#and it was in his stupid house. going into homes and alleyways reveals almost nothing but static setpieces.

[witchblade]

it's really really strange coming off dishonored 1 and experiencing karnaca as this insanely beautiful locale that feels completely dead and characterless. ive been trying to put into words how it feels and where the exact differences lie but im not sure yet

[fanmoose12]

catch me if you can

Сharacters: Hange Zoe, Levi, Erwin Smith, Kenny Ackerman

Genres: Mystery / Romance

Summary: The Ackerman duo. Just the mention of this name filled Hange with so many feelings. Mostly, when she reread the files of their cases over and over, until her eyes watered, she felt pricking annoyance. Sometimes, when she stared at the dead bodies of those scarce unfortunates who stumbled upon their crimes, she was filled with hatred and a pushing need for revenge. Hange couldn’t deny, however, there were times when she marveled at the impudence of their crimes. And, when she was investigating the Ackerman’s cases and saw just how meticulously planned they all were, she couldn’t help but feel something close to fascination.No one knew who they were. No one had seen their faces, no one knew their true names. Almost everyone knew of their crimes.Hange was determined to unravel every last one of their secrets. She will put an end to their crimes and then she will get the elusive Ackermans behind bars.

Chapter 6/?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

The sirens were still screeching, the bright lights of police cars still moving from one neighborhood to the other and Levi’s heart still drumming in his chest when Kenny had grabbed him, pushing him into the dark, empty alleyway.

“What the fuck was that?” he hissed, as he pressed Levi against the rough surface of a brick wall. Even with his mask still on, Kenny’s rage was perfectly visible, his eyes a burning fire.

If he wasn’t so out of it, if he could have shaken off the image of Hange, covered in blood, if he could have heard something rather than her pained scream, the hatred that was radiating from Kenny would have probably scared him.

But now it had a diametrically opposite effect.

“I should be the one asking you that,” Levi roughly threw Kenny’s hands off him. He was shaking, the adrenaline, frustration and fear he had experienced just half an hour ago making an utter mess out of him. He wanted, needed to get it all out of his system. And Kenny’s outrage could be the perfect remedy. “What the fuck were you thinking when you had pointed that gun? Did you want to kill a cop? Do you know what they would have done to us if you got one of their own?”

Kenny’s demeanor changed in a flash – his shoulders relaxed, his breathing slowed down. Patting Levi’s shoulder, he took a step back. With a low hum, Kenny threw away his mask, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

Lightening one up, he looked at Levi, revealing to him a narrow, foxy smirk. "You're so calm, Levi, so rational. Always know better than your uncle. But when I had that pointed that gun," he pressed a point finger to Levi's forehead, his palm imitating the pistol. "Were you just as rational? Because I swear – your eyes showed the exact opposite."

Levi held Kenny’s gaze steadily, refusing to be intimidated. "I was trying to get our asses out of here."

"Could have fooled me," Kenny chuckled, taking a drag of his cigarette and then blowing the smoke right in Levi's face. "I thought you were distracted by the pretty face of that cop," he looked Levi up and down, his smirk growing wider. His eyes filling with something darker.

"Need I to remind you," Levi waved his hand, getting rid of the smoke. "That we're in this mess only because you were distracted by a pretty face. Or you think that cops busting us was a coincidence?"

"No," Kenny lifted his head, releasing another ring of smoke into the air. The momentary silence was interrupted by return of the sirens. The police was getting closer. And that meant they had to run faster. "Traute will get what she deserves, don't you worry. And I hope, Levi," Kenny put his cigarette out, pressing it against the wall. He gave Levi a heavy, loaded look. "That you won't give me a reason to do the same to you."

***

Levi was a bad person. He held no other illusions regarding that matter.

Thief and liar, he wasn't blind or naive enough to pretend he was anything more.

If he was a good person, he'd surrender to police, confess his and Kenny's crimes and serve his time in prison.

If he was a mediocre person, he'd get on a first plane to somewhere far away and never show his face in this city again.

If he, at least, wasn't a complete piece of shit, he'd leave Hange alone and stop lying to her.

Alas..

Lying to her became surprisingly easy. And a sort of necessity too.

This is the last time, he told himself. The last time. I just need to make sure that Hange is alright.

Alas… Lying to himself was becoming surprisingly easy too.

***

Contacting Hange was even less difficult than he had expected to.

Her face was all over the news, the brave detective injured during a mission – there was no shortage of praise to her dedication and courage.

Something warmed in his chest at hearing these praises.

The feeling was almost enough to make him panic. It was one thing when his heart sped up in Hange’s presence. But now he was proud of her achievements as well? A sure sign that he was getting in too deep.

A sure sign that he had to leave.

The last time, he repeated, as he sent a text to Hange.

saw your sad face on tv. are you alright?

Turned out, it was everything he had to do to receive a photo of Hange, grinning at him from a hospital bed, along with an invitation to visit her.

Levi didn’t allow doubts to take hold of him. Before a logical part of him raised its voice and started screaming at him, he grabbed his jacket and left the house. Thankfully, Kenny was out, probably looking for ways to get his revenge.

Levi didn’t care enough to ask him where he was going. After their last fight, they didn’t talk at all. And Levi was more than okay with it. The lesser they interacted, the lesser chances were of them getting into another fight and possibly reaping each other’s heads off.

If Kenny was busy with getting even with Traute, Levi could take a moment to say a proper goodbye to Hange.

Then, he’d leave the city. For good this time.

***

The hospital – when Levi had entered it – was bustling with police officers.

At first, he almost bolted back home. There were too many of them, and the surge of panic he felt was almost too much.

What if Hange knew the truth about him? Her plan with Traute had failed, but what if she had tried to lure him out here? What if she set another – unescapable – trap for him?

But the police officers didn’t look intimidating. Almost all of them seemed tense – exhausted and worried. But no one had spared him another glance.

And when he told that he was Levi and he came to see Hange, some of them actually smiled.

The blonde woman, the one Levi vaguely remembered seeing in the precinct before, even squeezed his shoulder, as he passed her by. She thanked him for being there for Hange and told him he was a real sweetheart.

Levi didn’t think it was possible to feel embarrassed, ashamed and guilty at the same time.

These feeling grew as he met the tall sniffing giant from before. Was his name Mike? Levi was pretty sure it was. At least, he definitely remembered Hange mentioning some Mike. Most probably it was the exact Mike that was standing before him now. He beamed as he saw Levi approach, beckoning him to come closer.

“Man, it’s so good to have you here,” he said, and the sincerity in his tone almost made Levi wince. He was such an asshole… “Hange had been crawling up the walls ever since she was brought here,” the man appeared to be tired, visibly drained, but beneath the face of exhaustion, it was easy to see the genuine concern. Seemed, like Hange was extremely well-loved amongst her colleagues. “Our sweet Han is terrifying in her anger, but maybe…” he tilted his head, scanning Levi from head to toe. “Maybe, you’ll cheer her up.”

“That’s…” Levi cleared his throat, struggling not to fidget under Mike’s hopeful gaze. God, perhaps it’d be better if they just caught him there. It certainly wouldn’t make him feel so awful about himself. “That’s what I’m here for. Can I come in?”

“Sure!” Mike gave him thumbs-up, smiling in relief. “Hange is just behind that door. I’m not sure if she’s alone, I left her side to get some coffee, but…”

Levi was already on a move, already opening the door to Hange’s ward, and, naturally, he ignored the end of that sentence.

Big mistake on his part.

Because Hange, who was half-sitting on the white hospital bed with a bandage on her right shoulder… Hange certainly wasn’t alone. There was a man beside her, and when he shifted in his seat to glance at Levi, Levi recognized him immediately.

Admittedly, he had never met him in person, all communication was performed by Kenny, but that cropped brown hair, those vibrant blue eyes and stupid, ugly moustache… it was very hard to mistake Rod Reiss for anyone else.

Levi froze, heart in his throat. What was Reiss doing here? Did he know who Levi was? Did he recognize him? The slight uplift of his mouth said that he did.

But, thankfully… Reiss said nothing about it.

Instead, he turned back to Hange, a small smile on his thin lips and his hand pointing at Levi. “Is that your young man, detective Zoe? Didn’t know you were spoken for.”

“I’m not—” Hange flashed, shaking her head rapidly. Despite the tense moment, Levi stole a second to admire Hange’s embarrassed expression. She looked utterly ridiculous, and that served her right, a payback for all the times she was the one to embarrass him. “I’m not spoken for, mister Reiss. Yet, at least.”

Yet, at least.

These words sent a pang straight to Levi’s heart. If only… if only he wasn’t himself, and Hange wasn’t Hange, if only they met at the different time, in different place.

If only. A cruel, painful truth.

“Well, either way, it’s good to know that you have someone who cares about you,” Reiss reached out, squeezing Hange’s healthy shoulder. “Even heroes need that.”

“I’m not a hero.” Hange mumbled, utterly bashful. Levi rather liked that side of hers, he decided he wanted to see more of it. So…

“Don’t sell yourself short,” he grumbled, revealing in a vicious glare Hange sent him. It suited to her red cheeks perfectly. “Your heroic deed is all over the news. Certainly, the news wouldn’t lie?”

Hange’s face screamed ‘stop embarrassing me, you asshole’, but in the presence of Reiss, the only thing she could do was smile and grip the edge of a bed with her healthy hand a little too tightly. Perhaps, Reiss was the only obstacle between him and Hange’s proverbial fury. Still, Levi preferred the old bastard would just fuck off already. And— that he wouldn’t tell Kenny where he had met his nephew.

“It’s time for me to leave,” Reiss stood up, as though he heard Levi’s thoughts. “But hopefully we’ll meet again, detective.”

“Thank you for your visit and your help, sir. I’m sure that once we combine our forces, we’ll catch those Ackermans in no time.”

Levi had caught himself, before his jaw had met the floor. What were they talking about? Catching… Ackermans? Was it another one of Reiss’ schemes? Was it a careful move to boost his reputation? A way to protect him and Kenny? Or… was he covering up his traces? If so, how far was he ready to go to do it? He couldn’t betray Kenny, could he?

“It was nice meeting you,” Levi was so lost in his head, he missed the moment when Reiss approached him. Now he stood right before him, his hand outstretched towards him. Reiss was slightly shorter than Levi, which – in that moment – offered little comfort. “Mister?”

“Levi,” he schooled his expression into something polite and, more importantly, neutral.

“Levi,” Reiss hummed, his eyes narrowing just a fraction. “The name seems familiar. But…” he curled his lips in a smile for no more than a second. It was enough to induce a shiver from Levi. “That’s probably just a coincidence. Have a good night, Levi, and take care of our hero, please.”

“Will do, sir,” Levi promised, squeezing the offered hand just a little too tightly.

He watched Reiss walk to the door, then turn the doorknob, push the door open and then – finally - closed. Only when his short, round stature disappeared, did Levi allow himself to breathe out in relief. He moved a hand through his hair, shaking off the last bits of nervousness. With his heart beating that much slower, he turned back to Hange.

“Is that your new friend?” he asked as he plopped down on a chair Reiss had just vacated.

“Friend?” Hange scoffed. “A rich snob who thinks that money solves any problem.”

“Isn’t he right, though?”

“We’ll see about that, I guess,” Hange lifted her shoulders in attempt to shrug, her face contorting in pain as soon as she moved her injured extremity. Levi swallowed, as he watched her rub the wound gently.

“Does it—” his voice betrayed him, breaking right at the beginning. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Does it hurt?”

“Like bitch,” Hange confessed with a bitter smile. “They give me painkillers, and they help, but… I guess I’ll be away from active duty for a while.”

What happened was the next expected question, a friend ought to ask about that, right? However… Levi wasn’t too keen to hear the answer.

“Your friends are worried about you,” he said instead. He was worried about Hange too, but did he even have the right to be? Even if partially, but he was the reason she had been shot. And he was the reason she was now moping in a hospital.

“Sometimes, they worry too much,” Hange complained. “They don’t even let me work. Mike took my laptop away, and Erwin returned my notebook back to the precinct. I’m dying of boredom here, Levi!” she whined, accompanying that pathetic sound by a petulant kick.

“I’m sure they have your best interests at heart,” he reasoned, doing his best not to laugh. It was his fault Hange was like that, but even so, he couldn’t deny that she looked almost unbelievably ridiculous. And cute, really, really cute.

And… that was another sign that he needed to get out of this city as soon as possible.

“Rest may be good for my body, but it’s bad for my brain.”

Hange fell silent after that. With the thumb of her healthy hand raised to her lips, she stared into nothing. Levi could practically hear the sound of gears turning in her head.

He didn’t like where this was going.

“I know I’m asking a lot…” Hange mumbled, suspiciously avoiding his eyes. “And I’ll understand if you decide to refuse…”

Levi tsked and rolled his eyes. All these dramatics… “Just say what you want from me.”

“Like I said it’s a bit too much,” she began slowly, still unsure. Levi kicked the leg of the hospital bed to speed up the process. It seemed to have a rather positive effect. “But since you’ve already been there and I have the key, could you…”

“Steal your damned notebook for you?”

Hange’s face lightened up as she nodded, and, met with that delighted expression, Levi could only sigh. He already hated himself for it, but… he was a reason Hange was here in the first place, right? He might as well do something to make up for it.

Besides… he really liked that happy smile.

“I’m not asking you to steal!” Hange ardently assured. “You’re not a thief, after all,” she laughed at her own joke, while Levi tried very hard not to cringe. “I’m asking you to deliver my notebook from my office.”

Levi didn’t answer right away, and Hange, probably sensing his doubt, continued, “The precinct is almost empty, since it’s Saturday, and everyone is either here or at home. And even if you do run into someone, just tell them you’re running an errand for me.”

“You make it sound so easy,” he said, shaking his head. He had already decided he was going to help Hange out, but there was nothing wrong with playing a little too hard to get.

“It’ll be easy, I swear! And if you bring me the notebook…”

Hange winked, her smile enigmatic. Levi couldn’t deny, that smile had him intrigued. “If I bring the notebook?”

“I’ll think of a way to thank you for that! Perhaps, when we go on that date you promised me…”

The date on a skating rink, Levi almost forgot about it. But as Hange reminded him, the feeling of regret returned. He wanted to go there with Hange, wanted to hold her hand as they glide through the rink, wanted to see her spin around effortlessly, wanted her to teach him how to do the same, as pathetic as it sounded, even the idea of falling down and freezing his ass didn’t disgust him, if Hange were there with him, laughing her heart out, he probably would forget about the pain and cold. If Hange were with him, perhaps, he’d be able to forget about many things.

And that’s why he had to leave.

“Alright, I’ll bring your stupid notebook,” he conceded, getting to his feet just a little too quickly. Hange’s warm gaze was too hypnotizing. It was dangerous, it was doing something to him, and that something was making it very hard for him to leave her side. “I’ll be right back, just…”

“Stay here?” Hange snickered. “I can’t exactly run away right now, Levi.”

“Right, right,” he nodded, and then, because he was going to enter the police precinct on his volition, because he was doing this for Hange’s sake, because he was the most despicable human being in the world, he reached out and pressed her head to his chest. Hange could probably hear how loud and quick his heart was beating, Hange’s heart – if he deciphered the beeping of medical equipment correctly – was beating almost just as fast. “See you, Hange.”

The softness of her hair was surprising, the warmth of her body was so pleasant, the desire to kiss the crown of her head was almost irresistible, but…

Apparently, he wasn’t a complete asshole.

The hug lasted for no more than a second, but for Levi it seemed like hours had passed. And still, it wasn’t nearly enough.

That step back felt like the hardest thing Levi had ever done. As soon as Hange’s warmth had disappeared, he started to miss it.

“I’ll be waiting,” Hange promised with a smile so gentle, it was…

No. He had already done enough, far more than he should have.

If he did something more, if he kissed her, would he really be able to leave? Levi didn’t want to know the answer to that question. He wasn’t sure he’d like it.

He forced himself to walk away, his stride much swifter than usual. He hoped that breathing would be come to him much easier, when the distance between him and Hange grows bigger.

But apparently… he wasn’t lucky enough.

***

Getting inside the precinct was laughably easy.

The security guy at the entrance had attempted to stop him, but let him pass as soon as Levi mentioned that he was running an errand for detective Hange Zoe.

Either Hange’s name held a pretty significant value around here, or, more probably, the police was full of incompetent, lazy pigs.

Honestly, a middle schooler could infiltrate this place.

Not that Levi looked like a middle schooler. His face was much more mature. If he scowled hard enough. He hoped so, at least.

Just as Hange had predicted, the precinct was mostly empty. He passed a few closed doors that had a narrow ray of light coming underneath, but as he repeated the path Mike had showed him before, Levi didn’t meet a single soul.

The long hallways were scarcely illuminated, and some lightbulbs were flicking in and out, creating an almost eerie atmosphere. The tension in his shoulders grew bigger as he moved further and further... right inside the lion’s den.

Kenny would have called him a fool. Kenny would have called him shit-for-brains, a fucking idiot, a stupid fucker. Kenny, if he had known where Levi went, would have hit him until all his idiocy disappeared.

Although… the idiocy was too deep inside him now, Levi wasn’t sure that even Kenny was up to task of getting rid of it.

Perhaps, if he’d leave… Perhaps, perhaps. He’d had to leave the city first.

He had to leave the city, Levi decided and as he got inside the elevator that would take him to Hange’s office, he took out his phone and booked the closest flight available.

Singapore, awesome. He always wanted to visit.

The floor, where Hange’s office was located, was just as lifeless. All cubicles stood vacant and the rest of the offices were empty too. Perhaps, most of the officers were back at the hospital, watching over Hange. It was a good thing that she had someone to care about her. Hange deserved that, maybe, even needed that. Especially after dealing with asshole like him.

Just before entering the door, Levi paused with his hand on a doorknob. That tense feeling, that premonition returned and intensified. His stomach was in knots, making him almost nauseous.

It was ridiculous, stupid, the whole precinct was empty, he had seen so himself, but… the alarms in his mind were ringing, begging him to reconsider and go back before it was too late. Before it was too late for… what?

Levi couldn’t answer that question, meaning his sudden panic was stupid, and he himself was stupid for being a scaredy cat. It was so unlike him, and it was foolish, the last couple of days were probably just getting to him, making him more paranoid than usual.

Stop acting like an idiot, he chided himself, swallowing all of his worry down. He exhaled, relaxing the tense muscles of his back. With another mental kick, he pressed on a doorknob and opened the door, doing so unnecessarily slowly.

Just as he knew it would be, the office stood empty.

Levi didn’t waste another moment by being a damn idiot, and walked inside, heading to the desk Hange was occupying back when he had visited her that one time. The mess of paperwork, pens, paper cups and empty boxes from takeout food that had accumulated on the desk was a proof enough that this work space had really belonged to Hange.

Now, if only there was just a little more light… Levi located the desk lamp fairly quickly, but where was a switch to that fucking thing? He moved his hand up and down, his fingers searching and searching…

The light turned on before he found the switch.

It wasn’t the desk lamp though, it was a luster right above his head.

Levi jerked, whirling around, to the door behind him.

As it turned out, he wasn’t completely alone in the office. Hange’s boss, Captain Erwin Smith was still at work, despite the late hour.

“Levi,” he started to approach him, slowly at first. But the office was rather small, and, despite a step that Levi had taken back, despite his thigh pressing into the edge of the desk, the distance between them was shortening at a speed he wasn’t completely comfortable with. “I was waiting for you.”

He was? Why? Did Hange tell him something? Did she warn her boss about his visit? Why would she, if Erwin was the one who had taken her notebook in the first place? Something wasn’t adding up, and Erwin’s guarded face, damn that stoic man, wasn’t helping him solve that riddle.

“Sit down,” Erwin walked just a little too close to Levi, and then turned, taking a seat at Hange’s desk. Awkwardly, with his legs refusing to cooperate properly, Levi sat down at the opposite side. “Do you want some coffee? Or tea? Hange mentioned you like it a lot.”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

What was he going? What was Erwin doing here, why was he looking at him like that – like Levi was a test subject and Erwin was watching his every move behind the lens of a microscope. The comparison almost made him squirm.

“I’m glad you showed up,” Erwin had his hands folded under his chin, his eyes never leaving Levi’s face. His gaze seemed just as neutral as his expression, perhaps, even a little friendly, but the premonition had returned, so much stronger than before.

“I’m here because Hange asked me to,” he said, wondering why his voice sounded so quiet, almost shaky. Levi straightened in his seat, meeting Erwin’s gaze squarely. He wouldn’t let this man intimidate him. Unless, of course, Erwin gives him a reason to be intimidated. “She wanted—”

“Her notebook, yes,” Erwin nodded. “I guessed already. And I’m sure you’ve jumped at the opportunity to get inside her office. Isn’t that right, Levi? Or,” he paused, but Levi knew what he was going to say, knew what Erwin knew, could see it in his eyes that now had betrayed his true feelings and looked more like two icy shards. These eyes, they pinned Levi down, he helplessly stared into them, seeing nothing but hatred and disgust. “Or, perhaps, you’d prefer if I called you Mister Ackerman instead?”

Levi knew what was coming, and, still, his stomach fell. Millions of question swirled around in his head, and that was the only thing that kept him from bolting out of his seat.

How did Erwin find out? When did he find out? And most importantly, did he tell Hange? Or… was the she the one who discovered the truth?

All these questions had Levi on edge, but Erwin… Erwin didn’t seem too keen to answer any of them.

“Did you know there are only four men named Levi in this city?” Levi didn’t know if the answer was expected of him, but Erwin didn’t seem too interested in what he had to say, because after a brief pause, he continued, “One of them is a teenager boy, he’s an athlete, who is raised by a single mother. Another one is a middle-aged, bald man with three kids and a wife, the other is an eighty-year old man, who lives alone on the edge of the city. The last one,” Erwin’s eyes flashed, and Levi swallowed. Just like before, he knew damn well what was coming. “Doesn’t really count, I guess. He had died some twenty years ago, along with his mother. Do you, by any chance, know the name of his mother?”

There was a lump in his throat, one that appeared each time his mother was mentioned, one that made it hard to breathe and pressed on his chest, heavy enough to hurt. But Erwin looked at him expectantly, like his question was a test. A test of what, Levi wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to show his weakness, not in front of this particular man.

“Kuchel,” he said, his voice as steady as it could be, considering he was shaking from inside. “Her name was Kuchel Ackerman.”

Erwin nodded, his features sharpening even further, turning into a stone mask. “I refused to believe it at first, when I first looked you up after meeting you right in that office. It appeared to be a horrible coincidence, a weird conjunction. You seemed genuinely interested in Hange, not in her work, and I was ready to give you the benefit of the doubt, waiting for a sign that would support or destroy my finding. But last night was enough of a proof.”

Was it? How so? Did Levi make a mistake? If so, then were? And how did Erwin see it?

“Last night Hange was shot,” yeah, Levi was there, and Erwin knew that. What importance did it have now? “But she isn’t dead, not like that politician from a week ago. Your partner in crime,” ah, so Kenny wasn’t yet discovered. Apparently, he wiped the traces of his existence much better than Levi did. “I guess he is the one who usually dirties his hands, and that means he was the one who killed that man. Hange was supposed to die that night too, right? And you were the one who prevented it."

Having said everything he needed, Erwin fell silent. For a long moment, there was no sound, except the tick of a clock, Erwin's calm breathing and Levi's much frantic one.

"So, is my assertion correct?"

Levi said nothing. What was there to say? Say yes and stroke Erwin's ego? Or deny it and look like a fool?

"I'll take your silence as a yes."

His cockiness was irritating, despite it being very much deserved. Still, to be caught by a guy he had seen only once... Levi knew there was a possibility that his involvement with Hange may end with him in prison. He just never imagined that her overprotective boss would be the one to blame for his fall.

"Did you already tell Hange?" he asked quietly, admitting his defeat.

His heart was aching, as he thought of what was awaiting for him next. Was Hange going to be the one to put handcuffs on him? What her reaction would be - would she be gleeful about her victory? Or would that joy be overridden by disgust she felt for him?

"I didn't tell her. She won't know the truth about you. Not from me, at least."

Levi widened his eyes, staring at the man in front of him with shock and incomprehension. Was he... telling the truth? But why?

"Hange would be dead, if it wasn't for you. That's why I'm inclined to give you another chance. Leave this city, Levi Ackerman, and don't come back. Stop toying with Hange's feelings and don’t you dare contact her ever again. She deserves someone much better than you."

Well, in that aspect, Levi agreed with Erwin completely.

"You may bring the notebook to her, but that's it. I'm letting you go not out of kindness, but out of gratitude. Don't make me regret it."

"I'm leaving the city tonight." He promised to Erwin, as he stood up, Hange's notebook secured in his right hand.

Not that Erwin needed to know about it, but he was going to leave anyway. Just in two hours, he'd be on his way to Singapore. If he hurried, he might get just enough time to say goodbye to Hange.

A proper goodbye. He ought to give her at least that much.

He left the office swiftly, before Erwin could change his mind. With his heart still racing after a tense encounter, he ran to the hospital.

***

When he arrived inside, the hospital was much less crowded than before. There was a fewer number of patients and visitors in the main hall, and those who still were present, were much quieter, subdued and exhausted. There were only a few doctors around, and their faces were pale, eyes blinking tiredly, shoulders slumped after a long shift. The only ones who still kept their energy were nurses, who ran from one side of a hospital to the other, calling out to doctors or carrying the needed medicine.

Still shaken after his encounter with Erwin, Levi used that semi-calm atmosphere to take a deep breath and put his thoughts into order. He had – for the lack of better word – an eventful day, and who knew what would happen tomorrow? Perhaps, it was the last moment of peace he would have in a while.

He was starting a new life, but the prospect wasn’t thrilling or exhilarating. The only feelings it provoked was dread. And a bone-deep exhaustion.

No rest for the wicked, or so Kenny liked to say. It was one of the few things he and Levi agreed upon.

The hospital hallways seemed deserted too, only doctors and nurses still roaming the place. The visiting hours were already over, but Hange’s status as a new city hero allowed Levi to convince them to overlook that small detail. He had to lie and say he was detective Zoe’s boyfriend, but well… Hange wouldn’t know about this. Even if she did, Levi was going to be on another side of the world in just a few hours.

However, he had to admit… saying this out loud felt good. Unreasonably so.

Hange’s boyfriend… it had a nice ring to it. Perhaps, in another life…

The ridiculousness of that thought was almost enough to make him chuckle. Clearly, it was the long couple of days getting the best of him. He needed to rest, get his head cleared up, leave this city once and for all.

The hallway that led to Hange’s ward was almost as deserted as the rest of the hospital. The number of police officers patrolling her had diminished significantly, only two of them still present.

Levi was not at all surprised to see that tall weirdo, Mike, slumped down in the uncomfortable hospital chair with his hands folded beneath his head. Clearly, he was one of Hange’s closest friends. Levi took a mental note of that, storing that information in that corner of his mind that was dedicated solely to Hange. That corner was growing bigger, and that was another reason why he had to leave, disappear from her life. Hopefully, then Hange would disappear from his life and his mind too.

Next to Mike sat a thin blonde woman, whose name stubbornly eluded Levi. Nana… something. It didn’t really matter. The woman was asleep, her face pressed into Mike’s big shoulder. The scene was adorable, Levi thought detachedly. These people weren’t his friends, they didn’t provoke an emotional response from him, however… Hange would probably like to hear about them snuggling together outside her ward. Maybe, that would make her smile. Levi liked her smile, along with her deep, strangely alluring voice and big, look-inside-them-for-too-long-and-you’ll-drown brown eyes, her smile took the most of that special mind corner of his.

The first thing he saw upon entering the ward was the sight of Hange’s peaceful, relaxed face. Be it the exhaustion from last few days, the pain from injury or a simple, soothing atmosphere of the hospital, but Hange was asleep, her mouth slightly open in an expression that could be described as ridiculous if it weren’t so endearing. Without the ever present glasses, she looked much younger than she actually was, fragile almost.

The second thing Levi was saw the dusty black coat and the stupid bowler hat. The start contrast between white ceilings, blue walls, Hange’s still pale body and that black form was striking enough to make Levi wonder if what he was seeing was actually true. It was easier to write it off as a visage, an image of his biggest nightmare that was conjured by an exhausted mind.

Kenny shouldn’t, couldn’t be here. But he was. Sitting dangerously close next to Hange, his lips spread into a wide, bloodthirsty smirk, he stared at her sleeping form like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Levi’s blood turned to ice, his insides twisting painfully. He still couldn’t quite believe it.

Kenny was here.

How did he find out about Hange? Why did he come? What did he want? What was he going to do?

There were so many questions, Levi wasn’t sure the answer to which one would be the scariest.

“You know there are over a million people in this city?” Kenny’s voice was quiet, no louder than a machine that counted Hange’s heartbeats. It wasn’t nearly loud enough to disturb her sleep. “And out of that million you had to choose a fucking cop. Is she that special?” Kenny looked him in the eyes, seeming genuinely curious in his answer. “Or are you just that dumb?”

“Both, probably,” Levi shrugged, marveling at how calm, almost bored his voice sounded. Inside, he was anything but.

Kenny hummed, nodded, expressing his agreement, and stood up, popping the collar of his coat. “Let’s not disturb your sleeping beauty then. Follow me, Levi.”

It wasn’t a suggestion or a request, it was an order, and a clear one at that. Levi gladly obeyed it, because the alternative – whatever it would be – was much, much worse.

Kenny led him out of the ward, they passed through Mike and his friend, who were still sleeping, walked through a long hallway, arrived at the stairwell and then went up to the roof.

Once they were there, underneath pale moonlight and surrounded by bright neon lights of a nearby night club, Kenny punched him.

Levi didn’t even stagger, more than expecting that. He didn’t punch back and didn’t defend himself, knowing that he more than deserved that.

Clearly not satisfied yet, Kenny punched him again, then again, until Levi did stagger and fell on his ass. A thin drip of blood dripped from his lip. Levi wiped it off with a sleeve, briefly wondering if the ache on his cheek would turn into a bruise or not.

