#and im probably not working today because it is supposed to rain all day AGAIN

[strawberri-syrup]

pros and cons of shit weather: pros- i dont have to work. cons- i dont get paid

[cherryatombomb]

Heaven to touch

John "Soap" MacTavish x Simon "Ghost" Riley

also on ao3!! no warnings, just hurt/comfort + fluff :] with some nice autistic! ghost bc im unstoppable

---

There were some days when Simon felt like his brain was actively working against him, just to fuck with him every now and again. He supposed it was in character – he was a guy who enjoyed his fucking with others, so why not try it with himself? Still, it did not inspire the same kind of amusement as it did with others. No, today his brain decided it was time to remind him of his past. It had all started in the morning, after a night of lack of sleep after a particularly fucked up nightmare, because what better way was there to start his day?

At 4:30 sharp, his alarm went off, though he was already just laid in bed, waiting for it. Johnny was at his side, as usual, curled around him like he was trying to merge them into one being, as he’d found himself unable to decipher which limbs were his own, and which limbs were the others. As usual when he woke up, the other scoffed and tightened around him, but he eventually wiggled his way out and got ready.

Through the corridors of the base he went, though this time, the corridors seemed all-consuming, somehow. A large man like himself, he already took up more space than needed, but today it felt more.

Fuck, it made his skin feel like it was itching, crawling all over, but he shrugged it off, focused on heading out and going out on his morning run. The cool air was nice against his skin, made him feel more human, but the run itself all went wrong.

Clearly, it had rained last night, and there was so much mud. It made it impossible to go on his normal route, mud making parts of the path inaccessible, so his normally thought-out routine was now changing all over, for some reason.

That itching feeling on his skin increased tenfold.

It was fine. Once he finished his run, he had a smoke to try and soothe his nerves, before going to the kitchen. A cup of tea, that would settle his nerves, and all would be well, right?

Nah. The fucking box was empty. Still left there, in the cupboard, like it was taunting him. Price must have finished it off, which would be fine normally, except now, another part of his schedule was thrown off.

Was it normal to feel truly angry about such a thing?

Well, he had no idea, but he was far from a normal person, so he didn’t let himself linger on the question much. Anger making his stomach twist, he grabbed the box and shoved it in the bin, so nobody else felt the same way as him.

As he was about to turn away, perhaps go to the shooting range to blow off some steam, a door was accidentally slammed open, and in stumbled Gaz and Johnny, deep in conversation already, loud in spite of how early it was. The sound of the door slamming was like a gunshot in Ghost’s mind, like back in Las Almas when Johnny had been shot in the shoulder, and then the conversation sounded like nothing more than static. He couldn’t discern a word.

Irritation turned, briefly, into anxiety, but he held his head high and stormed off. His footsteps were borderline silent, as usual, but there was something clearly off about his gait. Everything was wrong, today, and he wanted to tear his fucking skin off if that stupid itching continued. Seriously, he didn’t understand what it meant. Though he rubbed at his arms, it did nothing.

The lieutenant took in a steeling breath and settled for returning to his room, for now, to get some paperwork done. Whilst he was a decently reckless man, he knew that it probably wasn’t best for him to go shooting in this state, whatever this state even was.

Perhaps he was too optimistic, somehow, even for his usual pessimism, because, of course, today was the day of nothing going right. He sat in his chair, cracked his knuckles, grabbed a pen, and began to write. Nothing. An agitated huff escaped him, and he scribbled at the paper with the pen, trying to get it to start working – he could see in the sides that it still had ink in it, so why wasn’t it working?

Of course, because it just had to continue the horrors of today, the fucking pen spilled ink all over his paperwork. Why wouldn’t it? Why not? Trust Simon to see the negatives in everything, and yet somehow be unable to miss the obvious way to ruin his mood further.

His fists clenched uselessly, so tightly his nails dug into his palm, and the pen creaked in his grip like it was about to break. Good, he huffed to himself, taking some more steadying breaths before throwing the pen to his nearby bin. At least he had one thing going for him – his aim was impeccable, as usual. That anger faded only slightly when he heard it drop into the bin, but that itching feeling still hadn’t left him.

Simon had to do something about it, but it took him some minutes just sitting there to figure it out. His knees bounced up and down, hands clenching and unclenching, like the subtle sting in his palms would help him come to an answer first.

Then, as was his usual solution when it came to these things, a name popped to mind. Soap.

The two had been in whatever you would call it for a few months now, sparked after Graves was defeated. Any other could call it a relationship, partners, boyfriends, or whatever, but Simon didn’t do well with labels. Johnny was the guy he kissed, and shared his bed with, and trusted on a deeper level than any other. That’s all that mattered to him.

Honestly, he was working entirely on autopilot when he headed back to the kitchen, slightly disappointed when he saw that Johnny had left at some point, and only Price and Gaz remained. They nodded to him when they saw his presence, but he wasn’t there for conversation.

“Where’s Johnny?” He asked, voice low, that irritation of the day catching up to him without him even meaning to. Judging by the look that the duo shared, he looked positively like he was about to go and find the man just to murder him, but he allowed them to think that. It was easier that way.

“Went to his room to finish some paperwork,” Gaz spoke, hands raising in a mock surrender, which made Price nudge him with his elbow as if to chide him.

Simon only nodded at his words, spinning around and heading back where he came, to where the rooms were on base. The lieutenant might have been caught up in his own overwhelmed state, but he didn’t miss the mutterings of Price and Garrick as he left, wondering what the fuck Johnny did, and whether he’d return alive.

At least he knew they’d have privacy for a while, as an angry Ghost wasn’t one you often tried to intervene with.

His stride was swift, long steps, and though it only took about two minutes to reach the rooms, it felt like an eternity. He was so caught up in himself he didn’t even knock on the door, just opened it, so fast it slammed against the other wall and made him cringe. Shit, he didn’t mean to seem so aggressive, and the noise agitated him further, he just wanted to see Johnny as fast as he could.

The man in question startled, looking over, then his eyes softened when he spotted Simon. No matter how murderous he seemed, he wasn’t frightened of him, standing up to greet him.

That wasn’t what Simon wanted, though, and he quickly stepped over after shutting the door, plotting his movements as he did so. The chair was pushed back slightly, to give a little bit more space between it and the desk, and then he gently nudged Johnny back into his seat.

His head cocked to the side just so, figuring out if this was the position he wanted, and he settled for it being correct. Before he finished the final step of his plan, he kicked his shoes off, and then it commenced.

With the grace of a man who had been a trained killer most of his life, he folded himself into Johnny’s lap. His head settled on his shoulder, knees pulled up to press against the back of the chair, and he curved over the other man in a way that was probably painful, but it didn’t even register.

There was an all-consuming urge to be entirely surrounded by Johnny, and who was he to ignore it?

“Christ, Simon, you doing okay?” The Scot asked, surprise clear in his tone, and he gave an affirming hum in response. “Get back to work, Sergeant,” it was almost playful, the response, finding himself already soothed by the presence, that itching feeling in his skin beginning to dissipate bit by bit, instead replaced by the warmth of MacTavish.

“That can’t be comfortable for your back,” Johnny muttered, noting the way it curved to be able to sit on his lap, making up for the height difference. When he received no response, he let out a soft, huffed laugh, and returned to his work, because what else could he do?

Simon felt like he was on cloud nine. Every single stray from his usual routine was made worthwhile as he reveled in the feeling of being held. One arm had looped around his waist, whilst the other of Johnny’s was complying with his demand, he could hear the pen begin to scratch against the paper once more.

The final piece of the puzzle was achieved by burying his head into Soap’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent, before breathing out a contented sigh. The stresses dissipated from his body all in one, his own arms looping around the other’s back, holding him even closer, and he could genuinely feel the tension leave his body.

Fuck, it was perfect.

Everything left his brain, no thoughts in his mind, only the scratching of the pen against paper, and the occasional way Johnny shifted underneath him, or lightly rubbed his back. If Simon were to die right here, held in the other’s arms, he’d die a fucking happy man.

Once Simon was certain that the feeling of his skin crawling was gone, he lifted his head just slightly, tugged his mask off, and threw it lazily to the floor, before tucking himself right back in.

The gesture wasn’t lost on Johnny, as he could feel the arm around him grow tighter, as if more protective, and he felt like he was truly melting. Whilst everybody in the 141 had seen his face, he still consistently wore the mask, only taking it off either when on his own, or in rare circumstances around Johnny. It was like an extension of himself, a protective layer that helped him feel more human on days when it was too much. The slight pressure of it, too, was fucking delightful, most days, not providing too much sensory input, but just enough.

Now, though? The day had gone off to a horrible start, but he was so content here. It wasn’t always smooth sailing with Johnny, some days, Simon felt like every touch burned him. There were days when he and Soap couldn’t share the same bed, as the close contact of it all made him feel like he was two steps away from an anxiety attack. But for whatever reason, this was perfect. The best amount of pressure, being able to feel the other’s chest rise and fall underneath him soothed him beyond measure, and the familiar smell of him made it that much better.

When he let out a contented hum, he felt Johnny shift his head slightly, and press a kiss to his shoulder, mumbling out to him, “I’ve got you, Riley,” and really, saying things like that should be illegal. Here he was, effectively disrupting the other man’s day and inconveniencing him, and he had the gall to be so sweet?

It caused the same reaction he had to cute animals – he wanted to squeeze them, in a way that was almost painful. Cuteness aggression, he’d heard it described as.

Yeah, that seemed about right.

For about half an hour, Simon didn’t even make an attempt to move, and he let his mind go thoughtless, just loving the moment, focusing on the small sounds of his breathing, and the rustle of paper and scratch of the pen.

Finally, he began to feel more like a human once more, though he strayed for a few minutes longer to ensure that the feeling of his skin crawling wouldn’t return, before he finally began to push himself to a stand.

Johnny looked at him, inquisitive eyes scanning over his features in a way that he knew meant he was checking he was okay, so he returned it with a hum.

Feeling bold, he leaned down – feeling his back twinge slightly, and, yeah, that definitely hadn’t been good for his back – and pressed a kiss to his forehead. It was one of his favourite places to kiss him, because it didn’t take much to bridge the distance between them, and it gave Soap a delighted little smile that made his eyes crinkle at the corners and light up, and it made him look stunning.

“Going to my room, Johnny,” he announced, ignoring the baffled expression that began to form across the Sergeant’s features. Instead, he straightened, plucked the pen from Johnny’s hands (because he knew it worked, and he wasn’t willing to risk it again), grabbed his mask from the floor, and headed to the door.

He paused, just before opening it, and turned, a glint in those blue eyes of his. “Meet me there later, eh?” The beginnings of a smug smirk began to quirk his lips when he heard the other begin to question his words, slipping his mask on once more and stepping out of the room, refusing to answer anything.

As he made his way back to his own room once more, the corridor felt nowhere near as imposing as it had in the morning, nor did he feel any sort of discomfort. His skin was delightfully not itchy, and all, for a time, was right in the world. If he’d known surrounding himself with Soap had been the way to fix this, he would’ve been doing that a long time ago. For now, he reveled in the feeling of calmness, entering his room with a happy hum.

And, finally, when he settled down to do his paperwork once more, the pen worked perfectly. Perhaps the day was salvageable, after all.

[serendipitous-girl]

okay so my plan for today was kinda off and i dont appreciate that but it was also because the rain and humitidity which i didnt plan for

so heres to tomorrow (its hair washy day tmrw and i night as well shower too)

ill wake up (actually get up) at a decent time bc i usually wake up around 8-10 and get up at 1-3...

(waking up at 08:00-10:00 getting up at 13:00 to 15:00)

do everything id need to do upstairs before heading downstairs (thats when my day actually starts)

eat watermelon

i dont wanna plan to workout at a certain time even tho ik ill attempt to but thats actually gonna throw me off and i might not do it so im gonna do that when i feel like it as much as i wish it was part of the plan.

id hope to shower after i lift because that makes sense but the times i usually feel good enough to workout vs the times i shower are complete opposites (if i had it my way id shower before heading downstairs)

i have to keep in mind my mom has work tmrw i think shes done at 1 so i need to get stuff done before then (ik i wont tho) because i reckon shes gonna tell me to get the clothes from the dryer and fold

we're gonna go with me showering after i lift so i do that get my hair situated change to the outfit i actually want (i will not be happy with my fit before then) and go downstairs again

i suppose at that time ill have to eat so now i have to do that

oh shit i didnt drink water these past few days i js remembered okay after i eat ill have water probably

after that im going upstairs and im not gonna interact with anyone for the rest of the day(excludes discord, and tumblr, and most likely snapchat)

id have to go to bed at some point round 23:00 (11pm) so id brush my teeth use the bathroom and get my laptop out

in this specific order i will:

get comfortable-ish and open my laptop n sign in

connect my airpods and put the LEFT one in

open the google acc i use for tumblr spotify and discord

make three new tabs

the first tab ill put in tumblr to the google search bar

the second tab ill open spotify

the third tab will be discord

ill sign into spotify then discord

then ill sign into tumblr

put on my music

if i feel like using c ai ill open that one too but AFTER i check my activity for tumblr

at this point i might choose to open kick and ill see if sapnap is live or smth

if he is ill stay on his tab for a bit and pause my music before i send u asks

I JUST REALIZED I HAVENT REACHED OUT TO MY MOOTS ON TUMBLR IN A WHILE-

after i get bored ill keep his tab open but do other things

if he's not live (which is the more likely one lately) ill stay between my tabs

at some point i like to open youtube and close out all of my other tabs and i do that until i want to try and sleep

hehe after im done doin wtv i close out everything and clear my activity (my mom does not know about tumblr kick twitch or c ai.)

i close my laptop plug my airpods into the first charger slot on my laptop then its actual charger on the second

plug in my airpods to that charger and put them in and put my laptop on my desk in the same position its always in and i try to sleep

i think i have a problem

but its so satifsying to type it out im sorry

love you!!

preppy i am okay with being your planner lol

Love you too :D

[sohcah-toa]

heyheyhey, idk if you do sfw stuff. but if ya do, im here to request some lovely hurt/no comfort childe stuff. maybe a breakup or just like he gets sent off back to szneyaha (how ever tf u spell it).

anyways i hope you're well <33 take care of yourself 💜

-your local depressed childe simp™

No Explanation

⚠️ angst | gn reader

💬 i hope you're doing fine! <3 i'm not sure about what i did! i hope this is what you meant :{

🌊 tip or donate at ko-fi | masterlist

Childe took you out on a date today. He was ultra sweet which was suspicious, but to thank him you decided to do something.

You just got home from the date but you immediately started. You grabbed all the materials you needed. You decided to make a whale origami for him! It would serve as his lucky charm whenever he fights. You were so proud of this idea.

You ended up having no sleep at all, you wanted to give this to him quickly. Who knows when he'll fight?! He needs this whale! It wasn't that easy and you aren't creative, so you ended up wasting a lot of paper.

"I made the perfect one!" You say, looking at all the paper you crumpled up "I just made one and it took me a day" you plop on the bed, whale in hand "I was supposed to make a narwhal but that's impossible for me"

—

Your eyes adjusted as you open them, you look at the time "I was supposed to meet Childe!" and you quickly prepared.

You took the whale before leaving. It was extremely cold, it was raining. You waited for Childe on your usual place. You had a wide smile on your face, holding the small whale that was in your pocket while your other hand holds the umbrella.

He promised yesterday he'd be there but it's been half an hour and he still hasn't arrived. The smile on your face was gone, you became worried about him, what if something happened?

Just when you were about to go see him in his work place, he arrived, running towards you but without his usual cheerful self.

"Did something happen?" You ask him, sharing the umbrella, he was soaked. He tried catching his breath before apologizing to you.

"I-I'm sorry I'm late" He panted, still tired from his run "I have to go"

"But— you just arrived" You tell him "You're soaked, you're gonna get sick, here" you tried giving him your scarf but he pushed your hand away gently.

"I meant— I really gotta go" He said, he frowned, looking at your face, obviously wanting to know how you would react "Let's b-break up" his voiced cracked a little.

But to his surprise, you just laughed "Alright Childe" you roll your eyes playfully "Stop the pranks! Anyway I have to give you—"

"I'm not joking y/n" He held both your shoulders. You can't tell if he was crying or not because of all the water dripping on his face "I love you.. so much. Please take care" he kept kissing and hugging you before finally separating himself, making your clothes wet before running off again.

You were too stunned to even speak or move. You watch his back as he keeps getting further and further away.

When you suddenly get your senses back, a river of tears covered your face but you didn't feel anything at all. The umbrella fell as you sprint, following Childe. Slowly, you start feeling horrible, the energy being sapped away from you but you continued running hoping it wasn't too late since he was much faster than you.

—

"Where have you been Childe?!" Signora scolded him "We're about to leave"

Childe panted, looking behind him, seeing if you would follow but he didn't see you. Another shout from Signora, Childe climbed inside the ship, he kept looking back.

Childe frowned, changing his clothes in his own private room in the ship "It was— for the better .. probably" he sighed. It still hadn't sunk in.

There was a knock "Hey stupid ass, everybody's eating"

"Leave me alone Scaramouche!" Childe said, burying his face in the pillow "Fuck, I made the wrong choice" the pillow muffled the screams he was making.

—

You were crying, running towards their headquarters. Once you arrived, nobody was there, just a bunch of papers. You kneeled down and read some of it "Snezhnaya .. go back? The mission changed? W-What?" you start sobbing and screaming, throwing papers everywhere.

"Um, can I help you?" someone said "If you're looking for the harbingers, they already left"

You turned to face the voice .. a familiar face! You wipe your tears away "Viktor! You're here!"

Viktor shrugged "Oh, it's you .." then sighed "Didn't Childe tell you?" he asked, you shook your head no "Boy, didn't quite expect that"

"Please, help me!" You begged, you were desperate. That can't possibly be the last interaction you both had! You haven't even given him the whale.

Viktor sighed "I'm not some harbinger. The harbingers were on a ship, while we, the others are going much later. I can't possibly smuggle you with me!"

And that just gave you an idea.

—

"Childe" Dottore knocked "Open up"

Childe didn't answer. It was just Dottore anyway. Childe was silently crying on the pillow.

"If you don't open up, I'll kick this door" Signora's voice. This alarmed Childe, he'll get an earful if he doesn't follow. He immediately stood up, wiped his tears and opened the door.

"The hell do you guys need?" Childe asked, even Scaramouche was there.

"You can't act like that in front of the Tsaritsa" Signora said "Reminder to get your shit together"

"Did you get dumped?" Dottore laughed, trying to high five Scaramouche but Scara just rolled his eyes at him, leaving him hanging.

"Just leave me alone. Besides, we don't get there for a few days so it's fine" He sighed and closed the door on their faces. He laid down again, hugging his pillow, pretending it was you "It really is for the better. You'll find someone better than me, better than this"

—

A few weeks later, you were feeling helpless and frustrated. Viktor on the other hand, tries his best to smuggle you in. It was time to leave.

You went inside of the ship with the luggage "Thanks, Viktor" you said, finally getting in.

"You're lucky they're not strict with us" He said "Then, I'll go up now. Remember to never leave here, I'll bring you some food"

You nod, waving bye. You were with all the other luggage in the ship "I wonder what it's like working with Childe" you smile to yourself. You remember the last time you spoke to each other. It brings pain to your chest, like someone's gripping it, wanting to pop it. In no time, you found yourself quietly sobbing, you covered your face "Why— did we have to break up?"

—

"Finally back" Dottore said, going out of the ship. They had to walk because almost everything is frozen.

Everybody was getting out. Childe was still frowning, not his usual self so the others are really weirded out.

"The Tsaritsa wants to see us all, ASAP" Signora said, walking faster then everybody but then she looked back "The others are already there and Childe, remember what I said"

Childe sighed then nodded, sloppily walking on ice.

It was a few hours before they arrived at the Palace. Childe already conditioned himself to be as professional as he can even if takes up all of his energy.

—

Weeks later, you were starting to feel uneasy, questioning about everything. You were lifeless, so much so that Viktor was starting to worry about you.

"We're almost there, no worries" Viktor said, nervous about what to say, he doesn't even know anything about what you're going through.

"Tell me, Viktor, how is it in Snezhnaya?" you asked, eating your food even if you didn't want to.

Viktor pondered for a second and said "Cold, very. The people are quite — well— I have no idea how to explain it. Anyway, before everybody grabs their luggage, you have to leave immediately"

"Yes" you nodded "Thanks for all your help"

At last, you have arrived. The life in your eyes slowly comes back, hurriedly leaving the ship, just like what Viktor told you. He told you to go left so nobody would see you, he was right, it was all ice!

You shivered even though you were wearing layered of clothes already. You slowly walk straight towards the city "C-Childe" you whisper, there was smoke leaving your mouth. It was unbearably cold. You start feeling weak, you rub your hands together for warmth but it does nothing.

You stop for a while and sit down "I never knew it was this cold here" your eyes start feeling heavy and your body refuses to move.

—

You slowly open your eyes, it feels warm, you see an unfamiliar ceiling. You turn to your right and see three people, they were all young "W-Who are you? What's happening? Where am I?" you sit right up.

"Welcome to the Cyclops Club! I'm Anthon, the leader" He looked very familiar for some reason.

"I'm Tonia, please don't get weirded out" She sighed, even she looked familiar.

"Teucer, I'm the one who named the club" He looked at you very intently "You look very familiar" he kept touching your face. Tonia just keeps stopping him.

"Thank you uhm" You look at each one of them "Anthon, Tonia and Teucer?" you then realize "Childe's—?"

"You know big brother?!" Teucer's eyes immediately sparkled "Do you know where he is?"

"Shh Teucer, stop talking" Tonia covered his mouth. You remembered that Childe told you Teucer didn't know about the Fatui.

Tonia and Anthon were looking at you, hoping you would get it so you played along "Oh right, he's making some toys for you guys. Anyway!" you changed the topic immediately "Haven't you seen him yet?"

"Yet?" Anthon asked, him and Tonia exchanged looks, they didn't know?

You look at them and felt bad "I meant to say— anyway, thank you for taking care of me. How did you even manage to carry me?"

"Well, we three were surrounding you but we couldn't carry you" Tonia said, you imagine them doing everything they can to carry you and you laugh to yourself, Tonia continued "Some masked man carried you here, wearing all black? Said his name was Viktor"

You smile and thank Viktor in your mind "Thank you Anthon, Tonia and Teucer"

"You have to answer our questions first!" Anthon said "How did you know big brother?"

"I'm a — friend of his" You hesitate for a second there, they can't possibly know about a partner right?

"A friend! Then do you know his partner by any chance?!" Tonia's eyes light up "I really want to meet them! He told us he would bring them home but he never does"

Your heart ache, a twinge in every part of your body. You felt weak, couldn't move or speak at all. You never knew he told them about you. You feel yourself start crying but you try to hold it together for the kids.

"Yeah, I've waiting for forever! Big brother told us that person was very cool!" Teucer jumped with joy.

"Hmm, I'd like to meet them too. Big brother told us that they like adventures. I'd get along with them pretty well" Anthon said.

As they discussed between themselves, your tears start to fall. You remember every moment you had with Childe up until the last: when he broke up with you and left without explaining anything. If that really was his decision then you'll leave it be but you know that last conversation wasn't what you deserved.

"Are you alright?" Tonia asked, looking for cloth everywhere "Here" she helped you as you wiped your tears.

