#and i already owe the hospital a lot of money

[love-everlasting]

Leaving for chicago today and I’m SOOOO SICK vyvanse literally has it out to get me BUT i have no insurance so i cant go to the doctor

[themultifanshipper]

i will pay GOOD MONEY to read this bro

https://www.tumblr.com/themultifanshipper/756785500347580416/4-way-eiffel-tower

You hadn't been in the paddock for several months, being too busy with your career, and the drivers were starting to get antsy about your return.

But who would be good enough to have a go at you was anybody's guess as the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend got underway.

Warnings: Kinda paddock bunny vibes, but reader more in control, smut, brief stuff with Lando and Charles, slightly creepy/predatory behaviour (but everything is consensual), hand job, oral, PinV, PinA, anal, like 3 lines of dirty talk, aftercare, eeeeh idk what else

Part 1 of One of The Boys

Max was the first to spot you on Friday morning, you were chatting with some of the formula 3 drivers who were getting ready for their practice session.

He wrapped you in a big hug from behind and lifted you up.

“I know it's been a while but these guys are a bit young for you aren't they?” he said teasingly and you slapped his arm, giggling as he put you down.

“Don’t worry, I already have my hands full with you lot. They'll get their turn if they get into formula 1”

You walked with him on his way towards the redbull hospitality.

���Yeah?” he smirked “Speaking of, what's my prize going to be when I inevitably win on Sunday?”

You laughed at him.

“Given how your car's been performing lately I'm not sure your cockiness is justified”

He gasped and put a hand on his chest in mock offense.

“How dare you doubt my talents?”

“It's not 2023 anymore Max, you can't have me all to yourself. You need to learn to share…” you smiled at him devilishly “And for your information, I won't be giving a prize to the winner anyway, so it's anyone's game”

You winked conspiratorially and sauntered off leaving Max on his own to wonder what on earth you meant by that.

The next person you saw was Lando, that very afternoon. And word had obviously traveled fast.

“A little birdy told me you weren't interested in podium sitters this weekend…” he hooked his arm over your shoulder and pressed a kiss to you cheek in greeting “So what's a man gotta do around here to get you to himself?”

He deepened his voice seductively , but it just served to make you laugh at him, given the number of times you'd heard high pitched whines come out of his mouth during your… celebratory activities.

“Well, hello to you too Lando, how was your week?” you teased and he almost looked guilty for a second, before grinning and hugging you tight.

“I missed you in Miami, so I think you owe me something for my first win, no?” he smirked and walked you over to a secluded corner between two garages.

You rolled your eyes at him, amused by his impatience.

He crowded you against the wall and your hands went to pull him closer by his belt loops, so his hips were flush against yours. He gasped and his hips bucked involuntarily at the action.

You laughed “Come here you horndog” and he crashed his lips to yours in a desperate, messy kiss. His lips came to part yours immediately. He hadn't tasted you for so long it took him seconds to get hard.

Your hand made it inside his pants and he whined and rutted against your hand as his head went to the crook of your neck. He was breathing hard and you could almost feel him trembling in your hold.

This was going to be the quickest handjob of your life.

And he never did manage to ask about Sunday's prize.

…

A few hours later, in the car park, you were cornered by none other than Charles Leclerc.

“Hello” He murmured in your ear and you jumped at the sudden presence behind you.

You turned around quickly and he pressed you against your car to hug you.

“Hello Charles, how are you?” you said while Charles tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Horny” he answered immediately with a smile.

You laughed and he put his hands either side of you, caging you in.

“I can wait until I win on Sunday of course, but I've been told you have something else in mind”

He raised an eyebrow in question and you sighed.

“I'm not telling you what it is Charles”

He nodded solemnly “In that case…” he swiftly opened the back door of your car and pushed you inside, climbed in and closed it behind him.

“I think you owe me a little something for my Home win in Monaco, don't you think?” He wiggled his eyebrows but you just scoffed. “Come on princess, I want to taste you. It's been so long” he whined.

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. Well if you weren't going to be doing any work… might as well enjoy a treat for once.

You smirked at him and he grinned, spreading your legs and lifting your dress…

This was going to be a long weekend.

You managed to mostly avoid the drivers’ advances on Saturday, them being pretty busy with prep and qualifying and sticking around the feeder series drivers.

You hadn't even checked the group chat you'd been added to, you assumed it would just be full of questions about Sunday so you steered clear. Your plans would be revealed soon enough.

Sunday morning you arrived bright and early, catching Carlos on your way in and told him to spread the word with the others:

To shake things up a bit, and to celebrate you returning from your lengthy leave of absence, you would be rewarding the top 3 fastest laps of the race, regardless of the placement in the standings.

As you watched the race unfold you were getting more and more excited. The fastest laps were getting passed around like a football, and you were looking forward to potentially getting to have some fresh blood.

And you were right. The fresh blood came in the form of Logan Sargeant. You hadn't been able to spend a night with him yet, him never having gotten a podium.

After the race you sent a message in the group chat:

‘Congratulations to George, Logan and Max! (And Oscar of course 😘)

The three of you are welcome to stop by my hotel room (306 at the hilton, Lando don't you dare) and you need to decide between yourselves about the order etc etc… I'll be waiting ;)’

.

After a quick shower and a quick meal you lay on your bed and checked your messages.

There was just one from George.

‘we'll be there at 7:30’

Oh…

They were all coming together. (pun intended)

Interesting…

You imagined what it would be like. Would they take turns with you? George or Max showing Logan how to handle you. Fucking you into the mattress while he sat in the chair and watched, waiting for his turn.

Or maybe two of them would fill you up while the other ran his hands and mouth all over your body.

Would any of them be into touching each other? You knew Max and George were closer than what they revealed to the public, and that they had hooked up, but would you get to see it?

You imagined what Logan could be like… Was he inexperienced? Did he fuck like a pro?

All these questions were swirling around your mind when a knock at the door interrupted you. A spark of arousal shot through you and you hurried to go and open it.

Max was leaning against the frame, George stood behind him, smirking, and Logan was leaning against the opposite wall, looking cool as a cucumber as his eyes roamed your figure.

“Come on in boys” you said cheerfully, stepping aside to let them through before closing the door and sitting yourself on the bed in front of them.

“So what’s the plan, Max?” you said mischievously “You going to show these guys how it's done? Or is George going to come and claim his prize for Austria?”

George chuckled.

“Actually, we're going to fill you up.”

You frowned at him in question. “Fill me up?”

“You've got 3 holes for a reason, right?”

Your eyes widened and your jaw dropped.

“Fuck, okay…”

You found yourself bent over the bed, Max's mouth on your cunt and his fingers in your ass, stretching you out for him.

George's cock was in your mouth, and your hand was wrapped around Logan, pumping him at a leisurely pace.

Once you had come from Max's expert fingers and mouth, he deemed you ready and you were repositioned to their liking.

You straddled Logan, Max behind you, and George in front of you.

Pulling Logan into a sloppy kiss, you sank down on him slowly. Your heat enveloped him and he moaned into your mouth as you ground your hips down on him.

You felt Max's presence behind you and he pushed you and Logan to lay down. He positioned himself at your entrance and stroked your flesh tenderly.

“You ready, baby?”

You nodded and he wasted no time pushing the tip in.

You moaned, he was pretty big, and Logan was already filling you up nicely.

He pushed in slowly, and with every inch your moans increased in pitch.

Logan could feel you fluttering around him and it was driving him crazy, choosing to distract himself, and you, by sucking marks into your neck.

Once Max was fully inside, George came forward and stroked your cheek.

“You okay, sweetheart?”

You felt so full you didn't quite know how to respond, overwhelmed by the feeling of the two men inside you.

But when they started moving it was a whole different ball park.

The drag of two cocks against your walls was sending shocks of pleasure throughout your body, it was indescribable.

They didn't have the same rhythm so sometimes one pushed in while the other dragged out, but when both of them pushed in together you swore loudly as they nudged every single one of your sweet spots.

George wrapped a hand in your hair and you looked up at him, already fucked out of your mind.

“Mind if I use your mouth, love?”

He asked with a sweet smile.

You grinned at him and stuck your tongue out.

“Good girl”

Being used by 3 of the fittest men on the planet was exhausting, but incredibly rewarding, as you felt your orgasm creep up on you.

You moaned around George and he pulled out to let you breathe.

Max piped up.

“You getting close, baby?”

You whined out a yes before grabbing George's hips and shoving your mouth back on him, the weight of his cock a grounding presence to counter the white hot pleasure coursing through your body.

“Good, because we're close too, we're going to fill you up. Right guys?”

George hummed and stroked your tear stained cheeks. “And you're going to be a good girl and swallow it all, yes?”

You hummed around him, and then Logan spoke for the first time since he'd walked in the room.

“Gonna fill this sweet pussy full of my cum, baby. You like being full of cum? You like being used like a slut by your friends?”

The shock of his voice in your ear sent a shockwave through you and you came on the spot, creaming around Logan and spasming around Max. They both came inside you with a groan after a couple of rough thrusts and stayed there while you came down.

George wasn't far behind and you swallowed all of him as his come filled your mouth.

The aftercare was amazing. George and Logan accompanied you in the shower, one washing your hair while the other scrubbed your body clean of sweat and leaked come.

Max changed the sheets (he called room service for clean ones) and then went in the shower once you were done.

You went to sleep with the three of them huddled around you, their hands wandering over your flesh affectionately.

You always took care of your boys, and they always took care of you.

[whatsk-poppinhomies]

Pairing : Dad!Lee Minho x F!Reader TW : pregnant reader ; one child ; just fluff ; the fluffiest fluff ; Word Count : 2.3k Request : Anonny : Can we have more dad lee know 🥹 after the newest skz family ep dad lee know has taken over me A/N : Gonna make this in headcanon mode so that I can give multiple examples, I can't focus on just one. The Minho brainrot has gotten to me!

Dad Lee Know who announced your pregnancy through bubble and took an hour and half a bag of kitty treats just to line Soonie, Doongie, and Dori up around your positive pregnancy test. The only caption was “I’ve been promoted from cat dad to real dad.” 

Dad Lee Know who keeps the pregnancy tracker app on his phone because he wants you to have enough storage on your phone to take constant pictures of belly updates. He sends you a text every time a week passes letting you know what the baby is the size of. Your favorite text was probably the random “BASEBALL!!!” text, it took you a good five minutes to understand what it meant since he didn’t elaborate. 

Dad Lee Know who comes home from work every day and gives your belly kisses, telling his little baseball sized baby that he missed them dearly. He says it’s so that they get used to hearing it already and they’ll know what it means when they come out. 

Dad Lee Know who plans his entire schedule around your doctors appointments, making sure that he’s able to make it to each and every one of them. He and Chan almost got into a fight because Chan accidentally said the wrong date for practice. He even wrote the appointment dates on the staff calendar so they knew not to schedule anything for those days. 

Dad Lee Know who had playfully made a bet with the guys about the gender of his child. He said he had thought it was, and he had wanted a boy, but when it was revealed that he was having a daughter he had cried tears of joy and excitedly wrote in the group chat that he’d give the guys the money he owed them for the bet after he took you out to eat. 

Dad Lee Know who started decorating the nursery for his daughter the day after the appointment, declaring that the nursery would be fit for a princess… And then proudly stating that his daughter is a princess already. She was going to be spoiled beyond belief. 

Dad Lee Know who had bought a heart doppler just so that he could lay in bed at night beside you with his headphones on listening to the sound of his daughter's rapid heartbeat. (He had also googled on the first night if it was normal for a baby's heartbeat to be almost 170bpm in the womb… It is normal.) 

Dad Lee Know who took paternity leave 3 weeks before your due date because he had read that by that time the baby could come at any point and he didn’t want to take any chances of missing the moment. 

Dad Lee Know who put on a strong face when your water broke while you both were out shopping for more baby clothes. On the inside he was freaking out, but he was staying calm for you. 

Dad Lee Know who held your hand on the ride to the hospital, tears already pricking his eyes knowing that his baby girl would soon enter this world and he’d be able to hold her. 

Dad Lee Know who freaked out a little bit (a lot) when he saw his daughter's head crowning, he was about to faint, so he opted to stay up close to your head through the rest of the delivery because he wanted to be conscious when she fully came out. 

Dad Lee Know who told you that you were doing amazing and how proud he was of you even though you were being so mean during the delivery. He understood though, it looked like it hurted a lot. He was so proud to call you his wife. 

Dad Lee Know who’s hand was shaking as he cut the umbilical cord, his breath was held, but that was the moment that he truly felt like a dad, like a father. He finally let the breath out when the cord was cut. 

Dad Lee Know who cried harder than you when he heard his daughter’s first cries. 

Dad Lee Know who begged you to let him hold her first, and you were honestly so tired that you didn’t even have the energy to say no. 

Dad Lee Know who almost filled up his phone storage completely on his daughter's first day on earth because he couldn’t stop taking pictures of her. She was so beautiful, he had hearts in his eyes the moment he laid them on her. She was precious to him and he let the world know it. 

Dad Lee Know who sent a picture of her to the group chat with the caption “I made this! So did Y/N, but look at her! Look what we made!” In that moment he had created a team of uncles that would promise to protect her just as much as Minho would. 

Dad Lee Know who woke up every night with his daughter because he didn’t want to miss a moment with her. He also knew that you needed your sleep, you had done all of the hard work, the least he could do is let you get some rest. 

Dad Lee Know who introduced his daughter to his cats as their new sister. “She’s not old enough to play yet, so be nice. You can look, but don’t touch. Okay?” It seemed like they understood him though, they would sit around her swing and stare at her, almost like they were guarding her or watching out for her, and they would only move away when you or Minho picked her up. 

Dad Lee Know who would get slightly sad when you would breastfeed his daughter because it was one of the things he couldn’t do. He surprised you with a breast pump because he wanted her to know he could give the milk too, just… In bottle form. 

Dad Lee Know who immediately felt guilty about the breast pump because it looked painful and he didn’t want you to be sore. The only time you did it now was when you knew you were going out and you wanted to have the milk ready. 

Dad Lee Know who almost threw up the first time he changed her diaper. After he was done it looked like he had lost about 20 years which was hysterical to you. All of the guys heard about it and they clowned him for it for a good bit. 

Dad Lee Know who cried his eyes out the night before his paternity leave was over. He didn’t want to go back to work, he didn’t want to spend a single moment away from you or his daughter, the thought that he might miss something was devastating to him. 

Dad Lee Know who had attempted to sneak his daughter to work with him in the baby wrap carrier, and then crying even more when you caught him and told him he couldn’t, at least not until she was a couple months older. 

Dad Lee Know who refused to believe that his daughter was already five months old when the day came around. He was a softie and he didn’t like to think that his baby girl was growing already, he wanted her to stay little forever. 

Dad Lee Knowwho brought home a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament when he came home from work and then proceeded to cry his eyes out because “where did the time go? Tell her to stop growing.” 

Dad Lee Know who went all out for her first birthday party which he wanted to be princess themed because, alas, she was his princess. He took pictures and videos all day, and then that night when she was fast asleep, he laid in bed beside you, choked up and sniffling as he told you that he felt like he was missing too much of her life because of his job. 

Dad Lee Know who had been the one to see her take her first steps and jokingly flaunted that you had missed it… But then quickly apologized when he saw that it upset you and pulled out his phone because he had managed to record it. The group chat also got the video, they were constantly in the loop about everything that she did. 

Dad Lee Know who demanded that you and his daughter be allowed to go on tour with him and the guys, and then giving management the ultimatum that it was the three of you, or none of you at all. That was his daughter's first plane trip. 

Dad Lee Know who death stared at anyone that even looked slightly annoyed when your daughter got a little cranky on the plane. He kept her on his lap the whole time and bounced her and sang to her so that you’d have a comfortable flight. 

Dad Lee Know who talked only about you and his daughter when he had the chance to during concerts. If fans had a problem with it, he didn’t really care. You and his baby were the most important things in his life right now, and you always would be. If the fans didn’t like hearing about it, they could leave. 

Dad Lee Know who personally wrote a song about you and his daughter, and with the help of Chan, Changbin, and Jisung, he was able to have it finished just in time for your anniversary. 

Dad Lee Know who woke up every morning to make breakfast for his daughter and pack her lunch when she was old enough to go to school. 

Dad Lee Know who was the only father crying in a sea of mothers (including you) when it was her first day of kindergarten. He didn’t want to let go of her hand, and you had to practically pry his fingers off. 

Dad Lee Know who took an entire day off work that day just so he could cuddle up with you and cry to you about how empty and quiet the house felt without her there. 

Dad Lee Know who was the first parent up at the school every single day, waiting a whole hour out on the bench in front of her classroom door with a snack and a brand new stuffed animal. That’s how her stuffed animal collection began. 

Dad Lee Know who would sit on the floor next to his daughter's bed and read her bedtime stories, acting out parts of the stories with her stuffed animals because he knew it made her smile. 

Dad Lee Know who fell asleep one night in the middle of reading the bedtime stories, his head resting on the edge of his daughters mattress, and when he woke up she was sitting on his lap and sleeping as well. He didn’t move that night and he didn’t mind the backache that came along with sleeping that way either. 

Dad Lee Know who was the loudest person in the crowd when his daughter walked across the stage for her little award for perfect grades. “THAT'S MY BABY! YES! DADDY IS SO PROUD OF YOU PRINCESS!” 