Kenny stood above him, his face darker than Levi had ever remembered seeing, his fists trembling from either cold or rage.

“You’re a fucking idiot, Levi,” he spat out, kicking his leg. The kick was light, born more out of frustration than anything else. Levi barely felt it. “What the fuck were you thinking? What the fuck were you doing with that damn cop? Have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten who you are?”

Maybe, Kenny was right, maybe, he did forget about it. Or, maybe, he pretended to forget, letting his heart have what it so ardently desired. But today he was reminded of his place. Several times already.

And he was an idiot, Kenny wasn’t wrong about that too.

He was an idiot, who followed his heart, who chose the one person he absolutely couldn’t have. That choice, although it was only his to carry, wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to Hange and it wasn’t fair to Kenny, to him especially so.

Levi knew about possible consequences, had expected them, but what about Kenny? Had Levi been caught, had Kenny been caught alongside him, his life would have been ruined too. And if Levi made that choice, consciously, Kenny – didn’t. He would never make a choice like that, one that would jeopardize Levi. Kenny was an asshole, a scoundrel, a thief and a liar, but if there was one thing he treasured, it was his family.

He treasured his sister, and after her death, he treasured her son, even if he never actually showed that.

And Levi had betrayed him.

All this time, he was worried, afraid that Hange would learn about his betrayal and grow to despise him, but he had never even thought that he was also lying to the only person in this world, who actually gave a damn about him, to the last part of his family.

Perhaps, Kenny should have punched him a couple of times more.

“You look like a kicked dog,” Kenny rolled his eyes in exasperation, grudgingly offering Levi to take his hand. “Get up, before you catch some shit from this fucking cold. Doubt they’ll let you stay with that officer sweetheart of yours if you start coughing your lungs out.”

“Fuck off,” Levi grunted, but accepted the offered hand and let Kenny hoist him up. “You were the one to punch me.”

“Was hoping I’d knock out that shit out of you,” Kenny briefly glanced at him before burying his head into the inside of his coat to look for the pack of cigarettes, no doubt. One day, the constant smoking would kill him. Then again – with their line of job – they could die at any moment, anyway. Criminals like them had to treasure every second, before they end up in a ditch or in prison. Wasn’t he doing the same, wasn’t he treasuring every second he had with Hange? Perhaps, he was. And now, it came to an end, disappointingly abrupt. “Did I, by the way? Manage to knock some sense into you?”

Levi thought about a notebook, hidden inside his pocket, close to his heart. He remembered how good it felt to hold Hange in his arms, remembered how light her laughter made him feel.

“I think you didn’t punch me hard enough.”

Kenny didn’t hit him again, didn’t even scold him. It seemed like he didn’t have energy for either. He just shook his head - slowly, wearily, and sighed – in disappointment, not surprise.

He walked to the edge of the roof and sat down, his long legs dangling in the air. Kenny seemed spent, defeated, Kenny looked tired and unexpectedly old, like the weight of his years had finally caught up to him. Levi didn’t quite know how to act around him in that state.

Tentatively, staggering slightly, he approached his uncle and joined him at the edge of the roof.

Kenny wordlessly offered him a cigarette, and Levi took it, thanking him with a subtle nod.

The silence fell over them as they both smoked, their eyes glued to the sky above. It was comfortable, this silence. Levi hated to break it, but there were things he needed to say.

“I’m leaving tonight.”

Kenny didn’t ask where, didn’t ask why, he didn’t seem to care at all. Unfortunately, Levi did care.

“Do you want to leave with me?”

Kenny put a cigarette to his lips, took a long, deep drag, released a fat ring of smoke, watched it disappear into the night. He met Levi’s eyes – for a single moment – and then returned to gazing up at the sky.

“Sorry, kid. Still have some stuff I need to finish.”

Levi didn’t ask Kenny to reconsider, didn’t ask what stuff he was talking about. If there was one thing he knew for certain, it was a fact that Kenny had a lot on his hands – Traute and her betrayal, Reiss and whatever he was planning to do. Levi had a lot on his hands too, and the only way to deal with all of it was to leave.

Kenny obviously had a different opinion. Nothing surprising, there were lots of things they had different opinions about.

“That cop of yours,” Kenny put his cigarette out, flicking the butt down below, and took a new one. He lightened it up, the lighter briefly illuminating his grim features. The shadows on his face were almost frightening. “Does she know who you are?”

“No,” the word came out a little bit harsher, gruffer than he intended. Levi wondered what the cause of it was – shame or regret. “But she’ll find out someday, I’m sure. She’s more than sharp enough.”

“You got lucky then, if she doesn’t know yet.”

Lucky? Perhaps he truly was. Was he lucky because he was leaving before Hange discovered the truth? Was he lucky because earlier that day she was still looking at him with stars in her eyes? Or, maybe, he was lucky because he wouldn’t get to see how those starts turn to disgust and hatred?

“Her boss knows, though. He searched my name after Hange introduced us. Did you know there are only four Levis in this city?”

“Your mother’s fault, not mine,” Kenny shrugged. “I wanted to name you Bob.”

Levi choked, shock and laughter constricting his throat. “Bob?” he hoarsely croaked.

“Bob Ackerman,” Kenny smirked, taking off his hat and putting it on Levi’s head. It fell down, obscuring half of his face. “It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

“No.”

Kenny chortled, and Levi couldn’t keep a smile off his face. It seemed like things between them were returning to normal. Levi was relieved.

And at the same, he was sad. Most of the time Kenny got on his nerves, he constantly pushed all of his buttons, but Levi still loved him. In a strange, bizarre sense, he was the only Levi could look up to. And the only one he could trust.

Levi didn’t want to leave him behind, wanted to listen to his stupid jokes while rolling his eyes and calling him an asshole just for a little longer.

But his plane was taking off in an hour. And there was one thing Levi wanted to do, before he gets out of this city for good.

“Kenny, I—”

“I know,” he cut him off. Kenny looked him in the eyes, and if Levi didn’t know him better, he’d say that the smile on his face was sad. “Young love and all that, right? Go, Romeo. Make sure your Juliette doesn’t put handcuffs on you.”

Levi stood up, hovering over Kenny awkwardly. They never, ever hugged. But in this moment, it seemed appropriate. People did hug, when saying goodbye to your loved ones. It was a totally normal thing. Could he and Kenny be like normal people too?

Bracing himself, Levi turned to face his uncle. He only started raising his arms, when Kenny snorted.

“Don’t make this weird, Levi.”

Apparently, they couldn’t even pretend to be normal.

“And you can keep my hat.”

Levi scoffed. “Now you’re the one making this weird.”

“It’s my old age, I guess,” he said. “Now shoo, kid, you don’t have much time. And remember - whenever you go…” Kenny paused, winking conspicuously. “Stir up some trouble, alright?”

Despite himself, Levi chuckled. “Don’t go around being boring too, old man.”

“That you can be sure of,” Kenny tilted his head, at the last moment remembering that his loyal hat wasn’t with him anymore. “And if you go into hiding, make sure you don’t go too deep.”

“So you’ll be able to find and pester me?”

“You know me so well.”

Levi did. And he was going to miss his nuisance of an uncle. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “For everything, for—”

“Yeah, yeah, for raising you and teaching how to be so damn good at stealing stuff. I know you love me more than anything and you think I’m the coolest guy ever, Levi. Now stop being an embarrassment and leave me alone already.”

Hiding another smile, lest Kenny would think that his words were actually not so far from the truth and Levi did like him so much, Levi threw another glance at the night city, briefly squeezed Kenny’s shoulder and headed back inside.

The hat kept falling on his eyes, it was clearly a size or two too big, and Levi was sure he looked absolutely ridiculous, but… it brought along a sense of comfort.

When he came back to Hange, two police officers by her door were still sleeping. Levi passed them without a second glance.

Inside the ward, Hange continued to snore too. He had to hurry to the airport, his time was running out, yet Levi sparred a long moment to commit her face to his memory.

His eyes traced every feature – from the wide forehead and closed eyes with long dark eyelashes that fell elegantly on her cheeks, to the curve of her nose that had small dots of freckles and her rosy lips that were slightly curled upwards.

She was probably dreaming of something so pleasant. Levi wondered what that dream was about.

The only imperfection on her face, the one thing he resolutely didn’t like was a lock of hair that fell just over the tip of her nose.

With a feather light touch, Levi brushed the offending lock away, holding it between his fingers just a little too long.

You’re acting like a creep, he chided himself. Besides, he was going to be late to his flight.

With a heavy sigh and lots of effort, Levi took a step back. He put the notebook on the table next to her bed, briefly marveling at the amount of gifts that had already accumulated there.

Apparently, Hange was very well-loved.

Just at the edge of a small table, he saw a pen that was probably forgotten by the hospital stuff.

Overcome with a sudden impulse, Levi grabbed that pen and opened the notebook on the last page.

Since he couldn’t actually say goodbye, he should write a small note. Whether Hange would even see it or not, whether she would understand who he truly was or not… he wouldn’t be there to witness the result, right?

Right, he decided and started writing.

Too bad I couldn’t make it to that skating rink date. But we still had lots of fun, right? At least, I did.

Be good and kick all of their asses. I know you have it in you, four-eyes.

Whether his abrupt leave, the absence of any kind of conclusion was a good thing or bad, Levi couldn’t quite decide yet.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth, made him feel melancholic, lonelier than ever, but… maybe, it was for the best. Levi didn’t like goodbyes, avoided them at all costs. There was only one person he had ever said goodbye to, and his mother never returned.

He hadn’t said a proper goodbye to Hange, didn’t really say it to Kenny too, and perhaps… Perhaps.

As he left the ward, Levi didn’t look at Hange even once. He tried to pretend that he didn’t care, but the truth was he was afraid that so much as a glance would make it impossible for him to leave that what could have been behind.

He made sure to close the door quietly, but somehow the sound managed to wake up Mike.

He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes and blinking owlishly. “Levi?” he mumbled sleepily. “Are… you wearing a hat?”

Levi had forgotten about that thing entirely. But after Mike had mentioned it, he took it off, hiding it behind his back.

Once that embarrassment was dealt with, he cleared his throat. “Hange is sleeping. She’s fine, as far as I could tell.”

“You’re leaving already? Well, make sure to come back soon. Hange will be so happy to see you again.”

“Yeah,” Levi swallowed, the lump in his throat suddenly becoming too big. “I’d be happy to see her too.”

And at the same time he knew, it’d be best for both of them, if their paths never cross again.

“Tell Hange I said hi. And… that I’m going to miss her.”

Levi ignored Mike’s confused question, he ignored his insistent calls. He took one brisk step after another, resolute and determined.

He had done everything he wanted to. And now it was time to leave this city behind.

Once and for all.

[p0cketw0tch]

Part One

Part Two

Rebecca stays at home for a week. She stays at home and misses the team's first loss in the new era, misses matcha cake, misses a conversation about pandas and lions that would have revealed more of her humor than she would have intended and would have planted the first seeds of possible friendship in Keeley's mind (Keeley goes with panda and regrets it, a little, but she does a good job and it's really not a big deal in the end)

She does text Higgins. She doesn't tell him anything, just instructs him to keep doing whatever it is he does. Higgins passes on his own vague excuses to whomever asks. In this universe, if Higgins says she's sick, Ted stops by with a care package the next day and if Higgins just says she's busy, Ted stops by after a few days with biscuits. Either way Ted has a lot on his plate and she doesn't answer the doorbell and even Ted Lasso isn't going to literally break down her door at this point in their non-relationship. 

So Rebecca stays at home and just... exists. She'd been compulsively checking her news-feed and google since the Sun had shattered everything with one (lurid, detailed, full color) article, but now the idea of seeing any of it makes her nauseous. So she ignores her phone, ignores the doorbell, ignores the news and the outside world. Instead she sleeps and she mindlessly watches BBC One and she stares into space and she just lets time pass over her.

Eventually Rebecca runs out of food. Usually she has groceries delivered, but she does actually have to choose what to order and she hadn't bothered. She could call for an immediate delivery but impulse stirs in her haze of apathy and she showers and dresses and heads out on foot.

Rebecca does not go to the Crown and Anchor; in her mind, that's still Rupert's territory, still tied to a team she has no bond with and to a plan that no longer exists. Instead, she wanders into a gastropub tucked into a nearby alleyway and sits at the end of the bar. She orders the house ale, the risotto and, in a small spark of rebellion against misery and years of self regulation, a slice of hazelnut chocolate tart.

She picks at her food leisurely as the pub slowly fills, gaze wandering, but not really taking anything in. As she finishes her last bite of risotto, and the bartender stops by to clear her plate, it registers that she recognizes the man that has ended up next to her. Lost in his own train of thought over a plate of pot roast is the assistant coach Ted Lasso had insisted she hire with him, the aptly named Coach Beard. 

She taps her fingers against the bar in nervous indecision. She had not expected or wanted to actually talk to anybody here, much less a man whose job is predicated on a lie she had yet to unravel.

But she has no actual quarrel with the man, and while she doesn't want to disturb him, it would be rude to ignore him altogether. She had certainly steamrolled over enough people in the last year in her single minded pursuit, but the blinders are off and there's no need to snub one of the many people she's set up for failure.

Manners prompts her to speak but she's still tired and lingering numbness steals her words so she simply says "Coach." and gives a politely friendly smile when he looks at her.

"Boss."

The response is equally short, but genuinely friendly and, as the bartender sets a chocolate tart in front of her, Rebecca finds that, despite practically being strangers, the atmosphere has somehow shifted into companionable silence.

It's a bit surreal, and nothing's really changed, but between the sugar and the company, by the time Rebecca scrapes the last bit of chocolate off her plate, she feels almost content.

"Pretty good.” 

Beard’s statement is a surprise after the silence, but not startling. It’s a clear invitation, if she wants to talk, but she doesn’t really know him, wouldn’t know where to start and, while the fatigue of the last week has waned a bit, it still saps her bones and clouds her mind, so she just hums her agreement. 

Beard nods, mostly content to let it lie, but adds, “Coach is real excited to show you what he’s working on with the team. He’s got a plan, but it’s your club. He wouldn’t feel right without you in the loop.”

“I’ll.. keep that in mind.” 

Beard nods again, and the silence returns, still comfortable. 

--

Your club 

The words echo in her mind as she strolls home. She hasn’t really put much thought into what to do from here, what to do with the asset she had fought so hard to take from Rupert, that has, free from the plan to burn it all down, felt like a millstone around her neck.

She is still alone, still publicly derided, her contact information is still only filled with cronies and “friends” that only held any regard for her as an extension of her ex-husband. The last 13 years still stretch back in her memory as a stupid, foolish, waste. An emotional black hole that will swallow her if she thinks on it too long without the life-raft of her equally stupid revenge plan to cling to.

But she can only sit and do nothing for so long. That’s never really been in her nature.

Your club

Her club.

Why not?

[enter-a-newsies-obsession]

Dark Alleys and Dark Bruises- Javid

Helllloooo!!! I haven’t posted a Javid oneshot for awhile so here you go! (also on Wattpad: Forbidden Thoughts~Javid Oneshots)

TW: blood, homophobia, use of f****t, angst (with happy ending!!)

The dirty puddles twinkled in the soft lamplight as Jack Kelly's footsteps disturbed them. He watched the ripples disappear into the edges, humming with slight interest. Leaning on the wall beside him, Jack looked up at the few stars that he could see through the clouds.

That kid's really killin' me, he thought bitterly. Again, his mind landed on a subject that he could never escape: David Jacobs.

Jack was on the way back to the Lodge from walking Davey and Les to their home, "It's dangerous out these days," was the only excuse he could muster, trying to hide the fact he just wanted more time with Davey.

Now, as Jack stood alone, he looked glumly around. Everything here could only remain him of Davey- the grimy pavement as dark as the boys hair, the soft lamplight as tender as his cheek, hidden alleyways where Jack would fantasise pulling him into, the twinkling stars matching his shining eyes.

Jack shook his head angrily.

He pushed off the wall and stuffed his hands roughly in his pockets. Girls, boys, he loved them both. Too bad none but the newsies really liked that.

So caught up in his thoughts as he was, Jack didn't see the two shadows slither up  behind him.

A voice dripped in sarcasm drifted out from the darkness as Jack froze in his tracks.

"Oi! What'd we's have here now? That the famous Jack Kelly, is it?"

Oscar and Morris Delancey scuffled out from behind him. Jack sighed loudly, turning back with a fake, smug smile and threw his hands up.

"Oscar, Morris. What cha doing down in these parts, shouldn't yer be crawlin' 'round by someone else's feet at this time of night?"

Oh, they didn't like that comment.

Their smiles faded and clean shaven jaw clenched.

"We's was just passin' by 'til we saw ya round 'ere alone." Oscar spat, cracked his knuckles and advanced. Jack tried to stand his ground but when Oscars hot and mucky breath washed over his cold face, he clenched his fists and stepped back.

"My fists have been aching without anything to punch-" before Jack could respond, Morris took a swing at him, but he dodged it with a gulp. What were they playing at? What did they want?

"Oi, where's yer little boyfriend, aye Kelly? Davey was it?"

Ah, so that's what they wanted.

"Don't have a boyfriend," Jack shrugged, "What, you offering Morris?"

Morris growled and pushed him roughly into an empty alley way. Jack, who hadn't prepared to be pushed, fell violently onto his back, hitting his head on the pavement. Before he could get up, Oscar dug his heel into his chest and forced him back down.

He leaned over him, "Come on Jaaaack, you can tell us if yer a dirty homosexual. We's won't tell."

Jack struggled against his foot and attempted to push him off.

"I ain't gonna. An' if I were, I don't  appreciate yer callin' us dirty."

Oscar let Jack scramble up to stand, then kicked him in the stomach, winding him and making him double over in a vulnerable position where they could sock him right in the jaw.

"We's ain't stupid," Morris growled, "You're a disgusting f****t, we've seen the way you and that Davey kid look at each other."

Jack coughed up bright red blood onto the grimy pavement.

"Burn in hell." He snarled.

They leaned forward, "Oh, we won't be the only ones, Queer."

Before another breath could be taken, they started kicking him down, punching him in the jaw, bruising his ribs, cutting his head until it bled on the ground, spitting on his face.

Then, they left him in the cold, bleeding and bruised, hardly able to sit up, slurs echoing through his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where's Jack?" Les whined, looking around at the Newsies Square. Davey's smile flattered but he straightened up to pat his brother reassuringly on his head.

"He'll be here."

A minute passed, then five, then fifteen.

Crutchie hobbled over to them.

"You's seen Jack this mornin'?"

Davey's brow furrowed and shook his head. "No. Didn't he come back last night?"

It was Crutchies turn to shake his head.

Davey looked around anxiously, "He wouldn't have gone to Brooklyn or Queens or somethin'?"

Crutchie looked around as if he would sense him. "Nah, he woulda told one a us," he frowned. "Or you's guys," he added.

Worry started to tease at the edge off Davey's mind. Jack was strong. He would be fine.

If he's strong he would've made it back by now, Daveys brain argued.

  Okay, now his mind was full of fear of every single bad thing that could happen to a Newsies around these parts- especially in the middle of the night when Jack had left.

Racer- who had previous joined the conversation- laid a reassuring hand on David's shoulder, "Aye..... Aye Dave what ya worrying about? It's gonna be-"

"I'm gonna go look for 'em," Davey snapped, turning sharply away before giving Les the money and waving a quick goodbye for now. After a nod from Crutchie, Racetrack went with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

They had been following the route back to Davey's apartment for a while now, checking each dark alley, each shop window, each side street, just for a small glimpse of where Jack was.

Davey had started panicking when they had gone almost half an hour without a clue, taking off his hat to run his clammy fingers through his dark hair.

"I really dunno," Race sighed, kicking a stick on the road into the alleyway next to them, "he could be anywhere by now, Davey, I-"

There was a groan from the alleyway. Race and David froze.

"What was that....?" Davey half-heartily whispered as Race was already approaching the dark clump .

"Err.....Dave, you better come 'ere quick..."

Davey ran. Then, just as fast, he froze..

Davey found it hard to believe that Jack Kelly- one of the strongest leaders Dave knew, the hard muscled boy with an equally quick witted come back always ready, the boy who never flinched in the way of danger- was the same boy who curled and flinched as Dave put a trembling hand to his shoulder.

"Jack?" He didn't respond as Davey crouched beside him, next to Race, "Hey Jackie?"

"...Dave?"

The voice that whispered was hoarse and cold, nothing like the Jack Dave knew. His head lolled towards where Davey's voice came from. His fingers were crusted with old blood, his face was covered in darkening bruises and an angled nose was red and dried, but through the pain he was still able to reach towards his Dave.

"Hey Jack, it's gonna be okay, it'll be okay, just wait," Dave leaned down to wrap his finger around Jacks, whispering soft assurances. As soon as he had finished he whipped his head up to Race and hissed instructions.

"Racetrack we're getting Jack back to my house."

Race looked between them and opened his mouth to say something.

"Now."

Race, suddenly extremely scared of David, jumped up to push Jack up to sitting.

"Slowly!"

Race flinched.

Jack moaned in pain as he was forced up. Davey reached forward to caress gently at one of Jacks bigger bruises on his face, and held his head when Jack nuzzled into his soft, warm hand.

"It'll be okay..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After helping (well, more precisely, dragging) Jack back to Davey's apartment Race went back to Newsies Square to tell the others what happened. He could only gesture a quick goodbye through the fussing of David's mother.

"Is this the Jack Kelly you've been talking so much about? I can help- if you need. I....I can...Help clean the wounds- oh I'll go make something hot! How 'bout I-"

"I can do it, Ma," Davey interrupted his mother, smiling softly afterward. Jack was currently asleep on Davey's bed, words and movements too hard on his body at the moment. David's mother insisted on helping.

"I can handle it, Ma, I swear. I... actually, when I think about it, can you get me a cloth and some water?"

"Of course!"

That would occupy her for a bit.

Letting out a breath, Davey moved over to where Jack was laid, sleeping peacefully, and sat at his feet.

Dave's mother came in to give her son the rag and water, then, after Davey asked her to close the door on her way out, left hesitantly.

Then they were alone.

The resting boy grunted softly in his dream. Dampening the cloth, Davey pressed it against Jacks forehead.

It went on like that for quite some time, and even though it was lonely, Dave enjoyed watching Jack's chest gently rise and fall with each of his quiet breaths, no pain or stress currently weighing it down.

When it came to unbuttoning Jacks vest to reveal his bare chest to clean the wounds underneath, Davey did it hesitantly and slowly.

Jack would understand, wouldn't he? Yeah...yeah.

~

A sudden coldness and sticky pain was what woke him. Jack stirred slightly, peeling open his heavy eyelids to squint at the hazy silhouette of a beautiful boy.

He looked to the side and Jack made out the curve of a nose through the shining light which shone behind the boy he stared at.

An angel?

Jack blinked the sand out of his eyes and grunted gingerly, moving his arms under him to lift himself up.

Davey turned. "Oh! Hey Jackie, how ya feeling?" He whispered, the edges of his lips curling in both happiness and worry.

"Aye, er," he winced as he moved his ribs, "could be better, i think."

Davey didn't like seeing Jack in pain, so he made a practiced move to help him sit up and positioned the pillow so he could rest on it.

Jack looked down at his open shirt, took one glance at a blushed Davey, and said nothing about it.

"So..." Davey whispered, "What happened? Who did it, 'cuz I'll go soak 'em right now if I have to, I'll knock some bloody sense inter 'em, you don't mess with Jack Kelly and get away with it-"

"Nah, nah, Davey don't do that it's fine." Davey huffed out a breath. Jack smirked as he watched him wrestle his thoughts and eventually- and angrily might I add- brought the cloth back up to a wound on Jacks cheek that had already been cleaned.

The silence stretched out for longer than what was comfortable.

"It was the Delancey's..." Jack muttered after awhile.

Davey gritted his teeth.

"They's were just pickin' on me, that's all." Jack could tell Dave didn't bye it. He didn't meet his eye, but the pause in his cleaning told a tale.

"What did they say?" David hissed, finally bringing back his hand and looking Jack in his beautifully dark eyes. Jack looked away.

"Theys....nothin'.....it was nothin' Dave..."

"It was not nothing, Jack, don't lie to me, I found you lying in an alley, hardly bloody conscious!"

Jack blinked. He hadn't heard Davey this angry since the strike.

"I....Fine.....T.....Theys were callin' me slurs. Sayin' I should die for being.....for liking boys like I do...." Jack looked away again.

David froze. Then he started to move, eyes cold as he pushed off the bed. But Jack caught his arm- trying to hide his flinch at the sudden movement.

"Davey....David, don't. Yer won't do no good, ya just get yourself beat up too."

"Well if that's what it takes-"

"Davey. P....Please just stay 'ere."

Dave sat back down, somewhat sad and reluctant, and they sat in silence for a time.

"You's don't deserve to die, Jack. Don't let them get to you."

Looking up slowly, Jack smiled- the kind of smile he would normally hide, or the one he wore while blushing. Then, he reached towards Dave's hand.

"Thanks, Dave, ya really are a....pal."

Davey focused his gaze intently on the floorboards, lips frowned, opened, closed, blew out a laboured breath. Previously furrowed brows deepened further.

Chuckling hurt, but Jack thought it was worth it. Reaching up to rest his hand on Dave's jaw, he sat up slightly further. He turned the boys face toward him.

They looked at each other tenderly, taking in each feature and strand of hair they were both so in love with.

Then, Davey leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of Jacks forehead, smiling against his skin.

He pulled back and Jack instantly grabbed his waist and pulled him in for a long needed hug.

[alpaca-writes]

Mystics, Chapter 12

When Arch becomes hired on at Mystics by the strange shopkeeper Lyrem Nomadus, everything seems to be going well- in fact, their life nearly becomes perfection. Soon enough, however, Arch realizes that perhaps not everything is as perfect as it seems….

Directory: [chapter one] [chapter two] [chapter three] [chapter four] [chapter five] [chapter six] [chapter seven] [chapter eight] [chapter nine] [chapter ten] [chapter eleven]

Tag list: @myst-in-the-mirror, @livingforthewhump

CW: memory whump, psychological whump, noncon touching (nonsexual), swearing. torture mention, car accident mention

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN

        Store meeting. 8pm tonight. –

        “And, send.” Lyrem muttered to himself, then sighed. He laid his elbow against the countertop, staring mindlessly at his phone and drank the last sip of his coffee before throwing it into the trash bin beside him. The shapeshifter was in the alley, waiting for their cue. All Lyrem needed now, was Arch. A slight flittering sound alerted him to a new text.

        Omw.

        Perfect. Everything was in motion. Everything was going to work out. Arch needed a little more push. Just a slight nudge to keep them interested in working for him. The farther they went, the harder it would be to return to innocence. He couldn’t allow them the chance to turn away. He needed to awaken their memories naturally. He needed them to be lost in their fury. He needed them to take that extra step- he needed them to kill. And who better to help them to do that than-

        The front door flew open in a rage. Lyrem was faced with a version of himself blazoning with passionate anger. His eyes were red, his face was pink. He looked as though…

        “What happened to you?” He asked himself. The other Lyrem wiped a stray unstoppable tear from his face.

        “Oh, you’ll fucking find out!” He shouted. He travelled through the store and directly entered the employee washroom. He remained in there for several minutes before emerging with his face rinsed but still tender. He announced to his other self, still in a fit. “I’m taking the SUV.”

        The present Lyrem raised a brow, then returned to staring at his texts. It wasn’t often that he dared cross himself within a time-stream.

        “Just don’t crash the damn thing.” He hollered, but his future self was already gone through the back.

        -----

        The Labyrinth.

        Arch had only ever heard of it.

        What they knew was simply that it was a place of emptiness. It was a place where nothing existed. A place where suffering, joy, life and death ceased to be. It was also a place that stole you from the world. A step into the depths of the Labyrinth and you’d be forgotten to all. Forgotten to the whole world- except for the very one who had tossed you in. Even on Earth, the Labyrinth would ensure you’d never exist there either- not even in a memory. It wasn’t like simple Latin blood magic. This was a loss to endure forever.

        Now, they saw it, and it was much less impressive than they expected. Lyrem had propped open the back door as Arch held onto the man’s body- or the person they were to assume was the man. But… Arch knew better than to believe everything they heard. They were reminded of the policeman, Grenn, and what he had said a week ago-

        “How does a guy walk away from a car crash with a Bowie stuck in his leg?”

        At the time, it wasn’t as important to know how the man got away, as much as it was important to find him. Lyrem seemed sure that they had found him, but Arch wasn’t so sure- especially not after they leaned into his right leg. There wasn’t anything remotely close to a reaction from him. The knife was buried at lease two inches into his leg, of that, Arch was certain; and no one could heal from that in a week. The Labyrinth wouldn’t be pleasant, certainly, but at least they weren’t about to kill an innocent man.

        “Well?” Lyrem touted, “What are you waiting for?”

        Arch looked up and down the empty alleyway. Usually, Lyrem’s vehicle would be blocking the view of the street from the alley’s entrance, but it wasn’t around tonight. Maybe it was at a mechanics’; maybe Arch would get lucky.

        “Nothing,” they said, dismally. They propped the man up, who was now completely unconscious from a second well-placed blow to the head, and kicked him forward into the darkness.

        Lyrem closed the door after the shapeshifter.

        “I am proud of you, Arch,” he said, but this time, it sounded skeptical. Like he was testing them. He could see the change in their demeanour and he measured what this new version of Arch might mean for him.

        “That wasn’t the man, was it?” They postulated. Lyrem squirmed under their gaze. He nodded apologetically, and gave a half smile.

        “Too clever for your own good,” he praised warmly. Approaching, he clasped his hands together.  “You caught me. That was not the Man- though you certainly put him in his place, didn’t you? The Labyrinth… I would choose death over the Labyrinth a hundred times over if given a choice. Quite diabolical of you to choose the Labyrinth.”