"Yeah, sorry, just feeling a little tired. Aren't you supposed to be back home?" You know it's selfish but you can't be with them anymore, it just hurts you even more "I have to go too" you put your hand in your pocket and the whale was there "Oh, um, can I ask you for a favor first?"

"Yeah!" Teucer said "Anything for our big brother's friend!"

Friend, huh? You smile "Give this to him, alright? This is your club's mission!" you told them, all of them were eager, you give them the whale. They all got excited.

"Woah! That looks so adorable!" Tonia said

"As the leader, I promise you that this will reach our big brother!" Anthon said

"Waaaah! So cute!" Teucer said, examining it

You pat their heads one by one and give it to Anthon

"I trust you. I'll go now, thank you for all your help" You say before leaving them all behind.

You sigh, walking back to where you came from "He lives in a completely different world than mine. Maybe it is for the better, maybe I didn't really know him .. this side of him at least" you felt the same twinge earlier but this time, you were sure of your decision.

Luckily, the ship was still there, guess they had errands at Snezhnaya too, hitting two birds with one stone by also sending all the other fatui members.

You get inside the luggage place like earlier except it was already empty. You get settled in, it'll be a long time before you go back.

It was silly anyway, going to Snezhnaya, you were lucky those three found you, if it was the officials, you could've been caught with no official papers. You were being too hasty; making decisions left and right.

You grab your chest, gripping it with all you can staring into the vast ice while sobbing "Farewell, Ajax"

—

Childe released another deep sigh before entering his home, preparing to act happy in front of his siblings. He opened the door and said "Surprise!" but no one was home "Great" he sighed once again, plopping on the floor, sobbing "Y/n.. I promised I'll take you here the next time I came home, I'm sorry"

The door hit his shoe as the door opened, he stood up, wiped his face and looked at who it was, it was the three kids "BIG BROTHER!" Tonia and Teucer jumped and hugged him

"Anthon?" Childe asked, Anthon finally hugged him, the whale behind him.

"You're finally here!" Tonia said, letting it slip

"Tonia, shh!" Anthon reminded her causing her to cover her mouth

"We met a person!" Teucer said "At the clubhouse you made for us near the port!"

"I guess they gave hints that you were arriving. Did you come with them? Where were you?" Anthon kept asking a bunch of questions

Childe laughed nervously, he can't tell them that he spent a few days at the palace working "Making toys! A-ha of course, toys. Don't worry, I'll be here for good" he sighed remembering what the Tsaritsa said, that they won't ever leave again, he was still relieved he found an excuse for Teucer "Wait— you met a person?"

"Yeah! Your friend!" Teucer said beaming with joy, it was the first time they met a friend of Childe's "They told us to give you a whale"

Anthon handed it over "Take care of it. I guess that person went all the way here just to give you this? I don't understand" he was confused.

Childe stared at the origami, he took it carefully, staring intently until tears started falling from his eyes "It's Y/n. They were here? I-I— made the wrong .. choice after all" he sniffed, as if talking to himself, he immediately ran outside, leaving the kids, running. The tears in his eyes became small icicles.

—

"You .." Childe said, still running towards the port, he stopped and stared at the ocean, the sound of waves were loud enough to make his sobs seem quiet " .. aren't here anymore"

He panted, trying to catch his breath "I can't believe you .. came here for me" he smiled, wiping his icicle tears "You really are something else .. lucky for you I'am too" he smiled softly, talking to the whale in his hand.

—

You arrive at Liyue with a sigh, feeling weak and hopeless, walking home lifeless even leaving your luggage behind since it doesn't matter. It really was official, you were broken up with Childe. All those years, fun times, those sacrifices you both made were gone just like that.

You finally arrive home, so lifeless that you couldn't even cry. You plop on the floor. You felt needles on your chest, pushing in even further as your tears finally flow down on your face. Unlike what it felt in Snezhnaya, these tears felt warm.

"Childe.." You whisper to yourself "Please, come back"

You spend your days in your home, depressed, waiting for him to knock but nobody ever does. Minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days and days felt like weeks. You had no idea how much time has passed, you don't care anyway.

end

[queenshelby]

My Friend’s Father (Part Twelve)

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Warning: Age Gap, Domestic Violence, Angst

Words: 1,366

Please comment and interact…it’s what keeps this blog going

***************************

 When you picked up the intercom, you were surprised to hear the voice of Denise’s mother and, after you let her upstairs through the apartment building, you quickly shoved your intimate toys beneath one of the pillows on Cillian’s bed and shut the door to his bedroom.

‘Hey Y/N’ she said somewhat surprised when you greeted her. ‘I thought Denise is in Manchester, visiting Cillian on set’ she then asked and you nodded nervously.

‘She is’ you confirmed while she made her way inside the apartment.  

‘So, what are you doing here on your own then?’ she asked somewhat confused and you had to think quickly in order to come up with an excuse.

‘Uhm…something happened at home and…uhm…Cillian offered me to stay here while he was not using the apartment while I am sorting out accommodation on campus’ you stammered, barely able to form a full sentence.

‘Right, well that’s nice of him’ she said before informing you that she came by to pick up some of Lucas’s things which he had left at the apartment during his last visit to Galway.

‘I have Lucas’s key but, since I saw the lights on, I didn’t just want to walk inside and I tried to reach Cillian but he didn’t answer his phone’ she explained before grabbing a bag from Lucas’s room, telling you that Lucas was waiting for her in the car and wishing you a pleasant night.  

****

The following day, you immediately received a call from Denise who was somewhat surprised when she found that you were staying at her father’s apartment in Galway.

‘My parents said that dad had offered you to stay at his apartment in Galway after I told him what happened between you and your father. Did he call you? I didn’t even think he had your number?’ Denise asked somewhat surprised before asking you whether you were alright after the incident.

‘I am fine. I gave your dad my number a while ago, just in case he ever needed it’ you explained and Denise didn’t bother to question you any more about it. Instead, she simply laughed, thinking that you were again trying to hit on her father.

Whilst she was surprised that he had rang you and offered you his place to stay, she knew about what had happened with your sister several years ago and felt as though her father probably just wanted to help you since you were her friend.

‘Anyway, dad isn’t coming home next week and Lucas is in Cork. You should come to Dublin and spend the weekend with me. We would have the house to ourselves’ Denise then suggested.

‘I can’t. I have to work’ you said, unable to tell her the truth, namely that you would be spending the weekend with her father.

‘That’s a shame. Well, I guess you would rather come and visit me in Dublin when dad is home anyway’ she then joked and you couldn’t help but gulp.

‘Yeah, well, he is hot’ you then said somewhat embarrassed but forcing out a laugh nonetheless.

‘You are disgusting’ Denise said before carrying on…‘Also, I am sorry to disappoint you but I think he’s got a girlfriend and it is not Laura Jennings’ Denise then said and you couldn’t help but ask Denise about it.

‘What makes you say that?’ you asked, curious as to how Denise knew about her father seeing someone else.

‘Dad has been glued to his phone all of last night, texting with a woman friend of his. This friend even sent him a nude picture’ Denise laughed, causing you to choke.

‘A nude picture?’ you asked, cheeks blushing red.

‘Yes, a nude picture. The message popped up on his phone in preview and I saw it. I couldn’t see her face though and, luckily, her intimate parts were covered by a James Joyce Novel’ Denise said rather amused and you couldn’t help but feel sick to your stomach knowing that Denise had seen this somewhat inappropriate picture of you.

‘Uhm…well…at least your dad is happy, right?’ you then said nervously.

‘Right. He seems pretty happy actually’ Denise said before having to bring the phone call to an end. ‘Anyway, I better go. Amalie wants to go shopping today’ Denise then said before wishing you a good day and telling you to stay away from her draws, thinking that you were staying in her room at the apartment.

***

With Denise and her mother being fully aware about where you were staying, it didn’t take long for your mother to find out and, if your mother knew, your father would soon know as well.

Denise’s mother and your mother used to be friends until contact broke between them following some sort of incident just over a year ago.

You never knew what the incident was about and Cillian made clear to you that he wouldn’t get involved in it again and, if you wanted to know about it, you needed to speak to your mother. It wasn’t his place to be unless it involved you directly.

You accepted his decision but, when your mother contacted Cillian’s ex wife to see whether she knew where you were staying after Denise refused to tell her, things had become difficult yet again and you agreed to meet your mother on Friday morning at a nearby café.

When you sat down together, she first handed you a letter from Trinity College in Dublin.

‘Your scholarship has been accepted. I suppose that will solve your problems, right?’ she asked with a warm smile and you couldn’t help but get a little excited. This was all you ever wanted and you knew that you could stay at campus in Dublin for free while attending university and working part time.

‘I am sorry mum, I shouldn’t have taken off so suddenly, but he has gone too far this time’ you said rather upset.

‘I understand and thank you for checking in with me every day via text message’ your mother then said and you nodded before giving her a hug. It was obvious to you that she wasn’t angry with you and supported your decision to leave rather abruptly.

‘I didn’t want dad to know where I am staying because, as far as I am aware, his relationship with Denise’s family is rather bad’ you then said which is also when your mother opened up to you about why this is the case.

‘Denise’s mother and I were good friends, even after she tried to help your sister behind your father’s back when we found out about her pregnancy. I knew about it. In fact, it was me who asked her for help. Your father found out about it later down the track and then he did to me what he did to you the other day. I went to Denise’s parents’ house for help as I was so upset but, in the end, I worked things out with your father through the Church counsellor’ your mother explained before telling you that your father had threatened Cillian and his ex-wife if they wouldn’t stay out of their marriage.

‘Mum, in all honesty, you deserve better than this. Why do you put up with his anger? Just because he repents every week doesn’t make it right’ you said, taking her hand.

‘Because I love him and this happened once. It never happened again’ she said and you simply nodded, having to accept her decision.

‘Okay’ you said before allowing her to change the topic to something more pleasant which is when you began talking about your upcoming birthday before it was time for you to go.

You knew that, in about five hours, Cillian would be at the apartment and, before he got there, you wanted to cook, tidy up, shower, shave and get yourself into some nice lingerie.

 Tag List:

@lilymurphy03@deefigs @theflamecrystal @desperate-and-broken @weepingstudentfishhorse @livinginfantaxy @rosey1981 @atomicsoulcollecto @peakyboyslover @nerdy4itall@elenavampire21 @hanster1998@mariapaiva13 @fairypitou @harry-is-your-sunflower @zozeebo @lauren-raines-x @kasaikawa @littlewierdalien @sad-huffle-nerd @theflamecrystal @peakymalfoyscullymulder @themissthang@0ghostwriter0 @stylescanbeatmyback @1-800-peakyblinders @datewithgianni @momoneymolife @ntmynouis @lilymurphy03 @mcntsee@cloudofdisney@missymurphy1985 @peakymalfoyscullymulder @otterly-fey @janelongxox @uchihacumdump @basiclassy @being-worthy @chaotic-bean-of-smolness @margoo0 @chocolatehalo @vhscillian @ysmmsy @littlewierdalien @crazymar15  @stickyknightflowerbailiff @im-constantly-fangirling @goldensunflowe-r  @tellingyouastory  @captivatedbycillianmurphy​  @namelesslosers​  @littlewhiterose​  @ttzamara​  @ttzamara @cilleveryone  ​

@peaky-cillian​

@severewobblerlightdragon​  @ysmmsy​ @kpopgirlbtssvt

[watchmegetobsessed]

Crash Course - Bucky Barnes

a/n: this one? im in LOVE with this fic and im not even ashamed of it. there is just something about the MC helping him get used to living in the new century and im a sucker for it. so please enjoy this fluffy piece!

pairing: Bucky X Reader

word count: 3.6k

summary: Bucky is a regular at the café where you work at and seeing him struggling with technology, you offer to help him, teaching him the basics while you are both thinking about taking it a little further than just a crash course.

masterlist

The time between the morning rush and lunch time is always quiet, the café is almost completely empty, that’s why Bucky prefers to go out during that time, tuck himself away in the corner of the small but cozy place, a black coffee steaming on the wooden table in front of him, his laptop or a book or his phone reserving his attention, whatever he decides to put his energy into that day.

Today has been a rainy day, therefore the morning was a lot quieter than usually, not many likes to make an extra trip for a coffee in the pouring rain, so you’ve been enjoying the calmness, the soft jazz music playing through the speakers as you are putting away the freshly washed cups behind the counter. As if he has an appointment, Bucky walks into the café with a laptop under his arm, his cap hiding part of his face, but you can still see the shy smile on his lips as he closes the door behind him, the little bell chiming for a second time at his arrival.

“Welcome back, the usual?” you ask as he heads to his spot.

“Yes please,” he nods, shooting you a thankful smile.

You try to ignore the little butterflies in your stomach at the sight of the man, it’s almost ridiculous how you still get nervous when you see him, even though he has been showing up every day at the same time for the past about two months. You just can’t help it, there’s just something in those ocean eyes and perfect manner he always treats you with, something you don’t often get these days. Not many take the time to ask about your day or wish you a good one after you hand them their coffee, but Bucky is different. The same question falls from his lips every time you appear at his table with his order.

“How has your day been going?” he asks when you place the cup next to his laptop that’s loading.

“Pretty quiet, the rain keeps people away,” you chuckle, hoping your blush is not as apparent as it feels. “What about yours?”

“Just the same as usual,” he smiles softly and you nod, though you have no idea what’s usual for him. He might be friendly and quite welcoming when he is sitting at the café, he often chats with you about anything and everything, yet still, you know near nothing about him and his life outside of this place. It’s clear he is the kind of person that prefers to keep things to himself, but sometimes you are so desperate for just the smallest crumb of information about him. With the lack of details, you often find yourself making up things about him, like what his favorite dish is, where he likes to shop, what shows he watches on the TV. You might be entirely wrong about all of these, but it’s all you have.

Moving back behind the counter you busy yourself with cleaning it off as Bucky’s attention shifts to the screen in front of him. There are only two more customers in there and they are quite locked away in their own world as well, a college student working on some kind of assignment on her second espresso and an old lady solving Sudoku at the table near the window, sipping on a nice latte.

You can’t help but glance in his direction every now and then as you move the muffins around on the counter. He seems deeply focused, eyebrows knitted together as he is clicking away on the computer. From the looks of it, he is solving some kind of enigma, but when you walk past his table you see that he has an email open on the screen, his cursor moving around kind of aimlessly.

“Not finding the right words?” you ask, stopping to clean the table next to his that was previously occupied by a young couple. His eyes snap up to you before he huffs shaking his head.

“No, I’m just… terribly bad at IT stuff and I’m supposed to “CC” someone on this email,” he explains, using his fingers to air-quote as he glances back at the screen. “But if I’m being honest I don’t even know what it means,” he admits with a nervous chuckle.

You find it amusing, even cute that he is like an old man with these stuff. You’ve seen him struggling to type in a text message before on his flip phone that’s from the last century for sure and now this.

Placing the tray of cups down on the table you move over to him, taking the free chair next to him as you reach for the laptop, but you stop before touching it.

“May I…?”

“Go ahead,” he gestures with a nod.

You turn the device towards yourself as you click a few times, bringing up the option to send a copy of the email to another receiver.

“CC means that more people get the same email. You can put their addresses here. But you can also BCC people, in that case, the original receiver won’t see if the email was sent to others as well,” you explain patiently. Bucky tries his best to focus on the screen and what you’re saying, rather than the way your lips are moving and how badly he wants to taste them.

You haven’t been the only one feeling flustered and like a giddy teenager and Bucky didn’t choose this café as his usual spot for nothing. He spotted you the first time he stumbled in and the way you smiled brightly at everyone and the sweet chiming of your laughter made him want to come back the moment he stepped out that day. So he returned the next day and then the next day again… and now he couldn’t even imagine a day without seeing your eyes light up when he walks in while he can only hope you are just as happy to see him as he is to see you.

You help him send his email and you cheer in victory once it’s done and sent.

“See? It’s not as hard as it seems,” you smile at him gently, patting his arm that’s covered by a hoodie and your eyes fall onto his gloved hands on the tabletop.

“Yeah, I just have a lot of catching up to do from the past seven decades,” he mumbles under his breath, though he immediately regrets not keeping his mouth shut.

Your eyes flicker to his hand once again, then up to meet his gaze and he knows he just outed himself. He is expecting the usual: disgust, disappointment, even fear. That’s how most people react when they find out who he really is. But as he stares back at you, scared like a little kitten, you just smile back at him softly.

It’s not that you haven’t heard of the Avengers, because it’s impossible not to know who they are. You were just not expecting one of them to become a regular at your working place. The few times you saw him on TV he had long hair and his face was covered with a mask, so you’re not surprised you didn’t put the picture together. But knowing now who he is, you don’t see him in a worse lighting. If anything, you feel a little sad that he had to go through so much in his extremely long life.

“Well, feel free to ask any more questions. I’m not an IT guy, but I can help you with everyday stuff,” you tell him and he is in awe at your very normal, very sweet reaction. All he can do is nod as you stand from the table and grab the tray you abandoned not long ago, moving back behind the counter.

When you glance up your gaze meets his as he is still staring at you, nervous, a little anxious, but definitely relieved by your smooth reaction to finding out his identity. You shoot him a bright smile before moving to the table of the old lady who asks for another latte and as Bucky follows your frame move across the room he can’t help the small smile that tugs on his lips.

Your offer doesn’t stay unused. In fact, Bucky shows up at the café the next few days with a handful of questions for you, genuine ones, and a few he already knows the answer to, but wants to hear you explain them anyway. And you help him with anything, sitting at his table whenever you have a few free minutes between customers. He asks you about the internet, social media, online data bases and sources, going through a list from the little notebook he always keeps with himself.

The times spent with him are your favorite part of the day. You always look forward to whatever issue Bucky is going to bring up, fearing that one day he might run out of questions, but that just never comes. And you don’t know it, but your little sessions are the highlights of his days as well, listening to your smooth voice as you explain even the smallest things to him with so much patience, he is convinced you should become a teacher.

He thinks about asking you out every day, the question is always on the tip of his tongue.

What are you doing tonight? Would you want to go out with me? Do you want to grab a bite with me after your shift?

However he just never gets to actually say the words out loud. He is growing impatient with himself, he used to have no problem with asking girls out, but seven decades and another life as a brain-washed assassin later, this task feels way too impossible.

You’ve been telling him to get a smartphone for the past couple of days and though he seemed adamant, one day he shows up with a brand new one, still in the box.

“Oh my God, is that what I think it is?” you tease him with a dramatic gasp. Chuckling to himself he nods as he places the box to the counter while you are making the order of one of the customers. Today has been a little busier than usually, probably because of the special offer of 10% off from the new Cuban coffee beans your boss ordered in.

“I need a teacher to show me the ropes though.”

“Oh, Bucky, I would love to, but today is a bit crowded,” you pout as you put the lid onto the paper cup and hand it over to the customer, another one already walking in, eyeing the offer written on the black board behind you.

He didn’t even think you wouldn’t say yes, it never occurred to him that the timing might not be the best. You see as his smile slowly disappears from his scruffy face and your heart breaks seeing him like this.

“Yeah, sorry. Don’t want to keep you up,” he mumbles feeling defeated, but before he could grab the box from the counter, you put your hand on it, your fingers brushing against his gloved one, the tiny touch making both of you flustered.

“But how about after work?” you suggest and his eyes immediately light up. Spending time with you without any customers interrupting? That sounds like heaven to him.

“Y-you sure? If you have something to do, I—“

“Nothing to do,” you smile at him. You grab a napkin from the counter and a pan from near the cash register, quickly scribbling down your address before handing it over to him. “I’ll be home by seven,” you inform him as he glances down at your handwriting, noting how well it fits your personality. He then looks back at you nodding, as if he was just handed the best Christmas present ever.

“I’ll be there,” he smiles gratefully before stepping away from the counter and letting you work.

 Five minutes after seven, Bucky is standing at your front door with a bag of Chinese food in his hands as he is trying to build up the courage to ring your doorbell. He found out that you live just a few corners away from the café, so he found your address easily.

“Come on, dude. Don’t be such a loser,” he mumbles to himself as he circles his shoulders before finally pushing the button. A short, buzzing sound is heard from the other side of the door and he stares at the 6B sign in front of you as he hears footsteps from inside. A few moments later the door swings open and there you are, still wearing the same clothes from earlier, a bright smile adorning your face as you beam at your guest.

“Come on in!” you gesture for him as he steps into the small apartment. “Tried to clean up a bit, but if I’m being honest I’m starting to grow out this place,” you chuckle as you push a box out of the way. It’s a small studio apartment with everything cramped into one space except the bathroom. You have a double bed pushed up against the wall in the corner, a small sofa with your wardrobe next to it, a TV, a tiny coffee table, a bookshelf and a dresser, a little dining table near the kitchen with three chairs and a pantry right next to the fridge that stands where the hardwood floor changes into checkered tiles. It really is a tiny space that holds a lot of stuff, but all the gadgets and clutter makes it cozy, lived-in, a place that’s so much like you that he feels like he is peeking inside your head as he walks farther inside.

“I brought dinner,” he shyly holds the bag up as you lock the door.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” you smile at him gratefully, because you didn’t really have time to buy anything on your way home since you had to make a quick trip to the post office after your shift, leaving you no spare time before his arrival.

“It’s the least I can do for all the help,” he smiles as you take the bag from him and bring it to the designated living room area of the place. Bucky joins you on the sofa and he thanks all higher powers your place is so small that you only have a loveseat, giving him the chance to sit close to you. Your thigh brushes against his as you hand him a box and make yourself comfortable as well, starting your feast while he asks you about your day, listening to your every word intently.

When the food is gone and you’ve grabbed two beers for the two of you, he pulls out the phone that’s the reason behind his visit. He bought a simple one, not at all one of the latest versions and it’s going to be the perfect model for him to learn the ropes on.

You help him put his SIM card into the new phone and then you set his account up before finally gaining access to the phone. You start with the basic features, showing him how to make a call or send a text before moving onto the different apps and possibilities while he listens to you as if you were talking about rocket science, but in a way, it feels like that for him.

“And here you can switch to the front camera,” you explain as you push the button and suddenly, the two of you come into picture on the screen. “Perfect for taking selfies,” you add with a chuckle.

“Oh, selfies. I’m not too good with those,” he huffs shaking his head.

“Because you probably haven’t found your angle!” you smirk. “Everyone has a good angle.”

“You think so?” you knits his eyebrows together.

“Mhm, look!”

Opening the contacts you go to yours, choosing the option to add a picture that will show up on the screen when you call him, and open the camera to take one instead of choosing from the empty gallery. Holding up the phone you position it so your good angle is in the picture before snapping the photo and saving it as your caller ID.

“See?” you smile at him before handing the device back to him. He just nods, even though he can only think about how all your angles are perfect to him and that now he has a picture of you in his phone. “Let’s take one together!” you beam and moving closer to him you take the phone once again, holding it up in front of you, trying to fit both of you into the frame.

Bucky tries his best to focus on the picture, but he can’t ignore how close you are to him, he can smell your shampoo and your cheek is almost pressed against his as you smile into the camera. The corners of his mouth curl up as his eyes fix at your reflection on the screen before you snap the photo. Opening up the camera roll you take a better look at it and it’s probably your favorite photo that has ever been taken of you. Mostly because he is in it as well, smiling so sweetly.

