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myriadimagines · 4 years ago

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Chips and Orange Soda

Brooklyn Nine-Nine One Shot

Pairing: Reader x Jake Peralta

Other Characters: Raymond Holt, Rosa Diaz

Warnings: theft

Summary: When a series of bodegas are robbed, Holt assigns Jake and Rosa on the case. You, a cashier, become a suspect, but Jake has a gut feeling that you’re not a suspect at all. In fact, he thinks you’re the key to solving the case.

Part Two: Chips and Orange Soda (part ii)

Word Count: 2,697

A/N: my submission for @locke-writes‘ writing challenge! i know everyone wanted me to post the whole fic at once but then it ended up being 5k+ words i made the executive decision that it was probably best for everyones sanity to split it up into 2 parts. think of it as a commercial break in the episode <3 i’m gonna disclaimer this by saying that i’m not a cop or in law enforcement. idk how this shit works. i tried my best but this isn’t legally accurate. anyway! based on the prompt: “You come here often?” “Well, I work here. So I think I’d have to say ‘yes’.”

reblog/feedback/comments are very much appreciated!!!

“Not late! I’m not late!” Jake announces, rushing into the briefing room with his bag still slung over his shoulder. He ignores the eye rolls from Amy and Terry, and plops down in the seat Charles has saved for him. He leans back, dumping his bag on the floor as he tries to catch his breath, before noticing Holt’s disapproving stare. “I’m not! Look, I’m right on time!”

Jake points over at the clock hanging on the wall, and Holt glances over his shoulder before turning back to Jake. “You’re fifteen minutes late, Peralta. That clock broke down two days ago.”

Jake takes a proper look at the clock, which, sure enough, is frozen at three minutes past two o’clock.

“Okay, well…” Jake cringes. “I had a flat tire?”

“As I was saying,” Holt ignores Jake’s excuse, reorganizing the case files on the podium as the squad quickly focuses. Pulling up a few pictures on the television, Holt curtly explains, “Two bodegas were robbed last night, and we suspect it may be the same person, or group or people, who robbed the three bodegas last week. Thankfully, no one was injured, but we need to crack down on this case before it happens again.”

The squad nods in agreement, and Amy taps her pen against the desk as she takes notes. Gesturing towards Rosa, Holt asks, “Diaz, you were investigating last week’s robberies. Where are you in solving the case?”

“Nowhere, sir.” Rosa begrudgingly admits, folding her arms across her chest as she shakes her head. “Forensics dusted the place for prints but found nothing, and the security footage was crap. Couldn’t pull any good images because it was so old. All I know is that it looks like at least two individuals are involved.”

Holt slowly nods, pressing his lips together as he deliberates this. Pointing at Jake, he orders, “Conduct some interviews around the block, see if anyone saw anything. Perhaps you’ll have more luck this time. And take Peralta with you, you’ll be able to cover more ground. Everyone, you’re dismissed.”

Jake looks over his shoulder to exchange a nod with Rosa before everyone gets to their feet. Holt closes up his file, and quickly stops Jake before he can leave the room, “Oh, and Jake?”

Jake pauses in the doorway. “Yes, sir?”

“While you’re out, you can get some new batteries for the clock.” Holt points back at the defunct clock. Raising an eyebrow, Holt continues, “So next time, you can actually take a look at how late you are.”

Beside him, Amy can’t help but snort at Jake’s expense, and he resists the urge to roll his eyes.

—

Jake jogs over to the bodega, a cup of coffee in hand from the nearby food cart. He ducks under the police tape bordering the store, and he gingerly steps around the shattered glass scattered on the pavement. He can already see Rosa inside, taking off her sunglasses and hooking them on the collar of her shirt, and he can see that the forensics team have already marked up the scene. Rosa looks up as Jake approaches, and she informs him, “This one’s different from the others; they actually broke in instead of picking the lock. Otherwise, they took all the cash, and it doesn’t look like anything from the inventory was taken.”

“Which is kinda weird, considering this place has pretty cool chip flavors and orange soda.” Jake points to a nearby shelf, and Rosa shoots him a look. Shrugging, Jake looks at the rest of the shelves and the fridge as he mumbles to himself, “I’m just saying.”

“Security footage from this whole week is missing too.” Rosa continues. She groans, shaking her head as she takes another glance around the scene. “I don’t know how we’re going to get anywhere with this.”

The two of them make their way back outside, where a small crowd is now lingering outside the store, curiously trying to peek inside as the cops try to corral everyone. Pointing at them, Rosa suggests, “Maybe we can find a witness.”

Jake follows her gaze, quickly sweeping over the individuals before his gaze lands on you. Your eyes momentarily meet, but you quickly look away and turn your attention back to the smashed glass. You’re cute, Jake thinks to himself with a grin, all bundled up in a denim jacket that, and when you turn to look at something over your shoulder, he can’t help but notice has a cool design of some planets stitched on the back. Rolling back his shoulders, Jake holds out his cup of coffee, and he says, “Allow me to handle this, Rosa,”

Rosa rolls her eyes at the annoyingly confident tone Jake quickly adopts, and pointedly refuses to hold Jake’s coffee for him.

“Alright then,” Jake awkwardly takes his coffee back, and he gulps down the rest, fanning his tongue as it burns his mouth. Tossing it aside into a nearby trash can, Jake quickly composes himself, readjusting his jacket before approaching you. He offers you his hand, and you hesitate before shaking it, and Jake introduces, “Hey, I’m Detective Peralta. Cool jacket, by the way.”

“y/n.” you introduce yourself with a small smile, shaking his hand before you pull away to self consciously tug at the sleeves of your jacket. “And thanks. My friend made it for me as a birthday gift.”

“Nice,” Jake grins at you, before gesturing over his shoulder. “You come here often? It’s a pretty awesome bodega.”

“Uh, well, I work here.” you slowly respond, and you can see something in Jake’s expression falter as his cheeks get red. You bite back a smile as you continue, “So I think I’d have to say ‘yes’.”

“Cool, cool, cool, cool,” Jake nods, fumbling to come up with a response. His palms suddenly feel sweaty, and he scrambles to think of his next question.

“I’ll let our owner know, by the way.” you pipe up, and Jake blinks at you. Nervously chuckling, you add, “That you think the bodega is awesome. He’ll appreciate it.”

“Oh!” Jake laughs, and you can’t help but smile. Gesturing to the store, Jake continues, “I’ve gotta say, your snack selection is the best I’ve ever seen. I mean, you’ve got every flavor of everything in there! Also, any place that carries orange soda is automatically awesome in my book.”

“Well of course,” you respond with a smile. “It’s the best flavor!”

“Right?!” Jake perks up, and the both of you dissolve into laughter before Jake looks over his shoulder and notices Rosa glaring at him. Quickly clamming up, Jake attempts to focus himself, and his eyes widen as he remembers the fact that you work here. “Are you the cashier or something?”

“Yep.” you nod, stuffing your hands into the pockets of your jacket. “I just worked yesterday, too. I can’t believe someone robbed it last night.”

“What time were you here until?” Jake asks.

“The shop closes around midnight, and I was the one who locked up.” you answer, shifting your weight from one foot to another. Jake can’t help but notice as you momentarily break his gaze, and you glance at the store before back at him. “Usually our owner, Gabriel, closes up, but he’s been sick this past week, so I’ve been helping out.”

“Got it,” Jake nods, mentally taking note of all this information. The both of you look up as Rosa joins in on the conversation, and Jake continues, “And I’m assuming you didn’t see any sign of suspicious activity before you left?”

You shake your head, uneasily glancing over at Rosa as she looks at you. “Sorry, Detective.”

“No, you’ve actually been super helpful.” Jake reassures you, and he offers you a friendly smile that puts you at ease. You relax, and Jake continues, “It helps us roughly estimate when the crime took place. Do you know anything about your security footage, by the way? This is my partner, Detective Diaz, and she noticed the footage was somehow erased.”

Something in your expression shifts, and Jake can’t quite read the look on your face. Rosa narrows her eyes at you, and after a pause, you respond, “I think our cameras have been down.”

Jake and Rosa exchange an uncertain glance, and you can feel your stomach twisting into knots as you know they don’t look convinced. The atmosphere becomes intense, especially as you feel yourself under Rosa’s stern gaze, and Jake quickly tries to lighten the mood as he tells you, “I think that’s it. Thanks for answering our questions, y/n.”

You nod, and Jake’s eyebrows furrow as your gaze lingers on him, your lips moving as if you want to tell him more. But you stop yourself, taking in a deep breath, before responding, “If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

You turn on your heel, and Jake watches as you head down the block. He looks over to see Rosa studying you, before she shakes her head. “I don’t like it, Jake. They seemed suspicious to me.”

“They were just nervous.” Jake finds himself defending you. “And probably a little frazzled, too. They were the last one in the shop, if they had stayed any longer, they could’ve been in danger.”

“Or they could have something to do with the crime.” Rosa counteracts, and Jake lets out a sigh. Leaning towards him, Rosa continues, “I know we don’t have solid evidence, but I just have a feeling something’s up, Jake. Plus, it doesn’t help that you were flirting.”

Jake gapes at her. “I was not flirting!”

“Look, we need to solve this before Holt gets on my case about it.” Rosa insists. Jake lets out a sigh, before glancing down the direction you walked, and he can just barely see your figure heading into the subway station.

“I’ll be right back.” Jake tells her, and before Rosa can stop him, he jogs after you. By the time he’s entered the station, he’s terribly out of breath, and he manages to catch you before you enter through the turnstile. “y/n!”

You look up upon hearing your name and you pause as Jake stops in front of you. He bends over, trying to catch his breath, and you patiently wait for him. Through heavy breaths, Jake manages to puff out, “Yeah, sorry, super unfit. The chips and the orange soda clearly don’t help.”

Jake tries his best not to cringe at what he feels like is the lamest joke he’s ever made, but to his surprise, you laugh. A genuine laugh, not a cruel, teasing one, but one with a wide smile that makes Jake feel like he’s on top of the world. Tilting your head, you manage to say in between chuckles, “You’re pretty funny, Detective.”

“Call me Jake.” Jake insists, finally regaining his breath, and you grin at him. “Hey, any chance I could get your number? For professional reasons of course, in case we need to contact you again. Or I could just give you my number if you feel better doing it that way.”

You seem hesitant, but you nod. He fumbles through his pocket, pulling out an old receipt and a pen that barely has enough ink in it, and you scribble out your number before handing it back to him, “I work every day but Tuesdays, too, so you’ll be able to catch me at work if you need me.”

“Got it.” Jake nods, tucking the receipt into his pocket. “Thanks for your help, y/n.”

The expression that Jake can’t decipher crosses your face again, a look of pensiveness, of hesitation. But you shake it off, quickly plastering on a smile, and you nod, “Have a good day, Jake. And… good luck.”

—

Jake and Rosa sit in the break room, a laptop open between them as they flip through countless CCTV videos from the blocks nearby the bodega. Rosa becomes increasingly aggressive with the keyboard with each video she clicks through, and Jake impatiently shakes his head. He groans, rubbing his fingers up against his temple as he complains, “This is killing me. If I have to look at one more minute of another grainy video, I’m going to lose it.”

Rosa rolls her eyes, leaning back in her chair as she folds her arms across her chest. She kicks Jake’s chair with her boot, and she points out, “This is all we have, Jake.”

Jake sighs, but nods. Rosa had interviewed some people in the neighboring apartments, some of which reported hearing smashed glass around three in the morning, but hadn’t called it in on the assumption it was a clumsy accident from a downstairs neighbor. It at least gave them a time of the crime, but as Rosa unfortunately pointed out, it didn’t give them much else. The CCTV didn’t seem to pick up on anything interesting, no speeding cars, and a brief moment of footage that might’ve captured the suspects only showed their retreating backs. The forensics team had also swept over all the evidence from the bodega, but had yet to find anything incriminating, not even a single fingerprint which could help lead the investigation somewhere.

“These guys clearly know what they were doing.” Rosa grumbles, jabbing her finger into the screen. “They know to avoid all the camera spots.”

“I hate smart criminals. Why can’t they all be dumb and just make it easier for us?” Jake whines, and Rosa rolls her eyes.

“Have you talked to y/n lately?” Rosa asks, and Jake shakes his head, hoping Rosa doesn’t notice the faint blush that lights up his cheeks at the mere mention of your name.

“No, Rosa, who do you think I am? That’s way too forward.” Jake scoffs, before his expression turns serious. It’s been a little over a week since your interaction, and he looks at Rosa before continuing, “Unless you don’t think it’s too forward. Should I text them?”

Rosa resists the urge to punch Jake’s arm, and she deadpans, “Talked to them about the case, Jake, not for a date.”

“Right.” Jake nods, clearly flustered, and Rosa rolls her eyes again. Wiping his slightly sweaty palms on his jeans, Jake corrects himself, “No, I haven’t talked to y/n.”

Rosa leans her elbows forward on the desk. “I think we should call them in again. You know, see if there’s anything we can get out of them. Kind it seems like they’re the only lead we have.”

“You don’t still suspect them, do you?” Jake asks, eyebrows furrowing, and he lets out a sigh as Rosa shrugs. Shaking his head, Jake insists, “I really don’t think it’s them, Rosa.”

“Jake…” Rosa starts, shooting him a look, and Jake quickly waves his hand, brushing her off as he already knows what’s coming next.

“Alright, I’ll reach out to them, see if there’s anything more they can tell us.” Jake reluctantly says, and Rosa nods. Pointing back at the computer, Jake asks, “Does this mean I can stop watching these boring videos?”

“Fine.” Rosa grumbles, angling the laptop towards herself as Jake grins. He grabs his jacket hanging off the back of his chair, and he sneaks one last glance at the grainy video before darting out the room. He pauses, his eyes narrowing, and he points at the screen.

“Wait, what’s that?” Jake points at the corner of the video, where a figure rushes down the street. Rosa squints, and she pauses the video for Jake to get a better look. His eyes widen, and his expression pales slightly, and he asks, “What time was this footage from?”

“Five in the morning.” Rosa replies, checking the timestamp. Looking up at Jake, she asks, “Why? What is it?”

“Nothing.” Jake hurriedly remarks, and Rosa frowns. Before she can demand an answer from Jake, he’s already rushed out of the break room, swiftly exiting the bullpen as he dodges Terry on his way out.

It’s not nothing, but Jake knows he can’t tell Rosa that. Not when the figure in the video was wearing a distinctive denim jacket with planets stitched on the back.

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backtobackbakubabe · 3 years ago

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Speak Easy Part 4

Bakugo x Reader, Dabi x Reader

Words : 5206

Masterlist

Reader has a siren quirk and has spent the past several years of her life as a captive being experimented on by “heroes” Now that she’s out she needs protection and safe place to heal. Who will be the one to put her pieces back together?

Words with ‘this’ is dialogue written in her journal rather than said out loud and and words with ~this~ is dialogue said in sign language rather than out loud.

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

Dabi’s frustration only grew when he saw your excited expression. All the sudden all he could think of was the was the way that Bakubrat had kissed the top of your head the last time he had seen you.

Dabi readjusted you so you were on his back and put his hands firmly on your thighs. He’ll admit he’s being ridiculous, but he wanted to keep you out of reach from the explosive idiot.

You were practically buzzing with excitement. You had missed your friends. Even though you had seen them a few weeks ago, it wasn’t nearly good enough, you felt like you didn’t have enough time to actually thank them for saving you. You had known all of them from high school except you had known Katsuki and Izuku much longer. You all had known each other since you were kids. Katsuki was always the one pulling your pigtails while Izuku was always the one to let you paint his fingernails.

That mentality pretty much stayed the same as you all got older. Katsuki would still relentlessly tease you but he was always much meaner to any of the guys who hit on you. There was a rumor that went around that your quirk made you super good in bed and it had every guy chasing after you for the wrong reasons. He never hesitated to hit first and ask questions later when men cat called you in his presence.

Katsuki had always had a very special place in your heart. He had always been your protector as well as your biggest supporter. There were so many times he and Izuku had talked you out of quitting school. Every so often an article would circulate about how villainous your quirk was and how you deserved to be locked up. The pressure would eventually get to you and you would end up in one of their rooms pacing and holding back tears. They helped you learn to love your quirk, but Katsuki was the one who secretly worked with you on weekends to help you get stronger. He thought if he showed you that you were more than just your quirk you would finally stop listening to all the fucking gossip blogs.

You kept bouncing with excitement the entire time Dabi walked towards the front door. He paused a few steps away and gave your thigh a sharp slap. “Hey, quit that. If you keep bouncing like that, I’m going to drop you. Behave.”

You wondered what crawled up his ass. He was just praising you a few minutes ago and now he’s grumpy. There’s no way he could be that mad about Katsuki coming to visit. He knew this was going to happen. He was holding you when Katsuki promised as much. You understood that he didn’t really get along with most people, and Katsuki was honestly kind of hard to get along with in the first place. But that still didn’t give him the right to be so pissed about him being here.

Dabi opened the door but remained in the doorway, effectively blocking Katsuki from entering. “Can we help you?”

Katsuki had a duffle bag on his shoulder as well as a box at his feet. “You could start by letting me in asshole.” He looked at you and his scowl softened just slightly, “Hey dork. Think you could convince your chauffeur to get out of the way?”

You giggled and gave Dabi’s neck a pinch. Dabi responded by giving your thigh a pinch, “Eye for an eye brat. You want me to let him in? I think I deserve an entrance fee?” He pointed towards his cheek as if he was asking for a kiss.

Katsuki’s eyes traveled from where Dabi’s hand was firmly squeezing your thigh to where he was pointing at his cheek. They were furious. He was about to just shove his was through when you wrapped your arms tight around Dabi’s neck and leaned backwards. Effectively throwing his body weight off and giving Katsuki more than enough room to enter the house.

He quickly let himself in and made his way over to the couch where he dumped the box he was holding. “Alright so here’s your first care package.”

“Don’t see why it needed to hand delivered…” Dabi dropped you on the couch next to the box so you could rummage through it.

Katsuki quickly took the empty spot next to you, totally ignoring Dabi. “I brought you a couple new manga that I know you’ll like, and I think Deku added a bunch of pictures and shit from your old apartment.” He reached over you into the box and pulled out a shirt and you grinned ear to ear. It was an old All Might shirt that you had stolen from Katsuki years ago because you liked how soft it was.

He smiled and put his arm around you, “I thought you might like that. I hope you don’t mind I’ve been wearing it in your absence. So, it might smell like me.”

Dabi walked by grabbing Katsuki’s arm and casually flung it off your shoulder. Then without a word started going through the box. “Did you remember the bathing suit?”

You could hear Katsuki’s palm’s crackle with irritation, “Yes… I did. But don’t get your pervy hopes up. I got the most conservative one I could find.” There he goes being overprotective for no reason… well that wasn’t exactly fair he did have a reason. He had just found you in the most horrendous condition possible and immediately had to hand you off to a former villain who kidnapped him in his youth… so yeah. You decided you were going to cut him some slack.

“Well considering it’s for her fucking rehabilitation…she could be naked for all I care. As long as she’s comfortable and gets those damn legs moving.” Dabi could feel his temper starting to get the better of him. Considering Bakugo was known for having the worlds shortest fuse, he needed to keep his cool. He could not be the one to snap first.

“Oi! Don’t act like carrying her around is such a burden!” Bakugo stood up now squaring off with Dabi.

Dabi’s eyes flared but his voice remained even, “I never said it was a burden… In fact, I love carrying her around. However, I don’t plan on making it a habit because I want her to get better.” His voice dipped and got angrier, “And don’t you talk about her as if she’s not sitting in the same room as us! She can speak for herself…”

He looked at you and you gave him a pointed look. ~Calm down please.~

He took a deep breath and signed back, ~Trying~

Katsuki looked between the two of you with narrowed eyes, “When did you guys learn sign language?”

Dabi walked into the kitchen and started making dinner. If Bakugo wanted to make a house call, he needed to let him have his fun. He’d be leaving soon enough, he just needed to let the two of you be until then. “We started learning a couple weeks ago.” He pulled out two bowls because that’s how passive aggressive he is. If that asshat didn’t get the hint by the time dinner was ready, then he’d just have to sit there and watch you eat.

Dabi had to stop for a moment and contemplate this. Why was he this mad? Why did he actually care this much? You were obviously going to be close with the loudmouth. You’d known him for a long time. He needed to remember that just because you lived with him now doesn’t mean that you even want to be here. For all he knows you’re just tolerating him because you have to. It’s not like the two of you have lots of late-night conversations.

He looked over when he realized it had been pretty quiet and saw that the two of you were speaking in sign. His hands on yours helping you with a new word. “Okay so obviously you know sign too.”

Katsuki had a shit eating grin. “The doctors told my mom when I was young, I’d eventually go deaf due to my quirk. I’m basically fluent.” He continued to sit and teach you new words and damn if you weren’t happier than he had seen in the past two weeks.