        Arch stepped backward, nearly tripping over their own feet to do so. Lyrem regarded their movement keenly, and furrowed his brows.

        “What’s wrong, Arch?”

        “Nothing,” they mumbled, looking away, towards the door. “What… was he? Why did he look like the man?”

        “Oh,” Lyrem realized. “He is a shapeshifter. Hard beings to find, I will admit but for this particular job, he did just perfect. Well worth the expense I think.”

        Arch squinted their eyes at Lyrem, who was so comfortable with the idea of tossing people away.

        “So, he was like you?” Arch alleged tentatively. “A… a monster?”

         Lyrem stepped forward at the accusation, towering himself over the kid that he regarded so highly. A sharp betrayal stung him in the chest. He had almost forgotten that his future self had visited him to retrieve the SUV. He may finally know exactly what set him off into such a fury.

        “Say that again.”

        Arch stammered and stumbled over their words, their hands finding their way to their pocket where their phone was missing, but the mace, thankfully, remained. Lyrem stopped them with a finger to their lips, resulting in an upsetting silence from Arch.

        “I am not a monster,” he stated. “What I am is a bestower of great gifts. I gave you dominance and power over those who have oppressed you and you would lower me to the tier of a shapeshifter- a monster?”

        Arch was shaking now, unable to move any further away, and too fearful to object to his statements.

        “You promised me your life, your devotion to this work that I do. Arch, if I am truly a monster in your eyes, then you need not fear me any more than the one that stares back at you from a mirror.”

        Lyrem lowered his fingers, and took a deep breath.

        “I will forgive you, Arch. I will forgive you because I care about you, and because you did something very difficult for me today.” Lyrem raised his arm again, setting a hand on their shoulder. “And I suspect you are still trying to remember everything that you and I have done together. So… I apologize if this experience was… rattling.”

        “My…” Arch mumbled, still stricken with a sense of danger that was overwhelming them, reason and all. “My mom… she warned me…”

        The memories were fading… They were fading quickly. But their mom… their mom?... told them… somebody told them not to trust this man. The man with the gem shop. The man who forced them to work late. The man who taught them what power truly was.

        This was the man they feared. And they feared him more than anything else in the world.

        The lid of the mace hit the alleyway’s pavement, rolling into a gutter of the road. The hiss of the spray and the following spewed insults, were enough of a distraction for Arch to run into the street after they had thrown the emptied canister into the old man’s face. The only thing screaming in their mind was the knowledge that they had to return home and not Lyrem’s well chosen words that echoed down to them as he followed them at a slower pace to the sidewalk.

        “YOU UNGRATEFUL WRETCH!”

        Arch flew down the many streets, pushing past the evening street-walkers if needed. Their legs fought them the whole way; still recovering from the bruises from the crash and their back still feeling the panging effects from the whiplash that caused a near-constant aching. For now, they couldn’t care less. They needed to get home. They needed to be safe. They needed…

        For whatever reason, a visual of Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore popped into their head. There was something about it that was wrong. There was something missing. Someone missing. Who was telling them about that ridiculous movie, again?

        Who would be waiting for them at the house? They thought.

        Maleficent. That stupid cat.

        People lived with other people though, didn’t they? Families. They realized. That was what it was called. They had one of those. Human families. Siblings and grandparents and fathers and…

        They reached the end of their block, their own face worn from the fears of that night and exhausted from everything that had been revealed to them. They weren’t a monster… They couldn’t be.

        They were Arch. They were a stupid high school student who had a part-time job. They had friends... they had little hobbies… they failed Spanish class.

        They also tortured Kyle. They flayed his skin so that Lyrem could dry them and use them as paper for certain macabre spell work.

        The more they ran with the knowledge of what they had done and who they had hurt, the harder it was to continue… the easier it was to give up. Their knees buckled, hitting the sidewalk pavement with force. Out of breath, and feeling nauseous, Arch’s forehead met the hot ground next; their arms and hands curled around their head as they threatened to pull their own hair out as a means of distraction from their horrible reality.

        “There you are…”

        Arch gulped, and merely wept, soaking the sidewalk in a small spot where their face was supported only by their forearms. They felt a firm grasp pulling them up by the elbow, and they succumbed to its demands. Their knees were torn into by stray pebbles, tossed on from the boulevards- some were still small enough to remain stuck beneath their there, leaving specks of red across their skin.

        “Wh-where…” Arch started to say- though they didn’t entirely know what they were trying to ask as a fog of grief and anger and fear poured over them. “Where’s… my…”

        It was exhausting, trying to remember exactly what was so wrong- why they couldn’t stand to be around Lyrem right now- and despite their best efforts to pull away, he dutifully remained by their side as they walked the rest of the street together. Slowly they arrived at the front door of the house.  

         Maleficent sat there at the top of the porch, waiting; her blue eyes peering judgmentally at the kid as they found their way up the stairs. A long grey tail swept from side to side lazily, then she proceeded to lick herself.

        Lyrem closed them into the house; the scent of burning paper filling it. He had lit a small fire in the living room and stacked several small Rubbermaid containers beside it- one of which, sitting on the raised slate hearth was half empty.

        The futon was roughly shoved back into the form of a couch. Bags of clothing in multiple colours remained by the door, as well as a stack of math and chemistry texts with haphazardly strewn loose-leaf papers.

        He sat Arch down on the futon as he laid a hand on their back. Gently, he caressed them and pulled a warm fleece throw over their lap. Arch curled into it, and watched the fire burn, engulfing the last memories of the people they thought of as family. Lyrem return to stoking it. He picked through some photos and papers from the open bin, allowing Arch to watch as he tossed them to the flames.

        Arch found themselves drifting into a deep dreamless sleep. With a pillow under their head and the room growing too warm, Lyrem studied them fondly as he continued to shove their past into the flames. Over an hour later, he closed the lid on the one of the last bins. He would return to burning those papers and photos another time. He pushed the little metal bar to close the flue on the fire, and shut the door on it as it groaned like a horn.

        “You rang…?”

        Lyrem turned around, seeing Paimon, he scoffed. Then held a finger to his lips to keep the demon quiet until he shooed him into the kitchen. Lyrem started the kettle on the stove. Paimon looked from the couch and then back to Lyrem warily, and then opened his mouth.

        “Don’t say it,” Lyrem interjected. Paimon looked slightly offended.

        “I was going to say that our lawyer has their papers ready,” Paimon replied with an innocent conjecture. Removing his tall hat, he placed it on the small worn wooden table. Lyrem nodded, and he continued. “But also, that you are getting too close.”

        Lyrem pulled himself away from the cupboard; a tin of hot chocolate powder in his hand, he considered using it as a bludgeoning instrument- but even if he had something more weaponized, Paimon wouldn’t have felt a thing. He was a demon, after all.

         “All Arch has to do is sign and your debts will become their debts. You won’t ever have to worry about what you owe- well until you make another ridiculous deal, that is.”

        “Keeping Maria alive was not a ridiculous deal,” Lyrem said. He pulled three mugs out of the cupboard, filling them with spoonfuls of the powder. Now they only needed to wait for the water to boil.

        “My apologies,” Paimon instilled a silence into the room. Absently he sifted through the mail with Charlotte’s name sprawled over it. Insurance payment reminders, some neighbourhood notices, and list of seemingly random addresses she had penned out over the phone one day, they all sat in a heap. “Their mother, then?”

        Lyrem accepted the shame with dignity and crossed his arms as he leaned into the fridge.

“It had to be done. Arch is too easily influenced by them,” He spoke simply. “Thank you again for providing me with another doorway. It took a lot of energy… I may need to devour a heart or two before I replenish my strength.”

“Have you considered that you might be getting in a little over your head?”

Lyrem shook it. “No. I- I am not in over my head, Paimon. My head is still well above the waterline, thank you very much.”

Paimon smoothed his beard to the end and regarded the man skeptically.

“So, you will still allow Arch to sign?”

Lyrem blinked, his lashes fluttering bit as he thought of his answer. Then he scowled.

“They already said they would sign. I am sure that if Arch cares about me, and cares about the work ahead of them, that they will make the right decision for themselves.”

“And if they make the wrong decision?” Paimon postulated.

Lyrem fell silent just in time for the kettle to scream out with a high whistle. He shut off the stove, and picked it up. Filling the three mugs and giving them a stir, he passed one to Paimon, then moved to the living room.

With a light nudge, Arch awoke to the smell of the warm chocolate sugar and accepted the cup as they sat up. Wrapping their blanket around their shoulders, Lyrem asked.

“Are you feeling better, now?”

Arch nodded, brushing away some dried tears. Past Lyrem’s head of grey, the light was on in the kitchen with the demon in black sitting there still. He caught their gaze and held it carefully. Arch waved.

Paimon nodded back with a slight sideways grin.

“What’s Paimon doing here?” they asked, whispering to Lyrem.

Good. They remembered Paimon.

“He’s just here to catch up, that’s all.” Lyrem left them to their own devices on the couch and returned to the kitchen table as he retrieved his own comforting mug and held onto it with both hands as if the simple act could warm his rapidly cooling heart.

‘Let them enjoy their prom- their graduation. One last night out with their friends.” Lyrem was asking- no, pleading more than telling.

“Immediately after. I don’t want you to be running around any longer with this target on your back. It makes me… uneasy.” Paimon adjusted in his seat. “You and I still have much to do.”

“Yes. Yes, I know.” Lyrem sipped on his hot chocolate as his hazel eyes glazed over from thoughts that were perhaps too deep for his own good.

[nais-nook]

Sawyer - Pt 1

(Hey there! You may be liking/reblogging something without links to new pieces I may have written for this character, just letting you know in case you’re interested in reading more!)

Hey, I’m not dead, but uni is dragging my ass to hell and back. Anyhow, here's Sawyer, who belongs to the lovely @yandere-flower​. He looks like this, and I drew a reference for his tattoos here since I don’t describe them much. I think I might make this story a little more interactive - as in you can make choices and it’ll change the outcome, but I’ll see what you all think before I try something like that!

~***~

Part 2, Part 3

Summary: Who knew helping a random stranger would lead to you being dragged into unsavoury business?

Pairing: Male x Female Reader.

Words:4458.

Warnings: Mentions of death, Swearing, Suggestive themes (because it’s Sawyer, but it’s still pretty mild). 

Normally, navigating through the twists and turns of the barely lit roads was a cinch. You knew your area like the back of your hand - what buses were the best to take, which seats on those buses had the most room, which roads were off-limits lest you wanted to get mugged. 

Yet today felt different. Weird.

The air felt thicker. The shadows were gloomier. The lights seemed to flicker.

Every breath you took was held a little longer than usual and every small sound made you tense up. You stuffed your hands deeper into your pockets, even pushing off your hood so you could see better. Just in case.

You turned the corner, spotting the familiar graffitied wall and almost sagged in relief. A couple of alleyways and one more corner, then you would have been in the safety of your home. You picked up the pace. Would have made it too, if you hadn’t heard the muffled groan echo from the alleyway just shy of the corner you were supposed to turn.

Just keep walking, you urged yourself, your footsteps already faltering at the sound of yet another moan. Don’t get involved in things you can’t handle.

And despite every nerve in your body screaming at you to ignore whatever it was, you turned back and called into the darkness.

“Hey!” Your grip on your phone was vice-like. “Is, uh, is anyone there?”

“Don’t worry about it, just go.”

The sudden voice startled you. It sounded masculine and croaky, like a thirsty man. Immediately you fumbled with your phone to switch on the flashlight. When it flicked to life it revealed the owner of the voice.

Lying in the filth of the alleyway was a man draped in a dark jacket. You would have been able to at least guess his age if it weren’t for the blood caking his face and clothes. A swamp of murky red. Whoever he was, you could tell he had been here for a while.

“Are you okay?” You inched closer, hands up and voice soothing as you picked your way past broken glass and cigarette butts. Kneeling in the grime you methodically checked his pulse and breathing. “Listen, I’m going to call an ambulance. You’ll be at a hospital soon, alright?”

“No. No, no, no. Don’t - don’t do that. I can’t go to a hospital.”

“What do you mean you can’t go to a hospital?” You peeled off his jacket, already surveying for anything that required your immediate attention. He hissed at your touch, then cursed loudly when you propped up against an abandoned skip.

“Listen, if I get sent to a hospital, fuck,” his grip on you was stronger than you expected for someone in such a state, “if I get sent to a hospital, I will definitely die. Trust me on that.”

“The hospital is where you go when you’re hurt, and I’m not sure if you’re completely aware of the fact that you’ve been hurt, but you have. Badly.” You applied pressure to the angry gash you found on his forehead. With your free hand you unlocked your phone, paying no mind to his protests. 

You remained calm and collected. Thankfully, this sort of stuff didn’t bother you much anymore. Not like it did at the beginning of your training. 

“What, you’re telling me you don’t get a little rowdy when you’re invited to an alleyway party?” He chuckled dryly, coughed, then groaned.

“I can’t say I have. I would also suggest not moving until help arrives. If you don’t you might -” you hesitated. Telling someone they might die if they didn’t listen wasn’t really something you were supposed to say.

“I might what? Die?”

“I didn’t -”

“I know that.” He closed his eyes, tilting his head up towards the sky. His hand hung off your wrist, as if it would stop you from calling the emergency services. “Please don’t call an ambulance. It’ll make more trouble than it’s worth, for both of us.”

Your fingers ached from the grip on your phone. His blood was slick between your fingertips. You knew he needed help. He wouldn’t last long without it.

With the smell of booze and sweat and trash filling your lungs, you made your decision.

***

“I should have just sent him to a hospital,” you scolded yourself as you flipped the final piece of French toast in the pan. “He could have acquired brain injury, or internal bleeding or something.”

The sizzle of the toast was your only response. You nodded, “You’re right, I am stupid. This is what I get for listening to him. What if someone has reported him as missing?”

You nudged the toast onto the already piled plate, then leaned in uncomfortably close and stared at it. The warmth of the food wafted over your face. “Can you even do that? I’m sure you have to wait a few days before you report someone as missing.”

The next few minutes of you preparing a cup of tea went the exact same way. You interrogated the kettle, tea bags, the sugar and then the milk. Unfortunately, none of them held the answers that you so desperately seeked.

After arranging the drink, plate and a couple of pieces of fruit on a tray you made your way up to the guest room housing your newest patient. You stood in front of the cream door, balancing the tray on your hip as you muttered, “I swear to god, if he’s dead, I'm going to scream.” 

The knock resonated in the hall, yet there was no response. 

“Hey, you awake in there?”

Nothing.

You cracked open the door, the light from the hallway spilling in, and peeked through the opening. There the man lay, in the exact same position you put him in last night. Gritting your teeth, you nudged the door open, hoping with all your heart you could just slip in and out. Your hopes were shattered when he sat up, all whilst wincing.

“Morning.” His voice still sounded a little hoarse. Better, but not quite.

“Hi,” you responded absentmindedly, paying more attention to what revealed itself as the blankets fell away.

At the very least he was clean - that you made sure of. The dull ache in your lower back served as a reminder of the effort it took to strip him to his boxers and scrub him clean. However, you weren’t really paying much attention to him last night. Not while you were so desperately trying to make sure he didn’t die. Yet here, bathing in the light from the hallway, you had to admit - he looked awful.

Handsome, but awful. With white hair and a face that made him look like a prince from a children's book. The only thing that would break the illusion of him appearing in the happily ever after of a princess being the piercings and tattoos adorning him.

That and the bruising. All over his neck and collar bone. Stretching across his stomach and side, like someone had tried to knock the wind out of him. He had scars too, though small and none were due to the state you found him in last night.

“Admiring me, are you?” The man cracked a smile. It still managed to look dazzling regardless of the purple and reds smothering his jaw and the slight swelling of his face.

“No, actually.” You pressed your lips together. “Just assessing how badly you’ve been hurt.”

“What can I say, I bruise like a peach.” He quickly ran his tongue over a canine, and you could have sworn you saw the flash of a tongue piercing. “Taste like one too, if you ever fancy giving me a try.”

“I - what?” Your face twisted in confusion as you tried to process what he had just said. 

“You heard me.”

“See, I don’t know if this is how you genuinely act, or if this is you being out of it, so I’m not gonna react at all. Deal?”

“Fine by me.” He shuffled, harshly blowing air out of his nose before inclining his head towards you. “That for me?”

You suddenly remembered the tray you were holding and set it down on the drawers next to the bed. “Yeah, here you go.”

“Aw, you care.”

“No offence, but who saves someone just to starve them?”

“A sadist.” He huffed stretching ever so slowly over to the tray.

“Do I look like a sadist to you?”

His attention flicked to you for a second before focusing on the tray again. “You could be. You'd be surprised what looks can cover up.”

“If I’m a sadist you’re a masochist.”

“What makes you say that?” He winced as his fingers grazed the edge of the tray.

You swept a hand in front of you, knowing full well that he would understand you were talking about the position he was in - clearly pained and yet still stretching out. 

“Okay, you got me there. Can I have the tray now?”

“You aren't allergic or lactose intolerant or anything? I didn't get to ask last night before you practically passed out on me and I forgot to even consider it when I was making you food.”

“Nah, you're good.”

You nodded, gently positioning the tray in his lap before skirting around the bed to pry open the curtain. “The light not hurting you or anything?”

“If it was hurting me, you'd know by now.” He held up the plate, his hands trembling, you noted. “Want some?”

“I’m fine, it’s for you.”

He raised a brow, tilting the plate this way and that, as he teased you. “You didn’t poison it did you? Is that why you’re refusing to take one?”

“Oh, I definitely poisoned it,” you joked, arms crossed as you leaned against the window. “A little Snow White situation.”

He gasped playfully and batted his dark lashes at you. “Will I get a kiss?”

“If you get one of your buddies to come ‘round, sure.” 

He shrugged, gave you a massive grin and brought the cup of tea to his lips carefully. “I’d rather not. But anyway, thank you for the breakfast. Even if I do end up dead.”

“No worries.”

You perched on the window sill and stretched your arms above your head, the movement bringing temporary relief to your back. Your patient observed every move you made with big brown eyes.

“Name’s Sawyer by the way,” he said around a mouth full of toast, and you had to give him a withering look.

“I’m (Y/n). Please swallow your food before you speak, I don’t think performing the Heimlich manoeuvre on you with those bruises will be a good idea.”

One big gulp later he was smiling from ear to ear, something cheeky hidden behind it. “(Y/n), huh? Nice name for an even nicer face.”

“Thank you, I guess?”

“(Y/n), I have a question for you.” 

“Okay?”

“I am naked.”

“...That’s - that’s not a question, you know that right?” 

… Maybe he wasn’t going to walk away from this as unscathed as you originally thought.

“The question was going to be why.”

“Not sure if you noticed but you’ve been cleaned up - your clothes have been fixed and washed too, thanks to me.” You patted your bicep and gave him what you hoped was a friendly, not tired smile. Sure, you weren’t a body builder in the slightest, but you were able to lug around people much bigger than yourself, Sawyer being a prime example of that.

“I mean, yeah, that makes sense, but-”

“Besides, you aren’t even fully naked, I left your boxers… on…” Your eyes widened in horror as Sawyer set the tray aside to peek under the blankets. “Please tell me you can feel the lower half of your body.”

“I mean, it’s warm?”

“Sawyer, this is serious, tell me you can feel the lower half of your body.” You had made it to the bedpost when he slid a hand underneath the blankets and nodded, an apologetic look plastered onto his face.

“Nope, yeah, I still have feeling down there, sorry.” His demeanour changed almost instantly as he wiggled his brows at you. “Seeing as you're here now, wanna cop a feel?”

“No! Are you normally like this? Should I be concerned?”

He completely ignored your question. “You know I’m pretty surprised you didn’t take my boxers off.”

You scrubbed your face in an attempt to quell your irritation, then placed your hands on your hips and sighed. “And why would I need to do that?”

“Oh, c’mon, you weren’t even the least bit curious?”

“I’ve seen so many naked bodies, nothing is interesting anymore.”

“Wow, look at you, pulling in people,” he whistled low and smooth before giving you a wolfish grin. 

“It’s because I’m a nurse, Sawyer, no other reason. Or at least I will be soon,” you sighed, slumped onto the edge of the bed.

“A nurse, huh? Fancy. I know a doctor, and a psychiatrist, but not a nurse. Makes sense though, you were super calm and collected when you found me in the alley. Probably deal with a lot of cases like this.”

“Yeah, but I don’t usually bring patients home. You done eating?”

“Yup, thanks.”

“Alrighty,” you mumbled, allowing him to snatch a tangerine from the tray before you took it off him, “how you feeling?”

“I’ve got a headache that hurts like a bitch and my body is stiffer than a hormonal boys dick.”

“Medicine it is then. I’ll be back. Don’t die.” Your glare didn't have much of an effect on him as he just leaned back and chuckled stiffly.

You dumped the tray in the kitchen, promising to get to the dishes later, then rummaged around the medicine cupboard. When you’d found the painkillers, you grabbed a glass of water and picked up Sawyer’s clothes which you’d tossed over a radiator last night.

“Ah,” you breathed in the smell of the conditioner, the warmth of the clothes pleasantly seeping into your skin, “I’m so smart.”

What you had found once you had gotten back to the guest room intrigued you. Sawyer hadn’t moved, but his attention definitely had. The pale blue sheets were crinkled under his clenched fingers, the way a mourning woman would a handkerchief. Golden flowers that were cast upon his skin by the sunlight pouring through the net curtains wavered in the breeze. The vulnerability of his expression was so raw, it astonished you. The rap of your knuckles against the door melted all of it away, and in its place was the lopsided grin you had gotten so used to in such a small amount of time.

You couldn’t complain. Joking and flirting may have made up his walls, but professional friendliness made up yours.

“Here, they’re warm,” you murmured, laying the jeans on the bed and gently draping the shirt over his shoulders. 

“Shit, this smells good.” Sawyer practically melted back into the bed, draping the shirt over his face.

“It’s called conditioner,” you laughed, placing the glass of water down on the drawers.

“Hey, (Y/n), where’s my jacket at?”

“It’s downstairs, I’ll get it for you after you’re dressed.”

“Nah, nah, I don’t need the jacket, just want what’s inside the pockets,” he pulled off the shirt and crinkled his nose, looking childishly innocent, oddly enough, “that’s assuming they didn’t mug me when they dragged to the alley way to rough me up.”

Ah, so that’s what happened. “You talking about the cigarettes or your phone?”

“They didn’t rob me? What a miracle. Good thing too, I think I might need a cigarette right now.”

“Not in my damn house you ain’t.”

“Thank y- wait. Why?” 

“I don’t really like the idea of getting lung cancer thanks.” You pulled out a packet of tablets and popped a few into his outstretched hand.

“Not even one?”

“You even attempt to smoke something in my house I’ll throw you out with the cigarettes, do you understand?” Your hard stare seemed to sink in this time around.

“You know,” his eyes flicked up and down your body, if only for a second, “you’re kinda hot when you get all authoritative like that.”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes Ma’am.” The words were spoken slowly, paired with hooded eyes that forced you to suppress the shiver that threatened to run down your spine.

“Take these, I’m kicking you out after.”

“Wait, I thought I was only getting kicked out if I smoked?”

“You can stay until lunch, I’ll feed you, but after that you’re out.” You handed him the glass. Sawyer swallowed the painkillers with no hesitation, chugging the entire glass down in one go.

“I can’t leave.”

“Not on your own. I get that you’re hurting and all but I’m sure someone can come pick you up. A family member, maybe a friend?”

“I’m not joking,” he placed a hand on your forearm, touch gentle but deathly serious, “I can’t be seen leaving your house.” 

“And why is that?” The warmth of his fingers was fleeting as you pulled away. There was a strange heaviness Sawyers solemnity brought, and you didn’t much appreciate it.

“You still haven’t figured it out yet?” He tilted his head, though his expression didn’t change in its intensity.

“Figured out what?”

A hum from him, then a smile and the weirdness in the room dissipated. Sawyer turned, slowly, fists clenched and breath shaking as he did so. And then he waited, his back on display. You couldn’t stop the knitting of your brows when you saw the bruising again - you’d seen worse, much worse, but it still felt like a punch to the gut knowing just how fragile the human body could be.

“You see it yet?”

“How damaged you are?” you asked gently.

“Nope. Look again.”

“Sawyer, I don’t -” 

Suddenly everything clicked into place.

“Judging by that reaction you saw it, right?”

You folded your arms, trying to stop them from shaking. It didn’t help.

“What, you not gonna answer me?” He turned to face you again, and from the way his lips were drawn tight you could tell he was trying to control whatever he was feeling at that moment. “No offence but I thought nurses were supposed to be smart, how the hell did you miss it?”

“Okay, you know what, I was more concerned with making sure you didn’t die to admire your tattoos,” you snapped, paying little attention to Sawyer himself but what you had just seen.

Nestled right between his shoulder blades, almost completely blended into the bruises was a tattoo of a snake, its head resting on the nape of Sawyer’s neck. It was a beautiful, even tasteful tattoo; however, the implications were bad enough to send your mind spiralling.

“You okay?” Your head snapped in his direction, the sickly feeling still making its way through your body. Sawyer had pulled the covers away, one foot on the ground as if he was going to get out of bed.

“Just… stay over there. I’m still processing this.”

He nodded, made no move as you ran over everything you knew about the gangs in the area. 

Kidnappings. The circulation of drugs. Theft in the dead of night. Riots over territory. 

You couldn’t care less about the actions themselves, no, what really made your blood boil was the sheer number of people who ended up as collateral damage. You had personally tended to some of those people who were at the mercy of death, watched as the light faded from their eyes and their loved ones wept. It always stuck with you. Made your skin crawl when you walked past some of the wards.

How easily it could have been you.

“Vipers, right? I don’t know how many gangs are in this area, but I know they’re one of the main ones.”

“Yeah, Vipers.”

You laughed. It held no humour. “That’s why you didn’t want to go to the hospital. Scared you’d get arrested for murder or something?”

“Excuse me,” his lips twisted to the side, “I haven’t murdered anyone.”

“Then why were you avoiding the hospital?”

“The Vipers have people in different places, but we ain’t the only ones. If I wound up at a hospital, I can absolutely fucking guarantee you I would have been kidnapped, or one of the doctors would have offed me. I don’t think you realise that there are groups other than the one I’m in. Even if you don’t do anything you could still be a target.”

“Sawyer -”

“I’m not telling you to believe me, but at the very least I hope you take my thanks sincerely. I mean it. You could have ignored me and sent me on my way, but you didn’t. You even brought me to your house. Thank you.”

You ran your hands through your hair, the tension seeping away the more you looked at him. He seemed to be serious, and surprisingly that sincerity was putting you at ease. “Fine, that’s the hospital thing out the way, why can’t you leave my house?”

“It’s day,” he spoke slowly, like he was saying the most obvious thing in the world.

“Okay, so your eyes work, congratulations. What does that mean?”

“If anyone saw me leaving your house, not only would I be in for shit, you would probably end up on someone’s watch list. Whether that ends in a friendly chat, or you being wiped off the face of the earth is up to the person holding that list.”

“So, what do we do now.”

You felt tired. Oh, so tired.

“We wait until night rolls around, and then I go. Or rather, people come to pick me up because there is no way I’m leaving this bed without some serious help,” Sawyer grimaced, “I’m just glad I haven’t had to sneeze yet. I think I would die if that happened.”

“That’s assuming you aren’t already on your way to dying. I may have stitched your head up and fixed you as best as I could, but I don’t have any medical equipment like the stuff at the hospital. For all I know you could be bleeding internally as we speak.”

His face paled a tad at that. “Well, uh… Am I?”

“Not that I can tell, but like I said.”

You stood there awkwardly for a minute, not knowing where to look or put your hands. He hadn't done anything to you - hadn’t raised his voice, hadn’t threatened you, he listened when you gave instructions. And you most certainly were happy to help him before you figured out, rather belatedly, that he was part of a gang. Warily, you sat down on the edge of the bed, noting how pleased Sawyer looked when you did so.

“Look, I’m sorry, I just - I don’t know how to feel about all of this.”

“I get it,” he raised his pierced brow, “but don’t go around accusing me of things either.”

You barley nodded before you lay back, closing your eyes and letting the sunlight warm your face. You enjoyed the quiet for a moment. The whisper of the blankets as you pulled your legs up and the low hum of cars outside. A peek at Sawyer let you know he was also lounging, arms behind his head and eyes closed too. The painkillers most certainly hadn’t kicked in, so you knew he must have been in immense pain, and even when they did start working, it probably wouldn’t help much. Yet he looked so peaceful there, the flowery light making his hair glow like a halo. 

He looked like he belonged there.

Despite your reluctance to disturb him, you had to ask, “So, who you calling? To pick you up, I mean.”

“Oh yeah,” his eyes fluttered open, “friends.”

“Friends? Like actual friends or people from your gang friends?”

“Why can’t they be people from the gang and friends at the same time?”

You shrugged, then sucked in a quick breath when you recalled the state of his phone. “I hope you’re not planning on using your phone.”

“They stole my phone?!” He shot up in bed, the action followed by a pained shout and a few choice swear words you'd rather not hear in that order ever again. 

“No, no, down,” you pushed his shoulders until he was lying flat. Sawyer just stared at your hands until you lifted them from his skin, the contact feeling a little weird and awkward, “ah, sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“You're warm,” he smiled, and it was so soft and genuine you had to take a moment to remember what you were doing. 

“You know you're going to have to start actually answering my questions, Sawyer. They are kind of important for your health.”

“I'm fine. So, what happened to my phone?”

“It wasn’t stolen, it's just - you know what it might be best you didn't know.” Just remembering the way the screen was hanging onto the case by a couple of wires was enough to give you anxiety. 

“Fuck me, man, phones are expensive.”

“Here.” You fished your phone out of your hoodie pocket, untangling it from the headphones, then handed it to Sawyer. 

He looked vaguely bewildered as he reached out for it. “You sure?”

“Not like you can run away with it, not in that state.”

While Sawyer was pressing digits your eyes kept flicking between your hands and the one resting in his lap. The phone looked so small in his grip, despite being the perfect size for you. Sawyer caught you staring. 