“It’s a good one,” you say and as you turn your head to the side you realize how close you really are to him.

“Yeah?” he breathes out, definitely aware of just the few inches separating the two of you.

“I-if you had an Instagram I would tell you to post it…” you stutter as your eyes flicker down to his lips, the urge to lean in and kiss him growing with each passing second.

Feeling a little dizzy, one of your hands fall to his lower arm, the one that’s made out of metal and your gaze drops to where you are touching him, a panic filled look flashing through his eyes.

He thinks that this is where the moment is ruined, where you realize the monster he really is and decide you don’t want anything to do with him. He almost starts to apologize for God knows what reason when you reach out and your fingers start to work on the straps of his gloves. It takes a few moments for him to realize what you are doing, and he tries to pull his hand back, but you grab it stopping him from doing it.

“It’s alright,” you smile at him softly, your eyes meeting his as you finish what you started and pull the glove off his hand revealing the metal underneath the leather. Then you move onto his other hand and do the same, dropping the pair of gloves to the floor as you take both his hands in yours, thumbs running across his knuckles, feeling the difference between his own hand and the artificial one.

You see his jaw flexing at the touch and reaching up you cup his cheek in your palm, making him to look you in the eyes. The strong and confident man you see sometimes is gone now, fear and hesitation taking over his expression as your other hand keeps holding his vibranium one.

“I’m sorry,” it falls from his lips as he closes his eyes for a second.

“For what exactly?” you ask with a soft chuckle. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You don’t have to hide yourself around me.”

“You don’t find it… scary?”

“Not at all,” you assure him. “You can’t be held accountable for what happened to you. Anyone who thinks differently is just an ignorant asshole,” you add grinning and it finally breaks his fearful expression, planting a smile on his handsome face.

Keeping your hand on his cheek you lean closer, your nose touching his but you stop before your lips could meet, giving him the chance to pull back. But he never does. Instead, he closes the gap between the two of you, pressing his lips against yours, finally making the fantasy you both have been daydreaming about reality. He starts off slowly, savoring each other gently, getting accustomed to the feeling, but it doesn’t take long before the kiss grows hungrier and your tongues meet in the middle.

Your hands rest at the base of his neck while his find your waist, pulling you closer until you swing a leg over him, sitting on his lap as you smile against his lips. His kisses feel delicate and soft yet very passionate at the same time, you love the dynamic you create, tugging and biting each other playfully, it feels like kissing him is the sole purpose of your life.

When it gets hard for you to breathe you pull back, eyes opening and finding his flushed face as he stares back at you with bright, joyous eyes, his lips slightly swollen, already making you want to go back to where you were just a moment ago.

“Who knew selfies could be so much fun,” he jokes making you laugh, his heart fluttering in his chest at the sound that’s so dear to him.

“I’m glad you liked my crash course on smart phones,” you grin down at him, your fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw. “Do you have any more questions?”

Smirking his hand, his flesh one, moves up your back as he presses you closer, your lips almost touching his.

“Oh, I’ve got plenty,” he chuckles before kissing you again eagerly.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed it!

[monsterenergysimp]

Permanence

corpse husband x fem!reader 

summary: you meet corpse on a stream and you’re surprised when he reaches out to you 

warnings: cursing, mentions of tattooing

word count: 1.9k

notes: This is proof read but could have missed some stuff. This is my first corpse fic and my first time writing fanfic since I posted that super cringey book on wattpad when I was like 12 or something. I’d appreciate feed back so please reach out to me :)

main blog @itsmysleepover

read part 2 here!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

You were cleaning up your station so you can get home and stream. You loved your day job as a tattoo artist but you also really enjoyed streaming. It started as a way to promote yourself as an artist and the shop you worked at but it eventually became a really fun way to destress at the end of the week (or day if you were really itching to stream). “Hey Y/N was that your last client?” your boss, KC, asked as she walked to the front of the shop and put new flash drawings on the walls.

“Yes ma’am!” You said back excitedly. You finished cleaning your station and tossed your black gloves in the trash. “And you can’t trick me into staying and taking walk-ins,” you joked with her. She rolled her eyes and walked back into her office “It was one time,” she said as you slid on your jacket. As you walked out your phone buzzed in your pocket and you checked to see who had texted you. It was a message from Sean asking if you were free to play Among Us with him and some other streamers. You replied that you were on your way home right now and totally down. You were excited to see who was playing this time around since their Among Us streams are super entertaining and have gotten really popular.

On your way back you tweeted and posted to your Instagram story that you’d be streaming soon and set up all your stuff once you made it home. After a few minutes, you had a couple of thousand people watching. You entered the discord chat and Sean spoke up. “Everyone this is Y/N she’s sensitive so be gentle.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you guys and I’m not gentle, I'm ruthless,” You say into your mic and notice the chat calling you a liar. Everyone was in the lobby waiting for the game to start. “You sound way too sweet to be ruthless,” Corpse said. The countdown started and you were imposter with Charlie.

“This should be fun,” you told the stream. Yout tried playing strategically but after such a long shift your brain was mush. You saw Poki in nav and killed her then vented into shields. Not long after the body was reported and you were sure you were going to get voted out or at least sussed.

“Where was the body?” Felix asked. “Nav and I didn’t see anyone near there so whoever is imposter must have vented,” Corpse responded. Felix spoke up again. “I think I saw Y/N walk that way and I haven’t seen her since.”

Shit, shit, shit shit. “I’m in shield right now so-” you said trying to defend yourself but Charlie spoke up. “I was doing tasks with her earlier and I saw her walk into shields so she’s safe but I’m still not sure about Rae.” Everyone discussed a bit more and some people, including Corpse, voted for you but Rae got the majority vote and was ejected. You released your breath and kept playing being extra careful.  

“Okay, guys that was super close. Corpse knows and is out to get me,” you said to the chat. You were eventually voted off but one round later victory was written across your screen with your ghost and Charlie’s avatar. “Good game guys,” Corpse said.

“I told you guys I was ruthless!”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

You sat at your station doing nothing because a client had canceled a four-hour session. You were listening to music and sketching some stuff but you were bored out of your mind and you didn’t want to leave in case you got a walk-in. The music got quiet as you received a twitter notification saying someone had messaged you. You reached for your phone and saw you had gotten a dm from Corpse.

C: hey :)

You didn’t know what to respond. You were mostly confused as to why he decided to message you out of the blue. Did he want something? But what would he want?

Y: Hii! This is sudden

C: was i bothering you?

    shit sorry!

Y: Youre fine I wasn’t doing anything rn

C: how has your day been

    i dont usually do stuff like this

Y: Im glad you did im doing better now I was so bored

C: what were you doing that was so terrible

Y: NOTHING! thats the problem :(

C: im sure youll find something to do

You stared at his message. Unsure what to respond.

Y: Im gonna give myself a tattoo

C: what?

    NO!

You tossed the needles you used for your tattoo into the sharps box. “Oh my god you didn’t,” KC said. She noticed the wrap on your calve from the tattoo you just gave yourself out of boredom. “It’s not my fault I didn’t have anything else to do!” You said trying to defend yourself. She sighed and just shook her head. “Just go home business is slow today.” It was raining so the shop probably wasn’t going to get a walk-in anyway and you didn’t have any more clients for the day. It was only 2 pm but you drove home and after making lunch for yourself decided to stream. You weren’t expecting too many people so it was bound to be super chill. Your leg felt sore reminding you of the tattoo. You snapped a quick pic of the fresh jack-o-lantern on the side of your calve and messaged it to Corpse.

Y: [image] it came out nice!

C: thats  super cool actually

    i was concerned why you would just give yourself a tattoo but i found your instagram and       youre super talented

Y: Thank you!

For some reason, it felt strange to just have that be the end of your response.

Y: Im about to start streaming if you wanted to watch

    [link]

C: ill be watching ;)

What’s that supposed to mean?

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

You sat in your apartment watching tv, hand lost in a bag of Doritos, and scrolling through twitter. You had stopped paying attention to the anime playing on the screen since you’ve watched it a hundred times and knew you wouldn’t miss anything. It was Saturday and you usually take those days off. Take the time to do chores or meet up with some friends but today you felt like not doing any of those things. As you continue your endless scroll (not helping the twitter addiction you told yourself you’d try to get a handle on) you got a message from Corpse.

C: wanna talk?

You looked down at the message unsure of how to answer. It was a simple yes or no and the obvious answer was yes. You and Corpse had started talking more regularly. You still didn’t have each other’s phone numbers but it was fine. Your conversations weren’t too big-- just you sending him memes, tiktoks, and telling him how much you liked the songs he would drop. Or him complimenting a tattoo you did. Sometimes he’d message you during streams telling you funny stuff his fans would say in the chat and you’d do the same. You learned a bit about each other but nothing too deep or serious. Like how you two lived a few cities away and you both really liked Donnie Darko. When Sean first invited you to that game out of everyone else there you were most excited to meet Corpse. He’s just so sweet and funny. Of course, you’d love to talk to him but you were also itching to talk to him and the last thing you’d ever want to do was make him uncomfortable.

Y: Yeah id love to talk

Here goes nothing.

Y: Wanna facetime or something?

     No pressure or anything it could even be a regular call

     I think facetime is just my default lol

You sent those last two messages quickly after you had sent the first. You wished you could know what he was thinking. It was killing you to think you had turned him off from talking to you completely. You put your phone down on the couch and went to wash your hand of Dorito dust. When you got back from the kitchen you turned off the tv and tossed yourself onto the couch.

Still no message.

Why am I so fucking stupid?  

Just as you were standing up to stretch from sitting on the couch all day your phone buzzed. You reached for it fast and looked to see that it was him. You became super excited still not even knowing what the message said. It could have told you to never talk to him again for all you knew.

C: sure lets facetime

    xxx-xxx-xxxx

You had his phone number. You added him to your small but growing contact list and called. You sat on your couch waiting for a response when he finally picked up the screen was black. It didn’t upset you; you kind of expected it and didn’t care what he had to do to make himself more comfortable during this call.

“Hey,” he said. His voice was raspier than usual.

“Did you just wake up?” You asked and looked at the time. It was about a little past noon and you had only eaten Doritos all day. Shit, you should probably make a decent meal.

“Not that long ago but yeah,” he responded and giggled. That giggle.

“Well, I’ve eaten nothing but Doritos all day while rewatching Ouran High School Host Club, so you’re welcome to join me as I make myself something to eat.”

“Sounds like fun; what are we eating?”

“I don’t know yet,” You said as you stood up and made your way to the kitchen. You opened the pantry and looked. You noticed a can of diced tomatoes and reached for it then checked the expiration date. It was still good. On your counter were some onions and garlic. “How about some tomato soup?”

“Sounds delicious.” you smiled at Corpse and your phone screen not knowing if he was also looking at his screen or not. “You’re really pretty-- you know that?”

“Thanks, but you don’t have to--”

“I’ve already told you what an incredible artist you are so many times I bet you’re tired of hearing it, but you already know what a talented artist you are.”

“That is very kind of you Corpse,” you said to him bashfully as you chopped the onion and opened the can of tomatoes. “But once again you don’t have to reach so far to compliment me.”

“I’m not reaching you are talented and beautiful and--”

“I thought I was pretty.” You could hear him chuckle with a smile on his face. “You’re both,” he said. You could feel your face getting warm from blushing.

“Fuck you you’re making me blush. My face is all hot and stuff.”

He laughed at how flustered you got. “That’s the cutest thing ever.”

You didn’t know how to respond so you just put some olive oil in a pot and tossed in your onions. It became silent but it was a comfortable silence. You turned the stove on and watched the flame for a few seconds. “If it was dark we could pretend we were together and having a bonfire or something,” you said to the phone as you turned the camera to show him the flame (still not 100 percent sure if he was looking at you or not).

“I’ll put it on the list of things to do when you visit me someday.”

[rhaenyraisadyke]

A Year Later Transcript: 8/3/21

Here it all is on a google doc if that is easier to read!

W: “I heard there was a special place.. Where men could go and emancipate.. The brutality and the tyranny of their rulers…” Do you know that one Ranboo?

R: I have I have I have, I’ve heard that one a few times, I had a friend that sings that one quite a lot.

W: Yeah it's great, I- I personally, I am a big big fan of the song and not just because I wrote it, I know, I know they saw aww yeah they say you are your own worst critic, but I mean, I think it's good. Do you know what it's based on?

R: Mhm mhm

W: Obviously it's based on hallelujah, but the thing is Ranboo, right is the reason we did it is because Tommy used to sing hallelujah to the plants around the thing... the caravan! Do you remember the caravan? You have heard of the caravan right?

R: Yeah, yeah I’ve heard of it and seen the re-creation of it at the museum, but that's really it.

W: Actually can we go see it? Let's go see it quickly!

R: Yeah, sure.

W: So, so, he used to plant the stuff around the caravan, and it made it grow better, he hehe used to ha, my man Tommy, what is this? This is new.. I won’t ask questions…

R: I- Someone planted a lot of beats here and I don’t know why

W: OH, okay I quite like it, it looks really nice, it looks nicer than the target that used to be here. Um

R: Yeah

W: So my man Tommy used to sing to the plants to make them grow better um and that was the song he used to sing so I thought what a better way to honor tommy, one of the most loyal members of our fair nation then to name the song after him and base the song after his little muse. Tommy is all of our muse really, I'd say. So here's the museum.

R: Yeah, Yeah

W: I haven't been to the museum, wait las- that's where I met you Ranboo right?

R: Oh yeah yeah, that's where you saw me next to the um poster of myself… I don't know why that's still up, I kinda put that there and it preceded to stay there, is it still set up? Oh, oh no.

W: It’s not still up anymore it was here, it was right here on this wall. I quite liked it, but I guess not enough for it to be history though.

R: I’m not historical yet apparently.

W: So yeah in here, in here where the declaration of independence would sit on the wall here, it was actually quite, quite a nice van, not quite as nice as yours, I quite liked what you were doing with yours. Have you been working on it since I’ve been gone?

R: Yeah I’ve been working on it. I added a nice little table outside and did some pathways and appropriately themed flowers.

W: Thats nice

R: Yeah!

W: Let's go to Lmanburg or what was lmanburg, last time I saw it was a big glass thing.

R: Yeah I think it goes by Lmanhole now apparently.

W: Ahh ehh, that's kind of rude, it's kind of rude to Lmanburgs history you know?

R: mhm

W: It’s called Lmanburg, it's called Lmanburg. NOT Manberg NOT Lcrater or whatever, Lmanhole I don’t care it's now Lmanburg it's always Lmanburg. It’s just how it goes.

R: Okay

W: Yeah so that's why the song exists as it is. Oh there's no glass.

R: Yeah! Yeah I mean it seems to have changed a little bit.

W: YOOOO I actually didn’t know this was here

R: Yeah! It’s even got the flag down there at the bottom

W: It’s got the flag man! Can we go down and see the flag? Cmon Cmon lets go

R: Yeah yeah wait you alright?

W: I’m like a lemming I don’t care I’m just gonna jump

R: Oh well okay… careful!

W: Look at this dude!

R: Yeahh

W: Oh wow I really went down to bedrock didn't I? Holy Shit.. I did a number on this place. This is amazing!! Ahhh This is what it deserved, not the glass bullshit, this is what it needed, this like beautiful overgrowing, it feels like it happened, it doesn't feel like a monument, it feels like nature has claimed it back,

R: The book has kind of closed in that sense

W: Yeah.. we’ve got, look they have got they rebuilt the lake man! And this used to be a real river about here into Lmanburg- wait, Ranboo do you see that is that Tubbo?

R: Yeah… that's Tubbo

W: Aye Tubbo!

T: “I heard there was a special place where men could go and emancipate…”

W: Tubbo?

T: “ the tyranny” - oh?

W: Tubbo!

T: Hello?

W: Haha! You’ve came, I- I havent seen you dude in FUCKING ages! Tubbo, are you singing the song?

T: Yeah… Yeahhh?

W: Are you? Are you singing the thing?

T: Yeah hello?

W: Hold on I’m coming im coming im coming man

T: Where are you?

W: Hold on, I'm coming around, here I come, Tubbo man! I haven't seen you in ages!

T: H-H..Hello.. Wilbur..

W: I’m coming around man!

T: Yeah aha…

W: Bro! Its-

T: Weird seeing you here.

W: What in Lmanburg? That seems like the most normal place to see me.

T: Uhh yeah I suppose so

W: Well I- dude I don’t even know what to say to you man, it's like looking in a little mirror, you are even still wearing my suit still?

T: Yeahh

W: How long have you been wearing that?

T: Oh I just put it on for today, I just for it's been a year now…

W: Well you look good in it! Ranboo have you met Tubbo?

R: Yeah! Well I’ve I’ve met him, I mean we’ve um… been around yeah

W: Well Tubbo I’m really happy to see you man, dude

T: Ah, well thank you.

W: Do you even know what happened? Since,

T: What do you mean what's happened?

W: I saw you briefly man when I was resurrected, I remember you SUPER SUPER briefly but this is the first time we have actually gotten to speak, I- I will admit I was a little overwhelmed during that whole thing. I was running across the glass, thank god it's gone, this is far more adpt, but I was running across the glass, I’m sorry I wasn't you know, entirely on the same page, but I promise you I’ve calmed down I’m all settled in, I understand what's changed, what's happened whos new, whos old whos still about who uh…. Who trusts me and stuff

T: Did they fill you in on the story? Like what happened here after you died?

W: Yeah, they did, I’m gonna be honest with you it's not a pretty one, I kind of left a bit of a ripple. If I was a rock, dropped in a lake, I’m a pretty big rock

T: You- yeah’

W: And I can’t say I’m not- I’m not flattered. I mean I am flattered, I’m not TOO upset about it, I like being the big ripple, but more than anything, I want to say super simple man. I want to say. I want to say I’m sorry

T: Awe

W: For one thing mainly, I’ve been thinking about this for years, LITERAL years. I’m sorry for making you president specifically before blowing it up and I’m sorry for when I did this and blew all this up and making this hole,

T: Well I mean-

W: and making you president of a crater and i'm sorry. I’m really really sorry. I really am

T: I mean this wasnt all you Wilbur….

W: We’ll get to that, do you? Do you forgive me?

T: Yeah, I do forgive you

W: Man, ahhh my little treasury, secretary treasury, do you remember that?

T: Yeah yeah I remember that. Secretary to treasury

W: Ranboo he was the secretary to treasury and then he was president

R: Yeah

W: And then he was president

T: Yeah I’m pretty sure the treasury was like somewhere there.

W: So what were you saying about me not being the one there who blew it up?

T: Well I mean you definitely blew it up. I feel like you’re missing some vital information.

W: Wait, so you rebuilt it? How long -how long did it stand before this happened?

T: Yeah so, me, and mainly ghostbur honestly like

W: ….ghostbur….

T: He- put so much effort into making it right again.

W: Is he this obsidian crap I take it and these uh? Fucking lanterns

T: You know dream?

W: Yeah I know Dream- I love him. Dream’s Dreams

T: Oh..

W: Dreams probably my favorite person, sorry Ranboo i mean uh no contest here, Dreams probably my favorite person he saved me

T: Oh.. Oh..

W: He saved me he brought me back to life

T: Well um yeah I mean he was powerful I guess but um Techno and Philza yeah um

W: Techno and Phil blew this up?

T: They built this big obsidian contraption overnight… I couldn’t even see it coming. And they rained TNT for days.

W: nhh

R: Yeah…

W: And that's.. Wait hold on, why would Techno and Phil do this? Why would Techno and Phil blow up Lmanburg? Didn’t they live here? I mean I don’t know about Techno…

T: Techno and Phil, they hated the government, it was partially my fault as well…

W: But you didn’t blow it up

T: No, I didn't. I never wished for anything to happen like this.

W: So it was just Techno and Phil?

T: Y-y yes..

W: Sorry that's kind of just hit my not the blowing up part- You know I’ve done that,

T: Yeah

W: I’m not shaken up about that. I’m shaken up about man, is that, you rebuilt this! After I was gone

T: I can’t take all the credit obviously but there was a big effort

W: That fucking ghost- who cares man YOU rebuilt this! Bro, you

T: Yeah I suppose

W: MY fucking grave! I was so pressed about not having a grave, screw a grave I built something that you loved that YOU wanted to preserve… thats,

T: Yeah, I really honestly…

W: Tubbo that's worth more to me than a grave. That's worth more to me than this shrine. That's worth more to me then- Tubbo this is probably the best gift I have ever been given, this knowledge that people actually cared enough, that you cared enough to rebuild this community after it fell.

T: Ahh, I’m glad you’re happy.

W: You… haha, sorry, aww man, Tubbo thank you.

T: It’s alright, I just feel lost without Lmanburg. All my core beliefs.. Everything died with it.

W: You feel lost without Lmanburg

T: I have no purpose.. Anymore.

W: I guess that's where anarchy fails… Tubbo, I have a little, a little thing coming. Not big, nothing much yet, ehh, it's not a big deal you know, it's a little burger van at the moment but I got plans, big plans. Tubbo it's called paradise

T: Paradise.

W: Yeah, yeah will, would you like to come join me in paradise? Literally?

T: Hmmmm, Id, I’m not sure Wilbur, I’m not sure I trust you man. In order to follow someone I need to trust them.

W: Wait… wait- but I thought you forgave me!

T: Yeah Wilbur I forgive you because I like to hang onto the hope that people change but, I don’t trust you yet Wilbur.

W: Okay… Taboo. I literally was dead for thirteen years. I know it wasn't long for you, I know it was only a couple months for you but thirteen years Tubbo… Thirteen years of my life. I am old! Look at me! I’m not the same young man you knew. I-I’ve been through it and in those years, I’ve learned Tubbo, i wasn't just sat twiddling my thumbs just going “oooh this is nice ohhh i'm in darkness right now” you know I was thinking. I relived that explosion in my head so many times man, and I get that you don’t trust me, I do but like man! Look at me bro, I’m not gonna do it again, I’m not gonna hurt you again. I’m not gonna you know… I know you, you had the festival with Technoblade, I never spoke properly to you about this.

T: mm

W: I could have saved you…

T: But you didn’t

W: I- Tubbo… I’m reaching out to you man, I’m on my knees.. I, I’m sorry. I’m really really sorry and I literally, your forgiveness means so much to me but it doesnt give up what I did to you and it doesnt give up how I failed you as a friend, you know eh, fuck being as a coworker but just you know anything… Ranboo you might know or have known all of this and I’m really sorry if this was your first of hearing I can explain later on but like..

R: Alright………

W: Tubbo, man, I’m, I want to make it up to you. And you know what? I appreciate you don’t trust me. I do.

T: Wilbur in order for you to gain my trust back you have to prove it first. I can’t just give it out anymore. I used to be able to, but I just, I just can’t.

W: Tubbo… I really appreciate it, and I mean that genuinely. I appreciate it and I am gonna go out and prove to you I’m worth being trusted again. I promise.

T: Okay…

W: I’ll do it. I’ll do it. I’ll redeem myself and you'll.. Youll

T: Do you know I still have dreams right? Of the explosion… And, and of the fireworks. And all of it. I vividly see all of it every day. It HURTS. It hurts Wilbur a lot.