Dabi rolled his eyes as he went back to making dinner. “Go ahead and teach her whatever you want. Be fucking useful for once.” Dabi continued to make dinner, shoulders tensing every time he heard you giggle.

Katsuki had his phone out and was showing you everything you had missed. “Okay so surprise, surprise, Deku and IcyHot are like a thing now.” He showed a couple cute pictures from Izuku’s private Instagram. The last one was of them kissing under an umbrella. “Kiri and Mina had a kid. Little rascal is probably about six months old now. He’s cute but his teeth hurt like hell.” He picked up his hand that had a tiny crescent shaped scar, which had you absolutely grinning.

He ruffled your hair, “Oi, you won’t be smiling when the brat bites you next.” He continued to scroll, “OH! I almost forgot the best part.” He turned his phone to you and showed you a picture of someone’s mug shot. “Fucking grape juice got arrested.”

Your eyes widened. You waited for him to go one when you realized he was waiting on you. He was giving you an opportunity to contribute to the conversation. ~Why?~

“Trying to buy a prostitute… Literally no one was surprised.” He looked back to the kitchen to make sure Dabi wasn’t listening. When he was satisfied, he pulled you closer into his side and threw his arm around you. “Hey, you would let me know if he was mistreating you right?” His fingers carded through your hair and his eyes roamed all your visible skin for signs of abuse.

You nodded your head and pulled your shirt further down, suddenly aware that you weren’t wearing pants. You had just gotten so used to it you had forgotten. He noticed you fidgeting, “He hasn’t touched you, has he? Because I swear to God I’ll rip out every single staple in his body then make him eat them.”

You leaned further into his to side to hide your blush. He most certainly had touched you. And you still hadn’t worked out how you felt about it. He hadn’t made any attempt to do it again beyond the casual touches when he carried you or when he helped you in the pool. He had made it a habit of sleeping in your room, but he always stayed on his side of the bed.

Katsuki must have taken your lack of response as a confirmation. “I’m going to kill him.”

You sat up straight and started shaking your head, ~No. No. Wrong~

“Wrong? So, he hasn’t touched you then?”

You gulped. Either way you answered was bad. You either told him the truth and he rage killed Dabi, or you lied to your best friend… Either way you were fucked.

As you struggled for an answer Dabi walked in and handed you your bowl of curry and rice. “Don’t worry I’ll answer that one for you, and stop at me at any point you think I got it wrong.” He took his seat in a recliner and took a bite of his meal. “So, we had a moment where something could have happened, but we stopped before it got too far and decided we were just being emotional and moved on.”

Katsuki’s hand started to heat up and crackled but you pulled on his arm to get his attention, ~Right~

He still looked angry, and maybe even a little hurt, which had you all confused again. He looked like he wanted to throw one of his famous temper tantrums. You knew how much it was killing him to not pounce on Dabi, “Keep your disgusting hands to yourself from now on. She’s been through enough. She doesn’t need you taking advantage of her!”

“You don’t speak for her!”

You clapped your hands to get their attention, ~Enough~ You gave each of them a glare and it was silent after that.

You took a bite of your dinner to avoid Katsuki’s eyes and was met with the most delicious meal Dabi had made to date. You cleared your throat to get Dabi’s attention. You pointed to Katsuki then your bowl of food and signed ~where~?

“I didn’t think a busy hero like him would have time to stick around for dinner.” He continued to pick at his food, “Speaking of which. It’s getting late. Hate to keep you from your super important work of dress up and make believe.”

Katsuki gestured to the duffle bag he carried in. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere tonight.” He was looking at you now. A look of concern ghosted across his face. “Consider it a wellness check.” He leaned forward and gave the side of your head a soft peck, “I just want to be sure you’re okay. I promised you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you and I intend to keep that promise.”

You felt yourself sinking into his familiar warmth. If there was anyone who felt like home, it was Katsuki. Sure, he was in the middle of a ridiculous pissing contest with Dabi at the moment, but you really couldn’t blame him. He’d always been a stubborn, territorial, asshole. But he was also kind he cared about you and for that you could forgive him.

“Whatever, just don’t get in the way of our routine.” Dabi stood up with his now empty bowl. “You know that law, eat every last bite. I’ll get your bath started while you finish.” He looked at Katsuki, “You can have my room… I’ll sleep on the couch.”

He didn’t even wait for a response as he left the two of you alone.

Katsuki visibly relaxed into the couch once Dabi had left the room. “What did he mean by law?”

You smiled as you pulled out your journal and opened it up for him. You pointed to law number seven. At first, he was pissed that Dabi would give you a new set of rules to live by, like you were some kid. But then he realized there wasn’t a single “law” on here that didn’t have your best interest in mind.

His eyes scanned over the rest. Chuckling at some silly laws like ‘Wake up whenever the hell you want’, and ‘No fucking shrugging.’ He had to admit that he also hated it when you would do that. It wasn’t that you were indecisive. It was that you knew what you wanted but you never wanted to speak up for yourself. Always willing to bend over backwards to make others happy. Never wanting to give anyone any more reason to dislike you.

His heart hurt at the laws that said things like, ‘No drugs’, ‘No locked doors’, and ‘Never say sorry for something that isn’t your fault.’

The law that had his blood boiling however was the last one, law number thirteen. ‘I will not initiate the sexy time without written or verbal consent.’ He furiously flipped through the pages that came after, trying to get the idea of you ever giving Dabi consent to touch you out of his mind.

You had finished your food by now and stretched your muscles out. All in all, this had been a great day. You walked on your own in the pool AND Katsuki had come to visit. You were so tired you just knew you would fall asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow. Hopefully you wouldn’t have any nightmares.

You put your hand on Katsuki’s shoulder and used it to push yourself to your feet. You wobbled for a few seconds but otherwise kept your footing.

“Hey look at you! I thought you’d be too tired after what we did in the pool today, good job.” You looked up to see Dabi leaning in the hallway. “Your bath is ready. One for me, two for blondie.”

Katsuki scrunched his nose up, “Wha-“

You held up two fingers and Dabi nodded. “Alright looks like you get bath time duty today.” Dabi smirked when Katsuki’s eyes widened. “Don’t freak out. She’s gotten to the point where she can get in on her own and some days she can even get out too. You just need to hang out by the door in case she needs help.

You wound your arms around Katsuki’s neck, and he picked you up. His heart pounded as he followed Dabi to what he assumed was your room. He leaned over and whispered in your ear, “Hey wouldn’t be the first time we bathed together.”

You giggled and hit his shoulder. You knew he meant when you were kids. But you couldn’t stop the blush that took over you at the thought of him just hopping in the tub with you now.

Dabi tensed up as he stopped at the door to your room. “Alright… y/n you know the drill if you need me just yell.” He winked at you after his stupid joke and you flipped him off.

He walked back to the kitchen and opened his laptop. He started to go over tomorrow’s sign language lesson early. He’d never tell you this, but he does this every day. You were so much better at picking it up then him, he needed to do extra work just to keep up.

You signed ~Thank you~ as Katsuki placed you down next to the full tub.

“Okay… so I guess you just let me know if you need me by…?”

You shrugged as you knocked on the side of the tub. Part of you really didn’t want him to leave, even if it was only for a few minutes. You reached out and grabbed his wrist.

He gave you a curious look, but softened when you signed back, ~Stay~

“Does he usually stay?”

You shook your head, Dabi always insisted he had things to do and it was important you do some things on your own.

Katsuki took a seat on the floor with his back against the tub. Even with permission he was determined to protect your modesty. You slipped your clothes off and quickly lifted your legs into the tub. It was almost too easy now and you smiled at your progress.

You sighed as the water warmed your skin. Your hand reached for Katsuki’s and gave it a squeeze. You could see the tension in his shoulders as he squeezed your hand back before intertwining your fingers.

“Y/n… I -I know I’ve already said I’m sorry. But I still have this mountain of guilt sitting on my chest. You were… are… one of the most important people in my life. And I was so wrapped up in my own life I didn’t see the signs. I didn’t notice that something was wrong.” You could hear his voice crack as he tried to hold his emotions down. “I knew you went on secret missions that you couldn’t always talk about. I watched as you came back looking defeated and… and broken. I thought there was something going on, but I just kept reminding myself you worked with heroes… that I was just being paranoid.”

You felt tears build in your eyes and you were glad he wasn’t looking at you. You rubbed circles on his hand with your thumb encouraging him to keep going. He obviously had a lot he had been bottling up. “You know Deku and I went to your agency one day after you had been gone for a few months and all they told us was your mission was confidential, and we weren’t related to you so they couldn’t even tell us if you were okay.” He sniffled, “I went there every day after work and got the same bull shit answer. It drove me crazy.”

He took a deep breath to settle himself, “So we started asking about you. Started looking for you in all the underground trading routes.” A long silence followed as he got lost in the memories of looking for you. “It almost took us a year, but we finally found someone who had seen you. Some small-time villain whose quirk was invisibility. He had snuck into your agency to try and break his boss out. But when he found him you were also in the room…”

He didn’t keep going, and for that you were grateful because you didn’t want to hear it. You knew what came next and you didn’t exactly want to relive it.

“I’m so sorry. I failed you. I was supposed to protect you. I promised you I’d be by your side forever, and I-I-“

You pulled his hand towards you and gave it a kiss before putting his palm on your cheek. He hesitantly turned and looked at you with tears in his eyes. You activated your quirk and washed over him with feelings of love and understanding. You watched his eyes close as he shuttered. You may not be able to speak, but you could still communicate to him through feeling that you were okay.

You reached over and brushed a stray tear away and pulled him close to plant a kiss on his forehead.

When your bath was over, he waited for you to wrap yourself in a towel before picking you up and depositing you gently on your bed. You pulled the All Might shirt he had brought with him over your head, and crawled under the covers.

He had only wanted to lay there until you fell asleep, but he ended up falling asleep soon after you.

Dabi walked in hoping to tell you goodnight but found the two of you asleep facing each other. You under the covers, Bakugo on top of the covers. Your hands stretched out towards each other as if looking for each other even in sleep.

Dabi’s hands were glowing with livid flames as he left in a hurry.

He went straight to the abandoned cabinet that held all of the now off-limits drugs. He could take just one… you would never know.

He growled as he shoved the bottle back into the cabinet and slammed the door. Reaching instead for a bottle of whiskey. He went to the couch and poured himself a drink.

And that’s how you and Bakugo found him the next day. Passed out on the couch empty whisky bottle on the floor next to him.

Dabi chugged his coffee as his head pounded. He was no stranger to hangovers, but ever since you came to live with him, he hadn’t felt the need to drink that much. At one point in his life it had been the only way he could get any decent sleep.

He watched from his seat at the kitchen island as you and Bakugo made breakfast. The smell of bacon hit him and his stomach growled. Shit.

You could see his sour expression and when Bakugo wasn’t looking you stood from the chair you were sitting in. Dabi kept his eyes on you like a hawk. Watching for any signs you might fall. You stumbled but he remained still. He knew you were okay. The Island was right there if you needed to hold on to it. You were only a few steps away from him now. Arms stretched out and a smile on your face.

You knew this would cheer him up, and get him out of whatever shitty mood he was in. Only one more step and you’d be there. To this Dabi stood up and took a step away from you with a playful look in his eye as if to say come and get me.

Bakugo continued to talk, not even noticing you weren’t sitting behind him anymore. It wasn’t until the loud thud of you hitting the tile floor that he looked up. He immediately rushed to you while Dabi laughed.

“Why the fuck are you laughing? She could be hurt!”

Dabi just continued to laugh, “I’m laughing because it’s fucking funny. She’s fine.” He titled his head to the side. “You’re a tough cookie aren’t yeah y/n?”

You giggled and nodded. Dabi took you from Bakugo’s embrace “See she’s fine. I think you need to remember she used to be a pro hero. I think she can handle tripping over her own feet.” He stood up and sat you down in front of the laptop.

“Okay time to learn some sign language, looks like today’s all about food. Oh good, you love food.” He ruffled your hair before picking a piece of bacon off of your plate and biting into it.

The little back and forth continued the entire day. The biggest argument came later when it was time for the pool. You groaned and decided you weren’t in the mood. ~No pool~

Dabi rolled his eyes at you, “Yes pool. You even have a bathing suit this time. So, get your ass in gear.”

You crossed your arms over your chest in defiance. “Listen here brat. It’s the law. We work on getting your strength back every single day. No negotiations.”

Bakugo didn’t like the tone Dabi was talking to you in. “Oi, she’s not some puppet for you to boss around. She said she doesn’t want to so that’s it. Back off!”

Dabi’s eyes flared with anger, “You don’t have a fucking say in this. This is between me and her.” He looked at you again, “If you had asked nicely, I might have let this go. Just because we have a guest doesn’t mean you can disregard the laws and neglect the routine. Now be a good girl and let’s go put your bathing suit on.”

Bakugo stepped between you and Dabi, “Be a good girl? What the fuck is your problem. You don’t own her.”

Dabi pinched the bridge of his nose trying to remind himself why he can’t just fight the obnoxious asshole in font of him. “I don’t own her, but I also refuse to sit here and watch her wither away. We have laws to make her better, and I refuse to deviate. It’s clear I take her recovery more seriously than you do.”

Bakugo shoved Dabi back, “The fuck you do! This isn’t some rehab she checked into. You have no right to boss her around! What makes you think you know what’s best for her?”

Dabi was practically screaming now, “Because I’ve fucking been in her shoes, you ignorant ticking time bomb!” His chest was heaving now, “Did you ever wonder why I had to fake my own death just to get away from my own father… who was a fucking HERO! I’ve been poked and prodded and pushed past my limits. Except I didn’t have someone there to help me and I ended up in the League. Depressed, blood thirty, and hell bent on getting revenge on the so-called heroes that were so okay with a little boy practically killing himself every day just to produce the next number one.”

To this Bakugo didn’t have an answer. He’s heard Todoroki’s horror stories. He could only imagine what Endeavor had put Dabi through.

Dabi looked at you know eyes still furious, “I’ll make you a deal y/n. You put on quite the show this morning taking a few steps on your own. No matter how mad I am, I’ll never tell you that wasn’t a good job. But now you want to skip the very thing that allowed you to take those steps.” He walked out of the kitchen and took a seat in his recliner. “Make it over to me right now, with no help and we can skip the pool.”

With a determined scowl you pushed yourself out of your seat. Bakugo went to grab you “Y/n you don’t have to do-“

“Yes! She does, now let her do it. She needs this. Y/n you can do this. Now prove it to me and prove it to yourself.”

You took your first step, determination written all over you face. Step followed step and you had already walked further than you had this morning, but you were only about halfway there.

Dabi’s eyes were patient and his voice was calm. “Come on y/n. You can do this. You aren’t broken. There is nothing wrong with you. Just keep walking.”

You could feel the tension in the room stiffen. Bakugo watched you with his hands out as if to catch you, always your protector, always your safety net. But you didn’t need that right now.

Your knees started to wobble and buckle, and involuntary whine left your lip as you went down to one knee.

“Come on you can’t give up now. You’re doing such a good job. Now push yourself back up. I’m right here. Come on. Push harder!”

You felt a tear streak down your cheek as you tried to push yourself up but only ended up on the ground.

Bakugo was at your side in an instant but you pushed him away.

“That’s right y/n you can do this. I believe in you. I don’t care if you have to crawl. You’re so close.” You pulled yourself up enough to crawl across the rough carpet. You got up to your knees then slowly you stood.

Dabi saw the fire in your eyes and it sent a shiver down his spine. You were going to do this even if it killed you. It made him think about what you would look like in battle. If you looked even half as gritty as you do now he had no doubt you had strong men cowering at your feet. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he gave that back to you. That power, that strength, that untamable will, he knew was somewhere inside you laying dormant.

He got out of his recliner and lowered himself to the ground, “Come on your so close now. Keep going Y/N!”

With one last push you practically jumped into his arms and collapsed. Tears streamed down your cheeks, but for the first time since coming here they were happy tears. You did it. You walked all on your own.

He cooed into your hair as he rocked you back and forth, “You did such a good job. You did it. I knew you could. You can rest now. I’ll get you some ice cream. How does that sound. We’ll celebrate.”

You nodded as you clutched Dabi’s shirt.

Bakugo disappeared for a few minutes and when he came back he had his bag over his shoulder. He kneeled down next to you and pressed his forehead to yours. “I think it’s time I got back to work. I still need to take down the bastards that did this to you.” He smoothed his fingers through your hair and looked to Dabi, “I think you’re in good hands.”

He made his way to the door, “I’ll be back soon.”

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

Tags: tags: @falling4fandoms @wifunozomi @here-in-never-land @whore-for-anime@klecksstorys @aurorahoneybuns @theunknownrandom @insane-without-delirium @frenchsfryys @officiallydarkgeek @neofixcs @music-is-all-i-need

#bakugo #bakugo katsuki #bakugo x reader #bakugo x y/n #mha bakugou #bhna bakugou #dabi imagine #dabi x reader #dabi my hero academia #dabi x you #dabi x y/n #dabi todoroki #toya todoroki #mha #mha x reader #mha imagines #my hero academia

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disasterlibrarian · 3 years ago

Note

I wish you'd write a fic where Evy reminisces about her parents - or a fic about kid!Evy and her parents 💜

Shoutout to @ricochetoconnell for being an awesome beta/brainstorming partner!

Evelyn Carnahan was a poor sleeper, a fact that both amused and worried the man lying next to her beneath a blanket in the Egyptian desert. The part Rick found amusing was that he had finally discovered something this extraordinary woman who was capable of reading and writing ancient languages, racing camels through the desert, and standing toe-to-toe with all-powerful reanimated mummies didn’t excel at. As he watched her toss and turn about, he couldn’t help but wonder what was happening in the beautiful yet chaotic whirlwind of her mind.

In the past weeks, however, Evy’s comfort had become the most important thing in the world to Rick, second only to her safety. And so, no matter how many times she bumped him while readjusting her position, Rick didn’t complain. But when she flipped onto her stomach with her face turned away from him, Rick glimpsed a likely source of discomfort peeking through the curtain of her long, dark hair—the chain of the locket containing her parents’ pictures.

He didn’t want to wake her, but he couldn’t let her sleep like that. Rick reached out with both hands and gently brushed Evy’s hair over her left shoulder, willing himself not to be distracted as his fingertips skimmed over the soft skin at the back of her neck and located the clasp. Before he could unfasten it, however, Evy sat up in a flash and whirled around, spearing him with an accusatory look.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

Rick jerked back, startled by her reaction. “Taking your locket off,” he said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. “Sorry. I was trying not to wake you.”

“Why?”

Rick blinked. “Why what?”

“Why were you trying to take my locket off?”

The question only added to Rick’s confusion. It wasn’t as if he’d tried to take her nightgown off. Still, he’d clearly been wrong to try to remove the locket without her permission. “I just thought you’d be more comfortable if you took it off while you sleep,” he said, lowering his gaze guiltily.

Evy was silent for a moment, which Rick spent mentally kicking himself. When she spoke again, her tone was noticeably softer and contained a hint of surprise. “Oh,” she said as Rick slowly raised his head to meet her eyes. “Maybe I would, but I prefer not to. It’s very special to me.”

Rick smiled. “I gathered that when you showed it to me. Your parents must have been pretty amazing, huh?” Evy’s mere existence was proof of that, but Rick found himself genuinely curious about her experience growing up the daughter of a famous archaeologist and an Egyptian adventurer.

Evy returned his smile, then flipped the locket open and looked fondly at the two small photographs inside. “Yes, they were.”

“So what’s the story behind the locket?”

Evy told him, her face lighting up with warmth and nostalgia in the thin gleam of the crescent moon, and Rick listened with undivided attention.

“You all right, Evy?” Howard Carnahan asked, lowering his copy of the morning paper and peering over the rim of his glasses at his daughter. “You’ve barely touched your breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry,” the five-year-old Evy answered without looking up from her plate, absently smearing the yolks of her eggs with her fork. She was in an unusually quiet and pensive mood after weeks of bouncing off the walls with excitement for her first year of boarding school.

“If you won’t eat, habibti, at least tell us what’s the matter,” urged Ilisabek Carnahan, known as Elizabeth to her husband’s social circle. She reached across the table and took the fork gently from her daughter’s hand, and Evy reluctantly looked up to meet her mother’s concerned hazel eyes. “Are you scared to go to school?”

“No,” Evy said a little too quickly, but when her father gave her a stern look, she admitted, “Yes. I…I’ll miss you. And I’ll miss Egypt.” She looked forward to her family’s trips to Egypt the way most children looked forward to Christmas. With her and Jonathan both in school, who knew when they’d be able to go again?

“Sidd Heilak*, my little adventuress,” her mother said, reaching across the table to pat her hand. “Egypt isn’t going anywhere. You’ll be back before you know it. And in the meantime, you’ll have plenty of adventures of your own.”

“And make new friends to share them with,” her father added with a smile.

