kind, and girly. Given Sakura’s secret love of girly things, I can see how this soft, pink, girly sheep would be something she’d love to be around. 

Junko Enoshima (...?)/Hello Kitty - Hello Kitty (a.k.a. Kitty White) is described by Sanrio as “cute, bright, sweet, kind-hearted and tomboyish.” They also say that Kitty is very close with her sister, Mimmy. As for Junko... look, the only reason I think maybe this is supposed to be Junko is because Mukuro already has her own Sanrio matchup (see the next entry), but in terms of her appearance, this “Junko” sure looks like it’s “Junkuro.” The telltale sign is that giant bow on the left side of the head, which only Mukuro-as-Junko has ever worn. I doubt we’re supposed to be thinking that they did two Mukuros in two different outfits, though? 

It’s like this: If it’s Junko, well, I guess both Junko and Kitty are icons within their respective brands. And Junko tries to put on a “cute and bright” exterior persona, I guess? But that’s pretty thin. On the other hand, if this is Mukuro in disguise, this is actually a semi-decent matchup! Mukuro is arguably tomboyish and certainly very close to her sister (at least from her own perspective), so these two are not without their parallels. 

In either case, both Kitty and the Unknown Despair Sister have a big bow on the left side of their head. Which I think is the real reason they’ve been paired, honestly.

Mukuro Ikusaba/Little Twin Stars - Kiki and Lala are a pair of twins that were born on December 24th. Mukuro is one half of a pair of twins ALSO born on December 24th. Instant connection! Kiki (the blue-haired boy) loves fishing and inventing things. He is curious and cheeky. Lala (the pink-haired girl) loves drawing, writing poems, and cooking. She is rather timid. In short, the “twins with the same birthdate” thing is the only thing connecting Mukuro to these two. Still, it’s not bad.

Also, the most amazing thing to come out of this team-up so far HAS TO BE MonoKitty. Hello Kitty cosplaying as our favorite psychotic MurderBear? How great is that? SELL ME MERCH OF MONOKITTY.

[mandoalorian]

Hello I really love that one about Javi being scared about something happening to reader, it's so soft. What do you think about reader being kidnapped by the capo and Javier and the whole DEA trying to rescue her. THANK YOU 🥰

Birthday Bloodbath [Javier Pena x Reader]

Read part one here!

Read part three here!

Warnings: if you have any experience with kidnapping this is not the fic for you! I tried to make all descriptions as vague and go over the actual hostage part as quickly as possible but I wouldn't recommend you read something like this if you think it might trigger you. also food mentions, alcohol mentions, cursing, mention of blood, gore, injury, and death, intruders, drugs and drug cartels (other narcos related themes) very very scary situations.

Rating: 18+

Word count: 3k

Authors note: thank you for the request! I'm so glad you liked the first part enough to want a follow-up. I must admit, I did struggle with writing this as I'm not familiar with writing situations like this … but I was in my element writing the fluff at the start!!! I hope you enjoy. 

Masterlist • submit requests 

This was never supposed to happen. You had sworn to Javier that you'd get through this together. Javier had been foolish for believing the Capo and his cartel would have left you alone; and risk their entire distribution. Javier Peña was one of the agents who took down Pablo Escobar; and he was a force that shouldn't be reckoned with. Cartels all across South America knew of him and knew to be aware of him. The Capo wanted a bullet in his brain, but he knew that getting close to someone like Javier wouldn't be easy.

Since Escobar, Javier had gotten a brilliant promotion. He now has his own team behind him, not to mention his own security who would follow him around on his endeavours. It really helped ease Javier's anxiety, knowing that he had people on constant watch who would protect him, but more importantly, would protect you.

You didn't like it; all the fancy security following your every move. You'd visit the launderette just a few blocks away, and they'd follow your every move. But there was nothing you could do about it. They were under firm instruction by Javier, and there was nothing you could do that would change Javier's mind. He needed to know that you were protected.

However, on the day of Javier's birthday, things changed. Javier headed to work early that morning, claiming he could get his papers signed quickly and be home by around 4pm, having the whole evening and night to celebrate with him.

It wasn't often you got to spend time with Javier and since it was such a special occasion, you wanted to make it special. You had been planning for his birthday weeks in advance. Javi wasn't one for parties, and he had planned travelling back to Texas in a fortnight to see his family. It would be your first chance at meeting them. He told you over and over again, no parties. He just wanted a special night in the apartment with you.

But you had to surprise your boyfriend in some way. You had called up his old partner and one of his best friends, Steve Murphy and invited him over for the weekend. You knew Javi would love a few beers and a catch-up with Steve. Steve had called you yesterday morning and told you he had just arrived in Colombia. He was going to surprise Javier in work, on his birthday. You knew that, by now, Javi and Steve were probably together in the office, bickering like they used to. You just wished you could've seen the smile on Javier's face when Steve surprised him.

The beaming rays of sunlight woke you up later than expected. You found yourself wearing Javier's pink button down shirt, and a smile spread across your lips as you reminiced on the amazing night you had before. Ever since the incident with the capo, and Javi's injury, Javier has struggled to cope with it. He had gotten better at talking about his feelings, but it did initiate a certain trauma within him. You were, however, seeing improvements in his nature. Things were finally looking up for both of you.

Your smile grew when you picked up on the infused scent of laundry detergent and cigarettes. You'd much rather be in Javier's arms right now, but wearing his shirt was the next best thing. Merrily, you slipped into the kitchen, the hem of his shirt grazing your thighs. You checked the time on your wrist watch; it was 8:40am. Your security would arrive at your flat at 9am prompt. You poured out three glasses of orange juice for them and put on your favourite record. You decided on skipping breakfast, because you had a feast planned for Javier's birthday dinner. His favourite food was from this local Chinese take-out and you had arranged all his favourite dishes to be delivered to your house.

You didn't plan on leaving the house today, except to go to the bakery to pick up his birthday cake. You walked over to the closet to grab your balloons and streamers. You were going to wait until security arrived so they could help you decorate the house but you decided there was no harm in getting a head start.

Head deep into the closet, you swore you heard your front door open. You brushed it off, thinking you had probably just nudged something on one of the shelves. You clambered out of the small cupboard, hands full of decorations, and went to carry them into the kitchen. Just before you got there, you heard a glass clink against the counter. You thought it was weird, but maybe it was just security. Maybe they had arrived early and were helping themselves to the orange juice you had prepared. 

"Okay boys!" you shouted, juggling packets of balloons, banners, confetti, and streamers in your arms, being careful that nothing dropped to the floor. "We have a lot to do today. As you know, it's Javi's birthday and so-" you froze when your eyes locked onto the three men standing in your apartment.

They weren't your security, but they sure as hell had drunk your orange juice. Stood before you were three men, clad in military print overalls and gold chains. "Uhm…" you stumbled backwards slightly, dropping most of the decorations in your arms. "Can I help you?" you asked. You peered behind the three men and noticed the lock on the door had snapped off. These men were intruders.

The man in the centre, had jet black curly hair and he shot you a hungry smile. He stepped forward, caressing your arm and his smile only grew when you shivered under his touch.

"Who are you?" you spat when no one responded to you. "Why are you here?" 

"She's such a pretty little thing, isn't she?" one of the men purred, while the other nodded his head in silent agreement.

"Whatever you want… money? I can get you it just- please don't do anything stupid." you tried negotiating, something Javier had always taught you to do if you had ever found yourself in a situation such as this one.

The capo grabbed your throat with a sudden force and you let out a yelp. He pushed your chin up with his two fingers, forcing you to look into his eyes. "We were looking for agent Peña," the capo explained, a glint in his eyes. "But I think you might be the next best thing." he smirked, pushing you down to your knees.

You landed on the oak wood floor with a thud. "Tie her up." the capo commanded; and his two sicarios obediently followed his instruction, taking thick piece of rope and tying it around your wrists. You could feel it begin to graze and cut at your skin as you tried to escape from their firm grip.

"My boyfriend- if you don't let me go he'll kill you when he finds out about this. You don't want to get personal with Javier, I'm warning you." you said through tear filled eyes and gritted teeth.

"Actually, agent Peña got personal with us first, when he tried and failed going undercover to our headquarters. He thought we wouldn't catch on," the capo laughed. "He promised us he'd keep his mouth shut and we'd let him walk three. But we followed him home. We've been tracking your phone calls with him for months now. We know he lied to us. We know he's been seeing a therapist about what happened. We have cameras deployed out in the street… watching your every move. Looking into your windows…"

One of the sicarios nodded his head and took a swing of the orange juice. "Ooh sir, you should've seen her and agent Peña last night. I got it recorded-"

"What the fuck? You sick pervert!" You screamed, trying to scramble to your feet. It was no use. The capo kicked his foot into your back and you fell back down on your face. You groaned, trying to catch your balance when you felt something salty drip into your mouth. It was blood. Your nose was bleeding.

"Listen, if you just play along to with our little game, everything will be okay. Except for agent Peña of course… but you know, you still have a chance of making it out here alive!" the capo cackled, hysteria dripping from his tongue. "So when will your dashing DEA agent be home?" 

You shook your head, refusing to answer. Javier wouldn't be home for hours. Fuck, you really didn't know what to do. "My security will beat the shit out of you." you snarled, but felt so defeated knowing your threats were empty.

The capo let out another laugh. "Aw, she must think the security that we annihilated in the corridor would return from the dead to protect her?"

"Holy shit, you killed them?" you hissed in disbelief.

One of the sicarios held out a knife, stained deep in blood. He held it to your neck, wiping the blood of your security on your skin. You were out of options. You were so afraid. 

***

"Noonan still an ass?" Steve chuckled, lighting Javier's cigarette. Javi took a puff and nodded his head.

"Yeah, but she has her moments," Javier shrugged. "She's letting me get off work early today."

"Birthday privilege?" Steve pointed out and Javier nodded his head in agreement.

"It's been so good to see you, but I gotta head home to see my girl." Javier smirked and Steve wolf whistled.

"Yeah? How's she doing by the way?" Steve asked and Javier felt a blush creep upon his cheeks at the mere thought of you.

"She's good, she's good." Javier grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Never in a million years did I think my friend Javier Peña would actually settle down," Steve laughed and Javier nudged his arm playfully. "I owe Connie twenty bucks!" 

Javier rolled his eyes and stubbed out his cigarette. "Come over later for a few drinks, yeah?" Javier pulled Steve in for a long awaited hug.

"I'd like that bud, I'll bring the beers." Steve replied and offered Javier a comforting pat on the back. "I'll see you later."

On the drive home, Javier completely forgot it was his birthday. His mind was just consumed with you— the love of his life. You were the only person who looked after him, cared for him, and were constantly at his beck and call. He chastised you for it and he told you that you did too much for him, but your compassionate nature truly meant so much to him.

After an amazing night with you, he couldn't wait to surprise you at home. He couldn't wait to pick you up and hold you in his arms. It was still morning, so it meant he could spend the whole day with you.

His excitement was cut short when he pulled up into the driveway of his apartment complex. He saw three black vans with tinted windows, and recognised them from his encounter with the drug cartel months ago. A knot tightened in his throat. Quietly, he hopped out of his own truck and entered his building. Making his way through the maze of hallways, his heart dropped when he found his three security guards lying dead against the walls outside his home, their blood soaking through the carpet.

Javier's instincts were to bolt inside your shared apartment and rescue you. He knew for a fact you were in danger— that they were in there, holding you hostage. But he had to think logically. They wanted Javi dead, and he didn't know what the numbers would be like.

Javier backed off down the corridor and took out his cell phone. "Hey Steve? Are you still at the Embassy? I think the cartel has y/n. I need your help. And call for the other agents; we need serious backup!" Javier explained a thorough plan to Steve on the phone, who promised Javier he'd be there within minutes. And Steve Murphy always kept his words.

While Javier waited, he looted the bodies of his security for any weapons they had possessed. He hid a gun under his pants and slid a knife into his pocket. When he saw Steve at the front gate, pulling up with a van filled with fellow agents, he offered him a nod of acknowledgement. This was where Javier's plan started. He was going in.

Javier had decided to play it cool and pretend like he didn't have his whole team behind him. He opened the unlocked front door yelling an unfamiliar "honey I'm home!". Javier never said anything like this and so he hoped, by hearing this, you would catch on that he had it covered.

His heart was racing in his chest when he caught a glimpse of you, tied to a chair wearing only his shirt. You had silver electrical tape around your mouth and blood that Javi prayed wasn't yours. Your eyes were puffy from your tears and fear prevailed through them. He muttered your name and hurried to your side, falling to his knees and taking out the knife from his pocket.

"You're okay baby, you're okay I'm here. I've got you." Your whimpers broke his heart. He sliced open the rope, releasing your hands. "How many are there?" he whispered into your ear. You managed to hold up three fingers and Javier gulped, starting to unbind your ankles when he felt a gun press in between his shoulder blades.

Javier removed his hands from you and raised them in a surrender position above his own head. Javier stood up straight and turned around to face the capo, gun now pointing into his chest. He recognised the two sicarios behind him from last time.

"Whatever you need, I can get for you." Javier promised, lowering his hand to the barrel of the gun and cautiously pushing it away from him. "I have money."

"What we needed was your silence… your honesty, agent Peña. And we needed that about three months ago."

"I didn't say shit to the DEA," Javier spat angrily.

"But you told her, didn't you?" the capo pointed his gun at you and you let out another frightened whimper, closing your eyes, petrified.

"You shoot either of us? It's life in prison. Your whole cartel goes bust. Don't make a mistake here." Javier just needed to buy a little more time….

"She told me it was your birthday," the capo chuckled. "How ironic. You were born today, you die today."

Just then, your front door burst off the hinges as Steve Murphy and an army of about 20 agents bolted through the tiny apartment, immediately shooting down the two sicarios and Steve held a gun to the capo's head. You could hear police and ambulance sirens outside as tears began to stream down your face. Your hope was cut short when the capo fired his gun.

You screamed as the pressure from the bullet knocked you off your chair and two the ground. He had shot right in your chest, just next to your collarbone. The pain was blinding and you curled your fingers into a fist. Another gunshot; and Steve had shot the capo down. Javier screamed your name and ran to your side, cradling you in his arms. He gently ripped the tape off your mouth and freed your ankles. 

"I've got you baby, hey stay with me. I've got you." he whispered, nursing you in his arms.

"Javi," you choked out, wincing in pain.

"Can someone get me a flannel and there's a first aid kit under the bathroom sink!" Javier cried out, his voice hoarse as his red hot blood coursed through his veins. "Keep your eyes open. Keep looking at me. There's an ambulance outside. There'll be up here any minute."

"Javi… I love you so much." you sobbed. The pain was becoming unbearable and your eyes fluttered shut.

Javi cupped your cheek as one of the agents passed him a flannel and the med kit. He began to apply pressure to your wound. "Stay with me, stay with me angel. I love you."

Your breathing began to hitch and Javier was so afraid he was going to lose you for good. He was going to lose the love of his life. If anyone was meant to be shot, it should've been him. He cursed himself. It should've fucking been him.

Paramedics raced over to you and pulled Javier back. "Be careful with her." Javier exhaled, his hands shaking as Steve steadied him.

"She's going to be okay." Steve reassured his friends. "She's in good hands."

Permanent taglist (let me know if you would like to be added!):  @supernaturalgirl @phoenixhalliwell @ah-callie @luvzoria @stardust-galaxies @wickedfrsgrl @goth-topic

"This is all my fucking fault Steve." Javier cried, falling to his knees as his heart shattered into a million pieces. "This is all my fault."

NEXT PART

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book One: Gold (Prompto x Reader) Chapter IX

Safely driving out of Aracheole Stronghold, the group head in the direction of Lestallum. As they drew closer to their destination, Prompto turned on the radio just as a newscaster broadcasted the latest news. "At long last imperial blockades of Duscaen roadways have been removed. The imperial army has also demolished all related facilities erected around the region. The provisional government of Insomnia anticipates increased traffic congestion along most local highways, and encourages all citizens to refrain from any unnecessary travel for the time being."

At that moment, Prompto remembered what Ignis told him about Ravus. "So help me figure this out-that was Luna's brother?"

"The high commander himself-wartime makes for quick promotions," Ignis answered.

"Even a son of Tenebrae can rise to the top," Gladio added.

"But why would he want to lead their army?" The sharpshooter questioned.

"Who cares?" Noctis sighed.

"Certainly formidable enough on his own. We are fortunate (Y/n) intervened when she did," the tactician said.

"With that cool sword!" Prompto pops out of his seat and propped himself up on his knees, turning to face the backseat. "I had no idea you carried a sword with you, (Y/n)."

She curled her hands up in her lap, staring down at the middle console. "I haven't had it for long."

Ignis, who's eyes were still glued to the road, chimed in. "The Creator's Blade, if I recall what the high commander uttered."

She was hoping they hadn't heard Ravus use the sword's true name. "Yes. It's, well...um..."

Prompto noticed her distress as she clasped her hands tightly together and shifted uncomfortably in the seat. He leaned over the side of the seat and placed one of his hands over hers, squeezing them tightly. "You don't have to say anything if you're uncomfortable."

She looked up and stared into his eyes. "Thank you, Prom."

Eventually, the royal retinue and the guardian arrived back in Lestallum. Once parked, they headed to the Leville. As they walked into the lobby, they found Iris waiting for them. She had a devastated look on her face as she did her best to hold her tears at bay. "Oh, Gladdy."

Gladio was taken aback at his sister's forlorn expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I let you down. I never made it to Caem," she confessed melancholically. "The empire came while you were gone."

Deciding to speak somewhere more private, they headed upstairs to their hotel room. Everyone gathered around the distraught Iris as she explained the situation to them. "None of us said a word about Noct. They just showed up and then...poor Jared."

"What do you mean? What happened to Jared?!" Gladio demanded.

"There was nothing we could do!" Iris wailed back. "H-He...He tried protecting us and another woman. B-But the empire killed him and her!"

"They killed an obscure civilian?" Ignis asked.

She nodded, a single tear trailing down her cheek. "Th-They cut her down without even blinking and dragged her body away..."

Just then, the door to the room slowly opens. All eyes fall onto Talcott as he walks into the room, crying. Noctis gets down on one knee to speak with the weeping boy. His voice was full of sorrow as he spoke. "It's...not right. We should've been here."

"I... I couldn't stop them," Talcott mumbled between sniffles.

"But I won't let the empire get away with it. They'll pay for what they've done. I promise."

The little boy nodded. "I believe in you, Prince Noctis." He then walks away followed by (Y/n).

She followed him out into the hallway. She listened to him sniffle a few more times before squatting down in front of him. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Talcott."

"I-I miss him..." He wiped his tears away, but they were promptly replaced with even more tears. Through his blurry vision, he saw the golden gemstone in her arm. "Grandpa tried protecting a lady who was really nice to us when we first arrived here. Her name was Cynthia and she helped us with so much. You have a gem just like she did."

(Y/n) blinked in surprise. Now she knew the empire wasn't just here for Noctis, but to kill any spirits dwelling within Lestallum. "Really? Was it pretty?"

He nodded with a faint smile. "Mhm. It was blue just like the sky. And yours is yellow like the sun."

The spirit smiled back at him, taking his small hands in both of hers. "How about we get outta this stuffy hotel and have some fun?"

Talcott's smile widened, his tears vanishing. "Yeah!"

While (Y/n) escorted Talcott out of the Leville, the conversation inside the hotel room changed. Iris noticed the spirit when she walked out of the room to check on Talcott and couldn't help but admire her beauty and somewhat strange features. Prompto noticed the girl's perplexed expression and decided to clear the air. "Oh, right! You've never met (Y/n) before."

"I didn't know you guys had someone else traveling with you," Iris said.

"Neither did we until a month ago," Noctis commented.

The young Amicitia wasn't sure what he meant, but pushed it aside. "(Y/n)... She has a gem just like Cynthia. And her eyes are weird, too."

"Cynthia?" Gladio inquired.

"She's the woman Jared tried to protect. She helped us when we first arrived in Lestallum. We were shopping together when the empire showed up."

"Wait, y'mean this Cynthia person was a spirit?" Prompto questioned.

Iris' brows furrowed together, showing her puzzlement. "Spirit? I don't know anything about that."

"By the way you described her, she sounded like one."

"If that indeed is the case, we know for a fact Noct wasn't the empire's only target," Ignis chimed in.

Iris glanced between her brother and the other boys. "What're you talking about?"

"Guess an explanation is in order." Noctis turned to Prompto. "You probably better take this one. You would know more about guardians since you have one."

The blonde nodded and took the lead. He explained to Iris who (Y/n) was and what spirits were, remembering what the golden-eyed girl told him earlier during their journey. He even used pictures to help explain. Concluding his explanation, he examined Iris' expression and saw disbelief in her eyes. "You...don't believe me..."

Iris shook her head. "It's not that I don't believe you. It's just...hard to wrap my head around it. Geralt didn't even say anything about Cynthia being a guardian."

"Who's Geralt?" Gladio asked.

"Cynthia's husband. He sells vegetables in the marketplace."

Prompto blinked in surprise, his heart racing. "Her...husband? C-Can I go talk to him?"

"Don't you think the man needs time to mourn?" The shield sighed.

"Actually, I think he'd enjoy your company, Prompto. His stall is located near Tostwell Grill," Iris said. "Just try to keep talking about Cynthia to a minimum."

"Thanks, Iris!" Prompto dashes out of the room, leaving the others behind.

Noctis crosses his arms, leaning back against the wall with a smirk. "Wanna bet it's about (Y/n)?"

Ignis adjusted his glasses. "He is quite smitten with her."

"At least he's found someone who likes him," Gladio chortled.

Meanwhile in the marketplace, Prompto searches for Geralt's stall. He asked each stall owner their name until stumbling across the man he'd been searching for. He swallowed nervously as he grabbed the merchant's attention. "Sorry to bother you, but are you Geralt?"

The crimson-haired man nodded. "That I am. What can I do for you?"

Prompto held out his wrist and showed him the bracelet with the golden gemstone. "I was hoping to talk to you."

Geralt examines the gemstone, eyes widening when realizing what it was. "So you've got yourself a guardian. By the state of the gemstone, they're still alive."

"Huh?" The merchant held out his hand to show the boy the ring on his finger. Prompto gasped when seeing the gemstone adorning it was black and cracked. "Is that...?"

"The gemstone of my lovely Cynthia. After she was killed by those imperial bastards and dragged away, it turned black and cracked. Not only that, I could feel our connection shatter. It was as if someone had stabbed me in the chest."

The marksman frowned melancholically. "I'm...sorry you had to go through that. I-I don't know what I'd do if I lost (Y/n). She means so much to me..."

Geralt leant forward against the wooden table, staring into the blonde's cerulean eyes. "Listen, she may be your guardian and has sworn to protect you, but you've gotta protect her too. I failed to protect my Cynthia. Don't make the same mistake I did."

Prompto nodded with a determined gleam in his eyes. "I will protect (Y/n), I promise."

A smile appeared on the man's face. "I can tell there's not only determination in your eyes. You love her, don't ya?"

He lowered his head. "I do."

Geralt chortled. "You remind me of myself when I was younger. I fell in love with Cynthia and before I knew it, we were married."

The boy lifted his head. "Did you ever question your relationship? Y'know, since she was your guardian?"

"A buncha times. I don't know how many times I heard my sweet Cynthia worry about her status as my guardian. She feared how she wasn't human and wouldn't be able to satisfy me. But after we got married, all her fears vanished. We were living happily until..."

"The empire attacked," Prompto muttered.

"If I could get revenge for Cynthia, I would." Geralt leant over the table and patted the boy on the shoulder. "I wish you luck with (Y/n)."

"Thanks."

The marksman left the marketplace and searched for (Y/n). He wandered the streets of Lestallum until he found her at the outlook with Talcott. They were sitting on a bench, laughing with one another. The little boy was no longer feeling down thanks to the guardian cheering him up. Prompto froze for a second before snapping a picture of the scene. Checking the photo, he saw it was perfect. Lowering his camera, he walked up to the two with a brilliant smile. "Heyaz!"