W: I- Tubbo, Tubbo, I know, I know, Tubbo, Tubbo, Tubbo Tubbo, please, I know…. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I- arhh It feels like sorry is such a weak word. I feel like there's nothing stronger that I can say, and I understand what you mean about how my actions need to reflect it and they will. Give me time. I’m gonna make something. I'm gonna make something of this and I’m gonna…

Uhhhh

Tubbo do you know how fucking strong you are? And I’m not trying to say - I’ve got your forgiveness, but I know I need to earn your trust but man… you're so strong man, genuinely. Just the fact you proved to me that just there that you have these memories and these nightmares, you still found it in your heart to forgive me, that's... You’re a fucking champion man. You’re a hero.

Look I get you don’t want to join me in paradise. We won’t talk about that anymore but, cmon, at least come and see, come and at least see what me and Ranboo have been doing! Look I don’t know- Ranboo are you? Are you and Tubbo friends? Are you and Tubbo like good friends?

R: Yeah, yeah I’d say so.

W: Then why don't you and him come and see what I’ve made! Come and see what I’ve got going on! Lets go lets go!

T: I think.. I think I’m gonna stay here, Wilbur. I think I’m fine, just to stay here.

W: No, no man, no worries. Look at me bro look at me bro! Chin up! Look, lucky rabbit's foot!

T: Okay…

W: Tommy gave it to me

T: Lucky Rabbit's foot…

W: Lucky Rabbit's foot man, chin up. Ranboo, I’ll, you can come, it's cool.

R: I will, I will. Do you need me to stay here?

T: No.. *sniffles* I’d like to be left alone please

R: Oh… you sure? I mean.. I can stay…

T: Yes. I’m fine

R:You sure? Okay...

W: Ranboo! Let's go man.

R: Yep! Lets- lets go

W: Cya tubbo! I’ll send a letter!

T: Uhuh

W: Comeon Ranboo

R: Alright

W: Ah man! It’s its I mean I I was gonna say this is hard, but obviously it's hard, I’ve -

R: It is, it is

W: It's difficult man and I’ve been you know it's gonna get better and it's gonna be worth it when I see them smiling.

R: Yeah, yeah

W: Tubbo, Jack, Niki, Tommy, anyone… Do you know who the original Lmanburg group were? Do you know who we were?

R: Ah, uhh I think most of them yeah, I think it was you, Jack, Niki, Fundy I believe as well

W: Fundy was after, Fundy was a bit after we got independence

R: mhm yeah I don’t really. I don’t really know much of lmanburg history

W: That’s alright you’ve got it down, it's correct. It’s that group and we um yeah we fought against Dream and we managed to succeed and we created a life process. Ranboo I’m gonna tell you something I’ve never really told anyone, I try and keep this on the low because I don’t want uh people to use it against me is the main problem. I didn’t even tell Tommy. I- I lied to Tommy I’m gonna be honest. I’ll tell him soon

R: Yeah

W: I’ll tell him I lied to him because I feel- it kind of eats away at me. I kind of- I told Tommy that I didn’t actually care about Lmanburg and that it was actually a tool for me to get and gain power and stuff but it's not true. Lmanburg was really important to me and it is still to this day. I want it, I want its history to live on, not as a stain caused by me because I basically took a bit shit on the history books. I wanna, I wanna make it feel like it was you know something that happened and it was a great thing. Think of the good times, the years and years well not years but you know the time of safety the time of fun, prosperity! We built parks, we built you know, no taxes, big walls, we had democracy! All be a slightly disjointed version of it but you know, that's how people should remember Lmanburg, that's what people think of when they think of our nation you know? And that's, and Tubbos the last connection we really have, I mean he, he said it himself, he's kind of you know… he's got nothing without it. I’ve heard of what Tommy, Tommys you know moved on and Jacks moved on and Niki’s moved on and everyones moved on at least partially… but Tubbo man, he's still……

R: Yeah he's still very strung up about it even though it's been awhile… He, he distracts himself with projects and everything which is nice but, you

W: Heh, projects

R: I mean yeah fortifications as well

W: I think he's gonna be alright

R: I hope so

W: I’m looking out for him. Anyway I want to say thank you Ranboo for you know trusting me this quick, I mean you barely know me

R: I mean, yeah

W: You barely have known me very long and you just know you’ve done all this with me and you’ve worked with me and I- I- you know I don’t I don’t know where I’d be without you here right now, man. T-Tommy’s great and all he's here and all but I don't wanna string him along too much because hes- I, when I look at him, when I look at him and he's helping me out and building things with me, I - I see the same eyes that looked at me when… when… there weren't some fun times in the ravine of Pogtopia I wasn't a very well man, and I can just see Tommy from that day…

oH!! Ranboo! This looks great man!

R: Yeah yea, I’ve made a couple of um changes to it. Added some stuff to it

W: Like I was saying though, I appreciate it, I really appreciate it.

R: Yeahh, yeah of course! Of course

W: May I ask, I know I’ve already asked this before but why do you trust me so fast? What's the…?

R: I mean I like to normally see the good in people and everything.

W: I know we’ve gone through that and you’ve made me cry just

R: Yeahhh, sorry about that, but I- I think the reason I think I know what it's like to have no one hurt or at least feel like no one trusts you.

W: Mhm

R: Um, and I- I’ve realised that if no one is with you, then how can anyone really know when you’ve redeemed yourself. So that's why I’m here

W: You wanna see the fireworks?

R: Well maybe not the fireworks but, I mean at least

W: Ceremonial

R: At least when you change er redeem yourself I think it- it's good to have someone there and it's not nice to be alone all the time so…

W: My boy! Ranboo, I knew

R: Yeah!

W: I knew I could trust you. We got the exact same mindset I’m thinking of ahh Ranboo I love what you have done with the burger van

R: Thank you, I’m glad you like it

W: I think this is going to be a beginning of a beautiful partnership,

R: Yeah!

W:beautiful friendship, and maybe when Tubbo comes we can you know have a big party and all get to know each other a bit better.

R: Yeah I can, I can talk with him I think and maybe get him to uh join hopefully

W: Yeah, don’t pressure him. He doesn't have to join, he just needs to come. I just want him to come and see our patented burgers!

R: Yeah!

W: Our burgers, our burger NFTS he needs to come and try them! Ranboo. Thank you man

R: You’re welcome, I’m glad that I could help out a little bit at least.

W: You’re a brilliant man and I'm going to go now a happy man.

R: That's good, I’m glad you’re happy.

W: Thank you Ranboo. Buh Bye. Ah, I love that guy bro!

[barsformars]

reaction: to their s/o being afraid of thunderstorms; ateez

req: hi! i absolutely love your writing, could i request an ateez reaction to s/o being scared of thunderstorms? thank you so much <3

a/n: thank you so much for requesting! this was kinda cute to write. also,, trying a different format here- not using gifs- lmk if y'all like it with gifs better? + first work im posting in this new year hehe hope y'all enjoy it <3

genre - fluff | pairing - ateez x reader | warnings - none

⭒❃.✮:▹ seonghwa

seonghwa had came home to you hidden under your covers as you watched the television on almost max volume, the curtains fully closed.

"love, isn't it a little too loud?" he had covered his own ears from how deafening it was and he had to pretty much yell for you to hear him. you paused the show when you took notice of him, quickly apologising as you tried to explain yourself when you saw another flash of lightning through the curtains. you slapped your two hands over your ears and squeezed your eyes shut, bracing yourself for the loud ripping sound from the sky.

seonghwa sat himself next to you and pulled you into his embrace, cupping your cheeks so that you would look at him. "love, do you trust me?" you nodded as you slowly opened your eyes.

seonghwa turned the television off and gently pried your hands away from your ears, letting your hands rest on the sides of his thighs. "let's be a little kinder to your ears, alright?" he leaned in closer and whispered into your ears. "do you want to tell me about your day or shall i go first?"

basically mars asmr but live, and when you do get surprised by the thunder, he would shush you affectionately and comfort you, continuing on about his day.

⭒❃.✮:▹ hongjoong

"can i hide in here for a little while?" you had peeked into his studio to see that he was just monitoring his past performances through fancams, surely you wouldn't be a distraction.

"from what?" he paused his video and whipped his head back to ask, confused. you were supposed to be at the dance studio, helping wooyoung and yunho check their choreography even if you weren't that experienced in dance.

"the thunderstorm, your studio is the only place where i can neither see nor hear anything so..." ah, he had no idea there was a thunderstorm outside. if he was he would have rushed over to you immediately, knowing just how afraid you can get.

"sure babe, make yourself comfortable." hongjoong would then turn on the ambience lighting to a dark blue and play some really soothing classical music, hoping that it would calm you down and take your mind away from the ongoing thunderstorm. when he sees that you were still a little frightened from earlier on, he drapes his warm jacket over you, "don't worry, you're safe here." he would also go to the kitchen to make a cup of warm tea for you to calm you down.

⭒❃.✮:▹ yunho

yunho loves thunderstorms, and he loves sitting by the window and staring out as the flashes of electricity branch out like veins in the sky, so full of life. that's what scares you the most, you know the extent of damage lightning can cause having lived in houses without good lightning protection systems.

"don't sit too near to the windows, you might get hurt!" you warned for the umpteenth time but your boyfriend refused to listen, saying that it would never happen.

"this apartment is safe, i promise," yunho reassured you, even gesturing for you to come join him over there. he wasn't going to force you if you still refused after the third time he asked but you decided to go. you've been trying to get over your fear of thunderstorms anyways.

he would wrap his arms around your waist and let you rest your head on his chest so that you could hear his calm steady heartbeats. the both of you sat at the windows watching the lightning and thunder with you burying your face into the crook of his neck often and him giving you long pats on your back to calm you down. you definitely did get less afraid of thunderstorms, though not much, but it's something.

"if the thunderstorm is ever mean to you, let me know. i'll personally throw hands at zeus."

⭒❃.✮:▹ yeosang

yeosang had fallen asleep on the couch when it started raining heavily along with non-stop thunder and lightning. you were extremely afraid but you had to close the windows yourself, you didn't want to wake yeosang up from his nap.

you were just about to close the one in the living room where yeosang was when the deafening sound of a thunder took you by surprise, causing you to shriek out loud in fear. being a light sleeper, yeosang jolted awake, surprised and worried. it absolutely broke his heart to see you crouched on the floor with your hands covering your ears, your shoulders shaking as you sobbed.

you felt so weak crying over a thunderstorm but yeosang made sure to let you know that there was nothing wrong with it. he gently guided you onto the couch where he would let you continue crying on his shoulder, his fingers intertwining with yours to let you know that he's there for you as he tries to help you control your breathing. "you're okay, you're okay. follow my breathing, love."

⭒❃.✮:▹ san

if you weren't afraid of thunderstorms, you probably wouldn't be sitting on yunho's gaming seat right now with san yelling at you over the headset to support him in the game. you weren't one to play games but as san says, "you won't be scared if you distract yourself"

it usually works, though the games do leave you feeling kind of nauseous from all the motion and lights, but today, the thunderstorm was simply on another level. the lightning had lit up the whole room with a bright white flash for a good three seconds before leaving you in a room that seemed much brighter a few moments ago.

san is not stupid, he knows playing games would not distract you this time round so he would quit the game and drag you onto the bed , letting you bury your face in his chest as he hums the tune of your favourite song.

when you told him that you were ashamed to be afraid of something many people aren't, he would shush you and say, "it's normal, everyone has their irrational fears. besides, that lightning really scared the life out of me too."

⭒❃.✮:▹ mingi

he knew about your fear of thunderstorms, and he always makes an effort to check the weather forecast on your behalf since he had googled it before and they said people who fear thunderstorms should try to refrain from doing so in case it makes them even more anxious. anyways, so he does it for you and prepares everything that you might need when it happens.

the both of you were in the car when the thunderstorm started, and being well prepared, he quickly handed you the small thin blanket and the bottle of water he kept at the backseats. there was no better place than under the sheets at home but this was better than nothing at all.

once the both of you got home, he would make sure to run a warm bath for you and might even accompany you in it. the fear had caused all your muscles to tense up and he made it a point to relieve all of them. in the meanwhile, he would comfort you by saying things like "im so proud of you." and "the next time a thunderstorm happens, remember how you are totally fine today, okay? think, thunderstorms are relatively harmless, you'll be fine this time too."

⭒❃.✮:▹ wooyoung

it was in the middle of the night when the thunderstorm started, the loud booming of the thunder startling you awake. you tried to go back to sleep, hoping that this moment would just pass and that you would wake up to a nice weather. but even with wooyoung by your side, you couldn't seem to be at ease enough to sleep.

"wooyoung, please wake up." that was your tenth attempt, unsurprisingly considering the fact that he sleeps like a dead log. thankfully he does, and very much apologetically when he notices the shitshow that was going on outside. even he was surprised he slept through the noise.

he would immediately drag himself out of bed to turn on the lights so that the lightning wouldn't seem as bad, also going out to the kitchen to pour you a glass of warm water. it always helped.

when the both of you were back in bed, wooyoung would rest against the headboard as you laid your head on his abdomen, him patting your shoulder affectionately until you fell asleep again.

"there's another thunderstorm going on inside your stomach," you joked with a faint smile as you snuggled closer into him.

"hey! if you're going to say that, go away."

⭒❃.✮:▹ jongho

the both of you were stranded outdoors as the thunderstorm has started unexpectedly while the two of you were taking a stroll in the park. the weather forecast did not foresee this. it was dangerous and very annoying to get soaked in rain, but everything was made worse because you were afraid of thunderstorms. you had no idea why, it was just the case.

"there's a shelter nearby, shall we make a dash for it?" jongho asked as the both of you sought temporary shelter from a tall tree.

"the lightning is a little crazy now though....." it was, but being under a huge tree on such a day wasn't the smartest idea at all, and it would be much better if you could go to a real shelter.

"you know i'm quite a lucky guy, right?" jongho would give you a piggyback as he ran, allowing you to close your eyes so that you wouldn't see the flashes of lightning. he would also tell you to put on earphones and play some soothing music. "it'll be over quick, just hang on in there for a little while."

[thcweasley]

Magical

PAIRING : Fred Weasley X Y/N

SUMMARY : After war, Fred trying to make things back to normal again

WARNINGS : none? shitty fluff

WORDS : 1.6k

A/N: i reposted this cos something went wrong lmao.

Im not sure why i really like the whole idea of Fred X Muggleborn!Reader lmao. i know its autumn in most places, but its been super duper hot here lately. Also this might not be 100% accurate of how things supposed to go, but i just got an idea after watching what not to do at the beach. so I hope you enjoy anyways.

AND THANKYOU FOR THE LOVE ON MY LAST FIC OMGGG. Yes ill upload the 2nd part soooooonn!! so don’t you worry~

“Lets go lets go!!” Fred said clapping his hands, signing you to move faster.

“yeah yeah” you mumbled.

It was a month after the war yet everything didn’t seem to falls back to normal. The fact that you almost lose Fred in the battle haunted you. Even though he was still standing in front of you now, present and healthy. Still you couldn’t seem shake off the image of him dying in front of you. At the time everyone was so sure there’s nothing they can do to wake him up.

“I didn’t know you’d be this sad to see me dying Y/N” He managed to let out a laugh.

Fred insisted you both to go to the beach today. You’ve told him once that going to the beach with your family and friends was probably you favourite memory of growing up. Before everything, before Fred, before Hogwarts, before Magic. So he thought itd be fun to relive your memory with you, no wand, no spell, no magic, just the two of you.

“are you sure you wanna do this? I thought you don’t like muggles activities” you asked him swirling around your wand in front of his face.

He grabbed your wand and put it away from you “Yes of course no magic, beach day! Now move your feet before I carry you into the car myself”

“I can’t believe you actually rent a car” you looked at him in disbelief.

“Well I want it to be perfect for you” he laughed under his breath. “Look at this” He pressed a button and suddenly the roof of the car starting to fold. “Just like magic!” He grinned, causing you to laugh.

“oh what did I do to deserve such an amazing boyfriend” you leaned on to the driving seat to give him a kiss on his cheek.

“I honestly don’t know Y/N” He moved one of his hand onto your waist “But I know how you could reward me without any magic involved” He squeeze your bum lightly.

“Focus on the road, Weasley” you rolled your eyes smiling, Slapping  his hand away as moving back to your position. His laughter filling the car

** Fred had taken you to a pretty cool beach. quite crowded too He found a spot and lay some towel so you can sit down.

You both lay down on your towel. Watching the clouds moving, enjoying each other arms. when suddenly someone dis-sand his towel right beside Fred and walk away.

You both sat up immediately, coughing.

“what the hell is that?” you said, with an annoyed tone, looking over to Fred. Wondering why he hadn’t say anything.

You saw Fred rubbing his eye. “you okay?” you raised an eyebrow. Confused

“uhh.. i think there’s sand in my eye” he said still rubbing his eye.

You grabbed his hand. Stopping him from rubbing his eye. “don’t rub it..” you said soothingly. “open your eyes”

he tried to open his eyes, failing. “what do you mean? I cant do it!”

“hey.. calm down” you giggled. You put your fingers between his eye, and open his eyes. You keep your fingers there to stop his eyes from blinking. you blow air in front of his eyes. Hopefully can remove sand from his eyes. “now blink”

he blinked a few times. And then look up at you. He realised how close your faces were. He held your cheek in his palm. Leaning in to kiss you. His lips warm and smooth pressing against yours.

You just smile against the lips, enjoying the moment. Until you heard a loud smack coming from Fred’s direction, causing you to pull away from him. A volley ball hit Freds head.

“sorry mate!” some guy shouted behind him. and running towards you both to pick up the ball.

“yeah no worries” he managed to force a laugh. You dropped your head to the side. Looking at his annoyed face.

“you okay Fred?” you asked him. resting your hand on his head.

“yep.. umm.. lets go for a walk”

**

Fred grabbed your hand, dragging you with him as he ran towards the bridge. He sat on the bridge and patted the space beside him, signalling you to sit beside him. “come on!” he smiled widely.

“Do you want ice cream?” Fred broke the silence.

“sounds great” you said as you want to get up. But he stopped you.

“wait here I’m going to guess your favourite” He scrambles to his feet and kiss your nose before walking away.

As you watched the clouds moved, you can hear the waves and some kids running around. Looking all around you, remembering the reason why you like going to the beach so much. The salty air, the sun and now you’re with the man you love the most. It couldn’t be more perfect than this.

Suddenly Fred appeared beside you. Handing you your ice cream with your favourite flavour.  “here you go ”

“awwww” you looked up at him and peck his lips. “thankyou..”

You were enjoying your ice cream when suddenly Fred groans. You looked up at him and follow his eyes direction, you saw some boys running away laughing. You looked back at him. now he’s touching his head. “dumb kids” He muttered

“Oh god!” you said in shock as soon after you pulled his hand away from his head. His hair covered with ice cream.  then suddenly bursted out laughing.

Fred groaned again “you think its funny?” he narrowed his eyes at you. Fred’s hair, he always sensitive with his hair.

“sorry..” you grinned. You reached your handbag and took your wet tissue. “I don’t know that your mouth moved on to your hair” you giggle lightly. Start wiping the ice cream off his head.

“It’s those lil git” he clenched his teeth.

You giggled lightly, its funny how frustrating this day has been for him.  “what do you want now? Go home?” you smiled at him.

“yeah..” then he instantly added “sorry” he bitted his bottom lip.

“Its okay, Let’s go home” you grabbed his hand and ran towards the car.

**

“my hair, it’s so sticky” Fred said once you got inside the car.

you smiled “its cute though, smells like ice cream.”

“it is not..” He said as he started the car

“whatever” you stuck your arms out the open window, holding it straight like the wing of a plane. But then suddenly you felt a cold flickers of water land on your face making you yelp in surprise at first and then groan loudly.

“Rain?” Fred questioned, painful annoyance in his tone.

You both turned your heads up to face the sky and suddenly the droplets are falling down faster and faster, making you flinch every time it hits you. Within ten seconds, the water is hammering down.

“why it doesn’t work!!” Fred pressed the roof button rapidly. Hoping the roof would start to close itself. “Merlin!” he ran his finger through his hair.

“Hey calm down focus on the road” You replaced his hand with yours, until finally the roof closed itself.

But then suddenly the car stopped. You could see the lights on the car also went off.

“hey, we’re in the middle of the rain why the hell would you stopped?” You laughed not knowing what was happening.

“well this really a cherry on top. What a nice day” he said, sarcastically.

“wh- what happened?”

“I don’t know. Merlin, I really wished I have my wand with me” he muttered. “wait here” he said as he got out of the car.

You took out your phone. No signal what a nice day.

You got out of the car. You saw Fred was standing in front of the car. Muttering loudly.  You shook your head, and ran towards him, hugged him from behind. “im so sorry Y/N I have no idea how muggle car works I don’t know how to fix this” He said as he turn himself around to face you. To his surprise you greeted him with a big grin on your face. “Why are you smiling?” he asks suspiciously, raising an eyebrow

You placed a hand on his cheek. “I was wondering… have you ever been kissed in the rain?”

Fred finally recognising the playfulness in your voice. His frown soon eases up into something less harsh-looking. “I haven’t actually,” he breathed

You closed the gap between you two, kissing him passionately. You feel the water soaking through your clothes as you’re pressed your lips on to his lips as the freezing water dripped down on you both. You grab onto his shirt, starting to shiver. You can’t remember the last time you’ve been happier. Because finally, after a whole month of anxiety, you can just focus on whats happening right now.

You finally separate lips, both catching on your breathes.

Fred strokes a stray raindrop off of your nose. “sorry, this is the worst date ever” he gave you a sheepish smile.

“I don’t think so” you pecked his lips smiling widely, he smiled back.

“are you being sarcastic with me?” he raised his eyebrow playfully.

You shook your head smiling. “For a magic-less day, it was quite magical” AAHAHA im sorry guys this was super cheesy. but.. should we make a part two where we give fred weasley the reward he deserves?

MY OTHER WORKS follow me / send request / talk to me! im lonely (if u send me anonymously maybe click here) my collaborative ford anglia playlist Christmas with the Weasley playlist

[purpletaecup]

6 ☾ these echoes of laughter fade into a distant memory

note: fully written chapter again this time, with social media half chapters coming later this week! this chapter is mainly Yoongi and we see a little bit of his side and how he felt in the past and how he feels in the present. not edited, wanted to post this before the concert so we can all cry together!

rlly important note: i suggest you guys listen to nineteen by hayley williams because i basically base this whole story off that song (and some chinese webnovels i read lmfao). It’s one of my favorite songs ever and it hurts a whole lot. I wish i could experience how I felt when I listened to it for the first time again. As always, feel free to vent/rant and tell me your theories about how the story is going to go! let’s cry together :’)

final note: IM SORRYYY FOR THISSSS don’t hate me pleaseee 

word count: 2,523

That night, Yoongi slept in your hospital room. The emotional weight of everything that had happened had kept him nailed to the chair beside your bed. The smell of the air after the rain permeated into the room and reminded him of the day that his lawyer delivered the divorce papers to you, who was alone at home and probably waiting for him. Looking back at it, maybe it was an impulse decision that he made due to the frustration and exhaustion that your marriage caused him. He grew weary and waking up in the morning felt like a chore. You were distant, he was distant and both of you were living lives going in different directions. But you loved each other, and for a while, he thought that could be enough. Evidently, it wasn’t. He doesn’t regret the divorce because in the end, he thought he was doing what was best for the both of you. He knew how tired you were and how you felt being around the people in his life. He felt the same way with the people in yours. Everything about your lives clashed and he thought that divorce was the best solution for both of you to become happy again. He wasn’t getting any younger, but you were still very young and you could still find someone who could love and cherish you better than he could.