Evy wanted to believe her father’s words, but her brother had told her stories about the way hewas treated at school, how the other boys pushed him around and called him names. And people seemed afraid to even look at her mother in public, as if she were the Abu Rigl Maslukha, the monster with the burnt leg who cooked and ate naughty children. “But what if the other girls don’t want to be my friends?”

Her parents exchanged glances, but neither of them spoke. Howard took a long sip of tea, while Ilisabek became very interested in the vase of flowers at the center of the table. Meanwhile, the knots in Evy’s stomach grew, and her gaze dropped back to her plate—had she said something wrong?

Eventually, a callused yet gentle hand tilted her chin up, and her father smiled at her reassuringly. “Then it’s their loss. And it says more about them than it does about you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, take me, for example. Some people don’t like me because of my fondness for Egypt.”

“And some don’t like me because I come from Egypt,” Ilisabek said.

That made no sense even in Evy’s five-year-old mind. Egypt was the best place in the world! “That’s a load of bollocks,” she declared. She’d heard Jonathan use the phrase once, and while she wasn’t quite sure what it meant, it seemed appropriate here.

Ilisabek gaped in shock and exclaimed, “Evelyn, watch your language!” but her lips twitched slightly as if trying to hold back a smile.

Evy’s face reddened. “Sorry.”

Howard roared with laughter and ruffled his daughter’s hair. “You’re right, my girl. It is a load of bollocks. Egypt is wonderful, and so is your mother.”

“And so are you,” Ilisabek said. “Because I come from Egypt, that wonderful place is a part of you. So if anyone is mean to you, remember that and be proud.”

Ilisabek pressed something into her daughter’s hand, and Evy’s eyes widened with curiosity as she glanced down at the small, thin box.

“What is it?”

“A present from your father and me. Go on, open it.”

Evy’s small fingers itched with anticipation as she opened the box to reveal a circular pendant on a long golden chain. “It’s so pretty!”

“Look inside,” Howard prompted gently.

Evy flipped open the pendant to find two small photographs: one of her father, looking every bit the dapper English gentleman, but with a hint of mischief in his dignified smile; the other of her mother, her face an older reflection of Evy’s, with a mass of dark curls framing her delicate yet strong features. Evy beamed with delight, then held the locket out to her mother and pleaded, “Put it on me, Mum? Please?”

Nodding, Ilisabek took the locket and rose from her chair to stand behind her daughter. “You will go far, my brave Evelyn,” she said, brushing Evy’s hair aside and carefully fastening the clasp at the back of her neck. “But when you wear this, we will always be with you.”

Evy stood up and threw her arms around her mother’s waist, hugging her tight. “I’m going to wear it forever.”

When Evy finished her story, Rick immediately burst into rich, throaty laughter, and she gave him a puzzled look. “What’s so funny?”

“You are,” he said between chuckles. “I never would’ve thought you had such a mouth on you at five. I’m impressed.”

A slight blush colored Evy’s cheeks. “Jonathan was the one with the mouth. I was just repeating what I heard him say.”

“Still. You were always feisty.” Evy’s lips quirked upward at the obvious admiration in his voice. “And your parents really were amazing. I’m sure they’d both be very proud of you.”

“Thank you,” Evy said, smiling at him with such warmth that Rick felt his stomach flutter. “You know, I think they would have liked you.”

“Really?” Rick’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. He’d thought Evy’s parents would want her to end up with someone wealthy, well-mannered and bookish like herself, not a penniless ruffian who hadn’t even finished grade school. That she thought otherwise made his heart soar, but he couldn’t resist asking with a teasing grin, “Even though I’m a beastly American?”

Evy laughed and swatted at him playfully. “You know I didn’t mean you. But yes, even so. You like me even though I’m half-Egyptian, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah, of course,” Rick said, mildly offended that she felt the need to ask. “Who wouldn’t like you?”

Evy tensed at the question, and the mirth faded from her expression as she answered, “Quite a few people.”

Rick felt a pang in his chest at the thought of anyone mistreating this absolute treasure of a woman for such a trivial reason as her ethnicity. Instinctively, he took her hand in his much larger one. The gesture seemed to relax her, and she squeezed his hand and continued, “But I know you’re not like them. I think I knew all along.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. That night when I first told you about my parents—”

“I’m surprised you remember that night,” Rick said, his teasing grin returning. He hadn’t been completely sober himself, but he would never forget the enthusiasm in her voice when she announced that she was proud to be a librarian, nor the tender way she’d spoken his name before clumsily attempting to kiss him.

“I was drunk, yes,” Evy said, grinning back sheepishly. “But I felt safe with you. I always do.”

Those words made Rick smile so wide that he thought he was going to strain a facial muscle. He looked down at their joined hands, silently vowing to do everything in his power to make sure she always felt safe. Then he felt his hand being lifted, followed by the soft brush of lips across his knuckles. He sucked in a breath and let his palm rest against her cheek for a moment, gently brushing his thumb over her jawline. For a long while, neither of them spoke, and they simply stared into each other’s eyes until Evy broke the silence with a loud and rather un-ladylike yawn.

“Okay, bedtime,” Rick said, reluctantly removing his hand from her cheek and stretching out on his back again. Evy followed suit, though not without flashing him an adorable, childlike pout. “I get why you won’t take the locket off, but we’ve got to get you to sleep somehow.”

“I think I know what might help,” Evy said, eyes twinkling as she rolled onto her side to face him.

“What?”

“This.” She shifted closer and curled up against him, resting her head on his shoulder and draping an arm across his chest. Rick smiled contentedly and kissed the top of her head.

“Goodnight, Evy,” he said, pulling the blanket over the two of them and closing his eyes.

“Goodnight, Rick.”

*Seidd Heilak = "Be strong”/”Keep your chin up”

#fanfic #okay to reblog

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galaxy-parchment · 4 years ago

Text

Jon is outed as Steampunk

Hello my beautiful patient followers. I’ve returned with TMA content because it’s my latest obsession. I’m proud to say that my first contribution to the fandom is an obligatory Mechs!Jon fic because I find them hilarious.

Tim was doing his best to avoid having to go up to the boss’s office all day, but was very disappointed to find he had no choice but to pop in for a visit to give him some of the ‘possibly true’ statements.

It wasn’t like he was going to believe it anyway - what was even the point? The guy was so uptight Tim didn’t think he knew how to have some fun and imagine the possibility that maybe there was something exciting in the universe. Tim supposed that didn’t really change the fact that he needed to give the guy his precious statements, so he groaned and grabbed the pile he’d gathered up.

He approached the door and stopped short of it, wondering if he would even notice if he didn’t give him the statements. He really didn’t have the energy for whatever job he was going to be given if he dared to walk in. Then something caught his ear.

Was Jon… chanting?

He was talking slightly quieter than his speaking volume and that definitely wasn’t English. It couldn’t be him speaking to himself. Jon had specifically told him the other day he didn’t speak any other languages. He tried picking out his words in case he was just mishearing, but the words were very clear and were certainly not anything coherent. He did catch him occasionally switch to humming. Was Jonathan Sims, head archivist of the Magnus Institute singing to himself?

Tim made a mental note of the more coherent words and stepped into the doorway.

“Hey, boss!” he couldn’t help but be amused at how Jon jumped at the sound of him. He ripped his hand away from his face, which was pressed up against it, and readjusted his glasses with the hand.

“What did you need, Tim?” he asked, looking up at him unenthusiastically.

“Got a fresh delivery of statements for you!” he said cheerily, stepping up to the desk and placing the pile on an empty part of the table with a satisfying slap.

“Later than usual I see. Doesn’t matter I suppose. Would you mind filing away all of these on your way out?” Jon said, gesturing to a pile of statement files that was even larger than the one he’d just brought in. Great.

“Sure thing, boss! Wouldn’t want you having any of the fun, eh?” He joked, which didn’t seem to carry the same amusement for the other man.

“Shut up, Tim,” he deadpanned, returning to his work, signalling that the exchange was over.

Tim wandered back to his desk faster than usual and frantically wrote down all of the phrases he could remember.

What were they…. He definitely said something that sounded like ‘yai’ and he thought he heard a ‘sothoth’. How was he supposed to find anything with this gibberish? With little hope he opened up his web browser,typing in the words, and was surprised to find it wasn’t gibberish at all. It was some Lovecraftian chant. He doubted Jonathan ‘this-statement-is-wrong-because-this-word-is-mispelled’ Sims would be the sort of guy to worship Cthulhu.

He’d been humming though, hadn’t he? Maybe it was a song. With his impeccable research skills he added ‘song’ to the end of his search and right there on the first page of results was a song called ‘Red Signal’ by the Mechanisms. He clicked on a video and listened to the song. That was definitely the same tune. It was strange, though. He never really pegged the bossman as someone that listened to this sort of thing. It reminded him of a folksy sort of punk or metal? Then the chanting stopped and switched to a spoken verse and Tim froze.

Was that Jon? It definitely sounded like him… Maybe the voice was a bit deeper and gravelly but Tim could have sworn that it was his voice. He frantically searched up the band. After looking through some photoshoots for some old albums he couldn’t help but stare. That was definitely his boss with quite a bit of makeup and dressed in some very over-the-top steampunk getup and flipping off the camera. He suddenly felt someone pressing up against his chair from behind.

“Is that Jon?” Sasha asked, leaning over his shoulder, squinting at the screen with her head cocked.

“Apparently,” Tim said, grinning ear to ear. “Look, I did some digging and it turns out he used to be in this steampunk band,” he continued, showing Sasha more pictures of Jon and his bandmates on the page.

“That’s amazing. He looks quite good in the pictures though, don’t you think?” she said with a chuckle.

“Right? He actually looks like he’d be fun to have a drink with!” He switched back to ‘Red Signal’ and started playing it. “I mean listen to this, he’s actually good, too!”

“How did you even find this?”

“He was singing it to himself and I used my incredibly advanced skills to track it down,” Tim bragged, making a show of readjusting his lapels.

“If only you put the same effort into actually working,” she chided, giving him a cheerful nudge with her elbow.

“Alas, I don’t think there’d be any work left for the rest of you if I did. It’s a public service to you all.” He grinned.

“Riiiight, because this place could run without me around.” Sasha grinned back.

The door to the shared office opened with a sharp creak and Martin stepped into the room.

They looked up and Tim called, “Hey Martin! How was Bexley?”

“Quite nice, actually! No creepy witches sending body parts to people, but there were some very kind old ladies I had the pleasure of speaking to!”

“Sounds like it was fun!” Sasha replied with a warm smile.

Martin was placing his bag down at his desk when he stopped and looked back at the two of them.

“What song is that?” he asked.

Tim grinned mischievously. “It’s called ‘Red Signal’, it’s by-“

“-by the Mechanisms? I had a friend that loved them, played it all of the time,” Martin finished, chuckling to himself at the memory. “I quite like their music, actually.”

Sasha and Tim took a moment to stare at each other knowingly and beamed innocently at Martin as he turned back to them.

Sasha looked at him with the same warm smile she’d given him before. “Maybe you could ask Jon if he’s heard of them while you give him your report?”

“Are you sure? It doesn’t seem like the sort of thing he’d go for,” he wondered.

“People can surprise you all of the time, may as well ask anyway. It’s not like he’s gonna hate your guts any more than he already does.”

Martin made a disappointed wince. “I guess so.”

“Don’t let that grump get you down, Martin, he probably just has a huge crush on you,” Sasha smirked.

“What? N-no! As if, that doesn’t even make any sense!” he stammered, turning back to his desk and sitting down to hide the red that was spreading over his face.

“Ask him, though, will you? I’ve already had to go up there today and he’s given me a whole stack of files to go through. Not sure I could take another trip,” Tim joked as Sasha moved back to her desk. “Don’t tell him it was me that was wondering, though, he’d probably think it’s a trick or something,” he added casually.

“R-right, sure thing, Tim,” Martin obliged.

—

Martin knocked on Jon’s half-open door later that day, report in hand. Jon spared him a brief glance upwards before looking back down at his work.

“Did you find anything regarding the Bexley statement?” he asked, not bothering to hide his disinterest as Martin placed his report on the table.

“I didn’t find the woman described in the statement, but I made sure to check every elderly Angela,” he said, a bit disappointed at how useless the trip was. “I did have some wonderful conversations about jigsaw puzzles with a few of them, though!” he added cheerfully. Thankfully Jon didn’t seem to be in a mood to scold him, but wasn’t at all invested in the conversation. Martin was about to leave when he remembered Tim’s request.

“Oh, uh, by the way, we were- well we were talking about it earlier so I was wondering if you’d heard of the Mechanisms? Like that space pirate band that used to play in a lot of London bars?”

Jon froze up for a moment before quickly explaining, “Erm, no I don’t think I have. Not uh…. not a big fan of going to see bands play at shows, you know?”

Martin raised an eyebrow. “Oh, okay? I guess it doesn’t seem like something you’d like… are you okay? You seem… off?”

“I’m quite fine, Martin, just a bit of a headache, I suppose. If you’ll excuse me I need to get back to this,” he said dismissively, returning to whatever he was writing down and setting Martin’s report on a stack.

“Sure! Did you need any tea? I’ve got one that’s really good for headaches,” he offered.

“That won’t be necessary, Martin, get back to work.”

“Right.” Martin concluded as he left the room.

—

Things had been going a bit too slowly for Martin’s liking in the past few days. That usually meant Jon got antsy about people not doing as much work. It wasn’t like there was anything to do in the first place.

He was at least in the break room with Tim having lunch, who was playing more Mechanisms music, so Jon couldn’t tell either of them off right now. As his mind drifted to Jon, the man himself entered the room with his own lunch and made his way to the coffee machine.

The song Tim was playing was pretty good. Martin curiously looked at Tim’s phone on the table playing the music.

“What song is that, Tim?”

“Ah, it’s called ‘Loki’, it’s from this great album called ‘The Bifrost Incident’,” he said with an obnoxious grin. Jon looked at them and ducked his head when Martin looked back.

Martin pulled out his own phone and searched up ‘The Bifrost Incident’ and found a video from a show that he opened up. After a bit of pre-show banter the first song started.

That was when Martin heard Johnny DeVille do the song’s introduction. He’d always thought the lead singer sounded familiar, but the paragraph gave Martin a very vivid recollection of the exact tone of voice Jon always used when he recorded statements.

That couldn’t be right, no way was that him. He took a good look at Johnny and looked between his own phone at the man with black cracks drawn on his face wearing the most steampunk outfit he’d ever seen and Jon, who was standing there, in his sweater vest, making a cup of coffee to go with his sandwich. Tim was looking at both of them struggling not to laugh and Jon was suddenly VERY interested in the coffee he had just poured out.

“JOHNNY DEVILLE?” Martin exclaimed, prompting Tim to bend over, choking on his own stifled laughter.

Jon picked up his coffee and claimed his sandwich from the table behind him and refused to meet Martin’s gaze.

“Thats- uh- probably just a coincidence… I’m, uh, I’ll just have lunch in my office today,” he mumbled out, clearly not convinced he’d covered it up at all and left the room without another word.

Tim pulled himself back up and let out a heavy breath. “Oh, ha, Martin, sorry, it’s just Sasha and I were wondering how long it was gonna take,” he sighed gleefully. “Hopefully he’ll face society again. Hard to imagine the bossman was ever that cool, huh?”

Martin stared at the door. “Yeah…”

—

The next day Jon came into the office, but hadn’t shown his face for the whole day. Martin felt bad about yesterday, he probably overreacted a bit. Tim assured him it was fine and that the boss just isn’t the type to take a bit of embarrassment on the chin. This didn’t stop Martin from dropping in with a cup of tea when it became clear Jon wasn’t leaving his office for lunch.

Martin knocked on the door and upon getting a gruff ‘yes?’ from the other side he let himself in. Jon was more dismissive than usual and didn’t even spare a glance at him. Martin wasn’t sure how much of it was his usual grumpiness and how much was because of yesterday.

He set the tea down in the spot Jon usually kept it, right next to his coffee mug from yesterday. Martin waited for any acknowledgement. The acknowledgement never came and Jon’s expression was unreadable. The fact that he was looking down intently didn’t help.

“You know, I think it’s pretty cool that you were in a band. It’s not like you’re a murderer or something actually bad,” Martin said, desperate to break the silence. Jon clenched his pen tighter and looked up at him cautiously.

“That’s… kind of you to say…” he responded.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ve all done some pretty silly things. I will be honest, though, Jon, if being the lead singer for the Mechanisms is the most embarrassing thing you’ve done, I am extremely jealous.”

Jon smiled in a way that looked almost bashful on him. “It was a lot of fun, performing. It was a real shame when we all split after university.”

“I can imagine,” Martin sighed, silently cursing himself at how softly he’d said it. “Steampunk outfits really suit you, though, Jon. The makeup was a nice touch too.” He turned and made his way back to the door.

As Martin went to close the door behind him Jon grumbled, “Shut up, Martin.”

—

The next morning Martin found something on his desk. It was a Mechanisms shirt neatly folded up and a copy of the Bifrost Incident album, both signed by all of the band members.

The note lying on top of them read ‘I had a few extras at home - J’ and Martin couldn’t help but feel giddy.

#galaxywrites #the magnus archives #tma #fanfiction #the magnus pod #jonathan sims #the archivist #tim stoker #sasha james #the mechanisms #mechs!jon #martin blackwood

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allandoflimbo · 5 years ago

Text

Take It Back (Chapter 10)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Summary: About five years ago, a one night stand with Y/N tore Bucky’s life apart. It was also the night before his wedding. Now he’s married to her sister and she needs a place to stay.

Chapter Warnings: feelings. strong language.

Chapter Word Count: 5805

MASTERPAGE |

One year later.

New York City, New York

One year later.

New York City, New York

"I just think it's interesting that you knew who I was, yet you said that the first moment you saw me you had no idea who I was," He looked back at you with a contagious smug smile, "and dare is say, you thought I was cute."

You roll your eyes. He was such an annoying tease sometimes and it made you blush how much his accusation was true.

"Shut up, Barnes! It was a momentary lapse," You threw your hand up defensively, that cocky smirk still on his face, "anyone could've thought that about you if you were mentally slow like I was at the time. I was starving. Also, they never showed a lot of you on TV," you point a finger in his face, "at least not as much as your parents."

He sighs happily.

"Okay, fine. I'll let it slide."

You chuckle, finally taking in the serenity of the comfortable silence in the parked car in the dark. You couldn't help that high that you felt in your tummy when he bit his lip and shook his head at your silliness.

Your smile grew involuntarily, "You're an idiot," You looked outside your window and to Ashlyn's apartment building. It was taunting and it stuck in your face like a big middle finger, "remind me again why we're here and why you made me wear a dress?"

He looks outside his own car window.

"I'm surprising your sister with the best birthday party she's ever been to. She thinks we're just going out to eat, but no."

Your head snapped to face him in disbelief. He always did things like this, he always seemed to pull great ideas out of his ass and transform them into gestures that were too pure and great.

"No way, what did you do?"

The side of his lip perked up.

"I just pulled some few strings- invited some highly important people."

The kind of boyfriend he was never fazed to amaze you. For a moment you feel jealous. You wondered what it felt like to be treated the way he treated Ashlyn. The sad part was that Ashlyn took it for granted, it was like she didn't appreciate what she had right in front of her.

You blink quickly and swallow the dry lump that had formed.

"You do so much for her."

You hear him sigh and a sound which could only be him readjusting himself in his seat.

"We've talked about this. She deserves it."

If you listened any closely, you could almost hear that doubt in his voice. But he would never admit to it and you knew that.

You shake the anger and the sour emotions and instead give the back of his head a sad smile.

"She does love you, but she loves the money, too, Bucky. You gotta admit it has crossed your mind at least once or twice, or a bazillion times the last year."

"It has, okay? Of course, I've noticed how she's taken a liking to certain things and also to the company, but she's not a bad person, Y/N. I know you both have your differences but you need to just accept the fact that while she likes material things, she also does love you and me very much. And you and I love her, too."

He was right. You decide to change the subject. Up to ten minutes ago, the atmosphere in the car was happy and now it was gloomy and kind of emo.

"Except for that time, we dumped that homemade bucket of slime on her head."

Bucky throws his head back against the seat in laughter. His laugh comes from his chest, hearty and strong.

"Yeah, she was not happy about that."

You chuckle softly.

"It was fun though."

"Dude, all our pranks are fun though. The best one has to be that time we tried the saran wrap on Steve's toilet seat and we heard him screaming like a little pansy."

You laugh just as loud as he did seconds ago, "It got in his fucking hair. Do you still have the picture of his face on your phone?"

He turns and gives you a blank expression, "Uh, duh."

You couldn't believe you and Buck have been best friends for over a year now. You remember when you first became friends if someone told you he would become your best friend, even more so than Nat, you would've laughed in their face. But here you both were getting along amazingly well.

"Send it to me."

He perked a brow at you.

"Why? What are you planning, you little minx?"

"Oh, nothing."