Dad Lee Know who stayed up all night to help his 6th grade daughter with her science fair project, even after she headed off to bed, he continued to work on it just to make sure she got first place. 

Dad Lee Know who about lost his shit when she got second place, you and his daughter had to usher him out of the gymnasium where everything was set up so that he wouldn’t embarrass her. 

Dad Lee Know who took you and his daughter out to dinner after the science fair mishap and told his daughter that “it doesn't matter whether you got second place or first place, you’ll always be number one to me. You’re the smartest girl I know and I’m so proud of you.” 

Dad Lee Know who would help his daughter with her homework every night, even if he spent all day practicing or recording, he was never too tired to help her. 

Dad Lee Know who would still tuck his daughter in at night and make sure her closet was shut and her night light was on when she would fall asleep no matter how old she got. 

Dad Lee Know who got choked up when his daughter graduated high school, his voice cracking when she walked across the stage and hiding his face in your shoulder so that no one would see him crying. 

Dad Lee Knowwho you had to give a speech to when his daughter said that she wanted to bring her boyfriend over to meet you and Minho. “Don’t look at him like you want to kill him, Minho.” “But what if I want to kill him? He’s trying to take my baby girl away.” “Baby, she’s 19…” “Blah blah blah I don’t want to hear it! She’s a baby!” 

Dad Lee Know who threw a massive party when his daughter got accepted into SNU. He tried to uninvite his daughter’s boyfriend, but she insisted that he come or she wouldn’t show up. 

Dad Lee Know who taught his daughter to drive. He was terrified, and she almost crashed into the curb, but he told her she was doing a great job regardless so that he didn’t break her spirits. 

Dad Lee Know who would do anything for his daughter, she is his entire life, his whole world. He loved her with his entire heart. He’s the best father in the universe, he would lay down his life for her, he would give up everything for her. She’s the greatest thing to ever happen to him, and watching her grow has been bittersweet, sad but rewarding. He wanted nothing but the best for her, and he’d make sure that no matter how old he got, or how old she got, he’d always be there for her. 

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[flowerfreya]

Normalcy

The office AU - Part 16

Reader just wants to get back to normal , but the boys just want to take care of you

Poly!141 x reader

Crazy , ex girlfriend was banned from the premises, if spotted the people in the building were told to contact the 141. She would be violating her restraining order ( you did not know about this) and trespassing.

In the hospital, you did decide to press charges but you made it known you didn’t want to go to court and all that mess. You just wanted it to be over.

The boys felt like they owed you one. But also they just wanted to be there for you.

You wanted to go back to work once the doctor cleared you to go home from the hospital, showing up to the building the next day , sore but ready to work. The boys did not like that. At all.

“What are you doing here?” , John snaps at you.

It has you looking up from the computer, confused murmur, “working”, you answer back.

“Don’t you have a concussion”, Gaz says as he strolls in from the annex. His forehead is creased and he’s straining his eyes trying to see if you are in pain.

“No, only some bruising and messed up ankle”, you answer, starting to get annoyed. They were at the hospital with you almost the whole time. Asked more questions than you did. You know they are just making up shit to coddle you, and you don’t appreciate it (yes you do but you don’t want to admit that yet).

“Maybe yer should on the typing, hen. Might hurt your wrist” , Soap says from his seat, twirling his pen but looking as intense as the other men.

You just wanted to feel normal again. And you don’t have that much saving and definitely not enough PTO to have all this time off.

“I just need normalcy, please”, and money , you say to John.

He is still staring at you. Trying to figure you. Maybe trying to read your mind you don’t know but you look down at your keyboard hoping for him to leave you alone.

~

In the break room, your warming up a very sad microwavable meal when Simon comes in.

You give a tight lipped smile, “sorry no leftovers today”. He touches your arm causing you to jump, “alright”, he ask.

Shrugging your shoulders, “not really”, you say truthfully. You don’t know but being honest with Simon is easy. Maybe because he doesn’t give you solutions but offers a listening ear.

“I used up all my PTO and I’m for sure in the negative and I can’t afford it”, you say starting at the microwave. Embarrassed. A little ashamed that you everytime something good happens to you another thing ruins it.

“I can donate some of mine to you”, he say.

Your turn to him , shocked, not wanting to get your hopes up. “Are you allowed to do that”, you ask.

(Well first of all , Price was going to pay your regardless, wasn’t going to use your PTO at all, it’s his company, his money. But Simon knows that you wouldn’t want that, he knows that you want to be independent at least for a little bit).

“Already asked the boss”, Simon replies.

You let a sequel, jumping up and down (as much as you could do in a boot). Wrapping your arms around his neck, “thank you , thank you , thank you”, you feel all the stress just about to leave your body.

He huffs, “calm down”, grabbing you by the hips , he holds you in place.

He holds you closer, your chest to chest. Unconsciously matching your breath with his as he leans forward and buries his head where your neck meets your shoulder and inhales.

“Everything okay”, you ask. Holding your arms in the air unsure what to do with them. You know for a fact this inappropriate for work.

“Missed you”, he mumbles.

You didn’t really get a lot of time with him before getting hit by a car and everything.

You close your arms around him, leaving a little kiss on his head, “missed you too”.

[iguessitsjustme]

I could write a whole lot about my problems with Jack & Joker but instead I'm just going to post a handful of thoughts and questions from after I finished the episode:

Hope and Save were there in the beginning and they're there at the end. But they didn't exist in the middle with the others when everyone else was getting character development. Why did we get so many damn monopoly games but characters at the damn center of the emotional impact at the end of the show didn't get more than 2 seconds?

The show has already said that Joke can only fight well when the show calls for it. Joke literally beat Jack after he escaped prison. Then him and Jack worked together to fight those two dudes during the necklace heist. So Joke should be able to at least hold his own against Carbon for longer than that. I mean, even grandma lasted longer than he did.

Do you know who was there for Joke? All the time? Hoy. Hoy stepped between him and Jack when Jack looked violent. Hoy held him in the hospital and stopped him from hurting himself. Hoy talked to that woman and convinced her to rally the troops when Joke couldn't. Hoy has always forgiven Joke for everything. And doesn't even think he needs to apologize half the time.

To place all that blame on Joke? Joke stole a ring. Joke did not force people to sign literal death contracts. Joke did not create the debts and poverty that the community has to live with. Joke has done nothing but try his best. Joke's actions might have indirectly caused pain but boss's actions directly caused it. Intentionally. So did Carbon's. How is it Joke's fault Toi Ting got hurt? Neither one of them was there to stop Carbon. Joke is probably the reason Toi Ting survived. Because he did get there in time. How long would she have been laying there is she had to wait for Jack?

Jack tried to be a buffer as a debt collector. Hope relished in it. Joke forgave Tattoo for stealing when he shouldn't have. Hope beat Tattoo up for not having money. So. Why is Hope forgiven then Joke isn't? Since when are Jack and Hope on good enough terms to warrant any sort of forgiveness or feel any sense of betrayal? Why does Jack care?

What does Carbon get from helping boss? Is he being paid? Did boss get him out of prison? Does he owe a debt of sorts now? Is he just relishing in being cruel and boss gives him the outlet he wants to do that?

[vampirebloodie]

Nightmares | Mark Hoffman x Reader

Summary: You are a surviving player in an interrogation and Mark helps you with the pressure of the police and with your motherhood

Nightmares about that night still haunted your thoughts when it was time to go to bed. He was right, you made a mistake and paid for it. A mistake that in your eyes was perhaps not so serious, but in John Kramer's mind it was. You were a professional thief, but you acted that way out of pure survival. Your mistake was robbing a woman, who was later revealed to be Jill Tuck, John's ex-wife, you stole a small amount of money, but the scare you gave her made her feel sick and end up in the hospital, you didn't realized that she was pregnant.

But you were reborn, as he said, you learned from your mistake and survived, with several injuries, but you survived. The police wanted you to make a statement saying more about that night, but what could you say? Accuse a dead man? Have you been marked as a future player before your game? You should reveal your crimes and possibly go to prison? Had Jigsaw tried to touch your son?

“Whenever you want, miss Y/N.”

The detective looked at you with a certain judgmental look, you couldn't take the small, cramped room any longer. Ubneeded some air to breathe before you panicked right then and there.

“I don’t know if i feel comfortable telling everything that happened.”

“You know that a statement could help the police a lot, right? We want to know who the apprentices are, you have good information.”

The detective tried, unsuccessfully, to pressure you into saying everything, but you were afraid of what might happen if you told everything, afraid that whoever set it up would come after you because you said it.

“I did some things wrong, maybe that’s why Jigsaw came after me.”

“It’s his modus operandi, Jigsaw never messes with an innocent person.”

You were a little uncomfortable with her judgment, but you just tried to ignore it as much as possible.

“Whoever attacked you was wearing this?”

The woman suddenly threw a pig mask under the table, you felt your throat close and your breathing become more labored and your heart beat faster every second. With tears in your eyes, you left the interrogation room, running through the hallways as you heard the woman's voice calling you.

You felt your back hurt from the impact when you hit the ground, you had just bumped into someone, a little dizzy you felt someone pull you up and lift you up.

"Are you ok?"

He was a tall man, probably also from the police since he was wearing a badge. No matter how much he asked, it wasn't like he cared, he kept a cold look on his face. As if he already knew you.

“Detective Hoffman. This is Y/N, she was giving a statement. Y/N, can we...”

The detective interrupted the woman before she could continue.

“Agent Perez. That's enough. I’ll take it from here.”

The woman gave you one last look before leaving. You couldn't hold back the tears and broke down, the detective suddenly hugged you, comforting you, you let go of the tears that had been trapped for days while he lightly stroked your hair.

“I-I’m sorry...”

Without giving you time to respond, he left, pulling you by the arm through the corridors of the police station. A little rough, perhaps. Maybe he is a bipolar.

“If I were you i wouldn't say much, they say he comes after those who talk too much. By the way, i think there’s someone in my office who will want to see you.”

It sounded like a threat to you, but maybe the trauma was just making you too scared of anything. You went to Hoffman's office, who turned to get coffee from his desk.

“Do you want to drink something, coffee, tea? I think it will help you relax a little.”

You got the tea, since that happened and you didn't sleep well at night, the fear of something happening again was greater, that pig mask.... Amanda Young.... Oh yes, Amanda was with you on the day of Jill's accident, you owed her a certain amount of money, the threats she made to you were making you upset and scared, you had a sick son, you couldn't let him be hurt because of your mistake, so you decided to obey her and steal Jill.

After these events Amanda had disappeared, until you discovered that she had also escaped from one of the traps.

“Where is he?”

“Look at him there.”

Your son came out of the bathroom with a toy dinosaur in hand. You immediately ran towards him and picked him up, hugging him tightly and kissing his face over and over again.

“My baby, I'm glad you're okay, I was so worried.”

You tried not to cry. Maybe you weren't as good a mother as you promised his father before he passed away.

“Mommy, uncle Mark took care of me! He’s the one who gave me this dinosaur, look!”

He smiled showing the green dinosaur to you, you looked at Hoffman who had a slight smile on his face.

“Oh yes, he is so pretty. Thanks for taking care of him, Detective Hoffman, thank you very much. How do you say it, son?”

You released the boy who quickly ran and hugged Hoffman's legs who hugged him a little awkwardly, he didn't seem to have much use with children.

“Thanks uncle Mark!”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome. It was nothing, Y/N, i couldn’t leave him helpless alone.”

"Thanks again. Well, it's late, i think we're going to home. Goodbye, Hoffman.”

You picked up your son again and turned to walk away when he grabbed your hand.

“You know it's dangerous to walk alone now, don't you? Let me take you home. My work is over.”

Clearly a gentleman, he was right, going to the train station at a time like that wasn't very pleasant. You just agreed and then went to the parking lot together.

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

The walk home was silent, your son had slept on the way, he looked so tired. When you didn't sleep, he didn't sleep either, especially with the nightmares that made you wake up screaming in the middle of the night.

“We’re here. Thanks, Mark.”

You smiled and got out of the car, going to grab your son from the backseat. Hoffman also came out and opened the back door.

“You must be tired, i'll take you inside. Do you mind?"

Okay, after all, taking an unknown man to your house might not be a good idea. But he was from the police and he was armed, if anything happened he could defend you.

“Hmmm, okay, i don’t mind.”

He took the sleeping boy in his arms and you entered the building, where you went up the stairs until you stopped in front of your door, which you soon opened.

“His room is here.”

Hoffman placed the boy on the bed and covered him with the colorful sheet.

“I owe you one.”

“You can pay now, i just need your number.”

He gave you his cell phone and you laughed, putting in your number and saving it in your contacts.

“Debt paid, miss Y/N, sleep well and lock everything up. Was a pleasure to meet you"

"The pleasure is mine..."

He said goodbye and then left the house, closing the door. You locked everything and lay in bed with your son, still silly. Hoffman was an interesting guy, who knows, maybe the two of you would get along?

[reds-skull]

Fic recs - oneshots (part 3)

ALRIGHT I'm hoping this is the last oneshot post, since there are a lot of other fics I wanna recommend that don't fall in this category.

This post is like 5x longer than the other ones just because I wanted to finish all of my current oneshot recs and otherwise it will take like 3 more posts. So beware there are a lot more under the cut.

If you're new here, these are all sfw oneshots:

i've dug two graves for us, my dear. by eddie_dxaz - Johnny gets buried alive.

Scotch-Soaked Lips by FreeToWriteForMe - Ghost watches Soap while the team is in a bar.

I owe the hat man money and I don't want to see him by Louffox - Ghost gets drugged and hallucinates while Soap tries to keep both of them alive.

Painting the snow red by Faolamb - Ghost is a wraith and Soap werewolf. Soap loses control and Ghost calls him back.

Mild as May by lambstew4you - Ghost and Soap are on a mission, and they have a talk by the campfire.

Hell or High Water by lambstew4you - Soap gets kidnapped and put in a sensory deprivation tank. He is rescued, but the damage is already done.

Daylight Through The Fog by WeirdTin - Ghost is afraid of letting people in. Soap just wants to love every scar.

i never said i'd be alright (just thought i could hold myself together) by TheLastTheosaurus - Ghost gets injured on a mission with Soap. Without exfil in sight, he hides it. Despite his efforts Soap finds out.

Breathe in, Hold it by Hedgehog_kun - Simon and Johnny are in a relationship. Life is good, for once. But one night Soap comes home angry and drunk, and Ghost can't help but freeze.

How it started, how it's going by Nuria123 - The fic where Ghost thinks he and Soap are already dating (5+1).

heat death by eggtimelads - Soap and Ghost spend an afternoon fending off this relentless heat [relatable tbh].

note to self: drink in moderation by eggtimelads - Ghost gets drunk, does a little pining out loud, and gets his reputation ruined while also getting a boyfriend.

Absolutely by ElizaStyx - 5 times Soap confesses to Ghost in a language he thought Ghost didn't understand, and one time he knows full well Ghost does.

the shroud is made of linen by stars_boy - In which Ghost is interrupted while watching the sunrise.

Lets Go Stargazing For Real Next Time by Trouble_13 - Ghost thought they were getting somewhere, but it feels like they have to restart all over again.

Lonely Hearts Club by Wheezing_Joe - Soap and Rudy accidentally start fake dating. Ghost and Alejandro aren't too pleased with it [this is ghostsoap and alerudy, so it's twice as good]

Night Has Always Pushed Up Day by Sillililli - Ghost gets injured and is stuck in a hospital, when they bring in a blind Soap. They're forced to share a room.

dying all the way back to the root by Magpie (QuickSilverFox3) - Soap is separated from Ghost, but Ghost can still hear his voice. He just needs to find him before someone else does.

i fear you will know me but most of all i fear i will never know you by rocketnintendo - Soap hides the extent of his injuries. Ghost finds out and is gentle.

My Heart Leapt From Me by Macabre_Flower - A pipe bursts above Soap's bed in the middle of the night. Ghost offers to help.

Palimpsest by Blackbird_flyaway - Ghost loses all memory from the last 3 years, including all memory of Soap.

The way his feet strike the earth by Blackbird_flyaway - Soap puts on a blindfold and gets kissed as part of a drinking game only it becomes a lot more than that.

i need you to hurt me back instead by TheLastTheosaurus - 5 times Ghost needed a hug, and the one time his got one.

Figure Study by 002405 - Ghost asks Soap to draw him like one of his French girls. Things devolve from there.

love me despite by TheLastTheosaurus - Ghost needs rest. Soap helps him get it.

no better version i could pretend to be tonight by TheLastTheosaurus - Soap can't sleep. he goes to Ghost.

Wash your mouth out with soap by Red_Clegane [the one and only] - Soap is reminded how he got his call sign and Ghost helps him put the pieces back together.

sunday morning (rain is falling) by wellyesbutactuallyno - Soap wants to learn more about Ghost. Ghost lets him.

The Haircut by thevalesofanduin - Soap's hair is too long. Ghost helps him cut it.

On the nights you feel outnumbered (I'll be out there, somewhere) by Brigadier - Ghost feels more irritable than usual and gets involved in a bar fight.

I want to crack open your ribs and crawl in the space left behind (Je veux me lover au creux de ton creur et ne jamais repartir) by flaminpumpkin - Simon ends up having to drag his drunk sergeant back to base and finds himself in a sticky situation because he's too smitten with the man.