"Hey, Prom," (Y/n) greeted him with her usual smile. "Talcott and I were just sharing some funny stories. And while we were out, we happened to overhear hunters talking about spotting a royal tomb atop the Rock of Ravatogh."

"We better tell Noct the good news, then!"

Talcott crosses his arms with a pout. "Man, I wish I could go with you guys. Your adventures sound so fun!"

The spirit patted the top of his head. "Trust me, you'll have your own fun adventures someday. Just keep enjoying being a kid for now." She stood up, stretching her arms into the air before lowering them. "Anyway, we should head back and tell the others what we learned. Right, Talcott?"

"Yeah!" Talcott hopped off the bench and dashed off towards the Leville.

Prompto chuckled at the sight. "Little guy sure has spirit."

"I'm glad he's feeling better," (Y/n) commented. Taking a closer look at the blonde, she noticed his joyous expression was replaced with melancholia. "What's wrong?"

Unconsciously, he'd been fiddling with the bracelet around his wrist. "I, um...I talked to Cynthia's husband, Geralt."

"Oh, Talcott told me about Cynthia. She was the spirit who Jared was trying to protect. He didn't say she was married, though. What made you want to visit Geralt?"

"Just wanted to ask him some things. That's all." Prompto glanced away from the girl, fiddling even more with the bracelet.

(Y/n) placed a hand on her hip, a single eyebrow raised. "Like what?"

"W-Well..."

She closed the distance between them, grabbing his chin between her thumb and index finger. She turned his head so he had no other choice but to look down at her. "You asked him about their relationship, didn't you?"

Prompto's eyes widen as they were still locked hers. "How'd you know?"

"If I had known earlier about Geralt, I would've sought him out myself to ask about his relationship with Cynthia. They're the first human/spirit couple I've heard of." She released his chin. "What did he have to say?"

"He said Cynthia had the same doubts about herself like you do. She was afraid she couldn't make him happy because she wasn't human, but all that fear went away when they got married. They were happy until the empire came to town and killed her." Prompto took her hands in his, entwining their fingers together. "I know you're supposed to be the one protecting me, but I want to protect you too. I-I can't bear the thought of losing you."

She smiled gently at him. "You won't lose me, Prom. I'll always be by your side, even when you don't want me to be."

Prompto laughed, leaning his forehead against hers. "There's no way that'll ever happen." He placed his lips over hers, kissing her gently. He squeezed her hands when the kiss deepened, drowning in the blissful moment. His heartbeat and hers picked up in speed as the kiss became heated. Before it could turn into a full make-out session in broad daylight, they pulled apart. The boy glanced down at their connected hands before quickly looking back up at (Y/n). "Guess we better head back."

"Then let's go." She released one of his hands, but continued to hold the other one. They held hands all the way to the hotel and weren't even ashamed when they walked into the lobby, grabbing everyone's attention.

Iris was the first to react, flying to her feet. She was aware of the couple holding hands, but she was more invested in introducing herself to (Y/n). "We haven't formally met. I'm Iris."

"I'm (Y/n). A pleasure to meet you, Iris," the guardian smiled.

The young Amicitia glances at the gemstone in the girl's upper arm. "Prompto told me everything about spirits earlier. I'm...still trying to wrap my head around it, especially since Cynthia was one too." She them looked over towards Talcott with a smile before meeting the spirit's gaze again. "Thank you for cheering Talcott up. He told me how much fun he had with you today."

"I'm glad I could bring his smile back."

"Oh!" Talcott suddenly shouted. He looked over at Noctis. "(Y/n) and I overheard some hunters talking about another tomb."

The raven-haired boy blinked in surprise. "Really? Where?"

"At the top of the Rock of Ravatogh."

"Well, looks like we know where we're heading next," Gladio commented. "Best head out now if we wanna beat the daemons."

"It is in our best interest to restock our supply of curatives before departing," Ignis said.

Iris and Talcott remained behind as the others left the Leville. They restocked their diminishing supply of curatives before heading to the parking lot. Before they climbed into the Regalia, they could hear the frustrated yells of someone nearby. They all exchanged glances with each other, deciding to check on the frustrated person. They came across the President and CEO of Meteor Publishing, Vyv. He was complaining about the heat, which is what caught the group's attention.

After calming down, Vyv explained to them how he wanted pictures of a cave located at the Rock of Ravatogh. Prompto gasped in excitement at the request. "We'll do it!"

"We will?" Noctis asked.

"I am not passing up this opportunity. Besides, we're already heading that way!"

"Prompto and his pictures..." (Y/n) mumbled.

"Indeed," Ignis said after overhearing the girl.

"Get a good shot and I'll pay you," Vyv said.

"We do need the money," Gladio stated. "And it's only a picture. Blondie'll handle it."

"Aw, yeah!" Prompto cheered. "You can count on me!"

With that, the group headed back to the parking lot and climbed into the Regalia. They left Lestallum and headed towards the Rock of Ravatogh. Ignis pulled the car over to the side of the road when they got as close to the pathway leading up the volcano as they possibly could. Hopping out of the vehicle, they trek up the path until they reached jagged, uneven ground. (Y/n) watched where she stepped to avoid tripping. "So, we're really going to trek up the side of a volcano for a picture and a royal arm."

"Why do you sound excited?" Gladio asked.

She grinned from ear to ear. "I thrive in environments of extreme heat. Makes my magic more powerful."

"You wanna take the lead then?" Noctis asked. "I wouldn't mind, especially if you burn all the monsters we come across. It'd make this whole trip easier."

"And let you guys miss all the fun?" She gasped in feign shock. "Never. Lead the way, Noctis."

Noctis groaned at her answer. "Ugh..."

Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || Masterlist

[riceccakes]

1 & catradora :)

trope writing prompts: send a number and a pairing :)

hi anon, you didn’t pick a category so i’m choosing my favorite out of the three, hope thats okay !!

“What, you’ve never thought about us?”

-

Adora was leaving. She was brought into Hordak’s office and left with a bittersweet smile. Catra didn’t need to even ask; Adora got the promotion. This would’ve been something to celebrate, had the promotion not meant moving across the country to the sister company, Dryl Inc.

“Hey, this doesn’t mean I’m gonna fall off the face of Etheria,” Adora said as Catra helped her clean her desk. “I’ll still call and I’ll visit every now and then.”

Catra kept her mouth shut, biting her tongue. It was too much at that moment, to try and even put into words what she was feeling. Instead, she hastily scanned Adora’s file cabinet of folders and tossed whatever the woman wouldn’t need.

Adora was Catra’s first friend at Prime Co. The desk job was going to be temporary, answering phone calls and trying to sell merchandise to make money while she looked for something more permanent. But, her and Adora started on the same day, were in the same training session, even were in the same group for “Team Building Exercises.” When the scheduled lunch time came around, Adora sat down at Catra’s empty table with a smile.

“Do you like tuna?” she asked. She stopped, shaking her head, “Was that stereotypical? I’m sorry, I should’ve worded this better.”

Catra kept a close eye on her, not responding as Adora pulled out three sandwiches, four bags of chips, two large cookies, and four juice boxes.

“I saw you weren’t eating so I thought I might offer one of my sandwiches,” Adora started, holding two of the three up, “I have two roast beef and one tuna, but I should’ve worded this all better.”

She began muttering to herself, fiddling with the plastic wrapped sandwiches and Catra finally reacted. She laughed, taking the tuna out of her hand and opening it.

“You’re fine, dummy. I like tuna.” She bit into it, glancing up to see Adora’s pink cheeks trying to hide.

They’d been at the company together for almost two years and while Catra was still coasting along, sure she’d stay until she found a more suitable career, Adora was excelling like no other coworker. Their boss, Hordak, had been giving her a bit of extra treatment, at least Catra noticed. She was sure Adora would be chosen for the new promotion Hordak announced a few months ago and wasn’t surprised today when Hordak called out from his office for Adora to see him.

When the last bit of Adora’s desk was in the box issued by Hordak, the picture frame of the two girls from the holiday party on top, Catra sighed.

“How long until you have to leave?”

“About a week,” Adora answered, lugging the box towards the elevator. “I have to pack my apartment too and everything.”

“Right,” Catra looked at the floor, wrapping her tail around herself. She stayed a few feet from Adora, wishing the elevator door wouldn’t open. She hissed at the sound when it did.

Adora stepped in, calling out Catra’s name. “Help me move out?”

Catra rolled her eyes, “Of course, idiot.”

When Catra clocked out, she drove to Adora’s almost too quickly. She hadn’t realized how much she dreaded that office; without Adora, her deskmates were bland and boring, lunch was a drag, and the empty space next to her hurt her heart more than she wanted to admit. 

Catra called out over the next few days, opting to help Adora move rather than endure more nine hour shifts in her newfound hell. She was silent for almost all of the packing sessions, still too upset to see Adora go. (Deep down in her heart, Catra hoped Adora would say no to the promotion. She hoped Adora would want to stay with her and not leave and keep working together and play pranks on Kyle until they retired. She hoped she wouldn’t have to ask Adora this, she hoped Adora would just know.) 

Catra knew Adora was talking, but the sentences never stuck in her mind. She was too busy wrapping dinner plates in old newspaper and bubblewrap and trying her hardest to stop her shaking hands from dropping any.

When she placed the last one in the box (all of them in tact, a feat in itself) she heard Adora say, “Let’s get drinks.”

It’d be only one more day before Adora had to leave. Catra placed the last box in the moving truck and nodded. Her tail wrapped around her again and she felt her ears drop. Adora placed her hand on Catra’s shoulder and she shuddered, quickly pulling away. Another time she’d deal with all the thoughts in her head, all the words she was screaming in her throat, all the “Please don’t go.” “You don’t need a new job.” “I’ll just make Hordak give you a raise, that’ll be enough right?” “Who am I supposed to make fun of Kyle with? Lonnie? She’s all talk and no bite, she’s always eating lunch with him and Rogelio.” Another time she’d deal with all of those thoughts, that’s what Catra told herself.

At the bar, Catra and Adora found a booth in the back. It was closed off from the rest of the patrons, perhaps for the better because Catra didn’t want anyone else to see her cry. (She wasn’t banking on it happening but she’d been close to doing so the past few nights, maybe this night would be what broke her.)

“Oh, come on, Catra,” Adora kicked her leg under the table. “Lighten up, I told you this isn’t goodbye.”

She sulked in her seat, swishing the vodka soda in her cup.

“You know, I asked Hordak if I could bring you.”

Catra froze, “What?”

“I’m supposed to be some department head when I get to Dryl Inc. I asked if I’d need an assistant or something but Hordak wouldn’t budge.”

“Assistant, really?”

Adora raised an eyebrow, “Oh, so you’d rather I just go and not make an effort to try and bring you?”

Catra’s eyes widened, Adora’s tone sounded insulted. She shook her head, “Wait, that’s not what I--”

Adora laughed, kicking her leg again, “I was just joking, Catra.”

Catra’s ears fidgeted, her mind trying to understand why Adora tried to get Hordak to let her leave too. “Why’d you ask him?”

Adora gulped, taking a long sip from her beer, “Well, I just. You know, it’s always been you and me at the company and well. I don’t know, I just thought,” she paused, finishing her drink. “What, you’ve never thought about us?”

The emphasis on the word scared Catra, much deeper and closer to her core than the thought of Adora leaving at all. Of course she’d thought about them, the two of them as more than friends. All the movie nights in Adora’s apartment after a long day at work, all the fast food deliveries to the office when Catra would reluctantly stay overtime since Adora was. All the times Adora’s blue eyes sparkled in the dingy office lighting (seriously, how did her eyes do that?) and all the times Adora’s laughter perked her tail in delight. She thought about all the company parties they attended, about Adora dressed up in a long dress with her hair pulled back and her neck exposed and that stupid perfume that made Catra’s hands twitch because she just wanted to grab Adora’s waist and kiss her. Of course she thought about it all.

And even while she wanted to say all of it then, her throat closed up and Catra just stared at Adora.

“Oh.” Adora reached for her beer again and brought it to her lips, eyes widening at the clear bottom. She placed it down with a blush, looking down at the table. She whispered, “Well, I have, a lot. I’ve always been too scared to try anything, for example, right now, because clearly you haven’t and I’ve made this weird.”

Catra desperately wanted to correct her, wanted to reach across the table and yank her shirt to pull her into a kiss. But she was stuck in her spot, staring at Adora who still looked gorgeous even when she was sad.

“I just like having you around and you’re really soft and you’re always nice to me,” Adora continued. Her voice was barely audible but Catra made it her mission to hear every last word. “I’m just really gonna miss you.”

Catra heard the sentence, felt her heart jump out of her chest at the notion of Adora missing her at all. She internally slapped herself across the face and finally forced her body to move. She jolted up, slamming her knees on the underside of the table as she grabbed Adora by the collar and kissed her.

Their teeth crashed and Catra knew her knees would turn into a bluish, purple color but she didn’t care. Adora’s lips were soft and tender and that stupid perfume she wore made her quietly moan as she pulled away for air. Adora pulled her back in, placing a few more gentle kisses, more successful ones at that, and let out a shaky breath.

“What the hell was that, Catra?”

With her heart rate settling, Catra kept her eyes shut. She didn’t want to sound stupid, didn’t want Adora to know just yet she was melting like putty, so she forced her brain to regain consciousness.

“If you wanted me to come with you, you should’ve just said so,” she breathed. Adora kissed her cheek and she cursed under her breath, “You’re packing up all my shit, though.”

[buckthegrump]

IBTHNTTTY - 12

Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Summary: Y/n hates Bucky Barnes. Absolutely loathes him what makes it worse is that she has to share her office with him. Now with a promotion on the horizon she has to find a way to work with him and not against him.

Word Count: 1157

Warnings: swears, angst, 

A/n: if anyone wants to write my cover letter for me that’d be great

Bucky drove silently the entire way. Not that Y/n had anything to say herself. She was staring out the window, thinking about how Bucky’s arms felt. 

Y/n had spent so much time protecting herself from the idea of liking someone else’s presence so much that she wanted more. It was different when it was her friends, they would be there for her, but they had their own lives and would leave her alone for a while. 

But with Bucky, it felt different. She was starting not to know how to talk to him like there was some sort of risk in being his friend. A silly thought, but she was a silly girl.

He parked the car and looked at her. She didn’t look away from her window.

“Y/n -”

“Ya know, whenever you call me that, I think you’re upset with me for some reason,” she whispered.

“I thought you hated it when I called you sunflower?” She turned to see a soft smile on the idiot’s face. 

Her hands suddenly became insanely interesting to her. “I don’t hate the nickname. And even if I did hate it, it sounds weird when you don’t.”

“C’mon,” he said and got out of his car.

Y/n watched as he opened the door for her. “You don’t have to -”

“Sunflower, when are you going to learn -” he held out his hand for her (which she took), “That I was raised to be a gentleman? And that I’m the type of man who will walk you to your door.”

“Are you going to ask me again what happened tonight?” 

“You only have to tell me if you want to.”

Y/n opened her mouth a million times between the car and her front door; the worst was when they were in the elevator. She should’ve just told him, she wanted to tell him. If she didn’t tell him this was just going to fester in her chest all night.

They stopped at her door and Bucky smiled at her.

“Well -” he started.

“He tried to assault me,” she blurted and didn’t stop. “He followed me to the bathroom and claimed that I was leading him on. And then I pepper sprayed him and ran.”

“Do you want me to kill him for you?” She laughed at him, but when she looked up at him, she could tell he wasn’t joking.

“No, I think I’d prefer you to stay out of jail.”

“Sunflower,” his smirk returned at record speed, “are you starting to like me?”

“No, I have a promotion coming up that rides on me working well with you. And I can’t really work with you if you’re in jail, can I?”

He didn’t move but his smirk switched to just a smile. It looked like he was trying to find a reason to stay, and to Y/n’s surprise she wanted him to.

“Ya know, our relationship is unbalanced now,” she teased but she didn’t realize how much she meant the words.

“In what way?” His smile faulted a little.

“Well, you’ve seen me puke I don’t know how many times. And then tonight you saw me -” she hesitated, “Either way, you’ve seen me vulnerable way more than I’ve seen you that way. You’ve seen me at my lowest and now you have all the power and I don’t like that. So if tomorrow I’m a really big bitch to you, I’m sorry.”

“But you’re not being a bitch right now,” he pointed out.

“Well, I’m still grateful that you came to my rescue. So Ihave a little more clarity than I will tomorrow.”

“If you know this now, then can’t you just be nice tomorrow?”

“Now see, that would be logical. And I know myself well enough to know what a likely outcome of this is. But I also know that I’m not a big enough person to stop myself. And with that over sharing, goodnight, Bucky Barnes.” 

“Good night, Sunflower,” and with that he walked away.

* * *

Y/n flopped on her bed, phone to her ear.

“How ‘bout I murder him?” Carol said.

“I concur, let’s murder him,” Wanda agreed.

Y/n could’ve gone her whole life without introducing them. They only encouraged each other in a way that she didn’t really appreciate, mostly when it came to her love life and whatnot. Her two friends loved to get involved with her lack of a social life.

A few minutes after Bucky left Y/n called Carol and Wanda and told them everything that had happened. Almost everything. She left out the major detail that was Bucky Barnes.

“Well, it would seem that you would both have to get in line,” Y/n muttered.

“Behind you?” Wanda asked hopefully.

“Nah, the most he got from me was pepper spray. I figure I don’t ever have to see him again so he can keep the memory of my pepper.”

“Then who do we have to stand behind?” Carol asked.

Y/n ignored the question. “How’s my favorite niece?”

“You ignore the question,” Carol said, not letting it go, “Which means that it’s someone you don’t want us to know that you like.”

Wanda gasped. “Is it Mr. Barnes? From your office?”

“Wait, the one you hate?” Carol asked, sounding much more interested in the conversation now. “Why did Bucky know about this?”

Y/n fell silent again.

“Y/n?” Wanda prompted.

“He may or may not have called right after it happened and then picked me up.”

Both Carol and Wanda were quiet and then erupted into a million questions. Y/n spent the rest of the night answering and dodging questions. Mostly dodging them.

* * *

Bucky sat in his car, the radio played softly in the background as the rain started to fall. He couldn’t get what Y/n said out of his head. 

Unbalanced. She had a point and Bucky would be lying if he said he wouldn’t feel the same. Especially with what had happened tonight. It was surprising she had been as open as she had been with him.

A part of him still wanted to find that Brock guy and beat him to a bloody pulp, but he was holding himself back. Which is why he was still in Y/n’s parking lot. He’d been sitting there for the past fifteen minutes knowing that if he had left he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself.

“Damn it Barnes. Why are you so hung up on a girl who just started being your friend? She’s hated you for years and now you’re losing your mind over her. Just drive home. It’s not as hard as you’re making it out to be.”

He finally started the car and drove home. As he drove he made up his mind that he would even the playing field tomorrow. His heart started racing, there was a reason he kept his secrets close to his chest.

[zelenacat]

When We Were Young- An Obitine Story- Chapter 17

After meeting the new government officials personally and sending them off to do their jobs, much of Satine’s time was spent with the Corruption Committee. It began with mandatory inspections, questionnaires, wage increases, and tighter import laws. At the end of every day, the Duchess found herself exhausted.

“How are you little ones,” she asked her stomach, cradling the now noticeable lump, “we’ve had quite the day haven’t we?”

A knock came at the door and Khaami got up to get it.

“It’s Hera.” 

The door opened and the nurse stepped inside, hauling a large bag with her. Khaami shut the door and locked it.

“I know it may look like a lot, Your Grace,” Hera set her bag down, “but there are many tests we have yet to run.”

“Such as?”

“You may need vitamins,” Hera looked up, a bottle in each hand, “and certainly calcium pills.”

The Duchess relented and lay back against her pillows. Parna pulled down her covers. 

“How have you been feeling lately?” the nurse asked, approaching Satine with a stethoscope.

“Tired mostly,” the Duchess answered, “although I have been trying to get my rest.”

Hera listened and placed her stethoscope on Satine’s stomach, waiting. 

“Everything sounds good,” she smiled, “but I did bring the portable ultrasound just in case.”

As the blurry images of two blob-like shapes became vaguely recognizable as human, the Duchess swallowed hard.

“Satine?” Parna questioned.

“I haven’t called Ben in a while,” she confessed, “and I still haven’t told him.”

Hera looked up, “I take it Ben is the father?”

“Yes,” Khaami answered for Satine, “and he has quite the high-profile job.”

“Dear me,” Hera seemed to want to ask something, but then thought better of it, “I assume it’s best the less I know.”

“Yes,” Satine nodded, “but I will tell you that I love him.”

“I wouldn’t think anything else, Your Grace.”

The Duchess smiled at that, at least there were some who knew her true character.

“Just to be safe,” Hera stood, “I suggest you take vitamins and calcium pills, prenatal pills would be too risky I think.”

“I agree,” Satine nodded, “but I appreciate your help, I want my girls to be healthy.”

“I’m sure they will be.” Hera grinned.

Khaami helped the nurse to the door while Parna changed Satine into her nightdress.

“How is the status of the birth basement?” Satine asked, feeling weird even to call it that.

“Almost ready,” Khaami answered, “we have towels, blankets, numbing shots, diapers, but Oiyo still needs a new battery.”

“Perhaps Hera could be of help.” Satine suggested.

“Yes,” the Duchess nodded, “enlist her on that.”

“I am still worried about the falsified documents,” Parna confessed, “are you sure we’re untraceable?”

“Let’s begin withdrawing some of my personal funds,” Satine instructed, “we’ll pay upfront.”

Khaami stood, “I will go speak with Hera.”

Parna grabbed Satine’s comm.

“I suggest you call your Jedi.”

Satine swallowed, “I hardly know what I’ll say.”

“Conversation will flow naturally,” Parna smiled, “I can tell he cares for you.”

The Duchess nodded, grateful for her lady, then dismissed Parna.

Satine pressed a button, “Ben?”

No response.

“Obi?”

The third time, Satine succeeded.

“Hello, darling,” Obi-Wan’s voice was slightly strained, “it’s been a while.”

Satine was not fooled, “What’s happening, Obi?”

“We’re recovering after a battle.”

“Don't tell me they put you on the front lines again,” Satine frowned, “you just recovered.”

“I made for a good patient.” Obi-Wan replied.

Satine sighed, “You need your rest, Ben.”

“I can’t,” Obi-Wan swallowed, “I can't sleep when I dream of you.”

The Duchess found herself at a loss for words. Obi-Wan turned on his holo-figure and Satine could physically see his worry.

“Love?”

Satine turned her holo-figure on, “You’re such a romantic, Ben.”

Obi-Wan actually laughed at that.

“Do you know when you’ll be coming home?” Satine asked hopefully.

“Not as long as we thought I think,” Obi-Wan smiled, “I should be relieved in about two or three months.”

The Duchess’ face fell.

“Satine?”

“That’s still a long time, Obi.” she whimpered.

“I can only hope that it’ll be sooner,” the Jedi replied, “I think of you all the time.”

“You’re often on my mind as well.” Satine confessed.

“And how are politics now,” Obi-Wan asked, “any corruption arrests?”

“We’ve had a handful in the past two months,” Satine nodded, “though I still worry for my government.”

“If anyone can pull her system through this,” the jedi winked, “it's you, Satine.”

“I appreciate your kind words, Ben.”

A moment of sad silence filtered into the conversation and Satine drew in a breath.

“Obi-Wan?”

“Yes?” The Jedi sounded concerned.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Ah yes, your medical situation?”

The way he said it, Satine wondered if he already knew.

“Ben,” tears welled in Satine’s eyes, “I was afraid, so I kept putting off telling you, but-”

“Satine,” Obi-Wan’s voice grew quiet, “are you-”

“Yes,” the Duchess sobbed, “five whole months.”

It was a long time before Obi-Wan spoke again.

“Ben, Ben, please answer me.”

“I thought you were sick,” the Jedi’s voice quivered, “I thought you were being stubborn.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Satine,” Obi-Wan suddenly dropped a mask over himself, Satine could see it through the hologram, “but are your duties overwhelming you?”