He mumbles something under his breath about how you're always up to something and you feel so happy at that moment.

Something else you were feeling was pee- you really had to pee. You bounced your leg up and down quickly as you looked out towards the building.

"God, what is taking her so long? You don't take this long." Bucky exclaims.

"She's probably making sure each piece of hair is in prestige position."

"Yeah, but so is yours and you take half the time."

There's a moment of silence after he says that and you think it's because he realized what he said and it makes your cheeks heat up instantly. He's never said something like that about you ever, he always teased you, not complimenting you.

"What?" You ask him breathlessly.

He clears his throat, "Actually, yea no," he reaches over and ruffles your hair, "it's ugly as hell. You know what it almost looks worst than that time when you got run over by that kid Kyle on his bike on 53rd, remember?"

Of course, you remember. The kid had also spilled hot chocolate all over your blouse and hair, and Bucky had made fun of you all day calling you 'chocolahtay'.

Someone walks out of the building and you realize it's Ashlyn. She looks happy as she picks up the side of her long dress so it wouldn't drag across the floor.

"Shut up, there she comes!" You see your sister's smile go from happy to weird. You know why and so does Bucky, "I still can't believe you brought your Honda."

"I had to bring my baby to this."

"God, you're sad."

"You know you love her."

You did. You and Bucky shared some fun memories in the car with Steve. On Ashlyn's business trips with her father, when the three of you would hang, you would always go away together in it. You puked in it once, you practically got stabbed to death in it by Bucky's straw that got stuck in the cigarette burner (long story), and then there's the faint but heavy memories of you, Bucky, and Steve singing 80s hits while driving to a Wawa in Jersey.

"Yeah, but I'm not so sure Ashlyn will. We know how she is."

On her walk to the car, Ashlyn looks around her surroundings to see who's watching her walk into the Honda. Her uneasiness sticks out like a sore thumb.

"Hey, Baby." She greets Bucky as he gets into the passenger seat. "Uhh, where's your car?"

You look between them trying to hold in your laughter. Bucky was stuttering while Ashlyn looked mortified.

"I, Uh, I-this," he clears his throat, "this is my car."

This was hilarious. You loved watching him squirm.

"Yeah, right!" She notices Bucky's face and how he's not smiling and her face falls, "oh, oh." She looks around it realizing it wasn't a joke, "it's nice. I like it." She gives him a smile.

You narrow your eyes at her. No way that response was innocent and honest. You knew her, she hated this damn car.

Ashlyn looks out the window and Bucky turns to look at you and sticks his tongue out victoriously.

You give him a grimace.

You three arrive at The Rainbow Room. It was prestigious and glorious beyond recognition, you had only heard of this ballroom in movies and it definitely owed up to its reputation. You looked around in complete awe as you walked in, your eyes going immediately to the beautiful dance floor in the center and the light fixture hanging above. Surrounding the circular room were rectangle windows that expanded from the floor to the ceiling, exposing a glorious view of Manhattan at dusk.

You felt the music pumping in your veins as everyone clapped widely at Ashlyn and Bucky's entrance- you trailing right behind. The howling and loud clapping made Ashlyn's face break out into a huge smile while Bucky grabbed her hips from behind and kissed her neck, whispering happy birthday in her ear.

You swallowed thickly as you did a double-take, watching this unfold.

It was insane to you how out of his way Bucky would go for someone he loved. He was always so selfless and giving. You watched as he gave your sister a squeeze and you looked away.

Blinking quickly, you try to find one of your friends in the massive crowd of entrepreneurs, colleagues, and CEOs.

You're glad when a familiar voice greets you from your left, his posture is nothing short of mature and self-confidence. He holds a smirk on his face as he gestures his elbow for you to take.

"Walk with me?"

His question makes you smile and you hook your arms together.

You look up at him as he walks you up the steps onto the floors where the tables were. You look over, admiring his face. His profile was gorgeous. There literally was no flaw about him. He notices you staring and he looks back at you, a twinkle in his blue/green eyes.

"So how've you been Steve? How was Haiti at the humanitarian relief?"

Because of course, Steve Rogers had spent the last four months in Haiti helping the need. Everyone claimed it was a publicity stunt for Barnes' company but anyone that knew Steve personally would know that even though if he was ordered to go, he was mostly going for the will of his own heart.

"It was amazing."

There's so much compassion in his voice when he answers.

"I'm glad. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

You remember what happened the last time you saw him; you both do.

He clears his throat as his cheeks turn a shade of pink, "Yeah, how have things been?"

"They've been great. Ashlyn's been away a lot with Mr. Barnes trying to wrap things up," your eyes drift back towards the couple who are greeting the guests, "if you know what I mean."

Steve's smiles slide off his face and he bites his lip nervously.

"Does he know how long he has?"

It breaks your heart when you remember how much of a toll this entire thing is on Bucky. You sigh and push your hair that was beginning to tickle your face behind your ear.

"I'm sure he's aware. He's been working nonstop for the last few weeks trying to get everything ready."

You remember helping him for months trying to organize how to get every paperwork ready, trying to learn all the ropes and essentials he would need to be the next CEO. Ashlyn was always away on her business meetings and had little to offer, you, on the other hand, stayed in the city and watched as he sat countless nights with bloodshot eyes staring at his laptop at 3 am on the top floor on the tower.

Part of you felt pity while the other felt pride for your friend. Ashlyn wasn't treating him right and you had called him out on it many times, but when the fight always came to love it was different. Something in him just wouldn't give in. It's not that you didn't want your sister to be happy, you did, but something was off. Bucky deserved the best, he deserved love and respect back, especially for the amount of work he was putting in to prepare for his father's death.

You take a deep breath when you see Steve narrow his eyes at you.

"He's like a changed man. Remember when he would come in with T-shirts and jeans? Poor guy snapped at an intern the other day because she was wearing flats instead of heels."

Steve scoffed with a small smile, not believing Bucky would do such a thing.

"Jesus."

You remember that poor girl crying later in the bathroom and then Bucky feeling awful about it after you told him, but you both knew it was the stress.

You look back up at the couple, and this time Bucky looks up and smiles at you briefly when your eyes meet. You smile back.

"Yea I think he's going through some severe andropause."

Steve laughs, "Bucky's twenty-seven not forty-nine."

You shrug and cross your arms, immediately your eyes scan the room, looking for the open bar.

Steve continues to stare at you.

"How's it going between you two?"

You're caught off guard by his question and you feel a sensation in your face that you pray to God isn't evident to the outside. By Steve's expression, you can't even tell what he's feeling or what he's trying to say.

Between you and Bucky? What kind of question even is that? All you know is that it makes you nervous.

"What do you mean?"

"Like I know things were crazy at first, and then those trips we always took together you both seemed to get along amazingly well. But then you always argued. Just wanted to make sure you haven't killed each other yet."

Oh, that's what he meant. You feel relief and memories take you back to that day, making you gape and hit Steve playfully in the arm.

"Well duh! He tried to stab me, Steve!"

Steve chuckles.

"It was barely an attempt at anything. The car would've caught fire if he didn't get the damn straw out!"

Your chuckles dial down, "Yeah whatever," Your eyes narrow as you begin to overthink and more memories from the last few months overwhelm you. Your voice is low now, "No yeah, things are great. We're getting along pretty well. He's my best friend, ya know?"

Steve nods. He gives you an intense look that makes you swallow nervously, and then he's taking a step towards you until there are only mere inches between you. He takes one of your crossed arms in his hands and holds it.

"What about me?"

That night replays in your head. The night that should've meant more to you.

"Steve..."

You don't know if it's the gesture or how softly he's holding your hand (or maybe it's even something else you can't pinpoint at that time), but you feel small tears building up in the back of your throat. The look he's giving you is nothing but grace and you felt like a bitch for it.

"I've been waiting for you for almost a year and a half now, Y/N. You know I have."

Shit. You've dreaded this conversation for months, but you knew you had to be smart about it. You couldn't throw this out, you had to be cautious about it.

"I know, Stevie, I know. But his is the first time in a long time where I'm finally learning myself again, who I am. I'm just now getting ready to maybe be ready to be in a relationship again. I can't rush this, but I'm getting there."

He squints his eyes understandingly and gives your hadn't a tight squeeze, but his mouth is in a tight line.

"I understand."

God, you hated this. It was like stepping on a puppies paw.

"It's not that I don't want-"

"No, " he stops you with a soft shake of his head, "yea I get it," his tone is strong and you're certain by it that he does understand, "And I don't regret it. That day out on the terrace."

You blush furiously at the memory and by the way, he's looking directly into your eyes. You had both had a bit too much to drink at the New Years ever party in Australia three months ago and he had leaned over while you were a mid chuckle and kissed you. It had been building for a bit, in a cute high school love kind of way.

It felt sweet and good; soft.

"It was right."

He says strongly, pulling you closer to his chest.

You look up at him, "but not the right time."

Steve looks down at his feet and shuffles them while pulling his hands out of yours and sticking them in his pockets.

"And that's what I'm waiting for, y/n."

You smile sweetly at him and he smiles back. You step up to him, wrapping your arms around his neck for a tight hug which he returns just as tightly. You both stay like that for a few moments until you feel a low rumble against your hair.

"You know, when Bucky was a little boy he almost got stabbed too."

Your eyes furrow in confusion, many many scenarios coming into your mind. Bucky was stabbed, or almost stabbed?

"What?" you say as you pull away from him.

Steve has a smug smile on his, "Yeah, by a little blue stuffed teddy bear named boo bear."

He bursts out laughing after he says it.

"No way, Bucky had a little stuffed bear when he was a baby?"

"Oh, the boo bear story." You hear Nat's voice behind you. She's sucking on a black straw that was most likely sucking up some overhyped alcoholic drink, an amused look in her gorgeous eyes.

Steve gives Nat an outraged look.

"Baby? He was like nine years old!"

Nat obviously knew this story, but even so, she still manages to choke on her drink.

You try to contain your laughter. You couldn't believe this.

"Okay, so why did this stuffed bear almost stab him?"

"It was one of those bears where the arms are stiff because they have these wooden arms, right? But keep in mind he's had this damn bear since he was two so it was beginning to rip at the seams. It was dirty and ugly, but he still loved that damn thing. He held it every night when he went to bed."

You envision Bucky holding a little stuffed bear while he slept and it warmed your heart. You smile faintly.

"One night he had a really bad dream and I guess he squeezed it a bit too tight. The damn wood poked out from the arm and "stabbed" him." Steve continues, "Well, more like poked and he didn't even notice until he woke up that morning."

"He was traumatized, and not because of the stabbing, but because of the wood coming out of boo bear's arm. His mom made him throw it out that afternoon and he was never the same ever again." Steve ends the story dramatically.

By the end of it, you didn't know if you wanted to laugh and make fun of Bucky or find it adorable. The only thing you kept wondering after that is if Sam knew about this and if so, he must give Bucky hell for it.

The rest of the party ended up being a huge blast. This was no longer your first of these kinds of parties, it was probably your fifteenth now, and you have become surprisingly accustomed to them. You've learned that hanging out by the open bar was your best place to be, it avoided conversations with people you could care less about and you could get as drunk as you wanted to. But that last part was a joke, you didn't drink every time. But the people here probably thought you did. Especially damn Carol from accounting.

She picks up her cosmo from the bar, giving you a side glance.

"Back at it again are we, miss y/l/n?"

You could only respond to her snarky and sarcastic comment with a fake smile and a wave of your own drink in your hand.

"As always."

She gave you another glance of un-amusement and when she was walking away, you gave her back a dirty look.

What was it with these middle-aged women not being able to mind their own business? You take another sip of your fruity drink and you see Bucky and Ashlyn in the corner of the venue. Your eyes narrow curiously as Ashlyn rolls her eyes and Bucky gestures wildly. They were arguing, that much was clear.

Bucky runs his hands down his face as he feels the anger boiling in his chest.

"Babe, this is the third one in a month. I feel like I hardly see you anymore."

Ashlyn gives him an apologetic face, her hair falling across the side of her face.

"I know, Bucky, but these are strict times right now. You know what I mean," she gives Mr. Barnes a side-eye glance from the corner of her eye and Bucky looks at him as well, "We have to get everything done."

He narrows his eyes at her, still not understanding why it was so difficult for them to spend more time together, unrelated work times. He was slowly beginning to understand less and less what was happening to them. He was stressed.

"I just don't get why I can't come with you, Ashlyn." She gives him a confused look, "Seriously, it's all I ask. I'm your boyfriend and I can't even go with my girlfriend on a damn business trip."

She feels the guilt, she does, but he couldn't accompany her. It's not like it was her right to decide anyway.

"Bucky, you just can't."

He looked at her in disbelief. He couldn't believe the situation he was in. He had been the one to offer her a position as an assistant and somehow she had managed to peak herself through and he couldn't even accompany her? He was furious. He just wasn't sure if it was at her that was mad or at himself.

Of course that the last few months Bucky had started to realize what you had been trying to tell him for months, and on a certain note he did agree, but at the end of the day Ashlyn was still his girlfriend and he had to put at least some kind of effort into trying to look past the negative and just appreciate her for who she is. She was making that really difficult lately.

He gives her a hard glare with his ice-blue eyes.

"Yeah, I get it."

She was taken aback by his expression.

"It's classified information." She stutters out.

Bucky rolls his eyes this time.

"Ashlyn, it's not like I'm going to be reading over your shoulder or going with you guys to the meeting. Even though I have every right to. I just want to spend the nights with you," he moves up closer to her and looks at her eyes, her nose, and her lips- just trying to admire her for a second.

"Ashlyn we haven't had sex in a month."

He could literally feel the distance between them, not just emotionally but physically.

She gulps at his words, her face feeling hot and her chest heavy, "Yeah well, maybe that's a good thing, Bucky."

Bucky literally recoils in pain as he takes a step back, his posture going frigid. Her eyes lacked emotion.

"What?"

"I just mean, this business has to be ready. We can't be distracted."

It was just getting more ridiculous by the second, her logic made no sense to him.

"You do realize I'm the next CEO right? That at this point there isn't anything that I don't know anymore. That the only fucking ass reason I'm not going with dad is that they don't need my signature, yet." He emphasizes the last word.

Ashlyn gulps, shocked. He had never spoken to her in this tone before, let alone used a curse word with her. She feels the tears in her eyes and the instant regret on Bucky's face.

"You'll thank me one day," she says hoarsely, "Anyways. Thanks for the birthday, Bucky."

She walks away with tears in her eyes, making sure to hit his arm on the way out.

The rest of the night is a heavy blur on Bucky's mind. He worries about how things with Ashlyn will follow out after the party. It doesn't help when he runs into Ashlyn at the hallway to the bathrooms and she tells him that Bucky could go ahead home and she would just call an Uber and meet him at his place. Maybe meet him at his place, she emphasized before walking past his fallen expression.

He had run a hand down his face and the first thing on his mind was to find you and just get the hell out of there. He didn't even care about the paparazzi at this point, he just wanted his best friend and his home. He needed to think maybe have another drink.

He knows you well by now and it doesn't take him longer than a bathroom break to find you standing at the bar.

He knows you're bored out of your mind and completely out of your comfort zone, but that's what always amazed him about you. You would go out of your shell to please your sister and your friends.

He takes the glass out of your hand as your taking in the last sip of your drink and you gave him a pouty look that is nothing short of adorable.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

A huge weight is lifted off your shoulders and you let out a long sigh as you pick up your bag off the counter.

"Finally."

It doesn't take much for you to notice Bucky's attitude as he struts out of the room, accidentally hitting some people on the way out and his mouth in a tight line. You have trouble keeping up with his pace in your painfully high heels. It isn't until you're both walking towards the elevators when you notice a very distinct detail.

"Wait, where's Ashlyn?"

Bucky presses the elevator down button.

"We got into an argument."

This didn't surprise you. Six months ago, maybe, but not anymore. They were at each other's throats whenever she would be back in town.

You both make it down to the lobby in comfortable silence, your heels now in your hands and your feet barefoot against the marble.

Once you're both at his car around the side street you peek over his hood.

"What happened?"

Bucky visibly sides and gets in the car. You get inside with him and immediately kick on the heat towards your feet. Used to this now, Bucky says nothing. He pulls out his cell phone and types away some quick text before letting out a heavy breath and tossing it in his cup holder.

"It just, don't you think I should be going with her to theses business trips?"

"Yea I guess."

"I should be. I'm her boyfriend. What if she-"

"What if she what, Bucky?"

It's silent.

"Nothing. Forget it."

It annoyed you to the core how back and forth he was. It physically pained you and made you want to slap him as you watched him sulk in his driver's seat. He brought this on himself, and it's not like he ever didn't anything to change it. And God, how you would change it for him in a heartbeat. You quickly look away as you feel a tightness in your chest.

You look down at your nervous hands as you play with them.

"You're the one that gave her this job- this life. I warned you from the beginning and you admitted yourself that you knew what you were getting yourself into. And you said that it didn't matter because she-"

"Loved me."

"Loved you."

You look up at him and your eyes meet in an intense gaze.

"I think you need to relax, Bucky. You're being hard on yourself."

You reach out and caress his hand that is on the gear shift. Bucky looks down at your hand on his and he realizes you've never held his hand before.

"It'll be okay."

For some reason, when he pulls out of his parking spot, he leaves more anxious then than when he left the party.

He ends up taking you to his apartment and nat sends you both a text in the group chat. Bucky's the one that reads it out loud as the elevator opens up to his floor.

"Nat just texted me that's she'll be here soon."

Bucky unlocks his front door and when you step in you go straight to his window, your hand on the glass like a little girl. He smiles at you as he places the keys down on the foyer table. While you looked out, he went to the kitchen and poured you both a glass of Champagne.

You always got so excited at views, it was like you enjoyed the fear of being so high up from the ground and admiring the city lights that bounced off your gorgeous skin. You were so innocent and sweet and you would fit so well living here. If only you didn't have to keep driving an hour every time just to see him.

"I never get sick of this view." You loved how the cars looked like little ants down below.

"Look at you, miss I-love-upstate-New-York-and-cows-and-farmlands."

"Shut up, dumbass. It's grown on me."

You looked adorable holding your heels in your hand and your dirty brown feet against his five hundred thousand wood flooring and there's a tightness in his chest.

He doesn't catch himself before it slips out.

"Yeah, well you've grown on her too."

You turn around and you see him giving you a glass of champagne, a look in his eyes that you can't recognize.

That look doesn't falter as he continues to give you that look.

"It looks good on you."

You realize he's talking about the city skyline right behind you. His eyes drift over your dress and then your dirty feet. He takes a sip of his champagne, swallowing thickly.

"Why don't you move out here?"

For a second you pray silently that maybe he's going to offer you something. Not a gift like your sister, but maybe some kind of deal. Your heart was in New York now. Being here, being here with him...with your friends, it made you want to be here all the time.

"Like I could afford it."

You say nervously, hopeful.

But his eyes are blank now, the moment gone.

"Suit yourself." You face falls at his answer. You don't know why but you expected a different answer. Don't lie to yourself, you knew exactly the answered you wanted.

But of course, he wouldn't do that. But that's okay, you guess. You take the glass of champagne from him and cross one your arms across your waist mumbling a thank you.

"I saw you talking to Steve at the party. How's that going by the way?"

"Steve's great. But I'm not ready yet."

He nods understanding.

You realize you never told your best friend what had happened months ago, and you feel guilty for it now. He had looked over at you and Steve at the party and you didn't even know.

You clear your throat.

"He kissed me."

Emotions flicker across his face. Surprise, amusement, shock, and something else. He perks a brow at you.

"What?" He says lowly.

"Yeah," You don't know why you feel it's important to tell him and why it feels this serious. It terrifies the shit out of you. The tension between you both is thick as he continues to stare at you, "Not tonight, on New Years actually."

You take a sip of your drink nervously, looking away from his gaze.

"Wow. How did that, uh, how'd you feel, ya know, after?"

You genuinely think about it for a second, and it that second you realize that Steve isn't what you wanted anymore. You think about the kiss and you're honest about it as you respond.

"It felt nice. It felt good. It felt," Your eyes flicker up to his and the tension grew immensely. The way he looked as he waited for your answer made it obvious that he really wanted to know. And while you're both looking at each other you think about the last year and a half and how your friendship grew and how much you both changed. You think about the sweet memories you both shared together and how one-day things ended up taking a turn that made it scary and wrong.

Neither of you remembers when it was, but it wasn't too long ago. It was as if one day you couldn't share drinks anymore, you couldn't share snacks, you couldn't text each other, you couldn't go on road trips anymore. One day, it all changed and it all stopped.

Steve was the exact opposite. Bucky watches you intently as he waits for you. You look down at his own lips and then back at his eyes.

"It felt safe. Easy."

"Is that what you want?" His voice is a low rumble.

"I want it to be right."

You see him swallow and then he turns away from you sharply, drinking down the rest of the champagne.

You're about to ask him if there's something you both should talk about when there's a knock at the door. You stare at the back of his head in a heavy daze as he places the glass on the foyer table and lets Nat in.