He held out his hand, wiggling his fingers and teasing in a singsong voice, “If you wanna hold my hand, all you have to do is ask.”

You refused politely, folding your hands in your lap as he shrugged. Somebody must have picked up on the other side because his face perked up almost immediately, and then dropped when whoever it was started yelling. 

“I’m just gonna leave now,” you whispered, patting his blanket-covered leg. 

“You aren't even going to stay for moral support?” He pouted, then rolled his eyes when the yelling on the phone picked up again. “No, not you, shut up for a second.”

“Whoever is on the other side sounds terrifying, and you're just about all the excitement I can take at the moment, so no thank you.”

“Fine,” he sighed, then got back to his call with a sour face, “dude, can you stop shouting at me for one second, for fucks sake.”

Even when the door clicked shut you could still hear his frustrated argument on the phone.  

“I think I’ll give him ten minutes…”

[thejarleyfic]

finding home. 1/?.

who: Marley Rose, Jake Puckerman

when: ten years apart

where: lima, ohio

what: Marley was invisible in school, always pining for one boy's attention. Ten years later, she's a pop star that's found hiding out in her hometown. Jake had everything in high school, but is now the burnt-out owner of a run-down bar in the town he could never escape. Their paths cross once again, two people trying to find home.

fanfiction.com link

One more week. 

Her mom had texted her during English class to remind her, but truth be the told the thought hadn’t left her head since the day started. Nobody was seeing her preoccupation, only the occasional nudge from the teacher to feign attention to the last few lesson plans before graduation. 

One more week.

The rest of the class shuffled out of the classroom as the bell finished ringing, the volume of the chatter drawing out the last few pages of homework that Ms. Johnston was in the middle of assigning. A class full of seniors weren’t planning on making the last few days of their high school career count, especially as everybody was swapping details about the end-of-the-year parties and summer plans before heading to college. Anybody with even the slightest excitement planned for the next few weeks way far past paying attention to the last assignments of the year.

With a few more scribbles of the last pages, Marley slid the yellow notebook into her bag and stood to slip into the hallway. It was a long trek across the school to get to geology, going through the back hallways avoided the groups of seniors and juniors that blocked entire pathways with their groups. Attempting to go around them had her bag knocked off her shoulder on more than one occasion.

“Wait--” Marley froze, one foot out the classroom door as she glanced to Mrs. Johnston, an older woman that had been at McKinley since her mother was a teenager. There were only a few times that they had interacted before, usually when a volunteer was picked to answer a question about the previous reading. There was still a taste of bitterness each time Marley thought about the fact that she never raised her hand, but she swallowed the feeling in change for the small pleasantry. “It was good to have you in class this year. I wish I would’ve heard from you more.”

A small shoulder shrug, nearly impossible to see under the long, brunette hair hiding the sides of her face and frame. There was nothing to say except the excuses she gave to every teacher that made the same comment, except this time there wasn’t another opportunity next year.

“Any thoughts after graduation?”

A small beat, then the reluctant response.

“I have a cousin out in California, she offered me to stay with her out there while I take a few classes.”

“I’m quite serious. You have some good things going for you, Mary.”

Marley was out the door before the sting revealed itself on her face, biting the inside of her cheek as she navigated the hallway. 

A few corner turns, and she was in the service hallway. Long, closets and empty rooms lining the sides. The lonesome entrance for the maintenance workers, the only one wide enough to fit some of the machinery in. The volume of the more popular hallways was still heard in echos, but it was the most silence she was going to get until the school cleared completely of students later in the day.

It was a few brief moments of solitude, a break from the noise constantly swirling around her head. Peace.

She hadn’t even noticed her eyes closed, her steps slowing to a slow shuffle as the few minutes she had alone ticked away. They only opened with a new sound, a sharp scraping across the tile. A flash of black, and a familiar face sped around the corner with careless speed.

Jake.

Back in their freshman year, he was riding the same scooter down the halls and nearly knocked her head against the wall. It was only a surprising moment of grace that saved her from a trip to the nurse, but it left an impression. A few more near-misses of interaction, a few shared classes where they didn’t say a word. It was stupid that she let herself feel the way she did, it was even more stupid that she never acted on it in the years they had spent in proximity. 

Mom’s voice was in her head, the same advice that was given hours after her first run in with the mysterious boy from the hallways. The same advice that was readily given each and every time Marley complained about her desire to talk with him ever since then.

It was only now that Marley realized that saying now or never wasn’t the same as feeling now or never. Now that the time to act was truly running out, the words couldn’t be restrained. Even if she had tried to hold it back, her lips were moving far before her mind had caught up.

“You’re Jake, right?” Her sudden confidence was too late, her words drowned as he streaked past her. 

No hesitation, no pause. Not even a turn around. A few moments later, and he turned down another hallway. Towards the biology and chemistry rooms, probably heading towards the one exit that the school always forgot to alarm.

“Good things going for me.” She muttered under her breath, another sting in her chest with the reminder repeating in her head. 

He didn’t even look at you, he didn’t even look at you.

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

“One more, Jake.”

The last straggler, Greg. He had a spot at the bar since the first shift at the factory had let out, racking up drink order after drink order. Only bits and pieces of his sob story had spilled out throughout the night, more than enough for Jake to know that the tab wouldn’t be paid off tonight. Last call had been thirty minutes ago, the rest of the patrons had left to carry on at their own houses and let him close in peace.  

“No,” It was a simple enough answer, and probably the expected answer since Grad had pulled this stint a handful of times since Jake took ownership of the bar a few years ago. Whatever confidence the liquid courage granted him, it was enough for him to try his luck again.

“C’mon,” The man slumped back in the chair, obviously not realizing the glazed look in his eye giving away his true state. The half-on tie didn’t help either, on the whole it was almost like watching a used car salesman that got dropped in a washer. Sad, pathetic, but a small part of him wanted to laugh. “You tellin’ me you have something going on the rest of the night?”

A single push of his palm pressed the cash drawer into the machine, the mechanical latch grinding into place. Likely going to need replaced in the next few years, not immediate enough to happen during the upcoming fiscal cycle. He was still in the red from the past few months of stagnant patrons, no reason to push the non-emergent. It was still a useful enough tactic to break any train of thought coming out of drunk patrons, especially once they started comparing lives to his.

“Keys.” Jake didn’t glance over, instead moving his hands to fastening the rest of the bottle stoppers. A few beats of silence, and he did meet Greg with a knowing look. His face white, the red flush from the beer disappeared. It was a quick way to get people out of the building, even if they had to walk. “You got a place nearby to sober up?”

A groan. “Yeah, Mike’s staying late in the shop.”

“Guess you better get going, that’s a block and a half away.” It was almost satisfying getting an eyeroll in response. The customer service aspect of bars usually took this route. “Keys.” A small reminder, met with the sound of metal hitting the bartop. 

“You’re a son of a bitch, you know that?”

“A son of a bitch that’ll let you shift some money around so your wife doesn’t find out how much you’ve spent here tonight.” That did the trick, well enough for a chuckle to come out of the poor man. “You have a week, I mean it.”

“Sure, sure.” He stood up from the bar stools, confirming Jake’s suspicion to take the keys away early. A few steps, nodding along to the promises to pay the tab off in full. Another promise to pay extra, a couple of empty notions that would be forgotten by the morning. It was all heard before, the same routine each time.

“You know,” Greg’s face was serious this time, probably some other attempt at coming up with a grand gesture of appreciation. It looked like he was sending a probe deep into his mind, obviously coming back empty. The uncomfortably long beat ended with the hint of a smirk, stench of Jack hitting Jake’s face like a wall. “Maybe you’ll have a missus one day, then I’ll repay the favor.”

The clenched jaw in response was a well enough warning, with Greg slipping out the door before fully finishing the sentence. Jake watched from the glass door front as Greg took a few stumbling steps down the block, quickly passing the dark alleyways and disappearing from view.

“Asshole.”

The rest of the street was quiet, at least from the view of the front door, an occasional car passing by and the hum of the heating unit out back. A quiet night that was common enough for the line between calming and purgatory was blurred. Tens of thousands of dollars spent turning the downtown streets into the city’s attempt of an entertainment hub. The replaced streetlights and sidewalk didn’t change the core of Lima’s marketing problem: nobody past the age of twelve ever wanted to stay. Those that did were disenchanted with the idea of pretending, leaving the streets dead.

The minute most people turned eighteen, they followed the closest college acceptance letter out of the state. One by one, until all that was left were the warm bodies keeping the basic infrastructure of the town alive. That’s where he came in; someone had to give the poor suckers in town a place to escape home.

Get a grip. The thoughts were shaken off, left on the floor to be swept up later. 

One hand reached up to turn the deadbolt of the door, latching it as the other hand reached for the switch to the outdoor sign. The same motion he did on every closing shift, but with one glance out the window his eyes froze on a sight across the street. A flash of blonde, meant to be hidden under a grey hoodie. A face he hadn’t seen in almost a decade.

That was a lie, but barely. It was a face he saw constantly, almost to the point of being sick of it. She always looked different than she did in high school, she changed her hair and it was on the front page of a magazine. Internet articles were the first to start popping up, the occasional editorial by the local newspaper whenever they caught wind of the girl from Lima living in Los Angeles. Then the music found it’s way over here, and the town may have well caught on fire. Everybody was seeing her photos at award shows, photo shoots, concerts. It took over a year before he listened to anything himself, and he had run out of excuses to avoid it six months before that. All the articles about multi-platinum albums, Billboard singles, awards with the qualifier of “youngest ever” before them. She was kind of a legend around here, the girl that got out. Not only that, she was the girl that got out and made it. 

Marley.

The door couldn’t open fast enough, by the time he felt the outside air on his skin and called out her name again she was already inside her car and starting to leave the parking lot. He still heard it echo back to him, bouncing off the concrete walls with nobody else to hear it.

She was in a hurry, enough of a hurry to nearly run to her car from the late-night convenience store. The last anyone remembered seeing her within Lima city limits was graduation, but now she was here again. In town, in the middle of the night, running from a convenience store in a piss-poor attempt at a disguise. He could see peering over her shoulder as she reversed out of the parking lot, a clearer look at her face. 

“Marley!” He called again, but she put the car in gear and drove down the street. Just like that, the street was once again quiet and frozen. 

She didn’t even turn around. He was alone again, the dark wood of his bar barely lit with the fluorescent lights. Most had given up hope that she’d ever acknowledge her history with the little Ohio town post-graduation, but she was here again. She was here, and she was definitely hiding.

The switch to the outside sign flipped, the buzz of the neon sign died. Why didn’t she turn around?

[spookyspaghettisundae]

Suffer, Huntress

Evil walked the streets of the city. Fog strangled the spirits of people, instilling them with a fear that prevented them from straying far from the heat of the hearths. The thick fog suffocated the light shed by the gas-powered lanterns lining the cobblestone-covered streets. In the shadows of an alleyway, darker than most, a young lad clasped his hands together, mirroring the gesture of many a penitent man. But he prayed to no god.

Even surrounded by tiny flickering dots of candlelight, arranged in a specific arcane formation, this particular spot turned colder and darker than any other throughout the metropolis. The youth spoke strange syllables—uttering unspeakable sounds that no human tongue should utter—a spell that a strange man had taught him. An eerie sorcerer from far-flung lands, housed in a lavish tent in the harbor district, peddling his occult services for coin.

Reciting the deviant incantations, the boy prayed to something unholy in hopes of conjuring a power that would allow him to exact his revenge. Oh, but what a fool this lad of twelve winters was. He believed this ritual to be a tool at his disposal—but in truth, an unseen force would now use him as a tool to enter this world.

What a petty motive had driven the lad to practice such dark arts. The Baker boys had pulled down his pants in front of the seamstress girls on Miller street in broad daylight. A humiliation he could never forgive them for, as his darling, Susanne, was among the girls to witness his debasement. Not that Susanne really knew him, nor did he have an inkling if she even remotely reciprocated his sentiments. But to such a young and naive lad, the world had collapsed on that fateful day. And soon after, he sought revenge, though the Baker boys were too big and too tough for him to confront in person.

As he finished speaking the unspeakable, many disjointed thoughts crossed his mind. For nothing happened and his fears began to fill the dreadful void that followed. Had he misspoken on any parts of the spell? Had the stranger cheated him out of his hard-earned copper coin? What if the magick failed to do what he desired, and the Baker boys knew somehow of his doings? Would they do yet worse to him?

Still, nothing happened. The ringing from the clock tower bells to indicate the witching hour had long ceased to echo. The streets remained dead silent. The candles flickered, mocking the lad.

A violent gust of wind howled through the alley and blew his cap off his head, ruffling his hair, and snuffing out the lights from the candlewicks. He inhaled sharply, expecting something to happen.

And happen, something did.

He gurgled and rasping breaths escaped his lungs. A disembodied force surrounded him, enveloped him. An invisible something came from nothing, engulfing his body. It tickled all over, tingling—made him feel like dancing, but also gripped his heart with terror. It entered his heart first, spread from there into his thoughts, and finally took control.

Though he continued to see through his own two eyes, everything seemed so far away. Even his own hands, that he stared at. It was not him that gawked at his palms with curiosity, but the entity that had taken over. Cackling erupted from his mouth, not of his own volition. If his body still did his bidding, he would have screamed.

He left the alleyway—not the boy, but the creature in the boy’s body. Staggering at first, gaining familiarity of its vessel with each step, recalling how to move human legs again.

It had a mission. It wandered the streets, uncaring of the cold that bit at the digits of the body it had possessed. It had not felt so alive in a long time. After all, it had just escaped a prison between the worlds.

It, too, sought to exact revenge. Though its intent was of a much more murderous nature than the stupid boy’s. A lesson to be taught, a mortal to be punished.

It gazed at the street signs, finding its way. Ignoring the boy’s pleas for release, it homed closer and closer to its chosen destination. A stone tower standing tall above the houses around it. Massive fortifications with iron spikes and barred windows adorned its front. It exuded something merciless.

The creature marched towards the entrance. A man in a constable’s outfit stood guard outside the heavy wooden door leading inside. That officer displayed admirable stoicism, unflinching and with his hands buried in his jacket’s pockets. He glared at the boy approaching him.

The constable hissed at him, “What in the devil’s name are you doing here, boy? At such an ungodly hour?”

The creature reached out and feigned innocence when it answered, “Sir, I am lost and am afraid to walk home alone from here.”

It grabbed the man by his wrist, wrestling a hand out from his jacket pocket with a sudden surge of inhuman strength. Shock and awe of this peculiar situation paralyzed the man. They locked eyes with each other and both froze. Time stopped, with a split second dragging on like half an eternity. The creature released the boy, leaving behind a cold emptiness and a young soul scarred by the dread of helplessness.

The constable shivered and his vision glazed over. Thicker than the fog in the streets was the mist in his very own being: his adulterous thoughts and pangs of guilt towards his wife that had been on his mind all night aided the creature in taking control of him. In a haze, the constable was lost in his thoughts while the entity forced his lips to curl into a devious smile.

The boy gasped, emitted a clipped shriek, and ran off into the night. The constable’s body, now no longer within his own control, cackled as he turned to enter the tower.

Although it was cold inside this prison’s walls, the air within was warmer than the freezing night outside. The demon savored this change in temperature but wasted no time. The shroud of confusion that kept the constable from fighting back would not hold forever. The constable even entertained some murderous thoughts towards people who might reveal his sinful secret, giving the creature cause to chuckle.

Another officer inside gave him—it, or them—a funny look, but then averted his eyes to continue reading the penny dreadful he held in his hands as the possessed constable walked past him.

Tapping into the vessel’s thoughts, the demon knew where to go next. It traversed the prison’s lower chambers, arriving outside the office of the head warden. The constable knew—and by extension, so did the entity—that the head warden had stayed here late this eve, drinking himself into a stupor, just as he was wont to do on many such nights as of late.

It rapped the door with brute force, marveling at the delicious pain from the borrowed bruised knuckles not its own. Then it entered before the warden could respond.

The head warden looked up from sloppy notes in a journal, saying, “Come—”

He glowered at the constable. Tiny reflections of candlelight danced in his eyes together with venom. Brandy wafted out on his every breath. “Ah, yes, I see we’ve abandoned all good manners,” he slurred at the possessed man.

The warden arched an eyebrow as he stared at the constable, who now grinned at him.

“What is so damned funny, Marcus? Spit it out.”

The constable’s mouth opened and a jet of vomit shot out in a stream of steaming, disgusting goop. Foul-smelling and acrid, a mixture of black and dark green fluids sprayed the warden in the face, who sputtered and shielded his eyes far too late, only after tumbling from his chair onto the cold stone floor.

The constable chortled but almost choked, coughing up more bile as he rounded the warden’s desk and knelt beside the man on the floor. The warden writhed and desperately tried to wipe the vomit from his eyes but the possessed constable touched his forehead with his index and middle finger conjoined.

Then the constable collapsed, crumpling onto the floor beside him. The entity took over the warden’s body. It swam in a sea of stupor. The world span around him, and the warden’s drunkenness made it easy to assume control. The warden would probably think that this was all just a bad dream, until the cold harsh reality of the next day set in. The sobering nightmare of learning what he had done that night, once the demon was done performing its dirty deeds—oh, how the entity relished this prospect.

It drew a kerchief from the warden’s pocket and wiped the vomit from his face. He then produced a ring of keys from the desk drawer and jingled it, enjoying the bright ring of metal clinking together. Then he found the warden’s knife in the next drawer, which he hid inside a sleeve.

It forced the warden’s lips to whistle a happy tune as it left the office and made its way up the winding stairwell. The guard sitting in the entrance shot a glance to the warden, but shrugged and continued reading the piece of printed fiction in his hands.

Ascending the prison tower, the entity imagined all the ways it could torture its target. It had spent a lot of time contemplating this specific act. It had long lusted to inflict a unique breed of bodily harm and suffering.

“It is time to suffer, huntress,” it whispered through the warden’s teeth. His mouth twisted into a hideous, inhuman grin.

It made the fingers of the warden’s unoccupied hand dance and wiggle, picturing what it would be like to peel skin from muscle, and shaping the mental image of toying with human flesh and bone, piercing it all down to the marrow, drinking in the spectacle of muffled screams, and tearing and pulling with the warden’s strong bare hands.

Even through the alcohol-addled brain of the warden, the demon could pry precise knowledge from his memories. It knew exactly what cell to visit. It stopped right outside the reinforced door and unlatched a small opening at eye height. It peered inside, past rough iron bars that would prevent any grown human from reaching through.

A woman sat motionless on the stone floor, leaned up against the wall, one knee bent, the other leg outstretched. Her head was drooped down and a mess of tangled greasy hair concealed her face. Rays of moonlight poured in from in between the bars of her cell’s tiny window to the outside world, reflecting off of a sheen of sweat on her skin.

It was her. Nora Morrissey, the object of this demon’s obsession, the target of its intended symphony of torments.

Eager to begin, it unlocked the cell’s door and entered, closing it behind itself. It drew the knife from the warden’s sleeve. His teeth glistened in the moonlight, standing out bright and white between the lips that parted for that horrid, toothy grin.

It bent down to grab her but stumbled back in confusion. A sharp pain exploded in the warden’s gut, searing hot like fire, but cold and merciless like the wintry air itself. His fingers slipped off her arm. And although the haze of drunkenness had made it easy for the demon to take control, the same intoxication had dulled its own perception of the world around it. That sheen of sweat on her skin was not a cold one—it was warm, and her skin hot to the touch.

Icy, pale blue eyes stared back at him through the tangle of hair in front of her face. It looked down and found something sticking out of the warden’s belly. A crude, pointy object with straw wrapped around it. Something made of wrought iron, whittled down into a sharper shape from scraping it against stone for a very long time.

“I waited for this moment,” the demon had thought mere moments ago. But Nora, the “huntress,” was the one who said those words out loud. Had the creature spoken through the warden, the words would have spilled out with sadistic glee. But the words she had spoken trickled out, each syllable dripping with contempt. The sentence echoed in the demon’s entire being, instilling it with something alien.

Fear.

They struggled, grunting, panting, slamming each other back and forth into the walls of the narrow cell. It slashed her with the warden’s blade across her palm, drawing blood, but she fought with a rage that welled up in her gut, summoning a strength that took the entity by surprise. While he sunk the knife into her side, just missing something vital, she elbowed him in the throat and then seized the opportunity that opened as he reeled, repeatedly stabbing him in his belly with her improvised dagger, finally wrestling the bayonet from his hands.

Although the demon was in control of the warden’s body because the brandy had dulled his senses, the booze had also dulled the the body’s coordination. The world spun and crashed down sideways until the warden’s face smashed into the wall. The warden and the entity saw stars not of any world. The creature struggled to get up, but the body disobeyed.

The demon sensed the dagger rushing towards the warden’s back. The miscalculation now dawned upon the monster. It had underestimated this wretched woman. Time ground to a halt.

She had killed one of its kin. She had foregone the rituals of exorcism, ending its existence by killing that kin’s vessel. And now it sensed the same air of murder about her. Just before she could sink the dagger into the back of the warden’s skull, it fled this body. A thick violet mist billowed out of every orifice like a cloud of living steam, dispersing in every direction.

“You made a mistake coming here,” she growled. The demon could hear these words, haunting it on its way back to the void between worlds. “If we meet again, I will destroy you.”

It wanted to tell her the same, but had no body to respond and no courage to lend credence to such a threat.

And like that, it was gone from this world.

She took the keys from the warden. He groaned but remained lying on the floor, face down. She squeezed her fingers and hand together, balling it into a fist, letting blood drip from her slashed palm. Nora allowed herself to whimper. Tears welled up in her eyes and she blinked, wiping them away with the back of her uninjured hand.

She had no time to waste. It was time for her to escape. The Crimsonport Killer—as the press had dubbed her—was free. Some part of her had hoped to remain here in captivity until the day she died. Because with freedom now within her grasp, she felt the pull of a terrible responsibility, the weight of a crushing burden.

Once she stepped foot outside her cell, she could taste that burden. Once she escaped this place, she would have to hunt again, and live in squalor and in the shadows—a hopeless life of fighting the darkness with no safe haven to rest her head in. This demon was just one of many, and the demons were but one of the evils laying siege to the Red Coast.

The creature had unknowingly inflicted a different suffering than it had intended.

The ruthless huntress had returned.

The night would quake with fear.

—Submitted by Wratts

[youcantkillamutant]

The Mystery of the Golden Fang: Part 1, The Collision

Author: youcantkillamutant

Fandom: Marvel (Black Panther)

Pairing: Erik Stevens/Killmonger x Black!OC

Summary: A girl stumbles into another world. A baby disappears. A private investigator wonders if this will be the case he can’t solve.

Warnings: Mentions of blood, cursing

Words: 4.5K+

A/N: So…here’s another one of those AU’s that absolutely no one asked for! I only own my original characters of course, Marvel don’t sue me I’m broke.

Listening to: December 2914 by James Vincent McMorrow, Suite IV: Electric Overture by Janelle Monae, and Teeth by Lady Gaga

Part 1: The Collision

—l—

There are worlds outside our own. Alternate realities tucked into the consciousness of animals, universes scattered across the floor like marbles, otherworldly creatures tipped into mugs of tea. There are worlds that mirror each other, worlds that run alongside one another, worlds that twist and curve around each other. And then there are the worlds that collide, converging at a point so powerful every piece of life around falls into its orbit.

—l—

Earth Stream 245: September 30, 2040

9:02PM

The town of Ortega is a small one. Expensive in most parts, its residents the relatives of CEO’s and sons of lawyers. Mostly dominated by suburbs, the town has one large center. It’s home to a small mall of boutiques and specialized shops, even housing a small spa and gym. Which is where Hazel Fay finds herself. At work in the care center of that exclusive spa, watching the kids that are left by their parents for an hour or two of relaxation.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home Hazel?” Hazel and Trish had just finished their shift at the care center. With all the kids gone home and everything clean the duo flicked off the lights and made their way to the exit. The door to the cheery room locked behind them, they chatted as they made their way down the hallway.

“I’ll be fine Trish, it’s only a 15 minute walk. And I make it every Wednesday and Thursday.” Trish didn’t look convinced, but nodded along with the younger woman. She’s old enough to make her own choices, besides, she’s been doing this walk since she started at the center two years ago.

“Just text me when you get home.”

“You got it. Drive safe!” Hazel slipped a headphone into her ear and set off into the night, pausing for a moment to take in the bright, full moon.  

After admiring the moon for a moment longer, Hazel set off. It had been a busy night and she was nearly dead on her feet. The sooner she got home, the better. She made her way through the business center, dodging trash cans and sneaking more glimpses of the moon. Hazel pulled out her headphone as she passed the closing shops. Waving to their owners as she passed by and shouting a few remarks. She promised to stop in and make conversation the next time she had a shift, but Hazel was just too tired to think of anything but her warm, soft bed. That is, until she heard the telltale whines of a baby.

She had just made it past the entrance to the Golden Fang, a bar Hazel refused to even think about considering its less than PG clientele, and heard the baby’s muffled whimpers from the alleyway to the right of the building. For a second Hazel thought she might be going crazy. This wouldn’t be the first time she’s heard cries that weren’t there. Working with kids day in and day out give you the entirely unhelpful ability to hear phantom cries everywhere you go.

Hazel almost continued walking past that dark alley, pointing her feet in the direction of home and bed before she reconsidered. She’d never be able to sleep if she knew she might have left a baby in the alley next to a seedy nightclub. Passing the blinking neon sign of a curved fang, Hazel travelled down the alleyway with caution. Keys laced between her fingers and pointed outwards like claws, phone flashlight on and ready to dial 911 if need be.

By the time Hazel got to the baby, cuddled in a black leather jacket with a bright golden jaguar glittering on the back, she pocketed her phone and dropped her keys in her bag with relief. At least the baby was real.

“What are you doing out here all alone bug?” Hazel scooped the baby up from the ground and cuddled the baby close, blocking the sudden breeze that whipped over them.

—l—

Earth Stream 947: September 30, 2040

11:02PM

The Metropolis is the biggest VampCity in the country. Gleaming with flashing lights and glutted with humans and vampires alike it is the birthplace of Vampire law and order. After vampirism swept through nurseries of the poor and wealthy alike centuries ago, human lawmakers became nervous about the demographic they had no information about. There was no data to mine until the groups aged out of childhood, infancy protecting that first group of vampires for barely a decade before they were tested and experimented on.

It only took a few more years for Vamps to get their rights, most of the humans in power were easily persuaded or replaced. It was even easier to tilt the laws in their favor when the human population began to drop a century ago. Growing outnumbered, the human faction became even more adamant about the evolution of the laws, so that they might find more protection in their twisted system. Humans claimed to need protection from the bloodthirsty beasts, creating a registry and curfew for humans and vampires alike.

Vampirism is nothing more than a genetic mutation; strengthening the muscles, slowing the aging process and of course leaving those affected with a particularly strong bloodlust. It was at sanguine societies, bloody boulangerie’s and blood clubs where those voracious vampires could sate their appetite. N’Jadaka Udaku owns The Golden Fang, the longest standing and most popular blood club in the Metropolis.

The vamp’s have been around longer than he’d care to admit, whoring, dancing, and drinking from the daintiest necks around the world. Still he always found himself drawn back to The Golden Fang. His first and only baby. Back in the day he had spent nearly a year constructing the club; laying slick marble floors, lacing the walls with mirrors, hanging an obscene amount of crystal chandeliers…He remembered the day of the opening, when he hung the solid gold jaguar head above the door, jagged lettering beneath it welcoming all to The Golden Fang. N’Jadaka reveled in every piece of this club, each piece built by his own hands and paid for by his own coin.

Inhaling deeply, N’Jadaka prayed he could take in enough of that sweet bloody scent to tide him over until tomorrow night. Given how high the moon stood in the sky, it was probably past curfew. He pushed the last human out of the door, holding her neck and groaning. Business was booming at the club, but he still had to follow the laws.

No blood clubs open after 10PM. N’Jadaka checked the clock, clucking his tongue when he saw it read 11:03PM. Well, rules have always sounded like more of a suggestion to N’Jadaka anyways. Still should have sent her through the back door. Terra, N’Jadaka’s sleek golden jaguar padded up to him, licking around her mouth with a satisfied purr.

“Sounds like you found a few mice out back, T.” The cat’s golden eyes slid to N’Jadaka’s brown ones lazily.

“Fat ones?” Terra bared her teeth in a wicked feline grin and N’Jadaka smiled.

“Alright, alright. You’re the baddest cat around.”

N’Jadaka rolled his eyes thinking of the antiquated laws his kind had to follow to appease what remained of the human race. It’s not like the stupid laws made a difference anyways. Humans and vampires will do what they what. They always have. Sometimes that means a human loses a few pints of blood, or a vampire loses their head. That’s just nature.

N’Jadaka made his way out back for a quick smoke. He still had to clear out and clean up before the Keepers make their rounds. Bast forbid he doesn’t have their payment ready for them. He needs those nosy neighborhood guards to stay out of his business, and keeping them paid up is the easiest way to get some peace and fucking quiet in this town. He was interrupted the second his cigarette caught a spark.

“Uh hi. Is this your baby?” N’Jadaka should have known he wouldn’t get what he asked for. He never does.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” He said this after a long pull from his cigarette, only turning after he was ready to exhale.

After the cloud of smoke dissipated, it revealed a coughing girl and a sleeping baby. Studying the girl and the black leather bundle she held close to her chest he wondered what fucking parallel universe he just walked into. Everyone in this town knows N’Jadaka hates children. Maybe not hate but he sure doesn’t like them.

It was only when he breathed in that he discovered her true nature. A human. In this town, if a human was out after dark that meant the only things they were looking for were danger or death. Still when N’Jadaka gazed at the girl before him, he didn’t see a trace of that reckless listlessness most humans held in their eyes after dark.