“No,” Satine shook her head, “please don’t be mad at me, Ben, I didn’t know what to do and what would happen.”

“You obviously want to keep the baby-”

“Obi-”

“So who will raise it?”

“Them,” Satine corrected, “twin girls.”

Obi-Wan sighed.

“And there’s another thing,” Satine bit her lip, “I’ve been lying to you for nearly eighteen years.”

The Jedi’s brow furrowed, “What?”

“Ben,” the Duchess swallowed, “there are other children.”

Obi-Wan froze, his mouth half-open in shock.

“Four others.”

“You’ve lied to me,” Obi-Wan repeated, “for this long?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

It came out as a whisper, that’s what broke Satine.

“My enemies would’ve claimed I wasn’t Mandalorian and they would've never accepted you as my spouse. And now, I fear they’ll call me a Republic Sympathizer and a hypocrite.”

“You are,” Obi-Wan crossed his arms, “you can’t promote neutrality if you have ties to one side.”

“Padme knows,” Satine argued, “and she’s been ever so helpful.”

Obi-Wan leaned back in shock, “Anakin knows, and Quinlan too.”

“They’ve met the children, they knew immediately.”

The Jedi was mad. Satine could see it.

“I have children, six children,” he asked, “and yet I was the last one to know.”

“Ben-”

Obi-Wan was aghast, “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to compromise your morals.” Satine frowned.

“Morals? Morals! Satine, these are my children!”

“Being a Jedi means everything to you, Obi,” Satine sighed, “I fell in love with the chivalrous knight in you, you would’ve been a completely different person had you left the Order because of me.”

“So you thought about it,” Obi-Wan was suddenly far away, “you thought about saying the word?”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t.”

Satine swallowed, she didn’t know how to respond.

Obi-Wan scoffed, “Do you even love me?”

“Ben-”

“No, Satine,” Obi-Wan’s rage finally boiled over, “you made a decision without me, one that affected both of us, and you made the wrong choice.”

“Obi-Wan-”

“You lied to me,” growled the Jedi, tears in his eyes, “I could’ve been a father.”

“You are a father.”

Obi-Wan went silent.

“Do the children know.”

“Yes, I’ll ask if they’d meet with you.”

“I should’ve known them their whole lives,” Obi-Wan balled his fists, “and now I have to meet them like some stranger.”

“Ben-”

“Don’t call me that!”

Satine grew stiff, “Forgive me, Master Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan shook his head.

“I won’t contact you until I’ve returned, Duchess, and then it will only be to meet my children.”

He hung up. He hung up on her. Satine screamed.

”Your Grace!” 

The door burst open, Jaym and Gorg came in, their eyes widened when they came to rest on her stomach.”

“Get my ladies, Jaym,” the Duchess ordered, “and Gorg, go to the Med Ward and ask for Nurse Hera.”

The guards bowed, shutting the door behind them. As soon as the door slammed, Satine burst into tears. Throwing herself back on her mattress, the Duchess pounded her fists on the bed until her cohort arrived.

“Satine,” Khaami gasped, trying to restrain her, “you’re going to be alright.”

“Please,” Parna grabbed Satine’s thrashing legs, “I’m sure he didn’t mean whatever he said.”

Hera began calmly singing to Satine in Mando’a, gently rubbing her thumb on Satine’s palm.

“He said,” the Duchess gasped, “he said he wanted nothing to do with me.”

Parna sighed, “Satine, I think he’s just mad.”

“I had no choice,” the Duchess yelled, “it had to be a secret!”

“Sh,” Khaami brushed Satine’s hair from her eyes, “all will be well.”

“How do you know that?” Satine accused.

Khaami explained, “He’s always been very devoted to you-”

“And when he met you again,” Parna added, “the spark rekindled.”

“You are the mother of his children, Your Grace,” Hera handed Satine a tissue, “you two are bound for life.”

That brought tears to Satine’s eyes, “Ben doesn’t say things lightly.”

“But what did he say exactly?” Parna asked.

“He said the next time he contacted me,” Satine sniffed, “would be only to meet the children.”

A silence fell.

“Well,” Hera handed Satine another tissue, “you have some time right?”

“When I was eighteen I bore him twins,” Satine confessed, “And at twenty I did so again.”

Hera was aghast.

“How-”

“My ladies and a medical droid,” Satine explained, looking to Khaami, “Khaami was there.”

The lady nodded, “Her Grace was very strong.”

“But,” Hera stuttered, “but the birth certificates?”

“We have the real ones,” Parna answered, “they’re hidden.”

There were many things Hera could’ve said or done at that moment, this, Satine was certain of, but what the nurse said was kind.

“I’m so sorry, Satine.”

With a sigh, the Duchess lay back down.

“Let me just check your heartbeat,” Hera stood, going to her bag, “just in case.”

Everything was physically fine with her, but Satine knew Jaym and Gorg would need answers.

“My guards,” Satine turned to Khaami, “have them come in, Hera will stand guard.”

Gorg and Jaym were shocked, so shocked, in fact, that they’re eyes nearly bulged from their sockets when they did a double take of their Duchess.

“Did,” Gorg stuttered, “is this because-”

Jaym was much less confused, “It was the Jedi, wasn’t it?”

“No one can know,” Satine stated firmly, “I will allow no jokes, no snide comments, and certainly no illusions to my romantic acquaintances. Do you understand?”

The guards looked at each other.

“Do you understand?” Satine repeated.

The guards saluted, “Yes, Your Grace.”

“Now,” Satine straightened, “I want you to grant Master Kenobi’s personal shuttle access to all of Mandalorian space.”

“Kenobi,” Jaym’s eyes went wide, “I told you it was Kenobi!”

“Kriffing Kenobi,” Gorg gasped, “the Jedi poster boy?”

Satine raised an eyebrow, “What did I just say?”

Jaym swallowed, “No jokes, snide comments, or romantic allusions of any kind.”

“Correct.”

Gorg sighed before he bowed, “We shall do as Your Grace has ordered.”

Satine’s gaze softened, “Thank you.”

Hera came in as the guards left and collected her bag.

“Sleep well, Satine,” she instructed, “you need your rest.”

“I will.”

Parna said nothing, but hugged the Duchess instead.

“Thank you.” Satine whispered.

“We’re right down the hall if you need anything.” Khaami reiterated.

Satine nodded, and then she was left with her feelings. After an hour, she realized she couldn’t sleep and grabbed her comm. She sent the same message to Mara, Tristan, Tyra (who now had a comm of her own), and Korkie. They likely wouldn’t see it till the morning, but Satine needed it off her conscious that she wasn’t hiding her children from their father.

The Duchess hardly slept at all that night. Some time around 2:30 her body crashed and her eyes refused to open, but she didn’t feel refreshed in the morning when Khaami gently nudged her.

“We let you sleep a little later,” she began, “but there is an urgent matter the council needs you for.”

Groaning, Satine rolled over. She could hear Parna in her closet pulling out clothes.

“Please, Your Grace,” Khaami continued, “it’s about the war.”

“I hate war.” Satine whined, sitting up.

“That’s a good girl,” Khaami rubbed Satine’s back, “now let’s get you ready, you have a big day ahead.”

The corset was painful, as it generally was, but it made the Duchess sit straighter in her throne. She was facing the ruling council and some of the clan heads that lived nearby. Satine felt that her usual uniform of purple and blue was too plain for such a gathering.

The new Prime Minister was actually an old one, Jaru Djarin had never liked Almec, he’d always rubbed her the wrong way. So after his four years were up, Jaru ran against him. Due to obvious reasons, she won.

“Do forgive us for meeting early, Your Grace,” the Prime Minister began, “but the head of the Trade Federation contacted me and specifically expressed displeasure in our situation. He would like to meet and discuss new terms.”

Satine smiled, “This is a good reason for meeting early.”

That was met with a few chuckles.

“We shall most graciously accept the Trade Master’s visit,” Satine decided, “did he give any dates that he’s available?”

And so it was decided, the Trade Master would be arriving in three days. There was much to do. Waldie and her seamstresses worked late to add stiff linings into many of Satine’s dresses. Though none knew why. Satine oversaw the menu and preparations for public appearances. It was also decided that the Trade Master and his delegation would be housed down the hall from Satine, Parna and Khaami would sleep in Satine’s parlor. The Duchess also made a friendly call to her dearest acquaintance, Senator Amidala of Naboo, who had much to say on the Trade Federation and their past dealings.

“Interesting,” Satine nodded, “thank you for your help, Padme.”

“Of course, oh,” Padme paused, “and congratulations.”

“What for?” Satine asked.

“Obi-Wan is being traded for Master Fisto in two months,” Padme suddenly became worried, “I thought you knew.”

A heartbeat passed.

“When did he find out?”

“Anakin mentioned it yesterday afternoon,” the Senator gasped, “Satine, did you and Obi-Wan get in a fight?”

“I told him about the children,” Satine confessed, “and naturally he’s not happy.”

Padme sighed, “I’m sorry, Satine.”

“It’s good to know,” the Duchess tried not to sound hurt, “if he chooses he might attend the birth.”

“He might.” agreed Padme.

After a moment of still silence, Satine thanked Padme for her call and hung up. She cried for a little bit, then went to try on her refurbished dresses.

“These are quite snug.” observed one of the seamstresses.

“They should be,” Waldie replied, “that’s how Her Grace likes it.”

“But Lady Waldie,” another seamstress took out a measuring tape, “these dresses shouldn’t be tight.”

Waldie glanced at Satine, “I don’t see how we did something wrong if Her Grace enjoys the dresses.”

“I do,” Satine said earnestly, “that’s why I ask you to touch them up so often.”

“Work on dresses for the Ladies Khaami and Parna,” Waldie instructed, “I will finish the Duchess’ dress.”

Satine nodded, grateful to the seamstress.

“There are rumors, Your Grace,” Waldie whispered, “that you are expecting.”

The Duchess frowned, “I should start leaving trails of fake blood everywhere.”

Waldie snorted, “I suggest you allow the Duke of Sundari to understudy your work with the Trade Master.”

“It will set everyone straight.” Satine agreed.

Parna giggled and the Duchess turned her head.

“I feel like a princess.” the Lady twirled.

Satine’s mind went to her daughters, the nearly grown ones, they should be princesses. A wave of sadness flowed over the Duchess, she wished her children could be where they should be, could claim their birthrights. Unfortunately, if anyone found out about their father…

“Duchess?”

Satine looked up, “Hm?”

“Your advisors are looking for you.”

“Ah, yes,” Satine straightened, “the security for public appearances.”

Gorg and Jaym were Satine’s top protectors, to be with her always. Now that they knew, it was important that she keep them close to her if they had any questions, or if she was kidnapped. Satine tried not to think about the latter.

“Hello?”

“Hi Headmistress Gren,” Satine smiled even though the woman couldn’t see her, “this is the Duchess Satine.”

“It’s good to hear from you, Your Grace,” the headmistress pleasantly intoned, “your nephew has been doing very well in his classes.”

“That’s good to hear,” Satine’s pride decided, “speaking of which, can Korkie be excused for the next three days, I would like him to be here for the Trade Master’s visit.”

“Of course, Your Grace,” the headmistress agreed, “I always enjoy it when a student gets government experience.”

Satine thanked the headmistress for her time and asked if Korkie could be sent home early.

“Of course, Your Grace,” Headmistress Gren appraised, “you should see him within the hour.”

“Thank you.”

The Duchess smiled to herself, Korkie disliked his fittings, this would be fun. The Duke of Sundari groaned when they approached the sewing rooms.

“Lady Mother,” he whispered, quite agitated, “I can’t stand still for that long.”

“It’ll be quick,” Satine assured, “and if you’re good, you can help me taste the deserts.”

Korkie glowed, “Wonderful.”

In the meantime, Satine instructed Parna to fetch a jar of blueberries and a knife from the kitchen while she and Khaami looked for excess hair brushes.

“Why are we doing this again?” Parna asked.

“To quell the maid’s suspicions,” Satine answered, “I’ve heard they’re worried about the lack of bloody material in my trash cans and laundry.”

Parna grinned, “So we’re going to make fake blood.”

“Blueberries were an excellent choice, Your Grace,” Khaami winked, “how clever you are!”

Satine laughed, “I feel like we’re ancient witches mixing a potion.”

Parna snorted. Khaami grabbed a bowl.

“Okay,” the lady began, “put a bunch of blueberries into this bowl and smash them.”

Satine giggled like a little girl as she took her hairbrush and smashed the blueberries. 

“We need to make sure this is thick enough,”Parna added, “how do we do that?”

Khaami grinned, “My mother-in-law once thickened strawberry compote with cornstarch and water, I bet that would work as well.”

Satine nodded, “Get some.”

They finished smashing the blueberries as Khaami returned. 

“Let’s strain the liquid from the berries,” Parna suggested, turning to Satine, “I’ll hold the bowl if you hold your hands out.”

And so they did, it was messy and fun, Satine even got to lick the leftover berry juice from her hands.

“How proper, Satine.” Parna teased.

Then Khaami added cornstarch to the mixture and filled the jar a quarter full of water.

“Now,” Khaami smiled wickedly, “we drop some of our berries into the mixture.”

Once their job was done, the women conferred and decided their potion needed to be redder. 

“We could put some of my blood in.” Satine suggested.

Parna frowned.

“It would have to be somewhere hidden by your dress,” Khaami agreed, “perhaps your leg?”

So a small slit was made in the Duchess’ leg and added to the foul solution.

“Tomorrow morning we’ll put some on your sheets,” Parna decided, “and some on the back of your nightgown.”

Satine giggled, “That will be fun.”

After cleaning up, the Duchess took the Duke of Sundari down to the kitchens, where they would taste desserts. Korkie was smiling so bright Satine was beginning to wonder if he already had eaten some chocolate.

“Lady,” the Duke burst, “Lady Aunt?”

“Yes?” Satine took a bite of her macaroon.

“I think I have a girlfriend.”

Satine began to cough. Korkie laughed.

“Remember when those exchange students from Cerea came?”

“She’s Cerean?” Satine asked.

“Yes, she likes to draw and we traded numbers,” Korkie said excitedly, “and we’ve been talking ever since.”

“That was two months ago!”

Korkie looked down, shy, “She just asked me to be her boyfriend.”

“Korkyrach Kryze!”

The Duke flinched at the Duchess’ giddy tone.

“Tell me her name!”

“Kara Adi.”

“Pretty,” Satine remarked, “surname?”

“Mundi.”

The Duchess paused for a moment, that name rang a bell.

Satine gasped, “I know her mother, Shea, she was the Cerean representative on trade many years ago!”

“Yeah,” Korkie nodded, “her mother’s retired now.”

The Duchess could not be more pleased.

“So,” Korkie took a bite of cake, “what’s new in your life, Auntie?”

[emwritesfootball]

Sotto Voce: Chapter Three | John McGinn

Word Count: 1,866 Warnings: masturbation (female), oral sex (female receiving)

- - -

With no way to promote this newfound venture, John isn’t sure it’s going to do well, which is why he’s surprised when he checks the sites a few days later to find that he’s had a few thousand hits. The comments on some of them surprise him, too - people listening seem to love his accent and a few even want more videos along the same theme of punishment.

The days leading up to his next recording are filled with an intense amount of one-sided sexual tension. Things aren’t awkward between the two of them - unless you count the fact that he’s gotten off thinking about her once for his audio - but that doesn’t stop John from constantly questioning her actions or trying to spin something into a fantasy he can use later.

Case in point. It’s their usual weekly movie night and she’s got her legs across his lap. He’s absently tracing patterns on her calves and she doesn’t seem to mind, except when she shifts and adjusts every-so-often. When she does, she lets out little whimpers that are driving him mad with need, and John’s somewhat scared that she’ll move the wrong way and find out he’s got a raging hard-on. Thankfully, it never comes to that, but when he goes to bed that night, he knows exactly what he’s going to be recording tomorrow.

“You’ve been a tease all week,” he starts, opening this week’s fantasy with much more confidence. “Don’t try to play innocent with me, love. I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking. There’s longing and need behind those beautiful eyes.” He chuckles, shaking his head and leaning in on his elbows as he speaks sotto voce into the microphone. “I know you felt it, too.”

“Come here, love,” he murmurs, patting his lap. “Come straddle me. I want you to feel just how hard you make me while I kiss you. Don’t hold anything back - I’ll know.”

John only feels foolish for a moment as he brings his forearm to his mouth. The sensation of his lips on skin, even his own, override his senses as images of his roommate fill his head again. It’s wrong, he knows, but he can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to have her like this, and on some level, these fantasies help quell his lust for her.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” he groans, imagining her eyes fluttering closed as he brushes his thumb over her cheekbones. “Are you gonna let me kiss your neck?”

He waits a beat for the answer, and then he starts kissing his way down his forearm. “Oh, you like that, don’t you?” He says, making sure the microphone picks up the smirk in his voice. “Will you let me mark you, love?” He chuckles, kissing the same spot on his arm a few more times and holding. “Good girl.”

He imagines the shiver that would run down her spine at his praise. John’s seen the way she reacts to certain words and he knows that the phrase would drive her wild.

“Let me slide my hands up your thighs,” he continues, painting the picture with his voice. “Oh, does that turn you on - when I run my fingers over the edge of your shorts, making you buck your hips? Can you feel how hard my dick is for you, love? Does it make your pussy wet?”

John groans into the mic, his eyes involuntarily closing as he pictures her breathy whimper of need as she gasps a short ‘Yes’ against his neck. When he pushes her panties to the side, he imagines finding her wet, chuckling, “Look at you - such a mess! You’re positively dripping for me, love.”

“If I slide two fingers inside of you, will you cum for me?” John asks, visualizing her response. “Fuck,” he groans. “I just felt your pussy clench around my fingers when I brush my palm against your clit. Want me to do it again, don’t you? Needy thing.”

He makes a few more gestures and groans, giving her sufficient time for her orgasm to build. “You gonna cum for me, love? Yeah? Nngh - fuck! - your pussy feels so good squeezing my fingers like that. Keep going - I want every last bit of your orgasm. Thaaat’s a good girl.” He pauses, breathing heavily like he’s actually made his roommate cum. “Let me lick your juices off my hand. Mm, you taste so good… will you let me go down on you later tonight? Stick my tongue in that juicy pussy while you thread your fingers through my hair and ride my face?” John chuckles again. “You’d like that, wouldn't you? Naughty girl.”

He ends the audio session a little after that, going back and editing as needed. Within the last week he’s learned how to add in and layer sounds over each other, so he does just that, making sure that this audio is better than the last.

Luckily for him, he hits ‘Upload’ seconds before his roommate comes home, and he can breathe a sigh of relief that she still doesn’t know what he’s up to.

***

She finds it completely by accident, and she can’t believe she didn’t find it sooner. It’s up on one of her most frequently-visited sites, right at the top under Featured New.

The man’s username is TheScottishLad, and the moment she clicks on his most recent audio, she’s hooked. It doesn’t help that his accent makes her picture John and she has to bite her lip to keep from crying out too loudly. He’s long-since gone to bed and of course she can’t sleep that night, needing relief in the form of an orgasm. Not for the first time, she’s grateful that his room is on the other end of the house as she finds the toy she wants to use and turns it on.

The audio is titled ‘Bathroom Tease’ and it’s the most recent of his fifteen or so uploads. She makes a mental note to bookmark the page after she’s done with her orgasm, but the second she presses ‘Play’, she loses all rational thought.

“You’re teasing again, love.” The man’s voice invades her ears through her headphones and sends a shiver down her spine. “I’m getting ready for work, and you’re teasing again. You think you’re so coy, sitting on the counter in nothing but my shirt and that sexy smile, but you have no idea what I’ve got planned for you.”

The image he conjures up makes her think back to earlier in the week. She’d been doing the exact same thing - sitting on John’s counter as she watched him get ready - except, she knew, this was going to end much differently. This time, she’d actually get to cum instead of leaving his bathroom sexually frustrated.

“Spread your legs, darling - I wanna stand in between them. God, you look so sexy in my shirt. You can’t expect me to keep all this sexual frustration to myself, can you?” He chuckles and she lets out an audible moan. “Naughty girl, though - you’re not wearing panties!” He makes a tsk noise with his tongue and she can practically picture John shaking his head at her as this man asks, “What are we going to do with you?”

“Make me cum,” she whispers to herself, thrusting her toy in and out of her dripping pussy. “Please!”

“Let me run my fingers up your thighs.” She pictures John’s hands as the voice narrates, and it makes her unbearably horny. So far, it’s everything she wanted him to do to her in the bathroom earlier in the week and she needs to know how this ends. “Your little gasp is so sexy, love. Tell me… is that how you’re going to sound when I make you cum?”

“Yes,” she whimpers, biting down on her bottom lip as she arches her back into his invisible touch.

“Lean back on your elbows. I wanna see all of you. Thaaat’s it - good girl.” The way his accent trips over the praise has her head spinning. She’s always wanted John to call her that - even if he’d only mean it platonically - and hearing it said in a Scottish accent (even if it isn’t his) makes her pussy clench around the toy. “My, my - someone’s made a mess. Maybe you should’ve worn panties, but then again, that would take the fun out of what I’m about to do now. Open your mouth; I want you to taste yourself off my fingers.”

She dips her fingers between her legs, whimpering when the pads of her fingertips skim over her clit and she can feel how wet she is. It doesn’t feel weird when she lifts her fingers back up to her mouth, pretending they’re John’s as she swirls her tongue around them. She imagines the look on his face when her eyes connect with his, the brown turning shades darker with lust.

“See how good you taste? That’s why I love going down on you. Kissing-” he pauses, and the sound of lips on skin fill her headphones as he continues, “-my way up your inner thighs before I get to your sweet centre. Can you feel my breath on your clit? Does it excite you? I can see your pussy puckering, desperate to clench around something. Are you desperate for me, love?”

“Yes,” she mumbles, her thoughts barely coherent now. “Yes, so desperate, John. Please!”

“Normally, I’d take my time with you - make you beg - but I don’t wanna be late for work again because I made you edge too many times and gave you that orgasm you were craving. You’ve got a minute to cum, love, and if you don’t, that’s your own fault.”

The sounds of mouth-on-pussy have her reeling. She’s pretty sure the audio murmurs dirty things to her cunt while he continues, but she’s lost in her own little world thinking about John. She imagines her legs wrapped around his shoulders, her elbows shaking as she struggles to hold herself up while he goes down on her.

When he starts to count down, she loses it.

“Five.”

She turns up the vibration on her toy.

“Four.”

She starts to breathe heavily, panting in little whimpers as her orgasm builds.

“Three.”

John’s name is on her lips as she starts to thrust faster.

“Two.”

She cries out, “Oh, God! Please!”

“One. Cum for me, love.”

Her pussy spasms around the toy as his command triggers her orgasm. It’s one of the most intense orgasms she’s had all year, and the man she’s picturing in her head is none other than her friend and roommate. Sure, she’s had fantasies about him, thoughts she’d never acted on, but she’s never actually had an orgasm while his face is on her mind.

There’s a small twinge of something that she feels when she pulls the toy out of her pussy and sets it on her nightstand - she’ll clean it in the morning. Right now, she’s too spent to do much else except turn over and hook her leg around her body pillow as she drifts off into that perfect post-orgasm-satisfaction sleep.

[fonulyn]

I need to scream about RE ID bc like. Did I enjoy it? Yeah, I did. Was it. Just wrapped up way too nicely and quickly? Also yeah. I was a little disappointed by it tho, like the length, and the flashback scenes weren't as clear as I think they should have been? Like I understood what was happening, but it took me a little too much brain power to like keep up with what was and wasn't a flashback lmao

Also I wanna say, I get wanting to keep Jun See alive but god, that did not look fun. Just let him die, dude, no one wants to live like that, smh.