He didn’t regret it.

He didn’t.

Or at least that’s what he keeps telling himself. He didn’t regret it. He couldn’t regret it. But remembering how you looked when he came home that night breaks his heart to pieces. Your pale and shivering figure crying by the front door and the way your trembling hands shook him off when he tried to help you up. It was a sight that would remain ingrained in his mind and his heart forever. When you two finally made it inside your house to sit on the couch, he fully expected you to shout and scream and throw a tantrum about the divorce papers. He did not expect the quiet sobs that wracked your figure, or the broken “why are you doing this?” and finally the resignation in your voice when you told him you’d sign it. He remembered, at that moment, that he began crying too. He walked over and sat next to you and took you in his arms like you were his whole world even though he knew he had just ruined yours. With his head buried in your damp hair and neck, he whispered a million apologies. Sorry for breaking your heart. Sorry for wasting your time. Sorry for not knowing how to love you properly. Sorry for not trying.

These apologies meant nothing to you. They were nothing compared to the pain you had endured to be with him, to love him. He didn’t know that. For the last months of your relationship, he didn’t know who you were and that’s what pushed him to get the divorce. You were a shell of the woman you were when you two first met. Your smile didn’t make butterflies appear in his stomach anymore and your laugh didn’t make his heart flutter like it used to. It wasn’t the same anymore. You were both different people, changed people.

In the midst of this change, he was introduced to Yura by Jungkook. A model he worked with a couple times and a really nice woman. Beautiful, even. Almost as beautiful as you, he had thought when he first met her. Jungkook pushed and pushed for him to hang out with them and the rest of the guys and the more he saw Yura, the more he talked to her, the more he began to like her. She reminded him of you when he first met you.

You were 19 and he was 23 and you were modeling at the same set he was supposed to shoot at an hour later. He came early to help the staff prepare for his music video shoot and hopefully talk to the director but he had ended up watching your shoot for most of the time until it was his turn for the set. The people around you liked to say that Yoongi fell in love with you at first sight. He often refuted that it wasn’t at first sight because he wasn’t the type of person to fall in love because of how someone looks. In private, he told you that he fell in love with you at first smile, first laugh. The sight of you laughing genuinely in the middle of hydrangeas and baby’s-breath enchanted him so much that he remained rooted to the floor for the remainder of your shoot.

The laughs and the smiles were Yoongi’s favorite. You were the most beautiful person he’d ever met. You are still the most beautiful he’d ever met, but perhaps it was the exhaustion of life that wore the both of you down. What had started as a beautiful, youthful romance filled with picnics in meadows had ended with divorce papers on a rainy day in September.

These are the thoughts that followed Yoongi to sleep that night.

☾

[nov. 10, 2020]

The same thoughts haunted him day in and day out ever since he left that next morning at the insistence of Jungkook and Taehyung. He spent 4 days on his own, working and living his life but only on the surface. Conservations with people, including his friends, remained minimal. He couldn’t stop thinking about your broken and bruised body laying in the hospital bed, and he was anxious for the news of you waking up but none had come. He received no calls from the hospital since he left, and Taehyung said that visiting was meaningless unless the doctor told him new information.

Yura told him, verbatim, “I understand that you’re worried about her safety, but the doctors said she would be fine. She’s your ex-wife, I get it, but she’s not your responsibility anymore.”

In a way, she was right. But he couldn’t help but feel sick at the thought of leaving you all alone there. He knew it was hard for Jin to come out because he was incredibly busy with work, and when he wasn’t traveling for his job, he lived too far from both of you to ever accompany you in the way that you needed. In addition to that, he had no idea what happened to you and your mom. The last he heard, which was when you were still married, you were on speaking terms with her and there wasn’t a problem between the two of you. At least not that he knew of. Namjoon was on a book tour and Jimin was constantly booked due to his dance career. In any case, you had no one here. Yoongi was all you had and that was evident in your unchanged emergency contact list.

After Yura had said that, he felt uneasy being around her so he told her that he truthfully couldn’t stand to just move on with his life while you were practically lifeless in the hospital, and if that was a problem with her then maybe they should just take a break from each other. He kept telling himself that he really liked Yura and he wanted what she could give him, but he couldn’t ignore the four years that you two spent building a life together. Especially not now that you were pregnant, a fact that he had kept hidden from Yura.

When he thought about the pregnancy, everything else seemed to melt away. Despite the circumstances, the news of your pregnancy made him happy. Extremely so, albeit a little scared as well. He wondered how long you had known, and if you were happy or scared.Or what if you didn’t know at all? As far as he could tell, you weren’t showing. There was no sign of a bump on your little belly, but the doctor’s words were irrefutable. There was a baby growing in there. A baby that was half you and half him and that thought of that made him smile like he hadn’t in a long, long time.

That night, he dreamt about a little girl with your eyes and your smile and a nose that resembled his. A laughter that reminded him of yours echoed in those dreams.

☾

[nov. 11, 2020]

Pleasant dreams faded into a pleasant morning as Yoongi woke up much earlier than he was used to and felt better than he had in ages. He spent some time by himself before his phone was bombarded by phone calls and text messages from the group chat with the boys asking him when he was coming for work.

As he saw the sun take its place in the blue skies and white clouds, he decided that the day was too beautiful to waste on a day in the company. 5 days passed since your accident and he thought it was time to go back to the hospital and see how you were doing. Of course he wasn’t expecting any changes to your condition considering he hasn’t gotten any phone calls from the hospital yet, but he thought it might make him feel more at ease to sit next to you.

On his way to the hospital, he stopped by the flower shop you often went to, the one next to the park with the yellow flowers that you liked so much. The woman at the front, whose name was Yerin by the looks of her nametag, recognizes you immediately.

“Mr. Min Yoongi? How can we help you today?” She asks, immediately standing up straight at your intimidating presence.

“Just here to get some flowers.” He replies nonchalantly.

Yerin runs around the counter to stand in front of him.

“Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”

“No, not really—wait a second, that flower right there. Give me a bouquet of those.” He says, pointing to the bunches of purple flowers hiding behind Yerin.

She turns to see what he was pointing to. “Ah, purple lilacs. Okay, I’ll put it together for you really quick!”

He saw her go around the many shelves of flowers to what he assumed was the back inventory of the shop and didn’t see her come out until a couple of minutes later. In her hands was a beautiful bouquet of the purple lilacs with white baby's-breath. His eyes softened at the sight of the white flowers. The sight was familiar to him.

“That would be 25,830 won.” Yerin handed the bouquet to him and smiled.

He handed her 35,000 won, murmured his thanks and left. Once out of the shop, he was hit by the bright sunlight and couldn’t help looking over to the park. Kids were running around while their parents watched them on picnic blankets.

Warm and sunny days like this reminded him of you. Spending your days in the sun, laying on a picnic blanket and eating fruits, was your very existence.

He spends only a few moments admiring the scenery of people enjoying the weather before he makes his way back to his car and to the hospital. When he arrives at your room, nothing has changed except for the fact that your skin has regained a bit of its color and the bruises began the healing process.

Yoongi sets the flowers down on the table beside your bed. He moves the chair from the wall to the side of the bed so he could sit right next to you. His heart almost stops when he sees your face. It seems like the nurses changed the bandage on your head as the bandaging was noticeably lighter, but he could still see a bit of blood seeping through. The bruises on your arms and everywhere alarm him but he knows that you’re okay and you’re healing and that’s enough for him. It’s enough to know that you were alive and going to be fine.

His eyes trail down to your stomach and he lets it linger on them for a long time because he takes your hand in his and takes a deep breath. Two months ago he could have never imagined that this is where he would be right now. Two months ago, both of you had walked away from your marriage and Yoongi honestly thought that you two may never have crossed paths again despite his thoughts going to you more often than it should be. Now, two months later, you were divorced and pregnant with his child. His eyes continue to stare at your stomach, still flat and showing no signs of carrying a second life, and he resists the urge to caress it. You weren’t conscious and even if you were, would you allow your ex-husband to feel your stomach like that? No, probably not.

And that’s when he felt a twitch in his hand, not coming from his own. He looks down to see your fingers moving just barely. His first reaction was shock, then anxiety. He didn’t know what to do and the shock of your movement paralyzed him. It was only when he felt another movement, stronger this time, that he felt the need to press the call button to alarm the doctors and nurses. You were moving, which meant that you might be waking up.

The moments pass quickly and slowly at the same time. The doctors barely made it in time to see you flutter your eyes open and groan with a broken voice. Yoongi looked down at you, still holding your hand. You blinked your eyes multiple times. The light was too bright to take in all at once. He squeezed your hand at the relief he felt in seeing you wake up.

“Yn, how are you feeling baby?” He couldn’t help the pet name that came out of his mouth. You looked so vulnerable and fragile that it came out on instinct.

Yoongi waited for a reply for a little bit but heard none. The doctor came around to stand next to you.

“Miss Yn? Can you see us? Hear us?” he asked.

You nodded slowly, wincing at the pain in and on your head.

“Where m’I?” You attempt to speak out, but it comes out broken and croaky.

Yoongi is glad to hear your voice, to hear you talk for the first time in so long.

“You’re in the hospital right now, you were in a car accident but you’re okay now baby. How are you feeling?” He couldn’t help but ask.

You craned your head towards him, blinking furiously with your eyebrows furrowed. Confusion marred your features. Yoongi was scared that you finally realized he was here, with you, and would kick him out at any chance. He was scared that you were going to kick him out of you life before he could ever see the baby that you had made together, but this fear of his could have never prepared him for the next words to come out of your mouth.

“Who are you?”

☾

← masterlist → 

taglist batch 1: @victoriedulce @yoongistruth @rebeccawoodrow @moon-asia @koochiekoo @sonderkook @fangirling-gallifreyan @teresaisla @veronawrites @haeilove @rjsmochii @mama-m0chi @agustd-2020 @imluckybitches @dreamer95 @coldfreakeggsexpert @rjsmochii @loveyoongles @selfproducingfanfictionauthor @mr-robot-x​

[khaleesiofalicante]

OK I GOT 5 HOURS OF SLEEP LAST NIGHT WHICH IS PRETTY OK IG (I did stay up to read the fic-) BOTH MY TESTS WENT LIKE SHIT, I HAD AN ANXIETY ATTACK IN PROGRAMMING CLASS BECAUSE BY TEACHER IS A LITTLE SHIT WHO KEPT ON YELLING AT ME WHEN I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING AND I SPENT LUNCH ALONE BUT AT LEAST NOW IM ALONE WITH MY LAPTOP SO YAYAYAYYA

first of all, this chapter right here is my comfort chapter from now on. i said what i said. I will be rereading it again and again just because i can. it was PERFECTION

here's me going crazy at 2 am yesterday.

MAGNUS' CHAPTER

LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO

AHHHHHHH IT'S THEIR ANNIVERSARY

SCREAM

oh

alec shaved his beard because it made him look older

RAFAEL WAS SO UPSET AFTER THE MEXICO ATTACK BECAUSE OF ANJALI RIGHT??

magnus and alec are the oblivious parents istg

“Are you decent?” Max yelled. “I don’t want to be traumatized again.”

“Hey! We agreed not to talk about that!” Alec yelled back.

Im not even surprised at this point

“Happy anniversary, bapa!” Rafael kissed him on the cheek and handed him the flowers.

“Where are my flowers?” Alec asked.

Rafael plucked a rose from the bouquet and threw it at Alec. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, son,” Alec mumbled.

IM WHEEZING

DAVID BAKES

“David made it,” Max said shyly. "

Oh,” Alec replied and then shrugged. “Well, the icing could be a little sweeter I think.”

Ever since Max started dating, Alec had become incredibly protective. Alec liked David of course – it was impossible to find someone who didn’t. But that didn’t mean Alec approved.

And it didn’t help that the blond boy was absolutely terrified of Alec.

ALEC STOP TEASING HIM

THE BOY IS ALREADY SCARED

“I don’t know,” Alec analysed the card. “David used too much glitter.”

“Since when do you have a problem with excessive glitter?” Max demanded.

ALEC

“I didn’t use him!” Max huffed. “He was thoroughly compensated for his efforts!”

“Compensated how?” Alec asked.

“Uh,” Max said. “With donuts.”

when i saw donuts i immediately thought of rose and luisa from jtv

iykyk

but should i continue the show? i got tired of jane continuously embarrasing herself

“You expect us to follow rules?” Alec asked in surprise. “In our own home? On our anniversary?”

The warlock boy grinned wickedly before leaning close to Alec.

“You better do it, or I will tell everyone about your secret,” Max whispered.

Alec blinked at that.

the secret...

I DONT LIKE HOW MANY THINGS POPPED INTO MY HEAD

is highschool musical that bad? i havent watched it. should i?

what if i cried

i just wanna hug alec??? but i cant say it'll be ok because it wont

“Is that why you are not attending?” Magnus grinned at his friend. “Or is it because you are terrified of Georgia?”

“That child is the reincarnation of Christopher Lightwood!” Ragnor complained. “I heard she made explosives out of demon ichor! Who makes explosions out of demon ichor?”

RAGNOR IS PROBABLY GETTING FLASHBACKS

THESE STUPID FUCKING BITCHES

how tf do you think we have survived huh??

medicine that's how

vaccines, anti biotics and what not

stop being close-minded and fucking do it

ok i know the risk is great

BUT OTHERWISE THEY ALL DIE

it was different for warlocks. The Shadow World was their universe. The nephilim kept it safe. At one point in their lives, they had learned to coexist with them, out of necessity and out of obligation.

And now here they were – working together in the name of friendship and love.

how things change...

what

say what

the causes are what

ok let's not jump to conclusions

im fucking crying wtf

alec doesnt deserve this shit

all he's done is make the world a better place

hes worked so hard on this

RAZIEL CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF

what am i supposed to say to my parents if one of them comes to check on me and im sitting here crying at 2 am

He didn’t want to believe in a reality that would punish Alec. Alec who only wanted to do what is good and right.

Alec was who was losing his hope and strength every passing day. Alec who was struggling. Alec who was turning to desperate measures to cope with all the stress.

please alec

no please

THE ANGELS ARE BITCHES

Because if Magnus found out Raziel was the one causing all this pain for Alec, he would march up to heaven and set the bastard on fire himself.

AND I'LL GO WITH HIM

KNEW THE SPY WAS LIVVY

AWW RAGNOR LIKES SELENA THATS SO SWEET

blue and gold

STOP IT IM CRYING AGAIN

The shadowhunter was a good influence on him. Magnus hoped Alec would see it sooner rather than later.

HUH

HUHU

HUH

omg

GIGI GETTING A SIBLING

“Max isn’t allowed to do a lot of things,” Magnus chuckled. “But he does them anyway.”

thats my boi

GASP

]THE NECKLACE

rafael is growing into the consul voice

they grow up so fast

nope nope he's still the little 5 year old

voice cracking what do you mean he's 20

im glad hes happy with mila. or is he...?

Magnus had deduced as much. Alec lived in his beautifully oblivious world. But Magnus noticed.

He noticed the hickeys. He noticed the late-night visits. He noticed the tense phone calls.

well thank god there's at least one non-oblivious person (alec i love you so much but you are very very oblivious)

“What’s stopping you then?” Magnus asked.

"2554 miles,” Rafael chuckled sadly.

me with all my online friends

probably more miles

Magnus tried to do the math but promptly gave up.

me

But Alec did lie though. Magnus pushed the thought away.

NOT NOW

LET ME LIVE IN PEACEFUL OBLIVION

HUSH

“Except melt it?” Rafael chuckled.

“Yes,” Magnus chuckled back. “As you can see, the bar is extremely low in the Lightwood family.”

AHHIUCCDSKUHDCV

i have no clue what the words describing the outfit are

time to google

OK PRETTY

Fifteen years. Fifteen years of loving and Alec still made his heart stutter.

dont do this to me right now I WILL CRY

“What the hell?” Max exclaimed. “Why are you all dressed up?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s my anniversary,” Alec chuckled.

Max-

Fifteen years. Fifteen years and Magnus still took Alec’s breath away.

HJCSDHJBJDHSGCDYGJVVC JHVDFYMJ

it's not funny MY EYES ARE WATERING

“Bapak is a good looking one in the family,” Rafael pointed out. “You are the chaotic one and I am the smart one.”

“What am I then?” Alec asked dryly. “A sack of potatoes?”

“You’re the sexy one,” Magnus grinned. “A sexy sack of potatoes.”

yes.

Alec grinned back and leaned forward. Magnus put his hands around Alec’s neck and kissed him. He kissed Alec with all the love he had inside his heart.

Just like the first time. Just like the hundredth time. Just like the thousandth time.

Because with Alec, every kiss mattered. Every single one.

muffled sob

“Stop making out, oh my god!” Max groaned.

Magnus sensed a pillow coming their way but Rafael caught it before it hit them.

“Max, stop!” Rafael scolded. “You will wrinkle dad’s suit and ruin bapak’s hair! I spent hours ironing both!”

why is max me when i see people display affection in front of me

ALSO RAFAEL HKUIUIDCSKIHUDFVHJDFVHU

“They are here,” Rafael said. “You two better look exactly the way you did when I left with Max or I will raise hell.”

IM SCREAMING

Selena was wearing a blue crop top with the words “MIND YOUR OWN UTEREUS” written in gold.

i need that top

DAVID'S SHIRT IS THE COLOR OF MAX'S MAGIC

AHH ISABELLE DOESNT KNOW SHE'S PREGNANT YET

The argument of “who gave the best gift” had started when Jace and Izzy had gotten drunk on vodka. It didn’t help that Alec had gotten drunk as well. All three Lightwood siblings had then proceeded to have an argument about who had the best spouse. The whole night had been drunken chaos. Magnus, Clary and Simon had let them have it since the Lightwood siblings had a tendency to carry the world on their shoulders even when nobody asked them. They rarely ever let loose ever since their worlds had plunged into sickness and demon attacks. Especially Alec. So, Magnus had let his husband be that 18-year-old boy again. The boy who got drunk and fought with his siblings and sang songs about Magnus’ pretty eyes.

OH MY GOD THE CHAOS

Georgia considered that. “I’m not allowed to melt it, right?”

“No,” they all replied in chorus.

LET GIGI MELT IT

SELENA IM SO PROUD OF YOU

“Dad,” Max said. “Can you keep a picture of me wearing this necklace in your office?”

“Why?” Rafael asked.

“I think it will piss off the boomers,” Max giggled.

“Nice!” Lexi grinned. “A downworlder wearing a shadowhunter heirloom? They will lose their heads. Uncle Alec, you must do it.”

“I will do you one better. I will hang a tapestry,” Alec chuckled.

YASSS I CANT WAIT FOR THE SHADOWHUNTERS TO BE PISSED

AWW THEY DIDNT KNOW THE NECKLACE USED TO BELONG TO MAGNUS

he actually gave to camille first-

Why couldn’t this boy just cause chaos during his travel year like the rest of them? Why did he actually study and do his research as recommended?

why would you NOT study and research during your travel year????

oh shit

well well well

david bby stfu

i love you but pls stop speaking for all our sakes

“Holy shit,” Max said. “It is expensive then!”

“Don’t pawn the ruby!” Rafael warned.

MAX NO-

OH THE STONE COMES FROM EDOM

oh no

pls dont fight

oh so i was wrong about magus confronting him from that snippet

all you need to know is im sobbing right now and grammarly is the only thing making this coherent

dont mind me just

NO I FORGOT ABOUT MAX AND DAVID

GET BACK IN THE ROOM YOU IDIOTS

don't do this to me at 3 am

OK THE DILF PART

thank you for adding light into my life again

(me while editing this: today really isn't my day huh? i just slipped in rainwater outside my balcony because I heard rain and ran there. now my knee and back hurt and I think I sprained (?) my toe-

ANYWAY

wait im gonna go check out the rain and then continue editing this

ok i got bored of the rain)

that made me laugh through my tears

“Objectively good looking?” Jace snorted. “Excuse you, but my parabatai is smoking hot! He is a freaking prize, okay? If we had a magazine for hot shadowhunters, you would be on the cover page. Every single issue.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Alec interrupted. “Magnus, are you happy? Now all my friends have told me I am pretty.”

“I said smoking hot,” Jace corrected.

“We are not being biased,” Clary pointed out. “It is the general consensus, Alec.”

“It’s true,” Lexi said. “So many people have asked me for your number, Uncle Alec. And I would have given it to them if I wasn’t worried about being turned into a marshmallow.”

LEXI DUHDUGHUDFCUHKVDFUIKFDU

“Dad, I don’t know why you are so worried,” Max said in a bored tone. “You’re a told DILF.”

David choked on his champagne and Jace patted him on the back.

“What the hell is a DILF?” Alec demanded.

“Oh, I know this one!” Jace said excitedly. “It means Dashing and Irresistible Looking Father. Max is right, you are a total DILF.”

“Mr. Herondale-” David raised a hand.

“I heard one of the shadowhunters in their travel year calling me a DILF too,” Jace said proudly.

THAT IS NOT WHAT DILF MEANS OH MY GOD

“It’s not a rumour,” Selena spoke up and passed her phone. “There is a group chat at Scholomance just to thirst after you.”

add me to it

ALL THE COMMENTS I CANT BREATHE

“Alec Lightwood can run me over with a Maserati and I would thank him.”

“Give me that,” Izzy grabbed the phone and started giggling. “Petition for Consul Alec Lightwood-Bane to stab me with his mortal sword.”

“Isabelle!” Alec hissed, cheeks flaming. “Stop it!”

“I want one!” Jace grabbed the phone now. “By the Angel!”

“Read it!” the kids yelled in chorus.

“I would gladly let Consul Lightwood-Bane inspect my mortal instruments,” Jace chuckled and threw the phone at David.

David shook his head vehemently and threw it at Max.

“My body is just a hole for Alec Lightwood,” Max read out loud and started laughing so hard that he fell off his chair.

Lexi grabbed the phone and giggled. “I want the Consul to strip off my runes among other things.”

She passed the phone to Gigi, who looked at the phone and look at Alec.

“Uncle Alec,” the girl said. “This person wants you to crush them with your massive archer arms.”

“Give me that,” Rafael grabbed it now. “Aw, this one is a classic, dad. Alec Lightwood turned me gay.”

He threw the phone at Simon, who stared the screen and looked up. “Uh, I don’t think I can read this one out loud in front of the kids.

“Is this the one about the basement?” Selena chuckled and Simon nodded.

WHAT'S THE BASEMENT ONe

TELL ME

AWW GIGI AND LEXI PUTTING MAKEUP ON DAVID AND MAX RECORDING IT

google translator time

oooo Rafael's gonna talk with Mila

Magnus you're such a good father

seriously

“Sometimes things are just sad. So, you need to let yourself be sad.”

YES

SAY IT LOUDER

THEY ARE UNDER THE BED

AHHH MAX AND DAVID

DAVID CALLED HIM MY ANGEL IN FRENCH

Alec and Magnus hiding under the bed and spying on them is just-

Jace had tried to give Max the shovel talk and had gotten a little too emotional.

of course, he did smh I love him so much

“David doesn’t need a shovel talk,” Alec smiled. “He knows what would happen to him if he hurts my son.”

David gulped. “You will throw me into the silent city?”