Bloody Delirium by GnawingAtMyEyes - Soap gets gravely injured and suffers from blood loss delirium.

Tell Me a Secret by resonatingkitty - Ghost asked Soap to tell him a secret one evening at a bar and what Soap tells him is not what he expected to hear.

Never Hide This (From Me Again) by resonatingkitty - during a mission, Soap gets nicked and doesn't report it to Ghost. Ghost doesn't take it well.

Bruised Peach by Phiunzirus - After their latest mission, Soap's right arm looks like a bruised peach. What happens when Ghost accidentally grabs it a bit too hard?

Kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again (it's been a long, long time) by Angelicasdean - Soap's been home for weeks now, but he's still missing the last piece of the puzzle. Thankfully, it's scheduled to return today.

Forbidden by eddie_dxaz - Ghost comes to terms with his feelings for Soap and tries to fight them. Unsuccessfully.

The Maskmaker by ElizaStyx - Soap finds Ghost working on a new mask.

Cat Dad by ElizaStyx - One day a little kitten appears at the 141 HQ and Soap falls in love. Too bad the kitty only likes Ghost.

Blind date with a book by Nuria123 - Ghost is a famous anonymous writer and Soap loves his books. They fall in love.

Recovery by Nuria123 - Soap and Ghost meet after being medically discharged at a rehab facility. Soap volunteers and Ghost is newly admitted. [this is one of the few fics to make me actually sob hard it's so extremely good]

can't keep johnny down by Wheezing_Joe - Soap loses commes on a mission and presumed dead. After finding his way back to base he's surprised by how much he's been missed.

red woven confessions by wayfaredsoldier - Soap got he and Ghost wishing bracelets in an attempt to grow closer to him and got far more than he expected.

made a bed with apathy (years worth of dust and neglect) by aetherealmoss - Soap gets triggered by someone who looks too much like his painful past, and Ghost is there to help him through it [TW SA, rape and child abuse on this one]

Safe With Me by Wixiany - Soap who is in an abusive relationship befriends Ghost when he moved into the neighborhood. His boyfriend accuses them of cheating and Ghost is blocked for several days until Soap shows up in the middle of the night.

snuffed by crown_twist - Johnny really, really doesn't like cigarettes. Ghost didn't know.

Choice by achievement_hunteresss - Shepherd captures the 141. He offers them a deal. He will let the other person go unharmed, if you shoot yourself in front of them.

tags by achievement_hunteresss - Soap asks for help with detangling his dogtags. Ghost accidentally unburies Simon.

Precipice by Islenthatur - Soap dies and has to choose (dw it's surprisingly not mcd)

Coven (Scheherazade) by basgijr - Ghost can't sway an overwhelming feeling that something isn't right. Soap is a werewolf that stinks of wet dog and also love (Ghost is a vampire). [this one I found from a Tumblr post that I lost]

sullen by rottin - Sparring goes a little wrong.

Lessen the Load by Hammy1o1 - Price had to talk Ghost down from suicide a few times. Things change when Soap joins the taskforce. [obviously TW for suicide]

Aaaand that's all of them! And my god there's a lot. Next post I'm considering giving a list of writers I like (aka have a lot of fics that I like so I save their name instead of individual fics), which will be one post since there's not too many. After that we can finally get to the longer fics!

[artisiumstudios]

PART TWO

Okay I realized today reading through my last post that I made a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes but now that I have slept for 9 hours I should be good to go! Okay so first of all I do want to state that the mystery shack will be a thing here even if it wasn’t exactly Fords idea. And a lot of things that happened in the oh timeline do still happen in this au but with a twist, for example Wendy and soos still end up working at the mystery shack MUSEUM but apart from being workers soos is also fords apprentice and Wendy is kinda like a student to ford (aka she likes to learn about all the crazy shit he did).

The other thing is ford did tell people he studied the paranormal and anomalies but didn’t say anything about the portal. Now as for the journals because dipper does still find the journals, after ford disassembles the portal he hides his journals once again but not before ripping out and hiding the blue ones prints and most of the pages that either had anything to do with him or Stan out and the most of the ones he had with bill. He hides the pages separately throughout his house and the forest because he can’t bring himself to destroy them.

Oh and other stuff ford found in the car was the box that had Stan’s fake ids, another pair of bras knuckles, a map with states he was no longer allowed in, another small notebook with names and money he owed them, a first aid kit, weed (you cannot tell me Stanley pines was not a stoner during the hippie area like come on), and a picture of ma and Shermie with the date June 15 with the words “ HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY STAN WE MISS YOU!” Alright now let me get back to the time line.

So 2 years go by and the mystery shack museum is now a thing, a small one but it’s a thing. It’s less of a tourist trap and more of a museum where he captures small harmless (or well mostly harmless) creatures of gravity falls and provides activities to for people to hang out or interact with them. It starts off well and eventually he is able to produce merchandise. Occasionally he does have to provide “handmade” creatures (ideas taken from Stan’s notebook. The mystery shack continues to grows and by the late 90’s he’s able to pay off his mortgage and pay the school his grant back, and he slowly expands the shack to fit more anomalies. But still he can’t stop the nagging feeling that giving the portal up was a mistake, that stan is still alive.

THE TWINS ARE BORN! Ford being Ford he still didn’t contact his family much. He was trying to do so more especially after his dad’s death, his ma had lost so much already. When he got the call he immediately left to the hospital and once he got there much like og Stan he couldn’t let them go. He knew he had to protect them, that he couldn’t have them make the same mistakes that cost him his brother, the same mistakes that tore them apart forever.

Around the next five years this is where ford find soos after his birthday and where they begin to connect. Soos doesn’t really open up but ford gets that whatever upset the child involves his birthday. So he offers him a free entrance to the museum and soos accepts, this is kinda where I’m figuring out the details but soos love for building things reminds ford of his old lab partner that he decides to take him in as an apprentice. Now the twins are around 8-9 when ford gets called up to see if he can take the kids for the summer! (No this is not where the major story takes place) He says dipper and Mabel have been wanting to visit and they also were hoping to have them learn a thing or two. Ford agrees and almost every summer after that ford has been in charge of the twins for every summer.

During these summers ford starts to wonder if maybe he gave up on his twin too soon. He sees how the kids act with each other and he feels the guilt rip him from the inside out. He begins his research once again, even if he still feels like the odds are against him. Now the twins are 13 (this is where it takes place) (oh btw Wendy gets hired when the twins are 11 and she’s taken a liking to learning about the forest creatures, even if she doesn’t want to admit that she’s finding learning fun, and occasionally she’ll join ford on field to study these creatures) Summer this year feels a little more sad, their parents have been arguing a lot more this year and Dipper fears for the worst. He doesn’t want a divorce, and he especially doesn’t want to get separated from his twin sister.

But this is also an exciting summer since Grunkle Ford said this would be the year they can start going into the forest by themselves! Now you can guess how dipper found the journal. Now I’m not going to spoil much now but that’s it for fords part!

Now for Stanley!

After being pushed into the portal he blacked out for a second. He woke up to find himself surrounded by creatures! He panicked clutching (his pearls) the journal, and sneaking it into his jacket. This is his first encounter with bill. Bill at first seems friendly, kind, offering Stan some food and water. Stan didn’t trust it. His gut told him to run and after being on the streets for 10 years he knew not to trust food and water handed to you by someone you just met. Bill shows ford around explaining his dimensions and that those little black holes are worm holes that lead to different dimensions. He tells him his brother was working on a portal that would created would do something similar, that he made a deal with ford. He would help him create a portal so that his name would go down in history and give him the opportunity to explore other universes and in exchange he could go into fords dimension and explore the stars there. But ford backed out last minute and betrayed bill. Stan obviously didn’t trust that especially after seeing the state ford was in.

However he knew guys like bill. Unless you want to die just let him keep going and hear him out. Bill tried to make a deal with him, charming him saying that maybe he would listen to Stanley, that if Stanley let him control his body for a bit he could convince ford to open the portal once again and afterwards bill would give Stan what he always wanted: a million dollars, the opportunity to get his family back. But there were so many flaws with that deal. Bill never said how long he would take over his body, he kept using vague language when he said get his family back. For all he knew his family could be given to him in coffins. And he during that little montage bill showed him of ford he saw fords eyes, well more like his pupils. Bill was what ford was looking for when he checked his eyes. Yeah no he’s not trusting him .

But how could he escape if he was practically surrounded. He acted as if he was thinking looking subtly around. A worm hole! But he needed to get closer, cause a distraction, but how???

ANYWAYS PART THREE LATER CAUSE I GOT CLASS OKAY BYEEE

[happilysmythe]

❥ 𝙞𝙛 𝙞 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙡𝙮

trent frederic.

word count: 2.7k

no warnings

"i'm missing half of me, when we're apart" — one direction

A/N: as requested by the lovely @ahockeywrites — trent frederic fluff where he gets teased by the guys for liking lil' miss reader <3

- - -

“If you don’t tell her, I will,” Jeremy’s voice nearly echoed as he shouted across the locker room.

Trent’s eyes rolled in a weak attempt to hide his embarrassment—although the guys knew him pretty well, he had to uphold some sort of reputation—but deep down, he knew the brunette goaltender was right. It was only a matter of time before he lost his chance; time was ticking.

Did he really want to confess that what he felt for his closest friend was more than platonic? Not particularly. But there was a chance it’d work out in the end—that she’d maybe feel the same. Hell, the guys had been telling him so for years. And on top of everything, he felt like he owed it to her.

To you.

“Jesus, shut up,” he untied a skate, “you don’t have to announce it to the world.”

“Come on, Fred,” Brandon, the notably tall defenseman urged, walking in as he adjusted his equipment. “Grow a pair, won’t ya?” He gave the sitting Trent a nudge as he walked by and over to his stall to undress.

“And you guys expect me to listen to you?”

Trent stood up—trying to avoid the conversation altogether—and began to gather his things. He was going to the airport the next morning to pick you up—he’d already heard his share about that from the guys—so he needed to be home as soon as possible. He didn’t particularly feel like greeting you with a headache and a lack of sleep. It would be pretty rude of him, he thought.

For some odd reason, the beloved goaltender was feeling particularly pesky that night. “Right, right—you’ve gotta get home and get your beauty sleep to see your girrrlllfriend,” he chirped.

“Are you ten years old? Grow up,” Trent rolled his eyes and slung his bag over his suited body. “And she’s not my girlfriend, for fuck’s sake.”

“Sorry, your lady friend,” Jake—who actually did have the personality of a ten-year-old—cut in. His tongue was between his teeth as he grinned damn near like the Cheshire Cat.

“Brando’s right—you need to grow a pair and tell her about how in love with her you are before one of us does. I mean, come on,” he gestured to the rest of the room, “we’re tired of hearing you deny it, dude. And believe me—you do not want me to be the one to tell her.”

Trent couldn’t help but laugh at the stupidity of his teammate’s remark. “Over my dead body,” he joked before leisurely walking out of the locker room.

He had no time to sit and argue when there was so much to do at his place.

He needed time to prep it for the next day’s guest: you. Without fail, you stayed with him every time you visited—it was easier than having to pay for a hotel room on top of the flight expenses, and you were pretty tight on money as it was. Of course, Trent’s hospitality never went unnoticed. You’d always pay for food, dinners, and sometimes even buy him something if you went out—whatever it was that showed your gratefulness.

He didn’t have any roommates or even a girlfriend, and if he did you likely wouldn’t be able to stay, so you were thankful for that, too. Maybe there was an underlying reason, but you wouldn’t admit that.

And though he didn’t show it to the guys, he just couldn’t wait to see you.

- - -

It wasn’t your fault that you almost missed your flight. To be fair, traffic was a lot worse than you anticipated, but maybe you should’ve accounted for that.

Okay, so maybe it was sort of your fault.

Luckily for you, you knew your way around the airport better than anyone you knew, seeing as this would be just one of many flights you’d take this year, and certainly not the last. So it was safe to say that you managed to slip on the plane without any trouble.

Of course, it was all worth it—Trent’s beaming face greeting you was enough to back the claim. And when he pulled you into one of his infamous warm hugs, you remembered why all of the stress was worth it. He was a sweetheart—your best friend—and he made every trip to Boston, every penny you spent worthwhile. The cost of flying back and forth so frequently was another pretty good motivator, on top of that.

“I missed you,” you smiled brightly, eyes fixed on his face—maybe lingering on his lips for a bit longer than they should’ve.

“I missed you, too.”

He led you out of Logan airport—which you’d also grown accustomed to—and to his car, where he stuffed your bags into the trunk and hopped in alongside you.

“My place was a total mess last night,” he laughed, starting up the ignition, “I probably spent, like, at least two hours cleaning it when I got back.”

“You know you didn’t have to do that,” you giggled. “I’ve stayed there so many times that it’s like a second house of mine. Honestly, I wouldn’t care either way. It’s still too nice of you to let me stay there even now, no matter how many times I come here.”

“Need to be a good host.”

As you looked out the window, you admired the scenery—it had been longer than usual since the last time you visited. Money was getting tighter for you, harder to spend on these little trips. Of course, Trent tried to convince you again to let him pay the fares, but you wouldn’t let him—even though he made two million dollars a year.

You turned the other way to look at Trent—clad in a gray shirt and brown pants—who was driving so casually, so lax, with only one hand as his elbow rested outside where the window was rolled completely down. Sunglasses perched on his nose, curls—which you noticed gained their natural red hue in the sunlight—blowing in the wind from the sunroof.

Alright, so you were attracted to him. Like, a lot. But, like him—although you didn’t know it—you were too afraid to say anything about it. What if it ruined your friendship? To you, he was all that you had. Hell, you’d even considered moving to Boston multiple times, but you didn’t tell him, even though there were plenty of viable reasons—the WAGs, who you’d made friends with, the guys, and the familiar faces and places that you’d grown to love.

St. Louis didn’t feel all that great anymore without him there.

Trent took a breath and turned down the music, “Can I ask you something?”

“Hit me.”

“Do you ever get,” he sighed, “—do the girls ever…heckle you about me?”

“What, like, tease?”

He shrugged, “Yeah.”

“Not really,” you replied with confusion lacing your tone. “I mean, I guess they’ve made a few comments about how close we are, but,” you swallowed, “why?”

“It’s just, uh—nothing. Never mind.”

“Okay.”

You let silence prevail in the small space of his car. The music remained at its low volume and the only other noise filling the air was the sound of the wind blowing through the open windows.

You weren’t sure what he was really doing with the question—you even tried to figure it out. Brows furrowed, you stared forward until something finally hit you, giving you just enough of an idea to piece together what you thought was what he was getting at.

So as a red light stopped the car, you lifted a hand and placed it on his shoulder, to which he initially flinched. When you noticed this, your palm gently rubbed back and forth, signifying that the gesture was out of more than just reassurance.

“I don’t need to be teased to know how I feel.”

Within a split second, he was looking at you—only for just a moment—and even with his sunglasses on, you could make out the surprise in his expression. The good kind, of course—the kind that flooded his stomach with butterflies. Relief visibly set into his features as he slowly faced back forward.

But he remained silent.

“How’s everyone doing?” you finally broke the quiet, changing the subject. You’d hold that stuff off until later, you decided. “I’ve missed them, too.”

“God, you should hear the way Beech talks about you,” he finally gave a smile.

You gasped, “Oh, Johnny! I haven’t seen him in even longer because he wasn’t up in Boston last time!” You’d befriended the rookie center months earlier—he was just a total sweetheart. “I can’t wait to see him. Oh, and Esme, Kiley, Danielle—shit, all of the girls! I can’t wait to see them, too.”

Trent held his smile as you rambled on about the friends you’d made since the year he was a rookie, seeing how something as simple as that was able to make you so happy—it made him proud to have introduced you to that life.

“But I missed you the most, you know,” you spoke softly. The words brought a pink hue to his freckled cheeks, and his flustered reaction was so blatant to you—by now, you’d begun to notice every little thing about him.

Saved by the bell—sort of—as he pulled into the parking garage and grabbed his spot. It was with near-lightning speed that he unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out.

“Alright, so,” he opened the trunk, “we can split your things. I can take the small bags and you can take the suitcase. Or I’ll do that and you can have the smaller ones. Maybe that’s easier for you.”

“Trent, what do we do every time?”

He sighed, “You take everything…”

“And will that change?”

“…No.”

“Bingo,” you slugged his arm and collected your things, lifting the suitcase up and out to set it on the ground and slinging the bags across your body. “Come on,” you smiled, “I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with the place.”

“Please,” he rolled his eyes. “I cleaned it. I didn’t renovate it, for crying out loud.”

You walked into the lobby, then the elevator, and pressed the button. “You know, I could very well make this the last time I visit this city. I have plenty of friends and family back home to see.” Of course, that wasn’t true—which he didn’t know—but you were only joking, anyhow.

“Like hell, you would,” he scrunched his nose. “You love it here. Admit it.”

“Well, I love,” you paused, “—um,” you cleared your throat.

“—yeah, I love it…here.”

You jumped when the elevator dinged and opened to his floor. Trent took this as a sign and pressed a hand to your back to urge you out, muttering a quiet “come on” as you walked down the hallway to his door.

Once inside, you regained your composure and admired the space around you. “Just like it always was,” you giggled.

“Like I said, I didn’t renovate it,” he matched your laugh. “Honestly, I wanted it to be like you never left.”