Thank god they kept Leon's one liners tho, like thank you for that at least lol also Claire, my GIRL, I love her holy shit. Honestly she was amazing, like, just perfect. Not sure why she has a gun in the promotional poster, bc she just. Never has a gun throughout the entire show, I don't think? Also can we talk about how she took that guy down with that lamp, and then hopped on top of him just fucking ready to continue to beat the shit out of him? Chris would be so proud 🥲

Okay also, I saw what you said with that flirting scene, and I agree that it seemed like Leon was trying to lighten the mood, but it so didn't need to be put in there at all @ the writers. Like this show could have gotten away with no romance, or just that one moment near the end with Claire and Leon (which, I don't ship them much, and that moment at the v end where she was like "are you ever gonna stop treating me like a kid?" And he responded with "probably not" or whatever kind of ruined whatever was shown earlier? Like it feels like she's had that convo with Chris before too, so I'm like hm no don't imply romance and then imply that he treats her like a little kid every time they run into each other, now it's weird lol) and been fine. None of the story was contingent on any kind of romance between anyone.

Now with that said, can I just say Patrick absolutely wanted to suck Leon's dick? Like he was smitten, and I bet you they at least fuck after all this is said and done, if not date for a short period of time. I thought they were gonna kill Patrick off, I'm glad they didn't tho, he was v wholesome lol.

Also I wanna mention that every serious moment (save a small handful) I just. I couldn't take it seriously, it was too over the top. Acid? Really? That's the self destruct measure? Slowly rising acid? I dunno, that doesn't seem quite right to me, I don't think that's how it works lol

Honestly they should have just made this into a new movie, bc making it a series implies more to follow and in general a longer narrative, but these eps were barely 20 minutes each, so there's almost no point splitting it like that. Did I enjoy myself? Yeah, I always do when Leon is involved, but it could have been so much better.

Also the silly little shipper in me is kind of desperate for more interaction between Chris and Leon, bc as far as I'm aware it's just RE6, RE vendetta, and RE ID (and I think the person who told Chris to save Claire in either code x or Veronica was Leon? Not 100% about that tho lol) where they actually interact with each other, and considering that they're the two main characters of the franchise, they should probably meet up more? Idk, that's just my gay ass hoping for more Chreon content lmao but still.

ANYWAYS yeah, I would rate the show like a 7.5/10? It wasn't amazing but it wasn't garbage, either. Probably my least favorite of the four animated movies tbh, but I will take the Leon content, thank you Capcom. Also it was interesting to see Leon around the time following/around RE4 and RE degeneration, I thought, I dunno.

oh boy I agree 100% it was wrapped up way too quickly in the end. like killing Jason? by just dropping him in the acid? it was way too simple and easy if you ask me. and like, why didn't he yeet Leon into the acid when he had him by the throat? him not killing Leon makes zero sense to me??

asdfg yeah I get they weren't ready to let Jun See go, but I bet Jun See really would've preferred to go...

I am so happy that they kept the one liners!! Leon felt very, very in character which I loved so much. I was afraid they'd tone it down or make him super serious or so, and it was such a relief they didn't. he was so eager to help and so goddamn kind to everyone I don't know if my heart can even handle it ;;;;;

also Claire!! so badass!! I loved the part where she attacked the guy with the lamp (yes Chris would be super proud haha) and THE HEADBUTT seriously, one of the top highlights of the entire series :'D

(but honestly this is gonna get long i'mma gonna hit that read more here)

and the flirting scene, I do think they could've left it out entirely and it felt a little strong-armed in. but I'm trying to look at the silver lining? Leon was super goddamn adorable in it, like, so cute it hurts :'D and Shen May didn't seem bothered really, it was more this joking thing between them. so while yes, it was unnecessary, i'm focusing on the joking feel of it and choosing to interpret it as such :'D

also, can I just say, the "romantic moment" with Claire and Leon near the end didn't feel very romantic to me? I know it's a romcom cliché (or at least a fanfic cliché lmao) how they ended up in a pile after the rescue but ...it didn't scream romance to me? although I do kind of like the pairing! (not a top fave but a cute one)

and yes, the whole "when are you gonna stop treating me like a kid?" "probably never" felt SO much like a sibling moment!! such big brother energy from Leon, and I don't know, that made me super duper happy?? I want them to be friends. I neeeed them to be friends gdi. which is why I am unhappy with how mad Claire seemed to be at Leon in the end and how they left it off like they did. I am hoping that it sets things up for a second season? and they for whatever reason need them on kind of the opposing sides at first? because otherwise it makes no sense to me for her to be that disappointed in him. in Degeneration they already establish they work in different ways towards the same goal, and for that to do a 180 now feels... like a disservice to the characters? idk?

lmaooooo but yes Patrick 100% wanted to suck Leon's dick he didn't even try to be subtle about it :'D idk I would've wanted Patrick to have more depth and screentime too, i so wish they would've made it a longer series and given the characters more development. because I liked pretty much all of the new characters they introduced! but it feels none of them reached their actual potential!

then again that is kind of the whole deal with resident evil in general, they set up awesome characters and end up wasting them half of the time :'D guess i shouldn't be surprised.

THE SLOWLY RISING ACID PISSED ME OFF lmaooo c'mon!! it doesn't seem like a good self destruct measure. especially since ...you'd need different acid to dissolve organic matter and to dissolve inorganic matter if we're being nitpicky. and how would it be plausible for them to store enough of it safely to even do this?? they should've just detonated the whole place and blown it to smithereens or something, the acid was. stupid.

i agree, it feels like a movie. but I think @tirsynni is probably right when saying that it was sort of a test run to see if they should make more? which I am so hoping for. because even with the complaints I have of this, I DID enjoy it, a lot!! and I do want more! and maybe this time we get Claire and Leon actually working together for more than fifteen seconds! :'D

also I definitely would not say no to more Chris and Leon interactions. (yes it was Leon who told Chris to save Claire :) at least that) it... in general makes no sense to me how capcom seems to think friendships work? like how Sherry is all "Leon and Claire are my best friends" and then they imply they haven't met in years? if not more? idek it's. weird. it's like their characters go into storage containers in between their missions to be stored away so they can't even accidentally have personal lives or friendships or anything. weird.

(what I said about having amazing characters and ending up wasting their potential? yeah)

for me, personally, it's... well, my score for the show would depend on whether I just focus on the characterizations and what I liked, or if I try to actually take the plot and all into account too :'D but I did like this more than Degeneration! already the fact that Leon has actual facial expressions is enough to put it way above that one. (and for the record, I don't hate Degeneration either, I do like it, but... Leon is such a cardboard cutout with zero personality in it, it's super frustrating)

idk I think I need to still process this a bit to see how I will like it in the end :'D there are things i'm super hyped about in it, and things i'm disappointed in, let's see how they'll weigh in the overall experience eventually.

[ncisladaily]

Life started to fall apart for Kensi (Daniela Ruah) and Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) last month on the Season 12 premiere of NCIS: Los Angeles when Deeks was informed that his services as an LAPD liaison to NCIS were no longer needed. And to make matters worse, he can’t return to the LAPD because of cutbacks, his job there was also eliminated.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time because the couple were discussing buying a house and starting a family.

“Last season, Kensi was concerned about getting pregnant,” Ruah tells Parade.com. “The biggest disagreement between Deeks and Kensi was the fact that he was ready to settle down and have children and she just wasn’t ready to do that because she didn’t know who she was without this job. And now the table’s turned a little bit, now he’s the one who’s very concerned about the logistics, which makes total sense.”

The fact that they have each seem to have done a 180 makes for an interesting storyline. And viewers can’t find fault with either of them because both of them are completely justified in how they feel about the situation.

“Deeks is very concerned about the logistics, about having only one income, and we’re about to buy a house and we want to get pregnant,” Ruah continues. “And we can’t afford to do any of this right now. She has become the glass is half full partner in the relationship. ‘We’re going to make it work. We can do this. We can do this because together we can do anything,’ which is incredibly romantic because she loves him so much. It’s like, ‘We’re going to make our life work the way we want it to work no matter what, we just have to figure it out.’”

To compound matters even more, Deeks also finds out that the ship has sailed when it comes to attending FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) and becoming a full-fledged NCIS agent, because he is too old. And Hetty (Linda Hunt), who can normally solve all difficulties of this sort, has tried and failed.

“That seems to be a FLETC thing,” Ruah explains. “It’s like, ‘Well, actually, they don’t take people above a certain age.’ It’s an academy where kids go to learn. So, that’s definitely a big obstacle that these two are going to have to overcome.”

Whether the two will catch a break remains to be seen–although Ruah does hint at a possible positive resolution down the line. Even so, in the present, Kensi has lost her partner of 11 years and is functioning on her own. It will work out to her advantage in this Sunday night’s “Raising the Dead” episode, when she is recalled to an old case.

In order to get intel on a matter of national security, Kensi must come face-to-face with David Kessler (Frank Military), a sociopath who has been obsessed with her since she put him in jail years ago. And like Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs, Kensi has to stand outside his glass cage and try to get information out of him as he taunts her.

Like Hannibal Lecter, David Kessler picks up on clues and vibes and he can tell that Kensi has gotten married and he senses there is an issue when it comes to starting a family.

“There is definitely a crack in her armor when he talks about her inability to have babies,” Ruah says. “There’s definitely a viciousness in her in that moment. But, of course, you have the guy behind the glass who is incredibly dangerous and he’s attempting to manipulate and get information by prodding and stabbing away. It’s hard not to equate it to that, but I don’t think it’s exactly the same as Silence of the Lambs.”

The last few seasons, there seems to have been at least one Kensi-centric episode and each time we get one, we find out something new about her. Are you still learning things about her, too?

Yeah. For one, I learned during the episode that her capturing of David Kessler was what got Hetty’s attention and what brought Kensi into this team, the Office of Special Projects. I didn’t know that.

But we don’t necessarily delve into her history. We know about her father and we know about the ex-fiancé who suffered PTSD and left her on Christmas. We’ve found out a lot about this girl. Let’s face it. She has a pretty traumatic past. She lived on the streets as a young girl, ran away from home, didn’t have much of a relationship with her mom. So, she has a pretty phenomenal background that has shaped her and given her this incredible amount of resilience and strength.

She’s like a Phoenix. This girl just keeps coming back from the ashes, no matter what the trauma, whether it was being kidnapped by the Taliban in Season 5 in Afghanistan, or getting caught under a helicopter when flying back from Syria in Season 8 and then having to fight through having half her body being paralyzed.

The show has a different feel this season. Hetty is out again, Nell is subbing for her, Beale is off somewhere. We have two new characters, Fatima and Roundtree. Does it bring a new energy to the show?

Definitely, and then, of course, we can’t forget that there’s a pandemic that we’re also working around. On the show we’ve chosen to make this sort of a post-pandemic setting, or some parallel world where it hasn’t happened, and so we have to take a lot of precautions to be able to not have our masks on.

So, that means less people in a scene to avoid too much contact, a few more phone calls as a result, and you have to adapt the directing to stuff like that. If you just have two sitting ducks at desks talking on the phone, that’s not interesting no matter what they’re talking about. So, you have to create movement within those scenes where there’s only a few people at a time. You don’t get the whole cast in the ops center anymore.

Even the cast is in pods each episode. So, we’ll seldom interact with everybody, or never interact with everybody, in one episode. But after 12 years, you have to have fresh blood. You have to have a fresh energy. You have to have a new input. Not because the audience is tired of us or anything like that, but, I think, it makes it more interesting. And now you have two new characters to fall in love with and get to get to know.

And new story possibilities?

New story possibilities, new connections, new relationships. I love those two. Fatima [Medalion Rahimi] and Roundtree [Caleb Castille] have been incredibly rich additions to this show. I think the more we get to know them as characters, the more interesting this is going to become. I have had the title of junior agent for the longest time and I think I still do, which is weird. I feel like I should’ve been promoted by now. But Kensi was the green one learning from Callen [Chris O’Donnell] and Sam [LL Cool J], and now she’s experienced.

In real life, becoming a mom, and having a real life to manage, especially now with homeschooling and learning my lines, and there’s no break from anything now, which is fine because I love hanging out with my kids. But it brings something else to you. And now to be the big sister to someone else, or the mama bear to someone else as characters, I like that transition. I don’t want to be the junior agent forever. I want to evolve into someone who’s now guiding someone else.

But Kensi doesn’t want Hetty’s job?

No, I don’t think Kensi’s cut out for Hetty’s job. I think the fact that they’ve placed Nell in that position is pretty brilliant, because we know that Nell is an incredible field agent. The times that we’ve seen her in the field, she’s more than capable. She’s incredibly intelligent, so is Kensi, but listen, different people are cut out for different things, and I don’t think that Kensi is cut out for the Hetty position.

I heard when Beale returns, he’s going to have a different job. Can you elaborate on that?

So, if you remember last season, Beale was developing this technology for a company in San Francisco, and the company went bust. But the technology that he was developing is his, and so he’s continued to develop it. And now Mr. Beale has become a multi-million-dollar tech guy, who rolls in in new clothes on one of those electric monocycles, sporting a mustache. The man has come a long way. We don’t have the polar bear pajama bottoms anymore. I think that Mr. Beale probably has Chanel pajama bottoms now.

Here’s a frivolous question: are you keeping the shorter hair or are you growing it back out?

Definitely growing it back out. I like it short, but I’m growing it back out. Maybe once it gets to a certain length, I’ll cut it off and donate it again. That’s why I cut it off. It has to be at least 10 inches and it can’t be bleached.

[givemestories-givemelife]

Blueberries, Lavender & Hot Matcha Tea 

A SasuHina Oneshot.

Part 1 / Part 2

AN: Why? Because someone @muzikaldove  asked and I obliged . It came to me relatively easy in all it’s tropey goodness. I think you can tell how much ao3 I’ve been reading lately from this. My apologies over the fact I have no idea how to properly use a comma.

Summary: Sasuke has a run in with a certain blue haired girl and he’s confused.

                                       ------------------------

Blueberries

Sasuke glares at a punnet of blueberries, a memory of wide lavender eyes flashing in his mind. He pinches the bridge of his nose and grits his teeth. Fuck. Things like this weren’t suppose to happen to him. He forces himself to take in a slow calming breath and attempts to sigh out all his current frustrations.

He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about that damn blue haired girl and her stupid embarrassed blush and the way she just couldn’t make direct eye contact with him, and how for some fucking reason that made his heart twist in some weird foreign way.

Because he wanted her to look at him.

He really wanted her to look at him.

Sasuke wasn’t used to the desire of wanting attention from women.

In fact Sasuke was used to women throwing themselves at him since that appeared to be the only way to receive any sort of regard from the aloof Uchiha. Sasuke didn’t have time to engage in such frivolous affairs and was mildly thankful he didn’t have to put in much effort.

But there he was for the first time ever, looking at a woman and instead of thinking the word ‘annoying’ he thought of the word ‘cute’ and that in it’s self should’ve been an indication of hell freezing over because Sasuke is Sasuke and he definitely doesn’t fucking think about anything as cute. Especially not short blue haired women with shy dispositions who spill burning hot tea all over him and his expensive new suit when he’s already late for an important business meeting.

But that’s exactly what happened.

He was uncharacteristically running ten minutes behind schedule when he noticed his favourite coffee shop was obnoxiously overrun because of course it’s a goddamned Wednesday and they have that dumb promotion for half priced iced latte's. So he scoffed at the betrayal and hoped to find a less busy cafe on the way.

And once he crossed the threshold of some hole in the wall bistro he’d never before noticed called ‘Heaven’s little corner’ he looked up at the bell that rang when the glass door hit it and smacked into something oddly soft then suddenly felt pain-

Searing pain, wet and hot, burning his chest and trickling down his legs. Sasuke clenched his eyes shut cringing violently and hissed at the sensation, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“O-oh my god,” a sweet little voice squeaked and Sasuke snapped his eyes open to glare at the retreating form of blue hair, “no no no no no no no.” The quiet offender muttered to herself grabbing all the napkins she could muster from their dispenser and turning back to look at the soaked fabric covering his chest like a devastating problem she needed to solve and quick. Rushing towards him she started wiping at the creamy green liquid that smelled like matcha with quivering fingers. “I am s-so sorry so so so so s-sorry.” She said with reverence. “A-are you okay?”

Sasuke froze watching dainty hands meticulously rub huge bunches of paper napkins against him, slowly starting to feel his ire ebb when he took in the strange girls appearance. She had long soft looking blue hair, a milky ivory complexion, an increasing redness to her cheeks and pink chapped lips pulled in a gentle pout... And that damned troublesome word popped into his mind before he could stop it.

Cute.

Sasuke’s eyebrows shot up at the intrusive thought and snapped, “stop,”  grabbing her wrists and something twisted in his gut seeing her wince at his grip so he lessened the pressure of his grasp into something resembling gentleness and pushed her hands back as if returning them. “Before you embarrass yourself even more.”

Eloquent eyes pinched with mortification shooting to the ground, he realised that she actually looked like she was about to cry.

Which really should have pissed him off.

But for some reason he couldn’t fathom, it didn’t.

He let go of her wrists like he’d been burned a second time, raising his hands in  surrender, “ it’s fine, I’m fine,” and scoffed. “Are you... okay?” He scowled at the stupid question, she’s the one clearly in the wrong but for some reason he couldn’t ignore her current distress.

She buried her face into her hands. “Y-yes. I mean, of course I am.” She said throwing the napkins in the trash.  “Sorry. I-I have to go.” And she booked it out the door not even sparing him glance.

Sasuke had to resist the urge to run after her and demand she tell him her name which was a rather concerning sentiment.

And it dawned on him that she never once looked him in the eyes throughout their entire interaction.

Sasuke changes his mind.

She is definitely annoying.

Annoyingly cute.

Fuck.

This isn’t good.

And it doesn’t make any sense! The exchange lasted less than two minutes and there was literally nothing special about this girl but for some reason he couldn’t get her out of his mind and It’s starting to be a fucking problem.

“Why is Sasuke looking at the blueberries like they’ve personally offended him.” Shikamaru drawls, hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his ripped denim jeans reminding Sasuke that he is in fact not alone on this grocery run.

It’s 7 pm on a Friday night and he and Naruto always have people over at their flat for drinks to blow off steam and bitch about the work week. Usually Sasuke would get snacks on his own but Shikamaru showed up early and Naruto asked if he wanted to go on an adventure like it was the most exciting thing and now here they are in the organic fruit section of their local super market.

“Oh, Sasuke’s pining.” Naruto says casually and Sasuke wants to punch him in the throat. Sasuke doesn’t pine, he only casually mentioned the interaction with the weird girl in passing this morning and Naruto hadn’t stopped teasing him since.

“Explain.” Shikamaru inquires with a lazy smirk.

“Sasuke’s pining,” he repeats, picking up a fat orange, throwing it up in the air and catching it, “I know he is because he mentioned some girl who spilled tea on him and he has never brought up an interaction he’s had with a girl with me. Like. Ever.” Well... Hn, Sasuke hadn’t thought about it like that.

“No way.”

“Which obviously means he’s found the one.”

“What else he say about her?”

“Not much, but he’s been doin’ a lot of glaring at a whole lot of nothing. I’m starting to think he’s actually daydreaming.”

“Would you two shut up.” Sasuke grits indignantly, prompting Shikamaru to slap an antagonising hand on his shoulder.

“So what’s it going to be Sasuke; blueberries or no blueberries?”

Naruto slaps a hand on his other shoulder. “That seems to be the question.”

Sasuke frowns and grabs the damn blueberries, throws them in the basket swivelling out of their grip towards the checkout line, attempting to remain indifferent towards the fuckers. He grabs a few bags of chips on the way.

“Did I mention that said mystery girl has blue hair.” Naruto stage whispers and Sasuke scowls when he hears Shikamaru snicker.

~ ~

Twenty minutes later they’re making the short walk back to their apartment after picking up booze, “so do we know who’s coming tonight?” Sasuke asks.

“The usual; Kiba, Choji... Uh... Ino and Sakura.” Naruto kicks a stray rock on the pavement as they pass a streetlight. “Oh yeah! Sakura said she asked some girl from her photography class if she wanted to come, what was her name?”  

“Hinata, I think.” Shikamaru adds.

“So that should be cool, we never have new people over.”

“Hn.”

“I just hope she’s cute.”

Sasuke hoped she wasn’t.

                                      ------------------------------------

AN2: DUN DUN DUNNNNNN Is that a cliffhanger there? Well huh. I guess that means there’s gonna be more? Really I promise you I wanted to write the whole thing and post it as a longer-shot (Is that a term?) But I also just wanna start writing things and getting it out there so it doesn’t get trapped in my drafts. And It kinda works as a one shot... So hey... Maybe bug me for more? CHAPTER 2 is up.

[purplellamanator]

I saw your prompts and I actually liked them a lot and it was hard to choose one, but can you write the soulmate au for Heizuha? The color one? I love your writing and I’m a writer as well and I aspire to be like you one day 💗💗

A/N~ So sorry this took so long! It's pretty long for a drabble because I still have no self control. Since it has been so long, I hope you are able to see or are interested in this still and are able to read it! Hope you enjoy and thank you for the request as well as your very kind words! Also please ignore all my mistakes -_-  I’m sorry if this seems a bit messy towards the end <3

Color~ Only once you meet your soulmate can you see colors. Until then, your vision is grey

oOo

Admittedly, Hattori could be a bit dense. Especially when it came to the emotions of girls that apparently had a 'thing' for him. He'd almost argue it was because he simply didn't care about that aspect of his life. And something he'd be less vocal about- if it wasn't the attention from a certain person then he didn't want it anyway.

But this-! This was not his fault. No one had told him. There was really no way he could've just known this.

That he had known his soulmate the entire time.

Just thinking about the stupidity of it all had him placing an embarrassed hand to cover his face.

Because finally seeing the world in color was the sign. And seeing as meeting Kazuha was his earliest memory, he had completely missed it. He had no recollection of a moment in his life without color. He didn't even know it was a thing until junior high.

And now that he was thinking about it, people had tried to tell him before then. On the playground and his friends were making guesses about how bright the sakura blossoms really were.

Heiji had thought they were stupid; playing dense. "Are you blind? They're pink."

The moment the comment had left him though, his friends looked at him as if he were crazy before rolling their eyes and saying they knew he was lying. That they knew the flower looked the same bland and boring gray hue they could see.

It frustrated him because they didn't believe him and on top of that, they were acting like he was the crazy one. If they really couldn't see it was pink then they needed their eyes checked!

"That!" Heiji pointed sharply at the tree above them. "What color are those blossoms?"

He had dragged Kazuha all the way over to the park just to check if maybe it was him that was the insane one. Kazuha wouldn't lie to him after all. And though he was embarrassed to say it around his other boy friends, she was his best friend.

With her hair in a short ponytail, she tilted her head slightly in confusion as she looked where he was directing her. "Pink. . ?" She had answered slowly as if she was being tested and she wasn't sure if she was giving a correct response.

"I knew it!" Heiji jumped with his small, five year old hands clenched in a fist. And when he saw his other friend was confused he explained the previous incident with his other friends.

Like it had made him want to do then, the small girl laughed. "It sounds like they need their eyes checked," she giggled and he laughed in agreement.

Now eight years later, Heiji wanted to punch himself. It had been him that needed his eyes checked. Something was wrong with them- well not wrong . . . but different. They were the weird ones.

In junior high and sitting through that class. Heiji wanted to scream. Because by this point, Kazuha had moved. It had actually happened shortly after the sakura blossom incident. Her father had gotten a promotion and had moved the family to Kyoto. And now he was stuck sitting in this family life class all alone and getting hit with the realization that he met his soulmate- no, that he even had a soulmate. As if having to sit through a class detailing the birds and bees wasn't already bad enough.

Heiji couldn't believe it. And full of rage and frustration, he exploded on his mother the moment he walked through the front door. Because she knew. There was no way his parents hadn't known. They had to teach him what he was seeing after all. They knew what seeing the world in color meant. And they hadn't told him.

He felt like a fool.

"You two were too young to understand at the time," his mother spoke casually as she continued preparing their dinner. "Her parents as well as your father and I agreed it was best to wait for you guys to learn."

Her tone had the same calm bearing quality. In his annoyance though it was sounding uncaring. It was like she was shrugging him off. It was making him mad. But one thing just became glaringly obvious.

"Her parents knew and they still moved?"