“I will ask me husband to portal you to hell,” Alec said – Consul Voice. “We have relatives there.”

the beloved relatives yes

“Goodnight,” Jace gave them a salute. “Have fun inspecting Magnus’ mortal instruments.”

JACE

OH SO THE QUESTION WAS ABOUT SMOKING

damn it

oh my god guys he said he'll stop smoking

just lemme have this moment

my boy's lungs will be intact

HIS LUNGS WILL BE OK

“I can’t wait to see all the messages on the chat after that,” Magnus giggled.

Alec looked up. “I’m more than a tall glass of water, Magnus!”

SCREAMING

In his dream, he saw them again. But they weren’t smiling this time.

what

wait

THE PROPHETIC DREAMS

nope nope nope

Nah I don't know what you're talking about

haha

damn, I think I really hurt my back...

OK BUT THE IMMORTALITY ANGST???? WAS SO SO GOOD???? I know it makes me cry but is it bad that I'm always so excited for angst written by you because of HOW GOOD it is????

"When I die I will love you from my grave" I NEED THIS ON MY FOREHEAD OH MY GOD I LOVE THESE TWO SO SO MUCH

alright I need to get something for my back and my knee (I'm home alone so this will be fun)

OK, I THINK THE NEXT CHP WILL BE ANJALI'S POV I JUST FEEL IT!!! I miss my girl so much I hope she's doing ok. Jaime too...

I'm rereading all of these chapters after chapter 10 because why not. Bye!!

OKAY I AM GLAD YOU LIKED IT BUT I AM ALSO DEEPLY WORRIED ABOUT YOUR HEALTH.

I hope your knee and back feels better soon!

also fuck that teacher yelling something doesn't make people understand it any better ugh dumb piece of shit anyway screw that person.

I hope you get some good rest and recovery from this rollercoaster of a day.

Take care!

[dreamiesdotcom]

slow | n.jm, l.hc

summary: Jaemin likes some things slow — slowly walking from your houses to school, slowly drinking warm drinks, slowly putting puzzle pieces together, slowly dancing to Jisung's upbeat playlist, slowly baring yourselves of masks, slowly learning to trust — but slowly falling in love, he's not very sure.

word count: 2563

a/n: this is based off this post of mine (as per @flirtyhyuck 's request) and im here to say that im sorry this wasnt supposed to see the light of day

"Can you please tell Jeno to tell his best friend to stop staring at mine?" Jaemin almost growls, pulling your chair over nearer to him. You whine a little at being closer to the scent of his coffee, scrunching your nose up and pulling away. He gasps at the rejection but you smile at him and reach for his hands instead. He rolls his eyes and faces Renjun, "Please."

"Na, you know I don't talk to people. I'm allergic." Renjun grumbles. "Talk to Jisung instead, he's been hanging out with the music kid for a project."

"He's older than you, and he has a name," Jisung grimaces over a cup of hot chocolate. "His name is Mark. Mark Lee."

"See?" Renjun shrugs as if to prove a point. "He even knows his 'name'."

"But this is so unfair!" comes the inevitable whine from the younger. "Chenle is friends with Hyuck-hyung!"

"Chenle is friends with everyone. Whatever, one of you needs to do it." Jaemin sighs, turning his chair to face you. He raises a brow, "What're you thinking?"

Your hand still loosely wraps around his, and he slowly entwines them together.

Warm. It's warm like a cup of whatever the hell it is Na Jaemin is drinking. What were you thinking, though? A while ago, there was a lot — random numbers, other subjects, an article you read yesterday, the way Jisung's eyes shined at the mention of Mark. Right now, there's only one; Don't catch feelings.

Those thoughts are regular and they were haunting. These days, they're not as incessant as the past few months, but they still come and they are unbelievably strong — don't catch feelings. Something tells you that it's too late and you already did. Something tells you that you are stupid.

But, what if things worked, right? He's soft and kind and he's lovely. You fit in a lot of things and you disagree in some but that's just perfectly balanced, isn't it? He won't hurt you — oh, how he won't do that. He never will. Na Jaemin, this magical boy — what if?

"Damn, Lee Donghyuck is really in love with you," someone chimes loudly, and you don't even need to see who's rushing to your table before Jisung groans in disdain and makes space for this odd friend. Chenle makes a vague motion, asking people to look away. "He talked my ear off about how pretty you looked while painting at Art's class. He's whipped."

What if, huh? You turn away from the idea with a smile. Don't be silly...

"No, he's not, Chenle." You reply to the boy but keep your eyes at Jaemin, smiling still. "I wasn't thinking about anything. That was me spacing out."

Jaemin rolls his eyes again, seemingly moodier than usual. His soft giggle later makes you laugh, though. Oh, how weak this boy was. How weak he became when someone smiled at him. Or maybe, only when a specific someone does it.

"What do you mean 'No he's not, Chenle'?" The brat refuses to get the hint and live him down. He makes a quick show of turning around to the other side to check Lee Donghyuck and his friends' table, then pointing at them, "He's staring at you."

"He's not!" You hiss, glaring at the people who are either eavesdropping or watching or worse, both.

"Is, though." Jisung shrugs. "I bet he writes you love songs."

"Does not!" you glare at the duo, begs Jaemin through your eyes to tell them to stop. Unfortunately, Jaemin is already gushing at the two. You stomp your feet to get their attention, "We don't even know each other!"

And that was a lie. Renjun's eyes read those words, he must've known. He probably knew about the accidental bumping into each other at the playground, or the awkward laughs you two share at the convenience store; maybe he saw him helping you with Mathematics at the library, or he stumbled upon most of your accidental meetings; those were by coincidence, right? They had to be. Renjun's eyes also read another set of words: Don't break his heart.

But how can you not? You weren't in love with him. You were in love with somebody else, and you wished that the sunshine boy didn't adore you like that. Why does Renjun care about Hyuck? They haven't even spoken to each other. You sigh, and at that very moment, you hear the door open and close. Donghyuck and his friends left. The room mourns the lack of the warmth of their muffled laughter.

"You know what, I'll just go see Lee Donghyuck." You huff your cheeks, palms slamming on either side of the table. Jaemin startles, tries to speak, but you're already cutting him off with a much more determined gaze.

"I have his number from when Chenle got it for me. I'll go home, change clothes, ask him to meet up and I'll prove you guys wrong." you stand up, tearing away from his stare. "It'll drive me crazy if I don't."

"But we—" he bites back a sigh, but you notice the way his hands attempted to reach up and pull you back down to your chair. It seemed like a quiet plead to hang around. He smiles, "Do you need a ride?"

That day you told him no, and you pinched his cheeks instead of your usual kind of goodbye; that one where you pout and tug at his sleeves, wishing for fifteen more minutes without words but only your eyes, knowing you'd meet each other tomorrow but not quite wanting to even part.

If Jaemin knew that it will be the moment where everything begins to change, he knows he would have held you tight and never let you go.

You officially got together with Donghyuck on the 24th of December. Jaemin isn't interested in knowing how it happened, but he briefly remembers the next few days after that: everyone talking about Donghyuck's sweet voice, Mark and Jeno playing the guitar, and a kiss under a mistletoe. Renjun and Jisung gave him as many sweets as they could manage to find, though they quickly realized that he isn't gonna give up on his little role of a boy not broken. Chenle was the one who talked him down, smacked his head, hugged him tight, and told him to snap out of it.

It was sure as hell disrespectful and he got an earful after that, but it did help Jaemin. At that moment, there was a silent agreement between the three that it was all that mattered: Jaemin accepted the pain and knew that he wasn't alone in all of this.

Heartbreak felt bitter and it wasn't kind, but Jaemin knew that much. Chenle's been saying those things to him for a while now — especially if it's because of someone you're close to. Even more if you haven't confessed yet, hyung. Damn it. It hurts so much — he said so many times Jaemin couldn't bother count. He never learned this, though, and he never even thought that he'd be in this situation: right now, he should be making a homework. Right now, he just realized that a heartbreak is even more extremely cruel if you never even realized that you had feelings until the moment you're hurting.

He looks down on his open notebook, glares at the unanswered question before ultimately giving up. Beside him, Renjun lost himself in a book and Chenle fell asleep. He searches for Jisung only to find him with a very familiar-looking boy — Mark Lee — shyly talking behind a bookshelf. Jaemin grits his teeth and wonders what the hell it is that this group has that he keeps losing his friends to them.

Sometimes, Jaemin falls into the ways of an escapist, as Renjun said once. He and his big words were normal. What's not normal is his daydream — it wasn't the two of you and your friends in Neverland, and it wasn't his imagination of how future plans would unfold — because sometimes he tends to do that, imagine how things would go. Right now, he's not thinking of that sleepover at Chenle's. He's not drinking up the image of a long, aimless drive (that will certainly happen. Jisung won't allow it not to happen), stargazing and exchanging theories on extraterrestrial life (that will definitely happen once again, because of Jisung as well, but now with the help of Renjun). His daydreams center on rain clouds today.

In his mind, you're both in some comforting cottage in the woods and there's a thunderstorm. The scent of petrichor and deep wood mixes with a calm and cozy atmosphere. You're tucked safely in his arms and he has you all to himself; right now, in his mind, he can be as selfish as possible. You're talking and laughing over sweet little nothings, and Jaemin has to catch himself a little so that even if he continues to fall, it wouldn't be as fast. He likes some things slow. He likes soaking up certain moments just as much as he likes the other events' turbulence. With you, he loved everything slow.

Slowly walking from your houses to school. Slowly drinking warm drinks. Slowly putting puzzle pieces together. Slowly dancing to Jisung's upbeat playlist. Slowly baring yourselves of masks. Slowly learning to trust.

Slowly falling in love, he's not very sure. More often than not, he would ask himself in his mind: 'Would it all be different if I fell in love faster?'

Maybe there were some things that needed to be rushed. Some things that needed to be instantaneous. He laughs inside his mind and asks again, 'Can this heartbreak be quicker, then?'

The false memory is ruined.

Jaemin comes back down to reality at the scent of roses. His shoulders ache a little from leaning at the lockers, so he stands properly and meets your confused expression. Roses. Chocolates. Letters. You. You look awfully flustered and the pink hue in your cheeks becomes bolder and bolder each phrase your eyes read. Jaemin smirks and takes a peek.

I don't know what went through my head or whatever hopeless romantic spirit decided to posses me today, but I love you. And I miss you. Let's have a date?

Cheesy. His grin grows wider but he promises himself that it's the last. He won't look at you so lovingly again. He won't feel like this anymore. Donghyuck is bratty and headstrong but he was kind and he cherished you, ready to give you the world — Jaemin finds that he can do that, too. Except that it's Donghyuck whom you intensely love. He promises himself that he'll get over you but only because he knew that he's bad at promises.

"Against Hyuck?" he drawls as if to make a joke. His laugh sounded way too wounded for it to be funny, though, and he leans to the lockers again because his knees buckle at your gaze, the one that slowly makes him melt all the damn time. "There was never really a chance for me, huh?"

He thinks you'd run away and go as far as possible from him from then on. He thinks you should — he implied that he liked you. He implied that he wanted a chance. He implied that he hoped for it. When you didn't do anything but tear your eyes away from the lovely note, he assumed you've taken it as a joke, that you were dense — that you were dense again. Instead, you tilted your head to him, "This is where it gets painful."

He aches to ask what it is that you meant, but he found that he couldn't speak. He's tongue-tied and he couldn't move, couldn't find the right words to say. It's as if his ability to make a sound was stolen from him. He's unaware of the world because all he can see is tender gazes and all that he can listen to is a gentle voice, then the words he never thought he'd hear — you were staring at him and then you sighed.

"You did, once."

A series of unexpected events have already unfolded, but this probably was one of the top three. He doesn't know where he gets the strength, but he stands straight again. He tears all the what if's and what could've been's and what will never be away for this moment, and he doesn't dwell on the fact that you loved him. That there was a chance. That he completely missed that chance because he was so afraid, so scared of falling in love and ruining all that you both have slowly built together. He doesn't understand how he even got to crack up at that realization, but he does — "And that was a perfect exchange. Jisung would love that."

You wink at him in quick humor, but you laugh at him with unrest, "Why Jisung?"

"He's into this kind of thing these days." He shrugs. "Speaking of, isn't it weird how Jisung all so suddenly likes sappy movies? Is he going through something?"

"He hasn't said anything. Maybe he's not yet ready to share with the class, Jaemin." You reply, smirking, "Are you playing detective, or are you nosy?"

"I'm concerned." He lights flicks your forehead. You giggle as he does that, eyes fluttering shut, and his heart stings again. When you open them, he's staring at you.

The look in your eyes screamed of honesty and pure truth. Jaemin understands, he always does. And he knows too, he knows that you're aware as well. He knows that you saw the same sincerity in his eyes and you knew that every single bit of that intense moment was true. At that, he swings an arm at your shoulders and led the two of you to the exit, opening a talk about your other friends and plans of meeting at 12 pm at the usual for lunch, then he cracks a joke, and you genuinely chuckle.

"I used to daydream about us," used to be said to prompt a laugh. On a normal day, that was the joke that makes you fall over and not the multiple bizarre versions of "Why did the chicken cross the road?". On a normal day, you two would talk hours and hours about daydreaming about each other, some sappy and some downright comedy. On a normal day, that's the topic you both center around as you walk your way to your other friends.

Today wasn't a normal day, though, because today you shine under the sun brighter than others, and you look very stunning in yellow. Today wasn't a normal day because you didn't take the normal route, instead, you made a turn to bid someone a quick farewell. Today, "Do you think there's another world where we're together?" doesn't feel like a question elicited from Renjun's multiverse theories and "If you knew, would you try?" isn't just a verse from Jisung's surprising secret stash of self-written poetry. Today, "You were a dream that shined brightly above me and just like the fate of a gazer and a star, you are so far from my reach" isn't just something he read out of the book Chenle reads.

Today, Jaemin watches you fall in Donghyuck's arms like it was all you were meant to do, and his heart breaks.

[lauraashley93]

Stormy Weather

-reader is afraid of the dark so when there’s a storm and a power outage. Ez comes to her rescue.

Warningd: none

It was finally the weekend and you were so excited. Work had been long and stressful and it had you in a gloomy mood. All you wanted to do was spend your night on the couch with your boyfriend Ez and relax. The thought of being curled up next to him in his white muscle shirt and boxers had you grinning from ear to ear brightening your mood immensely. That was until you got to the exit door and seen it was piss pour raining outside. You sighed, instantly feeling your mood turning gloomy again.

You were driving home silently cursing the rain as it pours harder. You were a little scared of storms. You gulped as thunder and lightening cracked across the sky just praying it would stop. You pulled into your drive way as you ran to the safe warm confinement’s of your home. You went straight to the bathroom turning on a hot shower. Changing out of your now wet clothes and trying to warm up. You stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out, sighing you begrudgingly got out of the shower and quickly dried off and got changed into your favorite sweat pants and hoody.

You looked at the time, it was only 6 o’clock. You still have another hour before Ez said he’d be home. You started making dinner trying to distract yourself from the storm going on. You busied yourself with chores around the house until you heard the oven beep alerting you that your lasagna was done. As soon as you pulled it out of the oven BOOM,CRACK! You dropped the lasagna on the floor then the lights went off. You screamed and took off running. You ran straight into the hallway table which made you scream again. “PLEASE DONT KILL ME” you dropped to the ground until you realized what you had done. You calmed yourself down and got up as you hurriedly looked for the flashlight and took off running up stairs. You ran straight for the closet and slid to the corner trying not to hyperventilate.

—————————-

Ez was at the club house waiting for the rain to slow down a bit. He didn’t wanna ride his bike all the way to your house and get drinched.

“Aye yo Boy Scout ain’t you supposed to be getting back to y/n?” Angel said to Ez with a smirk on his face. “Yeah, that’s why I wish the damn rain would lighten up so I could do so. She’s making lasagna tonight and the thought of it makes my mouth water.”

Coco laughed. “Yeah I’m sure it’s the lasagna that makes your mouth water. I could think of a couple other things that would be better.” Ez rolled his eyes at Coco’s comments even though he knew he was absolutely right. Everything about you turned Ez on and so he cursed the rain even harder because now thoughts of you and him were flooding his mind and his member was making himself known.

“Hey, isn’t y/n afraid of storms?” Gilly said from beside Coco. “And the dark? Because there’s been a power outage according to this weather app on my phone.”

Ez’s eyes grew wide. “Oh shit. She’s probably freaking out! Fuck it, I gotta go.”

And with that Ez was out the door and on his bike. Mother Nature must have decided to have some sympathy on him as the rain had lightened up a tad. Ez was going as fast as he could to get to you knowing you were probably panicking and freaking out. He finally pulled into your driveway, getting off his bike he ran toward the porch and to the front door. It was locked which didn’t surprise him any he used his key and opened the door. All the lights were out. He kicked his boots off and started searching for you.

“Y/n?? Where are you??” He didn’t see you in the living room or kitchen. He started up the stairs and opened your bedroom door. He seen a slight glow coming from the closet and he smirked to himself. Of course you’re hiding.

He slowly opened the door to the closet. He tried to not smile but failed so he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the site in front of him. You were sitting here, knees to chest rocking slowly with the flashlight in one hand and bat in the other.

“Y/n, baby, what are you doing in here? It’s just a storm mi Amor. ”

“I, I..” you started sobbing and you practically jumped into his arms “I was just minding my own fucking business trying to cook you dinner when there was all this booming and lightning and then I dropped the lasagna on the floor and the damned lights decided they didn’t need to work anymore and the hallway table tried to kill me and so I hid in here and I just am so glad you’re here now.” You were disaster. Everything came out in a rush as you gasped between sobs and buried your face into his chest.

“The table tried to kill you?” He tried desperately to hide the amusement in his voice as he rubbed circles on your back. “Do I need to shoot it?”

You looked up at him and blinked a few times. “Are you.. are you laughing at me??” You pushed back from him. “Are you kidding? I was practically almost a victim in a horror movie and you’re laughing at me! What if it hadn’t of been the the table and some pshyco killer?? And see if I make you my lasagna again.. the audacity...

He cut you off and kissed you. Your current irritation and anxiety all but forgotten as he deepens the kiss sliding his tongue against yours you massage his back with yours as you wrap your arms around his neck. He smiles against your lips and pulls away. You whine at the sudden loss of contact and look at him with pouty lips.

“Hey, I was not finished! How are you going to make fun of me and then stop giving me lovins?”

“I was not making fun of you!” You gave him a look and he laughed. “I was simply teasing you. I rushed here as soon as I could to make sure you were okay because of the storm. I love you and I will always be here to protect you.” You smiled and snuggled back to him “even if it is from a psycho killing table”

He laughed as you smacked his chest and narrowed your eyes at him.

“You are just full of jokes today well we will just see how funny you think this is when I don’t give you no attention.”

You crossed your arms and huffed and he smirked and looked at you. Like he was challenging you. He knew good and well that you wouldn’t say no to any attention he gave you.

“Oh? So if I did this..?” He slowly kissed your neck and nibbled slightly at your skin. Uh-oh. You were in trouble. Your eyes closed as you moaned softly. He knew your weakness.

“I, no, i dont... what was the question again?” He chuckled as his bit your ear lobe softly. “How about we take this to the bed and I’ll make sure you forget all about this awful storm and make sure you feel safe and protected?”

You nodded eagerly. “I’ve been looking forward to that all day” Ez smiled as he picked you up without effort and threw you over his shoulder. You giggled as he threw you gently on the bed.

“Now, where were we?” You smiled and bit your lip. “I think we were right about here” You leaned in and kissed him as all your worries about the dark and the storm faded away.

@angelreyesgirl @auroraariza @spookys-girl @trulysuccubus @stunning-shitz @rosieposie0624 @bigcreatorwombatdreamer @skyofficialxx @strawberrywritings @bucky-iss-bae @miss-nori85 @cind-in-real-life @deeandbobbymcgee @starrynite7114 @louisianalady @itsjaybeast @-im-fantastic- @justatiredfool

[horansqueen]

You & Me : chapter 49

A Niall Horan fanfiction ; rated MA

Sequel to AM CONVERSATIONS

CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 2 || CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 4 || CHAPTER 5 || CHAPTER 6 || CHAPTER 7 || CHAPTER 8 || CHAPTER 9 || CHAPTER 10 || CHAPTER 11 || CHAPTER 12 || CHAPTER 13 || CHAPTER 14 || CHAPTER 15 || CHAPTER 16 || CHAPTER 17 || CHAPTER 18 || CHAPTER 19 || CHAPTER 20 || CHAPTER 21 || CHAPTER 22 || CHAPTER 23 || CHAPTER 24 || CHAPTER 25 || CHAPTER 26 || CHAPTER 27 || CHAPTER 28 || CHAPTER 29 || CHAPTER 30 || CHAPTER 31 || CHAPTER 32 || CHAPTER 33 || CHAPTER 34 || CHAPTER 35 || CHAPTER 36 || CHAPTER 37 || CHAPTER 38 || CHAPTER 39 || CHAPTER 40 || CHAPTER 41 || CHAPTER 42 || CHAPTER 43 || CHAPTER 44 || CHAPTER 45 || CHAPTER 46 || CHAPTER 47 || CHAPTER 48

NOTES:

-4.4k -im sorry, i never proofread, i hate it. -there WILL be smut. but not only smut. -this is a romance, comedy, smut story. -for the summary, check my MASTERLIST.

READ AM CONVERSATIONS AGAIN ON WATTPAD HERE

- notes: one more chapter and this story will be over. im extremely emotional rn.

(both povs again! also i hope the smut scene isnt too disappointing)

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME! 

I was nominated in 3 categories!

*Best Friendship (Liv & Niall)

*Best Smut (AM Conversations)

*Favorite Author

you can vote for me HERE! thank you if you do!

TAKE A LOOK AT THE CHARACTERS HERE

Chapter 49

NIALL

How we managed to actually fly to Vegas without any pictures taken or meeting any fan seemed like a miracle. Something was clearly on our side and I took it as a very good sign. I watched her as she threw her bags on the carpet when we walked in the suite I had rented for the week and her lips curled. She let out a few cute giggles before running to the bed and jumping on it. It was huge, shaped like a heart with red silk sheets and a velvet cover of the same color except a bit darker. Olivia started jumping more as she kept laughing and I rolled my eyes with a smile when I noticed the pillows falling one by one from the bed to end on the floor.

"This is the cheesiest shit i've ever seen." I pointed out with a chuckle. "And stop this, you're gonna hurt yourself."

She turned to me and stopped jumping before sending me a smirk. "Make me."

We stared at each other for a few seconds and suddenly, I jumped on the bed too and she let out a short scream. I wrapped my arms around her but one of my legs weakened and I brought her in my falling before we both bounced on the bed. It made her laugh even more and I smiled as she panted, her lips parted. I ended up on top of her and she spread her legs a bit as I layed between them. She finally looked in my eyes and sent me a fond smile that I sent back. I couldn't believe we were here and I couldn't believe we were about to do what we were about to do.

"In less than 12 hours you're gonna be my wife, how does it feel?"

Her traits softened and she brought her hand to my face, running her fingertips on my cheek and jaw slowly. "Like I'm exactly where I'm meant to be, doing exactly what I'm meant to do."

I let my eyes roam on her face and smiled again before bending down closer and kissing her lips gently. "With the only person I'll ever be in love with." I added, finishing her thought in a whisper against her mouth.