“Feels like that anyway,” you marveled before tossing your bags into the room you practically called yours. Trent never gave the space to anyone else after the first few times you stayed, unbeknownst to you—it felt so much like your room that he never had the heart to let another occupy it. So he didn’t and even told every potential guest that he didn’t have a spare room.

You sat on the edge of the bed and he plopped down next to you. Before you knew it, you were basking in the warmth that—once again—being in his proximity gave you. Only this time, you were unaware that he’d been silently taking note of your behavior since he picked you up.

The hesitation, the lingering gazes, the way you’d often cut yourself off before you could let yourself admit something that you never could take back—and especially the comment you made about knowing how you felt earlier in his car.

So he knew what he had to do—just as Jake, as Jeremy, as Brandon, and as everyone told him to.

Your eyes darted down to the space between you when his hand reached for yours—lacing your fingers with his—and held it. You’d always known his hands were big, but you couldn’t help but notice how nicely the size contrasted your smaller one, enveloping it so perfectly. But he held it so gently—so lovingly—and you didn’t want him to let go.

“I don’t need to get teased either,” he finally mumbled. His voice was so soft that your stomach filled with butterflies, and you couldn’t help but feel a smile prick at the corners of your lips. “I didn’t need to years ago,” he gave your hand a gentle squeeze, “and I especially don’t need to now.”

He took a breath and inched closer. “And if you’ll let me,” his warm, brown eyes flitted down to your lips before returning to yours, “I want to prove it.”

“I’m not stopping you,” you whispered back.

He brought his free hand to the side of your head and pulled you into a kiss that was long overdue. It wasn’t rushed, but instead slow—loving and kind, just as he always was to you—and gentle, so gentle that you instantly smiled against his lips. He dropped your hand and wrapped the arm around your waist to pull you closer, craning his head to the side to deepen the kiss.

He hummed against your lips softly out of happiness, and you finally pulled back to look up at him. He was smiling down at you, and you couldn’t help but notice just how handsome he was, from the freckles on his cheeks to his soft, brown eyes—even the cutest little set of teeth on display—and his thumb gently stroked your cheek.

“I wanted to move to Boston,” you finally admitted in a whisper, bringing a look of what you guessed was surprise to his face. “I love being here, I love my friends, the places, everything. And I love being with you,” you swallowed. “St. Louis doesn’t feel like home anymore without you.”

“Yeah, well,” he spoke, cheeks dusted pink, “it doesn’t here, either.” His fingers gently brushed a strand of hair behind your ear. “Normally, this is just my apartment or my place. Somewhere I stay for the season. But when you’re here…” he trailed off, “—it’s home.”

A tear rolled down your cheek and he carefully leaned over to kiss it away. “And if you’re willing,” he pressed a kiss to your forehead, “I want it to be yours, too.”

A soft gasp left your lips at his offer, and you couldn’t help but smile at the thought. “Trent, are—are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Yeah—uh, yeah—I am.” He swallowed and waited for your reply, nervous about what you’d say. “But if you don’t want to, I totally get it—”

Your lips quickly cut him off as they excitedly crashed into his in a quick kiss—eliciting a soft hum from his mouth—and afterward beaming up at him. Genuine laughter fell from your lips, which he thought was simply adorable. Adoration filled his eyes as he smiled back down at you.

“Yes,” you nodded sharply, “fuck, of course, I’ll move in with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” you kissed his cheek. “I am so,” his jaw, “so,” his lips, “sure.” Soft giggles left his lips as you planted tiny kisses on his face—you loved the sound so much that you continued to do it—and his arms held you tight. So tight, yet so gentle, because you were always the person to make him so soft.

“And in the elevator before,” you called back to the moment you almost slipped up, “I said I loved everything here because I was afraid.” You breathed deeply through your nose. “And while I do,” you took his hand between both of yours, “what I really was going to say was that I love you.”

He grinned. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you echoed. “This whole thing might have started as me visiting my best friend, but…fuck, now you’re so much more than that,” you let out a wistful sigh. “I just—I fell for you harder every time I came here.”

“I think I did, too,” he winked, and you giggled.

You fell back against the mattress and he followed, both heads turning to face the other. His smile was contagious as ever, and god, he was so beautiful.

“Hey.”

“Hm?” you asked, inching closer. He snaked an arm around your waist and comfortably pulled you into his side.

“I love you, too.”

[packedlunchmeat]

COMMISSION ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

HOWDY Y’ALL!!!!

I’m deciding to open commissions once more! And finally making them public rather than just offering to friends.

This took a TON of deliberation, as I fear as an artist being taken advantage of for my time. And so, before we get into pricing and my boundaries as an artist, lets talk ground rules! Just so you, as a potential customer, understand my expectations as the artist.

(Also please be patient with me as I work 12 hour shifts at a hospital, so it may take a few weeks to get to yours if it’s behind a lot of others in the queue)

RULES & EXPECTATIONS

First come, first serve

This is mainly because I like to prioritize those who come to me first. With this being said though, if you express interest in a commission from me, but do not state what you are wanting, as well as a price range you are going for, I will prioritize a person who has already given me a commission request. Basically! I put you in the queue the moment we have a request worked out! :-)

No revisions after a finalized sketch

This is mainly to protect myself as the artist, and you as the customer from being in a perpetual revision cycle, after already finalizing the sketch. If you aren’t happy with something, please let me know before I begin the line art process! Once I begin to do line art or color, I enter a zone where doing any sort of serious revision could cause the quality to diminish!

Make sure it’s my art you are wanting!

I do do a plethora of art style mocks like persona 5 eye cut ins, as well as other sorts of persona art style stuff. But I don’t wish to copy another artists style thats already offering commissions. If you’re wanting a certain style that isn’t adjacent to mine, you’re better off saving up for the artist you truly wish you could commission :-). I like to feed into fandom wants and needs, but I don’t want to take away from other freelance artist’s business.

I will not send the art until paid

 Since I manage to work rather fast, I don’t mind making pieces that don’t get paid for, as any piece I do is good practice!! That being said, I won’t send my art until I have proof of payment for the time I spent on it. I will always be super clear on which part of the process I am in, but to protect myself from being scammed, I cannot send the piece until payment is proven.

DETAILS

Now lets get into the fun stuff!! To start, I do not charge my commissions based on how complex the art is, rather, how long it took me to make it. Which is the reason I can’t ask for up front payments. I charge, instead, by the hour. And my pricing is based on my state’s minimum wage. The software I use to make my art (Procreate) tracks the elapsed time I’ve spent drawing, and so I calculate the owed amount based upon that. So, to start:

I CHARGE $15 AN HOUR (USD)

METHOD OF PAYMENT IS THROUGH PAYPAL.

Now that that’s out of the way, here’s what I CAN and CAN’T draw!!

THINGS I ABSOLUTELY WILL DRAW:

Character references! (TTRPG CHARAS, OCS, ETC.)

Armor (I can do mecha, but because of the complexity it may bump up the price just because of how long it takes)

Main stream art style replication (Persona 2D Sprites, Ace Attorney, Steven Universe, The Owl House, and a few others as well)

People

Portraits

Couples (hugging, kissing, holding hands, cute stuff :3)

Inklings & Octolings (anything splatoon related pretty much)

THINGS I CAN DRAW (BUT WILL PREFACE WITH THE FACT THAT I AM LESS SKILLED IN THESE AREAS)

Furries

Animals/pets

Scenery

Pixel art

Vehicles

Weapons (this ones tricky because I can draw swords pretty quick, guns take quite a bit of effort to get right though)

THINGS I WILL NOT DRAW

NSFW/suggestive content

Gore

With the parameters out of the way, I’d like to talk about pricing now! Since I charge by the hour, I’d like to make it clear that I am 100% willing to work with money difficulties! I draw pretty fast, but as there are certain things that cause my pieces to take longer, it’s only fair I let you all know what those are, so that you can know what to avoid if you’re wanting some art from me!

THINGS THAT WILL CAUSE MY ART TO TAKE MORE TIME!

Lineless

Complex mecha/outfits

Complex props (e.g. instruments)

Anything in my CAN DRAW list

Complex backgrounds

And lastly…

EXAMPLES OF QUALITY OF WORK

(With time spent and how much they’d be priced)

ROUGH FULL BODY

Time spent: 30m

Calculated price: $7.50

STYLIZED TAROT

Time spent: 2h 16m

Calculated price: $34.00

SIDE ORDER LINELESS

Time spent: 3h 44m

Calculated price: $56.00

FYNN 1920S ‘IT’ GIRL PIERROT

Time spent: 5h 24m

Calculated price: $81.00

Anywho!! If anyone is interested, please DM me! I’ll hand over my discord so you can send me pictures easy :-)! Reblogs are greatly appreciated!!!!

[written-in-flowers]

Kimura Delivery Service: Prologue

Pairing: OC x S.W.O.R.D leaders (yes, you read that right)

Genre: smut, fluff, angst,

Word Count: 7k

Fandom: High & Low: The Story of S.W.O.R.D

Summary: After a life of swinging her fists, Sakyia is hopeful about her easy going job of delivering packages...However, her aunt neglected to mention the "regulars": The gang leaders of S.W.O.R.D. and the undeniable affection they all grow to have for her.

Overall Warnings: blood and violence, fighting, gang activity, crime, mentions of death, multiple relationships, girlboss being a girlboss, not really 'poly' but girl has a string of lovers,

Part 1 >

***

Sixteen, she surmised. Lean, limber, and tall, he did not look his age at all, which is why they let him enter the ring. Not that the managers cared about the age. They’d turned a blind eye to thirteen-year-old Sakyia back then too. She saw the determined look on his face when he stepped into the pit, a circular spot bordered by short wooden planks. She heard his manager’s shouts from his side as she wrapped her knuckles with bandages, telling him that she’s only a girl and he’d look weak losing to a girl. These words seemed to fuel Yoshi’s eagerness to win. It was either that or his manager’s severe debts. They’d fueled her too until she actually saw Yoshi in the light. He did not have the aged looks other fighters had; he was fresh and young. A child. 

“Jiro!” the young woman turned to the large man standing off to the side. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, and she could see the heat of the warehouse beading sweat on his forehead. “Jiro,” she moved close to him, “I’m not fighting.”

“The hell you mean you’re not fighting?” he asked with angry eyes. “A lot of things depend on this fight. What are you talking about?”

“He’s a kid, Jiro!” she retorted, calling over the loud crowd around the ring. “Look at him! Just look at him!”

“I am looking,” he said, “And that looks like someone who wants to be here. If he gets fucked up, it’s his own fault!”

Sakiya knew that was not true. She looked back at Yoshi, who was talking to an older gentleman on the other side. The man poured reassurances that made the boy nod his head. He did not appear as confident as before. She could tell the man was psyching Yoshi up, trying to get him in the mood to fight someone. He did not pick this fight; he did not want to be here. Nobody ever wants to be in the fighting pits. The underground fighting rings in the warehouse district were not the typical boxing matches. They did not end after a few rounds. They ended when someone passed out, yielded, or died. She gazed around the large empty warehouse. They’d blocked off the ring with wooden barriers, and spread sawdust and dirt on the floor for an easier clean up. She saw dozens of faces standing around, already cheering and holding their betting tickets. She knew a lot of people counted on her to win, but winning did not always end pretty. 

“I don’t know about this,” she told her stepfather. “You know how these-”

“-Get in the damn ring, girl!” He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her close. The stench of sweat and cigars made her nose wrinkle, and his hot breath suffocated her. “You want those men to come back? Because, if I don’t pay them tonight, they’ll come back and they won’t be so lenient like they were today. Do you want to see your mom in the hospital? Hm?”

Sakyia glared at him, and twisted out of his grip. Her forceful push shocked him for a second, but then he smirked. It was a dirty trick. She thought back to the men who’d accosted her mother earlier that day. They’d come seeking out Jiro, but found her instead. Sakyia saw her by their front door, holding her groceries as three men circled her. Thankfully, Sakyia appeared before they could truly hurt the small woman. They told her that if Jiro did not have their money by tonight, they’d come back with more men. She did not know who Jiro owed money to now, but they were not above hurting families. Winning this match would keep her mother safe. So, she turned back to the center where Yoshi met her. 

“What are you doing here, kid?” she asked him as the referee approached the ring. “Really? This place isn’t for children.”

“I’m not a kid. I’m eighteen,” he defended. 

“Sure, you are,” she scoffed. “You should forfeit while you can,” she fixed the bandages on her hands and knuckles, “So you don’t get hurt.”

“I doubt you can take me on. You should be the one forfeiting the fight before you break a nail.”

“Break a nail? Is that the best you can do?” she snorted out a laugh. “If I break a nail it’s because I smashed it into your pretty face, little boy.” 

The referee stepped over the wooden fence and came between them. He mentioned something about a ‘clean fight’ which amused Sakyia. Nothing about the pits was clean. It took a ring of a bell to set everything off. Her body immediately tensed and she raised both her fists up. She took a deep breath as she moved her body to a fighting position. She could do this; she’d done it dozens of times before now. The fact that her opponent was a boy changed nothing; there’s too much at risk to forgive that. 

Sakyia made the first swing. Her punch was as fast as a snake. Yoshi surprised her by blocking and punching back, barely missing her head. Another punch. She grunted as he grabbed her arm, twisting it and forcing her to kick him until she came free. 

Damn, he was better than she’d expected. 

“Not bad, kid!” she exclaimed as she kicked his stomach, throwing him back against the fence. The spectators roughly pushed him back into the ring, and she sighed. “But not good enough.” 

He played defense, most likely hoping she’d tire herself out if he hung back. Her father taught her all the signs. Her real father, not Jiro. They don’t really hit back; they'll mostly block or dodge the hits. He told her to do the same when this happened. Either they end up dancing in circles, or her opponent is forced to start fighting. When Sakyia stepped back, it forced Yoshi to move into the center, and that was when she attacked. In a series of fast, hard blows she knocked Yoshi to the ground. But, he tripped her by the ankle and she slammed down onto the floor beside him. She groaned at the impact, and this put her guard down a moment. She imagined her father being there where Jiro stood. He’d be cheering her on. He’d be throwing encouragement and pointers. Then again, her father would’ve never brought her here. They would be at home with their punching bag or eating dinner with her mother. 

“Stop playing around and finish him already, Sakyia!” 

She should’ve stayed down. She should’ve faked an injury. Sakyia was more than aware how these fights ended. But, she recalled the men at their door and her fearful mother. If she yielded, she lost her earnings. So, she stood on her feet again. Her eyes glanced over to where Jiro stood talking with a man in a black suit. She hated him. She hated him from the moment she met him. She wished they’d just kill Jiro and leave her mother alone. It was because of him that she’d entered the warehouse at all. 

She’d been a skinny twelve-year-old when Jiro came into their lives. He’d claimed to own a famous car dealership, a nice house and even a boat. He’d managed to pull it off while her mother and him dated, but once they married, she found out the truth. Jiro gambled most of his money away. He went bankrupt and sold his car dealership. He sold his boat to pay off some loan sharks, and he lost his house to the bank. He promised her mother he’d stop his gambling ways, but never did. 

It did not help that his self-loathing projected onto her mother, a thin woman who never hurt a fly. Sakyia tried protecting her, but she’d been too small to fight him. Jiro eventually realized her skills when he caught her fighting a pair of boys who’d followed her home. Rather than sell her like most scoundrels do for money, he pushed her into a fighting pit. Thirteen-years-old by this time, he told the men who ran the fights that she was “old enough”. She doubted the men believed him, but still accepted her. Sakyia, despite hating the fights, was rather good. Her mother never approved of the fighting. Even if he gave her black eyes or swollen cheeks, she still protested against it. Not that Jiro listened. Sakyia soon gained a reputation for her hard, quick fists, earning the nickname ‘Viper’. 

A stupid name that she hated.

She blocked Yoshi’s blows, despite the impact making her muscles and bones burn. Their arms locked together, and each of them began punching the other’s side. She made sure each hit counted. All she needed to do was get him to yield the fight. If he yielded, he’d leave intact. They broke apart, and Yoshi kicked her back. The blow took air from her chest, but she recovered quickly enough to grab his ankle in the second kick. She managed to turn it so he fell. 

She saw the fight starting to wear Yoshi down. Her father always told her fighting was hard on novices, who used all their energy too quickly. She saw him using the fence to get onto his feet again, and struggling to breathe properly. He was only a child. This was not the place for him. 

“Yield,” she said over the crowd, “Yield and go outside.”

“No,” he shook his head. She spotted a glimmer of fear in his eyes when they met, desperation mingling with it. “I can’t.”

He moved once more. He charged forward and punched her face again. Up against the fence, he started pounding on her torso and sides through her shield. She waited him out before pushing him away with an elbow to the face, then a backhand afterwards. It was a clear kick to the chest that landed Yoshi into the dirt. She heard his choked gasp and cough when he hit the floor. Sakyia saw him clawing the dirt and sawdust under his fingernails, rolling to his side and coughing. She’d turned to Jiro. 

“Finish him!” he called out to her, gesturing to the boy on the floor. 

“He’s down! It’s over!” she called back, shocked by what was happening. 

“I said ‘finish him’! Do you want them to come back?!”

Sakyia turned back to Yoshi, who still struggled for air. She watched his chest heave up and down as it tightened. In her heart, she knew how wrong it was. Looking up, she spotted the three men from earlier in the day. They wore fancy suits with small golden pins on their lapels. They watched her with expectant gazes. She knew then why she was being pushed to murder this boy. 