"Heiji," his mother sighed giving the only sign she was getting irritated. "Yes, both her parents knew but again- we agreed. It was best for you two to learn about it the proper way like everybody else."

Which was fine. If he would've met his soulmate the proper way. It was practically unheard of to meet one's soulmate so early. An exception should've been made for people like them.

Shizuka could probably see that he was not happy with any of the excuses she gave. It was clear she had been hoping he'd be satisfied with those responses but that clearly was not the case. When Heiji continued to fix her with a pissed off glare, she finally put her spatula down and faced her son.

"When we all found out, us parents got together to discuss over a dinner. We agreed- all of us, that it would be best for you two to be separated. We were worried you would depend on each other too much. Having another half; just knowing about it is heavy. You two were too young," his mother reiterated that firmly and Heiji hated that he thought it, but he was actually understanding.

Sitting in that classroom not even five hours ago and for the first time learning about all of that- it was a lot. It was heavy. It felt like he had a weight on his chest and his head was about to explode. The only problem was he couldn't tell if that was because he just found out he had a soulmate or the fact he already knew who his soulmate was. Not to mention the inexplicable frustration he felt.

Heiji wouldn't lie and say he completely forgot about Kazuha. He hadn't forgotten about her at all. In fact, he had taken it pretty hard when she first told him that she'd be moving to Tokyo. He could remember trying to put on a brave face when his family went to their house to say their farewells. At the time and even now, he never thought anything of it. That his parents brought him to say goodbye. Did he think it was unusual for his stern father that did nothing but work to take off just so they could do that? Yes, but in his young childish mind, they were very close to the Toyama's. Both his and Kazuha's father worked closely together and since their children had been linked at the hip as well, Heiji didn't think anything of it.

Kazuha had been the opposite of course. She hadn't bothered to conceal her tears, which unknowingly to her, made it harder for his 5 year old self to do the same. She surprised him though. She had given him a gift- a charm. At first seeing it dangle from her clenched fist messily, he felt extremely guilty. He hadn't brought her a thing. But she gave him a bright, watery grin and a few sniffles to stop her tears.

"Don't worry about it! I had it for awhile and look!" After practically shoving the charm into his chest, she quickly pulled on something that was wrapped loosely around her neck. "I have one too!" she smiled cheekily.

Sure enough, a charm that was only slightly different in color hung from her two fingers pinched together.

After that scene, it was honestly embarrassing how long he continued to where that charm. When he was just about to reach junior high and one of his old classmates that had remembered Kazuha saw he still wore it, he had gotten the teasing of a lifetime. He had stopped wearing it the very next day.

And coincidentally, he was hit with a bout of horrendous luck. The incidents all ranged from something as small as waking up late for class to failing terribly on a test. That week also marked the worst he had ever done in his kendo matches. Finally when he had been walking home after a rainy day and a car sped by him, successfully drenching him from head to toe in the puddle they just drove through- Heiji had enough. He continued to wear the charm even as he slept and no amount of taunts from his friends would have him taking it off.

Honestly, it was weird how he was able to disconnect the fact that the charm had been given to him. How easy it was for him to not think about Kazuha even though technically he wore of part of her with him everyday. It just felt natural to wear the charm now. He didn't feel right without it and in most incidents would actually refuse to take it off.

Other than the charm, she was like a random memory that would float in at the oddest moments. Those moments usually being when he was laying in his bed waiting for sleep. Admittedly, the amount of time he'd spend staring at that charm at night being reminded of her- that she had given him this, was honestly more than what was considered healthy he was willing to bet. It was like his body and his mind were reminding him constantly not to forget where it came from.

And now he knew the reason why.

It took him a while to cool down after that. It wouldn't change anything. What's happened has happened. In all honesty he was mostly irritated that he was basically lied to for more than half his life. But in the end, he also understood why they did it and if possible, that made him even angrier.

Over time though, he got over it. Or more like he learned how to deal with it. After it was in the air and both him and Kazuha had been made aware of who they were to each other, they were allowed to exchange letters from that point.

The letters felt weird at first. Kazuha used to be his best friend. But the years of separation- it just wasn't the same. They didn't know each other really anymore. It was weird and clearly they didn't really know what to talk about with each other. The obvious topic would've been that they were bonded, but it was clear neither was comfortable or brave enough to start that conversation at first.

Over time and as the years passed by, it became glaringly obvious that they would have to though. They were both in high school now and with that came the obvious flaw in their logic. They could avoid it in these letters but sooner or later, they would hit a point where they'd have to acknowledge it. The two were soulmates and though they hadn't seen each other in person for a very long time, that would eventually have to change. The reality hadn't slapped him in the face till her next letter.

‘I have news (hopefully that is good). Dad just got reinstated in his old position working with your father so I'll be moving back to Osaka by next year. I don't know if you can remember it, but we'll be moving back to our old house again as well. Turns out dad never sold it and we've just been renting it out.’

Heiji wasn't stupid. He knew what that meant.The Toyama's had always planned to move back just like his father always planned to 'reinstate' Kazuha's dad into his old position. It was a temporary move that was done only to give them space.

But all he felt like it had done was make it so they'd have to have an extremely painful and awkward 'first meeting'. None of this 'sudden move' was a surprise but it admittedly was like a gut punch. He was not prepared at all. They didn't know what each other sounded like. What they looked like-!

What they looked like?!

It was embarrassing and quite ridiculous of him, but that one thought threw him into a panic. She had no idea what he looked like now. Obviously she had seen him as a child and he would look somewhat similar to that but. . . he aged. He hit puberty! And though he always thought it had been somewhat kind to him- as kind as that stage of anyone's life could be- believe it or not he also had his fair share of insecurities. Like his dark skin. Though it was something his friends liked to tease him about, it wasn't something that actually bothered him. He honestly didn't really care about it. He didn't have anyone he cared to impress.

Until now. Now he had someone to impress and the anxiety he was pretty sure he never had until this whole soulmate thing, hit the roof.

It was so dumb and immediately something he regretted doing after dropping his mail in the post box. To send a letter accompanied by a picture of him. Granted it wasn't just him in the photo. It was a picture of him with his parents that his mother had somehow forced him into being in. But he knew, he was well aware that Kazuha would know, that the intention of sending the picture was so she would see him.

He wasn't that much of a compulsive dork that he just randomly sent it without some sort of explanation- even if it were technically a lie. In the letter he mentioned that his mother wanted him to send their annually taken family photo. In reality however he sent it because he didn't want her to be disappointed. He wanted Kazuha to know exactly what was awaiting her once she returned. He didn't want there to be any surprises and if she had a problem with how he looked, for her to say it now.

What he had not been expecting was a photo in return.

‘I guess it's only fair that I have to send one as well’, had been her excuse for including it. That and on his photo, she said not a word about how he looked. She commented that his mother still looked as young and beautiful as she could remember and joked that his father still bore such a stern and serious exterior in a holiday photo. But she didn't say anything about him. There was no disgust or ridicule in her letter. Granted that also meant there was no praise but she didn't sound disappointed in her letter and surely she would've if she didn't like what she saw. . . right?

Her family however looked as he had remembered it. They appeared slightly more aged and it looked like her mother had cut her hair much shorter. But all in all they looked the same as he remembered. Not even Kazuha looked all that different. She had the blue eyes- which he could've sworn were teal but still close to the same. Her bangs were parted the exact same way as well as it was pulled up in one of those ribbons he could always remember her wearing. The only thing that was different was that she very obviously was not five years old anymore.

Blushing with a small frown at his thoughts, he couldn't help but think puberty must've been kind to her as well.

oOo

The picture she had gifted him had been a surprise but apparently a welcome one. He had been so focused and preoccupied on what she'd think of him that he hadn't stopped to wonder what she looked like now herself. It was safe to say if she was as worried like he had been, she had nothing to stress about because he was not disappointed. And though he wouldn't lie about it if she asked, he kept the picture of her on him at all times. Of course it was after he cut her parents out of it- which he felt guilty about doing. But carrying a picture of his . . . in-laws? . . . around would just be weird.

He was a real idiot though because no picture would've ever prepared him for seeing her again. The photo didn't do his soulmate justice and he would eternally be grateful for the fact that they happened to run into each other on accident and not in the company of their parents as had been planned. Because the moment they met eyes everything just burst. Color exploded around them but not into anything he hadn't ever seen before. Only something he had forgotten.

Her eyes were teal. He hadn't been mistaken. The color from his vision had been fading- dulling. Now taking in everything around him, he saw the world with a new vibrancy he had unknowingly lost. He saw the world as it really was.

And then after that, he couldn't logically explain what happened. They were both still staring at each other in shock but after taking a moment to look at his surroundings, his hurriedly turned back to her. Only for him to freeze in shock once more. Because he wasn't staring at the Kazuha from the picture. He was staring at the Kazuha he had met twelve years ago.

At first he had to wonder if he was going crazy- if he had lost his mind. The only thing that calmed him down and reassured him that this was normal was that Kazuha seemed as startled as he was. She was seeing it too.

That and-

‘The eyes are the gateway to the soul’, his mother had always told him.

A childlike giggle erupted out of the five year old Kazuha. "You're the same old ahou I remember," she sniffled and for the first time Heiji realized that she was crying.

He didn't like that and stepping forward slowly, he gripped her at her upper-arms, holding her back slightly as if to make sure she were real. To make sure she was really there. The moment he touched her arms however, everything changed again. He was back to staring at the now in high school Kazuha and his eyes blinked rapidly to refocus with the change. And he couldn't tell if she jumped from the sudden feel of his hands gripping her or the fact their vision once again changed as if flipping a slide on a projector, but he knew they were both experiencing the same thing.

They both saw each other as they had looked the first time they met. Something he thought he had long forgotten and could not pull from the deepest recesses of his mind.

The eyes are the gateway to the soul, he reminded himself.

oOo

Things were strange after that. He had wanted to hide the fact from his parents that he had already run into Kazuha again, but it became obvious that would be impossible when he wouldn't stop just looking at everything in awe. His mother had picked up on it right away but he couldn't help it. Though they had departed ways again briefly after that, the vibrancy of everything did not fade and he realized that must've only happened slowly over time from their extended distance to each other. He couldn't even be bothered by the fact that his mother was trying to tease and prod him. It was like he was seeing the world all over with a fresh, new pair of eyes. It took him quite awhile to get over this new reality.

Finally his mother demanded to know what had happened. When he still refused to open his mouth, she gave him one of her calm and at ease smiles. A smile that made him feel the complete opposite.

"I guess that's alright anyway. I'm sure Kazuha-chan would explain it much better over dinner."

There weren't a lot of people that could actually scare him. Even his father's intimidating demeanor had wore off on him. Something he was sure he'd never get over however, was how manipulative his mother could be. He had already been aware that the Toyama's would be joining them for dinner. He was also aware that his mother just threatened to have Kazuha expose the both of them over their family dinner.

With a heaving sigh and a mumbled, "Hag," under his breath, he gave an extremely brief rundown of what had happened between him and Kazuha earlier that day. Of course he left out the part of how suddenly Kazuha turned twelve years younger and how he was also not disappointed with her in the looks department. He did explain however that his colors had unknowingly been fading over time and suddenly things were so bright it almost hurt.

Sadly, the fact that he finally broke down and told her that did not make the dinner any less awkward. Both of their father's seemed content to discuss nothing but work but their mother's had apparently been adamant they would be talking about the fact their children were bonded. That and the witch still somehow managed to get Kazuha to go over her account of the previous evening. All he could do was sit and glare the entire time at his scheming mother whom likely had no intention of holding up her end of the deal.

Kazuha explained everything almost exactly as he had. It seemed that they had both silently agreed that it was not necessary to describe how they were both taken back to the first day they met. It made Heiji smile inside. He liked that that would just be for them.

Overall and besides the fact his mother lied to him, dinner had gone well. Heiji had been worried at first that things would only continue to be uncomfortable between them. They were soulmates but they hadn't known that and had gone years without even talking to each other in person. They had their letters but that still wasn't the same either.

But that dinner had made one thing clear. It seemed the only time either of them had the nerve to acknowledge the other as what they were- soulmates, was in front of their parents. Out in public or even alone, they held what was seen as a normal distance between each other. They could've been mistaken for just friends honestly. Truth be told, he wondered sometimes if that was how Kazuha saw him. A glorified best friend.

It was a little frustrating to him. At first he began to think it was partially his fault for her treating him like that. He hadn't made any efforts to take her on dates. He didn't invite her out to do 'overly couplely' things. That's when Heiji thought it had become clear for him. Sure, on their break he made sure to see her practically everyday. But maybe how they were spending their time wasn't enough. Maybe she needed more and didn't want to ask him for it.

Her family had moved during the break for school. The coming semester she would be enrolled in the same high school as him. She hadn't asked him to but he made it his mission to drive her to school with him every morning.

It was pretty rare to meet your soulmate while still in school. Even more so if you went to the same school. But it was practically unheard of to meet your soulmate at five. Again, at the time he hadn't realized just who Kazuha was to him nor had he or his classmates had any idea that soulmates were even out there. Sadly however, that had not stopped his classmates from making fun of him. Of course at such a young age, he had denied any and all accusations.

In high school now and facing the same taunts however, he realized that it was almost just as embarrassing. Maybe even more so because now it was actually true. Heiji never felt the need to admit that though and when Kazuha always remained silent at his side, he assumed she felt the same. That he wasn't ashamed to have a soulmate this early. He wasn't even disappointed. It was just simply not anybody else's business.

That's what he thought she had felt. But after how distant she still seemed to be, he stopped staying quiet. Most of the time it was his friends doing the taunts anyway so it was likely about time he got them to shut up.

He hadn't meant to embarrass her. He thought he had been doing the right thing- that he had been doing what she wanted. Apparently declaring to the whole school courtyard that Kazuha was his soulmate and if anybody had a problem with that they could answer to his fist, was just as humiliating as ignoring the taunts. Heiji hadn't meant to yell either. He to an extent had also gotten sick of the constant teasing from his friends and it wasn't his fault that his voice . . . carried a little. . .

Kazuha didn't seem to think so however and it was like all of her blood rushed to her face. Her mouth dropped open a few times silently as if she didn't even know what to say. She probably didn't but it was only once her eyes flickered around them that he realized practically the whole courtyard had gone silent and was staring at them.

That was the first time since Kazuha had moved back that she had actually yelled at him. So startled by her actually raising her voice at him, he barely caught anything she was saying to him. He was sure he heard a few 'ahou's and somewhere in there he caught that he was more mortifying than their parents. A little scared of her explosive temper he just stayed quiet and took it, thankful that his mom hadn't been there because she surely would've laughed at him.

When she was done though, she turned around and simply left. Now he was the one at a loss for words because all he could do was stare at where she had made her exit. He still could not believe someone had yelled at him like that.

"Well, you guys sure have bantering like a married couple down."

"Shut up!"

oOo

Kazuha didn't talk to him at all after that. It seemed like she wanted space but Heiji also had the sinking feeling that he should apologize. Which at first irritated him. Why should he apologize? He only told the truth. And to top it off he thought he had done what she would want him to do. In a way he thought he had been defending her because they hadn't just been teasing him alone after all. He shouldn't have to apologize!

Of course none of those thoughts changed the fact that he was going to anyway. The guilt was already eating away at him and if saying he was sorry was what got her to finally talk to him again, he would suck up his pride and do it.

Which all of that was easier said than done. It was quite sad but Heiji was quickly coming to the conclusion that he never really had to apologize for something before. It wasn't something that he actively refused to do. It was more of he never actually felt like he needed to. It was probably not a good thing that he could count on one hand how many times he had apologized. It worried him that he wouldn't seem sincere to her.

Apparently that wouldn't be his biggest problem. He wasn't counting on his soulmate being even more stubborn than he was. It was like she didn't want to give him the chance to say sorry. That or she just wanted to make him squirm more. They never had a chance alone. They usually walked home together but the past few days she always had something to do. Today she said she needed to stay after class.

Two could play at that game however. If she thought she was stubborn, she obviously still didn't know him well enough yet either. He waited for her.

The sun had already begun to set but Heiji refused to move. He had the idea to just wait at her house but he had a feeling that would do more harm than good. When he caught her expression when she realized that he had actually waited for her, he still felt like this maybe wasn't a good idea either.

"What took you so long?"

Her expression had been neutral up until that point. Now it was thunderous.

"Sorry to inconvenience you. I didn't exactly ask you to wait." 

Her tone was dismissive. 

Heiji scowled. "You haven't asked me to do anything. You haven't been talking to me," he accused. Briefly he had the reminder that it was him that should be apologizing yet he was already throwing around accusations.

"Oh, I haven't?" she asked with feigned nonchalance.

Her response had him forcing himself to take a breath. Remember why you came out here, he told himself adamantly. She's trying to distract you to hold onto her grudge. Remember why you're out here.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out but with how frustrated he was, he sounded more angry than apologetic. 

His apology, whether it sounded mean or not, had her eyes widening slightly and her mouth falling open. "H-huh?"

That couldn’t be good. . . 

He didn’t like the sign of that. She sounded surprised. It was embarrassing and already he could feel the tips of his ears heating but there was no way he could take back an apology.

"I'm sorry," he said again only this time calmer.

It was a little annoying how she only continued to stare at him. As if she were still unsure if she had heard him correctly. But when it became apparent that she had indeed heard him right, she nodded her head.

"Okay."

What?

The irritation he had been trying to hold back blew.

"What am I supposed to do with that?!"

To her credit, Kazuha actually looked confused and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. What am I supposed to do with your apology?"

Heiji actually felt a knot start to form at his temple. "You're supposed to say if you accept it or not, dummy!"

"Well how can I accept it if I don't know what it's for, ahou!"

Her response actually made him pause for a moment. Then her words registered.

"What?!" he almost exploded. "Weren't you mad at me?"

Her face was the perfect one of confusion. "Mad? Why would I be mad at you?"

"Two days ago- in the courtyard," he reminded and slowly he saw it dawn on her what he was getting at. When her face began to turn red he knew she definitely remembered. "You haven't said a word to me since!"

When it seemed like it had all finally settled in for her and she still looked confused, Heiji wanted to scream. Then why had he felt all this guilt? All the mental pep-talks he had to do just to get the courage to apologize to her and she wasn't even mad.

"You know what," he finally burst and turned around as if to head to the front gate. "Forget about it." He wasn't going to play this game right now. He apologized. He did what he felt like he needed to do. He reached out. Now he'd allow her the space she apparently so desperately wanted-

"I miss my friends."

So stuck in his head, he almost missed that she had said something. Freezing to look over his shoulder though, he knew he heard her correctly. She wasn't looking at him. If anything he'd guess she was staring at her shoes in . . . shame?

"I was a little upset," she admitted softly. If it wasn't for how somber she looked he would've demanded to know why she hadn't accepted his apology.

"I'm mostly upset with myself so I'm sorry if it seemed it was about you."

How was I supposed to know that if you ignored me for two days, he wanted to grumble.

"I just saw the way you and your friends were interacting and it . . . made me jealous."

"I mean- how stupid is that?" she shook her head as if scolding herself and it looked like her shoulders were trembling. "To be mad at you. Leaving my friends and my home is worth it if I have my soulmate waiting for me." And her voice finally cracked; her voice thick with tears. They started streaming down her face and her arm that wasn't carrying her bag came up to wipe them away hurriedly.

"But I'm sorry. I can't help it. Sometimes I just wanna go home," she hiccuped.

He had not been expecting her tears. He had not been expecting anything she had said. And for that, he felt he could never forgive himself.

How selfish was he? It hadn't even crossed his mind if Kazuha had even wanted to move back. He had always assumed she did. He never questioned if she liked it here. Because in his mind, she had to. He was here after all. If she wasn't saying anything, then nothing was wrong, had been his thoughts.

And watching her break down, arms shaking and voice quivering- the guilt he had felt before was nothing compared to this.

Gently, and slowly so as to give her a chance to pull away, he grabbed the hand that was still swiping at her tears that were still falling. She startled slightly but other than that, allowed his hand to hold hers carefully. When their eyes connected, it made his heart ache all the more.

He was sure his eyes reflected all the pain he was feeling as well. He'd be lying if he said her words hadn't made him feel the slightest bit inadequate as a soulmate. But it wasn't just about what he wanted anymore. His feelings weren't his priority anymore. Hers would always come before his own now.

Clenching his jaw, he still held her hand and he dropped his gaze to it. Her hand was smaller than his and much paler as well as softer. Swallowing the emotion down that was trying to surface he said, "Do you want to go back?"

He didn't want her to. It was strange how quickly the bond took control of his heart but each person experienced it differently. And for the first time he was realizing that maybe . . . she didn't want this yet. Maybe she didn’t want to acknowledge this yet. And she didn't have to. They were only in high school. They had a lifetime after this.

"No!" Her adamant response startled him but what was even more surprising was how her hand was suddenly gripping his back. "I don't think I could ever want that. I just have nobody here and sometimes I feel so . . alone," she whispered the last part slightly and Heiji once again took in her somber appearance.

Something finally struck him. Was she having a hard time adjusting because-

His mind blazed and his eyes narrowed.

"Is someone messing with you?"

"What- no, Heiji. I just don't know these people."

"Don't lie to me," he said sternly and he took another step towards her. The close proximity obviously made her nervous because immediately she was sputtering, going to take a step back. But in her panic, her feet tangled together and suddenly she started falling.

"Hey-! Careful, dummy!" And in his panic to grab a hold of her, one hand grabbed her arm firmly and the other had gone for the front of her uniform at the collar. But his fingers tangled in something and accidentally pulled too hard.

It happened like slow motion. A charm flew from under her shirt; the string that was wrapped around his fingers broke and the charm too went falling. Too wrapped up in the fact that he recognized that charm, he had almost missed the fact something had flown out of it. And almost comically they both watched it flutter to the ground slowly. It fell facing up and he could see perfectly what it was as well as recognize it. It had his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open in shock; the barest tint of pink dusting his dark cheeks.

He never told her he kept the charm she had gifted him all those years ago. Not because he was actively hiding it. It just never came up and like he said before, it was simply a part of him now. But not once had it occurred to him that she had kept hers as well. It hadn't even crossed his mind that she might've thrown hers away and thought he was weird for keeping his. But she didn't.

And even more startling was, she had a picture of him inside it.

He can see the embarrassment and just down right panic as she quickly dropped to snatch the charm up. And almost like someone was trying to torture her, each and every time she went to pick up the picture, she couldn't seem to get a good grasp under it. It stuck to the floor, his smirking face pointing upward as if mocking and he could feel her frustration grow.

Though he was shocked at first and that made him freeze up, when he realized what just happened, he couldn't help the smug grin that began to creep up on his features. He wasn't that terrible however, and he squatted down next to her, picking up the glossy photo from the floor easily.

Probably before thinking it through, she was already snatching it from his hand and holding to her chest protectively as if praying he hadn't seen it yet- which they both knew that of course he had. Her face was so red and she was refusing to look at him and looking closely, it looked like she was about to cry again from how mortified she must've felt.

He frowned. Why would she cry over that? Shaking his head slightly, he grinned slightly again.

"Kazuha."

Still, she wouldn't look at him at first. She clearly thought he was going to make fun of her, and though that was highly tempting, he knew it would've only been hypocritical. She still was stubbornly refusing to look at him though and he knew she had heard him.

Sighing, he slouched on the floor heavily beside her, hopefully as evidence to her that he would not be leaving. They were still at the school gates and any of their classmates that stayed behind could spot them if they walked by, but he didn’t care. He wanted her to realize that he had all day.

All it did was make her turn her face further away from him. It was clear she wanted to be left alone again after she was probably feeling so humiliated.

But Heiji didn't see anything humiliating about it. He felt giddy. Because she finally gave him what he had been needing. Seeing the way her blush went from the tips of her ears and down her neck, he felt his smile soften.

Dummy. All I wanted was for you to acknowledge this. To acknowledge me.

The rustle from his clothes as he shuffled for the yarn that was wrapped around his throat just under his own collar- he knew it got her attention from the way she tensed slightly. She stubbornly refused to turn towards him until, like he knew it would, her curiosity got the best of her and she looked at him confusedly.