“This baby, uh…Is she yours?” The girl stumbled over her words as she took in the tall stranger. Hazel knew anyone who hung out in the back alley of The Golden Fang was bad news, but she couldn’t stop herself from staring. The man wore black leather pants, and chains glittered on his textured chest. Dreads tickled his brows and he looked strong enough to snap her neck with a flick of his wrist.

“Nah.” Erik stubbed out his cigarette and circled the human.

“Oh, uh…”

“But I am curious to know what a human like you is doing out after dark.” Before Hazel could answer, a crash sounded from inside the club. The man let out a curse she couldn’t understand, and Hazel jumped, jostling the baby.

N’Jadaka checked his watch. 11:10PM, Shuri is right on time for the scent cleaning, its just a shame he found two humans out back. There’s no way to explain this one. N’Jadaka hoped Shuri brought all of her tools. If he was going to hide the scent of two humans, he’d need the powerful shit.

“Cousin, where did you find a human and a…” The younger girl leaned forward, giving the bundle in Hazel’s arms a sniff. “wolf pup? Seriously?”  

“I didn’t go looking for them. They just showed up here.” There’s no way in hell N’Jadaka would seek out humans. With the laws now, keeping a human is more trouble than the fresh blood is worth.

“Well where’s her registration number?” The slender girl lifted Hazel’s arm and dropped it, peered at her neck like she expected something to be there. “No chip either...”

“I already told you Shuri. I don’t know.”

“N’Jadaka, brother will not be happy about this.”

“Well it’s a good thing he doesn’t own this club” N’Jadaka bared his teeth at the girl and Hazel wondered at the flash of gold in his mouth. She grew even more intrigued as the girl, Shuri, replied in earnest; Silver fangs glinting under the fluorescent light. She watched the pair, wrapped in leather that glittered with zippers, buttons, and fasteners wondering what exactly she had walked into.

“If anyone finds it about this— you harboring humans, it’ll ruin his campaign. He’ll be furious.”

“I ain’t worried about your brother Shuri. Just help me scrub their scent before the Keeper’s come.” A knock pounded at the door and Hazel clutched the baby closer to her.

“Too late.” Shuri was already on the move.

“Hide them and then get the door. I’ll take care of the rest.” The man, N’Jadaka pushed Hazel and the baby backwards, into a ruby red room and under a large circular mattress.

“Don’t make a sound.” Hazel wanted to protest, just to inform him that babies don’t really care about keep quiet, but he was gone in a flash. Literally, she blinked, and the man was gone. Strange.

Back in the front room of the Golden Fang, N’Jadaka opened to door to two Keepers. Both men, both severely out of shape, and both werwolves. He could smell the fur on their backs, the scent of wet dog emanating through the room. He cringed, scrunching his nose in the process.

“Gentlemen.” The Keeper’s barely nodded his way, instead following the scent trail the human and wolf pup left. Shuri, what the hell are you doing?

“It smells like a human in here.” N’Jadaka waved this off, doing his best to look around for Shuri discreetly. She said she would handle this crap, but the PO’s were still sniffing the air like rabid dogs.

“We get all kinds of creatures in this club. You know the law.” The Creature’s Rights act was passed a few decades ago, ensuring that no business could deny services to any creature, human or otherwise. It was the one law N’Jadaka didn’t mind following, if only because it made him more money.

The Keeper’s had already made it to the door where Hazel and the baby hid, pushing it open so hard it slammed against the wall and jumped back towards its assailants. N’Jadaka was this close to ripping their heads off, Keeper’s had no sense of propriety or respect for his things, when a strange odor filled the room. It was soft, so gentle N’Jadaka barely noticed it. The Keeper’s didn’t seem to notice it either, though it did throw them off track. Shaking their heads, they exited the room where Hazel hid, sniffing the hallway instead.

The Keeper’s finished their sweep in 10 minutes, holding their hands out for their payoff. They knew N’Jadaka never closed on time, hell everybody knew it. That’s why most creatures came to his bar. Still the Keeper’s loved to dangle their minimal power over his head, and he could stand to lose a few hundred bucks to keep making thousands every night. The Keeper’s went on their merry way, and N’Jadaka sighed in relief. Whatever Shuri had concocted, N’Jadaka wanted ten.

“You can come out now.” N’Jadaka called out. Hazel jumped at the sound of his voice, jostling the sleeping baby. The little one thankfully stayed asleep as Hazel made her way out to the front of the bar.

“Now, how the hell did a human like you get here?”

“I was walking home from work and I heard—Wait a second, why do you keep calling me a human?”

“Because that’s what you are…” N’Jadaka wondered if this human was just stupid. That would explain how she ended up out alone after curfew.

“Well what are you?” Hazel cocked an eyebrow and hip at his patronizing tone, and stood her ground. N’Jadaka on the other hand, grinned. His fangs dropped, gleaming gold from top to bottom.

“Me? Well I’m your worst nightmare.”

—l—

Earth Stream 328: September 30, 2040

7:19PM

Calawuga is a mountain town. It rests at the base of the Calawat mountain range. Shops and bars and little wooden houses dot the desert landscape making a home where dust and decay thrive. There were rumors of wild animals and lingering spirits roaming the rocky mountainside but that wasn’t what the people of Calawuga had to fear.

The people of Calawuga only had to fear the magic they couldn’t control. It sparked in the air and lingered in the water, changing its residents in more ways than one from the moment the first settlers made it to the plains. There were more beings in the tiny town than anywhere in the country. The government had even tried to set up shop at the base of the mountain, but the gangs drove them out.

Well the government called them gangs but to the residents of Calawuga, they were the four founding tribes. The Golden Jaguars, Great Gorillas and Black Panthers were the strongest in number, the magic crackling through the town having changed over half of them into shapeshifters. The Vibranium Babes were witch doctors of a sort, mining the land for its magic and exporting it for a penny prettier than any of the townspeople could have hoped.

A town like this drew all kinds of drifters, from witches to fairies and even a banshee or two. The rogue magical creatures in this town never usually affiliated with the tribes, preferring to keep to themselves, but one or two might integrate to make a living. Which explained why Harley, a young powerful witch, found herself in a Golden Jaguar cut within the first week of her arrival in the dusty desert town of Calawuga.

Harley, originally Hazel Vasquez, hadn’t come to Calawuga to join any tribe. She only came to get away from the city where everyone saw her as a freak of magical nature. The magic coursing through was more than anyone in the city could even begin to comprehend. When she heard of Calawuga she worked her way across the Southwest. It was easy enough to leave home, here siblings were well taken care of, they were normal. She never had many or any friends, word of her powers was enough to terrify anyone within a 2 foot radius and keep Hazel isolated.

It took 3 long months before Hazel rolled into the town of Calawuga on the heels of a burning hot summer. She had arrived in one of the Vibranium Babes’ shops looking for a crystal to calm and clarify. The shop was a sort of apothecary turned laboratory owned by a wraith of a woman named Shuri.

With no previous tribe affiliation, she probably would have been snatched up by Shuri and the VB’s if she hadn’t been so distracted by the baby that crawled into the shop on all fours.

The baby girl wore a tiny leather jacket with a sparkling gold jaguar embroidered on the back. Her head bobbed as she lifted it, dark curls bouncing as she gave a gummy smile. Hazel couldn’t resist sweeping the girl up and pulling her close.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Hazel was only half listening to Shuri, most of her attention on a completely one sided conversation with the giggling baby girl in her arms.

“Get your witching hands off my kid.” A stranger burst through the door of Shuri’s shop so violently Hazel almost dropped the kid.

Shuri rolled her eyes as Hazel took in the man. He was tall, taller than her at least. His beard was almost grisly, but his scowl broke when his eyes settled on his daughter.

“Relax cousin. ‘Yana likes her, see?” The baby girl nuzzled into Hazel’s neck snuffling quietly.

“I don’t give a shit Shuri. I don’t need a dirty witch anywhere near my kid.” Killmonger, known to the local tribes as KM or ‘Monger, knew what witches wanted with shapeshifter cubs. Witches in this region were notorious for snatching up the younglings and using them for all kinds of ritual magic.  Now Killmonger had never seen this witch around before, but all of those creatures are the same. Power hungry, reckless monsters.

“Considering the fact that your infant crawled in here alone, I’d say you’re lucky to have anyone watching your kid. You clearly ain’t.” Hazel didn’t need a shifter of all creatures shitting on her for the magic that ran through her veins. She didn’t hold back her sneer while she spoke, nearly baring her teeth at the asshole.

“She’s clearly a better babysitter than you are cousin.” Shuri turned to Hazel. “Are you looking for work? ‘Monger pays well for that little trouble maker.”

Hazel had a hard time believing this cutie could cause any trouble, but she knew kids could be deceiving. The shifter named killmonger sputtered disagreeably, but Hazel ignored him, accepting the job offer. Within a week she become Ayana’s favorite girl and The Golden Jaguar’s favorite baker. With the whole tribe drooling after her pound cake, Killmonger excluded, it didn’t take long for Hazel to be invited to join the Golden Jags. As the leader ‘Monger wasn’t pleased with the vote to invite the witch, but he ain’t a dictator. The tribe votes for what they want, and apparently they want the witch. So three months after leaving home Hazel Vasquez became Harley of the Golden Jaguar Tribe.

It was smooth sailing for a while, Ayana and Harley finding an easy routine. The pair had just returned to the Golden Fang, a favorite spot of the Golden Jaguars because it was owned by a few tribesmen themselves. Harley admired Killmonger’s sparkling golden bike with a sigh, coveting the black and gold beauty. When Harley arrived in the town of Calawuga, she had never even had an errant thought of the motorcycles that kicked up dust and roared like wild animals. Nw, she was saving all she could to get her own.

Ayana and Harley had had a busy day, going to the park and then the local library for story time. Harley had hoped Ayana would be tired, she sure as hell was. The sun had already dipped below the mountains, casting everything in a pink haze, but the little shapeshifting cub only giggled for more action as they entered the creaking wooden floors of the bar.

Most of the tribe was present filling the booths and milling around the bar, Killmonger included. after finding a space near the ancient jukebox, Harley tossed Ayana up in the air. They had played this game plenty of times before, it being Ayana’s favorite after all, always leaving her shrieking with giggles. Things were different today though. Harley tossed Ayana into the air, smiling as she shrieked with laughter, arms out to catch her. Just as she was about to come down, Ayana vanished with a pop.

“Ayana?” Harley called out cautiously. The bar had gone silent, but Harley kept looking. Magical children had a way of manifesting and manipulating the electrical energy in the air. Get one kid a little too excited and he turns blue, another might turn into a toad. This could just be something like that. Harley prayed it was something like that. Seconds passed with no answer and a sick lump settled in Harley’s stomach.

“Where the fuck is my daughter Harley?” Killmonger looked just as furious as he had the day she met him but she didn’t flinch, too busy trying to work out what the fuck had just happened.

“How the fuck should I know ‘Monger?” Harley’s voice was frantic. Even as a witch, nothing like this had ever happened. She’s never seen a kid vanish in thin air.

“You were holding her ass! Everybody saw it!”

“Yeah and everybody saw her dis-a-fucking-pear too!” Harley waved her arms wildly, sweeping across the room. The Golden Jags were silent and stoic and for the first time since she started rolling with the Jags, Harley felt unwelcome

Killmonger couldn’t believe this shit. He barely even hired the witch and now his kid is just gone. For a moment he had actually thought they might be able to get along. The girl is quick as a whip and her pound cake is to die for. Now Killmonger wanted to kick himself for even imagining that he could trust Ayana with anyone but him.

“I don’t know what you did witch, but you better get my daughter back or that cut you’re wearing is going to be on a corpse.”

Harley barely registered the threat, mind going a mile a minute drawing up all kinds of answers to explain Ayana’s disappearance.

—l—

Earth Stream 245: October 1, 2040

4:15PM

Erik Stevens is the best at what he does. He knows that. The cops know that. Hell, that bumfuck of a president even knows that. None of that knowledge has helped Erik live in anything other than a shitty apartment, paying shitty rent, in the shitty town of Ortega. And the coffee sucks too. Well that might be dramatic. Ortega is a nice town, and the coffee might be more of Erik’s fault than anyone else’s, but every nice place has its dark side. It’s a good thing he loves what he does.

Jules Fay spent twenty minutes loitering in her car outside of the office building. She spent another five gazing at the directory searching for the man she prayed would fix her problems. Another two minutes were wasted with her hand poised in front of the door, ready to knock. Before she did, she read over the name on the glass one more time. Erik Stevens, Private Investigator.

Erik welcomed his 4:00 appointment in at 4:16, noting her clenched fists and gnawed lip. He gestured for her to sit, taking a seat of his own behind his desk. He didn’t even get a chance to offer her water before she spoke hurriedly.

“Detective Stevens, sir—”

“Please m’am, I’m not a part of the police force, just call me Erik.” The woman nodded reluctantly, but didn’t quite manage to change his moniker completely. Erik didn’t bother to offer the woman his shitty coffee, he didn’t want to make her day worse.

“Mr. Stevens sir, my daughter is missing.”

“How long has she been gone?” Erik’s pen was poised for her answer, already in work mode. He’d solved plenty of missing persons cases. Not all of them ended in happy reunions, but at least the families didn’t have to worry any longer than necessary.

“A few hours.”

“M’am—”

“Call me Jules, please.” Erik nodded and checked his tone. The woman was clearly frantic, but if it’s only been a few hours…It could be anything.

“Jules, if it’s only been a couple of hours, how can you be sure she’s missing?”

“She didn’t text me last night after work. She always tells me when she gets home after work. She never did. She didn’t show up for work today and she’s not answering any of my texts or calls.” The words tripped over themselves on their way out of her mouth, and her fingers tapped an unrelenting rhythm on the arm of the chair.

“Did you two have an argument?”

“No! That’s what I’m trying to tell you. There is no reason for her not to respond to me.”

“And you haven’t gone to the police beca—”

“It hasn’t been long enough for them to start an investigation. Besides, the cops aren’t going to do shit, and I heard…Well I heard you are the best at finding our missing girls.” It was true, Erik had singlehandedly brought home 12 kidnapped girls for his community and a few more with the “help” of the police. At this point, it is what he is known for. Finding the children the cops so conveniently “forgot”. He still hesitated to take the case. What if this is the one I can’t solve?

“Mr. Stevens, please. She’s all I have. If she ran away that’s fine, you don’t have to bring her back, I just need to know she’s okay.” The words tumbled out of her mouth, the same as before.

‘One day there’s going to be a case you can’t solve Stevens.’ Erik pushed away the voice of his old captain and shoved his worries aside. This woman needed help, and that’s why he got into the business anyways. To help. He swallowed a gulp of his lukewarm coffee with a grimace.

“I’ll find her.”

A/N: So…uh…..yeah…..there’s gonna be like…3 Erik’s in this. (yikes) This is a complete departure from anything I’ve ever done so…this is purely experimental. I think one day I’d like to turn it into a TV show but who knows?  It’s definitely the biggest idea I’ve had for a fic. It will be four parts and I’ll release a new part every Friday so stay tuned for more next week!

This all started cause I read The Bookstore by @wawakanda-btch and wanted to write a Vampire!Erik fic...remember this post? Yeah, that was for this fic. I’ve been cooking this up for months lol. I’m just going to say that this is what happens when you watch Orphan Black and Vampire Diaries and True Blood and Sons of Anarchy and Rick & Morty in one lifetime...inspiration lol

Let me know what y’all think! You know I love your comments! Thanks for reading!

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Masterlist

Taglist: @princessstevens @muse-of-mbaku @k-michaelis @queenamaniii @thatrandomfangirl98 @dreadedphilosphy @killmongurl @thelovelyliterary @elaindeereads @thedom223 @bidibidibombaclaat@thatrandomfangirl98 @panthergoddessbast @nemesispawn @writingmarvellousimagines @someareblindtoitsbeauty @jozigrrl @iamrheaspeaks @thadelightfulone 

[creative-type]

The Murder of Arthur Wright XIV

First  Previous AO3

Chapter Fourteen: An Unexpected Discovery 

With the formalities out of the way, Margot started to where Tobe was waiting. As they were walking Dash asked, “How’d you even find me?”

“I looked for you at your office and asked the secretary,” Margot said. “It wasn’t that difficult.”

That elicited a quiet chuckle. “We’ll make a detective out of you yet.”

“That reminds me. Here, you might want to keep a hold of these in that pocket of yours.” Margot pulled the loose sheets out of her notebook containing Master Wright’s research, but Dash waved her off.

“You keep a hold of it, Prof. I think out of the two of us you’re more likely to get good use of it. Besides.” He glanced at her sidelong. “It could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Margot said, but tucked them back in her notebook regardless. “They’re no good to anyone if we can’t get them decoded. Do you think any of your contacts would tell you what the official investigation’s come up with?”

“Maybe. I can look into it.”

Having a plan of action suited Dash. He stood a little straighter, his whole posture more relaxed and friendly. He adjusted his coat as Tobe melted out of the shadows just outside the park (he had refused to go inside for reasons Margot found unfathomable) and gave a lazy wave of greeting.

“Looks like the lady got you outta your funk,” the boy said, peering up at Dash though narrowed eyes. “I thought you’d put me through all that work for nothin’.”

“I wouldn’t call a handful of coins nothing, Tobe,” Dash said. “And yes, the professor has knocked some sense into me.”

“Margot.”

Dash turned to look at her. “What?”

“My name is Margot,” she said. “If we’re going down together, it might as well be on friendly terms.”

Dash’s grin spread enormously wide. “Can’t deny it.” He returned his attention to Tobe. “So what’ve you got for us? Did you find her?”

“Yeah. There’s a pretty elf that works at that dump. Brown hair, wears it long. Talks like she was schooled somewhere real fancy.” A wicked glint entered his eye. “But that ain’t all I found.”

“Wait, wait, wait, you had him looking for Desdemona Wright?” Margot asked incredulously.

“Was a hunch,” Dash said with a shrug. “I thought it real strange that Anansi was hanging out at that playhouse by the waterfront. Even if he was expecting you to find him, people don’t just sit themselves in an unfamiliar place. Anansi had a reason for being there.”

“But what does that have to do with Desdemona?” Margot said.

“Anansi got that poem somewhere,” Dash said. He fished out a stick of jerky and began chewing with methodical thoughtfulness. “It’s too much of a coincidence otherwise. An anonymous author? Him making an illusion of an elf lady when Wrights senior and junior were both in the audience? Honestly I thought Anansi might be Desdemona, but if he was the one who wrote the play for Mr. Westmacott fifteen years ago then the timeline doesn’t check out. If the two haven’t been in contact I’ll eat my hat.”

He looked down at Tobe. “What else have you got?”

Tobe held up an expectant hand. “You paid me to find the lady, and I did. Anything else is gonna cost you extra.”

“Tobe, I swear if not for you I’d be a millionaire,” Dash sighed.

“Pleasure doing business,” Tobe said, and once Dash paid he pulled a small, grimy envelope from the inside of his vest. Dash took it with the greatest suspicion, and then went completely still when he looked inside.

“Dash?” Margot asked.

“Tobe, you magnificent scoundrel, that’s worth double,” Dash breathed. He fished more coins out of his pocket and thrust them at the boy. Tobe grinned, exposing a missing eyetooth.

“Toldja you’d like it.”

Dash grunted his agreement and with two thick fingers pulled out a single hair, holding it to the dying light. “You sure it’s hers?”

“Are you sure the lady ain’t a better detective than you?” Tobe challenged. “I tried to show you yesterday but you were off being stupid ‘cause some dame yelled at you.”

“That’s not why—“ Dash cut himself off, recognizing a lost argument when he saw one. “You know what, never mind. Thank you, Tobe. Is there anything else?”

“Naw.” Tobe shoved his hands in now-heavy pockets and looked up at Margot, cheeky grin firmly in place. “Keep him in line, Professor. He’s the best cash cow I’ve got.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Tobe laughed impishly and dashed out of sight. Margot watched him until he was swallowed by the darkness. “Do you think he’ll be okay alone?”

“He’s as alone as he wants to be, Prof—Margot,” Dash said. He tucked the hair back into the envelope, suddenly sheepish. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll stick with professor. It suites you.”

Margot smiled. “Whichever you prefer. Now tell me, do you know how to track Desdemona with that thing, or am I going to have to do it for you?”

Tracking a person with magic was one of those things that was easily done but difficult to master. A great deal mattered on what material was used (blood was best), the quantity that was present (a single hair without a follicle was suboptimal), how far away the target was (they had no idea where Desdemona was hiding), and the control of the mage.

Control was something Margot had in spades, so it was decided that she would be the one to conduct the spell. Together she and Dash went to the waterfront playhouse where Dash was convinced she had met with Anansi.

Once they arrived Margot found a convenient bench under a lantern and rummaged through her bag until she found the small sewing kit that she never left home without. Dash stood guard behind her, looking tough and dangerous so she was left alone while she worked.

“Envelope please,” Margot said. Dash handed it over without question, curiosity painfully evident on his face.

Margot used the single hair to thread her needle, tied it off, and then wrapped the tail around the shaft of the needle. A spark of magic kept it from unraveling again.

“We don’t know why, but magic works best when you can link the metaphysical energy to the familiar. Perhaps it’s the only way our finite minds can understand the more abstract aspects of our spells, perhaps it’s a simple mental block that none but the best mages can overcome. Perhaps there’s some fundamental law governing magic that we don’t yet understand.”

Reaching behind her, she plucked a stray leaf that somehow managed to attach itself to Dash’s coat and wove her needle through. Then calling on her magic, Margot gathered a small pool of water to the cup of her hand.

“When I was small I read an adventure book where the heroine had to make their own compass to navigate a haunted forest. Imagine my surprise when I learned with the proper tools anyone could make their own compass.”

Water was the element Margot worked with best, so that was what she used for the basis of her spell. She fixed the image of her makeshift compass leading to Desdemona Wright. The single hair, not a magnet, polarized her needle. Magic flowed unhindered through the water in her palm, sparking something that was almost life into the dead cells of Desdemona’s hair.

The needles spun wildly, and Margot could feel Dash’s excitement rising. It finally settled, the sharpened point indicating they should head west, into the heart of the waterfront district.

“Did it work?” Dash asked.

What does it look like? Margot thought to herself irritably. “She’s within the range of the spell for now. We should hurry before she moves.”

If Margot’s first trip to the waterfront was tense, her nighttime dalliance with Dashiell Cain was downright uncomfortable. People had a way of knowing who did and didn’t belong, and Margot was especially out of place.

Between Dash’s size and Margot’s burns they stuck out like a sore thumb. It was almost tempting to step away from the well-lit streets. Almost. Margot didn’t know this area of town well, and confident as she was of her ability it was wiser not to invite trouble.

But while Margot felt uneasy Dash seemed to be in his element. He exchanged greetings with those they passed, and more than once they were forced to stop as he made small-talk with the locals. Each of these conversations followed a similar beat, chatting and being generally friendly. The longest of these conversations involved him buying a shish kabob from a street vendor.

“Are you done?” Margot said under her breath.

“Just checking the pulse, Prof,” Cain said. “Who knows, might come in handy someday. Besides, it doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere.”

He was right; Margot’s compass had not moved. Suppressing a sigh, Margot moved on.

As he worked, Margot got the impression that this was where Dash truly thrived. Rather than the high profile cases that made his mentor famous, he was an ordinary man who enjoyed working with ordinary people.

Margot sincerely hoped that one day he would have the opportunity to do just that.

Finally the needle turned at a narrow street. The road, or perhaps it was better described as a glorified alleyway, was packed dirt with deep ruts caused by countless carriages. The street sign that marked it as the Plumet Road was crooked and worn.

Margot and Dash shared a glance and plunged into the darkness. Without being asked Dash called light to his hand, his magic bright orange.

“Lead on, Prof.”

Together they were led to the steps of a tall, narrow building that Margot guessed was rented housing. Cautiously she pounded the heavy brass knocker against aged wood.

The door opened a crack, revealing little more than an eye, while a man’s voice said, “Who is it?”

“My name is Mr. Cain, and my associate here is Professor Margot of Kempeston Academy. We have business of a professional nature with one of your tenants.”

The door opened wider. A squat man of about fifty peered up at Dash suspiciously. “Which tenant?”

“In addition to being of a professional nature, our business is also confidential. Please may we come inside?” Dash said.

The man considered this for a few moments, his gaze sweeping from Margot, to Dash, and back again. After his contemplation he reached into his pocket and pulled out a smooth black stone.

“Say that one more time.”

“Our business is professional in nature and also confidential?” Dash said, confused.

A rune on the stone flashed white, and the man nodded in satisfaction. “If you was lying it’ve turned red.” He opened the door the rest of the way. “Hurry up and then be off with you. I run a respectable place.”

Dash tipped his hat in thanks. Margot indicated that they were to go up to the second floor, wincing as the stairs groaned in protest. From there it was a short walk down a dingy and poorly lit hallway. The needle led them to a door marked number 7 and Margot raised her hand to knock.

“Hold on, Prof,” Dash said under his breath. He leaned an ear to the door and whispered a few words Margot couldn’t catch. He listened for a full minute, Margot growing more and more anxious that someone would come out and demand to know what they were doing. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he pulled his head back.

“Couldn’t catch anything specific, but I think there’s only one person inside,” he said. Then, indicating to the compass, “Better get rid of that.”

Margot hurried to stuff the leaf and needle into her bag while he knocked. She barely finished dissipating the water back into the air before the door opened to the astonished face of Desdemona Wright.

As soon as she saw who it was she slammed the door shut, but Dash was quicker. He stuck a foot in the doorway, wincing only a little at the force she used.

“Go away,” the elf hissed, her voice pure venom. “I have nothing to say to you.”

“Miss Wright, I only want—“

“I’m no Wright. My father made sure of that ten years ago.”

“Alright, fair enough. What would you preferred to be called then?” Dash asked.

“I would prefer if you go away, Mr. Cain. Now remove your foot or I’ll scream. Don’t think that I won’t.”

Dash’s eyes lit up. “You remember me?”

“I try to remember all of my stalkers, Mr. Cain, and I’ll have you know that I’ve a policy of not allowing them into my living quarters.”

Margot couldn’t help it. She laughed, and was forced to bite her knuckle to smother it. Desdemona turned her attention from Dash.

“I see you’ve brought a lackey this time around. Both of you ought to be ashamed.”

“I assure you the professor is no lackey, Miss Desdemona,” Dash said. “She’s my client and is helping me figure out who caused the explosion that took your father’s life. Now I get that you two didn’t get along the best, but that fire would have been deadly if not for her. More deadly, anyway.”

Desdemona’s grip on her door slackened. “You’re not working for my brother?”

“He fired me,” Dash said cheerfully. “And then your mother threatened to have my license revoked and the professor fired. Lovely people, your family is. I’ll tell you all about it if you let me in.”

There was a heartbeat of hesitation. “Now isn’t a good time.”

“Too bad.”

Dash shouldered the door, wrenching it from Desdemona’s grasp as he forced his way inside. Margot danced in behind him before Desdemona could force it shut again.

Desdemona was rightfully furious, but she did not scream. Candles lit her small living area, bathing the room in a soft light that gave the entire space a homey atmosphere. The space was tidy, but not fastidiously so, and it appeared that they had interrupted Desdemona from a late supper.

The woman herself bore a striking resemblance to her mother, both in appearance and bearing. Resentment smoldered in dark brown eyes, her posture regal and proud. The only thing Desdemona seemed to inherit from her father was his mousey brown hair and thin blade of a nose, too long to be considered conventionally attractive but suiting her well.

She jutted her chin out, and said in a scathing tone, “Are you happy now, Mr. Cain? Were you so discontent with hounding me in public that you must invade my personal privacy as well?”

“I need to talk with you, Miss Desdemona,” Dash said calmly. “I would prefer to do this nicely, but you’ve been making yourself hard to find.”

“And yet here you are.”

While they went back and forth Margot wandered deeper into the apartment. The furniture was serviceable, cheap but no dilapidated. A charming landscape painting decorated the wall, for there was no window. Her cookware seemed to be in good condition, a fading floral pattern painted on both the dishes on the table and those setting near the wash bin.

“Just where do you think you’re going?!”

The exclamation, directed at her, made Margot stop in her tracks. “You have a lovely home, Miss Desdemona.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Desdemona said. “To either of you. Now leave or I’ll start yelling. Don’t think I won’t.”

It was the second time she had threatened to scream, but through the entire conversation she hadn’t raised her voice above a strained whisper. Margot frowned. Something wasn’t right. Desdemona had nothing to lose by causing a racket and everything to gain. Why wasn’t she forcing them out?

Two sets of dishes, one at the table and another at the wash bin. Perhaps they were left over from a previous meal, but…

Now isn’t a good time.

Someone else was in the apartment. Someone Desdemona didn’t want them to find.

Slowly Margot stepped back to Dash. There was no room for someone to hide here except behind the door that led to Desdemona’s bedroom. Margot supposed that together she and Dash could rush Desdemona, but that seemed like a gross invasion of personal privacy, even in these circumstances.

“I’m sorry we interrupted your meal,” Margot said. “We didn’t realize you had company.”

“The only company I’ve had tonight is you, and you’ve worn out your welcome,” Desdemona said. “Now leave.”

“Not until we get answers,” Dash said. His eyes had glued to the bedroom door at the mention of company. “I’m a patient guy, got all the time in the world to wait. How about you, Prof?”

“I’ve got all night,” Margot said, her voice velvety soft.

“Don’t you want to find out who bumped off your old man?” Dash asked.

“Not particularly,” Desdemona said. She managed to keep calm as she moved to block their view of the bedroom door. “If you ask me, it was probably my mother.”

“Your mother?” Dash parroted.

“My mother wanted what all upstanding women want: a picture perfect family. That isn’t what she got, and I’m sure by now the resentment’s nearly killing her,” Desdemona said bitterly. “They can all rot for all I care.”

“That doesn’t sound very good, coming from you,” Margot said.

“It’s the truth. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Desdemona’s hands clenched into fists. “My father deserved everything he got and more for how he treated…how he treated his family. I didn’t kill him, but I applaud whoever did.”