Your heart hammered away inside your chest as you watched him. You don't know what was happening, and you wanted to know badly because you no longer knew how to even act around him. Neither of you did.

"Hey, guys. I'm sorry if it's going to spoil the after-party but my friend asked me to watch her baby for a couple of hours. The last-minute trip to Monte Carlo."

He gives Nat a tight hug and then he's carrying something in his arms as he turns around.

"Yeah, no problem, I missed this little boy." Bucky says in an adorable baby voice as he squeezes the little baby's nose, "Oh my god, you are so cute."

The baby grabs Bucky's pointer finger with his tiny hand and your heart melts instantly.

Your heart flutters and you recognize the emotion that follows that flutter - fear.

That's what you feel because once it hits you what it was that was happening, you realized you were eternally and completely fucked.

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes smut #bucky x you #bucky barnes x you #Steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes series #bucky barnes fluff #Marvel #marvel fanfiction

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mariinara · 4 years ago

Text

TWENTY - TWO (Sam Drake x Reader) ANGST |PART 2|

A/N: Aaaand that's a wrap on this one, ladies and gents! This was all sorts of emotions rolled into a single one-shot but HEY it is what it is and y'all know how I am by now so :") HOPE Y'ALL ENJOY THIS ONE.

Tags: @easy-and-steady , @the-winchesterboys , @the-drakeboys , @missdictatorme , @psg-for-life , @elledrake , @samdrakeftw , @s4mdrake , @ghost-of-the-oldwest , @writersblockincoming , @purplezebra68 , @hrgnm

Request for anon: '14, 18, and 19 for angst prompts with Sam? 👀👀 I also really really adore your work!!!'

Prompts: "Can you just kiss me? One last time? That's all I ask.." + "Don't make this harder than it already is.." + "It's better this way."

Warnings: ANGST. Just ANGST, okay?

Word count: ~ 4.8K

(Part one here!)

-TWO WEEKS LATER-

Your fingers tapped away on your keyboard, your eyes flickering from the screen to your fingers as you filled in a resume for a teaching job in Boston. You wanted to quit your job in Philadelphia to spend as much of the summer vacation as you could with your mother. When she’d come back from Jersey, that is..

Avery was completely supportive of your decision and thought that you and your mother needed to squeeze some bonding time into your tight schedules. She wanted to keep her job in Philly, though because it paid pretty well and she wanted to gain her independence as quickly as possible, which Sam pretended to be proud of when it caused him severe anxiety, despite knowing fully how capable his daughter was. However, she was his only daughter and he liked when she counted on him for everything, but as she grew up, she became less and less dependent on him and it upset him to some extent but he hid it well.

Sam..

You couldn’t help but smile at the thought of him, your cheeks heating up as memories flashed through your head of that night. The images were so vivid that you felt the same sensations tingling you, causing every hair on your body to stand up and a shiver escape your parted lips and, suddenly, you were no longer focused on the resume and were only swimming in your pool of that night’s memories. God, it was so good. How he had no control over his actions. The look in his eyes that so clearly displayed his hesitation-- his debate on whether to take the next big step. And once you reassured him that it was okay and that he could do whatever he wanted, he took you hard and fast, his hand clamped over your mouth or his lips against yours to silence you and nothing in the world mattered at that point.

You inhaled sharply before chuckling lightly to yourself. The best thing about what happened was how you casually put your clothes back on and continued to play video games all throughout the night and laughing like nothing ever happened. To some women, that could’ve been a bad thing, but to you, that was the equivalent of cuddling. And he stayed charming and funny up until he passed out right next to you, which made you smile, pull a blanket over his body, and plant a quick kiss to his cheek. Next thing you knew, you were out of the shower and sleeping next to Avery, who was passed out and snoring softly like the heavy sleeper she was.

That was almost two weeks ago and you hadn’t seen or heard from Sam since you entered your empty home, but you didn’t question it. You reckoned he was probably busy with finding another gig with Sullivan. You and Avery called everyday, though, and she’d tell you how absentminded and distracted her father seemed. She’d be talking to him and he would be in another dimension and would snap out only when she alerted him, apologizing and asking her to repeat what she’d said before he’d do it all over again. She was complaining about it to you and you couldn’t help but wonder if that was a good or bad thing. For all you knew, you might’ve had him finally wrapped around your finger.. Or he was completely regretting what he’d done.

Your cell phone suddenly started ringing, startling you out of your thoughts. You realized that you’d been staring at the blinking cursor aimlessly for the past ten minutes. A sigh escaped your lips as you reached for your cell on the nightstand, expecting it to be your mother checking up on you, but when you looked at the ID, you raised your brow.

She usually didn’t call you more than twice a day and you didn’t know why she was calling again after you rambled on to each other for two straight hours but you decided to pick up with a smile: “Hey, Av--”

“(Y/N).”

You frowned deeply at her tone. The way her voice cracked and the sniffles and little whimpers alerted you, causing you to sit up straight and push the laptop off of your lap, “Ave? What’s wrong?” You asked, causing her to let out a small sob, “Talk to me. What’s goin’ on?”

“It’s dad.” She croaked, her voice still broken. You found your heart sinking at her vague response and a million things popped up in your head, but before you could say anything, Avery continued, "He's going to Vancouver.."

Your brows pulled together in confusion and you shook your head, "Wait, but– He travels all the time, Ave, what–"

"No, no, I'm goin' with him."

Your mouth snapped shut and you shifted on your bed a little so your legs dangled from the side, “H-Hold on, Ave.” You closed your eyes with a soft sigh, your fingers rubbing your forehead, “Slow it down for me.”

You heard her sharp intake of air and her shaky exhale shortly following, “Dad.. got a job in Vancouver and we’re gonna move there for a while.”

Your eyes snapped open again and you felt your breath hitch in your throat, “What’s “a while”..?”

You heard a short pause on Avery’s end and your heart sank with each passing second. You were going to prod her to speak up, but what she said next almost made you double over:

“A year and a half..”

Your blood ran cold and your eyes widened. And suddenly, everything around you started falling apart. Your whole being began to crumble. Your breathing started getting heavier when you asked yourself: 'If it's just work, why would he take Avery this time?' and you realized that he was probably planning on staying there for good and Avery knew it as well.

Your hand flew to cover your mouth to muffle a cry.

"I don't know what to do. He told me so suddenly and I pretended to be happy just because he seemed happy and I–" Avery paused to gasp for air, "Sully got him this job all of a sudden and he's been packing for the past twelve hours and–" She sobbed. The sound broke your heart to a million pieces and you wanted to just apologize to her. For all you know, you might've been the cause of what was happening. Maybe he wanted to leave because of you, "I dunno what to do and I'm runnin' outta time, (Y/N)."

You let out a shaky breath and squeezed your eyes shut, your jaw clenching as you cursed yourself before getting up to your feet, walking over to your closet, "It's okay; Calm down– I'll be here in a few."

"There's literally no time– The moving company came for our stuff and we're headed for the airport in a few."

You frowned, "Moving.. company?"

"That's what I asked but he said that he needed everything in case the job took a little longer than he expected." She croaked and sniffled again, "I don't fucking know what he takes me for or if he's being an idiot on purpose."

"No– Listen to me: Your dad is not an idiot." You defended in a calm tone, "You shouldn't blame him for this; he, uh.." You stared down at your feet, biting down on your bottom lip in contemplation as you swayed back and forth on your heels and soles, "He–He hasn't worked in a while and he needs this, so just.." You looked up again, your shoulders slacked in surrender and your eyes glossy with tears, "Just see where this'll go.. You're all he has, Ave and he loves you so, so much." You slowly breathed out, not wanting her to hear how you were trembling– not wanting her to detect how you were one minute away from breaking down.

You closed your eyes again as she spoke, letting your tears slip freely down your cheeks.

"I know." She sniffled, "He's been so strange and I feel like he's not telling me something."

At that, you mentally smacked yourself about three-hundred times in a row. It hurt you so deeply how you've betrayed her trust like that. And again, with your eyes closed, memories flashed before your eyes, but the narrative completely changed.

Sam's groans and words of praise filled your ears, his chest hot against your arched back and his hand clamped over your mouth while you let out muffled cries. But you imagined Avery, standing there, watching you in horror, drowning in her tears, traumatized by the sight. And you made eye contact with her at that very moment, maintaining it, as if to taunt her– to highlight just how selfish you were. You imagined her staring back, betrayal written all over her face, her cheeks burning from the salty tears and her hand clutching her chest and her other covering her mouth. With one snap of Sam's hips, you were pushed over the edge and your vision blurred with white light, your brows furrowing and your heart furiously pounding in your chest as you let out a scream into his hand, but when your eyes readjusted, Avery was no longer there. And neither were her pictures that once filled every corner in the living room. They were white sheets in pretty frames. And the ones she had with Sam only had him in them. And somewhere, from afar, you saw your father, laughing as he sent you a wink and walked away from you, only to dissipate into thin air.

"(Y/N)..?"

You snapped out with a sharp inhale, your brows arched and your eyes wide with terror as your fingers ghosted your lips before you covered your mouth, hoping that she didn't catch that sound that slipped you.

"You still there?"

"I-I'm here." You quickly replied, your hand dropping from your mouth to rub your chest, trying to ease the feeling of immense discomfort, "I'll be right at the airport, okay?"

There was a short pause and then, you heard him call out for his daughter, followed by a "We gotta go, baby!" and you didn't think it was possible for your heart to sink any more than it has, but it did.

"Coming, dad!" Avery called back, her voice completely different, as if she hadn’t been bawling for the past hour, “I’ll stall him at the airport cafeteria, okay?”

You nodded, trying to catch your breath, “O-Okay. I’ll be right there.”

“Hurry..”

“I will.”

You quickly hung up and put the phone on your dresser before hurrying to put on anything. You opted for a hoodie and a pair of jeans, pulled your hair back with whatever hair band you could find into a low bun, slipped on whatever sneakers that were next to your door, grabbed your car keys and phone, and hurried out of the house, trying to keep calm so your drive there wouldn’t be a complete disaster.

You wasted absolutely no time. You kept your eyes on the road, had a steady foot on the gas, but your chest bubbled with anxiety. The kind that made you let out a small, suffocated whimper from time to time. The kind that made your hands tighten around the steering wheel. The kind that made it extremely unbearable to listen to anything from the radio, which caused you to reach out and turn it off quickly. You rolled down the window after the light turned green, immediately speeding down the road, the wind ruffling the stray strands of hair that fell on either side of your face and drying the tears that rolled down your cheeks. Your eyes caught a sign that made you nervously chew on the nail of your thumb, your heart beat quicker, and your stomach churn with jitters. Your head was so empty and you were so fixated on getting to your destination that you haven’t even rehearsed what to tell Sam or Avery.

You were filled to the brim with sadness, nervousness, and a tinge of anger. The street lights that rushed past you and the sound of the wind had a hypnotic effect on you. The sound of cars zooming by on the smooth asphalt put you at ease somehow.

When you parked in the airport’s garage, you didn’t even pause to think about your next step. You were out of your car and running towards the entrance, pushing past families and couples, absentmindedly muttering ‘sorry’s and ‘excuse me’s, getting looks in the process.

You were stopped at the first checkpoint at the entrance by a security guard, who thoroughly searched you while you looked ahead, getting on your tiptoes to look past his shoulder for the cafeteria, but your eyes only saw several ticket booths and passport checks next to each other.

“Free to go.”

You closed your slightly open mouth and got to your feet, swallowing your nerves and flickering your eyes to look at the guard, “Uhh, excuse me, but is there a cafeteria close by?”

“There’s more than one, but--”

Your phone rang in your back pocket and you quickly pulled it out and checked the ID, letting out a shaky sigh before answering, “Sorry..” You mumbled to the guard, “Ave? Where are you?”

“We’re in Peet’s coffee and Tea.” She sniffled, her voice a bit above a whisper, “I’m in the bathroom but I’ll come back in a bit, I just, uhh..” She huffed, “I needed a little time for myself.”

“O-Okay..” You nodded, “I can wait for a bit..” You squeezed your eyes shut and pressed your lips together, dreading the fact that it meant you’d have time with Sam. Alone.

“I love you, Sparrow.”

You nodded your head, smiling softly, “I love you, too, Salazar..”

The line went blank and you looked up at the guard with a sheepish smile, “Peet’s tea and coffee..” You shook your head, your brows pulling in confusion as you scratched your forehead, “Er.. Coffee and Tea..” He chuckled at that.

“Uhh, you’re gonna continue along this path and find east Terminal B. You’ll continue past Starbucks and the vending machine and you’re there.”

You huffed softly and nodded, “Okay, thank you. Thank you so much!” You ran past him and made it through the crowds of people, apologizing and mumbling your way through people, your eyes fixated ahead. The sign above your head displayed ‘Terminal B’ and your stomach did flips as you ran past Starbucks and the feelings that bubbled up in your chest caused you to slow down. It was only then that you realized how out of breath you were.

How unprepared you were.

Your hand reached up for your fingers to gently brush the silver, heart-shaped pendant around your neck, with the letter 'A' engraved in beautiful cursive.

You looked down at your feet as you walked, your hand clutching the silver heart.

Avery had the same one around her neck, with the initial of your name engraved. You'd had those since you were fourteen, but never in your life did you feel like you didn't deserve her love or trust.

Again, you found yourself at your destination, with no semblance of an idea of what you were going to tell Sam.

The chattering noises around you started dying down and were replaced by your loud heartbeats as you stepped into the café, your eyes carefully searching for a familiar face. Normally, the smell of brewing coffee and cold club sandwiches would draw you in but at the moment, you felt like you were growing sick.

You looked around a corner, scanning the tables, only to see couples sitting and talking, teenagers being a tad louder than the rest of the people around them, or businessmen, sitting along in their fancy Tom Ford suits and their open macbooks, sipping on their typical cold brew.

You sighed, but didn't know if it were from relief or frustration and just when you were about to search your head for how to approach Sam while you turned on your heel to look in another corner, you bumped into someone much taller than you, causing you to stumble back with a groan.

"Fuck." You cussed lowly, raising your hands in defense and backing away, scared that the person might be holding coffee, "Jesus, would you–" Your eyes flickered up and the aggressive furrow of your brows melted into a mildly surprised arch as you blinked, your eyes softening.

Sam pursed his lips and pushed one hand into the pocket of his Levi's while the other rested at his side, fiddling with a fraying thread in the side of his jeans. His eyes wandered from yours for a second before he looked deeply into them and his shoulders sagged, "Hey, kiddo.." He breathed out, giving you a tiny, awkward wave.

You blinked again, taking in a deep breath and crossing your arms, "Hey." You responded, swallowing down the lump that formed in your throat, "Did you know I was coming?" You asked, your hand quickly flying to wipe a stray tear from your cheek before you crossed your arms again with a small sniffle.

"Yeah. Yeah, uh.." He looked down for a second, as if he was ashamed of something. And you knew exactly what, "I figured Avery would call."

Your brows pulled together and your lips trembled slightly, "Why didn't you?" The bitterness that you tried to hide to no avail made him look up at you with a frown.

He knew where this would go. It was inevitable.

Sam reached out for you, "Okay, let's just sit down for a sec–"

"No." You sternly said, flinching away from his touch. The raise in your voice caught some attention around you, making Sam sigh softly and retreat his hand, "I want to know why you're doing this.." You whispered, your voice laced with heartbreak and disappointment.

"Doing what?"

"Escaping me..!" You responded immediately, looking into his eyes as you took a step towards him. He ripped his gaze from yours and shook his head.

"I'm not escaping anything." He let out a mirthless chuckle, "I am trying to provide for Avery–"

"Oh, spare me the bullshit, Samuel." You venomously replied, narrowing your tearful eyes at him, "You are a coward." Your arms unfolded so you could push him away, which did nothing but make him take half a step back from you, "You're a fucking coward–" Your voice got louder as the lump in your throat grew more unbearable as you pushed on his chest again. He was quiet but his jaw was clenched. When you went to push him again, Sam grabbed your wrists to calm you down, knowing that both of you would be escorted outside if anyone from management took notice of the scenario.

"(Y/N)–"

"Get– offa me." You yanked your wrists away and took a step back, staring at him with wide, bloodshot eyes as you wiped your nose with the sleeve of your hoodie, "Don't fucking touch me.." You croaked, pointing an accusing finger at him, "You are just like that fucker."

He paused to narrow his eyes at you, "What..?"

"You're gonna leave me just like he did!" You let out a broken sob, your shoulders shaking with every quiet cry that broke through you.

Sam closed his eyes and shook his head slightly with a soft sigh, "Sweetheart, don't make this harder than it already is–"

"Please, stop.." You begged weakly, "You used me. Do not talk to me about things being "hard" because while you have a fucking escape, I do not!"

He scoffed, offended, "I did not use you–"

"Then why are you acting like that?!"

"Because."

"Because what?!"

"Because!"

"Because what!?–"

"Because I have feelings for you!" He snapped, making your breath hitch in your throat. You took a step back, feeling a little unbalanced as you frowned at him. His nostrils flaring and his eyes burning holes in your soul, his brows pulled together.

"What..?" You sounded confused. Or maybe hurt. Did you hear that right? By the look on his face, you seemed to have heard it right. Did it make sense? No. Absolutely zero sense, "Why did you.." Your brains froze on you, the gears not spinning properly, just lagging at every dent.

He took a step to make up for the distance you made between the two of you, "And I don't want to feel like that.." His hands were on your shoulders, then your upper arms, his thumbs drawing back and forth in comfort, "I'm pulling myself from the equation because I do care for you.. If we stay around each other, Avery's gonna notice and you're gonna lose her. I know that for a fact.." He searched your eyes for something. Anything. But it still seemed like you were at a loss for words, your mouth hanging open a little. It made him smile softly, his eyes gleaming with the sort of warmth that brought you a feeling of safety, "I don't want us to get in trouble. This could cost us everything and it is not worth it–"

"But it is." You refuted, hopeful. Your eyes brimmed with more tears at his words.

"No, no– Sweetheart, listen." His hands quickly cupped your cheeks so his thumbs could wipe away your tears, "I.. am not worth it."

You felt a sting in your heart. One that your face slightly contort in pain, "Sam–"

"You deserve someone who'll love you unconditionally without being a threat to every single relationship around you, and.." He shook his head, trying to search for the right words, "I love you unconditionally, but you and I've been through enough.." He breathed out, "You should be comfortable with the guy you bring. You should be with someone to bring home to your mom. Not lead a dangerous, tiring lifestyle. You don't need that."

God, you hated how right he was. It made you love him all over again. His sincerity and tenderness with you contrasted the rough touch of his hands that you leaned your cheek into, your face shifting into one of complete pain as you let out a small sob.

"It's better this way.." His own eyes began to gloss the more he blinked and it took you back to that same night when he was completely vulnerable to you, "Trust me, sweetheart." He gave you a warm smile, tucking your stray strands of hair behind your ears, "C'mere.." He pulled you into a tight embrace, his chin on the dome of your head and the side of your face pressed against his chest. You felt his hands rubbing circles on your back. Slow, comforting, very familiar ones, "And I'm me.." You felt his chest vibrate and his cologne filling your nostrils, "I'll always be me; I'm not him.." Your fingers curled to clutch onto the front of his red flannel shirt, your eyes squeezing shut as you cried quietly against him, "I'm never gonna really leave you." He pulled away from you for a second to look at your beautiful crying face that you used to make when you'd fall off your bicycle when he taught you or came back from school and straight into his arms when you'd have a rough day of bullies. It made him smile with a wistful sigh from his nose, "Not if you ever forget me." He flicked your nose gently with a teasing smirk, making you chuckle unexpectedly with a big grin.

"Never." You replied, smiling up at him with that glimmer in your eyes and for a minute, it was only you two in the entire airport and it didn't matter how many eyes were on you. And there it was again.

That spark.

And again, your mind convinced you that he was leaning closer to kiss you, but you shook your head profusely, getting your vision straight before looking down at your awkwardly shuffling foot, "Can I, umm.." You clicked your tongue and scratched your cheek with your forefinger, clearing your throat, "Can I ask for a favor?" You mustered enough courage to look up at him, your hands clasped behind your back.

He shrugged a little, "Shoot."

You bit down on your lip and your eyes traveled to his, "Can you just kiss me?" You quickly asked, afraid of wasting any more time before Avery would get back, "One last time..?" His shoulders fell and his eyes flickered to every corner of your face, as if he was mesmerized by you, thinking 'Oh, man..' at the angelic look on your face that he couldn't for the life of him resist, "That's all I ask.."

He let out a shaky breath and glanced around. No sign of Avery. He then looked back at you and reached out, gripping the front of your hoodie and yanking you forward, making you yelp and stumble a little, but he caught you with a firm arm around your waist, pressing you against him before capturing your lips in a soft kiss, relaying his utmost care and love for you. For a second you were taken aback but when it clicked, your eyes fluttered shut and you kissed back with a soft exhale from your nose. God, it felt so right. So good.