Jiro promised them she would do it. 

“Finish him, Viper! Finish him!” Jiro shouted angrily, hitting the fence with his fists. 

She ignored him. She saw the men watching her still. The tallest one, dark with his hair slicked back from his face, opened his jacket to reveal a gun. He kept his eyes on her and she did not look away. She knew what he said without hearing the words: ‘Finish the damn fight’. 

Sakiya stared right at the stranger, then back to Yoshi. She saw the boy clutch at his chest, gasping deeply and coughing up the dust around him. She looked up to the stranger again. She cannot let this boy die. Whatever slight him or his family caused was not her responsibility to handle. She ignored Jiro’s protests and the jeering crowd around her. “I yield,” she said to the referee, “Go get the doctor.” 

“What?! Are you insane?!” she heard Jiro call from behind her. 

“Are you sure?” the referee asked. 

“I’m sure.” 

She saw the disapproving looks the suits gave her, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t a killer. They could get their money another way. Sakiya walked over to Yoshi, who struggled to breathe. “Hey, it’s okay,” she said gently, bending down to him and helping him sit up, “Just relax.” 

“Yoshi!” the old man hurriedly approached them, holding up an inhaler. “Here,” he bent down and pressed the inhaler to Yoshi’s mouth with a wrinkled hand, “Breathe.” 

Sakiya held Yoshi’s head as his grandfather pumped air through the small container. A rough hand then yanked her to her feet and spun her around. Jiro’s beady eyes glared into hers, and she didn’t move away. “Do you realize what you’ve done?! What’s the matter with you?”

“I wasn’t going to let him die,” she spat back. “If you want to settle your debts this way, then you do it,” she shoved him with a hand, putting her bloody bandages on his chest. “I’m done.”

“Done? What do you mean you’re ‘done’? You got two more rounds to go! We have to pay back those guys or they’ll get your-”

“-It’s your problem now,” she shot back over her shoulder before storming off. 

‘The next round’. He truly expected her to continue fighting after Yoshi. Sakyia clenched her fists holding back her anger. Hot tears brimmed her eyes, but she did not dare cry in front of Jiro. 

She walked away from the ring to an employee locker room. There was nobody there but her. She saw the medical kit on the bench, but did not take anything from it. Despite the burning pain on her nose, the caked blood on her upper lip, she couldn’t be bothered at the moment. In the fluorescent lighting of the room, she finally saw her hands. Her wrappings left indents on her skin in places, and she saw Yoshi’s blood staining her fingers. She unwrapped them as she walked over to a sink to quickly wash it off. She could still hear Yoshi’s shallow gasps as he inhaled more dust and sand. She spotted the bruises on her knuckles, and knew they’d hurt in the morning. She pitied him, and hoped the inhaler saved him. Sakiya was a lot of things, but she was not a killer. She wasn’t going to become somebody’s weapon. She splashed cool water on her hot face, putting some on the back of her neck and letting it fall into her scalp. The soothing water cooled down her hot cheeks. She needed a moment to think. She needed a plan to get out. 

“You said you’d have the money by tonight, Jiro,” she heard a man’s voice echo somewhere nearby. Standing upright, she turned off the sink to listen. 

“I-I-I will,” Jiro said in a shaky voice. “The girl is just freaked out. You know women; they’re so sensitive when it comes to these things. Give her a few minutes and she’ll be back out there. You’ll have your money, Nikadio. I promise.” 

“You better, if you know what is good for you.” 

The voices outside brought her back and she knew what to do. She grabbed her backpack and dark green jacket from a nearby locker, made sure she had everything, and stood up to leave. She needed to go home. Her mother was there waiting for her. If she hurried, they could run away. She did know where they’d go, but they had to get away. If they stayed with Jiro any longer, they’d both end up dead. When Sakyia left the locker room, she made to move towards the exit doors before a hand grabbed her wrist. 

“Where are you going?” Jiro gripped her arm hard, “You still have two more fights. We’re not done tonight. Those men are dangerous people. If they don’t get their money, they’ll come back to the house and hurt your mother.”

“Stop acting like you care about her so much! We both know you don’t,” she shot back, twisting herself out of his grasp and staring him down. “I’m done being your race horse. I’m not going to kill a kid because you promised a bunch of gangsters that you’d do it for them. Settle your debts on your own or get out of town before they toss you into the river.” 

“You little, ungrateful bitch! After all I’ve done for you! This is how you repay me?!” She heard him storm after her, and reach for her again. 

Sakyia balled up her fist tightly and punched his lower jaw. With a small jolt, Jiro dropped to the ground on his side. She was about to turn away before she spotted the rolled up bills hanging from his pocket. She did not waste any more time. She rifled through his pocket, took the money and his car keys and rushed down the hallway through the exit. She needed to get home. 

****

“Ma, Ma! Ma, Pick up!” 

Sakyia tapped her mother’s number on her phone once more. Her heart raced thinking of what she might find when she came home. Jiro might be an idiot, but he was right. If the gangsters see that they’re not getting their money tonight, they’ll send a message. What if the man in the suit called his friends to go over to her house? What if they’d taken her mother somewhere? Racing down the street, she nearly screamed from the adrenaline in her body. She had trouble keeping her eyes on the road while dialing and redialing her mother’s number. Every time she heard the ringtone over the speaker, a message came out:

“Hello! This is Tanaka Midori. I am not available right now, but if you leave your name and number, I will call you back-”

“-Why did you get a phone if you won’t answer it when I call you?!” she grunted and tossed her phone into the passenger’s seat. 

She kept her eyes peeled on the road for any suspicious cars. Not that she’d be able to tell in the first place. Ending up on her street, she spotted a black car parked outside her house. A thousand horrible scenarios played through her mind as she stepped on the breaks outside. They’d already come. She was too late. She slammed her hands on the wheel angrily, her heart thumping hard in her chest. Quickly, she rushed out of the car, up the steps to their door, and fumbled the keys. She heard people talking on the other side, and she gulped thickly. Her entire body tensed in preparation for a fight. She tried steadying her breathing, but there didn’t seem to be a point anymore. 

“Ma! Ma, I’m here!” she called out frantically into the hallway. 

But, it was not screams she heard. Nobody had ransacked the house or left any sort of damage behind. She heard people in the living room chatting jovially and laughing. Confusion set in when she walked into the living room to see three people there. Her mother, Midori, sat wearing her silk dressing gown over pink pajamas; her black hair in curlers underneath a matching hair bonnet. On their loveseat sat two men: one older and one younger. The older gentleman wore a tweed gray suit and a gold watch; the younger had black hair cropped over his eyes and wore a dark navy jacket and pants. The elder was talking to her mother, who laughed at something he said. She’d set out her nicest tea set, and a small plate of treats. 

Something she only brought out for “important” guests. 

“Ma?” 

The three people looked over to her. “Ah, there she is! You’re home early. I thought you’d be out much later,” her mother beamed, standing up to greet her. “Oh gosh, look at your face! And your nose!” she gasped and began examining her daughter’s face, “It was already kinda crooked. I hope this doesn’t make it worse. Where’s Jiro?”

“Ma, what’s happening?”

“Good things now,” her mother assured her. “These two gentlemen,” she gestured to the men on the sofa, “Came to see Jiro about the money he owes them.” 

“But...What about…” the scene all together made her head hurt. She stared around at them in confusion, trying to make sense of everything. “Those men from today…”

“Don’t worry about them,” said the older gentleman, “Those were some punks we sent to intimidate Jiro. I told your mother we had no idea they would treat her like they did. We’re sorry if they gave you any cause to worry about your mother’s safety or wellbeing.”

She thought she might faint. When she swayed, her mother helped her into a chair. “I’ll go get the kit from upstairs,” her mother said, “If you’ll excuse me…”

“Who...Who are you two?” Sakiya’s questions came out in rapid fire. “Why are you in my house? Why are you here and not at the warehouse where Jiro is?”

“I am Kawata,” the elder man said, shaking hands with her and then sipping from his teacup. “I am a representative of the Ieruma-Kai group. This is Noboru, who is also part of our organization.” He put his cup down and said, “Your stepfather owes our clan a great sum of money. Your fighting tonight was supposed to cover a small part of it-”

“-Did that part involve murdering Yoshi?”

“You killed him?” Noboru looked at her with wide eyes, “You actually killed him?”

It hurt hearing someone say it that way. “I...I didn’t…” the tears suddenly returned, but she fought them away, “I yielded to the fight before anything serious could happen to him. He...He was coughing a lot. He had trouble breathing. I-I-I told him to go outside and get some air. He shouldn’t have been in that place like that. He’s only a kid.”

“Yes, his father mentioned he had asthma,” nodded Kawata. “All the sawdust and dirt must’ve not been easy on his lungs.”

“Why was he there?” Sakyia glared at them. 

“Probably to pay off his father’s debts like you,” the man replied. “You know just as well as us how dangerous the fighting pits can be if you’re not careful.”

“He’s a kid. He couldn’t be older than fifteen or sixteen,” she replied.

“The father was too old to fight, and the boy seemed eager to prove himself,” Kawata reasoned. “From what Jiro tells us, you’d been younger than him when you were thrown into the ring.”

“Really?” Noboru asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. 

“Oh yes,” Kawata answered, “Sakyia here was-what?-thirteen? Fourteen-years-old?"

"Thirteen, sir."

Sakyia preferred not to think of those days. Like Yoshi, she'd gone into the ring scared and confused. Luckily, some of the older fighters took pity on her. They did not hit as hard, and some gave her tips or tricks she could use. Her father began her training, but when a car accident took his life, those people became her teachers. Jiro saw the potential in her, he claims, and exploited it for his own benefit. Sakyia could not count the number of times she'd fought to earn him money. Not for the family, but for him. 

“Since you were thirteen?” Noboru asked. She recognized the pity in his voice, and did not need it. “But…you must’ve been so much smaller than your opponents.” 

“Do not be fooled by her size,” Kawata said. “I’ve seen you fight, young lady. My boss calls you ‘the Little Viper’ with those fast jabs of yours.” 

She snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, I’ve heard the name thrown around. Jiro said all the great fighters have nicknames,” she rolled her eyes and wiped the side of her mouth with her sleeve. It’d stopped bleeding thankfully. “I always thought it was a silly name.”

“A silly name that gained you a lot of recognition in those warehouses.”

“Oh, I hate that place,” Midori reappeared with the medical kit. She set it on the coffee table, and grabbed disinfectant, “You always come home with these nasty bruises and you’re limping all over the place. It’s not right. I told Jiro over and over that if he wanted to pay off his debts, he should settle it on his own.” Sakyia winced when the small wet cloth touched her cut nose, but her mother kept her still. “I didn’t care if he hit me or not. I didn’t want him throwing you into the fire.”

“And we completely understand,” Kawata said to her. “Sakyia is a very pretty, charming, young woman. She should be out with her friends and going to college.”

“Exactly my point!” Midori agreed. She wiped the dried blood from Sakyia’s face, then continued, “I worried it’d end like this. I worried one day he’d drive you to do something reckless or dangerous that would get someone killed.”

“There was a man there,” Sakyia said to Kawata. “He was wearing a black suit. He had short black hair slicked back from his face. I overheard him talking to Jiro about the fight.”

Kawata thought, then said, “Ah yes, that must’ve been Nikaido. He works with us too. He was there to collect your earnings tonight.” He paused, “Did you run into him?”

“No, I saw him, but we never spoke. So, you’re telling me you didn’t mean for Yoshi to die? That it wasn’t some elaborate way of sending a message or something?”

They both chuckled softly, then Kawata said, “Of course not. If we want to kill someone, we do it ourselves. Whatever happens to Yoshi after tonight is a result of the fighting ring, not us.” 

She looked up at her mother. Her headache from all the confusion pulsed in her temples, and she didn’t know what to say. “I...Mama...I’m…”

“I think it’s about time you gentlemen were off,” Midori said to the two men. “My daughter needs rest and I believe our formal business is done.”

Kawata bowed his head, “Yes, ma’am.” 

They stood up together and they each thanked her for her hospitality. Kawata told her someone from Ieruma would stop by the salon to check it out, and she led them out. Once they were gone, she returned to Sakyia on the chair. Looking up at her mother, who smiled warmly at her, she sobbed. The tears she’d tried withholding came forth in hard trembles. She leaned forward, her head in her hands as she cried. Her mother gave her a tender pat on the back and stroked her head. 

“It’s alright, Blossom,” she said softly, sitting her up and stroking her hair. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Nothing has happened; I’m sure the boy will be alright.” 

“I couldn’t do it, Mama. I couldn’t finish the fight,” she took a deep breath, “I thought something awful was going to happen to you.” She blinked the tears from her eyes, until she wiped them with her sleeves.  “The Ieruma men weren’t going to get their money, so I thought they’d come and hurt you. Jiro’s problems have always become our problems, and I’m sick of it. I didn’t care when it was him and me, but the fact that you were going to be dragged into it…” 

She sighed sadly, and continued cleaning up Sakyia’s wounds. Smoothing over the cut on her nose, she said, “I hate that it’s become like this. The child protects the parent when it should be the other way around.” She must’ve decided stitches weren’t needed, and began disinfecting the wounds to bandage them, “Jiro is too cowardly to face his own troubles,” she said, “So he threw you in front of them. I should have left him. I should have not let him do what he did, but I...I was weak, Sakyia. I’d just lost your father and we didn’t have the salon yet. We would’ve been homeless if Jiro had not come along. I’d hoped he’d be a proper father figure to you, but I was wrong.” She placed the last plaster on the bridge of her nose and said, “It’s my fault you were there in the first place. I should have fought him harder; I shouldn’t have been so weak. I’m so sorry, Blossom. I’m sorry that I am not your-”

“-Mama,” she took her mother’s shaking hands and squeezed them gently, “Jiro would have done it whether you fought back or not. I don’t...I don’t blame you,” she sniffed back her tears. “I’m so confused,” she admitted, “Everything is happening so fast and I can’t-c-can’t keep up with it.”

“Then don’t say anything else,” she comforted, “You can just listen.” When Sakyia rested her head on her mother’s lap on the couch, Midori began: “When those three punks came up to me today, I knew Jiro was in a bad situation with bad people. I wasn’t surprised, to be honest, since Jiro only ever dealt with shady types. Yet, I noticed one of them was wearing this little golden pin on his jacket. It had a triangle with dragons around it, and I recognized the symbol. The young man who brings Yori- you remember Mrs. Ieurma, right? She’s the lady who used to give you candy when you were little?”

“I remember her.”

“Well, her chauffeur also has that little pin. When I saw her at the salon today, I told her what happened and she was shocked! She said she couldn’t believe her husband would send men to harass a lady, especially a dear friend of hers. If my husband owed money, she said, they should be harassing him. She told me she’d be speaking with him personally about it.”

“That was nice of her to do,” Sakyia said. 

“Oh, Yori’s one of my oldest clients. I adore her!” she caught herself before a tangent, and said, “Anyways, she got me in touch with her husband and we talked about it at the salon.”

“You spoke to Tatsumi in person? Isn’t he, like, the boss?” 

“Over the phone, yes,” she said, “He explained the entire situation to me. He said it was all business and he didn’t mean to involve us, but that Jiro did owe them a considerable amount.”

“He must know how fond Yori is of you,” Sakyia added, “To change his character so easily.”

“To be honest, it was probably because he knows Jiro wouldn’t care if either of us died,” she shrugged. “I hate to say it so harshly, but family is only a good leverage if the person you're threatening actually cares about them.” 

She supposed that made sense. Her mother continued her story, “As I was saying, I spoke with Tatsumi and asked how much Jiro owed him. When I realized how much it was, I knew your earnings alone wouldn’t cover the amount. That’s why Kawata and Noboru came to visit. They came to discuss payment. I give them ownership of the salon; they cut Jiro’s debts in half and only deal with him from now on.” 

“Ownership of the salon?!” Sakyia bolted upwards in her seat and looked at her mother in disbelief, “You sold the salon? Ma, that salon is your entire life! You spent years working towards it! It means everything to you, it’s your work! Your life! You can’t just-”

“-I can and I did,” she hushed her daughter gently. “The salon might have been my work, but it was not my life and does not mean everything to me.” She cupped Sakyia’s swollen cheek and looked her in the eyes, “You are, Blossom. If selling the salon meant you did not have to fight anymore, then it was worth it to me. I can rebuild a salon, but I can’t rebuild a daughter.” She gently kissed Sakyia’s forehead and hugged her close. “Tatsumi agreed to the deal and Kawata came to finalize the papers.” 

“What are you going to do for work, Ma?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “We can’t afford to stay here, so we’ll have to move somewhere else. But, we’ll talk about that tomorrow.” She gazed over her daughter’s face, taking in each feature and comparing them to her father. Sakyia looked like him in certain lights. “This can be a new start for the both of us; you and me,” her eyes glazed over with tears, “The way it should have been the whole time.”

“Ah, Ma…”

Midori kissed her head again, then made her eat. Sakyia didn't realize how much everything hurt until she relaxed. She swore she felt her entire body throbbing all at once everywhere. She winced when she finally stood up, feeling the fight in her muscles. She made her way upstairs, where her mother prepared a hot bath, and she sunk into it slowly.  As the soothing water worked on her sore muscles, she knew one thing for certain: her mother would be safe now. Midori wouldn’t have to worry about Sakyia being injured or Jiro’s furious hits. She could focus on more important things. Sakyia considered what she might do now that she had no warehouse fights. Thinking of the future felt better than remembering the boy she’d fought tonight. Her mother would tell her to go to university, but she felt too old for that now. 