Dash cocked his head. “Seems kinda extreme. I mean, yeah he disowned you, but I heard you stole a whole bunch of silver from the family.”

Desdemona’s laughed. It was a lovely laugh, like silver bells, but something about it caused a chill to go through Margot’s spine.

“This isn’t about me,” she said. “None of this is about me.”

“Then who is?” Dash demanded. “What are you hiding? Who are you hiding?!”

“I told you! I didn’t kill my father. I’ve had nothing to do with him for ten years. This is the last time I’ll warn you, get out, or—“

“Dessy, stop.”

Whatever Desdemona had been planning to say died in a strangled croak as all three people standing in the living room whirled to the bedroom door. The color left Desdemona’s face as a young woman quietly shut the door behind her. She shared an uncommon resemblance to Desdemona, even for a sister.

For a moment no one could speak. The strength left Desdemona’s knees and she collapsed into the nearest chair and buried her head in her hands. The second woman took a step forward, regret in her large, grey eyes.

“I’m sorry, Dessy, but they weren’t going to leave. Not this time.”

Dash took off his hat and placed it across his chest. He swallowed hard, and with reverent wonder asked, “Am I wrong in saying I have the pleasure of addressing Miss Abigail Wright?”

The woman looked away, her shoulders curling in on themselves as she gave the smallest of nods. When she spoke her voice was tiny, and Margot had to strain to hear her say,

“You do.”

[nekokoaa]

Could you do more iida please? Maybe more angst im not sure.

Fandom: Bnha

Character: Iida Tenya

Word count: 3314(I gotta really make these things shorter lol)

Warnings: Angst

Angsty Iida, bestIida. Change my mind. Enjoy, love.

XxX

 “Don’t bring yourstuff… Just show up…”

Youremembered the smooth yet frightening vocals of the villain that approached youlast night in an alleyway. He came from the shadows. The bottom half of hisface and under his eyes were horribly disfigured by what you assumed was severeburns. His hair was as dark as the shadows, but his eyes shined a color thatcouldn’t be labeled as evil. If it wasn’t for his icy gaze, you would’vethought they were beautiful. You didn’t catch his name and you didn’t bother toask him. All you knew was he was the one who approached you before. He simplycame to tell you what to do without lingering any longer.

“And we’ll helpyou disappear without a trace.”

Youremembered he said those words last night. He approached you with an offer youcouldn’t deny. His words seduced you into saying yes and talked about the goalsyou could achieve if you joined them. He mentioned the location of him, and that was what sold you. You hadto find him even if it meantbetrayal. He wanted to give you time to consider his offer, but you told himthere was no need.

“I’m in.”

Yourwords were music to his ears. It made his lips curled up ever so slightly. You wouldn’tcall it a smile. It was just a look of satisfaction as if you fallen into histrap. A look that almost made you believe you were stupid to say yes. But youdidn’t care. You had to find him.Even if it meant falling into a trap to get to him.

“That was easy…Meet me here tomorrow night.”

So,you did as you were told and prepared to leave. You decided to skip school thenext day. You lied to your mother and said you weren’t feeling too well. Sheeasily allowed you to stay home and you spent the afternoon preparing todisappear. You were in your room, packing a few things away. You knew thevillain told you to leave your stuff but there were a few sentimental things thatyou couldn’t leave behind. You looked at the photograph on your table. Especially…

Yourphone lit up again and your eyes instantly went to it on your side table. Youreceived a text from your boyfriend, Iida. It was another among many. Yourphone was just flooded with his messages. You left them unanswered ever sinceyou met that villain. You decided it was for the best. Iida would never agree tothis. And as you stared at the incoming text messages from your boyfriend, agrave feeling came over you. You realized that there was a chance you’ll neversee him again. And if you do, you’ll be on the other side of the coin. Youcould imagine the pained expression on his face. He would probably question youright away, begging you to get away from the villains. But it’ll be too late bythen. You would be already heavily invested in finding him.

Yousighed softly, and your eyes flickered to the photograph sitting next to yourphone. It was a picture of you standing next to a man. Your arms were aroundhis midsection while your face was smushed against his chest and a large smilewas on your face. It was as bright as the sun that shined its rays through yourwindows. Your sheer curtains couldn’t hold back the strength of the sun’senergy, like your smile that withstood all your fears and angers because ofthat man standing beside you. He also had a smile like the sun, his arms were aroundyour shoulders and keeping you close. It was so pure and bright back then. Anexpression that held hope for the future.

Recently,that man’s smile had changed. When you saw his face in the news, it wasn’t thathopeful sun of a smile you once knew but a smile dripping with despair. Bloodwas splattered on his face, but he still held that smile like he was drenching himselfin red rain. The news didn’t show anymore footage due to it being very graphic butthat ten second video they showed was enough to have you and your mother shudderingin your seats. It was a cruel reminder of the day he left. It was a cruelreminder of that despair you felt.

Thatman was your older brother, and since he left his family to become a villain,you’ve been searching for him. You finally had a lead, and this was a chanceyou couldn’t miss. If that villain with those scars knows your brother, that’smore of a good reason to leave with him. If it ends up being a trick, you’llfight your way out.

Yourphone dinged as another message came through. You grabbed your phone off thetable and it was another text from Iida.

___, I hope you’refeeling okay. You haven’t been replying to my messages and you missed schooltoday. You know as a UA student, missing school is against the rules unless youhave a valid reason for it!

Yourolled your eyes; a smile broke the frown that had settled in. It was just likeIida to lecture you about missing school. You expected him to be upset at youfor not texting back, but he was very understanding like he always was. Anothertext came shortly after. 

And I’m at yourdoorstep. Please open up.

Youjumped out of your bed as fast as you can. Stumbling over air when you dashedto your closet. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.You shouted in your mind, ripping your black hoodie off the hanger. You quicklyput it on and ran towards your window. You opened it and placed one leg on thewindowsill. You couldn’t be seen, not before you leave with that villaintonight and most importantly, seeing Iida would make you want to stay. Youlooked back and saw the stuff you wanted to pack but you didn’t have time. Onceyou heard the doorbell rang, you jumped out the window. 

Witha grunt, you landed on your feet. It was only from the second floor, but youalready felt the pain in your knees. You hoped you didn’t make too much noise asyou were at the side of your house. You heard the sweet voice of your motherwhen the front door clicked open. Iida loudly greeted your mother, his backstraight in his bow to give her the highest respect. He was always so overlyformal with your mother. You told him to relax when he talked with her, but youknew it wasn’t in Iida’s nature to do so. He had to treat the mother of hisgirlfriend with utmost importance, and you loved that about him. And you’llmiss that about him. 

Youswiftly climbed over the gate around your house and it alerted the dogs nextdoor. Their barks tore through air with aggression as if you were a burglar leavingthe scene. You tried to shush them as you threw your hood over your head. Theybegan to claw at the gate that was blocking them, foam boiling over their snouts,puffy like the gathering clouds over your head. What’s wrong with these dogs…?! You questioned their sanity butsome part of you wondered if they were trying to stop you from leaving. Wasthis fate trying to tell you something? These usually gentle dogs, now violentand aggressive? Did they not want you to leave too?

Stayinghere wouldn’t answer any of those questions that you felt in your gut. Youscurried away without looking back, ignoring the cries of the dogs.

Iidaturned his head to the commotion and he caught sight of a black figuresprinting down the street. That figure strangely reminded him of someone and hewould’ve stared longer if it wasn’t for your mother. He told her it was nothingwhen she asked what was wrong and he gladly accepted her hospitality when sheinvited him in. 

— 

12:48 AM

Dropsof water splashed against the black concrete, flooding it with various puddlesscattered around the alleyways. Shadows shielded the alleyway from sight, likea veil of darkness was being held over your eyes. But you walked through thenarrow walls with your head held high. You weren’t afraid. You couldn’t be.

Therewas a dim light on the wall where the two alleyways crossed. It was the exactspot where that villain appeared out of the shadows last time. You rememberedthe scars on his face, how frightened you were when the shadows revealed such ahorrifying face. You questioned how he came to be that way in your mind butfearing for your safety was more important to think about at the time.

Asyou were nearing the crossroad, your mind wandered to Iida. You realized thatwould be the last time you would ever see him, when you ran away from yourhouse while Iida was at your front door. He’s probably searching around thearea for you right now, the desperateness in his eyes, the unevenness in his breathing.He’s probably texting and calling your phone nonstop as he ran the streets, buthe would meet with disappointment as your phone would ring itself to yourcheerful voicemail. You threw your phone in the trash before coming here, youdidn’t want any unnecessary tracking because of it. You thought about Iida andhow you’ll miss him. You’ll miss his smile, his laughter, his leadership.You’ll miss those walks in the park together, those hugs at the end of thosewalks, and those kisses you shared at your doorstep.

Thinkingabout Iida made you think you were making a grave mistake. Thinking about Iidamade you want to turn around but your drive to find your brother was toostrong. You had to do this. You couldn’t back down now.

Justas before, it was like he appeared from thin air. The shadows revealed him whenhe stepped out into the dim light at the center of the crossroad. His hideousfeatures were being highlighted by the shadows while his beautiful blue eyesburned into yours. His dark hair was soaked in the rain but mysteriously, itstill held its spikiness. His expression held nothing as he looked at you. Itwas almost like he didn’t care if you came or not. 

“I’mhere.” You couldn’t help the nervous chuckle that left you as you awkwardlyannounced yourself. You hated yourself for it. You didn’t want to make yourselfsound weak in front of a villain.

“Then,let’s go.” He didn’t move a muscle. He was waiting for you to step closer tohim. You found it weird how he was suddenly on the defensive. You moved to hisside, catching a closer view of his scars. How horrific they were. Who couldhave done this to him? Or was it himself?

“Lookslike you have company.” He announced, his icy gaze towards the direction youcame from. You looked towards the darkness, your eyes made out a figure moving withinit. It was walking closer to you two. You took on a defensive stance. You heldyour arms up, parallel to your chest as your hands rolled tightly into fists.You waited for the figure to be revealed by the dim lighting before attacking.And once you saw the darkness slowly melt away from its face, a gasp left you.You felt weak in your knees. Your mouth suddenly felt dry as a desert and yourfists that stood by your chest lowered to your sides.

“Tenya…how did you…” Your words died along with your heart when you saw his widenedeyes. He was completely soaked in the downpour, his hair lazily stuck againsthis forehead. He was still in his school uniform without the gray suit jacket.His white collared shirt was soaked all the way through where his skin could beseen.  He quickly glanced between you andthe villain, and you could already tell his mind was being filled with multiplequestions. He stuttered to get them out.

“____,w-what are you doing? Get away from him!” The longer you stood next to him, themore anxious Iida became. He swatted his arm back as if to motion you to cometo him. But you stayed put and it only increased his fears.

“Whatare you doing here, Tenya? You shouldn’t have been able to find me.” You had toregain your composure which is why Iida jumped slightly to the calmness of yourvoice. You had a plan just in case this would happen. It’s the only way Iidawould let you go. You had to break him. “It’s pretty obvious what I’m doing,don’t you think?” Your mouth twitched up into a smile, a smile he never seenbefore on your face. It was like you didn’t care, or you were taunting him. Youhad the same look as the man standing next to you. Little did Iida know, youwere breaking inside.

“Th-thatguy… he’s the villain from—”

“Fromthe training camp, yes.” You finished Iida’s sentence, chuckling softly at him.The villain besides you gave you a curious look. “It’s when we met. He sparedme.” You looked at the villain with soft eyes and he looked back like he was ina daze. It wasn’t a lie that you met him back at the training camp. When thevillains attacked, you were found by him and spared because he recognized youas your brother’s sister. And then you met him again, when he approached you inan alleyway, a shortcut you take when walking home from school. But Iida didn’tknow that, and you knew you could use that to your advantage.

“Whatare you talking about…?” His eyes were flickering from you and the villain, hiseyes intense and unlike him. He was visibly shaking from anger or the cold, youweren’t sure, but it hurt you to see him slowly fall apart by your words.

“Isn’tit obvious?” You moved closer and grasped the villain’s hand. The feeling of hisscabby skin against your palm and wrist made your stomach turn. You also felthim try to jerk his hand away from your grip, but you firmly held it. You shothim the fastest glare you could. “It’s expected, isn’t it, Tenya?” You weresmiling at Iida. It wasn’t that beautiful smile he loved seeing, it was twistedand full of despair. It reminded him of someone, but he didn’t want to admitwho it was. “My father and brother became villains. It’s only expected. Youshouldn’t be shocked.”

Iidalooked away when you mentioned your family. His teeth were grinding againsteach other, grunts leaving him as it was difficult for him to speak. You justcontinued, laughing as you did. Your eyes burning because of the built-uptears. “It’s who I’m meant to be. It’s my destiny. It’s not a surprised Iturned out this way. You should have expected it. You should have expected it.” It was like you weretrying to convince yourself, like you were trying to believe all the horriblewords people have said to you in your past. Like you were trying to deny allthe past comforting words from Iida, telling you you’re not like your father orbrother.

Youdidn’t notice that the villain’s hand slipped out of yours. He placed it onyour shoulder, and you shuddered. “Come on, let’s go.”

“No.”It was hard to hear through the sound of the rain slapping against the pavement,but you couldn’t miss Iida’s rejection. It was a low mumble but somehow youheard it as clear as the skies above the dark clouds. “It’s not expected…”

Heapproached, a little faster than you would have liked. His heavy, wet handswere on your shoulders and it shoved away the touch of the scabby villain. Helooked you straight in your eyes as if he was staring directly into your soul.His eyebrows were raised and pushed together, his gritted teeth were showing ashe frowned. His next words pierced through and shattered your soul like abullet hitting a window.

“It’s not expected at all!!” Iidascreamed his words, his voice as loud as that window shattering. He shook youas he yelled, and you gulped, stunned by his reaction. “It’s not expected!You’re not a villain!! You’re not like your father or brother! You’redifferent!! You’re different… and I loveyou!”

Iida’svoice cracked at the end, his entire body shaking with fear. Fear of losingyou. Your mouth shook slightly, and your mind was blank. Iida’s passiontemporarily muted you, but you snapped out of it when you heard a soft chucklefrom behind. It was the villain and he was holding an amused expression on hisface, like he was enjoying the scene in front of him. It made your heart sickto your stomach. You wanted to hurt him for laughing at Iida’s pain, butunfortunately, he wasn’t the one to hurt. Iida was.

Youshoved Iida as hard as you could. And like a broken doll, he collapsed onto theground, splashing a puddle of water on his way down. His white collared shirtbecame stained with brown blotches of dirt and he looked as filthy as he lookedmiserable. His head was hanged low, his eyes were staring at your feet. Theylooked dead. You were happy he wasn’t looking at you because you knew thoseeyes would break you. You were happy it was raining because you knew your tearsand lies would be revealed if it wasn’t.

“Don’ttouch me with your filthy hands. I don’t want to be touched by the likes ofyou.” By the likes of you heroes. Yourvoice was like venom, like poison in his blood stream, killing him slowly. Youlooked to the villain. You no longer wanted to see Iida like this. “Let’s go.”You spoke softly, grabbing his arm and turning away from Iida. This is how it should be. This is how itshould be. This is for the best. This is for the best. You chanted in yourmind like it was a rhythm to a song. You walked away from the broken Iida, armin arm with the villain. Once you turned down one of the alleyways and were outof sight, you pulled yourself away from him. His lingering touch ghosting overyour skin. There was a sudden portal of darkness that appeared in front of youtwo and you heard the villain laugh, a cruel smile directed towards you.

“You’reexactly like your brother, aren’t you?” You heard those words often, but itfelt different coming from him. It felt like the truth, and it was a hard pillto shallow. You remembered your brother did the exact same thing. Saying he waslike your father, shoving your mother to the ground, and storming off as heleft you and your mother’s hearts broken. “The name’s Dabi, by the way.”

Andhere you were, doing the same thing as him.

I’m like mybrother.

I’m like mybrother.

Itchanted in your mind like a melody. Despair was greeting you like an oldfriend. Dabi’s smirk grew wider as he guided you closer to the swirlingdarkness.

I’m like mybrother.

I’m like mybrother.

[sleepypie1212]

Sleepypie’s Guide to Kdrama Love: or, 10 Steps to What is TOTALLY a Healthy Relationship*

I wrote a thing. Did you miss me? 

Have you ever wondered how all those kdrama girls do it? Do you too yearn to enact their principles in your life and achieve the same effect? Yearn no more! Here's my handy ten step guide to making a relationship work, k-drama style! Step 1: Be a Candy Remember, you must be poor but plucky, working a multitude of small-paying part-time jobs and living in cramped rooftop apartment. You must be absolutely wallowing in debt you've inherited, yet still face each coming day with a brave smile and optimistic, can-do attitude. Family's a no-no, unless it's a) your beloved father in a coma he won't wake up from, whose expensive hospital bills you must pay, b) an evil stepsister who devotes her every spare moment to making your life hell, or c) a missing  brother you worry about and look for, but who will only conveniently reappear at the end to alleviate any worries about your right to be happy or the potentially incestuous nature of your romance. Do try and have one female friend you will be able to turn to for relationship advice in the future. Her advice will always be terrible, but that won't matter, she's just there to point out that you like your romantic lead before you're willing to admit it yourself. Don't worry if she's better at makeup and fashion than you are. Although you will always complain about being poor and ugly, you will be effortlessly beautiful at all times, your clothes will always be name-brand, and as a bonus, your cell phone will always be the newest model. On the flip side, I hope you like subway.

Step 2: Meet Cute It's time to meet the love of your life! Now, he must be strikingly handsome, impossibly rich, and, most importantly, an apparently ice-cold bastard (don't worry, he's actually a giant softie hiding a tragic past behind those barriers and just waiting for the right girl to come along and teach him the power of love. We'll get to that in Step 3). Remember, it's important you meet in an unplanned, painfully awkward way that leaves him with a strong distaste for you. Tried and true methods include forcing him to give you a lift in the rain, throwing up on him during a plane ride, or tripping and making him catch you in one smooth graceful movement while his important papers for that big meeting that will define the rest of his life go flying. He should abandon you/make loud noises of despair and disgust/drop you at the earliest possible moment. Congratulations! You are now fated to be. Don't forget to call him a rude bastard once he's gone! Step 3: Forced Proximity The most important step. Somehow or other, you and the One must be forced to spend copious amounts of time together. This can be for almost any reason--maybe you've started working at his company, maybe you two enter a contract relationship for whatever reason (usually it's to get his matchmaking mother off his back, but bonus points if he wants one of your organs or its his crackpot grandfather's idea), maybe he moves into your house against your protests because he's being hounded by reporters and needs a place to hide. Regardless of the whys, you are now obligated to breathe each other's air for large quantities of time. Don't worry if it leads to a plenty of friction initially--that's normal! Soon, you'll realize all that bickering you do is actually cover for your simmering sexual tension. Arguments will now end with long, lingering gazes at each others lips. Curse words will start to be endearments. You will both quickly realize how noble and kind the other actually is, despite misleading first impressions. To hasten this process, I suggest shared babysitting sessions, eating homecooked meals at your table (don't be surprised if he's never had a homecooked meal before--his parents have usually never had time for him, and he will probably burst into spontaneous tears over the first mouthful), and drinking beer together on your rooftop, star-gazing. These situations are very conducive to deep conversations that don't seem to have much context--don't worry about that. You are Baring Your Souls to each other, an important part of the process. If you get the chance to be in a life-endangering situation, seize it, so he can rescue you dramatically, and then reproach you for being foolish, thus revealing how deeply he does actually care.

Step 4: Jealousy Right about now, his First Love should reappear on the scene. She will be, without a doubt, Unpleasant, especially to you, since she will sense how close you and the One have become merely by witnessing you two laughing together as you walk care-freely down the street (I suggest you be coming back from something he originally protested was for children--an amusement park, perhaps--but which he came to deeply enjoy. Be eating ice cream and get some on his nose for added effect, as his playful retaliation will reek of repressed emotions). He, however, will not be able to see this, and will instead be incredibly confused by her reappearance. He will try very hard to reconnect with her, refusing to believe he has changed since meeting you (a lamentably useless denial, since everyone else can clearly see, and frequently mentions, how much nicer he seems). This will be a bleak time for you, as you will be deeply saddened by his apparent affection for Another. Luckily for you, the Second Lead will be around to catch you! He will have been a neighbor, co-worker, or someone you viewed as a kid brother. He will do everything in his power to be there for you, though he will never explicitly state his affection (don't worry, second leads never do). Unfortunately, nothing will cheer you up. You will be  constantly reminded of the One by strangely specific things--a cup of coffee, a floating balloon, a teddy bear--immediately saddening you. Don't be too downcast! Unbeknownst to you, the One will witness you apparently being happy with the Second Lead and be absolutely consumed by an ironic jealousy, leading him to do all kinds of delightfully petty things you own't understand and find peculiar.

Step 5: The Kiss Good job, you've made it to your hallmark moment, the one that that will set the seal on your relationship with the One, affirming you will survive any and every obstacle thrown at you (there will be many), and haunt you in a series of never ending flashbacks for the rest of your romantic life! The One has finally been pushed to the breaking point, and is no longer able to deny the strength of his passion. Depending on the sub-species of drama hero you have acquired, the kiss may take one of several shapes. It may be exquisitely planned, with fireworks, roses, and a heart-stopping declaration of love. More frequently, it is a surprise to both of you, the culmination of weeks of building tension. You will always be in a beautiful location. You will always look stunning. He will always look stunning. You will probably have been fighting immediately before. When he kisses you, remember to stand stiffly, staring transfixed before you with shock. If emotions are especially wrought, you may cry, so that he may wipe the tears away with his fingers. . If you're unlucky, you might not remember this first kiss due to temporary ghostly possession or his penchant for freezing time at significant moments. But odds are that means you get a second first kiss! Who doesn't love that? And on the positive side, from now on, the One will be incredibly sweet, self-sacrificing, and adoring. He will not in any possible way resemble the man you first met. Except he will still be smoking hot. Savor this moment, because you will shortly be very unhappy indeed 

Step 6: The Obstacles I warned you they were coming, didn't I? Because now that you and the One have kissed and thus declared your undying passion for each other, his family will rise up in protest. They will seek to humiliate you at every opportunity, try to bribe you to leave him with money (you must be deeply affronted by this, and bravely choking back your tears, condemn them for not realizing you have pride and that not everything can be bought), and/or destroy your life by any possible means. I would suggest investing in insurance, because you are about to be kicked out of your home, lose your job and gangsters will shortly corner you in alleyway (don't worry, the One will save you, if only so he can berate himself later for bringing all this down on your head).  If he has no family (this is rare, and means he is either an alien, a time-traveler, or a cartoon character transported to your world by an unexplained deus ex machina), he will realize that he will soon be compelled to return to his planet/time/dimension by impenetrable forces, leaving you vulnerable to the enemies he has made on your planet/time/dimension who will seek vengeance on you as soon as his back is turned. 

Step 7: The Noble Idiocy Sigh. It's unavoidable, so grind your teeth now and get it over with. The One, deciding that somehow he is making your life miserable/endangering you, will decide to leave you. He won't explain why--instead, he'll give you a terrible reason for leaving. Usually it's something far more stupid and hurtful, like he never actually loved you and that you were just an amusement. He will then vanish from your life, returning to his original sphere like he never left it, and plunging everyone's life into untold clouds of freaking gloom. Go ahead and sob, no one's judging you. It's not your fault your boyfriend makes shitty decisions like a little kid instead of talking things over with you like an adult. If it makes you feel better, he's even more miserable, and he spends an ungodly amount of time staring at the little trinket you gave him that one time, pining for days gone by. If it wasn't so stupid, it would be hilarious. Step 8: The Reunion You will unexpectedly bump into each other on the street or at the office, and he will gaze at you soulfully. You will turn away, still deeply hurt by his abandonment, but it's all going to be ok, because now having seen you in person once more, all the moronic reasons this seemed like a good idea to him in the first place will become irrelevant and he will start popping up in your life like a toadstool, giving you the chance to exact petty but oh-so-satisfying vengeance if you so desire. I suggest so desiring. It's massively entertaining. But only push him to the point where he confesses why he left in the first place, and then melt like the marshmallow you are. You may have to chase after him in the rain, but it's fine--it will provide a particularly striking backdrop to your makeup kiss and give him the opportunity to shelter you with his umbrella, letting himself get unnecessarily soaked in the process (he'll probably be ill afterwards and collapse, but don't worry. Let him lie in bed a few days, with a saline solution and spoon feed him porridge and he'll be right as rain. Er. No pun intended.) Step 9: The Final Problem Everything that came before was build-up for this, and now you must face down whatever issue has cast a cloud over your fated relationship all this time. Is one of you dying? Has one of you promised to go to jail for the other? Has his family threatened to disinherit him if he continues to see you? Fret not, everything will be magically cleared away. There will be a miracle cure, a guns drawn showdown where the actual murderer is finally caught, or his domineering father will have a stroke and become a much kinder, gentler person.  Along the way, it will be revealed that you and the One actually met as children, either only briefly or were best friends until one of you moved/lost your family/faked your own death, and in reality are each other's long forgotten First Loves. Smell that? That's Fate. Finally, you're almost there! 

Step 10: The Ending This is the trickiest part to pull off, but having made it this far, I'm sure you can do it. It's clear to you and to everyone else you and the One will be together forever now. Nothing can tear you apart. But do you want to get married right away in a big, beautiful ceremony? Do you want to date for awhile, spending a lot of time sitting in front of beautiful sunsets with the One? Do you choose to inexplicably study abroad for a brief period of time, returning only then to fully consummate your love? The choice is yours, but whatever you choose, you've earned a stunning conclusion to all your suffering. *not applicable to sageuk storylines which are more inclined to heavily feature torture, blood feuds, hanboks, flowing hair, horses, and reincarnation. See my Ten Steps to Surviving a Sageuk for that one.

[f-l-writes]

Common Enemy

Warnings: Swearing. If anything else seems like it should be warned, let me know.

Word Count: 7912 (whoooo boy)

Requested: Yes, @taeyoapple / @sxngminhx

Enjoy this shit show! Also, feel free to request!

You let out a sharp gasp as you were suddenly pushed forward by your best friend, Lee Min Ho. The two of you had been pretty much inseparable since fourth grade when you met and had virtually no secrets between you. Until today.

He had woken you up at the ass crack of dawn just to drag you out of the house so you two could spend the day together. While you had initially been annoyed, you had lost that feeling as soon as you stepped into Beansbins Myeongdong, one of your favorite restaurants. Immediately, you had grown semi-affectionate to Min Ho, imitating a sort of thanks to the man for taking you out to eat.

As you two settled down and began to eat, Min Ho got a call. He only listened, never saying a word before he hung up and focused his dark chocolate eyes on you before he spoke up, his voice eerily serious and somewhat scary, a state you rarely saw him and never wished to see him in.

“Once we’re done here, I’m going to take you home. I know I planned a day for us together, but something came up and I don’t need you getting caught in the crossfire,” he finished, looking over your worried features from the way your brows drew together and your lips formed a slight frown. He noted the concern in your Y/E/C orbs and he knew he would have to deal with it, unable to explain why. It wasn’t something you would understand until a later time.

“You have to promise me not to ask questions. I will explain everything once I get the chance but this is something too important for now. Do you understand, Y/N?” he questioned, watching as you slowly nodded, you frown deepening.

You didn’t like how odd Min Ho was acting. Even when he got into his scary serious state, he was never this vague. He always told you what was going on with him as soon as you asked but now he was telling you not to ask even a single question about why he was ending your day together early.

“Let’s just finish up, yeah?” you finally spoke, your voice low and timid, almost as though you weren’t sitting in front of your best friend Lee Min Ho. Instead, your voice imitated that of someone who was speaking to someone they were meeting for the first time and was shy of the interaction. On top of that shyness, though, was a sound of undeniable fear. For what, you didn’t know. However, it settled over your stomach, immediately snuffing out your appetite and want to be in the restaurant any further.

Once Min Ho had finished up, the two of you made your way out to his car and climbed in. His eyes seemed darker than they had ever been as he took another glance at his phone before pulling out of the parking lot, barely giving you time to put on your seatbelt and not even bothering with his own.

As you began the short, eight-minute drive back to your house, you noticed the slight paranoia that was rising in Min Ho as he continued to glance in his side view and rearview mirror. This, naturally, didn’t settle the ascending fear in your stomach, forcing you to wrestle down what you had eaten only three minutes prior.

“We’re taking a detour,” Min Ho suddenly stated as he pulled over into the turn lane, making a quick left turn as soon as he possibly could. You knew the path as one that led down to an underdeveloped and neglected road that not many people bothered traveling unless wanting to get a look at all the abandoned buildings in this particular part of the city. As he began the drive down the road, he swore quietly as he glanced back out the window.

Now you were in panic mode, wondering what the fuck was going on. Soon enough, Min Ho had turned sharply into the yard of one of the abandoned homes, leaving the engine going as he went to open the door. Turning back to you once more, he spoke, that uneasy seriousness back in his voice. “Duck down and do not move.” It was an absolute demand and you didn’t understand why.

However, you did as he asked and unbuckled your belt, settling into the spot on the floor where you wouldn’t be spotted from any outsiders unless they were right against the window. Your heart was pounding viciously in your chest as you remained on the floor, doing your best to calm your breathing, racing heart, and thousands of wild thoughts.

“Min Ho,” an unfamiliar voice began, “you really think you can get out of not paying back your debts? Instead, you take your little girlfriend on a breakfast date knowing well enough that I’m going to get my money back from you one way or another. And your interest has been piling up quite a bit. So what are you going to do? I can’t assume that your drug peddling and arms dealing has been making you much profit,” the unidentified man chuckled. “So you can pass over your girlfriend or you can take your proper punishment and gain sixty thousand dollars in three days.

Min Ho said nothing at this time and you hated that you couldn’t see him. You had developed the ability to know what he was thinking most of the time when you could see him, but now, unable to do so, you worried.