It wasn't fair.

How something could feel so perfect but be so wrong in every aspect.

Sam slowly broke the kiss and the sound brought you back from paradise, causing you to slowly bat your lashes to adjust your eyesight, gripping onto his strong, muscular upper arms for support, "Oh, wow.." You muttered, swallowing thickly afterwards.

Sam let out a light, breathless laugh, still looking into your eyes. You smiled warmly up at him, wishing that you could take him and keep him forever, but it wasn't up to you.

His arm loosened from around you and his hand was now on your hip. When you backed away from him a little, his hand went back into his pocket and the lack of physical contact from him almost pained you.

"(Y/N)!" You heard Avery's voice, causing both you and Sam to look to the side, but before you could say anything, she ran into your arms, making you stagger back a little, "(Y/N).." She whimpered, her arms tightly wrapped around your neck and her face buried in your shoulder. Your arms slowly snaked around her and you held her close, closing your eyes.

"Hey, Salazar.." You tried to lift her mood, your hands comfortingly rubbing her back. Sam looked down at both of you with a thin smile.

"I'm gonna miss you so.. so much." She breathed, her voice muffled in your hoodie, but you heard her loud and clear and it caused you to smile sadly.

"Hey.. There's still college.. And we'll video chat every day, okay?" You suggested, but your voice cracked with both uncertainty and hurt, "It'll be like.. like I'm right there with you."

She nodded against you, hugging you tighter, "I love you, Sparrow.."

"I do, too.." She pulled away from the hug to smile at you, tears staining her rosy cheeks, "So much." You returned her soft smile, sniffling a little.

Sam's hand was on Avery's shoulder as he stood behind her, giving her a few squeezes.

'Flight to Vancouver in thirty minutes. Please head to Gate 15B.'

All of you looked up as the feminine voice broke through the speakers.

"Well.." Sam sighed, "That's our cue.." His eyes locked on yours and you pressed your lips and swallowed to prevent yourself from crying. Sam stepped forward and towards you, and again, you were in his arms and he hugged you close as you stood on your tiptoes, "You take care o' yourself, alright..?" Came his deep, raspy voice, making you feel safe again. But all you could do was wordlessly nod, afraid that if you talked, you'd cry again.

And as they walked away, stealing glances over their shoulder at you with smiles and small waves, you kept it together.

You held your own until they disappeared in the large crowds of people, and suddenly, you felt hollow again, as if something sucked all air from your lungs, and suddenly, you hand was clutching your hoodie as if it burnt your very skin while you let out small sobs and gasps of air, trying to keep as quiet as possible.

You squatted on the floor, not caring how many people stared at you or circumvented your body. You quickly pulled your phone from your back pocket and with a shaky hand, you dialed the only person you could think of and pressed it against your ear, trying to keep your emotions at bay.

Finally, she picked up, her sweet voice filling your ear with a gentle "Hey, sweetie."

"Mom.." You sobbed, "Mom, please come home."

"Baby, what's wrong? Are you okay?!"

"Mom.." You sniffled again, your whole body shaking as you debated yourself on what to say, but if you kept it to yourself, you’d feel like you'd explode, "I need to tell you something.."

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#sam drake #sam drake x reader #samuel drake #sam drake fanfiction #uncharted #uncharted4 #uncharted angst #peakymarvels #samuel drake x reader #sam drake angst

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sylvesterlestermanchester · 4 years ago

Text

Fearfully and Wonderfully

Summary: Dan wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to experience when he starts his first semester at Uni, but he was pretty sure an incredibly sheltered Catholic boy stealing his heart wasn’t on his list of typical college tropes.

Word Count: 12401

Genre: Humor, fluff, angst. All mixed together. Fun times!

Warnings: Conversion therapy, homophobia, brief allusions to sex and genitals. One puke joke?

A/N: This is my first ever published fic-I’ve been writing for literally years little bits and pieces, but COVID has me going crazy and I just wanted to put some effort into an actual thing. Thanks for reading!

Dan wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he walked through the door to his dorm the first time, parents and sullen little brother in tow. All of his knowledge about Uni had been from TV and movies-maybe he would have some frat guy in the bed across from him, or maybe a stoner, or maybe a weird silent dude who will disappear after the first week and let Dan put their beds together so they would actually fit his gangly body.

What he isn’t expecting is to have an eight-year-old girl bodyslam herself into his legs, followed by a loud groan and a sharp voice scolding “Suzanne, we told you to stop running!”

Dan’s eyes look down at the (quickly retreating) girl and blinks a few times as he takes in the scene in front of him. There are way too many people in the crowded room right now-he counts two identical boys, both around 10, bouncing on the stiff dorm bed, one pre-teen digging through a cardboard box, a girl around Adrian’s age whispering something to an older woman with a toddler in her arms, standing next to a quiet-looking tall man, and, of course, the eight-year-old, now having been scooped up by a sheepish looking guy around Dan’s age who’s giving him an apologetic smile. This must be the Philip Lester on his room assignment form. “Sorry. My family is kind of, erm, excited.” He says with a small, nervous laugh and sets the girl aside before sticking out a hand to shake. “I’m Phil! You must be, um...Daniel, right?”

Dan takes a second to readjust the bags in his arms to shake Phil’s hand awkwardly, trying not to look too overwhelmed at the scene in front of him. “Dan’s fine.”

The kids have all frozen in place, staring at Dan with wide eyes like Dan just sprouted a second head. There’s a few long beats of silence as Phil shakes his hand just a little too enthusiastically for just a bit too long.

Finally, Phil’s mum places a hand on her son’s shoulder, beaming brightly. “It’s so great our boys will be living together!” She cheers to Dan’s mum, who looks a bit bewildered. Ms. Lester gently takes a few of Dan’s bags and sets them on the bed, continuing to chatter on. “Come on, we can unpack while you two get to know each other better. I need to know who my son is going to be rooming with, right?” She continues to babble in a thick northern drawl as Dan glances back at his parents, who look like they’re about to bolt for the door and leave their son to be swallowed whole by these people.

“You’re rooming with an absolute freak,” Adrian mumbles in his ear with a small smirk. “Karma is a bitch, huh?” “Shut up.” Dan hisses back through his teeth, trying to look as interested as possible as Phil’s mum keeps talking.

“The weather here is so nice-it’s already getting cold up in Rossendale, can you believe it? Max and Adam were running around outside, and I was so scared they were gonna catch cold, you know how quickly little ones do. Oh, the drive here was wonderful-” “We saw cows!” One of the kids butts in, and suddenly they’re all talking, any nervousness they had around the strangers suddenly vanishing.

“And horses!” “We got hamburgers, and there was this huge truck-it had to have, like, forty wheels-” Phil seems to take after his dad, quietly but quickly unpacking since his siblings have seemingly given up on it in favor of telling Dan’s family every detail of the six-hour car ride. At one point he makes eye contact with Phil, who gives him an apologetic look, his cheeks flushed and an embarrassed grin on his face as the kids chatter along excitedly like they’ve never talked to another person before.

Finally, right when Dan feels like his ears are going to fall off, Phil speaks up again. “I-I think I can get this from here, guys. Mum, Dad, why don’t we go out for a walk before we say goodbye? I know you guys want to see the geese on campus, right?” The kids all cheer like geese are the most exciting thing on Earth, scrambling for the door. Phil’s mum gives Dan a tight hug and Phil’s dad, still not having spoken a single word, even gives his shoulder an uncomfortable pat before they head out. The small space suddenly feels vast and empty, and the silence is almost tangible. “Well. They seemed...friendly.” Dan’s mum says after a few moments, his dad snorting.

“You’re in for quite a year, huh, kid?” He jokes. Dan laughs weakly, but in all honesty, it doesn’t seem that funny.

Just what did he get himself into?

Dan’s curled up in his bed when Phil finally comes back a few hours later, giving Dan that same crooked, shy grin from earlier. Now that it’s just him and not him with (presumably) his entire Brady Bunch-style family, he can get a better look at his roommate. He’s tall, about an inch taller than Dan, and lanky. His black jeans are just a bit high on his ankles, and his faded green shirt clings to his skinny frame. As Dan’s eyes travel higher he takes in his flushed cheeks, his blue eyes wide behind his oversized glasses, all behind shaggy black hair that doesn’t match his ginger eyebrows-ginger like every other family member of his. Dan suddenly feels a bit self-conscious in his Game of Thrones pajamas and old school shirt, pulling his covers up a bit higher as he takes in the other young man with a strange feeling in his chest. He’s definitely different than anyone Dan’s ever known. But damn, if he isn’t cute.

“Sorry if my family was a lot today.” He says after a slight moment of silence, a slight giggle slipping out as he walks over to one of the boxes on his side of the room. “I’m the first to go to Uni out of my brothers and sisters, so my parents decided to, like, make it into a whole thing.”

The memory of the chaos is still fresh in Dan’s mind, but hearing Phil talk about it, he can’t help but smile a bit as well. “I’m the oldest, so I get it. And they were nice. Your siblings are very...uh, talkative.” He says slowly, trying not to sound rude, but Phil’s giggling again before he can worry too much about it.

“We’re from kind of the middle of nowhere, so they’re just excited to see, like, humans outside of Rossendale for the first time.” Phil joked as he started reorganizing some of the things his siblings had just sort of dumped around the room. “Plus, they don’t usually get sugar, but they had soda on the way here. So they were practically about to explode by the time we pulled in. They just exploded all of that excitement onto you.”

Dan can’t help but laugh a bit at that as he watches Phil set some thick books up one way and then rearranges them. “Oh, Jesus. That car ride must have been nuts.” Phil looks over his shoulder, grinning wider now. He looks more and more relaxed each minute, as if he was just as nervous about Dan as Dan was about him. “You have no idea, oh my gosh. They were already wound up for today, and then there was soda, and Max and Alex-they get carsick even worse than I do, and then Suzanne had to pee, like, forty times an hour, and Mum was all weepy...this has been the longest day of my life.” He joked, laughing along with Dan.

Even though Dan can’t connect any of the kids to their names, he feels like he knows them decently well. In fact, as the conversation drifts into more goofy road trip stories, Dan’s surprised with just how close he feels to Phil like they’ve known each other before they even met.

It’s strange, he finds. But then again, Phil’s pretty strange, after all.

Dan doesn’t fully realize how strange Phil is until the next day. There’s a few hints-Dan makes a reference to some TikTok audio and Phil admits he’s never used it before, staring in awe as Dan scrolls through his ForYou Page for him. When they head off to orientation in one of the lecture halls, Phil’s head jolts up and his face flushes bright red when one of the countless speakers jokingly curses (if you can count “ass” as a curse-Dan honestly can’t). But it’s not until they’re out at the quad with some of their new peers for lunch when Chris turns to Phil and asks if he went to the school his cousin went to up north. “Oh, I didn’t go to school.” Phil says with a bright smile, before quickly adding “I mean-I was homeschooled. So I just kinda did the work when I wanted to.”

“Your parents homeschooled you? Didn’t Dan say you had, like, twenty siblings?” Louise questions as they all turn to look at Phil. Dan feels a migraine coming on just imagining being home with all of those kids all bloody day, though he can actually picture Mrs. Lester teaching them all pretty well. Phil laughed a bit, cheeks flushing pink as he looked down at his sandwich.

“We all were. My mum and dad didn’t like the schools in our area-they wanted us to be more connected to the church, said that “our values weren’t instilled in traditional education’.” He explained with a small shrug. When PJ raised an eyebrow at that Phil pulled a small cross necklace out from under his shirt. “I’m Catholic. I actually have plans for Seminary after getting my bachelor’s-so if you’re planning on getting married, I’m taking bookings now.” Phil’s last comment was clearly meant to lighten up the mood, but it’s obvious that the subject matter was making the group a little uncomfortable, considering they all just met. Dan’s mentally running through Phil’s belongings in their dorm-were all those books Bibles? Was he going to start hanging crosses everywhere? Or make him wake up early on Sundays?

Before his brain could spiral out further Chris blurted out “So, were you raised in a Jesus bubble or something?” Louise smacks his arm but Phil giggled. “I-I have been told I’ve lived a bit of a sheltered life before, yeah.” “Were you allowed...TV?” PJ asks slowly, eyes widening when Phil shook his head.

“Not cable. We could watch DVDs, but they had to be approved, so it was usually educational. I know a lot of animal facts, actually. Did you know hippo-”

“What about the internet?” Louise cuts him off.

“Not after my older brother got caught Googling “bikini girls” when he was 10.” Phil joked lightly. “But even before that, my mum was pretty anti-internet. If I really needed it for school or whatever, I’d go down to the library.”

“No Harry Potter?” “Promotes witchcraft. Apparently. I haven’t read it for myself, but-”

“Dating?” “Not without serious intention to marry-and I’m not exactly ready for that, so-” “Running water?” “You know what’s funny?” Phil says, giggling a bit and bringing his knees loosely to his chest. “You guys think I’m weird, which is totally understandable. But your guys’ lives before this sound weird to me, too. Like-Chris, you got to play video games as a kid, right? And I was taught that those would turn me into some homicidal maniac. Dan, I saw you have a horoscope app-that’s the occult, so that’s a huge no-no.” Wow, okay. Before Dan could feel too offended, though, and Chris could jump in, Phil keeps going. “But, like, I get that you’re not a witch, or Chris, you’re not gonna chop me up into little pieces when I’m sleeping. There’s gotta be some middle ground here, right? So...you guys could show me how to live more like you, and maybe you guys would be more interested in what I’m into?”

There’s a small silence that falls across the group before a wicked grin slowly appears on Louise’s face.

“What do you want to learn first?”

The next few weeks are a bit of a whirlwind for Dan. Between classes, hanging out with new friends, homework, scrambling to find a job, remembering to text his mum and let her know he hasn’t died, he’s barely able to keep his head on straight. But the time he spends trying to introduce Phil to the “real world” is some of his favorite.

Phil had set some ground rules-nothing that could kill him or ruin his life if it got out on social media. If he got too uncomfortable, he was allowed to tap out, but he’d give it an honest attempt. And nothing Satanic. (Dan had laughed until he realized by the look on his face that he wasn’t joking).

Granted, their friend group hadn’t done a great job at the start. PJ thought it would be hilarious to let Phil start with some “iconic reading material”.

Dan had been in class when they had presented the book to him, and the two were in their respective beds when Dan heard a shocked gasp from Phil’s side of the room.

“You good, mate?” He rolled over, watching as Phil sat upright and started flipping through the pages. “Do-Do you know about this book?” He asked, face turning impossibly redder as he held up the cover for Dan. 50 Shades of Gray. As Dan burst out laughing, his roommate whined playfully.

“What-Phil, who gave this to you?” “PJ said it was necessary reading!”

“PJ is a dunce. Give it here, I’ll protect you from the big bad book.” Dan teases, but Phil quickly shoves the book into his hands like it’s on fire.

“I’m gonna have nightmares about ties and rich men for weeks.” He grumbled playfully, curling up on his bed and reaching for his phone. “I’m never trusting Peej again.”

Louise turns full maternal the next day when he struggles to recount the experience in polite language (Dan holding back laughter), and she decides to go the complete opposite way, launching a mission to, as she put it, “reshape Phil’s lost childhood”. Phil lightly pushes back against wording, because he feels like he had quite a nice childhood, thank you very much.

Still, Louise comes over a couple of nights later, armed with her laptop.

“They couldn’t come up with a more creative name than “High School Musical”?” Phil teased gently as she pulled it up on her screen.

“Phil, you sweet boy, High School Musical is a cultural milestone that you need experience. So no backtalk!”

“Whatever you say.” He said, sitting on the other side of her and holding a bowl of popcorn in his lap.

They watch the first movie, and then the second, and then Phil’s begging to watch the third. As the final song plays Dan glances over and sees that Phil has his head ducked down, shoulders shaking gently.

“Phil?” Louise asks gently right as a choked sob erupts from him. She lets out a yelp as Phil flings his arms around her neck, laughing shakily. “It was just...Troy chose basketball and music…both of his passions...” He blubbers out, nuzzling into her shoulder as she coos. “You’re so weird, hon. You know that?” Once he’s calmed down enough (when Dan offers him a hug the waterworks start up all over again, sniffling. “So. Is that what your guys’ school was like?”

Louise and Dan glance at each other before bursting into laughter, only stopping a couple of minutes later when Louise turns to Phil once more. “If you liked High School Musical, you’re going to love this show Victorious…”

Of course, it’s not all smutty books and (incredible) movie trilogies.

Being homeschooled meant that all Phil knows is doing school when he feels like it. Lucky for Phil, he’s a huge nerd, so homework and studying actually excite him. The problem is, these things tend to excite him at 3 in the morning, and he actually has classes to go to now outside of his room.

By day three of no sleep, Phil swears Dan’s grown wings, and Dan intervenes. They make up a rules sheet-bedtime is 2AM, wake up at 10AM, eat three meals a day, no more than five cups of coffee a day (of all the vices Phil was deprived of, caffeine was clearly not one of them-Dan’s never seen anyone drink more coffee in his life). He gets him down to one all-nighter a week, and in turn, Phil wakes him up each morning and helps him with schoolwork so Dan doesn’t have to face going to the tutoring center. It turns out that Phil’s kind of a genius, despite never being in a classroom until a couple of weeks prior.

Chris is the one who convinces Phil to get social media, telling him that “only serial killers and old people” don’t. Phil’s not the greatest at it at first (there’s a lot of pictures uploaded on accident to his Instagram stories and nonsense tweets), but he slowly gets more used to it, getting his terrible puns and weird things he sees on campus out to the world (all 20 of his followers).

Dan can’t help but get slightly annoyed when Phil’s phone is shoved in his face to choose a filter of some stupid looking goose that’s close to attacking him, but the look of pure elation that Phil gets when someone sends a dog meme in their group chat is enough to warm his heart in ways he didn’t want to address fully but knew he couldn’t ignore.

There’s so much to teach him, and it seems like each day something pops up. Still, Dan’s surprised by Phil’s world, too.

First, he brings them to a non-denominational bible study group. PJ groaned quietly as Phil handed them all cheap paperback Bibles before they entered the church.

“Can’t we do something a bit more...fun? With less reading?”

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it again,” Phil said with a grin, rocking back and forth on his heels. “And if you like it-which hopefully, you will-we can come back once a week, and I’ll get you some nicer Bibles. These are just to start out with.”

Louise forces a small “yay” as they head inside, Phil leading them through the sanctuary with a happy sigh before taking them down some stairs, where a young woman sits in front of a small arrangement of chairs. “Phil, you brought your friends!” The woman cheers and Phil laughs happily. “Caroline-this is Dan, PJ, Chris, and Lou. They’re new to all this, so we’ll go easy this week?” He joked lightly, and Caroline nods, asking them about their religious beliefs.

“Uh, went to church a few times with my Nan. Atheist.” Dan says, biting his lip. He never actually said the “a'' word around Phil, and he’s a bit nervous that he’s going to suddenly flip out, but he still seems just as excited as when he walked in.

“Atheist. Never been-parents hate churches. Can I still grab snacks?” Chris adds and Caroline laughs, nodding.

“I’m a little complicated, but it’s basically just hippie church.” PJ says, shrugging. “Singing and chanting and all.”

“I go about once a month-I’m Episcopal, officially, but I’ve been to other churches too.” Louise gently smiled, and with that, the group got started. They went around and talked about their weeks, a few upcoming events, a prayer, and then Caroline instructed them to get their books. Phil pulled a well-worn leather Bible out of his bag, and Dan’s eyes widened a bit when he opened it. There are post-it notes everywhere, with entire passages highlighted and notes covering practically every margin in Phil’s stupidly perfect handwriting. It’s clear that Phil’s spent a lot of time with the book.

“Since we have guests, I figured we’d take a break from our reading of Matthew and focus on a couple of specific verses today,” Caroline says brightly. “James 1:13-15: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

There’s a slight pause and Chris furrows his eyebrows. “Huh?” “In simple terms-don’t say God isn’t the one to tempt you, because when you stray off His path, that’s on you.” One of the group members explains. “And if you do sin, it’ll lead to, uh, death.”

“Well, does God not tempt us to do bad things by putting so much pressure on us to be perfect?” A girl with blue hair jumps in, raising an eyebrow. “He sets the standard so high. Sometimes I’m just like, ‘Chill, dude. I can’t do everything. I’m not you.’ “

PJ snorts at that, giggling. “You call God dude?” They’re all laughing now, but Dan can’t believe it-he wants to jump in.

“Can I ask a dumb question?” His voice is a bit quiet but inquisitive. “Isn’t God supposed to be loving and forgiving? Why does He want you guys to be perfect? That sounds kind of...harsh.”

“Well, He knows we’re not perfect.” Phil says, and another guy nods.

“He asks for us to be because it strives us to be better. And it teaches us that messing up is okay.” The conversation keeps up for a bit before Caroline interrupts, asking them to focus on the latter half of the passage.