Maybe she’ll know when she finally gets to wherever they’re going. 

****

Their landlord gave them a month to leave the house. Midori told her that Sakyia’s aunt, Hana, had an extra room above her shop where they could stay until they got back on their feet. Sakyia remembered her aunt, a round-faced woman with coarse black hair, and felt thankful to be moving in with someone familiar. Hana joked that now they’d have someone to protect them if a robber came into the apartment. 

However, remembering the shabby apartment, she doubted there’d be any burglars to worry about. Her aunt lived in a town called Sannoh which was outside their district. Her mother had grown up here, she knew. It was a small place with local businesses and friendly neighbors. As they drove through, she saw the kids playing in the street, the vendors haggling with customers at their shops, and people walking or bike riding. It seemed like such a simple place. It looked quiet and peaceful. 

“Is there no post office?” Sakyia asked as they drove down the street. “I’m sure people can mail things to each other.”

“It’s an inner-district delivery service,” her mother answered. “Sometimes people need things delivered quickly and the post office doesn’t always work that way.”

“Like what?”

She hesitated, as they turned a corner, “Just things, Blossom. Nothing you need to worry about. You’ll be helping me in the salon, remember?”

“What salon?”

“Hana says our friend Sungmi is going back to Korea,” she said, “And is selling her salon.”

“Ma, you don’t have money to buy a salon. We don’t even have our own place to live yet.”

“Hey, who is the parent here, huh?” Midori laughed. “You worry about things too much, Sakyia. I’ve known Sungmi since we were in beauty school, and she said she’ll keep ownership until I’m able to pay to buy her out.” She squeezed Sakyia’s leg, “Don’t you worry, little blossom. Mama’s got this all taken care of. You and I are gonna get through this together, okay?” 

Sakyia smiled. She’d spent most of her time relaxing her worn out body. It felt weird not doing anything besides training in their garage. Looking at the sketch book in her lap, she’d gone back to art like she’d done as a kid. On the page, she’d drawn a stocky man punching a large punching bag. He had a straight jawline like hers; his broad build was all muscle. She added a few strays in his black hair, and added shade to his wrapped hands. Her mind often drifted to her father in times like these, when the world felt so uncertain. She traced out the shadows of his crooked nose, which had been narrow before being broken in several fights. He’d been the strong one out of the three of them. 

Then the accident happened. The weight then fell on her shoulders, because Jiro weakened her mother so significantly. 

“We’re here now.” 

She looked out the window to see a small storefront on the side of the road. On a faded sign above the windows, someone painted the words: “Kimura Delivery Service: Stamped, Sealed, Delivered.”

“Stamped?”

Midori chuckled, “That was from when it first opened. Your grandfather used to have this little stamp to verify packages. Now, your aunt prints a label. But, the sign meant a lot to your grandfather, so she promised she’d never change it.” Then she added, “Also, new signs cost a fortune.” 

Sakyia was sure the business did not have money for anything new. Through the wide windows, she saw her aunt already standing at a counter beside a register. A young man in a red jacket stood scribbling down on a piece of paper in front of her, both chatting. She also noticed the ‘Help Wanted” sign in the corner of the window. How much business could this place be getting that she needed more help? Sakyia and her mother then stepped out of the car. Their appearance made Hana look out the window, and she smiled widely and waved. The young man noticed her waving and turned around. He was short, maybe two or three inches taller than her, with blond hair he kept parted to the side. He looked at Sakyia curiously, most likely trying to remember if he recognized her. Sakyia knew she’d never seen him before. 

“Midori!” Hana cheered as they walked into the store. She moved around the counter and the sisters hugged tightly. “I thought you’d be coming in the afternoon! I would’ve closed up the office early!” 

“Sakyia stayed up to pack the rest of our things,” she told her as they released each other. “And the movers put our furniture into storage yesterday.”

“We didn’t have much to begin with,” said Sakyia, shouldering her backpack. “Hello, Auntie.”

“Ah! There she is!” Hana embraced her, “My favorite niece! Oh, look how big you’ve gotten!” She moved away to take a look at Sakyia, “Good lord, girl, you’re so skinny. What has your mother been feeding you? Grass?” 

Sakyia did not have the heart to tell her about the strict diet Jiro kept her on before his ‘disappearance’. She’d thought she might gain some from stuffing her face the past few weeks, but nothing goes past her Auntie Hana. She noticed the man behind them leaning against the counter, looking at them with interest. Sakyia could not get a read on him, and that bothered her. 

“I tell her all that training burns off anything she eats,” her mother lied immediately, “But now that you’re here, I’m sure she’s going to be eating tons.”

“Of course!” Hana exclaimed, “A few days here, and you’ll be all rounded out.” 

The young man coughed into his fist for her attention, and Hana whipped around. “Oh gosh, Junpei,” she said, coming back to the counter, “Forgive me. You finished the label?”

“It’s alright, Ms. Kimura,” he replied, “I already sealed it there for you.” 

“Excellent,” she said, smoothing out the printed label he’d signed. “Ah, Junpei, this is my sister, Midori, and her daughter, Sakyia. They’re moving into the apartment upstairs. Midori, Sakyia, this is Junpei. He’s one of my more frequent customers.” She took his payment from the counter, entered it, and gave him change. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, bowing his head to them both. “Welcome to Sannoh.“

Despite his baby face, Sakyia recognized his kind right away. The gangster types who frequented the warehouses and clubs around the bayside of the city carried the same similar shadiness about them. Sakyia saw them all the time growing up: they’d be the ones placing bets, taking bets, and on the sidelines with their fighters or participating in the fights. She wondered if he’d ever gone there. The bay district might be too far for him. She stepped closer to her mother. 

“You must need a lot of packages delivered quickly to be considered a regular here,” Sakyia said curiously.

“A lot of people in Sannoh use your aunt’s business,” he replied innocently. “Not everyone is able to go outside town to get packages delivered and going through post offices takes longer.”

“I can’t promise it’ll get to your friend by tomorrow,” Hana cut in. “I haven’t found a courier since Koichi quit.”

“That’s fine,” Junpei told her. “I just need it there as soon as possible." 

"I understand," Hana nodded. She struggled to put the parcel on the tall stack of boxes until Junpei came and helped her. “Oh, thank you, sweetheart. I’m going to be buried in these boxes at this rate.”

“I can always have one of the gang come help you,” he said. “Chiharu and Dan would be glad to help.”

“I’d appreciate that,” she smiled. “Tell them I’ll pay them well for it. If they don’t get lost, that is.”

“Dan only got lost once,” Junpei defended gently. 

“Twice.”

“Alright, yes, twice. I’ll let them know and send them here.”

“Such a sweet boy,” she patted his cheek tenderly. “You take care of yourself now, and wear a helmet when you ride that thing,” she nodded to the motorcycle outside. “You could get in an accident and crack your head open.”

Junpei nodded, “I will, Ms. Kimura.” He turned over to Midori and Sakyia, and nodded again, “It was nice meeting you both.” He looked right at Sakyia as he said, “I’ll see you around.”

He reminded her of those dreamy characters in manga. The tsundere characters with kind hearts who sport leather jackets and ride motorcycles. They pretend not to care, but they care very deeply. She admitted he was handsome. Even a blind person would think he was handsome. But, something about him kept her distance, but then again, she kept everyone at a distance. 

Except her mother. 

Sakyia looked back to her aunt and her mother, who’d begun catching up while her aunt shut down the store for the day. She decided she’d make her way up to the apartment and begin unpacking her things. Junpei came to mind. If he was what she thought he was, then Sannoh might be more dangerous than it seemed. Sakyia remembered the gangs who’d come strutting into the warehouse; Jiro usually owed them money, so she’d become good at spotting them. They either wore flashy clothes, business suits or leather jackets. Junpei was clearly the ‘leather jacket’ kind. 

She’d need to keep an eye out for him.

[the-graves-family]

Keeping his collection of debt collectors and creditors was a delicate balance. Murdock paid off just enough for them to be satisfied, but never enough to have over a month of peace. With his wages from guarding Ace, he thought that over half would be enough. It never could be enough. Creditors started following him, watching as he entered the same building almost every day and left it at night. They noticed Ace, giggling and touching him when they were supposedly alone.

He never thought that they would go after the family. Not Ace, his Ace. They’d visited him, laughing and telling him the monthly fee had doubled. They’d warned him and his ‘little friend’. He was fucked. Murdock had sped towards the hospital, searching for their car in the parking lot. “Ace! Ace?”

@murdersinthemaking

Going after the Graves is something monumentally stupid, something only the dregs of society would even attempt. And fail, of course. Their precious jewel was more protected than anything else in the city, and far more valuable, so any attack on him would be swiftly dealt with.

They had been keeping an eye on Murdock's creditors for a while, especially since him and Ace had become... close. The other guards weren't stupid, and no member of the family was blind. But Ace was happy, and that important, of course.

Something like this was inexcusable, however.

Their most precious thing, threatened because Murdock owed money? No, no, no. This had to be dealt with.

The attackers were gone, of course, in pieces scattered throughout the riverbed, and the creditor that had sent them was already being hunted down by their forces. All over a couple grand. What a stupid way to kill oneself.

And now, to the deal with the other thorn in their side.

Asking for Ace at the desk gets Murdock taken to a room and gently ushered inside. Before anything else can be done, the door locks behind him. And he finds himself alone with Adrian in a dim room with no cameras and surprisingly good soundproofing.

"Father isn't particularly pleased with your performance, Murdock," Adrian drawls, looking up from his phone with shadowed eyes. "I'm sure you know why." He lights a cigarette and looks up at the deactivated smoke alarm. "What a disappointment you turned out to be."

Crossing the room in a few strides, Adrian stops when he's face to face with his employee, and looks him up and down. "Honestly, my little brother has the worst taste in men. Something like you?" He hums. "Though I do suppose I shoulder some of the blame. I should never have allowed you to leave that Halloween party alive."

Without warning, he cracks Murdock across the jaw, brass knuckles that had been hidden up until now making the blow far more powerful. "I guess the problem will solve itself when we bury you in the garden. I think you'll make wonderful fertilizer for his roses, don't you?"

[readingslover]

Chapter 12

Previous chapter | Next chapter

As Cristina and Amory jjogged through the park, forced to do so by Meredith, the first woman stopped to catch her breath. “Oh, you’re stupid, oh god…” As they resumed the jog, she went on. “You’re a stupid, evil sadist and I want to kill you.”

“I’ll help. This is not the hours to do this. Can you go sloer, I have short legs!” The smaller girl managed to get out through her beacy breaths, as she tried to catch up.

“Endorphins are good. Endorphins are mood elevators. This is supposed to make us feel better.” The dirty blonde explained.

“Oh god, do you feel better?” Cristina moaned as they stopped.

“I don’t.” Amory pointed out as she reached her friends, bending over slightly to catch her breath. “There’s a reason I don’t run.”

“I’m stupid.” Meredith admitted.

“Slutty mistress.” The Asian woman insulted, Amory glaring at her.

“Pregnant whore.” The dirty blonde returned.

“Just wait until I’m not too tired to hit you two.” She threatened, still bent over, hands on her knees.

“Sleeping with out bossed was a terrible idea.”

“You know what’s ruined for me? Ferry boats. I used to love ferry boats and Derek has got at hing for ferry boats. Now everytime I see a freaking ferry boat…” Thedorty blonde vented, the short girl laying down on the grass.

“You know what’s ruined for me? Coronary artery by-pass grafts. And aortic aneurysms. God, I used to love aortic aneurysms.” Both her friends flopped down beside her, looking up at the sky.

“Yeah, that”s worse.” Amory shared.

“Have you cried yet?” Meredith questioned as the short girl decided whether she should tell her friends about her new relationship.

“Do you think we’d feel better if we cried? Just like that, let it out?” Cristina wondered.

“You would. It has helped me a lot…” The small girl shared her advice. All of the sudden, she hits both her friends at once and they made a protesting noise. “What? I warned you I would hit you once I wasn’t too tired anymore.”

“God, Amy, that one hurt.”

“You deserved it…” They fell into comfortable silence, until the short girl blurted out. “I’ve been seeing George.”

“You… what?” Meredith almost yelled.

“I’ve been seeing George. For a couple of weeks now.” She looked from the sky to her friends to see their reaction.

“God, you could have waited some more timed, Amy.” The dirty blonde let out, making the girl furrow her brows in confusion.

“Ha! You owe me twenty, pay uo.” Cristina laughed in victory.

“She… what? Why does she owe you money?” The girl shook her head in confusion, but already guessing why in her head.

“I bet you two would get together by this week, Mer though it’d take longer. Now I got some money for free.” The Asian woman explained with a smile.

“You did nt!” She hit both her friends again. “Crisitna yan!” She hit the girl to her left an turned to her right. “Meredith Grey!” She smacked the dirty blonde. Now hitting both of them at once to accentuate her words, she kept going. “We do not…” And again. “Bet…” And again. “On our friends…” And another one, as the women tried to get up. “Love life!!” She got another smack in before they started running from her.

“I’m not so tired anymore.” Cristina sprinted along with Meredith, leaving the small girl behind.

~~~~~~

Now in the hospital’s locker room, Amory tells her new boyfriend what had happened, what she found out during her morning run with the other two interns.

“They bet on us, George! Like actually money, on how long we’d take to start seeing each other.” The frustration made the girl’s voice higher in pitch, as she vented.

“Tehy… what? Money? On us?” The boy blurted out, confused, as he tried to comfort Amory through holding her hand.

The girl made an affirmative noise, their attention soon being drawn to the sound of Izzie giggling next to Alex. “What is she doing?” Crisitna asked, certain disgust in her voice.

“She’s… hanging out with Alex.” The male intern pointed out the obvious.

“Why?” The Asian woman questioned.

“I don’t know…” George said.

“Maybe they’re friends?” The shorter girl suggested.

“Make tha lambs stop screaming.” The boy stage-whispered as Meredith tied her shoes, making his girlfriend giggle.

As they left and walked down the hallway, Bailey and Alex in front of them, Izzie explained. “You guys are wrong about him, alright. Once you get to know him he’s really sweet.”

“He’s Alex.” George deadpenned, his hand on the small of Amory’s back.

“Look, he was sweet to me once and the next day he was an ass.” The young intern shared, shrugging. “If he’s actually willing to be decent then fine, if he wants to just switch around like that I’m not putting up with it.”

“Hey, Grey.Izzie was talling me about the tapes of your mom performing surgery.” Said boy turned around and talked loudly. “I’d kill to see the Ellis Grey in action.”

“Hey, you know what, maybe you can come over tonight and we can all watch it together.” The taller blonde suggested. “Right?”

“Oh, yeah, if this were a hell dimension.” Meredith answered, sarcastically.

“Do you have a thing for Alex?” Amory questioned the tall blonde.

“No!” She exclaimed. At her friends reaction, none of them believing her, she repeated. “I don’t.”

“You have a thing for Alex.” The small girl repeated, this time as an affirmation.

“Are we saving lives or having a tea party? Walk faster people.” Their resident reprimanded.

~~~~~~

“I know, I just think you should tell him about the baby.” Meredith told Cristina, as they and Amory followed Dr. Bailey. “He’d at least have the responsibility of having to pay…”

“No! You know what, he’ll never know. It’s over.”

“I actually don’t agree with Cristina, but if she’s terminating the pregnancy what good would it do to tell him?” The short girl shared.

“Exactly, Amy. After the pregnancy is taked care of, Burke won’t even be a blip on my rader, he’ll be a smudge.”

“Right…” Meredith answered, ironically, as Cristina grabbed her by the shoulders.

“You know, Meredith, leave the sarcasm up to me. Really, it doesn’t suit you.”

The three girls now walked to their patient’s room and Amory added. “I get it, you know. Besides, we don’t know where he stand on abortion. It could do more bad than good to tell him.”

“Thanks, Amy.I appreciate it.”

Once they entered the room, Alex is presenting. “Kelly Roche, 23 years old, in for a scheduled ETS for treatment of erythrophobia and hyperpyrexia.”

“Arythrophobia?” Izzie questioned in a hushed tone.

“Blushing.” Cristina and Amory answered in unison, the first one searching the meaning of the word in a book and the second one saying it solely from memory.

“Do you have any doubts about the procedure?” Their resident asked Kelly.

“Doctor…” The girl stopped, her skin flaring up.The short girl moved to get their patient a wet cloth, to help with the blushing, as Kelly flashed her a thankful look. “Dr. Shepherd explained everything. He was very…, huh…, helpful.” Amory put the cloth of the girls face, in attemmpt to make her more comfortable, as she fannced her face. “He gave me some literat… sorry.”

“Don’t be, there’s nothing to be sorry for.” The young intern smiled at her.

“Besides, half the patients that come here have the hots for Shepherd.” Alex joked, trying to get the patient to feel less embarraced.

“Dr.Karev!” Bailey warned, as Amory kept wetting the patient’s face.

“What? It’s true…”

“Okay, Kelly, I think we’ve finished for now. See you later.” The short girl smiled at the patient as they left the room. Meredith and her went to the vending machine and she commented. “I’m so hungry.”