By that point, he was already loosening the string keeping the charm cinched closed and tugging out something else that he cherished closely to him. She wouldn't look away though. He already knew she was probably surprised to see that he still held that charm around his neck. The real shock came when he held the small glossy square in his hand, angling both that and the charm so she could easily see.

"Don't worry about it, dummy. I have one too." The soft grin he gave her was not intentional, nor was it something he could hold back. A smirk or even a joke was probably more like his style. He couldn't deny how warmly she had touched him though. As he was almost positive was the same for her, he had no intention of showing her what was in his charm. He hadn't even thought to tell her he still had it let alone tell her he carried her photo around in it. But to see she did the same as well. . . He couldn't explain the sensations he was feeling right now. The way his heart kept stuttering in his chest- was that normal? Probably not but he liked it and he wanted her to experience that feeling as well.

What he was not wanting her to feel was the trembling of her bottom lip nor the tears that sprung to her eyes. He would've asked if she was upset still if it wasn't for the messy, watery grin she gave him. Her cheeks were still red but this time it seemed more from being happy.

Once she had the charm placed back in the bag, he opened his hand expectantly. After she complied, he began to reattach the string around her neck.

"You can go back if you need to," he spoke softly as he finished tying off the yarn. Her whole body tensed but he continued.

"It'll suck at first but I don't want you to be unhappy here." Throat feeling a little tight he added, "I can wait-"

A small noise of surprise escaped him when suddenly her hand was touching his cheek. Still looking down, he hadn't really paid attention to see she was now facing him. But looking at her now, he wasn't sure if it was the bond acting up again but her eyes felt . . . brighter.

And suddenly she was laying her head just under his chin. Her hand having slipped down to wrap around him tightly in an embrace. 

“I want to stay.” 

[sandwichrin]

A Little Into You (Junkyu x Reader Fic) (Ch. 3)

Word Count: 3.6k words

Pairing: Kim Junkyu x Fem. Reader (Treasure members are all included as well)

Genre: PG-13, Comedy, Romance

A/N: Hi! Here’s the third chapter of the Junkyu x reader fic I’ve been working on! Tbh I really like this chapter because it has more of the other members in it :3 Hope you guys like it! Feel free to read the other chapters from my blog’s Masterlist! <3

Chapter 3 - The Girl?

It had been 3 days since the incident happened. Which one? Yeah, the one where Hyunsuk saved you from showing up to work all cat-urine-tainted by lending his shirt to you. It had also been three days of you bringing along his clean shirt that you’ve washed to work since you hadn’t bumped into him at all after the incident.

Did he forget about the shirt? You wondered if he even remembered the encounter you both had. What’s worst, you started to believe that he doesn’t even remember who you were.

What were you thinking? You both have only met briefly over a silly matter. You shouldn’t have expected that it could be anything more. Not that you were interested in him in any ways, you just thought that you could’ve at least made a new friend. The only friends you had were those whom you met in high school couple of years ago, but then you’ve lost touch with most of them ever since you moved out of your hometown after accepting the job your high school teacher offered you right after graduating.

It was a Friday, and you were looking forward to go to work because you usually only had to stay at work for only half a day on Fridays. You were even allowed to wear casual outfits on Fridays- since the company you work for encourages their employees to “have fun” at least once a week. (Weird, but sure dressing up casually to work isn’t something to complain about, right?)

“So, what are your plans today y/n?”, your colleague, Soomin asked. She was the one who sat not far opposite from your desk, and also the one who’s always making conversations in the office with you.

Not like you were unfriendly or anything, you just didn’t want to be too casual with your colleagues especially since you were the youngest there. The people in your office were mostly 6-10 years older than you, hence why you didn’t think you would fit much in their group. There’s also the fact where you’re an introvert at heart, which makes you prefer staying at home instead of joining any company dinners—but your colleagues never minded it, they knew you were the less social type.

“Oh nothing. I was thinking of heading straight back home after work. Maybe do some cleaning up at home later.”

“I see,” Soomin nodded. “Well if you feel like doing something fun, the rest of the department is going for a buffet lunch after work. You can join us if you want to.”

You smiled at her. “Thanks, I’ll let you know if I plan on joining.”

                                                              *

 It was lunchtime at the YG Building for the boys, and the whole Treasure group was at the company’s cafeteria, all cramped up with two to three tables joint together to cater all 12 of them.

Jaehyuk was sitting at the end of one side of the tables, playing with his food on his plate with the fork in his hand.

“…isn’t that right, Jaehyuk?”, Jihoon asked his dongsaeng who was sitting two seats away from him.

Jaehyuk snapped out of his trance, not realising his hyung had been talking to him.

“What?” he said, clearly unsure of what was going on.

“I said, the part where Junkyu jumped on Hyunsuk in the choreography should be changed. You said that you were thinking of changing Junkyu’s part with yours, am I right?”

“Oh yeah. That’s right. I feel like the choreography would look more balanced like that,” Jaehyuk replied, looking at Hyunsuk who was paying attention to him and Jihoon.

Hyunsuk nods in approval of the idea. “I think we can try that this evening. We’ll need to do it part by part though, to see if the flow works that way.”

“Yeah sure, we’ll do that.” Jaehyuk answered him.

Hyunsuk continued eating his food, and once in a while he would laugh at the jokes Yoshi kept spewing at Asahi who was sitting beside him. Jihoon on the other hand, noticed Jaehyuk barely touching his food. He also noticed that Jaehyuk was staring back into space.

“Hey Jaehyuk…”

Again, Jaehyuk was back in focus and he spooned some rice into his mouth. While chewing, he turned his attention to Jihoon, “Yeah hyung?”

“Are you okay? You’ve been quiet today…and you’re barely touching your food,” Jihoon asked, worried if anything was bothering Jaehyuk’s mind.

Everyone else at the table stopped talking and focused on both Jihoon and Jaehyuk.

“It’s nothing, I just don’t feel too well.” He looked down at his food again.

The rest of the boys exchanged glances with each other.

“Are you coming down with a fever hyung?”, Junghwan asked.

“It’s not like that…I just..don’t feel well.”

“Could it be…,” Jihoon said, making everyone focused on him.

“OH! I think so too, hyung!” Jeongwoo exclaimed loudly. He stood up and pointed at Jaehyuk. “Could it be-“

“OUR JAEHYUKKIE DIDN’T GET HIS DAILY DOSE OF BANANA UYU?” Both Jeongwoo and Jihoon said at the same time. The both of them cheered loudly and high fived since the both of them guessed the same thing at the same time.

“Really? You feel down for not getting banana milk?” Junkyu asked, confusion written on his face.

“Heyyyy it wasn’t just today okay! It’s been this way since yesterday!” Jaehyuk whined frustratedly. He picked on his food with his fork again.

“Aish hyung! You should’ve said so, we could’ve gone and look for it for you,” Jeongwoo said as he approached his hyung to give him a back hug.

“There weren’t any at the convenience store. I wanted it so badly.” Jaehyuk was already pouting on his own as the rest of the group continued watching him.

“Wait, which store did you go to? The one in front of the building or the one inside the building?” Yedam asked.

“Man, I’ve checked the store in this building. They don’t sell the banana uyu that Jaehyuk likes. They have banana milk, but it’s the different kind.” Jihoon said, as he took a sip off his drink.

Jaehyuk was still quiet, lost in his thoughts. He felt a gentle pat on his back. He raised his head to see Jeongwoo standing by his side. “It’s okay hyung, we’ll get you one.”

Jaehyuk squints at his friend. “What are you saying, Jeongwoo?”

“Yedam and I were planning to go to the convenience store outside.”

“For the banana milk??” Hyunsuk asked.

“No, god no. We wanted to get that limited-edition ramen cup they’re promoting on TV.”

“What? They have limited-edition ramen nowadays??” Doyoung said in disbelief.

“Yeah, they’re just making it limited edition because you’ll get the chance to win that PS5 game- I’m not sure what game but Jeongwoo wants it badly.” Yedam explained as he noticed everyone was staring at him weirdly.

“Hey. If we’re commited, we might win okay?” Jeongwoo exclaimed proudly.

“And how many of those have you bought, huh?” Jihoon asked.

Jeongwoo rubbed the back of his neck. “Well…I’ve bought 8 already…”

“WHAT?”

“Aigoo Jeongwoo! What are you going to do with the ramen then? You can’t eat too much of those you know that,” Hyunsuk was already nagging at him.

Jeongwoo covered his ears in response to Hyunsuk’s nagging. The rest of the boys laughed seeing him react that way. Even Hyunsuk laughed along.

“Anyways, hyung, Yedam and I can go check it out for you.” He said softly to his hyung. “Yedam-hyung. Let’s go.”

“Now? You want to go now?”

“Yeah, if we go any later, students coming back from prep school might buy ‘em all.”

“Alright.” Yedam got up from his seat and followed Jeongwoo who was already heading out of the cafeteria. Man, that kid is fast.

“Hey don’t forget to put on your masks too!” Hyunsuk called out to them.

“Aight!” Both Yedam and Jeongwoo said in unison.

                                                                *

 You just got out of your office, a little delayed than usual though since you had to apologize to each and every colleague you passed by for not joining them on their staff buffet lunch.

But the good thing about today was that, not only did you get to get off work in the afternoon, your casual attire made it easier for you to walk and move around. On the other days you would’ve worn your high heels to work but today you wore your white sneakers along with a matching white graphic tee under your cream-coloured cardigan.

You walked past the block of your office and once again, you were heading towards the YG building. This time, you weren’t distracted by it though. You were more focused on heading towards the convenience store opposite it.

Since it’s a Friday, you’ve made it a personal rule to eat ramen on Fridays as a celebration that you finished work early. You personally restricted yourself from eating any ramen on any other days simply because you wanted to make it seemingly special and worth looking-forward to eat them on Fridays.

You entered the convenience store and was greeted by a friendly welcome by the cashier. You smiled at him. You were sure he was already familiar with you since you made it a point to visit this shop every week to get what you needed.

You glanced around the shop to see if there was anything new being promoted. Your eyes landed to a customized aisle which showed a competition notice. You walked towards it to see what it’s all about.

Oh. A chance to win a PS5 game of your choice? The more ramen you buy, the higher chance of winning? You chuckled. It seemed that if one buys the ramen and gets a special code written under their ramen lid, they’d be one of the lucky winners. You tilt your head slightly and took one of the ramen cups off the shelf.

“Oh? Oh wait this isn’t the flavour I want,” you mumbled to yourself. You put the ramen cup back and scanned the rest of the shelf to see if the spicy stew flavour you liked was there. Unfortunately, it wasn’t there. Maybe it got sold out.

Sighing, you moved away from the shelf. You went to another aisle and grabbed yourself a bowl of instant cheese ramen. You walked up towards the cashier and placed the bowl onto the counter.

“This isn’t your usual pick, miss.” The cashier said, as he saw your slightly disappointed face.

“Yeah, the spicy stew one that I liked was out of stock I guess.” You smiled timidly at him.

“Oh right, that one. Yeah, it’s one of our bestsellers. But we have other spicy stew ramen too, if you’d like them instead.”

“Oh no, it’s alright. I’ll just have this one.”

“Okay,sure.”

He took the ramen bowl in his hand and was about to scan it when you stopped him. “Oh wait!”

The cashier seemed surprised by you.

“Sorry, I forgot to take a drink. I’m so sorry.”

The cashier grinned. “It’s fine, I’ll just scan this later.”

“Thanks.” You smiled. You left the counter and hurriedly walk up towards the refrigerator in the store.

As you were thinking of which drink to pick, two guys entered the store and you heard the cashier welcoming them from the payment counter.

“Hyungggg! They didn’t have the flavour I want!” You heard one of the guys said this.

“Come on Jeongwoo, you could just buy the game yourself you know. You already wasted plenty of ramen all for the sake of getting that winning code.”

“Hyung, you have to understand. If I win this, it shows how luck is indefinitely on my side! I worked hard for this.”

“For ramen?”

“Hyunggggg nooooo, listen, listen to me-“

Your focus was no longer on the boys once you heard one of them starting to give his hyung a pep talk about hard work and luck.

You picked up a carton of strawberry milk from the refrigerator since it’s what you always get from the store to pair up with your ramen. Your eyes landed on the small yellow bottle that was beside the strawberry milk you picked up.

Isn’t that the banana milk on TV? The one where most celebrities drink? You wondered, since you usually see artists drinking them in shows. You stretch out your hand to take it. It was the last bottle in the refrigerator.

You shrugged to yourself. Maybe you could try it and maybe you’ll know why everyone likes it so much. You closed the refrigerator door and carried both your drinks to the counter to pay.

You were about to take your money out of your purse to pay the cashier when you heard one of the loud boys earlier groaned in frustration. Your head turned to see what was going on.

“No way! It’s sold out again! What kind of spell did they use on that milk anyway?! It’s always sold out!”

Your turned back to the cashier and handed the money to him. After paying, you proceeded to put your stuff onto the table beside the payment counter. That spot was your usual seat whenever you were on your Ramen Friday days. (Yes, you actually named the occasion as Ramen Friday-- lol you and your dorkiness)

You heard one of the boys- the less loud one asking the cashier, “Do you have any backup stocks of the banana milk?”

“Sorry, we haven’t received the stock yet. It usually arrives around 3 in the evening.”

“God, how does it sell that fast!” The louder boy said, sounding very upset.

You glanced at the strawberry and banana milk in your hands. Should I give it to them? They seemed like they really need it, no?

“It’s okay Jeongwoo, we can come back later. I’m sure Jaehyuk doesn’t mind.”

“No. We have to go find one for him. Don’t you see how down he looked?” Jeongwoo whipped out his phone from his pocket. “There’s another convenience store two blocks away from here-“

“Jeongwoo-“ Yedam interrupted him. He was about to continue but you had already approached them by then.

“Excuse me,” you interrupted the both of them.

“Y-yeah?” Jeongwoo asked.

“I couldn’t help overhearing that…you guys were looking for this?” You showed them the banana milk in your hand.

“Yeah, we were. But it’s okay, that’s yours-“

“I actually bought it out of curiosity. I didn’t really need it. You can have it.” You held out the banana milk for them to take it from you.

Jeongwoo, who had been loud the whole time he was in the store, was the quiet one now. He looked at Yedam, relying on his hyung to deal with you.

“Really, just take it,” you smiled.

“I…thanks…I-I can pay for it,” Yedam reached for his wallet in his pocket.

“No, no! It’s fine, really. Just take it.” You pushed the milk into their hands. “It’s not gonna stay cold, so you should drink it fast.”

“Thank you, it’s for our friend actually.”

“Oh. Right. Then you better hurry up and give it to him or her then,” you grinned.

“Thank you so much.” Yedam thanked you again.

You smiled at them and made your way back to your seat.

Yedam and Jeongwoo was about to walk away when Yedam turned back around to approach you.

“I’m Yedam by the way. Thank you again.”

Jeongwoo’s eyes widened, seeing that his hyung exposed himself to a random girl. Jeongwoo tugged at Yedam’s arm, trying to tell him to stop.

You nodded at Yedam’s random introduction. “You’re welcome…Yedam.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to just take this and go without thanking you properly.”

“Come on hyung, we should go,” Jeongwoo whispered at Yedam.

You nodded again and smiled at them.

Jeongwoo was already pulling Yedam away from you when suddenly it hit you- Wait. Did he just say his name is Yedam? Your eyes shifted to them, the two boys wearing masks. You were sure that the other guy’s name was Jeongwoo when you heard them bickering near the ramen shelf. Jeongwoo….Yedam….? Could it be?

“Wait!” You called out to them.

The both of them stopped and turned around.

Oh no. Here it goes. She knows who we are- Jeongwoo panicked inside.

“Yes?” Yedam asked you.

“A-are you…Yedam from Treasure?”

“Yes.” Jeongwoo was surprised to see his hyung so confident in admitting who he was. He, on the other hand, was nervous since he had rarely interacted with fans without the supervision of their manager.

“Oh my god. That’s great-“you said but then you got cut off by Jeongwoo.

“Sorry, we can’t take any pictures with you without the consent of our manager.”

“What? Oh no-“You said, trying to stop them from misunderstanding.

“Jeongwoo! What are you doing?” Yedam whispered to his friend.

“Stopping us from getting into trouble!” he whispered back.

You shook your head, finding it funny that these boys were whispering in front of you but you could still hear them.

“No, I won’t take pictures or spread it to anyone that I bump into you both here- if that’s what you’re worried about,”

Jeongwoo’s eyes still showed that he didn’t trust you enough in your opinion so you went to your bag and took out a small paper bag out of it. You walked up to them and passed it to them, to which they took it with a confused look.

“I was hoping to give that to Hyunsuk-ssi, the leader of your group, but I haven’t seen him around so…if it’s possible, could you guys take it to him?’

Yedam and Jeongwoo exchanged glances with each other. Who is this girl? And why does she have a gift for their Hyunsuk hyung?? Does Hyunsuk hyung have a secret girlfriend they don’t know of??

“I…I’m sorry,” Yedam spoke, “I’m not sure if we can pass gifts to our members…I mean, we’re not sure if our manager allows it, since it’s not a fan event…” Yedam continued, sounding unsure of what he said either.

You chuckled. “I can assure you that’s not a gift. It’s his stuff. But if it might get you both into trouble, I can give it to him myself, no worries,”

Yedam nodded at your explanation. He was about to give the paper bag back to you when Jeongwoo’s phone rang.

“Hello? Ah, hyung! What? No, no, sorry! We’ll be right back! Yup, see you!”

“Who was it?” Yedam asked him.

“It’s Jihoon hyung,” Jeongwoo stuffed his phone into his pocket. “He was worried what took us so long here.”

“Oh right! We better go then!” Yedam turned to you and bowed slightly, “Thank you again for the milk. Our friend would appreciate it.”

“Yes, thank you again.” Jeongwoo said as well.

“Let’s go!” Yedam said to Jeongwoo as the both of them hurried out of the store.

You stood there, lost for words. Didn’t…Yedam said that they could get into trouble for passing stuff to their members from outsiders? But…why was your paper bag still with them when they left?? You started to worry if anything were to happen to them.

                                                                *

 Jihoon stood up from his seat, both hands on his hips. “What took you both so long? Did you both get lost or something?”

“Pfft. Both Jeongwoo and Yedam getting lost in a convenience store right outside our building! That’s so funny!” Junkyu bursted out laughing.

Unfortunately for Junkyu, he was the only one laughing at what Jihoon said, as everyone was more focused on Jeongwoo and Yedam who looked like they had sprinted back to the cafeteria.

Jeongwoo was huffing when he approached Jaehyuk, “Here, hyung. Look what we got you! It’s the only one left too,” He handed the banana uyu to his hyung.

Taking the banana milk from Jeongwoo’s hand, Jaehyuk felt touched by his friend’s effort of cheering him up. “Jeongwoo…”

Jaehyuk got up from his seat and pulled Jeongwoo into a hug. “Thank you so much, both of you,” he looked at Yedam as well.

Yedam nodded and smiled at his hyung.

Jihoon was sitting back in his seat when he saw the paper bag in Yedam’s hands. “Hey, Yedam. What’s that in your hands?”

Yedam didn’t realise he was still holding your ‘gift’, in which he gasped out loud when Jihoon pointed it out that the bag was still with him.

Jeongwoo too, was surprised. “Hyung, I thought you gave it back to her?”

“I…I didn’t realise—” this time, Yedam was the one with the panicked look on his face instead of Jeongwoo.

“Wait, what’s in the bag? And who’s her?” Hyunsuk voiced out.

Yedam and Jeongwoo looked at each other. Jeongwoo gestured Yedam to explain to their hyung what happened.

“Well,” Yedam started to speak. He looked at Jeongwoo again. Jeongwoo nodded at him, telling him to go on. “Well hyung, you see…the girl asked me to pass this bag to you. I mean, I told her that I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to pass gifts to any of the members but…well, I think I might have accidentally taken it from her instead.”

Hyunsuk’s eyebrows furrowed. “A gift? For me?”

“No, no hyung. She said it was Hyunsuk-hyung’s stuff, didn’t she?” Jeongwoo confirmed with Yedam.

“Oh yeah, she said it wasn’t a gift. It was your stuff she wanted to pass I think?”

“Huh. I guess I might as well take it then.” Hyunsuk stretched out his hand, expecting Yedam to hand in the paper bag to him.

But then, just as the paper bag almost reached his hands, Jihoon snatched it away from him.

“Jihoon! Come on, that’s mine!” Hyunsuk whined at his friend who was giggling at his reaction.

“Oh come on Hyunsuk, you’re no fun! What are you hiding from us anyways? Who’s this girl you’re seeing behind our backs, huh?” Jihoon smirked.

“What? What are you talking about Jihoon?” Hyunsuk asked in confusion.

To be continued...

[fredweesleyismyslut]

Drag you down - Jhope x Curvy!reader

A/N:  Okay, so I’m bringing some love to my baby, my sunshine, Jung Hoseok, aka Jhope which if you like BTS I assume you already know.  Anywaysssss, he’s my bias wrecker and bitch he got me feeling some type of way whenever he’s dancing, especially when he’s teaching like he could literally punch me and I’d say thank you.  Anyways, I just had the idea of writing a thing where the reader is dating him and they’re more on the curvy side so they start to doubt themselves being with Jhope because they feel like they don’t fit his idol image and that they’re kind of dragging him down.  So, this sweet boy decides to have a little talk with you and shows you just how much he loves you.  Also, as someone who has a little junk in my trunk, this idea just randomly popped up in my head.  I really hope you guys like this, it’s my first time writing for kpop or a person in general who’s not a fictional character...so don’t judge me too hard I can’t promise I won’t cry.  Love you guys always!!