PJ narrows his eyes at the text before looking up. “Am I really gonna die if I sin?” “Well, sin was what led us away from eternal life in the first place-Adam and Eve kinda messed that up for us.”

“Yeah, but our personal sins can lead us to death, too. Not just old sins. That’s what God’s warning us about here.”

“Not every sin does, though. Like mixed-fabric shirts.” Louise grinned a little. “Or grabbing dudes by their nads during fights.” PJ’s eyes widened and he turned to Phil. “Are those actual rules?!” “It was a different time!” Phil giggled as he watched him flip through the pages quickly.

“Where does it say we can’t grab nads?’ “Can we stop saying nads in church?” Phil pointed out, still laughing despite his red face.

Caroline tuts and wags a finger playfully. “Uh-uh, Philip. No judgment. They can talk about nads all they want, now.”

The entire room is laughing again as Phil buries his face in his hands. Finally, when he controls his giggles, Caroline speaks again. “Do you think talking about that kind of stuff in church is a sin, Phil?”

It’s teasing at first, but Phil actually thinks about it for a moment.

“Well...my household was pretty strict growing up. I mean, I got yelled at once for just sneezing during church.” He admits slowly and Dan’s eyebrows furrow a little. He can’t imagine either of Phil’s parents yelling at him, or anyone, really. “But I get why it was. They wanted me to love God, and respect Him, just like they loved and respected me and I loved and respected them. So I think if you do things with love, genuine love, it’s not a sin. But if you do things out of hate, or anger, or with the intention of hurting, that’s a sin. And that’s not automatically bad-like T’andra said, we’re all gonna make mistakes. Just keep on acting with love, and I think you’re good.” There’s a pause, and Dan’s face flushes slightly. Not just at how much Phil was saying “love”, but the words he spoke, and the true thought and passion behind them.

The moment is cut short when PJ snorts. “So if I love nads, I can talk about them to Jesus?”

By the time the room is back under control, the group is over. “Y’know, that was actually pretty fun.” Chris said after they had all grabbed snacks and talked to everyone.

“It was! It was like...philosophical debate.” Dan said. “The real nitty-gritty. The topics of good, evil, life, death, corruption-” Louise shoved him gently. “So deep, Dan. Of course you enjoyed it.” She joked lightly before adding “No offense, Phil!” Phil doesn’t seem to care-he’s grinning so wide it must be hurting his cheeks, and Dan would be lying if he isn’t tempted to start reading the whole Bible from cover to cover just to see him grin like that again.

Phil also manages to bring them to actual church services a couple of times (though getting college students out of bed before noon on a weekend proves to be a practically impossible task).

Dan has to admit he’s not as impressed with this as he is with the study group. The group is fun-they can all talk, and laugh, and actually discuss the points. Church is...not. They sit on hard pews. They listen. They stand and sit and kneel and stand and sit and kneel. They sing a few songs, and while Phil’s quiet baritone makes Dan’s sore knees quiver, it’s not enough to really warrant him waking up at 8AM on a weekend.

Phil is politely understanding of this, though it’s clear that this is of certain importance to him that his friends might not ever understand. It’s admirable if nothing else.

Other than storytelling from his childhood (which does little to make him seem more normal, honestly) and the weekly study, though, Phil doesn’t talk too much about the church to his other friends. Dan, however, is different. Maybe it’s just the fact that they live together and their space is more shared, but Phil opens up to Dan a bit more about it. He reads passages and verses to Dan, he prays in front of him, and he answers his questions in a non-condescending way. Dan has to admit that while he likes what Phil says, he can’t find himself connecting to it in the way Phil has, with his entire heart and soul. But Dan can admire the stories and the way his friend sees the world, and this new world that he’s entering with him.

It’s been a month of them being friends when Dan realizes that he’s seeing the world in two ways-Dan’s universe, and Phil’s universe. They’re so different, but (and he’s sure he’d never admit this out loud) Dan prefers when their universes collide.

When Dan comes home after a long day of classes and working at the campus bookstore, he’s exhausted. The soft music fades through the room as he opens the door to find Phil chewing on a pen, looking just as anxious as him. “I think my brain is leaking out my ears,” Phil said wearily, looking over the top of his glasses at Dan. “Do I have brain on my desk?” Dan snorts and rolls his eyes, reaching over and grabbing his textbook. “We need a break. And you need sleep-I know you took that second all-nighter last night, rule-breaker.” “Fine. Watch something with me?” He says after a moment, grabbing his laptop. They load up an episode of Zoey101 (they’d finished Victorious the week before) and hit play.

As the bars from the theme song fade out, Dan suddenly feels a strange pressure on his shoulder. He glances over and finds Phil with his cheek pressed to Dan’s shoulder, glasses sliding down his nose as he lets out a soft snore. Dan pauses the show, and for a brief moment, it’s just the two of them. Dan and Phil.

He lives for those moments: Getting coffee after a class. Sending each other memes. Trying new food at the dining hall. Brief greetings in the halls. Shared looks as they hang out with their friend group.

It’s been a month of them being friends when Dan realizes he's never fallen quite this hard before. He doesn’t just want to make out, all hot and heavy, or go further than just that. He just wants this-Dan and Phil-forever, even just as friends. He didn’t expect to find that in this pale, bible-banging weirdo, but now that he does he never wants to let him go.

Dan’s getting that feeling now more and more, the Dan and Phil feeling when they’re in the study group a few weeks later. They’re both sat towards the back, trying (and failing) to hold back laughter as they’re hunched over Dan’s Bible.

“I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver…” Phil says under his breath in a low, gravelly tone.

Dan turns to the next page. “O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes!” He whispers, still trying to make his voice sound high-pitched.

“Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from-”

“Dan, Phil, I’m guessing you both are whispering about how excited you are about our retreat at Camp Brabeck?”

The two both fall silent, Dan quickly glancing between Phil and Caroline, her smile wearing a bit thin from having to call them out. Phil’s eyes are wide, suddenly all signs of laughter gone. “Camp Brabeck?” He squeaks out, and the leader nods.

“On our upcoming four-day weekend. It’s up North, so it’ll be a bit of a drive, but we’ve already got the vans rented out and everything.” She says before noticing Phil’s sudden change in demeanor. “Phil, you’re from around there, actually. Have you been before?”

Phil blinks a few times before nodding, curling up into his seat a little. “O-Oh. Well, I actually did, once, but-”

“Great! So you’ll be down to come, right? We’ve got more space in the van, and it’ll be fun…” Caroline says hopefully, not letting him argue as he starts shaking his head. “Plus, if you’ve already been there, you can tell us all about it! C’mon, this is right up your alley. I think you’ll-” “I’ll go if Dan does.” Phil blurts out suddenly, looking nervously over at. Dan’s definitely confused now-Phil loves the outdoors. He loves this group. He loves-well, to be fair, Phil seems to love most things. He’s racking his brain trying to figure out what it could be, but he just can’t, and now all eyes are on him, and-

“I mean...as long as someone brings bug spray.” Dan says slowly, Caroline beaming and writing on her clipboard before talking excitedly about the campground. The two stay quiet, Dan focusing on Phil’s eyes trained on her and hands gripping his Bible so tightly that his knuckles turn white.

The minute the group ends Phil makes a beeline to the door, walking so fast that Dan can’t catch up without actually chasing him. Dan’s phone dings a short moment later:

Sorry 2 run! Had 2 catch up w some1 4 a thing. Thx 4 signing up w me ^_^ - Phil!

Dan furrows his eyebrows, and not for the normal reason of Phil’s stupid abbreviations and the fact he insists upon signing all his texts. He’s trying to piece the pieces together from the few characters on his screen when Louise puts a hand on his shoulder. “So what was all that about?” She asks with a raised eyebrow, giggling a bit as she gives his arm a light squeeze. “What did you show him that spooked him so bad?” Before Dan can speak, Chris is at his side.

“He’s just embarrassed that Dan was flirting with him during the Jesus Power Hour.” “Dan, were you?” Louise gasped teasingly, and Dan sputters a bit, sliding his phone into his jacket pocket. “Chris-what?! No, no, I wasn’t flirting. I wasn’t! He just-when she mentioned the retreat-and the camp-” Dan’s face is bright red now, suddenly the words from Solomon seem a lot less goofy and a lot more...romantic, to outsiders, with their heads bowed together with dumb grins on their faces.

Louise and Chris shoot Dan equally doubtful looks. “Dan-” She starts, but Dan grits his teeth.

“We’re not-neither of us are like that.” He snaps. As she steps back and Chris raises an eyebrow, guilt starts to pool in his stomach, but he can’t stop. “For one, I’m not gay, and two, Phil is gonna be a priest, remember? Aren’t they, like, sworn to celibacy?”

Chris and Louise glance at each other. “Mate...chill, yeah? We were just joking. We know you’re not...y’know.” “Good.” Dan said before turning and stomping up the steps, the unnerving sense that the painting of Jesus had his eyes following him the whole way.

A few minutes later, Dan is sitting in the back garden of the church that Phil helps tend to after services, the wind whipping through his hair. Usually, he’d be walking to a Starbucks with Phil, discussing that session’s theme in-depth and watching Phil’s face turn pink as Dan releases the string of expletives he’s been holding in for an entire hour. The expletives are running through his head at top speed, as he spends about three minutes crafting the perfect text message.

hey, i’m sorry if i weirded you out today! didn’t mean to haha. i was goofing off way too much and i know you take these meetings p seriously. i’ll take it more seriously next time and not distract you

Dan hits send after rereading it about a million times, groaning audibly as he does. It’s not exactly a “Sorry I have a crush on you and made you seem gay but I get you’ll never like me and that’s fine I just wanna spend all my time with you”, but it’s the best he can do.

No worries! OMGosh I was just embarrassed 2 b called out like that hahaha! 0_o <= Literally my face. I was def the 1 who was whispering 2 loud. Lol! -Phil!

dude, it was totally on me. Dan texts back, chewing on his bottom lip. Phil had looked pretty freaked out, but if he was fine, maybe they could just...move past it? really, i started it.

Noooooooo! I take all the blame. I had some cookies b4 group and I was on major sugar rush. Btw...I had some of those cookies ur nan sent! Sorry, I’ll buy some snacks 4 us. Ask her to send more, tho? So good <3 Thank u! Take dancing men as an apology (/-_-)/ |(-_-|) -Phil!

okay, seriously, who taught you to text like this? my head hurts trying to decipher everything

DANCING MEN 4 U (/-_-)/ |(-_-\) ~(*-*)~ (/-_-)/ |(-_-\) -Phil!

you’re ridiculous. Dan can’t help but laugh, in spite of the churning feeling in his stomach. He drops his phone onto the grass next to him and looks up at the sky.

“If you know Phil so well, big guy, what do I do?” He asks before he can stop himself, before pausing. Half of him expects a thunderstorm to start, and him to get struck by lightning, or a rainbow to leap across the sky and the clouds to part to show Phil’s shining face as the sun. But after a few long moments of silence, Dan realizes he’s not going to get any divine intervention and groans.

“Well...let me know when you figure it out.”

The next couple of weeks go by quickly. Everything seems normal-they go to classes, they go to work, they go to group, they goof off. The four-day weekend creeps upon them, but before they know it the whole group is up at 6AM standing in front of a huge white van.

“This isn’t cult-ish at all.” PJ yawns, chucking his duffle bag into the trunk. Louise sips her coffee and squints over at Phil.

“This has to be a sin, you know. Not giving a girl her beauty sleep.” Usually, Phil would spout something about “being beautiful in His eyes”, but right now he’s getting the same sense of panic in his eyes that he had when the camp was first mentioned, laughing weakly as he adjusts his glasses. Dan is just awake enough to get the sense that Phil has been repressing the idea of the trip until this exact moment, but he also knows just how to fix it. He had been stockpiling on Phil knowledge for this exact moment.

Phil jumps a bit as Dan nudges him. “Relax. Listen, I know what’s up.” He says quietly, watching as his friend’s eyes widen and a blush spreads across his cheeks.

“What?!” Phil yelps a bit as Dan gently leads him away from the rest of the group. “I mean...what do you know? What’s up?” He asks quietly, fiddling with the strap of his messenger bag.

Dan holds back a fond noise as he smiles gently, shaking his head. “No need to be embarrassed, Phil. My mom went through the same thing for years.” As Phil looks more and more concerned, wringing his hands, Dan digs in his own backpack for a moment before pulling out a small box of Dramamine and handing it to him. “So you don’t upchuck all over us.”

There’s a beat as Phil stares down at the box, eyes wide, and Dan almost thinks he’s got it wrong. Does Phil not get carsick? Was he insulted? Was he really that embarrassed by it?

Phil finally starts to giggle, but it seems more relieved than anything. He nudges Dan lightly and opens his mouth to speak.

“Ah, Dan and Phil! The dynamic duo. You two can sit in the back with the bags!” Caroline’s voice cuts through whatever Phil’s about to say, and he turns to Dan with a small shrug.

“Looks like it’ll just be you I puke on.” He says, a slight grin on his face as he pulls the door open for Dan, who rolls his eyes but steps in “Gotta get you a poncho for the splash zone.” Dan gags playfully before squeezing in to sit next to Phil amongst all the bags, rolling his eyes and plugging his earbuds in before holding out one bud to Phil and turning on their shared playlist-a mix of indie, Christian rock, (mostly clean) emo jams, and Disney Channel top hits. It’s not the most welcoming thing to listen to at 6AM, but if it keeps Phil calm and Dan from actually needing a poncho, he’ll welcome it.

The majority of the drive is spent in and out of sleep for Dan, guitar chords and vocals bouncing around his sleep-deprived brain. He’s not fully conscious until around noon when they’re about an hour away from the camp. The roads are getting twisty, and it’s then that he notices that Phil has his eyes screwed shut and face scrunched up, both hands shoved into his messenger bag. It only takes a slight peek for Dan to see his fingers curled tightly around his well-worn Bible, and he bites his lip.

Phil talks about leaps of faith a lot in group. Dan doesn’t quite get it, but he’s pretty sure he’s taking one when he slides his hand into the other’s bag and gently coaxes Phil’s hand into his own. The young man stiffens up for a moment before turning to stare at Dan with wide eyes.

“Shush. It’ll help nausea.” Dan mumbles, his own face red and praying that Phil won’t ask how exactly it will. There’s a pause before Phil smiles weakly, turning his face away, and Dan is about five seconds away from opening the van door and hurtling himself onto the road.

Phil’s probably just been playing nice, and now Dan’s gone and made it uncomfortable for the both of them, and Phil can’t even look at him. Dan’s whole body turns hot, but right before he can pull away, he feels Phil’s slender fingers intertwine with his own.

It’s not the first time they’ve held hands-they do it at the start and end of study groups, and at church, and that one time Phil got them all to hold hands while standing on a hill to reenact the ending of High School Musical 2 for his Instagram. Dan was a bit flustered then, too. But this is different. It’s...intimate. Phil’s never held his hand with such need before, fingers locked with his and palm quivering gently as he mouths a silent “thank you.” Dan feels his entire body buzz, and he can’t help but close his eyes and try to focus on the music and not the fact that he feels like he’s literally twelve years old.

The rest of the ride somehow takes an eternity and only a minute before the van stops, Chris bemoaning his hunger loudly and the rest chattering excitedly. Phil finally opens his eyes and turns to Dan, slowly pulling his hand away.

They both look at their hands, and then back at each other. There’s a long pause before he opens his mouth, and Dan’s heart starts pounding so hard he’s surprised Phil can’t hear it.

All that Dan has thought about them staying platonic goes out the window. Dan wants nothing more than to lunge forward and shove his lips against Phil’s, to run his hands through his hair, to climb into his lap and- “I didn’t puke!” Phil blurts out loudly, loud enough that everyone hears. The group falls silent before one of the other young men, Raz, gives Phil a thumbs up. “Good for you, bud. C’mon, let’s get these bags up to the cabin, and then we can get some food to celebrate.” Phil laughs a bit too hard at that, face bright red. As he clamors out of the van he leaves Dan in the backseat, trying to climb over the mountain of bags as he watches his friend chatter away as if nothing happened. He watches for a moment before shaking his head quickly, trying to erase the memory from his mind. He was just making things more complicated than they needed to be. They didn’t share a moment. No way.

Dan hauls his bag over his shoulder and walks along with PJ and Lou, struggling to stop the loop of those ten seconds from playing in his head.

Dan liked that the Bible study group wasn’t too Jesus-y. It was more philosophical than anything. Even church was just an hour a week on the weeks he went, which was really only once a month when Phil promised brunch afterward.

This weekend, he and his friends had realized, seemed to be where the group could get enough Jesus to last them until the next retreat. It started with grace before lunch-simple enough. But then a pastor had started to preach to them during lunch. And then after lunch. And then afternoon Bible study-for two hours, with a lot more reading and praying than actual discussion. Pj, Chris, and Louise were clearly trying not to fall asleep, while Phil sat off a bit, eyes trained on either the priest or his Bible, hugging himself tightly as he stayed completely silent.

“It’s just so boring!” Louise groaned once they were all finally outside and out of earshot. “I’m sorry, I know this is what you want to do with the rest of your life, Phil, but we’re in nature! Why are we just stuck in some stuffy room listening to an old dude read for hours when we can see the cool stuff God apparently built for us?” “God wants me to climb some of those rocks over there.” PJ agreed, snapping a few pictures on his phone. “He tried to call me earlier to tell me so, but reception sucks here.”

Phil laughed a bit, but it’s definitely more hollow than his normal giggles. “I’m sorry, I-I really thought-”

“Wait. Haven’t you been here before?” Louise asked as PJ started jogging over to the huge rocks, Chris following shortly after. Phil paused before rubbing the back of his neck. “I-I mean, yeah, but-”

They’re both cut off by someone calling Phil’s name, and he whirls around to see the priest-the same “old dude” Louise had just been insulting-walk over and clap a hand on Phil’s shoulder. “Philip, you must have grown a full foot since I last saw you!” Dan glances over at Phil with a slightly surprised look. He knew Phil had been here before, sure. But to know this man? Someone who seemed so different from Phil in so many ways?

“O-Oh, Father Richard. Hey. Guys, Father Richard worked at the camp I came to a-a couple of years ago.” “And Philip was one of the finest boys there, wasn’t he?” If the man notices Phil shift from one foot to the other nervously, he sure doesn’t show it. “I mean, they were all wonderful young men, don’t get me wrong. But Philip-you’re truly going to be a man of the cloth. Don’t you both think?” Dan is watching Father Richard’s face closely, immediately feeling himself wanting to leave the conversation as soon as possible. If it wasn’t for Phil, he’d have made an excuse and walked off by now. It seems like Louise isn’t thrilled, either, but she smiles and nods a bit. “It’s clearly his passion, uh, Father Richard.”

“Oh, absolutely. As long as he keeps his head out of the clouds.” He throws his head back and laughs, Phil’s grin looking more like a grimace as he chuckles along. “I swear, this boy would lose his head if it wasn’t attached to him!” “I think Phil’s pretty smart, actually.” Dan says suddenly, a good bit of bite to his tone. He’s not sure why, but something about this guy gives him the creeps. He stares him in the eyes as he gets a surprised look from both him and Phil.

After a moment, he clears his throat. “Well...I suppose he’s matured a lot over the past two years. Good to see you again, boy. We’ll have to catch up.” With that he heads off, giving Dan a slightly curious look as he does so, and Phil watches him go before shaking his head.

“Jeez. Phil Lester Fan Club over here.” Louise teased gently before frowning. “What’s his deal?” Phil bit his lip and sighed. “That’s how he is.” He explained quietly, yelping as Louise pulled him into a tight hug.

“Philly…” She cooed before moving to sit on the grass with him, motioning for Dan to do the same. “Talk to us? You’re not usually closed off like this. We know something’s up.” Phil squirms, and Dan can tell he’s debating whether or not to lie. He’s seen it before-when Chris asked if he looked good in his new neon t-shirt, or when some girl asked him once if she was being too annoying after complaining about her roommate to them for five minutes straight. “I just...I came to this camp when I was younger and had different ideas than I do now.” He explains finally.

“Like how interesting that Richard guy was?” Dan tries to joke, instantly regretting it as Phil brings his knees to his chest and curls up into himself.

His voice gets quiet, as it does sometimes when things get serious in group meetings and he’s comforting someone with a verse or trying to explain a tough concept to Dan.

“Like...I was raised to think God ruled with a vengeance. If you sinned in any way, He would punish you. That’s what my parents said. We were supposed to fear Him, y’know? And when I came here...Father Richard pushed that hard.” Phil explained gently. “But I don’t think God’s like that. I think we’re all sinners-we all make mistakes. James 3:2 and all that. God loves us in spite of our flaws. Hearing him talk about God like he was so cruel, and then reading about His love for us...it was the first time it didn’t add up for me.”