Soon, you were greeted with light pouring in through the now fully opened door of the car as Min Ho stood above you, pulling you out of the car quickly. I’ll rescue you, don’t worry. That was what he had whispered before he pushed you forward, giving you to the man who, you assumed, he had been speaking to prior. At this point, Min Ho was unable to meet your eyes and instead kept his focus trained on the unnamed man.

“Thank you for your compliance, Min Ho. As soon as we get our money, you get your girl,” he stated, grasping your left forearm tightly in his right hand, pulling you towards the completely blacked out van that had been following you and Min Ho previously. You didn’t bother fighting the man, still in too much of a shock at what Min Ho had done. What best friend hands you over for compensation?

Once you were inside the van and seated in one of the black leather seats, you buckled yourself in, letting your mind wander. The man who had interrupted your and Min Ho’s day was the only one in the van with you. He wore a white, oversized tee that was tucked into black jeans and had on black Adidas with white striped. His hair was dyed a dirty blonde like color with a few streaks of different color on the front.

The unnamed man had a rounded face, heart-shaped lips, and was clearly well maintained. As you continued to examine the man from your spot in the seat diagonal to his, you failed to realize the way his umber eyes flicked over to you in the rearview mirror. Even then, since he remained quiet as he flicked his gaze between the road and you, you continued to examine him as best you could. He had a broad nose bridge and obvious smile lines around his mouth. He had tanned skin that suited him perfectly and a resting face that would make you worry about talking to him even in a normal setting.

While you couldn’t deny the obvious beauty of the man, the fact that he was taking you somewhere unknown and you didn’t even know his name was rightfully off-putting to you. Building a sudden courage, you caught his eyes in the rearview mirror and spoke. “What’s your name and…” you faltered at the intensity of the look in his eyes as he watched you. Your voice quieted as you continued to speak. “Where are you taking me?”

If animals could speak, you knew you would be sounding like a scared mouse who was cornered by a cat that was ready for the kill. The look the boy gave you sent chills up and down your spine and it made you wonder what exactly was going to happen when you reached wherever you were going. Would he torture you? Kill you? So many thoughts whirled through your head as you let your eyes drop from his piercing gaze.

He remained silent for a moment, a regarding look now settling on his face. “I suppose that’s fair enough…” he said after a couple of minutes. “My name is Dong Hyuk. Most people call me Hae Chan, though, so feel free to do the same. As for where we’re going, I’m taking you to… my workplace of sorts,” he finished.

You thought for a moment, not about what he said, but rather the way his voice sounded. It was pleasant, to say the least. To you, it sounded smooth and honey-like. He paced his words in such a way that it made you want to listen to him talk forever under normal circumstances. Now, however, you only had a mild appreciation for it.

When the van pulled to a stop in an alleyway, Dong Hyuk climbed out and stood at the hood of the van, waiting for you to follow. He was fairly confident you wouldn’t do anything stupid such as trying to run, but if you did he always had a gun in the waistband of his jeans to scare you into submission. He wasn’t one who liked to lead by fear but he would if he needed to.

He watched as you circled around and, like before, Dong Hyuk grabbed your forearm and headed over to an entrance towards the end of the long alley. The actual door was guarded by a padlocked metal shutter*. Dong Hyuk pulled a set of keys out from his back pocket before quickly flicking through and unlocking the padlock, opening the shutter and then the unlocked door.

Gently, Dong Hyuk pushed you into the dimly lit area before stepping in himself, closing the gate and dummy-locking the lock. Once the second door was closed, he flicked on the light switches and revealed the full visuals for the indoor area.

It was high walled, the ceiling being too high for anyone to reach. The walls were painted an off-white and the floor was hardwood, made of what you assumed to be cedar wood. The main room was furnished with black furniture from the loveseat to the bean bag that was resting in the corner, a young boy perched on its seemingly velvety surface.

The boy on the bean bag chair had blonde hair that fell somewhat over his eyes as he focused on the book that was clutched in his hands. He had angular features from his nose and cheeks to jawline and he had a bit of an intimidating aura about him that made you want to avoid him. He seemed like the type of person who would have no care as he tore you down both physically and mentally. He was attractive, that much you could admit, but you couldn't see yourself approaching him for the life of you.

“That's Ren Jun,” Dong Hyuk stated, earning you the gaze of the young boy. He nodded in your direction once before he began to focus on his book once more. “He's not the most talkative. Prefers to keep to himself but he's our most effective weapons man, something I'd advise you keep in mind.”

Though you knew you were technically being kidnapped, it didn't seem that way at all. sure, there was a bit of a coldness towards you from Dong Hyuk due to him being your kidnapper, but you also felt like they wouldn't do anything to harm.you unless you disobeyed them, something you'd be too scared to do anyhow. You still don't know how you ended up in the middle of a crime lord money issue and you knew you could live without the answer too. Once you got out of this place, though, you foresaw you and Min Ho having a long talk about him handing you over to his rival.

“What are we doing with her?” a sudden voice, one that didn't match Ren Jun's or Dong Hyuk's, questioned. You turned towards the voice, your eyes landing on yet another pleasant-to-look-at boy.

This one has pink hair that was fading to more of a peach color and, like the others, extremely dark colored eyes. He had softer features than Ren Jun but was still fairly masculine looking, especially when you got to his jawline. Even from where you were standing, you could tell he had long lashes, the shadows from them casting over his eyes slightly. His lips were chapped in a way you never thought a person's lips could be chapped. It almost made you want to ask him if he wanted to borrow any, but you refrained seeing as you a) didn't have any on you and b) didn't know what kind of person he was to jokes like that. Instead, you allowed Dong Hyuk to speak up, introducing you to the third of the group.

“Jae Min, this is our… compensation for what Min Ho owes us,” he stated, pausing for a moment. “Why don’t you show them where they’ll be staying?”

You weren’t sure why, but the words immediately brought images of a dark, dank room with bloodstains on the walls and floors. The thought made you shiver slightly before looking back Jae Min, the boy flashing a smile in your direction. After a moment of refusing to move, Dong Hyuk took you by the shoulder, pushing you forward gently. Not wanting to be shoved again, you trudged behind Jae Min, your mental gears whirring over hundreds of different ideas as the stretched out silence enveloped you and the peach-haired man.

Once Jae Min stopped at a door that was painted a light blue color, he twisted the handle and pushed it open, revealing a room that was already set up and occupied. On two beds, that were in opposing corners, were two other girls. You furrowed your brows slightly as you looked at them, confused. Were they compensations as well?

Stepping into the room, you flinched slightly at the sound of hearing the door close behind you. One of the girls, who appeared to be Chinese, glanced up from the phone she had in her hand, greeting you silently with a smile. The other one, this one being Korean, was more excited to be introduced to a new girl. She hopped out of her bed and made her way over to you with a smile as she spoke.

“Hello! My name’s Ha Yoon. I’m Je No’s girlfriend,” that statement took you by surprise and your eyes widened. She was dating one of the guys here? You watched as she pointed to the Chinese girl before picking up again. “That’s Chao Xing. She’s with Chen Le.” Again, you were surprised. The fact that they were living here willingly was quite the surprise to you.

“Anyways, enough about us~ Who are you?”

You froze for a moment, your brain shutting down for a second before restarting. “I’m, uh, I’m Y/N…” you didn’t want to go beyond that, seeing as while they were here on their own accord, you were forced over because of your best friends ridiculous decision.

Instinctively, you meant to reach into your back pocket and grab your phone to check for messages from Min Ho or even to check the time. Your heart skipped a beat upon realizing it wasn’t there, meaning it must have fallen out while you were on the floor of Min Ho’s car. You restrained yourself from swearing aloud before looking to Ha Yoon, the girl chuckling slightly.

“Don’t worry about your phone. They would have taken it anyways. And you don’t need to worry about not telling us your situation. Chao Xing was taken by Ren Jun from a rival group in China and brought her here. Chen Le ended up being the one that comforted her during her nightmares and eventually the two started dating. As for myself, I…,” her bubbly demeanor faltered for a moment, her eyes growing dark, “I was being used as a ploy to bait other gangs. These boys, they call themselves “Dream”, took the bait but they ended up getting into a gunfight and ended up killing everyone who was part of it and hadn’t run off halfway through. They brought me to their old hideout and Je No was the one who was supposed to get information out of me about everything the group I was forced to work for did since the leader wasn’t there during the fight… Once I told them what I knew, though, I was pretty much free to do as I wanted!” the bubbliness was back and honestly you weren’t sure if you preferred her being more hallowed out in the memory of the past or being upbeat.

“I wasn’t really a special case. My best friend borrowed some money from Dong Hyuk and he didn’t have it today so I was passed over until Dong Hyuk gets what he needs…” you explained with a shrug, feeling somewhat sheepish and not wanting to explain that Min Ho was part of his own underground crime network.

Ha Yoon looked at you with what seemed to be pity before the door was pushed open slightly, a head poking through a moment after. It was Jae Min again, his lips pulled back in a bright smile again as he looked at the three before speaking.

“Dong Hyuk wants to talk to you, Y/N. Don’t take too long.” though the words sounded harmless, you couldn’t help but to feel a slight threat behind those words.

Excusing yourself from the girls, you made your way out of the room and followed Jae Min, who’d been waiting behind a closed door, to where Dong Hyuk was. Once in the nearly bare room, you took a seat across from where Dong Hyuk was, folding your hands in your lap, playing with your nails nervously.

“I need you to tell me what you know about Min Ho and what he had been planning on doing with the money I lent him,” Dong Hyuk stated. It was less of a demand and more so like he was speaking to a scared animal and, while the concern touched you slightly, you were sure it was just a device to get you to say something. Not, of course, that you knew anything.

“I didn’t know anything about his criminal life. He never brought me into it before today and the days were we had to end hanging out early he just claimed it was work. I never knew he loaned money from anyone,” you admitted, your eyes flickering from your hands to Dong Hyuk’s eyes while you spoke.

He seemed like he was about to push for something before shaking his head and leaning back. “Do you remember seeing anything off while visiting his home?” Dong Hyuk questioned, choosing a different approach.

“Maybe? His counter was usually filled with papers that had stuff written on them that didn’t make sense to me…” you paused for a moment, thinking back on one of the pieces that you read. “On one of them it mentioned a heist…” you said quietly, your eyes going back to Dong Hyuk from where they fell on the papers. “That might be what it was for but it’s hard to tell if it was for something else,” you admitted.

“Any information is good information, Y/N. Just tell me what you know.”

“He has a safe in his basement. I didn’t know about it until recently when he left me at his house alone for a couple hours but I was able to find the combination and unlock it. It had cash in it but I’m not sure how much… I wasn’t sure at the time how he acquired so much until hearing you two talk earlier,” you admitted, watching as the boy nodded.

“I think that’s all I’ll need for today. Why don’t you go settle down in your room and get some rest?” there was a slight level of sinisterness to his words but you simply nodded as you stood, making your way back to the room as quickly as you could, not even realizing that you had stepped into the wrong one at first.

Once the door was closed behind you, you close your eyes and leaned against it with a sigh, only opening them when you heard a timid sounding male voice break through the silence. On a bed that was pushed up to the wall in the center of the room was an orange-ish haired boy watching something on his phone, curled up in his bed.

“Oh shit, sorry,” you said, your cheeks lighting up in a blush as you turned to open the door again, hands fumbling with the knob for a second before retreating back into the hallway.

You were promptly met with a laugh, causing your eyes to snap up from the floor, thinking it was Jae Min. Instead, you saw yet another unfamiliar boy. He was somewhat cat-like with features that bordered both soft and angular. He was handsome, to say the least, but there was a slight glint in his eyes that caused you to be wary of him almost immediately.

“I take it you’re the one who just got pulled from Min Ho’s shit?” the boy questioned, leaning against the wall as he looked you over.

“Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that… Who are you?”

“I’m Je No. More than likely you’ve probably heard my name from Ha Yoon. She likes to “flaunt”,” he made air quotes with his fingers, “that we’re dating but it’s just something she’s made up in her mind. Chao Xing and Chen Le, on the other hand actually are so I wouldn’t mess around with Chen Le too much,” Je No spoke, watching you nod.

“Why lead Ha Yoon on then?”

“I’m not. She’s doing this to herself. She thinks anytime I speak to her is me speaking to her as a significant other. Honestly, I’m just hoping she’ll come to her senses soon,” he responded, his tone lazy and uncaring.

“I’m sure it’ll dawn on her soon,” you said, your own tone souring and turning bitter now.

“Oh, I would hope. I’m tired of her clinging to me as soon as she steps out of that room,” Je No admitted pushing himself off the wall before walking back towards the living room. “I’ll see you around though.”

As soon as he disappeared down the hall and around the corner, you turned and made your way back towards the proper room, deciding to make proper friends with the girls as a feeling that you were going to be there for a while filled you.

A few weeks passed and there was still no sign of Min Ho. You didn’t speak much to the boys and your patience with Ha Yoon and Chao Xing had worn thin. Ha Yoon only ever really gushed about Je No while Chao Xing, while still somewhat practicing her Korean yet knew English well enough, refused to speak to you in either language.

Dong Hyuk hardly spoke to you and he was the only one you really wanted to bother speaking to for the fact that you wanted to know more about his and Min Ho’s interactions. However, he avoided you like the plague and whenever you did try to talk to him, he just ignored you and walked off.

At this point, you were sure you could just walk out and no one would bat an eye. With that thought on your mind, you made your way towards the door and gripped the handle, only to be yanked away from the door.

“Don’t do that again,” you were warned, the voice sending chills down your spine as it was whispered in your ear dangerously.

If you couldn’t tell who it was by the voice, you may as well have been a fool, especially when he stepped back and revealed himself to be Dong Hyuk.

“What does it even matter at this point? How can I even be compensation if I’m not worth anything?” you complained, crossing your arms over your chest as you looked up to the slightly taller male.

“Because you’re the incentive that I need to get my money back from Min Ho. I have been sending him threats with you involved for the last week. Be glad we’re not as bad as some gangs out there who would be beating you within an inch of your life,” Dong Hyuk stated with a low growl in his voice before he turned away, making his way off to, you assumed, his room. His words sent chills down your spine and you worried about what might happen the next time you try something similar.

When you finally got over his words, you made your way over to the couch. settling down on the black, plush surface and leaning back, eyes staring out at the white wall in front of you. Where the hell was Min Ho? Why wasn't he there to get you out yet? Thousands of questions went through your mind as you stared blankly at the wall, the feelings that should have been there within the first three weeks hitting you hard now. You turned over on the couch after snapping your eyes away on the wall, curling up. You made sure to keep quiet, though it didn’t make your shaking body invisible to anyone.

It was now that your brain went into overdrive as it thought about everything that you had missed in the last three weeks. You were sure you had at least one hundred missed calls on your phone from your mom and you were positive that you had just been dropped from college. You didn’t know if Min Ho was alright or not and you weren’t even sure if any of your other friends had noticed your sudden disappearance. A sarcastic voice answered back in your head, causing you to feel more guilt than you had ever felt in your life. If you hadn’t pushed everyone away, then maybe they would care.

Maybe it was only the release of tears that hadn’t been there for a long while that was pushing these thoughts onto your mind or maybe it was a genuine guilt that you had buried and refused to let it come up for this exact reason. Whatever it was, more and more thoughts surfaced and left you a mess on the couch.

You didn’t realize when one of the boys entered the room or made their way over to you until you felt a hand on your shoulder, jerking you out of your thoughts. You refused to turn to see who it was and simply stated “go away”, hoping that they would listen.

“Are you alright?” It was Ji Sung. After the first day of you stumbling into his room, he had been one of the more friendly ones to you. Je No proved to be less of an asshole than you thought and Jae Min was an intense flirt. You didn’t talk much with Ren Jun but when you did, he always revealed some interesting things. Chen Le and you didn’t talk at all and only spared one another short glances and nods in greeting. You had had your fair share of conversations with Dong Hyuk and, while most were pleasant, he could be quite difficult to understand. To you, it seemed like he was always trying to pull information out of you about Min Ho and his little crime group. Every now and then a man named Mark would stop by and check in on the boys who lived in the building. He seemed to be some sort of honorary member and you liked it when he was around. He was nice to talk to and didn’t pose the same problems that the others did.

“It’s nothing, Ji Sung,” you muttered into the black surface of the couch before suddenly you were forced to turn onto your back so you didn’t fall off the couch by him pulling you off.

“What’s wrong?” he questioned, his voice a bit harsher than before as he looked down at your puffy-eyed form.

He felt bad for you, he really did. Though he had basically been raised in a gang, he was still an emotional teenage boy who felt bad for what you were going through. He didn’t like seeing people sad and you were a big one on that list. Though you two hadn’t spoken much since you walked in on him watching YouTube that one day, the times when you did have a conversation were meaningful and often lasted hours. In this sense, Ji Sung had claimed you as a partial sister and mother. You listened to his every word in his rants, offered him help and advice and now it was his turn.

“You know you can tell me,” his voice was quiet now, watching as you moved to sit up, Ji Sung leaping at the chance to sit beside you as his knees began to throb at the slight pain of kneeling for so long.

“I just want to know why Min Ho hasn’t come to get me yet… I’m sure it couldn’t take three weeks to get what he needs. Not when he’s doing this... job…” you weren’t even sure what to call it. Was it even a proper occupation? Sure, you made money but it wasn’t legal.

“I don’t know, Y/N. Maybe he’s still will but… I don’t think he will. It seems he’s more focused on keeping his money to himself than he is to save you. I don’t know him personally like you did but… If I were in his situation I’d be doing everything to get you back.” he was startled at the end of his words when you pulled him into a tight hug, beginning to sob lightly once more into the top of his head.

Despite being much taller than you, the way he was sitting prompted him to be pulled into your chest and he felt almost like a child. He pulled away after an awkward moment on his end before moved closing, pulling you into a tentative hug, letting you sob into his black Slayer shirt instead. He patted you back slowly, wanting to help you calm down as best as he could.

When you stopped crying after what seemed like an eternity and pulled away from the younger, yet towering, male, you stood and thanked him for his words.

“Try and get some rest. I’ll talk to you later,” he said with a smile as he stood as well, placing a hand on your shoulder, watching as you nodded before walking down the hallway.

Dong Hyuk appeared in the room not much longer after you walked down the hall before walking over to Ji Sung. The younger boy was quite surprised by the determined look in Dong Hyuk’s eyes as he strode over before standing before Ji Sung.

“Why was she crying?” he questioned, his tone showing no hint of actual care.

“She missed Min Ho. She was wondering why he hadn’t come to save her yet. She doesn’t want to be here, Dong Hyuk. Why can’t we just let her go? It’s obvious that Min Ho’s not going to give you your money back,” Ji Sung stated, his tone sharper than it had been with you and his demeanor a bit harsher.

“Because-”

“I don’t want to hear it, Dong Hyuk. She’s not compensation for your lost money. You just made the loan to the wrong man and he’s not giving it back, not even for his friend. It’s time you let her out cause you’re not getting anything from her. She doesn’t deserve to be here.” with that, Ji Sung walked off, heading out for a walk to calm himself and leaving Dong Hyuk to think over his words.

Was he going to let you go? Absolutely not. Would try to make you feel more at home? He figured now was the best time to try. Making his way back down the hall, he found himself in front of the door to the room you shared with the two other girls. He knocked quickly and entered once he heard someone say come in.

Poking his head through the opening he made, he glanced in, looking immediately over to your bed. He noticed just how puffy your eyes still were and something in his chest ached at the thought that you were crying over a friend who had abandoned you after giving you up so easily.

“Y/N…” he began carefully, unsure of what to say, “can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Why?”

“I just need to talk to you, please. Don’t make this difficult.”

You grunted as you threw yourself up into a sitting position before getting off the bed and walking towards the door, walking past him once you pulled it open wide enough. You didn’t want to talk to him, he knew that much, but he needed to start making you feel better. Like you were at home instead of being held captive. Once the two of you made it to his room, he opened the door and let you in.

You were reluctant to talk to him, but you had no fight left in you to argue against him so you simply went along with him. You figured he’d be taking you to that godforsaken interrogation room again but you were surprised to see he took you to his own bedroom instead. Stepping in, you glanced around to see that it was the most minimalist room you have ever stood in. There was nothing on the walls and his nightstand was nearly bare as well except for a lamp and one framed photo. The walls were the same white as the walls in the living room and his bed was carefully done with a dark blue comforter and light blue pillows.

Walking over to the bed once Dong Hyuk had taken a seat on it, you stood at the end of it, looking at him while you crossed your arms over his chest, wondering just what the hell he wanted.

“Ji Sung told me why you were crying. Don’t yell at him for telling you, I told him to tell me and they don’t usually disobey me. But… I can’t let you go cause there’s still a slim chance that he’ll give me what I need. However, I don’t want you feeling trapped so I’ll make a deal with you, does that sound alright?”

Slowly, you nodded your head, interested suddenly in what he was saying. What kind of deal would make you want to stay with them at all?

“As long as you have someone with you, you can go out and do your day to day things. We can get you a job somewhere and have one of the boys watch over you to make sure Min Ho doesn’t try anything and we can get you enrolled in a community college alongside myself or Je No or even Mark once we tell him what’s going on. You don’t have to love it here, but consider it a temporary home until I get my money and you can go back to living life like you used to.”

Fuck. It was a good deal and hardly came with any costs aside from having someone watch over you every time you went out. You hardly needed any time to think before nodding. “I’ll take it,” you stated, your eyes brighter than they had been in weeks. You wanted nothing more than to finally go outside. You felt like you were going crazy being locked inside for three weeks.

“Glad to hear. Let’s start with arranging who you’ll be with your first week. This is the person you’ll be around all week to make sure nothing happens to you. Who would you feel comfortable with for week one?”

Your answer, to Dong Hyuk, was to be expected. “Ji Sung.”

“Then him it shall be. Once he gets back from his walk, I’ll get everyone together to explain what’s happening and then you two are free to do as you like,” Dong Hyuk stated as he stood.

Within two more months, you had begun to feel like everything was finally normal, more or less at least. You hadn’t had any run-ins with Min Ho despite going to what had been your favorite places to hang out and you had a fun time getting to know each of the guys within the criminal group. Dong Hyuk had proved to be better than you thought during your week of being with him and it almost made you want to hang around him longer. Most weeks, you chose to be around either Ji Sung or Jae Min as they were the ones you had gotten closest two over you three months of being around the boys.

However, as of lately, you’d found yourself wanting to be around Dong Hyuk more and more. He was showing himself to be a great person that you had a lot in common with and you really enjoyed his company. In fact, though you would never say it to anyone else, you were beginning to get a slight crush on the man.

You weren’t sure how he felt, so you kept your mouth shut, but the crush was there and festering, waiting for the day you accidentally did something to fuck it all up and expose yourself. You didn’t like that you liked him, you hated it in fact. but you had tried everything to get yourself to stop liking him and it seemed like nothing was working. You reminded yourself he was a crime lord, not someone to be in a relationship and it didn't work. He was just so… perfect? Well, more like imperfectly perfect but it still went without saying that every time you were around him, the feeling grew more and more.

Even as you made your way to his room ask him to head out with you, you felt your heart speed up fifty times faster than what was good for you. Your hands became sweaty, your cheeks blushed red as you thought about him and your stomach churned. You hadn’t ever liked someone as much as you liked Dong Hyuk and it was almost painful. Every time you thought about him now, you found yourself thinking about his lips, how soft his hands were and how you would give anything to hold them more often than him grabbing your hand to pull you away from waltzing in front of someone.

There you went again, losing yourself in thoughts of him even though you were right outside his door. Knocking lightly, you pushed it open when you thought you heard a “come in”. Instead, you stumbled in on a conversation between Je No and Hyuk.

“How the fuck do you expect me to tell her that, Je No? It’s like I just walk up to her out of nowhere and be like ‘hey, I like you a lot can we go on a date and maybe make you my girlfriend?”

“Not when you say it like that you can’t, Jesus. That was horrible.”

“Je No,” he voice held a warning to it.

“Sorry. But you can tell her, you know. It won’t be that hard,” Je No said, before turning and freezing when he saw you there. It was only temporary though as a casual smile came to light up his face as he walked past you.

“Uh, sorry about barging in. I thought I heard you say I could…” you muttered quietly, your mind playing over the conversation. Surely it wasn’t you he could like, right? There had to be someone else. You didn’t find yourself to be someone special and with his job, you were sure he had met plenty of beautiful women.

“It’s fine,” he said, his sweet voice filling your ears like music. “What did you need?”

“I wanted to head out for a walk in the park and I wanted you to come with me…”

“I think it was Ji Sung’s week to be with you?” he questioned, quirking a brow slightly as he looked at your now blushing figure.

“It is, but I wanted to spend some time with you.” Oh, there you went. If he didn’t catch on now he was blinder than you.

“Sure. I needed to talk to you anyways,” he said with a smile as he stood and walked over to the door, the two of you walking down the hall together to get your shoes. The entire time, you were trying to control your speeding heart, wondering what he needed to talk to you about.

Once the two of you made it to the park, you began to walk down one of the darkening trails as the sun slowly set, peeping the beautiful pinks, oranges, and lingering blues through the trees. At first, it was complete silence, neither of you saying a word as you took in the nature around you from the trees to the flowers that were growing in the well-kept grass.

The pathway itself was beautiful, the branches intertwining overhead and never hanging low enough to get in one’s face. You could only wonder how it looked in winter. Probably like a wonderland, somewhere you would want to spend every day until winter ended.

In the corner of your eye, you caught Dong Hyuk looking at you, his eyes bright and wide. You turned your own head to look at him as he suddenly stopped, you following behind shortly.

“Dong Hyu-”

You were quickly cut off by him stepping towards you and, quite harshly, pressing his lips to yours. However, when you reciprocated the action, he grew softer, his hands coming to a rest on your cheeks while your own claimed his shoulders.

When you finally drew apart, you were both out of breath, your cheeks burning a deep crimson red. Dong Hyuk suddenly grew shy as he hid himself behind his hands, mumbling “sorry” and “my god I’m an idiot”. You couldn’t help but to release a school-girlish giggle as you walked up to him, pulling his hands away from his face before taking the male’s soft and rounded cheeks in your own and pulling him into a careful kiss.

Your worries from earlier were proven to be wrong and you didn’t know why you liked him despite his occupation, but knowing he liked you back made it hard to be against being with him. When you pulled away this time, you kept him close, letting your breath mingling with his as your cheeks widened to accommodate a smile and his only burned darker, the heat bringing pricks of tears to his eyes.

“So, I’m assuming you like me too?” he questioned, trying to calm his own galloping heart.

“I would hope so or it might seem odd I kissed you,” you chuckled, grabbing his hand and entwining it with your own. “And that I’m doing this.”

“So… You’re my girlfriend now?”

“Woah there, never agreed to that,” you joked, watching as his face fell before quickly fixing it. “I’m kidding, Hyuk. I would love to be your girlfriend,” you responded, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

From somewhere behind you, you heard a gentle, familiar “holy shit”. Both of you turned around to spot Min Ho, standing in the middle of the path where he had happened to stumble and ended up spotting the two of you.

As Hyuk was about to say something, you stopped him, waved goodbye to Min Ho with a slight smile on your face and pulled Dong Hyuk away. Who knew that being abandoned by your once greatest friend could lead to making a better friend and boyfriend.

[otteropera]

Spill his Heart pt. 2 (p.p. x reader)

Second part !! I’ve got one more after this so don’t worry :,)

Word count: 982

Summary: Peter wants to admit his feelings to his crush, but doesn’t want to put her in danger either.

Warnings: none

Today was the day. Today was the day that Peter Parker was finally going to spill his heart to (Y/n). He had been up all night last night planning the perfect way to reveal how he felt about her. All that was left was the actual doing of the plan, which scared Peter beyond belief.

Once the bell rung signaling that the final period of the day was over, Peter quickly shoved his belongings in his bag and bolted out the door. He couldn’t contain his excitement as he made his way to (Y/n)’s locker. As he rounded the corner, he saw her. He tried to wipe the stupid grin off of his face while approaching her locker.

“Hey (Y/n), uh, I have a question,” he starts, only to be interrupted by (Y/n) excitedly speaking.

“Oh, hey Peter! You will not believe what happened this morning!” (Y/n) says before Peter asked her his important question.

“Y-Yeah? What is it?” Peter asks, nerves eminent in his voice.

“So every morning I stop by that little cafe and get a muffin and coffee, right? This morning the cute barista asked me out on a date later! He gave me his number and everything!” (Y/n) says excitedly. Peters heart practically dropped to the floor and shattered into a million pieces.

“T-That’s great (Y/n)...” he says, almost in tears.

“Oh-what did you have to tell me?” She asks, causing Peters eyes to light up with panic. She closes her locker and they start walking side by side.

“U-Uh, oh nothing, it wasn’t that important...” he says.

“C’mon Peter, you can tell me.”

“You...you left something at my house last week. That night you stayed over,” he manages to stumble out, mentally fist bumping himself for coming up with an excuse.

“Oh, I can stop by later and get it... What is it exactly?” She asks.

Uh-oh. Maybe he should’ve thought this through a bit more.

“Um, uh-a sock.” Really Peter?! A sock? That was the best you could come up with?

“A sock?” She asks while giggling, which melted his heart.

“Yep,” he said quietly, before he could mess up the conversation any more than he already had. At this point they were stepping out the front doors of school, and Peter felt the need to get away from the entire situation and scream. “You know, I-I gotta go, I’ll see you later,” Peter says before practically sprinting down the street, leaving a confused (Y/n) behind him.

Once Peter was out of (Y/n)’s sight, he stumbled into an alleyway and quickly put on his Spidey-suit, needing to get away from everything.

The rest of the night consisted of Spider-man swinging through the streets of Queens, stopping any small robberies, helping elders cross the street, simply being the friendly neighborhood Spider-man. However, he was taken by surprise when he saw (Y/n) sitting next to the window inside a restaurant, alone. She was dressed up, with her perfectly curled hair framing her face. Her face that had a twisted look of anger and sadness on it.