Hoseok invited you to watch his photoshoot that he had to promote BTS’s new album.  He had been ecstatic, excitedly talking about it till midnight while you were laying in bed, responding with quiet murmurs falling asleep to his voice.  He waved over at you, doing a group shot with the rest of the members, the members catching you glance and waving also.  Smiling softly you sent over a quick wave, before looking around the set at how hard working the producers were for making all the props and taking pictures.  Next up were the single pictures, but just as that started a couple of girls walked in, clearly models as they had finished getting up from the makeup area.  One of the girls smiled over at you, there wasn’t any animosity in the smile, however, you felt the hairs stand up on your arms as she walked over to Hoseok.  Doing the single shots, you watched as the two posed together, their rhythm perfectly matching the others, the girl quietly giggling at whatever joke Hoseok had just made.  “Hey y/n, what’s got you so deep in thought?” asked a male voice to your side, turning you saw Namjoon, the leader of the group but also your best friend.  He was always so calm and methodical that you felt as if he could read your movements, “Nothing...just I’m proud of you guys.  The fans are really going to love this album.” you said, smiling over to reach his hand.  His smiled back giving a reassuring squeeze as he replied, “Thanks, I really hope so...I-I..”  “Hey, shush...as a fellow army myself I am speaking for all fans when I say they will absolutely love this album, Joon.”  His lips quirked into a smile as he gave a side hug, before getting called over by the makeup unni who wanted to fix his base makeup before sending him back into the shoot.  Hoseok smiled and gave the girl a soft bow as a way of thank you before walking over to you, “Didn’t I do great, jagi?” he asked, head quirking to the side like a puppy.  “Yes, you did amazing, babe.  I almost fell for you all over again.”  His cheeks flushed softly at your compliment as he placed a soft kiss on your forehead.  A female voice sounded from behind you, “Oppa, here’s a drink.  You did great!” the girl from earlier said as she handed him a coffee, “Thanks, Minji.  You did great too!” he said, ruffling her hair.  You couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy at the soft touch that he had given her, she looked prettier than you and definitely skinnier compared to your more curvy figure.  You weren’t really the jealous type and had always been on the more confident side of things, you liked your curvy figure especially with Hoseok’s encouragement, but as you went public with your relationship your self-image had become more critical due to worrying how fans would see you.  Especially during one incident when a fan had commented after you first went public, “How is Hoseok with that pig?  I mean how does she not crush him lol?” that comment, no matter how childish it had been had engraved deeply into your brain.  Hands fumbling slightly you smiled at the girl, giving a soft bow of your head as she handed you a drink too, “You’re so pretty unni.” she said in awe as she admired your figure, “Maybe you should’ve been modeling with Hoseok oppa instead of me.”  Hoseok’s chest seemed to swell with pride as he kissed your cheek, “I would love to have her model with me but she’s too shy.” he crowed, with a slight pout to his lips, “Maybe for our next photoshoot…”  Chuckling softly, you swatted his arms, “Stop trying to flatter me, Seok.  I see right through you.”  The girl had started to walk away, going back to her task of handing drinks out to the other members, “You know I just want to show everyone that this is mine…” he whispered in your ear, voice growing husky as he placed his hands on your hips.  “Not here.  We’re in front of all your members, Hoseok.” you chided, giving him a kiss on the cheek.  Pouting he gave you a look that clearly said, “Later” as he walked back over to his members to get his makeup fixed as well.  You watched them do the finishing touches of the photoshoot before you were whisked away by your friend, Haeun, who happened to also work at the company.  “You didn’t tell me you were visiting.” she said, betrayal hinting her voice jokingly, as she swatted your arm, “So, you were just gonna see your boyfriend and not even say hi to me huh?”  Swatting her arm back, you replied, “Neverrrr...I was going to wait till they were done.  You know how Hoseok gets when I leave in the middle after promising to watch his shoot.”  “I’m gonna have a talk with him about stealing my best friend.” she announced to you, sending a soft glare in his direction, “Hey, how about I get us lunch and in return you don’t make my boyfriend cry.  You know how you’re kinda scary sometimes.”  Haeun looked at you with innocence in her brown eyes, “Me? Scary?  Never.”  Laughing you linked arms as she walked you down to a restaurant nearby that sold kimbap and tteokboki as a quick snack/lunch.  Sending a quick text to your boyfriend once you were sat down, he probably wouldn’t see it till later but you still wanted to let him know where you were.  You looked up at her, as she ordered the food, once done she looked towards you, “Am I forgetting anything?”  Shaking your head, she nodded finishing the order, “I have a question.” you started, as she looked at your head softly quirking, silently telling you to continue, “Do you know the girl that was modeling with Hoseok?”  “Oh...I don’t know about her much.  She’s a young model, Minji right?”  Nodding, as she continued, “I know she’s from Hoseok’s hometown but other than that she’s still pretty new but slowly gaining public interest.”  You nodded softly, getting lost in your thoughts until a hand suddenly hit the top of your head softly, “Don’t think about her too much.  I already know what you’re thinking, ‘God, she’s so pretty and skinny.  Hoseok’s image would look so much with her than me.”  Her features softened as she grabbed your hand, “You’re gorgeous and I mean...your body like damn bitch, excuse my language but you could turn me gay here and now with a snap of your fingers.  Also do you not see how whipped Hoseok is for you?  I’m sure if you asked him to buy you a star and name it after you he would in the snap of a second.” Flushing at her words you replied, “But..”  Cutting you off she scolded, “No buts.  Next time you even start doubting yourself I’m really gonna get mad and you’re the one who said that I was scary.” she softly glared at you as she organized the food on the table.  You shut your mouth, remembering the last time you doubted yourself being with Hoseok and she scolded you while organizing a small party for you where she had organized a bunch of pictures of you to hang around your apartment as Hoseok serenaded you.  The party was embarrassing but also fun, definitely something you didn’t want to experience again, however, especially not Haeun’s wrath.  “Now, eat up before their photoshoot ends.  I haven’t had time alone with you in like days.”  After finishing up, you headed home with Hoseok and the boys, they dropped by your apartment as you helped Jin fix them a meal.  Once they left, Hoseok helped wash the dishes although it was more like he was washing you from the amount of water that had splashed you from his playful antics that you had returned.  Clothes both almost soaked once you were done, Hoseok wrapped his arms around you, head resting on your shoulder.  “I’ve missed you.” he spoke softly as if he was afraid to break the silence, “I missed you too.” 

 The next several days, you started to become more reclusive, it was more subconsciously than intentionally, but you would start to make up reasons as to why you couldn’t meet up with Hoseok and the boys, by saying you were busy at work or hanging out with friends.  You just felt that if you weren’t in the picture Hoseok could definitely get a prettier girl who fits his image better as an idol than someone like you.  A couple days after the photoshoot you heard the doorbell ringing, “Who is it?” you called out heading to the door.  Looking through the hole you saw Hoseok who was looking sullen and hurt.  Opening the door you were about to speak before he cut you off, “Did I do something wrong?”  he asked, eyes looking to yours, inspecting your features, “You’ve been avoiding me…”  “Hoseok, it’s nothing I just…”  “Is there another person?” he asked, suddenly as his eyes filled with tears at the corners slightly, piercing your heart even more at his hurt expression.  “Jagi, of course not, you know I only have eyes for my sunshine.  I-I just feel like you’d be happier with someone else…”  Hoseok’s features perked at your words, “What do you mean I’d be happier with someone else?  I’ve never been happier in my whole life and that’s because of you y/n.”  His features softened, “I knew you looked weird after that photoshoot with Minji.  You know she’s right...I’d love to have you in our photoshoots sometime.”  Flushing, you punched his shoulder softly, “Did you want to come in?” you asked, as he nodded in response.  Pulling you towards your couch Hoseok patted the cushion next to him, “You’re gorgeous you know that right?  I don’t care if I’m an idol, even though we have thousands of fans, I still only have eyes for you, y/n.”  his hand squeezed yours, silently asking for a response.  “I know, it’s just you’re so famous and I’m just...yknow me.  If I wasn’t dating you I’d be a nobody.  People wouldn’t even know who I was I’d just be a random girl on the street.”  avoiding his eyes, you continued, “Compared to Minji, I’m not that pretty, I mean some of your fans clearly agree and so do the news reports.”  Hoseok placed two fingers gently on your chin, tilting your head up, placing a kiss on your lips he replied, “I don’t care what the fans say about you, I love you and if they don’t understand that then they weren’t real fans to begin with.  The real fans are the ones who are happy for me that I’ve found someone I love.”  His features brightened slightly, “You know I posted about you yesterday because I was missing you…” he confessed shyly, “And your kind of trending.” Shocked by his statement your lips fluttered slightly, “What?”  “You haven’t looked at your socials all day, huh?” he questioned, pulling his phone from his pocket.  Showing his twitter to you, you saw all the retweets and posts about you, some of the responses from fans included, “Omg why’d nobody tell me Jhope was dating a literal goddess?! Have you guys seen her?  She’s got curves for days!”  “Damn, here I thought I was straight because I liked 7 boys, but now….Jhope give me your girl’s number?”  “Please make her a model Bighit!!  She deserves to be in one of the boys’ photoshoots.”  “When are the photocards of her coming out, I’m waiting BIghit put her in your next girlgroup.”  Sitting in awe at all the comments, you looked up at him, “Y/n, they love you just as much as I do.  You’re the only one who couldn’t see it, I don’t care if there are models like Minji, because you’re the only one I see.”  His eyes started to wander the rest of your body, “I mean, I love you as much as I love your body...maybe it’s time I show you, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.” he said, his voice grew deeper as his eyes seemed to glaze over with lust as his lips placed onto yours hungrily as if he couldn’t get enough, “Come on...we’ve got a long night ahead of us if I’m gonna show you just how much I love you.” 

[staytheb]

Moonlight Melody - final chapter

Word Count: 6,035 previous chapter

Moonlight Melody masterlist.

once again, semi-proofread, but thanks for the patience of reading this as it isn’t as exciting as others or as romantic, but i still had fun with this. anyways, Joohyun maybe getting that revenge and possibly a new love life all thanks to Grim Reaper Jessica. happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

Joohyun returned to work the following Monday without worrying too much of what happened a couple of days ago. She happily greeted Wendy like always.

"Good morning, Wendy."

"Morning, Joohyun. By the way, Mr. Park would like to speak with you in his office when you clocked in."

"As in right now?"

"Yes."

"Okay, thank you."

Joohyun cast Wendy a smile before heading to Jinyoung's office. Joohyun thought of many reasons on why he could've called for her, but none of them ended nicely. She thought of the two special agents' visit and hoped it wasn't that, or yet the incident that happened in the park. She sighed feeling anxious and nervous. When Joohyun arrived outside Jinyoung's office, she knocked until she heard a 'come in', and entered the large room. She was greeted by a pensive looking Jinyoung

"Good morning, Mr. Park."

"Morning."

He motioned for her to take a seat. Just as she sat he asked a question right away.

"Why don't you carry around a MOLDIR bag, Ms. Bae?"

"Pardon?"

Jinyoung repeated his question with a calmer tone and relaxed manner.

"Oh, I just never thought about it, Mr. Park."

"It's been a little over a month since you've started, perhaps, do you not own one?"

"No, I actually do own one, but I've hardly used it since receiving it."

"Great to hear. That's lovely to know. Starting tomorrow please use the bag whenever you come in for work."

Joohyun wasn't sure why that was a big deal, but figured it might just be to promote the brand within it's employees on the outside. Still, her lead supervisor looked just as well as he always did, but had figured he would ask her about that incident at the park. Joohyun recalled Flesh's words and assumed the gemstone had taken care of the whole thing.

"Yes, sir. Is that what you wanted to speak to me about?"

"No."

"Um, what else is there you would like to discuss?"

"Ah, yes. Please order lunch for all the departments today as well as for our meetings. The lists should be ready for you to take care of it. We'll be having our last meeting for the showroom this Friday to discuss the final arrangements."

"Isn't Bogum usually in charged of doing that?"

"Well, Bogum is taking care of other things per Jaejoong and unavailable. I'm too busy with other projects on top of this one. So I'm assigning you this minor task due to your accountability and for the fact that I know you'll get it done right away."

Jinyoung then slid a platinum silver card across his desk towards Joohyun with a bright smile.

"You can use this for the time being, Ms. Bae."

~~~~~~~~~

"Alright. All set."

Joohyun told herself after having placed a meal set at each seat around one end of table as there weren't going to be that many people sitting in on the meeting. Joohyun gathered a variety of non-alcoholic beverages to ensure quality thinking without being under the influence. She also included silverware, napkins, and other things to make it more accommodating. She even set the cart with extras to the side if wanted more.

"Thank you, Ms. Bae." Jinyoung thanked her as he arrived first to check up on her and ready for the meeting.

He handed Joohyun a piece of paper.

"By the way this is your list of work assignments to do after checking on the products' log for the showroom this Friday."

"Ah, yes, sir."

"Wonderful. Now, please grab yourself something to eat, too, before returning to work."

"Will, do, sir. Thank you."

Jinyoung cast her a smile as Joohyun did as told.

~~~~~~~~~

Joohyun had just finished relieving herself after eating lunch and was about to exit the bathroom stall when she overheard Jisoo's name being brought up by some of their other female colleagues as they entered the restroom. Joohyun realized that Jisoo wasn't in today, no mentioned of her, and wondered if she was permanently let go. Soon Joohyun recognized the voices to be, Yeeun, Yeonjoo, Eunsoo, and Sonee.

"Kim Jisoo got let go because she tried to hook up with Mr. Prince."

Eunsoo spoke first while using the nickname they call Jinyoung by with the other three gasping in shock.

"What?"

"No way."

"You're lying."

Eunsoo continued.

"I'm not. It's the truth. Well, that's what I heard from Lisa."

Eunsoo chuckled before speaking again.

"Anyways, forget her. Did y'all hear about that Joohyun girl was invited to Jinyoung's office."

"The New Girl was alone with Mr. Prince his office? No way."

Yeeun spoke next followed by Sonee.

"Yeah, it's true! I even heard that she even used his platinum."

"You're joking, right?"

Yeonjoo asked with a disgusted tone.

"There's no way she's in the same league as him."

Sonee continued from before.

"He asked her to buy lunch. He could've asked me. I would've done it."

The other three dismissed her as Eunsoo spoke while the quartet re-touched their makeup instead of actually using the bathroom.

"Do y'all remember the second week where her fashion sense was total nonsense?"

"Oh, yeah." Yeeun agreed.

"It was like she got them out of a vintage boutique going out of business."

Joohyun frowned at the memory. It wasn't a fond one, but it wasn't like she had wanted it to happen that way either. At the time she had bitten into one of wishing rubies for the latest fashion trend from the magazine her mother had given her, but didn't realized it was dated from a decade ago. With the same gem a small bite reverted her back to her previous wardrobe after being teased a day later. Joohyun didn't get why she even wanted to change up her style to something not her in the first place.

"She's so plain and weird." Yeonjoo stated with a proud tone.

"I have better fashion sense than her."

"I heard she slept her way through the screening to get the job." Sonee gossiped.

"No way?"

The others gasped.

"How?"

"Yeah, well it was because of Bogum. He said something the next day that she started." Sonee explained.

"I knew her innocent act was a gimmick. She's a really cunning woman." Yeeun spat out with a bitter tone.

"Bogum was right about her," Eunsoo made a disgusted face, "We definitely need to watch out for her."

"I wouldn't worry so much."

Yeonjoo calmly assured them.

"Bogum said that she was on her way out soon."

"Why?" The others asked.

"I heard his girlfriend, Lee Hyeri, will be starting soon. Yeonjoo explained.

The four continued to talk as they continued doing their make-up.

"Why would she work here?"

"Yeah, I mean, wasn't she modeling, too?"

"Oh, no, I heard that someone else was chosen instead of her."

"What? No way. You're totally lying about that!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Wow, that's just so sad."

"Who could be more fitting than her?"

"It's because I overheard Bogum blaming that Bae Joohyun for taking his girlfriend's spot."

"Wait, so you're saying that it should've been Lee Hyeri and not Bae Joohyun."

"Yes. Absolutely."

"You're not serious, right?"

"There's no way that Bae Joohyun is model status over Lee Hyeri. You gotta be joking."

"I'm not."

Just as one of them was going to badmouth Joohyun again, the quartet heard one the stall's door opening to reveal Wendy coming out of it. She ignored them as she washed her hands, but that didn't mean she couldn't say something.

"I didn't know MOLDIR had such a gossip circle that loved to talk more than they loved to work."

Wendy pushed her way in-between Yeonjoo and Yeeun to wash her hands as she watched them through the mirror with a firm look.

"Should I report to President Kim himself of where the rumor mill starts?"

The quartet scoffed.

"Like you're in the position to tell us off." Yeeun commented with a smug looked as she put on my mascara.

"Yeah. You're just a receptionist." Eunsoo added while adding on some more lip gloss.

"Who's been with the company for years," Sonee began as Yeonjoo finished, "Yet stuck in the same position."

"Even so, I'm quite happy working for MOLDIR and with the others that aren't you." Wendy stated before giving them an amused look.

"By the way, y'all got something on your faces and it isn't that appealing or good for the brand's image."

Wendy dried her hands and left with a small smile as the quartet glared after her wondering what she had meant about what was on their faces. The quartet faced the mirror again, but this time their once beautified looks were exaggerated and of bright colors. As if they were getting ready to party the night away or join a circus. The group let out small cries and yells of seeing their new appearances and fought over one another to remove the excess make-up from their faces.

Joohyun jumped upon hearing their shrill voices and wondered what had just happened. She chose to stay where she was as to not get caught and in the middle of whatever was going on with them until it was over. Unbeknownst to them was that an invisible mischievous white feline had taken it upon his paws to mess with the quartet. He figured that if he couldn't actively participate in this assignment, then he for sure was gonna mess with those that hinder Joohyun from accomplishing it.

~~~~~~~~~

"It's not gonna bother me. I won't be bother by their gossip or what Bogum's been saying."

Joohyun repeated for the nth time since she was able to escape the restroom and catalog the items for the showroom. Still, it kept eating at her about the rumors her ex-boyfriend was spouting. Despite Wendy's attempt in the restroom, it stung just a bit. Joohyun knew there were people like this, but she just wished people would mind their own business. So when she finished cataloging was when she overheard a few other colleagues whispering about it that she had had enough of the gossip and was going to clear it all up. Joohyun found Bogum on the main floor with quite a few on-lookers witnessing the interaction.

"Bogum." Joohyun called his name when she spotted her ex-boyfriend.

Bogum shot her a bored look before returning to inspecting a handbag before him.

"I'm busy. I don't have time for you."

"I don't care."

Joohyun countered.

"I know that we broke up, but you don't have to go around spreading rumors about me when you're the one that broke it off and cheated on me."

"You're delusional." Bogum argued with shifty eyes after realizing there were others around.

"Why would I ever date someone like you?"

"Why are you acting like you're so much better than me?"

"Because I am."

Before Joohyun could counter a female voice interrupted her as Hyeri suddenly appeared by Bogum's side.

"Darling," Hyeri cooed with a slight pout.

"What's taking you so long? I've been waiting forever."

"It's nothing, sweetheart. Just dealing with incompetent workers."

Bogum shot Joohyun a disgusted look.

"She does look incompetent."

Hyeri commented with a snooty attitude before really looking at Joohyun as her face sour.

"Hey, you're the one that took my spot for that MOLDIR summer photoshoot."

"It was unintentional. The photographer thought I was a better fit."

"You? That's laughable! I actually look like I own the products unlike you."

Everyone in the office were watching the scene with high interest as even more entered the room to check it out. Something in Joohyun seemed to have sparked a backbone.

"If that was so, then why was I the one actually modeling with the products instead of you?"

"Look, you don't know who you're messing with, but I would refrain from doing anything stupid as I can ruin your life in an instant."

Hyeri threatened as Joohyun grew annoyed at the situation.

"I don't really care who you are and no one's gonna ruin my life. I am going to ruin the both of yours though."

"How?"

Something inside Joohyun manifested with rage, anger, and maybe just built up emotions from the past six years which caused a whirlwind to suddenly appear around them causing everything to stop moving except her. The black coin given to her by Hibiscus appeared before her as it suddenly transformed to a USB drive with Hibiscus hovering next to it. This snapped Joohyun as she stared at the surrounding around her.

"Um, what just happened?"

"The coin has shown what it's intended for your revenge." Hibiscus answered with a wicked grin.

Suddenly Eclare poofed right next to the USB drive while laughing evilly as he smacked the drive which multiplied into a second one.

"Ooh, Ms. Watermelon, this revenge is going to be sweet. He'll never bother you ever again!"

Eclare disappeared soon after with his mechanical laughter lingering before fading out completely. Joohyun just stared at the green-eyed pup wondering what had just happened.

"Yeah, Eclare gets like that when he finds really good dirt." Hibiscus explained before continuing.

"Anyways, usually Reaper J would be here to take care of this part, but she had something to take care of concerning a pink panda or something, but yeah. So, time is paused momentarily, but when it does resume I want you to throw this at your ex-boyfriend after saying 'you reap what you sow' when the two of you are actually alone or there's a dire situation."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm."

The green-eyed pup stared at her.

"You did well, Ms. Watermelon."

Hibiscus suddenly poofed away just as Ukulele instantly took his spot a moment later. Joohyun stared at the blue-eyed pup with confusion.

"Although confusing, but you're almost done, Ms. Watermelon," Ukulele spoke, "But there's two more things to take care of for right now."

"Like what?"

"You still have some items left over from taking on your revenge that will help you out with your situation."

The remaining two ruby gemstones appeared on either side of the USB drive as Ukulele gave out instructions.

"First, eat one and make a wish for this scene to be erased from everyone's mind that witnessed and or even heard about it."

Joohyun nodded as she plucked one of the two rubies from the air and did as she was told.

"Second, wish to have more faith in yourself and to be the you that you desire to be to continue living life."

Joohyun smiled upon hearing those words and instantly made the second wish with her whole heart. Ukulele shot her a smile with a wink.

"You got this, Ms. Watermelon."

Ukulele poofed away with Hibiscus returning along with Eclare.

"I'm here to let you know when we'll go back, but Eclare has some words for you." Hibiscus explained.

"Yeah, that ex-boyfriend of yours is straight trash."

Eclare stated with a laugh.

"You really won't have to worry about him or that new girlfriend of his ever again, Ms. Watermelon. Live a very good long life and don't linger on the past too much. By the way, one of these things is yours and the other is for him."

Eclare soon poofed away after speaking just as Blanc appeared.

"Yo, since everyone's saying words or whatever, it was me that messed up those girls' make-up. They won't ever gossip ever again either."

Blanc shot her a wink.

"Laters, Ms. Watermelon. It was fun while it lasted and wished I could've done more for ya."

Blanc poofed away leaving only her and Hibiscus after speaking.

"Ready?"

Joohyun inhaled and exhaled before nodding.

"Ready."

"3, 2, 1, time flows again."

Joohyun caught both of the thumb drives as she placed one into her pant pocket before facing the pair with the other in had. She looked at Bogum with disdain.

"What are you looking at?"

Bogum asked although there was a hint of fear in his tone. Luckily for him, Hyeri wasn't scared.

"Look, back off or I will make your life a living hell."

"Try me."

Joohyun stared her down before tossing the USB drive at Bogum.

"That's for you."

"You're so annoying. I told you to back off."

Hyrei shoved Joohyun to the ground a moment later.

"What's going on here?"

Jaejoong's sudden voiced asked loudly upon arriving on the floor and seeing his employees standing around. Jinyoung along with others part of the meeting arrived a few seconds later. The others employees looked dumbfounded and weren't sure why they were there in the first place. None of them knew how to respond to Jaejoong. Jaejoong's eyes landed on the trio and he made his way over along with Jinyoung as he was the first one to help Joohyun to her feet.

"Are you, alright, Ms. Bae?"

"Yes. Thank you, Mr. Park."

Jaejoong's eyes shifted to and fro from Bogum and Joohyun.

"Is there something here I need to intervene in?"

"Sorry, sir. It was just that Joohyun wanted to cause trouble." Bogum explained with a nervous tone.

"Is that so, Ms. Bae?"

Jaejoong focused his attention onto Joohyun, but she was calm.

"No, sir, it was not. I wanted to clear up the rumors that were misspoken about me due to Bogum."

"Lies, sir. Anyways," Bogum re-directed the subject, "This is Lee Hyeri and she's the one that's supposed to replaced Joohyun right away."

"Hello, President Kim. I'm Lee Hyeri." Hyeri introduced herself.

Jaejoong ignored her with his eyes on Bogum.

"Since when was this discussed?"

"Well, I, um, I, sir-"

"You're suspended until further notice, Park Bogum."

Jaejoong interrupted his employee with slight annoyance as his attention went to Hyeri.

"As for you, if you depended on him to get you a job here, then you're wrong. I don't care for whatever connections you may think will work, but MOLDIR does not run like that or ever will."

Jaejoong held up a hand to shut down Bogum and Hyeri from talking again.

"Now, get out of my sight before things become worser than before."

Bogum immediately left with Hyeri despite the woman wanting to rant, but Bogum was not having it. As for Joohyun, she wasn't sure what had just occured just now, but it felt relieving nevertheness.

"Everyone, please return to what you were doing." Jaejoong ordered as everyone minded their own business again.

Jaejoong looked over at Joohyun.

"Ms. Bae, you're free to take the rest of today off."

"Sir?"

"Have a good day.

Joohyun looked over at Jinyoung when Jaejoong walked away.

"Don't worry, Ms. Bae, do as he says." Jinyoung assured her as Joohyun nodded.

~~~~~~~~~

"That's a lot of paperwork to do."

Joohyun spoke aloud upon returning to work a few days later and seeing the assignments she was informed to do. Despite taking the rest of the day off the other day, Jaejoong had actually notified her to rest for the next two days. Today was now Friday.

"Good morning, Ms. Bae."

Jinyoung's voice greeted and Joohyun greeted him back.

"Good morning, Mr. Park."

She pointed at the papers on her desk.

"Doesn't Nayeon, Jihyo, and Momo usually take care of this?"

"They do, but they've been swamped with taking care of Bogum's work as well. So, for the moment, I've assigned a partial of their easier workload over to you."

"Ah, I see."

"Will that be a problem?"