As she was about to get herself some food, their resident called them. “Hey, there’s a new surgical case coming up from the pit. Likely diverticulitis. Let’s go.”

“So much for my food…” The girl ran to the elevator, her friend beside her.

“Get your hand off le! i could report you to the chief and you’d be out on your ass!” They heard a women yelling as they approached. “You’re all amateurs.” Amory froze next to her friend, recognizing the woman in front of her as the dirty blonde’s mother, or at least a deranged version of the woman.

“Patient’s complaining of cramping pain and diarrhoea.” Cristina read the chart and Meredith grabbed her small friend’s arm tightly. “Also suffers from Alzheimer’s.”

“Amateurs!” The woman screamed, her voice cracking.

“Patient’s name?” At the the lach of response, Bailey insisted. “Yang, patient’s name.”

Ellis Grey’s gaze turned to Meredith and the grip on Amory’s arm only grew stronger. “What the hell are you dong here?” The older woman spat out and Meredith turned to leave, dragging Amory with her. “How many times have I told you not to bother me when I’m at work!” Both girls now hid behind a door, the smaller one almost feeling her friend’s hand cutting off her blood supply.

“Ellis Grey.” Cristina answered Bailey.

“Meredith’s mother.” George almost whispered.

“You’re amateurs! You’re amateurs!” The older Grey kept yelling.

~~~~~~

Now in the locker room, Meredith hadn’t let go of her friend’s arm, as their friends talked over each other on the outside, entrance barred by Bailey.

“Dr. Karev, stick with the ETS case. And Alex, her blushing impulse is not a toy for you to play with or a button for you to push, understood?” Bailey instructed her intern.

“Hey, Meredith? My great-grandmother, she died with Alzheimer’s.” Crisitna shouted. The grasp on Amory’s amr wouldn’t give and she knew that she’d get a bruise from it, but wouldn’t dare deny her friend that comfort. As the dirty blonde hadn’t spoken a word, she also assumed she found comfort in the silence, something else she wouldn’t deny her.

“Izzie, the Dr. Shepherds need an interns up in the NICU.” The resident kept going.

“Wait, both of them? Together? And me, by myself, with the two married people who hate each other…”

“Go. Cristina, you’re on the thoracotomy.”

“With Burke? Oh, can I have the hateful married couplde instead…” Crisitna complained.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I thought I was your resident, not your hostess. I assign, you take. Is that a problem?” Bailey reprimanded. “Is there some reason why it’s inconvenient for you to spend the day, in the OR, learning from Dr. Burke?”

“No, I’m very happy to be working with Dr. Burke, thank you very much.” The intern said quickly and she left.

“George, take care of Dr. Grey.”

“Yes, thank you.” The boy huggede the resident, much to her surprise. “She needs a friend right now…” As he tried to go through the door, the woman stopped him. “Oh, you mean, Ellis, the… mother.”

All the interns now gone, Bailey closed the door behind her as she entered the room, Mereidht’s hand still firm on Amory’s arm. “Are you able to work today?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” The taller intern reassured.

“Cause I would understand it if you wanted to be with your…”

“No.My mother and I don’t have the easiest… it’s just better if I’m working.”

“Okay, you’re on scut.” The resident informed.

“Excuse me?”

“While we take care of your mother, you can catch up on charting, run samples to the lab…”

“I told you, I’m fine!” The dirty blonde protested, exasperated.

“And I appreciate that you’re fine, but I have to appreciate a certain level of distraction for you today. Even in the face of all that fineness. So scut, now.”

As Meredith attempted to leave, she dragged the small girl with her once more, who called out. “Mer? You have to let me go first…”

“Oh, sorry.” She loosened her firm grip and left the room, leaving Amory to rub her arm with her nuse scrunched up in pain. “Ouch.”

“She had a firm grip on you there.” The resident joked. “Amory, go save Stevens, I don’t know how she can survive the Shepherds. Besides, Montgomery-Shepherd seems to like working with you.”

“Sure, Dr. Bailey. But, can you please try to keep an eye on Meredith?” The girl asked, worried.

“I will. You knew?”

“I did… for a while now, I did.” The intern reveals, lowering her eyes to the ground.

“You’re a good friend, you know that, Madden? They’re lucky to have you looking after them. I think they’d be even more lost if it wasn’t for you mothering them.” The resident complimented.

“Thank you, Dr. Bailey.” She smiled and left the locker room.

~~~~~~

As both Izzie and Amory watched the premature baby, the Shepherds talked.

“Where’s the mother?” Derek asked.

“Gone. She stuck around long enough to get the kid strung out and then took off. Nice, huh?” The short intern furrowed her eyes in compassion.

“Addison…”

“Derek, I know it’s a long shot. I know that.” The redhead explained, Amory’s eyes still on the baby.

“You told me, you had a newborn with an invasive mass. You failed to mention she was premature, underweight and addicted to narcotics.” The man argued, handing Amory the chart, which she scanned through. “There’s no way this baby can survive spinal surgery.”

“You don’t know that…”

“And if she does? She’s a mess… meningitis, seizures… she’s gonna live a short and painful life.” Derek evaluated.

“You don’t know that!” The woman repeated more assertively.

“It’s my job to know that.”

“You’re not God, Derek.” Amory’s eyes widened and she shared a look with Izzie.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry, honey, but you’re not, you don’t get to decide…” She was immediately cut off by her husband.

“Did you just call me honey? Don’t call me honey.”

“Fine, you’re not God, Dr. Shepherd. If the patient has any chance at survival, which I think she odes, than you have the responsibility to…”

“Don’t talk to me about responsibility.” He darted back.

“You took and oath, Derek.”

“Oh, and don’t you dare talk to me about oaths.”

“Derek, I messed up. People mess up.”

“You slept with my best friend on my favorite sheets.

“The flannel sheets? You hate the flannel sheets.” The interns’ discomfort grew by the second.

“I love the sheets!”

“Can we just stop talking about the sheets?”

“Fine!”

“I, um, I think we’re just going to go check on the labs.” Amory interrupted, eager to get herself out of the room, the tall blonde intern thanking her with a smile.

~~~~~~

As Izzie and Amory came back into the room, chart in hand, thye found Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd looking at the baby, as they grip her finger.

“She’s got a good grip.” Izzie commented.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t… the labs don’t look good.” Amory handed them to the attending.

“She’s got a resistant strain of pneumococcus.” Addison read the chart.

“The antibiotics aren’t working…” The short girl pointed out.

“You might want to get yourself reassigned, Dr. Madden and Dr. Stevens, I don’t think we’l be operating today.” The attending recommended.

“So do you think Dr. Shepherd was right?” The tall blonde asked.

“She’s too far gone…” The redhead admitted, Amory’s eyes filling with compassion. “She does have a good grip.”

“Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd? If you don’t mind I’d like to follow the case until the end.3 The shorter girl asked, and at the woman’s questioning look, she explained. “I don’t like leaving things half done. Besides, this little one could use someone rooting for her, even if only to keep her company as she goes.”

The attending smiled up at the girl, seeing some of herself in her and recognising her potential. “Sure, Madden. you can stay.”

Sometime later, the baby now gripping the intern’s finger, Addison watched her. “You know, Derek was right.”

“I’m sorry, about what?” The girl questioned.

“You’d be good in pediatrics. I’ve been watching you since I arrived to make sure, and it’s true. You’re on of the people at the top of your class, so you don’t lacj the surgical skills, and you have the personality for it. You’re assertive when you need to be, and you seem to care for every single one, without letting it affect you negatively.” The girl smiled and Addison eyed her curiously. “You managed to care for the patients while being able not to get overly attached. In Peds you need to thread a very think line, trying to stay compassionate while not letting the losses brake them. Most are initially on either side of it, they need a lot of practice to get there. That natural balance you seem to be able to keep would make you perfect for it. Same thing for neonatal, I think you’d have a bright future in either of them.”

The intern felt as though she’d just been looked right through and blushed slightly. “Thank you, Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd. I’m awared if I get overly attached it can cloud my judgement, so I try my best to remind myself that we can’t sace every single one. We just have to try our best to do so. And much as I tend to take some losses personally, I’d like to believe I can bounce back from them.” The girl looked down at the baby in front of her, her heart heavy at the situation. “If there’s anything life has thought me so far, it’s that I’m not easily broken.”

Some more time went by, until the resident turned to the intern again. “You should take a break, Amory. Go get something to eat, stretch your legs. I’ll page you if I need anything.”

“Okay, I’ll be back soon.” As the intern flashed the redhead a smile she left the room.

Walking through the hallways, all she could think about was how much her resolve to specialise in Peds has strengthened. She’d always felt inclined to it, but having now heard from two attendings how well she’ll fit in, she knew that is was the right track for her. Her inters in neonatal was also growing, falling for the speciality quickly. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Bailey’s slightly panicked voice. As she saw Cristina being rolled out of the OR on a bed, she ran up to them.

“Cristina? What happened?” She let out, worry in her voice.

“Her pulse is racing, I need her on a monitor to get a BP.” Bailey spoke up. “I want her started on a liter of LR. Izzie, run ahead to emergency, let them know we’re on the way.”

“Dr. Bailey!” Amory called out and joined the resident, whispering to her. “She’s pregnant. Cristina’s seven weeks pregnant.” 

As Izzie and Bailey enetered the elevator, Bailey changed her game plan. “Okay, no, we’re going to pre-op instead. Amory, find Addison Shepherd and be discreet.”

As the girl ran through the halls, she found Addison walking down the stairs with the Chief and George.

“Dr. Shepherd, I’m sorry, we need you. It’s Cristina, Cristina Yang, she’s collapsed.”

“Cristina’s collapsed?” George asked, worried.

“Why do you need me.” Addison responded, clearly puzzled. At the girl’s expression, she understood. “Oh.”

“Cristina’s pregnant?” The male intern exclaimed, loudly.

“George! Keep it quiet, okay?” She quickly left, running to accompany the attending’s fast pace, as her short legs wouldn’t allow her to walk any faster.

~~~~~~

As they take Crisitna to the OR, Bailey spoke up. “Okay, Amory, you can leave now.”

“Dr. Bailey, can I stay please? Just to keep her company?” As she saw the resident’s mouth open to protest, she went on. “Look, I know she’s unconscious, but I just need to be there for her, okay? I can’t leave her alone… I won’t leave her along. She needs someone to look after her and you said it yourself earlier, I look after all of them. So, please, just let me do it now.” The girl pleaded, her puppy dog eyes coming to play.

“Let her stay, Miranda, it won’t interfere.” Addison backed her up, being fond of the girl.

“Okay, fine, you can stay.” The resident gave up.

Later into the surgery, Amory still by her friend’s side, Izzie speaks up. “She’s gonna be okay, right?”

“How attached was she to this pregnancy?” The attending questioned.

“I don’t know, she’s a pretty private person.” The tall blonde answer, not being particularly close to the woman on the operating table.

“She wasn’t. Attached I mean. She was planning on terminating the pregnancy.” The short blonde informed, her eyes never leaving her friend’s face.

“Okay… she’s lost a lot of blood, but I’ll save her. Dr. Bailey, you must have a surgery or two of your own today?”

Bailey who held the girl’s head answered. “I’m fine right here.”

“Looks like I’m not the only one who mothers them.” Amory smiled up at her resident, appreciating her worry.

~~~~~~

Neither Bailey nor Amory left Cristina’s side through her recovery. The intern held her the entire tome, stroking her heir lightly ever so often. The resident looked over them like a hawk, refusing to let any bad in the world happen to the girl.

Once Crisitna woke up, she looked to her friend, the feeling of her fingertips running through her hair calming her. “Hi there.” She whispered. “You’re back.”

“What happened?” The girl asked, her voice.

“You had en extra uterine pregnancy.” The resident explained and Cristina’s eyes lifted of her friend’s face for the first time. “Your left falopian tube burst. Dr. Shepherd… she did everything she could but there was too much damage. She couldn’t save the tube.”

The injured intern snuggled against her friend slightly, finding comfort in her hold. “Amy?”

“yeah, I’m right here. What do you need?” The girl whispered.

“Can you… hold me? Just until I fall asleep.” She asked, her voice broken.

“Of course.” The girl’s fingers stille ran through her locks. “I’m right here, not going anywhere. I’ve got you. You can relax, I got you.” She whispered in her friend’s ear as she drifted off. Bailey watched both girls like a proud mother, appreciating Amory’s help with taking care of the group.

~~~~~~

As Amory approached the group, after Cristina had fallen asleep, she found Izzie doing the same.

“Hey, did you get your mom’s biopsy results back?” The blonde questioned Meredith.

“Not yet.” George beated Meredith to inform Amory as she sat next to him and they shared a quick kiss.

“Wait, what did I miss?” Izzie questioned, clearly a bit shocked at the scene.

“We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now.” Amory explained as George smiled at her and gripped her waist.

“How’s Cristina?” Meredith asked her.

“She’s going to be in a lot of pain for a few days, but she’ll be okay.” The short blonde explained.

“I’m glad you were ther, Izzie. Amy arrived later so it could have been much worse.” Meredith explained.

“Are you?” The former model questioned.

“It’s just… it’s just that a lot of the time it feels like you, Cristina and Amy are kind of over ther and I’m… here.” The girl said, a certain sadness in her eyes.

At that, Amory gave her a playful nudge. “You’re welcome to join us ‘over there’ sometimes, if you’d like.”

“So, about Alex.” Meredith went on.

“I know, you guys hate him, fine…”

George groaned at that and Amory spoke up, almost offended. “I don’t hate him! i mean, he’s not my favorite person in the whole world, but if he wants to start being nice then I’m here for it.”

“Well, you don’t hate anyone, Amy.” The boy argued and the short blonde shrugged.

“We do, but I jus wanna say that I believe you.” Mereditf intervented. “He’s different once you get to know him.”

After that, the lab technician approached them, handing Meredith her mom’s labs. “Here you go. Ellis Grey.”

The girl read it and handed it to George. “Let her know.”

As he walked away, Izzie asked worried. “Meredith are you okay?”

“She’s not…” The small girl whispered, more to herself.

“No, I’m not okay.” The dirty blonde agreed.