"Mmhm." she replied, bringing her other hand to my cheek and cupping my face. "But you're not supposed to shag the bride before she says 'I do'."

I smirked against her lips and couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "You really want to follow that rule?"

"It's good for building up the tension."

"The sexual tension, you mean." I corrected.

"Mmhm, and besides, you're probably going to fuck me in all the ways you want, whenever you want and for as long as you want... for a whole week. Right?"

"That's the plan." I whispered, gripping her hair in one fist as I held myself with my elbows on each sides of her head.

"What's a few hours, then?"

"You're gonna have to ask that question to my cock, petal."

She laughed again and my grip in her hair loosened as my lips curled. She was right, we didn't need to have sex now, we'd have plenty of time for that, and I was going to make sure she got whatever she needed and wanted during this whole trip.

"What do you want, my love. Food? A nap?" I just asked, raising my eyebrows. "Name it and it's yours."

Her smile faltered and she tilted her head on the side, her hair spread on the bed. She finally pressed her lips together before my name escaped them softly, in a murmur.

"Niall James Horan."

I chuckled with a fond smile and shook my head slightly. "I'm already all yours."

                                                           ---

"I shouldn't have eaten a second piece of pie." she pointed out, trying to zip her dress.

I watched her squirm and groan for a few more seconds and let out a small laughter before placing myself behind her and zipping her dress easily. I leaned my chin on her naked shoulder and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind, my eyes closed. She smelled good, the same mix of honey and vanilla she always smelled, and something twisted in my stomach as I realized it was a smell I would always enjoy. For the rest of my life.

"It's a spray." she just said, making me open my eyes and frown.

"Excuse me?" I asked, moving back up to look at her as she turned to me.

She nibbled on her bottom lip for a few seconds while staring at me and finally, she reached for her bag, taking something out and quickly putting it in my hand. I frowned more, bringing it to my face, as I checked the product. It was, indeed, a body spray that she clearly also used in her hair. I turned the small bottle in my hand and finally nodded.

"I'm gonna buy this company and make sure they keep making this product until the day that I die."

She let out a short laughter and grabbed it from my hand before spraying more in her hair and neck. "Don't be silly!"

"Fine then, we'll stock a few boxes in the basement to make sure we have enough."

She turned to me and laughed again, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me closer. I felt her lips brush against mine and kissed her firmly.

"Don't make me regret telling you." she whispered, making my lips curl.

"Hey, we're getting married! There can't be no secret between us anymore!"

"Yea? Then I guess I have a few questions for you!"

I cleared my throat and took a step back, making her chuckle again. "We should just get ready, or we're gonna be late." I pointed out, half-joking. "And you know you're the worst at being on time. I'm not sure you've ever been on time before, have you?"

"I think my wedding day is a good time to start."

She took a step closer and worked on my tie, tightening it before letting both her hands slide on my chest. I brought my hands over hers and she looked up at me with a smile. I could feel my heart beating so hard in my chest and I couldn't remember a time I was more nervous than at this exact moment.

"Are you sure you didn't want the whole deal with friends and family?" she asked in a low tone, raising her eyebrows. "With the big dress and the reception and the wedding song and gifts and..." she shook her head and closed her eyes for a few seconds before they fluttered open again. "I feel like we're about to disappoint your mom. I don't want that."

"My mom just wanted us to be together." I let out softly. "I promise she'll be super happy for us. Don't worry. Today is our day, okay? And we'll only think about us. You and me."

She tilted her chin up and chuckled low. "We're so fucking crazy. Jumping in a plane the next day you asked me to be your wife to get married. Who does that? Crazy people!"

"Then I must be extra insane because I sincerely believe this is our best idea yet!" I laughed. "In this lifetime!"

She frowned and tried to stop a chuckle from escaping her lips. "Who are you and what have you done with my best friend? The most organized and less impulsive person I know?"

"I guess he learned how to be from the most spontaneous and messiest person he knows."

"You're about to marry that person, remember? Think you can handle it for the rest of your life?"

I brought my finger and pressed it on the tip of her nose, making her giggle a bit. "I know I can. I want it."

Slowly, I moved my head closer to hers but instead to kiss her, I rubbed my nose gently against hers, making her smile grow into a fond one. "Come on, petal. Let's get married."

                                                            ---

The sky was dark, which was surprising, since I thought it was mostly sunny in Las Vegas. I glanced up and noticed a few clouds but I just grabbed Liv's hand and pulled her with me. We jumped in a cab and I checked my watch, making me realize that we wouldn't be late and it made me smile. Her dress was simple but white and with my black suit, I knew no one could doubt where we were actually going. The ride was short and when we got out, we both remained motionless and looked up at the sky who had turned a dark shade of purple.

"Can we be unlucky to the point where it'll actually rain in Vegas for our wedding?" she asked with a chuckle. "That's my legendary luck!"

"Well, they say 'for better or worse'..."

She laughed a bit but squeezed my fingers tighter. "That's what they say."

"Are you sure you didn't want to do that in the desert? Or with an helicopter ride, or something bigger like that?"

We stared at the chapel for a few more minutes and she finally sighed, making me turn around. She was smiling wide and it made me grin too. "This is exactly what I want." Her smile faltered and her lips parted suddenly, making my heart jump in my chest. "Shit, we forgot the flowers. And the witnesses."

"Oh." It took me a few seconds to move but my eyes fell on an old couple in their 60's that were walking close to us and when I stood in front of them, they looked a bit surprised. "I'm sorry, my girlfriend and I are about to get married... We totally forgot we needed witnesses.." I shook my head and sent them puppy eyes. "Could I ask for a few minutes of your time? I can pay, if needed."

They looked at each other and laughed a bit before looking at me again. "We just renewed our vows." the man let out, glancing behind me, probably at Olivia. "It'll be our pleasure."

I sent them the biggest smile I could and shook my head slightly. "I can't thank you enough!"

Quickly, I turned to my girlfriend and grabbed her hands in mine. Maybe we were going to be late, after all. "Give me five minutes, okay?"

She nodded with a frown and I started running, stopping nearby a man who was selling roses. I couldn't believe my luck and looked up at the sky again, telling myself that maybe it was not going to rain at all. I searched through my pockets and traded a good amount of money for too many flowers and ran back to the chapel, where Olivia was in deep conversation with our witnesses.

"That's amazing." I could hear emotions in her voice and I stopped next to her, my eyes roaming on the side of her face. "I hope we can stay married that long, too."

"Of course we will. I'm saying 'I do' for a lifetime, you're stuck with me!"

She laughed and turned to me, shaking her head slightly before getting on her tiptoes and cupping my cheeks. Her lips found mine and I smiled against her mouth.

"I'm supposed to kiss you after the vows, my love." I whispered, feeling my lips brush against hers. "Ready?"

She moved slightly away and I stared at her. I couldn't believe how much she glowed. I had noticed that she did glow more than ever on that day I saw her at the bakery. It was selfish of me, but today, I knew she was glowing partly because of me, and it made something stir in my stomach. I was happy because of her, and I wanted to bring the same kind of feelings to her than the ones she brought me. Looking into her eyes made me realize that I did and I licked my lips. Perhaps, the way she was glowing was reflecting on me.

"I've been ready for over two decades." she giggled and tilted her head. "You bet i'm ready!"

                                                       ---

OLIVIA

We had a hard time choosing between being married by Elvis, or by an alien, and in the end, we opted for a simple officiant. I tried to listen to his words, but the way Niall was running his thumbs on the top of my hands as he held them made something stir in my stomach. I stared at him as he stood in front of me, and I couldn't help but tell myself over and over again how lucky I was. It was meant to be, I knew it now, but there were times in my life I had lost almost all hope. The dark times were in the past, though, and I wanted to focus on the future. I wanted to enjoy every single second I spent with Niall because I felt blessed in a way I felt I maybe didn't deserve.

"...until death do you part?"

I blinked a few times and noticed Niall's lips curl as he kept staring at me. "I do."

I filled my lungs and held my breath as I let my eyes roam on him. I suddenly became very emotional at the sound of those two simple words. Somehow, I knew he was aware of everything it implied, even if this whole ceremony seemed frivolous and a simple spur of the moment.

I blinked a few times and licked my lips when Niall raised his eyebrows. "I do." I just ket out in a low and soft tone. His face illuminated and his lips cuirled more before he squeezed my fingers tighter. I hadn't listened to the officiant's words, too lost in my boyfriend's eyes, but it didn't matter because no matter what he was asking me to promise, I was ready for it. I was ready to do anything to make this work, and make him happy.

"Oh, oh yea." Niall muttered, letting go of one of my hands to reach in his pocket. "I give you this ring as a symbol or my love and commitment." I bit my bottom lips as I stared at his fingers and I could swear he was nervous. He slid it on my finger, over the other one, and breathed in. "I'll love you forever, beyond this life. You're the only one."

My lips curled and I swallowed hard, trying to keep my tears in. I took the ring I had for him and put on his finger too, licking my lips. "I give you this ring just like I gave you my heart and all my love." I whispered, taking a short pause. "I've always been yours, and I promise that I'll always be."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." I heard before swallowing again.

I let out a short and nervous laugh and moved closer to him. Just like when we kissed for the very first time, Niall's hands reached for my face, his fingers spread on my cheeks, jaw and a part of my neck. His lips found mine just as avidly as it had in that bar, after singing a song to me, and it brought me back to that day as a bunch of other memories invaded my brain. I thought that first kiss was incredible, and I remember when I kissed him again after over a year, back at my place. That time too, felt amazing. But today was different. The kiss we shared was full of promises and a future actually emanated from it. It was cheesy, and perhaps a bit silly, but it didn't matter if all this romantic jazz seemed to be coming straight out of a movie. It was my reality, and I wouldn't have wanted it otherwise.

I don't know how long we kissed but when his grip loosened, I heard a few 'woohoo's!' and 'congrats!' coming from our witnesses. Niall grabbed my hand and I bite my bottom lip, a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. We thanked the couple and shook their hands before walking towards the exit.

"You've got all the papers and stuff?" I asked, glancing at him.

"Mmhm, I do my love."

"Then, what are we waiting for?"

I turned to him and our lips curled at the same time. I let out a chuckle and he did too before we held each other's hand even tighter. Almost at the same time, we started running, pushing on the doors only to meet the lights of the town and I quickly looked up as I heard the sky growl.

"Shit, is that thunder?"

As if someone up there had heard my question, it started raining and I closed my eyes, feeling drops falling gently on my face. I shivered and Niall pulled on my hand as we started running again.

"Come on!"

I followed him, making our way through the cars and the people walking around. We looked a bit ridiculous in our wedding suits and dress, and I gripped his hand even tighter, realizing I left the flowers in the chapel. We were still laughing when we hopped in a taxi and I ran my hand in my face, knowing my make up was totally ruined.

"What are the chances of rain, in Vegas, in december?" Niall laughed, shaking his head. "Less than 5 percent i'm sure!" He turned to me and his smile faltered a bit. "Hey, you're cold?"

I shivered and nodded slowly before he made a quick head movement, inciting me to come closer. I did as he asked but quivered again in his arms. Despite the fact that he was warmer than me, his clothes were drenched too and it didn't really help but I didn't move, just enjoying the fact that we were cuddling.

We didn't talk on the drive back to the hotel, and we kept quiet in the elevator, too. It's only when the door of our suite closed behind us that he turned to me and smiled.

"We fuckin' did it." he just let out, shaking his head with a smile. "We got married. You're my wife."

I stared at him as a bunch of emotions invaded me. It was a mix of relief, happiness, excitement and love. I looked in the eyes of the man I wanted to spend my life with, knowing that I actually had just promised to love him forever, and it was not scary at all. It was pretty much the opposite of scary. I felt safe in a way I never did before.

"You're so beautiful." he let out in a low tone, taking a step closer and shaking his head slightly. "I'm in love with you."

I knew it was a lie. My make up was ruined, and my mascara was probably making big dark spots under my eyes, perhaps it was even sliding down my cheeks. My dress was soaked and so was my hair. All I cared about was the fact that my husband thought I was beautiful.

"If you think that right now, imagine when I put a little effort."

His lips curled a bit more but he just licked his lips. His suit was wet too and my eyes dropped to his chest. I moved my hands up and pushed on his jacket as it fell down on the carpet.

"Did we just get married?" I added as my whole body started throbbing.

"Fuck yea we did, petal."

"You're not gonna regret this tomorrow?" I asked again, raising my eyebrows.

"Not tomorrow. Not in a month, not in fifty years." he whispered, looking down at me as I unbuttoned his shirt slowly. "This was meant to be. Written in the stars, as you'd say."

I pressed my lips together, loosening his tie, and pushed his shirt away as it fell on the floor too. I pulled on his tie gently and he smiled, bending down until our mouths pressed together.

"You know what's next?" he asked, his lips brushing against mine.

"You're gonna fuck me into oblivion?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "No, I'm gonna make love to my wife. And I swear you're never going to forget it." he explained, kissing me gently again. "And then, I'll fuck you. All night. Until we both pass out."

I didn't say anything but smiled more and he wrapped his arms around me to reach for the zipper of my dress, sliding it down very slowly. He moved my dress over my shoulders and I shivered a bit, realizing that my skin was wet too, and when he got down one of knee to pull on my dress, I smiled more. He moved back up, letting his fingertips run on my legs and thighs softly as I stood in front of him only in my underwear. I started working on his pants and tilted my head, blinking a few times.

"I'm so in love with you." I admitted, moving closer and running my hands on his ass gently, pushing his pants down. "I'll never be able to explain properly how I feel. It's killing me."

"You don't have to explain. I know. Because I feel the same." he whispered.

It was hard to believe but I just swallowed, trying to keep my tears in. Was it even possible that he loved me just as deeply as I loved him? Two years ago, I would have said no, but right now, after we just got married and seeing the way he was looking at me, I allowed myself to believe it.

He placed his hands on my waist and turned us around, pushing me backwards to the bed. Instead to throw me on it the way he normally does, I just lied down slowly and when he got on his knees between my legs, I let out a short chuckle.

"There are... mirrors up there."

Quickly, he tilted his chin and I felt my heart twist in my chest when his lips curled. Fuck, he was too pretty for words, shirtless and in simple white boxers, his tie still hanging loosely from his neck. I reached for it and pulled on it, making him fall on top of me. He laughed but held himself with his hands on each side of my face and I smiled more.

"It's perfect." I added with a smirk. "That was I can look at your ass while you make love to me."

"Mm, alright. but later we're gonna have to try other positions so I can be the one looking at you." He chuckled, brushing his lips up and down on mine.

"Deal."

He moved closer again, his lips sucking on my upper one before kissing me deeply. I whimpered in his mouth and he finally brought his kisses down my neck and to my breasts. I felt one of his hands travelling on my waist and pulling down the side of my panties. I moved my butt up to help him and when he was back on top of me, I quickly pushing on his boxers, glancing up at the ceiling and smiling when I saw his ass reflect in the mirror.

"Oh it's funny?" he asked, moving away to look in my eyes, a big smile on his lips.

"Very. I think we should buy mirrors for our room at home, too."

"Great minds, pet. I was thinking the same thing."

I giggled but he kissed me again and I pulled more on his boxers. He squirmed a bit and the only piece of clothing that was left was the tie around his neck. I spread my legs more and his lips moved to my ear as he sucked on it gently. It took him about a minute but he finally pushed himself inside me, making my eyes flutter and my lips part.

"Mm, I can't believe I'm inside my wife right now."

I chuckled but immediately let out an other whimper as he ground against me. The whole thing seemed to crazy yet so obvious at the same time. The thought of us making love and being married was incredibly exciting and it made me emotional. He started moving in and out of me so slowly that I felt my eyes flutter and roll back every time he was balls deep inside me.

"I'm so close already, how do you do that?"

I knew it was a mix of love and lust that made us so horny for each other, and I loved it. He kissed my bottom lip and part of my chin gently as I moaned and arched my back.

"I love you, I love you so much." I let out a bit louder than intended.

"I love you too, I'm so happy to be your husband."

It was the first time he pronounced that word and for some reason, the thought was so good it made me reach my peek immediately. I started shaking beneath him and to suppress my moans, he pressed his lips against mine.

"You feel amazing, oh my god!"

He shut his eyes tight as he reached an orgasm and watching him cum made me feel dizzy suddenly. He pushed himself as deep as he could and stopped moving for a while, groaning near my ear and making my lips part. When he became limp on top of me again, I started running my fingertips on his back and down to his butt. He leaned his forehead against mine and kissed my nose gently before I finally opened my eyes.

"Ten minutes. Ten fucking minutes. And it's a miracle I lasted that long." he laughed.

"I barely lasted five, you're good!" I admitted with a laugh, making him smile more.

He looked down at me and I could swear his eyes were sparkling. This was perfect. It was everything I had ever hoped for. It was everything I had ever wanted.

"Now sit down." I proposed, raising my eyebrows. "Let me ride you." I shrugged. "Unless you're not ready for round two?"

"Oh you know me, petal. I'm always ready."

[inthedayswhenlandswerefew]

Eccentricity [Chapter 6: You Know You Got Me In The Palm Of Your Hand]

Series Summary: Joe Mazzello is a nice guy with a weird family. A VERY weird family. They have a secret, and you have a choice to make. Potentially a better love story than Twilight.

Chapter Title Is A Lyric From: Mean It by Lauv.

Chapter Warnings: Language, references to sex and violence, slavery in American history.

Other Chapters (And All My Writing) Available: HERE

Tagging: @queen-turtle-boiii​​​​​ @bramblesforbreakfast​​​​​​ @writerxinthedark​​ @maggieroseevans​​​​​​ @culturefiendtrashqueen​​​​​​ @imnotvibingveryguccimrstark​​​​​​ @escabell​​​​​​ @im-an-adult-ish​​​​​​ @someforeigntragedy​​​​​​ @imtheinvisiblequeen​​​​​​​​​​ @deacyblues​​​​​​ ​ @tensecondvacation​​​​​​​ @brianssixpence​​​​​​ @seven-seas-of-ham-on-rhye​​ @some-major-ishues​​ @haileymorelikestupid​​ @loveandbeloved29​​

Please yell at me if I forget to tag you! 💜

What The Fuck, Washington Animals Are Weird

I woke up in a bedroom drenched in a rainbow of darkness, shades of grey vacillating from charcoal to the wings of a mourning dove; indolent dawn rain pattered against the window. There were no glaring veins of sunlight spilling in through gaps in the curtains, no promise of dry invigorating heat, no whistle of vicious parched wind. Toto, we’re not in Phoenix anymore.

“Ugh,” I complained to the empty room, unraveling from a tangle of blankets patterned with cacti and pure white clouds and rust-orange suns.

I clicked off my iPhone alarm—I’d beaten it by two minutes; my circadian rhythm was finally conceding that this whole Pacific Time thing was permanent—and read my nine new texts from Joe.

3:12 a.m.: Hey it’s an emergency what’s the plural of octopus

3:13 a.m.: Rami is insisting that it is octopuses

3:14 a.m.: But it’s octopi, right? Right?? I just announced in front of everyone that it’s octopi

3:15 a.m.: Scarlett is verbally abusing me

3:18 a.m.: Oh you are probably asleep

3:21 a.m.: Update, according to the internet Rami is right and now I have to assume a new identity and move to Antarctica

3:25 a.m.: We can discuss logistics of the Antarctica relocation tomorrow

3:26 a.m.: Hope you like penguins

3:30 a.m.: Okay goodnight!! Don’t let the mythical creatures bite!!

“That man,” I murmured to myself, smiling.

I typed out: It’s definitely octopuses, you clown. Then I deleted ‘clown’ and replaced it with its Italian equivalent: pagliaccio. Text sent.

Joe responded almost instantly. I had to ask Lucy what pagliaccio meant and now she’s verbally abusing me too. Send help. See you at lunch. xx

Wait, two Xs? What did Xs mean?? Kisses???

Did Joseph Francis Mazzello, sexy undead Italian man, just send me multiple text kisses?

“You’re gonna give me an aneurism, Chicago boy,” I muttered at my phone as I slid it into the pocket of my flannel pajama pants. And then I glanced out the bedroom window into a tussle of rain and thick, caliginous fog.

Just a few feet beyond the misted glass, its leathery talons hooked around a branch of Charlie’s decades-old red alder tree, was an owl. But not just any owl. A hulking, spotlessly white owl.

“Oh, hey, you,” I whispered, leaning closer, pressing my palms against the cold window. My hands left transparent imprints in the condensation. “Hey, buddy. Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping? I sure wish I was. Did something wake you up? Did your idiot vampire boyfriend disturb you with a series of ridiculous texts?”

The owl just contemplated me with unnervingly vast, slick, engrossed eyes. And there was something else, too: those eyes were blood red.

“So you’re an albino owl, huh big guy? Good for you. You know, usually albino animals don’t last all that long in the wild. Because they’re really easy for predators and prey to spot. Or they get skin cancer. So congratulations on living to become the voluptuous, tremendously creepy creature that you are today. Job well done.”

The owl stared back at me unflinchingly, blinked, then resumed staring. Rainwater gathered in swelling beads like blood drops on its ivory-colored beak and talons.

“Well,” I noted, turning away and grabbing my shower towel off the back of the desk chair. “You don’t get that in Arizona.”

Thirty minutes later, I was bounding down the stairs two at a time to meet Charlie in the kitchen. He was browsing through his daily newspaper at the table, drinking coffee and nibbling messily on burnt triangles of toast. Crumbs littered his moustache.

“You didn’t tell me that living here came with the added benefit of freaky albino animal friends.”

Charlie crinkled his forehead at me. “Huh?”

“How was bowling with the dads last night?”

“Oh, awesome!” he exclaimed, folding up his newspaper and slapping it down on the table. “We bowled against the team from Mora and it came right down to the wire, but we caught them. Dr. Lee got a strike on his very last turn. He always seems to do that...he’ll be bowling hit or miss all night and then when it really matters he manages to pull a strike out of nowhere. He’s a beast.”

“He’s a pretty remarkable guy,” I agreed, rummaging through the cabinets for Pop-Tarts.

“He mentioned that you and his son were really hitting it off,” Charlie said, grinning. “Not the ragey blond one. The spindly annoying one. What’s his name again? Josh? Jimmy?”

“Joe.” I conjured up my best poker face of lofty indifference. It crumbled like a sandcastle beneath reckless, rushing footsteps.

“Ohhhh, I saw that!” Charlie said, pointing, delighted. “Check out that smile. My gorgeous, brilliant progeny has a crush. I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t be single for long up here. Alright, I’m ready. Bring on the grandchildren.”

“Shut up,” I pleaded good-naturedly.

“Relax, I have great news. According to Gwil, that Joe kid is pretty wild about you too.”

“Oh, is that what you old guys do between bowling turns? Betray your children’s deepest confidences? Matchmake them over nachos and chili cheese dogs?” Still, my curiosity was piqued. “What else did Dr. Lee say about Joe?”

“I think the exact word he used was...” Charlie reminisced, sipping his coffee, curls of steam pouring over the rim of the mug. “Smitten.”

Supernatural Pictionary

I turned the notebook to Joe so he could see; everyone else momentarily covered their eyes or looked away. Then Lucy started the timer on her iPhone. Thirty seconds.

“Go!” Lucy announced.