"Oh, no. I should be fine."

"Do let me know if you have any questions, Ms. Bae."

"Will, do, sir."

Jinyoung cast her a small smile before walking away. Joohyun sat at her desk and went through the pile to figure out how to go about it.

~~~~~~~~~

"This is a lot more work than I thought."

Joohyun muttered to herself while making photocopies of one of the assignments. Her comment wasn't intended to be heard, but it was.

"Is that so, Ms. Bae?"

Joohyun's head jerked to look over at an amused Jinyoung as he joined in the printer room.

"That's not what I meant, sir. I feel like a secretary slash personal assistant slash regular worker since assisting Momo, Jihyo and Nayeon."

"Like I mentioned the other day, Ms. Bae, you have accountability unlike the others here at the company."

Joohyun just nodded not sure how to respond.

"President Kim is actually considering promoting you to be his secretary."

"What? Why?"

Joohyun stopped gathering the paper while organizing them to stare at her lead supervisor. Jinyoung was amused before replying.

"You're responsible, have good work ethics, and again that accountability trait of yours. You also don't complain and let me know when you have questions or concerns."

"But aren't there others that could be his secretary? I mean, Minji, Sua, and Yoohyeon are just as incredible as I am."

Then it hit her that Bogum may have been fired instead of suspended.

"Wait, what about Bogum? He's still just suspended, right?"

"Let's not worry about him and as for those that you've mentioned, they're still candidates for the position. More importantly, I should worry as I'll be losing you as a key worker on my team."

Jinyoung's words caused Joohyun to feel weirdly about how he said it.

"Well, um, I'm sure you'll find someone else to replace me, sir, if that was to happen."

"What if I don't want to replace you? What if I reject the idea of you being a candidate for President Kim's secretary?"

Joohyun stared at Jinyoung with widened eyes. How was she supposed to respond to that?

"I will admit that I'll be envious as you're a hard-worker, Ms. Bae, but there's something about your overall character that's charming. Almost like, a spell was cast upon me."

Joohyun felt happy upon hearing the praises until she heard the last part remembering what she actually did with the doll given by Flesh.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Park, but I need to get these to Mr. Yoon. Excuse me."

Joohyun gathered her papers and left in a hurry while leaving Jinyoung to watch her back puzzled. Shortly afterwards Jinyoung heard one of the printing machine start up reminding him he needed to return to work as well. Joohyun avoided Jinyoung while making sure her work got done and Jinyoung picked up on it. Still, he didn't approach Joohyun and gave her space.

~~~~~~~~~

"What am I supposed to do?"

Joohyun asked herself along with other questions in regards to what had occured earlier today at work upon heading home. She didn't have time to ponder on it longer as when she returned home, Bogum was waiting outside her apartment complex.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him as she got closer.

Bogum's appearance was disheveled and seemed like he hadn't showered in days. There was also a crazy look in his eyes when he faced her.

"Bogum..." Joohyun tentatively said his name once more, but kept her distance.

Bogum pointed an accusing finger at her while tossing the thumb drive in her direction that she had thrown at him the day he got suspended.

"You've gone too far, Pyo Chooyun."

Joohyun didn't bother to catch the small device and left it on the ground where it landed nor bother correcting her name. She became cautious of his behavior while not saying anything in response and let him continued ranting.

"First you sabotage my career at MOLDIR leading me to be fire due to embezzlement."

Bogum stated while running a hand through his hair.

"Then you ruin my credit by opening fake offshore bank accounts causing me trouble with the police."

He clicked his tongue with disgust.

"But the kicker is that I can't believe you would fabricate those ridiculous images to make it seem like Hyeri was cheating on me."

"I thought you were just dumb and stupid, but really you're a manipulate and crazy bitch with no life."

Joohyun took small steps back.

"Because of you I confronted Hyrei about it and she left me. Said that she didn't want to be with me because I no longer work for MOLDIR. That I have no status anymore due to being chased and hounded by the police and loan-sharks."

Bogum let out a mechanical laugh.

"Ha. Like it was my fault? My life was perfect before you got involved and came to ruin it after the break-up."

He then cast her a deranged look.

"You should've left me alone when I kicked you out of my home."

He wagged his index finger at her.

"I'll show you the hell that you've just put me through."

Bogum charged at her and Joohyun quickly turned around to get away from her ex-boyfriend. Somehow in her paniced state she remembered what Hibiscus told her the other day and reached for the other thumb drive in her bag. She pulled it out and whipped around to face Bogum.

"You reap what you sow."

She flung it at the charging Bogum which made contact with him and instantly time once again froze. Grim Reaper Jessica materialized beside her as her eyes landed on both figures before focusing on Joohyun.

"Are you ready to complete the revenge, Bae Joohyun?"

Joohyun nodded quickly as Grim Reaper Jessica motioned for the USB drive thrown at Bogum to come towards her. The grim reaper presented the item towards Joohyun.

"Now like how you would toss this into a pool of water, wish for the last desire of this revenge, and toss it."

Joohyun slowly took the item, closed her eyes to make the wish, and tossed it into the air after doing so. Quickly, a fiery red light exploded from the device causing a strong gust of wind to blow by taking Bogum away. Grim Reaper Jessica smirked before de-materializing away just as Joohyun opened her eyes. Time continued and she looked around her with an unsure expression, but her heart finally felt at ease.

~~~~~~~~~

"Where am I?! Who did this?!" Bogum screamed as he ran around the dark area that the wind had brought him to.

"BAEK JUYEON!"

"Even after all this time you still can't remember her name."

Grim Reaper Jessica stated from behind Bogum who suddenly swirled around to face her.

"Tsk, tsk. What a pathetic man."

"Who are you?" Bogum asked before giving her a once over with a laugh.

"What the hell are you supposed to be? A wannable rockstar or something?"

Grim Reaper Jessica smirked as the air around them suddenly grew colder while the the skies became darker and began thundering. Bogum nervously glanced around him as he shivered upon the sudden temperature change. He let out a yelp upon seeing the three hellhounds at his feet with their colored eyes glowing even brightly than before as they bared their teeth.

"What are those?" Bogum pointed at the hellhounds.

"Call them back! Call them back!"

Grim Reaper Jessica laughed as she began walking around Bogum while the pups stayed in their spots, but no longer bared their teeth.

"This isn't funny! I'm being serious!"

The grim reaper stopped as she shot the man a dark look.

"So am I."

"What do you want from me?"

"To repent."

"For what? What did I do?"

"You tell me."

Grim Reaper Jessica said as she motioned with her hand like she was swiping digitally in the air as several rectangles appeared in the air like a movie projection was on. Before Bogum's eyes were clips of his life playing out for him. He witnessed the actions and crimes he had done to which he blamed Joohyun for fabricating, but were all true. Then they changed to show how he had treated Joohyun and Hyrei both differently. It changed again to how he had treated Joohyun since she started her job at MOLDIR.

"What is this crap?"

Bogum demanded as he swiped at the see-through screens, but the images continued to play on despite his frivolous swiping.

"Stop this! It's that stupid woman's fault! Argh!"

Grim Reaper Jessica closed her fist and the clips disappeared.

"Stupid woman?"

She repeated.

"Yeah, pretty stupid for falling for a pathetic guy like you."

"I am not pathetic."

"Sure you aren't."

Gim Reaper Jessica rushed towards him and pushed him causing him to fall and it seemed like forever until he hit solid ground. Bogum stood and noticed that he was in Hyeri's apartment. Confused, he walked around the apartment and heard laughter coming from her bedroom. He walked towards the bedroom with unsteady steps. He gulped as he got closer and closer while the laughter got louder and louder. When he pushed open the door he saw Hyeri in bed with another man. She was laughing with the other man about something he couldn't hear.

Anger flared within in as his was the other man that he was being cheated on. Bogum remembered his face in the images that Joohyun had given to him on the thumb drive. He marched over to the bed to punch the guy, but hit air. He tried again, but nothing. Next he tried to pull Hyeri away, but nothing. He roared in frustration and rushed forward only to fall through them and ended back at where he was previously before the grim reaper had pushed him.

"It isn't fun when it happens to you, too, huh?"

Grim Reaper Serena taunted.

"You reaped what you sowed."

When those words left her mouth something riled up in Bogum and he charged at Grim Reaper Jessica, but before he could touch her the three hellhounds lunged at him and pinned him down.

"Get them off! I said get them off of me!" Bogum screamed as the pups snarled in response.

Grim Reaper Jessica hovered above him with a wicked smile.

"Will you repent for your sins, Park Bogum?"

"I'm not going to do anything you weirdo!"

"Tch. Too bad, my punishments are less severe. Well, enjoy Hell. It's hotter than the summers you've experienced thus far."

"Hell? What do you me-ahhhh!"

The ground beneath Bogum opened and he fell through. When he landed he instantly stood up to see a brooding man sitting upon a throne.

"Where am I now?"

"Well, why Hell of course, Park Bogum."

Lucifer grinned while sweeping a hand to indicate his dark kingdom as he stood and began making his way towards Bogum.

"Welcome to an eternity of damnation."

Before Bogum could protest he was consumed by the Flames of Hell and transported elsewhere within the underworld.

~~~~~~~~~

"Ugh."

Joohyun winced in pain as she felt a burning sensation upon her left shoulder blade.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Her mother asked as they were eating dinner.

"I think I'm just sore."

She reassured her mother as to not worry her as they continued eating. Some time later Joohyun forgotten about the burning sensation when she got out of the shower and when wrapping a towel around her body she saw a small black marking. The insignia was of a star with a crescent moon beneath not bigger than an inch. It looked like a tattoo and was still slightly red around the edges.

"Is this what the grim reaper meant about the revenge being finalized?"

Joohyun mumbled as she pressed a finger to the design, but nothing happened.

"It's really is going to stay with me until I die."

When Joohyun got dressed, readied for bed, and was about to turn off the light she almost let out a scream when she saw Blanc sitting on her night stand with a bored face. Joohyun quickly sat up in bed as her eyes flickered around the room and spotted Grim Reaper Jessica sitting at the foot of her bed while petting Eclare.

"What are you doing here?" Joohyun asked once she calmed herself down.

"Just checking on you for the last time." The grim reaper responded with a kind smile.

"How do you feel now?"

"Do you normally do this?"

"Some times."

Joohyun regarded the grim reaper for a bit and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine, but..."

"But you're thinking about what Park Jinyoung had said earlier?"

Grim Reaper Jessica concluded as she snapped her fingers to pull up a different color folder than last tme. This was slightly pinkish and this time Joohyun noticed it.

"What's that?"

"Ooh, this is because of my doing." Blanc stated before looking over at Joohyun with a playful grin.

"You can thank me later."

"Wait, isn't it over now?"

"N-"

Grim Reaper Jessica swooshed the white feline away as Eclare laughed.

"Bye, Ms. Watermelon."

He poofed away shortly afterwards.

"Why do they call me that?"

"To them you smell like watermelons during summer time."

"Oh."

"Anyways, back to your situation with your lead supervisor, let's just say, fate brought you here because of the ruby, but destiny is how you'll choose to live the rest of your life, Bae Joohyun."

Just as Joohyun was thinking of how to reply to that Grim Reaper Jessica started to disappear, but she could hear the grim reaper's voice whispered something before she completely went away.

"You reap what you sow works both ways."

Then it was silent. Joohyun clicked off the light, but continued to sit upright in bed not quite ready to fall asleep like she had wanted. She closed her eyes and inhaled and exhaled slowly. She opened her eyes just as she heard a soft ping from her phone and checked it. She received a message from Jinyoung and wasn't sure if she should open it or not. There was a faint sound of a melody played around her as if to encourage her to go for it. She remembered the grim reaper's words and opened the message with a nervous heart, but a shy smile appeared when she read the contents.

I know it's late, but I wanted to apologize about the events that occurred earlier today, Ms. Bae, but I understand if in the end you do decide to consider the position for President Kim's secretary or asked to be transferred to another department. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, but I do appreciate you as a person as well as a key member of the team, Ms. Bae. Well, have a good night and hopefully see you tomorrow morning.

- Park Jinyoung

A warm-fuzzy feeling settled within Joohyun as she responded with a short message to Jinyoung that she would see him tomorrow and they could talk further then. After setting her phone on her night stand she faintly caught sight of something twinkling in the air from the rays of the moon. She focused her attention to it before following it to discovered a thin red string tied around her right pinky. Her heart softly swell with a tinge of happiness and silently thanked those who helped her to regain herself again.

~~~~~~~~~

"You do know that it was just the revenge part you were only supposed to deal with, right?" 

Ailee, a love watcher that oversees Cupid Jessica's duties, eyed her charge as Cupid Jessica shrugged with a half-smile.

"Yeah, but I'm the Cupid Reaper, remember?"

"I do, but sheesh. Summer romance, huh? So, what are you doing to do now?"

"Nothing as of yet. I mean, Yue Lao was the one that took pity on Bae Joohyun, Lilith assigned her to me, and so why not let Joohyun have her own love story with the one she's actually supposed to be with. Right?"

The duo were at the Cupid Station where they were watching Joohyun's life play on the CupidTV before Cupid Jessica turned it off.

"Well, those are the duties we are given. Still, even after these years, you still do you."

Ailee chuckled lightly while nudging Cupid Serena as she returned the same gesture.

"Of course, I have to get my sister back."

"I know."

"Anyways, gotta go. I'll be at the swing like always if you need me."

"Yes, I know. Bye, Cupid J."

"Buh-bye."

Cupid Jessica exited the Cupid Station and was now in the Eternal Twilight. Jessica sat on the swing, looked towards the horizon of the sea with the stars and moon gleaming down upon her, and slowly swung back and forth with the same melodious sound around her as she awaited the day she would see Krystal again.

[beyoncesdragon]

Runaway

Pairing: MinhoxReader 

Warnings: swearing, some fighting and major asshole Minhoe 

Summary: When Thomas, a Greenie no longer than 3 days is promoted to a runner, and you who trained for month now, is being overlooked, it leads to a confrontation between you and Minho. A confrontation much needed, on top of that.

My Masterlist 

(Gif credits)

The sun hadn’t risen all too high when I reached the spot in front of the huge doors into the maze, dropping into the still wet grass. I leaned against the black stone wall and crossed my arms over my chest. I was properly pissed off to say the least. So pissed off that I even managed it to get up in that unholy hours of the morning, about one or two earlier than I, currently working as a Med-Jack, should get up. 

Currently because I was working hard on being able to change my task in the maze from Med-Jack to Runner. But observing the current course of things it looked like I could forget that. My head snapped up as I heard steps approaching me. My eyes immediately locked with a pair of brown ones, belonging to the keeper of the runners. 

Minho, the tall Asian with strong arms and short, black hair leaded the runners since I arrived in the maze and had intrigued me since then. He was rather aggressive in his way of engaging in a conversation, having a strong tendency to be extremely sarcastic. He was famous for his habit of always having the last word at any argument or debate and his quick ways of cornering you with arguments until you had to admit that he was right. But he had, through his sarcasm probably, the best senses of humour amongst the Gladers, and got along with everyone basically. Except for maybe Gally from time to time, but I assumed that this was only because the two were both hotheads. So no one could really blame me for feeling attracted to him, right? But now, now I could’ve punched him in his pretty face.

“Morning shebean…why are you up already?” Minho greeted me with a weird expression on his face. He probably knew exactly why I was here and not looking particularly happy. “Good morning Minho. I just wanted to check if what I heard is right…that you take a Greenie out into the maze.” Thomas next to him froze on spot, perfectly well hearing the bitter lilt I had purposely added to my spat out words. Minho tensed up a bit waiting for me to continue.

“So, how is he allowed to become a runner after not even being here for a whole week?!” Minho’s shoulders slumped down a bit before he fixed his posture again. “Listen…I get that you are maybe upset about that but can you not make a fuss now please? Thomas and I really need to go and…” I snorted angered.

“Why not? Why not make a fuss Minho? Listen I trained for the last two months to be in his position and – no offense Thomas, I really like you and you are a shucking fast runner and cute and all – but I have been here longer!” I hissed angrily, mimicking Minho’s pose by crossing my arms over my chest as well. Thomas threw me a puzzled look.

“No...no offense taken. But you…you think I’m cute?” Thomas asked, eyes wide. Minho rolled his eyes taking my attention from the Newbie again.

“Now Minho? I worked my shucking ass off for two whole months to be here okay? I worked as Slicer, in the Blood-House, as a builder, as everything really, just so I could one day qualify as a darn runner. Wouldn’t you be pissed off as well? Listen, if you don’t want to have me in the team then just say it right away before I embarrass myself further by exercising every damn day for it!” My blood was boiling as I finished my speech, staring angrily at his annoyingly pretty face. What I was telling him was all true and he knew: I had gotten up earlier to run rounds so I stay fit, get faster and more persistent every morning. I had learned to read the sun to find out how late it was or where I was. I had learned it all, just to be replaced by a Greenie, who was hardly three days in the Maze by now.

“It’s not even about that! It’s just that you…you just…” Minho started, but he seemed a little less confident in his arguments. That somehow made me even angrier. “That I what? Am a girl? Not fast enough? Spill Minho, don’t dare to come up with a lame excuse like not being able to expand the cadre by one more member!” I could see him slowly getting fed up with this situation, maybe with me. But I was so angry by now that I couldn’t get myself to the point where I would care.

“Can you at least listen to me, shebean!” he hissed annoyed, stepping a step closer, glaring down at me.” I pouted offended, trying my best not to feel too distracted by his close proximity.

“Shoot, runner. Tell me why I am not good enough.” I pushed out and he snorted irritated. “Good gods it’s not…it’s about you having to be able to defend yourself in a proper way!” I frowned up to him.

“I can defend myself? I learned how to handle a spear a dagger and even a gun…” he just shook his head. “Oh yeah? So how would you react if I would suddenly go crazy? What if we were in the maze and I got stung…and the poison makes me attack you? Come on, show how you handle that!” when he before seemed passive-aggressive, then he now went fully hostile. Handing me one of his knifes, he drew another one before starting to circle me. With a sudden leap, he tried to surprise me and I could block him in the last moment. Minho was fast, incredibly fast actually. He had me quickly on the ground, pressing me down onto the cold grass. With a serious glance down he rose his arm and it looked like he would actually try to stab me. I could dodge the blade quickly, and tried to roll out of his reach, but Minho was again, faster than I was. Suppressing a wince I blocked another stroke. I could slowly fear a form of fear creep up, since he seemed to be determined to hurt me.

“What the shuck is going on here?” Newt’s voice made Minho stop for a few seconds. I glanced up at him, seeing how other people slowly gathered around us.

“I’m just proving a point.” Minho pushed out, looking back at me. Then, completely out of the blue, Minho just absolutely remorseless pressed his blade against my throat. I managed it somehow to push him away, but he had quickly found his spot again, this time pining my arms down as well.

“Minho stop now, it’s okay. We got it, she got it as well. Calm down.” Newt mumbled, giving me a quick and slightly confused glance.

“Alright.” Minho jumped off me, knocking the dirt off his pants. “How you see, you aren’t exactly prepared for the maze in this way. Now step aside, we already are late, should’ve left half an hour ago.” His tone was harsh and cold and I could only stare at him. He couldn’t be bloody serious, could he? With a gulp I turned away, rushing off in anger and with tears in my eyes.

How dare he? How was that stupid exercise anyhow proof that I was ready for the maze or not? Looking back at it, I was convinced more and more, that he had done this solely because he just really needed a reason to turn me down. And that hurt, especially because he did it like that.

When Thomas and Minho returned from the maze in the evening and came for check-ups into the med jack hut, I left the tent immediately without giving them a hint of attention. The anger, that had cooled down just very slightly during the day, boiled up the second I saw Minho approaching. I heard Minho sigh softly, calling my name out but I was already gone. I had no intention to talk to him anytime soon. Not tonight at the bonfire, not after the bonfire, not tomorrow and not in a week. Preferably not ever again.

“What’s up with you?” I looked up to Gally, holding a bundle of wood in his arms. “Minho’s up.” I answered, following him to the pile of already stacked wood for tonight. “Wanna talk about it?” Gally offered, dropping the wood down. I shrugged. “There isn’t much to talk about really. He’s just acting like a total shank and I can’t deal with it I guess.” Gally laughed softly, patting my shoulder.

“That he is. I heard what happened this morning at the doors. Wasn’t cool, not at all.” I shrugged bitterly, tossing a piece of wood onto the stack. “Guess everyone heard about it. And the rest saw it live.” Gally sighed, giving me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry about that.” I waved him off. “Don’t be. There is no reason for you to be sorry about it, you weren’t acting like a dick.”

“Light him up!” Alby shouted and several burning spears were thrown at a high wooden stake with a bulls’ skull on a pole. The chanting set in and I let my eyes wander over the seemingly all happy gladers around the fire, avoiding a certain section around the fire where the runners were standing. “You want something to drink?” Gally offered, handing me a jar of liquor. I shrugged, taking a few gulps just to feel the bitter alcohol numb my tongue immediately. I wanted to hand him the jar back, when I suddenly realised that Gally was no longer next to me. Instead, Minho had taken his place quietly, looking down at me.

“Still mad?” he asked carefully, reaching for the liquor but I pulled back. He sighed. “So you choose to ignore me now? For how long do you think this’ll work out?” I huffed frustrated, giving him an angry glare.

“You seriously think, you deserve anything less? You humiliated me in front of almost everyone, for no reasonable aim at all. Let’s face it Minho, you just don’t want me on the team.” I spat out, causing him to run his fingers through his hair with an irritated growl.

“Oh can you lay off of it already! I told you…” “You started it! Go and blame yourself, you miserable liar.” I chimed angrily, my fists clenched. “Liar? Oh I am a liar now as well?” Minho argued back, his jaw clenching. All the voices suddenly quieted down, and I could feel everybody’s eyes on us. But I again, was too angry to care.

“Yes! Admit it Minho, no one would have to fight like this in the maze. You know exactly that I could never stand a chance against you. You just wanted to be sure that you had another reason why I wasn’t qualified!” Minho snorted. “Oh really? Is that how you think I…do you know what?” his eyes were blazing of anger, a vein pulsated at his neck and his whole body was tense.

“Yes. Yes, you are right. I knew that I would defeat you and I did try to make sure you weren’t qualified for it.” Though, I kinda expected it to be like that, his bluntness still surprised me. And it hurt me quite a lot.

“W-what?”

But he wasn’t quite done yet. “You wanna know why? Because being a runner is so much more than just having a good sense of direction, high endurance or being fast. It is being able to think rational, to realize when you can take care of someone you care for, or when you have to leave him or her behind, knowing that else you wouldn’t make it back. It’s about being a loyal friend but never, not once look back in hazardous situations and just run, never stop until safe.” I gulped nervously, feeling my confidence and anger melt away.

“But…but what do I have…?” I stuttered, stepping back carefully. Minho immediately followed up.

“You wanna know why or how this is affecting you? It is because I am a quite…selfish person. I could neverthink rational if you were with me, I could never leave you behind in the maze when you were injured. I would always look back to make sure your dumbass is safe and alive. And I could never forgive myself if something happened to you.” my eyes widened, thoughts of confusion and disbelief rotating in my brain.

“Does that mean that you…I mean…?” He suddenly looked resigned. “I care about you. Quite a lot actually, because I, how you maybe figured, like you. If you would excuse me no-…” he never managed to finish his now unsure trail of words, because I cut him off by leaping up and pressing my lips against his.

“And you hadn’t had the balls to just tell me? I like you too, slinthead. This could’ve been so easy…” Minho said nothing, a bright look in his eyes. Then suddenly, he pulled me up again, placing his lips back on mine. I could feel his lips turn up into a smirk before we parted again, and he brushed over my lips with his index finger. “Guess I don’t only run away from grievers love. Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not particularly brave…” he ushered amused, tilting his head.

“But it still doesn’t change a thing.” I narrowed my eyes. “You stay in here, doll. Can’t have you out there.” I hit his chest in response, making everyone chuckle. The only difference was now that I understood why. 

I still wasn't fully convinced though...but for now I would accept my fate. For now.