The woman’s mass was benign.

~~~~~~

As Amory walked past Ellis’ room, she saw George laying on the bed with her. The woman snuzzled against him as she slept. Her eyes widened in shock and her boyfriend got up from the bed, seeing her through the window.

“Should I be jealous?” The short girl giggled as she pressed a kiss against his mouth.

“She thinks I’m her husband…” They began walking through the hallway, hans intertwined.

“My boyfriend looks like my friend’s dad… slightly disturbing.” Both laughed at the fact. “I’m guessing Thatcher Grey must be a handsome man then.” She rose to her tiptoes and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“Boyfriend?” George questioned as he sat down on a hospital bed that lined the hallway.

Amory slightly stiffened as she sat down next to him. She wasn’t even thinking about that when she aid it. “Yeah?” She said but it came out as more of a question. “I mean, if you want to be, you can be. I don’t want to rush you or anything.” 

George just chuckled. they really were similar. They both rambled and stuttered when they were flustered. “Yeah,I like being called your boyfriend.”

“How are you holding up, Amy?” George asked after a moment of silence.

“I… don’t know, really.” They say together on a nearby hospital bed, the man holding his girlfriend by the waist. “It was a hadr day. I mean, Cristina’s fine but…” Her voice began to crack. “But she might not have been. You know I love taking care of all of you. I can’t imagine it any other way, but it gets exhausting, making sure everyone is okay.” The girl let a tear fall, George wiping it with his thumb. “It was a terrible day for both Meredith and Cristina, and I’m their person and they are mine, but sometimes I feel like I have to hold everything together for everyone…” The girl’s head flopped against the boy’s shoulder, as she let another tear fall. Amory composed herself adn finished off after a few seconds. “I love taking care of them, I do. Who else would if it wasn’t me, but it can get so overwhelming sometimes. Thank you for being the one who takes care of me, George. If it wasn’t for you I think I would forget myself most of the times.” The girl almost whispered.

At that, George pressed a kiss to her forehead, his arm around her shoulders as her face was pressed against his chest. “No need to thank me, Amy. I’ll always take care of you, no matter what happens.”

[enstarriedownbad]

♥ Himeru x Fem!Reader fanfiction ♥

Unmasking our flawless facades

Chapter 2: Reimei visit (2/3)

Characters in this chapter: - Sazanami Jun (Eden) - Tomoe Hiyori (Eden)

Read Chapter 1 here!

-- Location: Reimei hallways --

Jun : "So here is a photo gallery of some graduates who succeeded in the idol industry."

You look at the pictures, no familiar faces in sight.

Jun - "Wait I haven't been there for a while, it looks like they added new ones. Maybe next year I'll get to see Ohii-san or Kaze-" he stops.

He suddenly looks very sad and nostalgic.

You - "Are you okay Jun?"

Jun - "... Yes I'm alright. Sorry I just thought of someone. I- I owe them a lot."

You - "Don't be sorry, it's fine. You can tell me about it if that can lift a weight off your chest, too."

Jun - "Thank you."

Jun continues to make you visit the academy. You pass by some big training rooms on the higher floors and get a glimpse of the inside.

Then the two of you go down to get to another room. This one looks much smaller.

-- Location : uninhabited dorm --

Jun - "Remember those spacious rooms we passed by?"

You - "Hm?"

Jun - "Well back before the Reimei revolution, the Special Students actually had those rooms as their personal separate bedrooms. They monopolized them all. And all that while us Non-Special students had to share a room like the one we're in now."

You - "How was that allowed?"

Jun - "Well back then it was somehow 《normal》, or tolerable. But the thing is that we were at least 4 or 5 per room and still had to chaperone and cook meals every day for those arrogant bastards."

You - "Hold up. You guys had to share a small room while the SSs had a private training room each? And on top of that you had to cook those meals??", you ask concerned. "How was this legal? This looks like abuse."

Jun - "I know right. I kept wondering what the police was doing. Now that I think about it, they probably got paid a lot of money from the higher-ups so that they never get involved..."

You - "So how did you guys train without a training room?"

Jun - "Most of us didn't."

You - "《Most of us》 ?"

Jun once has again this bittersweet smile on his face.

Jun - "Well, a very kind senpai, my very first friend here, lent us his room so we could use it whenever we wanted. He was a very popular SS among all, teachers included. Yet he chose to live in here with us, in this very dorm. Everyone went crazy when learning that", he says with such a sad face.

You - "He sounds like an amazing person! Is he the same senpai to who you owe a lot?"

Jun - "Yea..."

You recall when you accompanied Trickstar and Eden in their training this summer. Didn't Jun say something about a revolution happening thanks to one man?

Jun - "I miss him."

You - "I know you don't want to talk about it now but once you are ready I'll listen to you closely", you tell him with empathy.

Jun - "Oh don't worry it's not like it's all buckled up inside me. I already told Ohii-san about him actually, telling him his stories and life lessons, to Ohii-san's displeasure at times haha", he says as he glimpses a smile.

You - "So the two never met? Hiyori-senpai (// however you call him) is a 3rd year and joined Reimei as a 2nd year. So, I assume he's graduated?"

Jun - "No, he hasn't... Actually, I can tell you that he's being hospitalized as we are speaking, that's why they never met."

You - "Oh. I'm so sorry to hear that. I shouldn't have asked."

Jun - "It's fine."

You check on your watch. It's already time for Jun's training.

You - "I think it's time for us to go where Hiyori-senpai is waiting for you," you awkwardly say.

Jun - "Okay, follow me!"

.

.

.

-- Location: Reimei corridor --

-- Time: Around 4 pm --

You see Hiyori in the distance. He looks lost in thoughts. Jun notices that aswell.

Jun - "Hey ohii-san!", he says nicely.

Hiyori breaks free from his thoughts and smiles at the sound of Jun's voice.

Hiyori - "Good morning Jun-kun, long time no see, Y/N-chan(// whichever honorifics or nickname you like the most)," he greets politely.

You - "Good morning, Hiyori-senpai."

Hiyori - "What brings you here on our Open House day? Do you want to leave the Yumenosaki Academy?", he asks playfully.

You - "You're right. I may transfer again. Jun was helping me visit the school actually."

Hiyori - "Good. As you may have already seen, our school is way more spacious and classy than your current one. And stealing not only the only producer from Yumenosaki but also the one who made Trickstar win the SS would be << ii-Hiyori >>", he jokes.

The three of you laugh.

Jun - "Wait why are you in your uniform as well Ohii-san? I didn't know you were a representative of the school today."

Hiyori - "Well the school wanted to show off as many Special Students as possible, so this is why I am here."

You - "Hum is the SS/Non-SS segregation still going on?", you ask concerned.

The two of them look at each other.

Hiyori - "Well yes. But it will only apply to idol students next year, don't worry", he cheers you up.

Jun - "Y/N, I just remembered that some teachers are giving a presentation about the new courses in about 15 minutes. Sorry, I can't accompany you there since I have training right now though. Try to follow the signs."

Hiyori - "Let's meet again in 2 hours if you want. I'll treat you two to dinner."

You - "Sure!"

You wave goodbye to both of them and proceed to look for the signs. As you walk, you can still hear Hiyori and Jun's voices.

Hiyori - "Jun-kun," he says with a serious tone, "I heard that Kazehaya Tatsumi left the hospital."

.

.

.

← previous chapter ♥ next →

Author note :

I had to adjust the time period so that it fits the Japanese back-to-school period, sorry about that!

[sonicenvy]

I think if there is something that I've learned this year having to deal with a lot of healthcare nonsense it's that many patients (myself included) need to learn our rights, and that there ARE options that we can take when we can't afford payment for drugs or care and when we get rejected by insurance for coverage for something. I wish to god we had a better healthcare system in this country; I do, but for now we have to live with the bullshit we have, and I think people would be served better by getting educated about their options and rights in the now to reduce harm in the now, while we fight for a better system. For now, here are some things that are of interest:

If you do not have health insurance at this time, you can get it through healthcare.gov. It doesn't matter where in the country you live, what your previous claims payment history is or what your current medical conditions are. You can pay for and get ANY plan that is offered on this site. This is defined through ACA Subtitle D, Part I.

When you look at the plans not signed in, they look SUPER expensive. They are not. Create an account and submit your tax information. Once your previous year's tax information is submitted, the site will tell you what your tax-credit reduction is for your monthly premiums. This is the amount of $ that the government will subsidize your premiums for. The less money you make, the more this amount will be. If your income was greater last year than it is this year, when you file your taxes you will get money back that you should have received in reductions on your premiums. If your income is greater, you owe. They give you the choice of how much of the credit to take in the now. If you choose not to use all of it, you get the unused amount back on your taxes.

If you have marketplace plan questions, call the healthcare dot gov help line (1-800-318-2596) and someone will help you. They will answer any questions you have, no matter how dumb they are. You can ask them simple stuff like "What is a premium?" and they helpfully explain it.

No insurance company can raise your premiums based on your claims payment history, your health conditions, your health history or any other form of "evidence of insurability". They cannot deny you a plan for any of these reasons or deny you renewal of a plan for them. You have rights, if your insurance is trying to do this, you can report them to the government. It is illegal for them to discriminate against YOU for any of these reasons. This is all defined either under ACA Subpart I: General Reform, sect 2702, sec 2703, and section 2705.

If you are over 65, you are eligible for medicare, and you should get it. If you have a serious disability, you can get medicare earlier. This will significantly reduce your healthcare costs. You have already paid into it if you have been paying taxes on a W2.

If you are poor, you may qualify for medicaid. If you are unemployed you probably qualify for medicaid. Eligibility requirements vary by state, but if you are below the federal poverty line and under 65, you are almost certainly eligible. Medicaid is low cost and covers most services. If you have children and are poor, you can get CHIP.

Certain services are considered "Essential Health Benefits" under the ACA and ALL plans are required to cover them. These EHBs include items and services in the following ten benefit categories: (1) ambulatory patient services; (2) emergency services; (3) hospitalization; (4) maternity and newborn care; (5) mental health and substance use disorder services including behavioral health treatment; (6) prescription drugs; (7) rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; (8) laboratory services; (9) preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management; and (10) pediatric services, including oral and vision care. If you plan refuses to provide ANY coverage for items and services under these categories, that is illegal and you can report them.

If you visit a non-for-profit hospital for emergency services, and are uninsured or poor, they must provide you with financial assistance, whether that is FREE care or significantly reduced care. This applies even for insured patients who are visiting an emergency room that is not in their network. Talk to their billing department and ask about financial assistance and charity care.

Under the No-Surprises Act, a subsection of the CAA 2021, a provider of emergency services cannot balance bill you (bill you money after you have paid your deductible, copay, coinsurance and your insurance pays out their obligation to make up for costs on the visit from their providers being not in your network). This is something new I didn't know about until my current situation lol.

Certain forms of medical debt CANNOT be reported on your credit report. Additionally, if you apply for an FHA mortgage to purchase a home, the FHA does not consider medical debt when assessing mortgage eligibility. For more information about new rules regarding medical debt as related to creditworthiness here is the general bulletin.

If you are denied coverage for a medically necessary drug or service, you have the right to appeal this. Call your insurance company and ask for an explanation for the denial of coverage. Sometimes, your doctor can provide a letter of medical necessity for the service to get you coverage. The same drugs and services can be billed under different classifications, which may affect coverage. Read through your plans benefits booklet to find if the service you are being denied is covered under a different billing classification (usually called a CPT #). If this is the case, you can work with your provider to reclassify the billing of the drug or service to get coverage. Arm yourself with all the right vocabulary and information by reading through your plan's benefits booklet and by requesting an extended EOB (explanation of benefits) for the claim in question. Note that you cannot get extended EOBs for medication claims, but you can for services. You may also want to enlist your provider in your fight against charges as there is certain information that they can more easily access than you can and that they can do on your behalf.

Many drugs have manufacturer coupons that you can use to reduce your copay. These coupons can be applied WITH your insurance. If a pharmacy employee tells you otherwise, they don't know what the fuck they're talking about. Ask to speak with the head pharmacist about this. You can find many kinds of drug coupons through sites like goodrx or the manufacturer of your drug's website. Sometimes your doctor may also have coupons; ask them. If you have an especially competent pharmacist, they can also help you find coupons or discounts.

Anyhow, I hope someone finds this helpful. Learn your rights and your terminology so that you can get the care you need and deserve!

[matenrou-fan]

can I request story of jakurai's s/o he is friendsmwith innthe beginning, they are roomates but just platonic

s/o moved in with him because she could not pay house, and ever since they sort of became a couple without knowing it. he would come home late after the work at hospital, and find she cooked for him, always doing gestures and they spend time together

and one night s/o and jakurai are sitting on couch watching television and get a more close, they have first kiss and confess feelings and they making love?

its too long? I hope not, i apologize 💙

love for all of your works and writing that makes me smile!

Jakurai falling in love with his fem! roommate

aww you such a sweetheart, thanks for all of your kind words <3

Femreader, cuddles and kissing, just wholesome stuff, Jakurai gets naughty in the end lol ;; 1876 words;;

"I go to work now, s/o.." - Jakurai fixed his white doctor's coat and looked at you with a small smile. You were so cute early in the morning, still a little bit sleepy with a slight pearl blush on your cheeks, he can't help but chuckle.

"Alright, Jakurai-sensei, good luck to you today!" - you smile back and close the door after he leaves.

You keep smiling even after you get alone in his house, walking to the kitchen, humming something to yourself. It was so hard to believe that you actually started living with Jakurai, one of your closest friends..! He was kind enough to share his apartments with you cause you, right now, were having some troubles with money and couldn't pay rent. He even said that you don't owe him anything, and that he wouldn't ask for repayment in the future, so you wouldn't feel nervous.

But even like that you still feel like you should thank him with something different then, for all his kindness. When you just moved here you were kinda shy and didn't talk much, feeling yourself as a burden or something, but as time passes you two start talking more as you help him a lot. Cooking for him or doing household chores if he has no time was just a simple way to say thank you, but Jakurai was deeply pleased that you were always here for him. It looks like you two grow even closer to each other, shared housing lets you know one another better.

Your own work started later so you still have some time before leaving too, and you decided to look up some interesting dinner ideas. It has already been a few months since you moved to his house so you get to know his preference in food a little, it turned into something like a tradition for you to cook for him. Sometimes he gets home really late after a long shift in the hospital and the smell of hot tasty dishes that you have prepared cheer him up. He always told you how much he appreciates your dinners and that you don't need to do that much, but you can see in his eyes that happy sparkle and his smile is even softer than usual.

And today you decided to make something special, for some reason. You don't know why, you just have such a good mood right from morning, so why not? Maybe you can throw something like a little party today, a party without a reason, just to relieve some stress through tasty food and time together..

For some reason you feel much more relaxed around Jakurai, his deep voice always soothes you, and when he looks at you with such a soft gaze.. Tingles run down your spine as you think about his face again, giggling and smiling. You find a good recipe and check the fridge for the right products and then start to dress up for your work, thinking about what else you two can do, maybe watch some movie together?

For the whole day all you can think about was Jakurai. You look at the window in your office, admiring the shining beautiful day, wondering what he's doing right now. But the truth is.. that he's also looking out the window in his office, thinking about you. Jakurai didn't have that many visitors today and he had a little free time right now. For the last few days when he was on his lunch break or just had free five minutes, all he could think about was you. For some reason his mind keeps returning to the image of your cute face, and your soft voice. He never knew he would ever hurry up to get home every day like that just to hear someone meeting him with such an adorable smile.

Jakurai was sure he would never get too close with someone again, but here he is.. Can't stop smiling when all he can see is a mirage of your charming face in front of him. Something inside his soul tells him that today is a special day, Jakurai can feel like something is gonna happen.. He took his phone and sent you a little text, warning you that he will be earlier than usual today, as he has only two patients to check.

When you received his message it was almost the end of your shift, and you also decided to hurry up to your home, you still need to make a great dinner for you two..! Even the whole day at work didn't change your mood, and you ran to his house, humming to yourself, thinking what you should do first.

***

You look at the clock again and then re-read Jakurai's text. It looks like five minutes left before he should return home.. you turn to the table, admiring your work - everything was done right in time, still hot and fresh. You giggle and take off your apron just to hear light footsteps behind you.

"I'm home.." - Jakurai gets inside the kitchen with a casual soft smile, but when he notices a bunch of exotic dishes with such strong but pleasant aroma.. He looked at the table, really surprised, then at you.

"S/o... You did this all by yourself?" - he was impressed, and you suddenly noticed a light blush on his cheeks - "You shouldn't have worked so hard just to surprise me.. Although I must admit it's a very touchfull surprise.."

"Don't worry, Jakurai. I did this because I want, not because I feel like I need to do this.." - you smile softly and sit with him together at the table - "Please enjoy, I hope you really like it.."

"I will enjoy all the food that you make, s/o" - he chuckled, taking a fork in his slim long fingers.

It was true that every dish was tasteful for him, even when you cooked something for the first time and it was not that good he still appreciated it with a smile.

But today, when he took his first bite, he was stunned for a little while. It was so good, the warm meal was almost melting on his tongue and he took a moment to taste the flavor. You smirk, a hot wave of happiness washed over your cheeks as you looked at his pleasant face.

"It's very tasty, s/o.." - Jakurai finally speaks with a small smile - "Your cooking skills have grown up so much by the time when you just moved here.."

He took another bite, unable to look away from your blushing face, as you didn't expect a compliment from his side. When he looks at you it feels like his dish starts to taste even more delicious.. Well, after all, the real taste of this food he was feeling with his soul, as he can see just how much work and care you put in every dish.

You keep eating together, telling about what happened at work today. It was also some kind of tradition or habit of you two to listen to each other in the evening, to cheer yourself up after a bad day or to congratulate each other about something cool.

"Hm.. I think I haven't had such a feast for a long time" - Jakurai smirks as he helps you to clear the table.

You smile back, feeling as your heart beats faster and faster and your face is so warm.. Is it because you ate so good today? The atmosphere between you two was more soft and gentle than before, and you didn't know what to do next, you didn't even notice when everything became so intimate.

"Want to watch tv together..?" - you just nod to Jakurai's offer and follow him to a living room, keep looking at his back, his hair is tied up in a long ponytail.

As you sat together, you noticed that Jakurai was closer than usual, you could almost feel the heat of his body. You decided to not pay attention to this, looking at the screen of tv and trying to calm yourself down. But even when you listen to characters in a show, all you can hear was Jakurai's voice, and all you can think about was his soft face. You sigh, moving closer to him and leaning your head on his shoulder, a little bit tired. Such a little action but your heart skips a beat when you hear his light chuckle, why do you get so nervous suddenly? And why do you keep being so shy and sensitive today around him?

When you look up at him your eyes meet his and you get even more red. Has he been looking at you all this time? You don't know, but you definitely can tell that you have never seen him with such a soft affection gaze.

For a moment you just admire his beautiful face before he slowly touches your chin, leaning closer to your face. Looking him right in the eyes was so overwhelming but at the same time you can't look away, almost hypnotized with this deep blue shine. Just for a moment you look down at his lips and he almost immediately kisses you, as if he was waiting for permission.

Soft and long kiss, as you two finally open your hearts to each other. Your trembling hand finds his arm and grasps it, as it feels so unreal.. His lips are so soft and his touches so tender, you can feel such a deep thoughtful love in this.

When you pull away, embarrassed and excited, you notice that he was also quite surprised but also pleasured. Jakurai looks at you with an amused smirk, hand still caressing your chin.

"It looks like we both finally reached the point where we can't hold our feelings anymore, are we?" - he chuckled, enjoying your cute reaction. He just now realized how much he actually loved you all this time - "S/o, I love you"

He takes both of your hands in his, stroking your knuckles with his fingers. For a moment his heart skips a beat, he almost feels like it's the first time he confesses to someone.

"Jakurai, i.. I love you too.." - you whisper, your voice suddenly so shaky and trembling and you can't stop smiling when looking at his loving eyes.

You get closer and hug him and he slowly embraces you with his long arms, holding you tightly to his chest. For a few moments you just sit like that, listening to soft heartbeats of each other, when suddenly Jakurai moves his arms to your shoulder and hip, standing up and lifting you in his arms.

You gasp, leaning to him closer, arms wrapped around his neck as you smell his soft cologne so closely to you. You didn't expect something like this, he was taller than you and now you feel so small..! Jakurai just chuckled and you see that his gaze was now more passionate and playful.

"Is something wrong?" - he whispers and you blush hard as you notice that he has carried you to his bedroom - "I just thought that in this lovely evening I can show all of my love for you.. ♡"