She was stood up.

His heart filled with rage and jealousy. How was it that the people she got treated her so poorly? Who would do that to anyone? Peter knew he wouldn’t. He knew he would treat her with proper respect. How could someone do this?

Before Peter could anger himself with pointless questions any longer, he saw her leaving the restaurant. He knew what he needed to do.

“Are you okay?” He asks, as he walks up to the girl. She turns around, wiping tears from her face while sniffling.

“O-Oh..! Yeah, yeah I’m good,” she says, mentally questioning why Spider-Man was talking to her. “Don’t you have crimes to stop or something?”

Peter would be lying if he said that he wasn’t slightly taken aback by her rude tone, but he understands why she would be a little on-edge.

“Ugh, I’m sorry...” she says, with more tears streaming down her face.

“H-Hey it’s okay! I get it... um, what happened, exactly?”

“I was stood up by this jerk,” she says, letting out a huff of air while the masked hero walked next to her. “I don’t even know why I’m letting it upset me this much, I just wanted to get over someone else...” Peter was confounded by this. She liked someone else?

“Wha-... who?”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ve been best friends for far too long for him to even think of me as anything outside of a friend,” she states. “Plus, he likes this girl, Liz. I mean, he did? I don’t really know. God, I cannot get Peter out of my mind.” This causes Peter to stumble over himself, almost falling to the ground. He couldn’t believe the scene that was unraveling before his eyes.

“Y-You what?”

“I mean, it’s stupid, right? She moved, he can’t even-“ before she can finish her sentence, Spider-Man interrupts her.

“N-No! No, it’s not stupid at all,” he says, causing her to face the masked hero.

“What do you mean?” She asks.

“I mean, has he ever said that he doesn’t like you? If you don’t know for sure, why bother getting over it?”

She lets out a huff of air, wrapping her arms around herself. “Yeah... I guess that makes sense,” she states. Police sirens in the distance cause Peters head to whip around.

“L-Look I gotta go, just make sure you get home safely, and good luck with that boy!” He yells before running off, swinging from lamppost to lamppost to follow the sound of the sirens, leaving (Y/n) to walk home by herself. She couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit of flattered, considering that Spider-Man was just comforting her, hell, the fact that he was even talking to her was enough to make her blush. She found herself walking home in a much better mood than before.

[septic-heart-and-mind]

“A Stranger” | “Virus” (New Antisepticeye Fic) Pt. 2

Yes, part 2 is here already! I am really getting into writing this, haven’t had any ideas for ages and now suddenly I have a lot xD hope you enjoy :)

@watermelonsinmyattic​ @steffid101​ @themultiplefandomlover​ @geekygirl0816​ @meisje450​ @kodimint​ @theoddowldoodle​ @odia13​

I had just been to see Mark, and I was now heading back home. Mark was one of my best friends, who was visiting Brighton where I lived. He, and his girlfriend Amy, wanted to spend some time here because we didn’t get to see each other or hang out all that often. They decided to stay for a while with another couple of my friends, Felix and his girlfriend Marzia. Mark and Amy were toying with the idea of moving here like I did, so they wanted to get a feel for it by staying for a considerable time. I had just had a great time, catching up with him and Amy and recording some collaborations. Before I knew it, it got much later than planned and that was when I decided it was time I went back home. I had a smile on my face when I left the house, feeling lucky to have such great friends. It always feels good to know that you have people who care about you, people that you can have fun and relax with. Mark had talked with me about some stuff that I had on my mind, too, so I felt better in that sense as well. I strode with a little spring in my step as I headed back to my girlfriend, excited to see her and tell her about my day, when I was suddenly grabbed and dragged into a nearby alleyway with my mouth covered so I couldn’t call for help - not that there was anyone around anyway. They hauled me right to the back of the alleyway, where anyone who did end up passing wouldn’t see us, and I was pinned to the wall by the mysterious figure. The alleyway was dark and their face was shielded by a black hood, so I had no idea who it was that had their grip on me. Still keeping their vice tightly on me, they slowly drew back their hood and revealed a familiar, wicked face with evil eyes that I knew all too well. It was Anti. Well, his name was James, but my family and I always called him Anti because he was the complete opposite of me, despite being my twin brother. That was why I encouraged the idea when my YouTube community came up with the Anti name for my imaginary dark ego, because it made perfect sense - and because it meant that I could associate it with something else, rather than just my twisted brother who didn’t seem to have an ounce of good in him.

“Well, well, well,” he smirked, “Haven’t you grown, Seán?”

“I thought I’d never-“

“See me again?” he cut me off, before darkly laughing. “I’m your brother, like it or not.”

“Not to me,” I stammered fearfully.

“Aw, that’s not nice,” he teased me. “And they say I’m the evil one.”

“I’m nothing like you,” I trembled. “Now leave me alone…”

“We’ve only just reunited, Jackaboy,” he taunted, “You’re not leaving just yet.” I looked behind him, ahead of me, but I saw no-one in the streets to help me. I desperately tried to think of way to free myself, afraid that Anti would actually kill me. He was capable of it, easily. I wouldn’t put anything past him at all. I kicked him in the leg and he loosened, pained, and I began to make a dash for it. But he grabbed me again after a few steps, tighter than before, and pinned me hard against the wall whilst laughing at me.”Thought you could run away, did ya?” he mocked me.

“Please let me go,” I begged tearfully in a quivering voice.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he threatened. “I got abandoned, do you remember? I got left all alone,” he bitterly continued, a little too close to my face. “Then you got older… You could’ve found me, couldn’t you? You could’ve tracked me down like I did to you tonight. But you never did.”

“I-I’m sorry,” I stammered.

“Too late,” he spoke darkly. “I want you to feel how I felt. I want you to end up alone, left to go insane like I did.”

“N-No, please!” I cried out, before he started to relentlessly beat me. He left me weak on the ground. He towered over me for a moment, before crouching down beside me. Matching his pale, vampirish complexion, he then bit me hard. It stung terribly, and he laughed evilly at my pain.

“Now it’s your turn to be abandoned,” he stated coldly. It was then, when I was hurt, that he left me alone. I had to pick myself up from the ground and stumble home, battered and bruised and wondering why he had finished off his attack on me the way he did. It seemed so unbelievably strange, as did what he said to me about losing my mind, and I had no idea what it meant…

When I arrived home, Signe was awake and out of bed even though she wouldn’t normally be at that time; she had obviously been fretting about my whereabouts and how I was, as I hadn’t told her that I would see Anti again because I wasn’t expecting to. I didn’t know he would find me, so our meeting wasn’t exactly planned. I heard her jump up from the sofa the second I entered the house, and she hurried into the hall as I shut the front door behind me.

“Oh my goodness, what happened to you?” she gasped upon seeing me.

“Nothin’, I’m fine,” I reassured her with a smile, despite being shaken up.

“You are not fine, skat,” she refuted me with affection, before hugging me. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re home, I was thinking all sorts,” she explained with relief.

“Like I said, I’m fine, darlin’,” I replied softly as I held her, before kissing her head.

“Is that why you’re covered in bruises?” she questioned as we broke away, looking straight into my eyes. Her gaze then suggested that she was trying to get eye contact back from me; I was avoiding it because I knew I couldn’t lie to her if I looked at her. I would have to say I wasn’t alright, and I didn’t want to worry her any more. “Babe, look at me,” she requested gently. I slowly lifted my eyes to meet with hers, and I observed the concern as she saw my bruises in front of her. “You’re not fine, are you?” she said to try and get the truth from me, because she wanted to take care of me properly and couldn’t do that without knowing the full story.

“No,” I stammered, on the brink of tears.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she sighed with sympathy. “Come on, let’s get you sat down.” She gently led me to the living room and sat me down carefully. She then fetched me a glass of water and handed it to me, before placing herself down beside me and holding my empty hand. “What happened, my darling?” she asked, my hand gently caressed by her thumb. “Did someone hurt you?”

“Yeah,” I answered in barely more than a whisper.

“Who did this to  you?” she pondered, sounding heartbroken at the idea of someone harming me. “Did you see who it was? Was it a stranger?” she added to prompt me and aid my answering.

“No… I-I knew them,” I stuttered shakily. “W-Well… Kind of…”

“What do you mean, sweetheart?” she enquired, a little confused.

“It’s… been years…” I explained, almost crying again as I thought about him.

“Your brother?” Signe checked, taken aback.

“I never thought I’d have to face him again,” I stated, unable to hold back my tears anymore.

“Oh, sweetheart, come here,” she responded caringly, taking me into her arms. I broke down, sobbing into her and holding on to her tightly. “Shhh, it’s alright now, it’s alright,” she comforted me, stroking my head slowly and slightly rocking me. “You’re safe now, I’ve got you.”

“I-I thought - I thought he’d kill me,” I sobbed.

“But he didn’t, my darling, he didn’t,” Signe replied soothingly. “Shhhh. It’s okay. It’s alright.”

“W-What - What if he - hurts me again?” I gasped.

“Shhh, he won’t, baby, he won’t,” she answered softly, “He’ll have gone far away now to avoid getting into trouble for doing this to you.” I didn’t feel entirely reassured, terrified that he would come back to get me, and I just couldn’t stop crying and shaking in her arms. She continued to shush me and comfort me, not giving up on trying to make me feel better. She kept going, and eventually I could feel myself slowly calming down. Partly because I was tiring out from crying, but also because she was beginning to make me feel safe again. Maybe she was right, maybe he wouldn’t be back around here again in order to protect himself. That was what he did, he always looked out for himself because he was all he cared about. He was self-centred and narcissistic as well as cruel; he really was everything I wasn’t. The only thing we had in common was our looks. Even then, we had our differences. He was paler, and he always wore darker clothes. He even dyed his hair to make it a darker shade of brown than mine; it was like he didn’t want to look like me, which was fine with me because I didn’t want to match his appearance, either. We weren’t identical, but we looked similar enough that it disturbed me sometimes.When I acted as the Anti that my YouTube community knew, I pretended that I was my brother. It shook me up afterwards sometimes, as it brought back painful memories from my childhood with him. It took my mind to places that I wanted to forget. Seeing him again that day had the same effect and, as I sat with Signe’s arms around me, I began to remember a day from the past. I was crying because Anti had just pushed me the floor - hard - and was just standing over me like he was proud of himself. He didn’t look remotely sorry, or show any intention of helping me up. Anti simply laughed at my suffering as he usually did. He called me nasty names like he did every day. Stupid. Pathetic. Crybaby. I begged him not to be so mean to me, but he just laughed and teased me some more. I picked myself up and ran inside the house to find Malcolm, my other brother, and I told him what Anti did to me. He hugged me as I cried on him, as I’d done many times before. That one flashback triggered another terrible memory. I was only little, but I could still see it. Anti would take my toys from me and smile when I cried. He would hit me with them or throw them at me, again enjoying it when I got upset. He even tried to drown me in the bath; I couldn’t remember it, but I saw what I imagined from what I’d been told. Anti loved every second of it as he pushed my tiny head under the water. He relished in watching me struggle and splutter, only stopping when he was pulled off me and I was taken to hospital to be checked over. Anti was only little too, being the same age as me, yet he was showing signs of being evil already. At the time it was put down to just not knowing what he was doing, but it became clear later than he did because his dark streak never stopped. He was never kind, and he only ever thought of himself. He cared about no-one else, and I didn’t think he knew what love was at all. Because of that, and only because of that, I felt sorry for him. Love is one of life’s greatest things, and it was a stranger to him.

[kimamanitranslatesnovels]

Destruction Flag Otome v4c1pt1

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Volume 4, Chapter 1: The Incident Occurred Suddenly

Part 1: Pages 8 - 35

I speed up a little after I realize that the sun had already started setting. I’ll worry her if I’m too late.

The street I hurry through was crowded just a little while ago. But perhaps because it’s dinnertime, right now there’s only a few people here and there.

The delicious smell of dinner wafts out from someone’s house as I pass it by.

I adjust the bag I hold in my hands. The bag holds commoner sweets and pastries that you can’t buy anywhere but the outskirts of town.

She’s had to be patient for a while, so I’m sure she’ll be overjoyed.

A smile naturally spreads across my face at the thought of the person I’m bringing these sweets to, the person who’ll surely be overjoyed.

I kept it a secret that I went out to buy sweets today.

Normally, I wouldn’t go buy sweets like this so suddenly… but recently, she’s had to deal with a lot of trouble, so I went all the way to the outskirts of town just to cheer her up even a little.

But the store had been busier than I expected, and so I ended up later than I expected. I speed up even more under the sky that’s gradually staining orange. That was when it happened.

Someone slipped out, likely from one of the alleyways lining the street, and stands right in front of me, blocking my way.

The hooded figure isn’t too large. The dress under the hood looks to be meant for women. Is she a woman? Just who is she?

She was acting too strangely for her to have just accidentally almost bumped into me. I look curiously at the person who stands in front of me purposefully.

“It’s been a while,” says the person in front of me.

Her voice was unmistakably a woman’s voice. However, I didn’t recognize it.

“… Who might you be?” I ask cautiously in a low voice.

The woman lets out a flirtatious sound and draws near.

“My, you’re acting so cold – as if you don’t know who I am.”

The woman puts down her hood, letting her long hair flow down her back. At the sight of her face, my eyes grow very wide in my surprise. Seeing my expression, the woman’s red lips quirk up.

“Hey, I have a request – you’ll listen to it, right?” the woman says flirtatiously again.

My expression grows severe.

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

“Please wake up already, young mistress. If you don’t hurry up, you’ll be late for class.”

At the slightly stern voice, I open my heavy eyelids from my bed. The curtains had been drawn back from the windows – sunlight is shining in.

I let out a groan as I stretch. I wake myself up, rubbing at my eyes that are threatening to close again. My maid Anne makes me presentable, swift as usual.

After thanking Anne, I begin preparing for school while still half-asleep.

It’s been almost two years since I, Katarina Claes, entered this magic academy. It feels like I just started yesterday, but in reality I’m going to be graduating soon. Time passes quickly.

Recalling last year’s graduation ceremony, I’m quietly reminded that when I first started school, I hadn’t even thought that I would be able to safely reach graduation…

I, Katarina Claes, am a normal run-of-the-mill duke’s daughter. Well, it’s true that daughters of dukes can’t be found just anywhere, but even if I have a fairly high social standing, on the inside I’m just a normal girl.

If I had to point out one part of me that was unusual, I would have to pick the fact that I remembered my previous life when I hit my head on a rock when I was eight.

In my previous life, I grew up as the eldest daughter in a normal salaryman household. Eventually, I matured into a complete otaku of a high school girl.

Manga, anime, games… I mastered all of them. I was living a splendid life… but unfortunately, I lost my life thanks to an unlucky incident.

And so, I was safely reborn as an duke’s daughter… but the noble girl I was reborn as turned out to be Katarina Claes, a villainess of an otome game I had been playing up until the day before I died!

The game was called Fortune Lover and I had been desperately playing it after my fellow otaku friends recommended it to me. I was a rival character who was engaged to a capture target, a villainess who got in the way of the capture target and the protagonist’s love for each other.

I was reincarnated as a character who I had considered pretty annoying in the game…

To make things worse, this noble girl villainess would be exiled from the country in a good ending and would be killed in a bad ending. She had nothing but destruction flags waiting for her – she was the absolute worst character to be.

When I realized this at age eight, I desperately worked hard until I entered the magic academy – where the game was set. I planned out numerous flawless plans to deal with my ruin.

Then last spring, I started school. I was all pumped up, thinking that there was no way that I would lose to some stupid destruction flags! However…

I hadn’t really expected everything to end with a friendship ending.

The game’s protagonist, Maria, is beautiful, kind, and even great at making sweets. She’s my number-one candidate to be my bride – she’s just that alluring.

And yet, last year at the graduation ceremony – where the game was meant to end – everything ended with everyone staying friends.

Thus, I wasn’t able to use even one of the many plans I thought up and was easily able to avoid ruin. I safely entered my second year. After that, there was a bit of trouble here and there, but right now I’m safely heading to graduation.

I’m really living a blessed life that I wouldn’t have even dreamed of during the entrance ceremony.

As we near gradation, even though I have class today, there’s many days when I don’t. My grades were dangerously bad at first, but now, thanks to my talented friends, I’m doing okay.

I’m going to be graduating soon - it’s almost like the days I panicked over being exiled or being killed were just a bad dream. But there is one new issue I have to deal with…

“Young mistress, you were sent flowers and a letter again,” says Anne, bringing over the bouquet and the letter.

The bouquet was mainly made of pink flowers and was very cute. However, I can’t help but sigh at the sight of it.

This bouquet is the one issue I have to deal with now that I’ve safely avoided ruin.

“We’re going to see each other soon enough… he doesn’t need to send me flowers and a letter…”

Anne neatly places the flowers in a vase as she smiles wryly.

Isn’t he sending them every day now…? My room is overflowing with flowers thanks to the bouquets that are sent so often.

I take the letter that had been delivered along with the bouquet and sigh even more deeply than before.

I’m sure that this letter is filled with seductive lines that make me blush despite myself, since I have almost no experience with romance.

… Just why in the world did Jared become like this…?

I think about Jared Stuart, the sender of this bouquet and letter.

Jared Stuart was originally a capture target in the world of the otome game. He was the third prince of the country and incredibly talented – so talented that he found the whole world boring and lived every day sick of everything.

The story was that after he enters the magic academy, he meets the bright, innocent protagonist and is slowly drawn to her.

That’s when I, Katarina Claes, make my first appearance as a rival to the protagonist for Jared’s love.

When Katarina was young, she was engaged with Jared by using the scar on her forehead, and basically followed him around everywhere as his fiancée ever since. When she realizes that Jared is growing interested in the protagonist, she bullies the protagonist mercilessly and gets in the way of their relationship.

As a result, the only endings waiting for her were being exiled from the country after her crimes were revealed, or being cut down by Jared after attacking the protagonist…

But well, in reality I haven’t bullied the protagonist at all (rather, I even severely threatened people who tried to do something to the incredibly cute, sweet Maria) and I haven’t stalked Jared (rather, I’ve told him I’d break off the engagement again and again).

Despite this, I still made proper preparations for my potential ruin. I kept a set of my farming tools ready so I would be prepared to leave the country at any moment and I kept a toy snake in my pocket so I’d be ready if I was attacked…

But despite no one getting in their way, Maria and Jared didn’t get together during the ending.

And in the end, my engagement with Jared wasn’t annulled and even after we entered second year, I remained his fiancée.

But as I knew the otome game’s storyline, I believed that Jared didn’t think of me as anything but a shield to ward off other girls that approached him. I believed without doubt that if Jared fell for Maria or some other girl I would no longer be any use to him and he would throw me away.

I had mused casually that I just wanted him to hurry up and find someone, like it had nothing to do with me.

However, something that destroyed my assumptions happened a little while back. It happened during the school festival.

I was over the moon after successfully avoiding ruin and was enjoying my first school festival in this life. That’s when I got wrapped up in a bit of trouble and was kind of sort of kidnapped.

Well, I say kidnapped, but it’s not like anything bad happened to me.

Since I had been on cloud nine, I hadn’t been careful at all – and so, I apparently had been put to sleep with drugs. After I woke up, I was served by an excellent, attentive maid. I had a lovely time – I was given three meals a day and was allowed to take afternoon naps.

This isn’t something I can admit to everyone who was worried about me, but honestly I felt it was a lot more pleasant than being at the academy or home.

Well, even if I felt like that, kidnapping is a crime. After a while, everyone saved me from the mansion where I had been trapped inside…

But when I had been safely saved, Jared kissed me for some reason. It was my first kiss in both this life and my last, as I had never been kissed in my previous life.

Since I fell unconscious due to the sudden situation, when I came to, I decided that incident was just a dream.

After all, there was no way that Jared would do something like that to someone he considered nothing more than a shield… that’s what I had thought…

And yet when I met him again at the academy, Jared stole a kiss from my lips again with a sentimental expression.

“So you thought it was a dream? It’s not a dream – both this time and last time,” he said, smiling.

“W – why…”

“Why kiss you? Why, because I love you, of course,” he said, dropping another bombshell while I was still shaken. It was unbelievably shocking.

To think that I, who had zero experience with romance in both this life and my last, would be confessed to… and to think that the one confessing to me would be a capture target from an otome game, a handsome prince.

When he was 2D, I was able to look at him even while smirking… but when that handsome face of his comes in close in 3D…

Ah…

I blush at my memories of that moment.

Ugh, what should I do?

If I were a super popular girl like an otome game protagonist, I may have been able to deal with a confession or two, no matter how they confessed… but I’m just a girl with zero romantic experience after all, even taking my previous life in account.

In turmoil at my first confession in this life – no, in my last life too – I haven’t been able to do anything but stammer. And since the confessor is a handsome, popular prince, I’m feeling even more shaken than I would’ve been otherwise.

I let out another deep sigh.

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

“But really, I wonder why me?”

“What’s the matter all of a sudden, big sis?” says Keith, sighing.

After I finish my preparations to head to school, my kind younger stepbrother Keith comes to my dorm room to walk with me. So I ask him a question that’s been bothering me for a while.

“I’m talking about Jared-sama. I’m wondering why me.”

“Ah, about that,” Keith says, looking somewhat stiff. At his expression, I think that ah, Keith thinks that it’s love as well.

“After all, Jared-sama’s so popular he has no shortage of admirers.”

Not only is he a handsome prince, but he’s also intelligent and athletic, and even good at magic on top of all that. He’s truly a perfect man – no wonder he has to beat women off with a stick.

And so, despite having a fiancée – Katarina Claes – he’s popular enough that he’s still approached by numerous women.

“He could have his pick of any number of splendid people.”

And in the original game, he was drawn to a bright, innocent girl like the protagonist because he was bored with life…

“And yet, why did he choose someone with no redeeming features like me?”

I do have my social standing as an duke’s daughter, but thanks to my villainous face I’m not particularly beautiful, I’m not very intelligent, and I barely have any magic. I suck at dancing too – the only thing I’m really good at is tree climbing and fishing. I’m a completely normal girl.

“What could be so good about a normal, uninteresting girl like me?”

I hang my head, really having no clue why he would be interested in me.

“I think you should look up the definition of ‘normal’ in the dictionary again,” says my brother, looking at me with a faraway look.

Not understanding what he means, I look at him in confusion.

“Good morning, Katarina,” says a smooth voice from behind me as I’m still gazing at Keith in confusion.

Speaking of the devil… when I turn around, I see just the person I expected to see. He’s smiling as he draws near.

It’s the third prince of this country and Katarina Claes’ fiancée – Prince Jared Stuart himself.

“… Good morning, Jared-sama,” I greet him despite my inner turmoil.

Jared closes the distance between us with impressive swiftness.

“I sent you flowers and a letter today as well, but did they arrive safely?” he says, giving me his best quality smile from fairly close up.

He’s close! Too close! My heart is going to explode at this 3D super-handsome man!

In the past, I just thought that he just couldn’t get a handle on personal bubbles. But now that he’s making passes at me every day, I’m a lot more conscious of him now and can’t just act normally when he comes up close.

“U – um Jared-sama, could you step…”

Before I could finish asking him to step back, Jared step back.

Wait, if I look closely, he didn’t step back by choice – he was pulled back by someone else’s hand.

“Jared-sama, you’re too close,” says Keith, who had been the one to pull Jared back for me. His smile is just as bright as Jared’s.

Ah, thank you, my stepbrother. Your actions have saved my heart.

“Keith, Katarina and I will be married eventually. It’s fine for me to touch her even more than I am now,” says Jared, extending a hand out to touch my cheek. At the sensation of his long fingers softly touching my cheek, I jump despite myself and smoothly put some distance between us.

Keith furrows his eyebrows at my actions.

“Don’t be ridiculous – marriage? She’s scared. Sis, over here,” says Keith.

At Keith’s encouragements, I smoothly hide behind him. But my stepbrother, it’s not that I’m scared…

“Katarina isn’t scared. She’s just more aware of me now,” says Jared, as if he can see right into my heart.

It’s just like he says. It’s not that I’m in any way scared… it’s just that I’m not used to these kinds of romantic moves. I don’t know what to do and it makes me feel shaken.

What else should I have expected from the perfect prince Jared? He sees right through me.

“I’m different from a certain somebody who she doesn’t notice in the slightest,” says Jared as I’m admiring his astuteness. He smiles fearlessly.

Hm, who does he mean by someone I don’t notice? Since Keith seems to have reacted to his taunt, does Keith know who it is? Looking up, I see that Keith looks really sad for some reason. So I try to call out to him.

“Um…”

That’s when someone else cuts in.

“Katarina-sama, good morning,” greets my best friend Mary Hunt cheerfully. She comes in with her fiancé Alan Stuart.

Mary’s bright voice chases away the awkward atmosphere in a moment, making it cheerful instead.

“Morning, Mary, Alan-sama,” I respond with a smile.

Mary gives me a lovely wide smile as well right back. In high society and public areas, she smiles perfectly and elegantly – a picture-perfect noble girl. But when she talks to me, she always gives me a lovely smile like this.

On the other hand, her companion Alan just says “Yeah,” aloofly – I can’t even tell whether that’s supposed to be a greeting. But that’s nothing new.

I don’t expect him to be as friendly as Jared, but I can’t help but think that it might be nice if he was a little friendlier… but Alan fans say that his unfriendliness is what makes him great. I don’t really get it, but a maiden’s heart is unfathomable.

Well, the point is that the atmosphere changed after they arrived.

But Mary, who had been smiling at me brightly, transitioned into the smile she uses in high society at some point.

“Oh my, Jared-sama, is it alright for you to be in a place like this at a time like this? I believe that quite a bit of student council work has piled up,” says Mary to Jared.

The words themselves made her seem like she was worrying for him… but I feel like the atmosphere has gotten awkward again for some reason.

“That’s true. It had piled up quite a bit, but when I gave it my all I finished it immediately.”

“I see, that’s good…”

Mary’s smiling… but the atmosphere is still… I wonder why?

“But recently, I’ve really received much more work than usual. I wonder why that could be.”

“It’s nearly graduation. Could the cause not be that?”

“Is that so? I myself am thinking that someone is purposefully pushing work on me to take up my time.”

“My, Jared-sama, are you becoming delusional in your exhaustion? I do believe it may be best for you to rest alone today.”

“Well, let’s leave things at that for now. However, no matter how much my workload increases, it won’t be much trouble for me.”

“Ha ha ha, as expected from you. It’s easy for you.”

Their smiles are bright and lovely but the atmosphere is terrible.

“Good morning. Everyone, I do believe we all need to head to the school building. We will be late,” interrupts Sophia, ending their conversation. Sophia looks flustered, as if she slept in a little.

And so, we all headed together to the school building as always.

On a side note, Sophia had apparently slept in just like I had thought. Apparently she had stayed up late reading novels. Since the novel had supposedly been very interesting, I had her agree to lend me it sometime.

When we reach to the school building, Maria, who lives in a different dorm, was waiting for us. We head to the classroom together and attend our lectures, which dwindle by the day.

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

“When I went to the Ministry of Magic yesterday, Lahna-sama said that she wanted me to bring you as well next time, Katarina-sama,” says Maria during our break, after our lectures are over.

Maria Campbell. She’s the protagonist of the original otome game and one of the few light magic users in the country.

It had already been decided that she would be joining the Ministry of Magic after graduation, and now that our lectures at the magic academy have lessened, she’s visited the ministry a number of times.

I met the woman who’s going to be her direct supervisor, Lahna Smith, during the incident that occurred a little while back.

I spent a short while with Lahna, unaware of her true identity. She had been incredibly easy to talk to and seemed very openhearted, but in reality she was a higher-up in the Ministry of Magic. And apparently she was very high up in the ministry.

This Lahna has taken a liking to me for some reason and so she’s been encouraging me to join the Ministry of Magic after graduation. She’s even said that she’d recommend me.

If I graduate like this, it’s very possible that I’d end up Jared’s wife.

Well, it’s not like I dislike Jared himself, but since he’s a prince if I marry him I’d become royalty.

To be honest, I’m barely managing as an duke’s daughter… even when I think I’m doing okay I end up getting lectured by my mother.

I feel like I’m not really suited to be a noble lady in the first place since my memories of my past life returned to me. I’m more suited to be a farmer or a townsperson.

Someone like me becoming royalty… the highest standing in this country…

A little while back, I thought that my engagement was just until Jared found someone he really liked, and mused about what I should do once the engagement was annulled.

In a normal noble family, I would probably be told to hurry up and marry myself off… but my father dotes on me and says stuff like “You can do what you’d like, Katarina.” And my mother is like “If you’re going to bring shame down on the family by marrying someone then you’re better off at home.” So both of them didn’t really bother me about getting married.

So I hadn’t really been worrying about graduating… but to think that Jared would seriously approach me romantically…

At this rate, I’ll really become royalty. I can join the Ministry of Magic to avoid that. My friend Rafael who’s currently working at the Ministry of Magic was the one to tell me that.

The Ministry of Magic has the second-most power after the king. And so, if I join the Ministry of Magic, even if a prince requests it, I apparently can’t be married off immediately and dragged off to the castle.

This is really helpful for me in my current situation… but I don’t really have much confidence in it.

After all, my magic is the absolute worst in the academy. If I was good at academics, then I could’ve become a researcher, but my academics aren’t that great either.

Is it really okay for a normal girl with no redeeming qualities to join a ministry filled with elites so easily?

From my previous life on, my parents always scolded me for being too insolent sometimes… I don’t really want to enter this country’s number one organization through nothing but connections when I don’t have anything to show for myself.

And so, even though Lahna’s inviting me, I haven’t given her a proper response yet.

It’s too late to hope to be as skilled as Maria, but if I could only gain some kind of special power, I’d join the ministry with no hesitation…

I muse about things like that as I give a vague response to Maria, who’s desperately inviting me to go to the Ministry of Magic with her.

There’s only a few months left until graduation – I still don’t know what I want to do.

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