“I think it’s a boat,” Rami said, hesitantly, haltingly, squinting at Joe with great concentration.

“Do you?” Joe teased.

“Yeah. But I’m also getting something about a fish.”

“Maybe I’m trying to make you think it’s a fish because it’s actually a boat,” Joe replied flippantly.

Rami muttered: “Or you want me to think it’s a boat because it’s actually a fish.”

“Interesting.”

“Now you’re mentally singing Never Gonna Give You Up just to fuck with me.”

Joe gasped, pressing a palm to his chest. “That doesn’t sound like something I would do!”

Scarlett snickered, dunking her chicken tender in honey mustard, slurping Coke through a straw clenched between crimson-painted lips. “That sounds exactly like something you would do.”

“Fifteen seconds,” Lucy warned.

“Fish or boat, boat or fish...” Rami chanted, peering fixedly at Joe.

“Make a decision,” I taunted, hugging the notebook to my chest.

“I’m going with boat,” Rami decided.

“Final answer?” Lucy asked, then stopped the timer when Rami nodded.

“Loser!” Joe cackled victoriously, leaping out of his chair, waving his L-shaped fingers in the air. Calawah University students at nearby tables glanced over with wide, startled eyes, their beloved chicken tenders briefly forgotten. “How’s it feel to not win every round of a game, huh?! Loser!”

I flipped my notebook so Rami could see the extremely unskilled pencil sketch I’d drawn there: a smiling fish. “My condolences.”

“Damn.” Rami pulled a ten-dollar bill out of his wallet and slid it across the table to Joe. Joe snatched it up, tucked it into the waistline of his jeans like a stripper collecting money in her G-string, and slung his arm around my shoulders.

“We are the champions. Bask in our glory.”

Scarlett turned on her iPhone flashlight and waved it in slow arcs over her head. “Youuuuu are the champions, my friendssssss...”

From my usual lunch table, Jessica gazed at my esteemed place among the Lees with palpable envy, resting her chin in her hands. I had worked out a schedule that seemed fairly obvious given my extensive experience as a child of divorce: lunch with Jessica et al. one day, lunch with the Lees the next. I took a bite of the Chipotle veggie bowl that Joe had insisted on ordering for me and tossed Jessica a sympathetic wave. Get Ben’s Snapchat for me! she mouthed back. I harbored serious doubts that Benjamin August Hardy, former professional assassin, born in 1893, had a Snapchat.

Joe’s words from last week rolled around in my head; I could see him all over again, nodding to the enormous painting hung in Gwil’s upstairs office, telling me about those startling, ethereal figures who had initiated Ben into life as a vampire. They call themselves the Draghi. They collect dues from covens, offer protection, keep order, protect our secrets. But they also demand loyalty. They force people they want into service. They might try to make it seem like you have a choice, but you don’t. They destroy anyone who tries to resist them. And they feed on humans.

“This is so awesome,” Lucy sighed, elated. “We could never play Pictionary before, drawing something is way too much of a mental process, Rami always figured it out right away...”

But now they had a built-in blindfold, someone who could draw without Rami getting a peek into their thoughts, a fighting chance at hiding the truth from him...for thirty seconds, at least.

“Okay Benny Boy, you’re up.” Joe darted over to Ben’s side of the table and massaged his tense, muscular shoulders as Ben grimaced. “You got this. I believe in you. Baby Swan is gonna pitch you a home run.”

“I’ll pass,” Ben said.

“You can’t!” Lucy cried. “Ben, please? Rami got Scarlett’s, and then he didn’t get Joe’s...and I know he’s going to see though me immediately. You’re our only chance to tie things up and maybe beat him!”

“Traitor,” Rami told Lucy affectionately.

“Uhh...” Ben hesitated, glimpsing longingly at the doors that led outside to the grove of bigleaf maple trees. He was fidgeting restlessly with his vape pen.

“Come on, Benny!” Joe begged. “I’ll owe you. I’ll do anything.”

Ben perked up a little bit. “You’ll do my Calc 2 homework for a month?”

Joe groaned theatrically, but nodded. He was wearing a grey U Chicago hoodie today. “Fine. Okay. But you’re gonna have to learn that shit eventually, I can’t take the MCAT for you.”

“Deal.” Ben bumped his knuckles against Joe’s.

“Batter up,” Joe heralded in his best mock-umpire voice, grinning at me expectantly, drumming the table with his palms. “Go Baby Swan, go! What will she choose? Will she continue with the nautical theme? Will she change it up, maybe switch to beloved Chicago landmarks? Baseball or food? Will she invent a variety of pizza even more despicable than pineapple?”

“Hm.” I flipped to a fresh notebook page, scratched my temple with the eraser end of the pencil, then quickly sketched a picture for Ben. “Okay, I’m ready.” I showed the drawing to Ben while everyone else covered their eyes.

Ben shook his head, scowling. “You’ll have to try again. I have no idea what that is.”

“Really?!” I checked the picture again. Okay, it definitely didn’t belong in the Louvre or anything, but it was lifelike enough to be decipherable. “You don’t recognize it? At all?”

“No,” Ben replied flatly.

From behind his shielded eyes, Rami scanned through the images in Ben’s mind. He dropped his hands onto the table. “SpongeBob?!”

“Who...?” Ben ventured.

Everyone else looked too. “Oh yeah, that’s definitely SpongeBob,” Joe said, then chuckled. “Aww, Baby Swan, you even remembered his little necktie!”

“It’s so cute!” Lucy trilled.

Ben just stared at the picture, blinking, completely lost, increasingly morose. And now there was a new guest at the table; or maybe not a new one, maybe just a quiet one, something that perched on the ledge of every conversation and field of vision just waiting to tap its claws against the wall and make its presence known: that interminable reminder of Ben’s unconventional past life, of how incomparable his vampiric upbringing was to those of the rest of the Lee kids.

“Benny Boy, you’ve never seen SpongeBob?” Joe inquired gently. “No problem. We’ll have a marathon tonight. I have the entire series on DVD. Also several Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy action figures.”

Scarlett snorted. “This is why you’ve been single since Hoover was president.”

“I wasn’t single the whole time,” Joe corrected.

“Oh, really?” Not that I’m interested, my voice suggested. I was a total liar. I was super interested. Thank the great deity that Rami and Ben couldn’t read me like a restaurant menu. Today’s specials are Being In Love With Someone Wildly Inappropriate for $15.99, and also Lamenting My Own Lack Of Sexual Experience for $11.99. Oh, and clam chowder.

“He had a couple of...what would you call them?” Scarlett combed her elegant fingers through her voluminous blonde hair. “What’s the modern vernacular? Fuck buddies? Booty calls? Netflix and chill partners?”

My stomach lurched; I nonchalantly buried my fork in a mountain of guacamole and left it there. I kept my lips turned up into a smile like a mask. Of course he’s loved other people. Duh. He’s hot and immortal. Get over it. But that didn’t calm my pounding heartbeat at all, didn’t soothe that sudden and irrational melancholy.

“Whoa whoa whoa, okay, you’re making it sound way worse than it was,” Joe protested, glancing at me nervously.

Scarlett continued: “It wasn’t serious, whatever it was. None of them would have cared about your action figure collection or obsession with a city you haven’t lived in for fifty years. It wasn’t your personality they wanted. Thank god.”

Oh this is bad, I thought helplessly. How am I ever going to be able to compete with the memory of countless gorgeous vampire girlfriends?

“Uh, ScarJo, you’re single too.” And Joe’s nickname for her was strangely apt; Scarlett could pass for Scarlett Johansson’s younger, blonder, much hotter sister. And Scarlett Johansson, in case you’re somehow unaware, is already pretty fucking hot.

Scarlett flashed a grin. “Entirely by choice.”

“And much to Mercy’s eternal and profound concern,” Lucy told me. “She stages an intervention at least twice a month. Did I overhear one last week, Scarlett?”

“Oh jesus, yeah. I was like, ‘Mom, what the hell do I need a husband for? I have my own money. I can fix household appliances. I have a vibrator. I’m good to go.’”

Joe rocked back in his chair, howling. “You did not tell Mom that!”

“I did. She was so distraught. She just kind of pinched her eyes shut and shuddered and then went out back to feed the alpacas.”

“Scarlett, babe,” Rami managed between gales of laughter. “A vibrator isn’t going to keep you company for all of eternity. It’s not a suitable substitute for a life partner.”

“You’re right. It’s even better. It’ll never abandon or disappoint me. Assuming I keep the batteries fresh, of course.”

“Oh my god,” Lucy giggled into her hands.

“She’s not wrong,” I said, shrugging, sipping my Diet Coke.  

And Joe peered over at me, surprised, intrigued, slowly raising his thin dark eyebrows. I winked back. Yeah, okay, I’ve never slept with someone. But that doesn’t mean I’ve never had an orgasm.

“Ah, loud thoughts! Loud thoughts! Joe, please!” Rami moaned, pressing his balled fists to his forehead.

Ben smirked. “There’s a color I’ve never seen from you before, Joe.”

“This family is the worst!” Joe exploded.

“I like that girl,” Scarlett decided, signaling to me with glossy maroon fingernails. “She can stay.”

Joe sighed, flustered, then shook it off as he turned to me. “You coming over tonight?”

“I can’t spend every night at your house petting alpacas, mob guy.”

“Yeah?” he asked, smiling, draping his arm around the back of my chair. “Why not?”

“Well, my tonight-specific reason is that I’m visiting a friend.”

“Cool. Your friends are my friends. Can I visit too?”

“You’re aware that you’re a legit stalker, right?” But actually, Archer was dying to meet Joe: the loud Lee, the approachable Lee, the Lee who I definitely liked more than a Tinder swipe could ever convey. This could work. “Offer to buy dinner and you can come.”

“I’m a walking Visa, baby.”

Ben stood, hauled on his backpack, gathered up his trash to throw away. “I need a smoke break before Chem. See you guys later.”

“Don’t forget!” Joe called after him. “SpongeBob marathon starts at 8! I’ll bring the Milk Duds!”

And when Ben disappeared through the doors, a solemn hush descended over the table.

“Poor guy,” Lucy said softly. The other Lees nodded.

And again, I recalled what Joe had told me in Gwil’s office, what he had said when I asked how Ben came to join the Lee family. He was assigned to us, to be the liaison to our coven. And Gwil saw something in him. Potential, suffering, unrealized decency, I don’t know. But Gwil worked on him for years, trying to convince Ben to leave the Draghi when his contract was up and come live with us. To give a peaceful life a try. And to be honest, Ben never seemed interested. But something must have resonated with him, because we opened the front door on October 15th, 2016 and he was sitting on the steps of our porch with a single suitcase, puffing on that fucking vape pen and watching the storm clouds roll in off the Pacific Ocean.

But why would they just let him leave? I had asked, tracing my fingertips over the uncanny and magnificent faces in that painting. Why would they let him live?

Because they know how valuable he is. And because they think they can get him back.

“I think he’s a good person,” I said, breaking the silence. “You know. Underneath the whole being raised to be a killing machine thing.”

“Yeah,” Rami replied, frowning thoughtfully. “Just try not to spend too much time alone with him.”

Car Jacks And Sneak Attacks

“Joe, this is Archer James Foxchild, my first-ever best friend.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!” Joe said, shaking Archer’s oil-stained hand. “I understand you are really good at making mud pies and poking dead animals with sticks.”

Archer chuckled. “It’s true. We found a shark tooth down at La Push one time and I convinced Baby Swan here that it was from a sea monster. She had nightmares for months. Charlie called my dad over it and I got my Game Boy taken away.”

“No!” Joe gasped in horror. “Were you a Pokémon guy?”

“For sure.”

“Ruby or Sapphire?”

“Emerald.”

Joe grinned. “This dude knows what’s up.”

“And to think, my grandpa tried to tell me that you guys were freaks,” Archer replied.

“Well,” Joe conceded. “Not all of us.”  

“Maybe you two should start dating,” I said. “Don’t mind me. I’ll just sit in my Honda and eat my Taco Bell cheese quesadillas and Cinnamon Twists and try not to interrupt all the sex.”

“Yes, you brought Taco Bell,” Archer sighed euphorically. “Give me five minutes, I just gotta finish rotating these tires real quick.” He jogged to the other end of the garage, knelt beside a Ford Mustang that was propped up on a jack, and starting twisting off lug nuts with a tire iron.

“You have a nice place here,” Joe observed, strolling around the small garage with his hands in the front pocket of his U Chicago hoodie, eyeing the fractures in the concrete floor and the spidering cracks in the windows. “You have any investors?”

“Are you kidding?!” Archer replied from the Mustang. “No, man, it’s just me. I rent for now, but at some point I’ll buy my own shop. Once I’ve saved up enough. A great big one with shiny new equipment and no mice squeaking behind the walls.”

“What’s your cash flow like?”

“I’m netting around three grand a month after taxes.”

“Not bad!” Joe noted admiringly.

“Yeah. It’s a hustle, but I love it.”

“Hey, I don’t know if you’d be interested—and absolutely no pressure if you’re not, really—but I do a lot of work with start-ups and I’d love to help you get into your own shop. By this Christmas, preferably. If we can work out a deal.”

“Really?!” Archer peeked incredulously over the hood of the Mustang.

“Absolutely.”

Archer beamed at me. “This guy is willing to drop serious cash to look good in front of you. You should probably marry him. No prenup though.”

I held my pinky out towards Joe, grinning. “No more sad prenups.”

He laughed and hooked my pinky with his. “Bankrupt me, bitch.”

I heard the metallic clang of a lug nut hitting the concrete floor and rolling under the Mustang. “Come back here, you bastard,” Archer muttered, then dropped to his stomach and crawled beneath the car.

“Hey, kid, be careful,” I fretted, crossing my arms across my chest and taking a step closer.

“Relax, Baby Swan, I am a professional, changing a tire for me is like feeding a fish for you, so just chill and keep fantasizing about those Cinnamon Twists—”

There was a squeal of metal as the car jack collapsed and the Mustang came crashing down. In a fraction of a second—faster than I could see him moving, faster than I could loose a scream—Joe had soared across the garage, yanked Archer out from beneath the falling Mustang, and dragged him to the center of the room.

“Oh fuck,” Archer wheezed, his dark eyes huge and fascinated and horrified. “Grandpa was right.”

I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)

We rolled up to the Lee house in my 1999 Honda Accord just as I polished off the last of my Cinnamon Twists and Archer chewed, tentatively and dazedly, on a Cheesy Gordita Crunch. The sun was beginning to set in a clouded sky that perpetually threatened rain.

He asked Joe for the fifth time from the back seat: “But wait, seriously, no one is going to eat me, right? Because I’m too young to die. I haven’t taken enough vacations yet. I can’t die without seeing Hawaii. I want to swim with the sea turtles.”

“No, none of us have ever eaten people. Well, almost none of us. Maybe stay away from Ben.”

“I would like a little more exposition,” Archer replied, blanching.

“Hey, if you stay until 8, you guys can join us for the SpongeBob marathon!”

Gwil and Mercy were waiting on the front porch, thanks to Joe’s ‘hey I accidentally exposed myself as a paranormal being and now we have a new friend, plz don’t be mad okay love you see you soon!1!!’ text.

“Welcome, sweetheart!” Mercy fussed, enfolding Archer into her arms as soon as he stepped out of the Honda. “Would you like some hummingbird cake? I just baked it this morning. And maybe some sweet tea too. And some peanut butter cookies. And banana pudding.”

“Sure,” he responded, bewildered. This lady does not seem like a bloodsucking demon, that voice said. And he was absolutely right.

“I’ll fix you up a tray,” Mercy promised, and hurried into the house.

“We’re so very happy to have you, Mr. Foxchild.” Gwil shook Archer’s hand firmly. “We don’t get many visitors around here. I’m sure you understand why.”

“My grandpa always insisted that there was something off about you guys. Especially you, Dr. Lee. Said you shouldn’t still be around.”

“Yes, I imagine that would have been disconcerting for him. He must have remembered us from the 1940s...that’s the last time we settled down in Forks. It’s not often that someone recognizes us after so long, but it happens. It was just Mercy and me and Rami and Joe back then. And look how far we’ve come.” Gwil beamed warmly, then turned to Joe. “But really, son, you’re going to have to stop telling humans about us.”

“Hold up, I was not responsible for her!” Joe exclaimed, waving at me. “Take it up with Ben!”

The garage door rumbled open and Scarlett sauntered out, wiping her filthy hands with a rag. She halted abruptly, stood there in her high-waisted vintage jeans and black crop top and bare feet with maroon-colored toenails, tilted her head and pondered Archer with an innocent sort of curiosity that I hadn’t seen from her before.

“Wait,” Archer said, gaping. “Is that...is that an Aston Martin Vantage in there?!”

“You bet,” Scarlett replied. “You want to learn how to work on it?”

“Uh, hell to the yeah!” He trotted over and they vanished into the garage together.

“Huh,” Joe muttered, watching them. “She was nice to him. Very weird.” He whirled back to me. “Anyway, come on. I promised you an education in classic rock music. And I shall deliver.”

Joe’s bedroom was a chaotic jumble of economics textbooks and Chicago Cubs paraphernalia and U Chicago apparel and action figures and comic books and classic rock posters. There was a massive Italian flag tacked to the wall above his bed. But what caught my attention immediately was a life-sized cardboard cutout of Ben lurking in the corner by a bookshelf full of cassette tapes.

“How is there any possible logical explanation for that?” I asked, pointing.

“Oh, that! That was a joke. When Ben first showed up, he pretty much lived in his room and never came out. Gwil was worried. Mercy was heartbroken. So I made a cardboard cutout of him and would bring it to family activities and do this really deep and seductive Ben voice when I pretended to have conversations with him. It gave the whole situation some levity...and I think Ben secretly liked that we missed him enough to make an artificial version to fill the void.”

“So this bitchy, brooding, blood-craving Ben I met is actually a drastic improvement?”

“Oh, Baby Swan,” Joe confided, almost sadly. “You have no idea what he was like four years ago.”

“I’m glad he has you. All of you. That he has a chance to get better.”

“I think you might be good for him too. Seeing a human as a real person instead of a walking, talking Hi-C juice box. And you care about him, don’t you? Despite everything.”

“Of course. It’s not his fault they taught him to be a monster.”  

Joe just looked at me for a while, and then he cradled my face with one hand and grazed a thumb across my cheek “You’re never going to stop saying things that knock me into next week, are you?”

“Joe...” I hesitated, laying my hand over his. His skin was smooth and yielding yet strong, cool yet not unnaturally so. Refreshing. Safe. Fan-fucking-tastic. Oh noooooo. “Are we a thing?”

“Why? Do you want to be a thing?”

“Oh, uh, no, I was just wondering if we were.”

He stepped away, teasing me with a crooked smirk. “...So you don’t want to be a thing?”

“What would that entail?”

“Well...we’d be an official thing, you and me.” He shot finger guns at me, and then towards himself. “Which means you can’t be a thing with anyone else. And neither can I.”

“Ahhh, I see. So this thing is an exclusive thing.”

“Will you shut up and just admit that you’d totally be thrilled to be a thing with me?”

“Fine. Whatever. We’re a thing.”

“Nice.” He high-fived me.

“This is the most romantic moment of my life.”

“But wait, there’s more.” He went to the bookshelf, browsed through his cassette tape collection, found the one he wanted and popped it into a boombox that was probably older than I was. The frantic opening piano notes of I’d Do Anything For Love poured out.

“Meat Loaf,” I said in disbelief. “Really. This is the product of your superior taste in music. This is the culmination of over a century of musical experience. Meat Loaf.”

“The man is a genius!”

“This is all an elaborate joke about my vegetarianism, isn’t it?”

“No,” Joe mused. “But now that you mention it, I have yet another reason to force you to appreciate this song.” He took my hand in his, spun me around like a ballerina in a slow and careful circle, sang along—with extreme and dramatic enthusiasm—to the music.

“And I would do anything for love

I'd run right into hell and back

I would do anything for love

I'd never lie to you and that's a fact...”

“I don’t dance,” I cautioned him, laying a palm against his chest to catch my balance. That brisk, comforting scent of pine and snow and peppermint was everywhere. It feels like I can’t stand to be away from him. Like I’ll never get close enough. “I am terribly uncoordinated. I will step all over your feet. And I’m really not sure if I can trust you. You didn’t even know the plural form of octopus until like eighteen hours ago. You’re kind of a disaster. A, you know, uh, unexpectedly charming, unconventionally super cute, kind of bizarrely enchanting disaster.”

“Yeah,” Joe whispered, smiling, tilting up my chin, leaning in to kiss me. “I like you too.”

Cato

He came out of the oak trees like a ghost, pushing aside massive chandeliers of Spanish moss that blotted out the dusk sun, his expensive shoes sloshing in the marshy water that flooded the rice field. He was wearing a full suit, but no top hat; his hair was black and chin-length and wild around his face. And at first I thought he was a hallucination, a dream conjured by heat sickness or those first dreaded signs of malaria. He was unnervingly, uncommonly beautiful; beautiful like a hurricane, beautiful like lightning or an eclipse. But he was real. I straightened up as I watched him approach, my back aching in protest, a basket full of seedlings slung over my shoulder.

“Mr. Cato.”

His voice, clear and beckoning and twisted by an accent I’d never heard before, rang in my skull like church bells. He called me mister. This white man called me mister.

“Yes sir?” And I almost added: You want to be careful there, sir. The water moccasins like to hide among the tree roots, especially when the sun starts going down. But I had an inexplicable feeling that this man wasn’t afraid of things like snakes. Maybe the snakes should be afraid of him.

“Mr. Cato,” he said again, this time to himself, very quietly, tasting it.

I kept trying to look away, to disentangle my gaze from him like a hook out of a sturgeon’s mouth, because staring piercingly and astonished at a white man like that in the rice swamps of South Carolina in 1851 could get me beaten or the lash, could get my teeth pried right out of my jaw. But it didn’t seem to bother him. He grinned, hugely, all-knowingly, under prehistoric golden eyes like an alligator’s. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. And he was proud.

“Do you want to be free?” he asked, almost hissed, still grinning from the tree line.

What kind of question was that? Did a sandpiper want to fly? Did a coyote want dirt under its paws and flesh disappearing down its throat? But that wasn’t something you ever confessed aloud, not if you wanted your feet on the ground instead of swinging ten inches above it. But this man wasn’t a master, wasn’t an overseer. He wasn’t from the South. He didn’t carry a whip or a club to remind you of the rules of the world. He stood there tall and radiant in the shadows of the fading daylight like he was the one who wrote the rules to begin with; which meant that maybe he could change them. “Yes sir.”

“I can only take you,” the man warned. “No others. No family. No friends.”

“No trouble, sir,” I told him. “They sold my family. They hanged my friends.”

The man’s grin stretched wider under glinting eyes. His canine teeth were sharp, I realized: like a coyote’s, like a snake’s fangs. He held out his hand. “We are going to get along very well, you and I.”

I let the basket fall from my shoulder. I slogged through the mud and rows of wispy verdant rice plants to meet him in the shade of the oak trees. And there, for the first time in forever, a man with skin the color of bones looked me dead in the eye and shook my scarred hand.

“Welcome, Cato,” he whispered; and I was home.

He took my face in his cool palms, gingerly, reverently, like a lover. He touched his teeth to my throat. And every nerve ending in my body flooded with wildfire as he dragged me, screaming, into the depths of the forest.