Dan’s eyes widened. In all his time of knowing Phil-two months doesn’t sound like much, but it feels like a lifetime ago-he’s never once heard him speak against his parent’s beliefs. Sure, he could admit that they were a bit extreme at times, but it was always quickly followed with how their intentions were good and that everything had been great.

“And as someone who wants to be a priest, I don’t think the way to get people to turn to God is to scream at them until they repent and scare them into not sinning. I think you need to be like Jesus. Hate the sin, love the sinner.” He continued, forcing a tiny smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Because we’re all His children, after all. And He’s got a path for all of us-fear won’t guide us onto that.”

There’s a moment of silence before Louise reaches down, giving his hair an affectionate tousle. “You start preaching like that and I’ll come to your church every Sunday. I’ll even sing in the choir.” She joked. A slow beam spread across Phil’s face-a a genuine one, and he stood up before pulling her into a tight hug.

“Thank you.” He whispered. “Thank you both. I-If I had known he would’ve been here, I’d have at least warned you-”

“Shush, mate. You had no idea. Trust me, you’re way too much of a softie to lie to us, we know that.” Dan laughed a bit, giving Phil’s back a light pat. Phil giggled a bit before pulling away, taking a deep breath.

“Wanna go make sure Chris and Peej don’t crack their heads open?” He said finally, and before they could say anything the two of them were taking off towards the rocks, Dan chasing after both of them. Despite his grin, he still couldn’t help but feel like his head was heavy with questions. Father Richard had seemed boring, and a bit grumpy, but not angry. Were Phil’s changing beliefs really all that had happened?

Phil had seemed relieved to talk for a bit, but the mood shifted again once evening activities started. Father Richard had preached again during dinner-and again, nothing terrible happened. He made a few dry jokes, he talked about having “complete and total faith”, he read some long passages that Dan didn’t care about. He was too busy glancing over at Phil next to him, who had left his food practically untouched.

Then there are evening vespers, with Phil’s hands clenched together so tightly in prayer that his knuckles turn white and his fingernails dig into the skin. The firepit seems to be going well-he shares a s’more with Dan, but before he could get another he’s pulled aside by Father Richard. Dan’s sure at one point the two glance over at Dan, but then Phil’s walking back over, trying to look interested in some story one of the group members is telling as he brings his knees to his chest. Even Chris and PJ seem to notice that something’s going on, but with a pointed look from Dan, they give him some space.

They turn in for the night, but Dan wakes up way too early to find Phil curled up on his bunk pouring over his Bible. The bags under his eyes tell Dan that he didn’t sleep a wink last night, and he sighs. “C’mon, you gotta show me where the showerhouse is.” He says gently, and Phil looks up at him with a tired laugh. “Do I?” He teased weakly. After a minute though, he sits up and stretches. “Mmm...fine. But no chickening out.” With that he hops down from the bunk, peeling off his shirt before walking over to his bag.

Dan’s pretty sure he gulps audibly as Phil grabs a change of clothes and a towel, eyes wandering over him. Though Phil braved the communal showers at Uni, he was always sure to change in the stall-Dan had never seen him in so much as a pair of shorts that went higher than his knees. And yet, here he was. Dan would feel guilty about watching him, especially considering he knew Phil was having a tough time, but…

He couldn’t help it. His best friend looked hot as hell from behind. He couldn’t help but admire his slim frame, his lean but toned arms, and when he turned around, the slight smattering of chest hair that slowly turned into a happy trail that crept lower, into-

“I’m telling you now, if you forget a towel you’ll regret it.” He said, voice still low from sleep, and Dan snapped his head up. “Towel! Right! Let me go grab that.” He squeaked and quickly moved to grab it, trying to hide his flushed cheeks as he snagged a change of clothes as well. By the time he looked up Phil was already heading for the door, humming under his breath, and Dan followed him quickly.

After a few moments of silence, Phil spoke. “Father Richard is leaving tonight, so you won’t have to sit through his lectures after today. He’s just stopping by to talk to us. So we’ll have less worship-y stuff and more free time tomorrow.” Phil glanced over at Dan. “Sorry if I’m weird about it. I just..y’know.”

Dan nodded and relaxed into the shared feeling of relief, even if he didn’t exactly know what Phil was talking about. Before he could ask, though, they were at the small building-just a row of four stalls that looked like bathroom stalls, built out of wood. As Dan stepped inside and stripped-definitely not thinking about how Phil was doing the same just inches away, especially as he heard his sweatpants hit the ground-he rubbed his eyes. “Is there coffee here?”

“Oh, trust me, you don’t need coffee here.” Phil laughed a bit, a genuine one, and Dan raised an eyebrow, glancing over at where his head peeked over the stall.

“Dude, I’ve seen you-sweet fuck!” Dan shrieked as he turned the single knob on and freezing cold water shot out of a showerhead on the ceiling. “How the fuck do you get the hot water?!”

Phil was really laughing now, his witch cackle carrying over Dan’s screams. “No hot water at camp.” He sang playfully. “And no swearing, either, but-”

“Christ on a bike, no wonder you were fucking miserable here!” The words come out before he can realize it, and suddenly he freezes (as well as he can while shivering like mad), but Phil only laughs harder.

“You’re ridiculous, you know that?” Dan can hear the grin in his voice, and he lets out a long breath. “Whatever. Shitting fucking fuck! Let’s get this over with.”

Dan somehow manages to survive the worst shower of his life, his hair curling as he towels himself off before tugging on clothes and leaving the showerhouse. If it wasn’t for the bright smile on Phil’s face, he’d say it wasn’t worth it. But at least for right now, Phil is his old, giggly self again, and Dan comes to the realization he’d do just about anything to keep him like that.

Unfortunately for Dan, it doesn’t last long. As they’re walking back to the cabin, Phil glances across the way and sees Father Richard, walking through the trees. “Oh, shoot, c’mon-” Phil grabs Dan’s arm and tugs him along a bit faster, not looking behind him for nearly a full minute. As he glances over and sees the look on Dan’s face he finally stops, sighing softly. The joy from before is gone. “Sorry. I just...too early to try to handle that right now.” “Yeah, yeah, of course. Let’s just get going to the cabin, yeah? I’m still freezing.” Dan jokes weakly, and Phil tries to crack a smile, still looking uncomfortable as they walk along the trail in silence.

The rest of the day is disturbingly similar to yesterday, and the whole group is sensing that Phil is just...off. He’s usually eager to jump into discussions, but even when Father Richard gives them the chance to talk, Phil seems totally holed up in himself, mumbling something about wanting to give others a time to speak (which pushes the topic along to Louise, who fumbles it totally and is earned a condescending smile from Father Richard).

By lunch, Dan thinks he can’t sit through another hour of this. By mid-afternoon, he’s considering faking being possessed by Satan. And by dinner, he’s come up with about forty ways to fake the possession. The only reason keeping him from doing so is that when he mutters it to PJ he tells him to wait until after dinner-if he keeps Chris from food, he’ll have bigger things to worry about than a camp full of religious fanatics thinking he’s possessed.

They set the tables and then get in line to eat dinner. Dan immediately realizes Phil isn’t anywhere to be found, exchanging concerned looks with Louise. When they get five minutes into dinner and realize that Father Richard is also missing, he starts to worry.

What if Father Richard was...well, what would he do?

The truth is, Dan doesn’t know what the big deal is with this guy. He honestly doesn’t seem to be too bad, but the control he has over Phil’s emotions is genuinely weird. Still, he doesn’t want to cause a scene.

“Hey, Caroline!” He says, quickly jogging over to the young woman, and she gives Dan a kind smile. “Dan, hey! How have you been enjoying this so far?” She asked gently, resting a hand on his arm. “I know it can be intense, considering your, um...well, you weren’t exactly in the church before you joined us, and-”

“Caroline, it’s all great, but do you know where Phil is?”

She smiles and gives Dan’s arm a squeeze. “I’m so glad you two found each other, you know that? You guys are like-”

“Caroline.”

“Okay, okay. I won’t be mushy, even if you guys are my favorite freshmen.” She winked before waving her hand towards the door. “He’s out by the lake with Father Rich. They go way back, did you know?”

Dan nods slowly. It’s clearly not the answer he wanted, because Caroline leans in. “Don’t tell him I said this, but trust me, Phil’s not choosing Father Richard over you. You’re still his BFF.”

Wonderful. That’s the reassurance he needed right now, that Phil wasn’t going to choose a 65-year-old man to be his ‘BFF”. He manages to smile and thank Caroline before going to wait on the mess hall deck. If Richard was going to drag Phil away, then dammit, he was going to be the first to talk to him when he got back.

Phil doesn’t come back up to the mess hall for at least another hour. His eyes are rimmed red, and he’s alone. The second Dan hears his footsteps he shoots up. “Phil!” He shouts after he yanks his earbuds out, and Phil lets out a yelp, laughing shakily. “Oh my God, did he-did he make you cry?!”

Phil rubs his eyes quickly and giggles weakly. “Dan, I cry at everything. We cried together over that muffin in the dining hall on Wednesday, remember?”

Dan doesn’t look convinced in the slightest, but suddenly Phil’s arms are pulling him into a long hug. “We just had a long talk. Don’t tell me I missed anything?”

“They went on some dumb night hike, but-don’t tell me you wanted to go on the night hike?” He asked as he saw the disappointment on Phil’s face, frowning. “We can go! We can go right now, and meet them, and-” “Dan. Breathe, okay?” He giggled and led Dan inside. “Our group can go on our own little night hike tomorrow, I’ll survive. Besides. I haven’t gotten to spend time with you these past couple of days, and I’ve missed you.” Phil’s voice is a bit softer, and he gives him a shy smile.

Dan’s face turns red and he sits down in one of the faded couches, Phil flopping next to him. “It’s only been, like, a day and a half.” He mumbles.

“It’s been a long day and a half.” Dan nods slowly, looking up at Phil. “Is he gone?” “Yep. Just left camp now. Didn’t wanna make a fuss.” Dan can’t help but roll his eyes a bit at that, shaking his head. “Now, c’mon. Can we talk about something fun? Like…” He reaches out and snatches up an old copy of Women’s Health from a bin by the fireplace, clearly meant for kindling. “What advice can we find for two lovely women like ourselves?”

As he flutters his eyelashes at him, Dan can’t help but laugh, grabbing the magazine from him. The two swap it back and forth, giggling like children at the stupid advice and making fun of all the pictures. The tension from before melts away, and suddenly it’s just Dan and Phil, the two of them being absolute idiots and laughing over nothing. After the last day and a half, it feels amazing to just laugh.

When they finish that one they go to the next one in the bin. They read through issues of Runner’s World, Golf Digest, Christian Living, Better Homes and Gardens, and even a Highlights before Phil’s stomach lets out a loud growl.

“Oooh, I need some food. Why don’t I go grab us some snacks from the kitchen? There’s some board games in one of the closets, find something for us to play?”

With that, he’s up and going into the kitchen, and Dan wanders over to one of the closet doors. Sure enough, he sees some old board game boxes peeking out behind some moving boxes. Dan goes to move one out of the way when he catches a peek of the pile of brochures inside. His eyes run over the text and clip-art outline of a strong-looking man. Program Judges 6:12 at Camp Brabeck: For teen boys and young men struggling with sexual impurity.

Sexual impurity? Dan grabs the brochure and flips it open.

Today, our young men are raised in a culture where abnormal lifestyles are being accepted, even praised and celebrated. It’s no wonder that more youth than ever before are turning out oversexualized and confused, and more than ever are struggling with same-sex desires...

From there on, the words start to blur together for Dan, and he flips the brochure over.

And then Dan sees it. In the top corner is Father Richard, smiling wide.

With his hand on Phil’s shoulder.

Dan feels his stomach churn violently as he looks at younger Phil. There’s no way it could be anyone else. Even if he’s a bit shorter, and his hair isn’t dyed, Dan’s studied Phil’s face long enough to know it’s him. As Dan grips the picture frame in his hands, Phil’s words from yesterday come back to him, hitting his chest like rocks.

“Hate the sin, love the sinner.”

Phil worked with Father Richard, at this-this “camp”, this place. They worked together.

“God loves us in spite of our flaws.”

Not only was Phil not gay, thus extinguishing the slightest bit of hope he had, but Phil was actively homophobic. Phil worked at a bloody conversion therapy site, for fuck’s sake.

“He’s got a path for all of us.”

Phil wasn’t uncomfortable about Father Richard-he was uncomfortable about Dan and their friends being around Father Richard, and them finding out just what a homophobic, lying, fake-

“I found Pop-Tarts!”

Phil’s voice interrupts the swirling thoughts in his head, and he slowly turns, holding the brochure up. “Were you ever going to mention this?” Phil’s face goes pale. “I...Where did you…” He whispers, but Dan growls. Actually growls. Red hot anger is taking control now as days, weeks, months, years of suffocated emotions rises to the top suddenly. A lifetime of not fitting in, a lifetime of hiding, and to be rejected by Phil-like this.

“Nice pic of you and your friend, Phil. You worked with him on this? You and Richard, two pals-and you knew we’d judge you for it, so you just decided not to tell us?!”

“Wait, wait, Dan, no. It’s not like that. That’s not what-” Phil tries to butt in. Dan isn’t having it.

“Do you realize what kind of damage you do to people, Phil?! You can’t act like-like Little Mr. Innocent about this, this is some seriously fucked up shit you’ve done!” Dan’s properly yelling now, getting to his feet and not even stopping as Phil cowers back. “And-And worst of all, you hid it from us! You talk like you love everyone, hiding behind your stupid flowery language, but you’re a total fucking hateful dick!”

Phil suddenly stands as well, putting his hands in front of his chest, but irritation is creeping into his voice. “Daniel. Listen to me, you don’t understand. I’m not hateful-” “Oh-Oh yeah? Not hateful, huh? Not hateful when you say ‘gay is an artificial construct, created to celebrate people’s sinful homosexual desires’? Or when your stupid fucking camp goes to ‘remove young men from their unhealthy environment to bring them to Jesus and see the errors they’re making’?” Dan’s reading directly from the pamphlet now. “That doesn’t sound loving, Phil!”

“Dan, let me-” “There is literally nothing you could say to make this better. You think you’re helping, don’t you? But you’re just-just spreading hate, and-” Dan’s words are cut off as Phil suddenly grabs him by the back of his head, pulling him into a hard kiss. For possibly the first time in his life, Dan is rendered speechless, especially a few moments later when Phil pulls away and his eyes well up.

“Dan…” He choked out, sinking down onto the couch and starting to sob. “I didn’t-I didn’t-” After a moment he grabs the brochure weakly. “I didn’t work at the camp.” He chokes out finally, and Dan just stands frozen in place. “I was a camper.”

Dan hates that he doesn’t know whether he should trust him or not. But...this is Phil, crying ugly, hard sobs, and he can’t help but feel his heart break in two. “A...camper?” He asks slowly, moving to sit next to him but keeping his distance.

Phil lets out a pained noise but nods. “I signed up to go. Because I kept having these-these dreams, and these urges. And I thought if I did everything right, if I listened to Father R-Richard…” He has to stop himself to catch his breath as it comes quicker, curling into himself and resting his head on his knees. “I thought if I could be perfect, I could b-be like him. A priest. A husband, to a wife. A father to my k-kids. An ex-homosexual.” He said, tears streaming down his face. “Dan, I-I tried so hard…” Dan frowns, running a hand through his hair slowly. “You can’t just-I mean, I don’t think it works like that, Phil,” Dan says after a moment, and Phil nods quickly. “I know, I know. God knows I know. They tried everything on m-me. I mean, everything. But the more they did, the more angry I got, with myself, with Richard, with God. I hated God, Dan, I hated him so much, and I did all this stuff…” Dan can’t stop himself but reaching out and taking his hand at that, and Phil clings to it almost instantly. “I lied, and I ripped up my Bible, and I did stuff with the other guys there…”

Dan blinked a few times. For Phil, that was intense, and he can hear the guilt and true sorrow in his voice. “You-I mean, no offense, but kissing a few guys and tearing up a book aren’t exactly unforgivable sins.” He says, hoping to bring him comfort. To his surprise, Phil laughs sadly.

“I did more than just kiss, trust me. When Richard found me in the showers with one of the guys-”

At that Dan’s eyes nearly bug out of his head. Phil, who half an hour ago was blushing at ads for tampons, in the showers with a guy? “He-He decided I needed more intense therapy. It was hours and hours of just being told how disgusting I was, being shown these videos, being preached at, b-but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop feeling like I did.”

“Phil…” Dan feels his broken heart finally crumble. He pulls him into a hug, letting him sob into his hair.

“F-Finally I just lied my way th-through it. That’s what m-most of us do. And then I was th-the big success story, and they took that dumb picture, and it was finally over. I went home, and I was so mad I decided I’d go through my Bible-the nice, new one my parents had bought me, when they heard that ‘somebody’ tore up my old one-to s-see how wrong I was before and how terrible He was. So I stayed up for nearly a week, no school, no nothing. Just reading.”

Phil pulled away to reach out, grabbing his copy of the Bible from his bag “ And as I read, I…”

He took a deep breath as he opened it up and slowly turned the pages, motioning to the Post-Its and notes littering the scripture. “I didn’t find that. I found a God that wanted me to love-He wanted me to love my family, and my friends, and my neighbors, and-and guys. He wanted me to love you. He wanted me to love you, romantically.” At that, Dan feels his heart stop and he gently moves to look Phil in the eyes. “You really think that?” He whispered, Phil nodding quickly as he ran a hand through Dan’s hair.

“God gave us all the ability to love-fully, and deeply, and wonderfully. And-And I love you, so much. I didn’t want to freak you out, and I’m not ready to be out, but-” This time it’s Dan’s turn to cut him off with a slower, gentler kiss. “Shh. We don’t have to tell anyone.” He murmured.

“It can just be us?” Phil asked in a small voice. “Just you and me?”

At that, Dan is pretty sure he’s going to explode, because dear God that’s all he’s ever wanted. He wants to scream, he wants to jump up and down, he wants to run down the fucking mountain and throw rocks at Father Richard’s car-

Instead, Dan takes a deep breath before smiling and nodding. “Just me and you.” He agreed quietly.

He leaned in and kissed Phil again, cupping his cheeks. This time was gentler, and Phil let out a soft, relieved noise as his lips moved against Dan’s and he pulled Dan close to him.

“I love you,” Dan says once they pull away. “I love you, I love you, I love you-”

“Have I ever read you Proverbs 17:28?” Phil interrupts with a giggle. Dan raises an eyebrow but grabs Phil’s Bible, flipping to it.

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

“Did you just ask me to shut up and keep kissing you through a Bible verse?!” Dan whined, but he can’t help but grin as Phil kept laughing, nodding as he connected their lips again.

Time seems to stand still. Two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes, ten hours, ten years-Dan can only guess how much time has passed when they hear the group off in the distance. “Shit-shit, okay, one last-” Dan jerked away but Phil giggled, grabbing the plate of Pop-Tarts and Dan’s hand before dragging him outside. He took him out a bit before they got down to the lake, sitting on the sand and wrapping his arms around Dan. Dan pauses before shyly climbing into his lap, and then they’re kissing again, Phil only pausing to catch his breath and murmur “I’m sorry you thought I could be homophobic.” “I’m sorry I didn’t ask before jumping to conclusions.” “I’m sorry I didn’t open up about what had happened.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you away from Father Richard.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you away from Father Richard.” “I’m sorry I couldn’t have been that guy in the showers with you.” The words leave Dan’s mouth before he can stop himself-humor is a coping mechanism for him, but right now, he wants to kick himself when he hears Phil’s gasp.

“Oi! Not yet, at least.” He said with a slight laugh, pressing his lips to Dan’s cheek and watching as his face burns red. He grins and presses a few pecks to his lips before looking up at the sky.

“...You really think God wants this for us?” Dan says and Phil closes his eyes, snuggling closer.

“‘For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:113 to 114’.” Phil recited quietly. “God made us fearfully-like, with great awe and respect of us-and wonderfully. He made us find each other, he made us love each other.” He kissed Dan’s nose. “So that’s us. Fearfully and wonderfully made.” Dan looks at Phil with a soft smile, a bit worn from all the excitement of the day, but feeling...free. “Fearfully and wonderfully, huh?”

Phil nods, and Dan pulls him even closer.

“I could get used to that.”

#phan #dan howell #phil lester #dan and phil #phanfiction #phanfic #phanfic au

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faithylilac · 3 years ago

Text

The Party Party Part 6

So... there was a bit of a situation... a very bad situation. Not a terrible situation, Faithy and Echo are doing quite lovely.

“Well we wouldn’t have been in this mess if I was the party leader!” Dax shouted at the shorter god. She simply huffed and started tapping her foot.

“Well I didn’t see you throwing any ideas around!” She looked around the dark cave they were in, double checking for a way out. “You twat” she said off handedly.

Dax’s eyes widen, sure what he said was rude... but not to deserve that.

What happened between the two residential celestial beings?

There they were, five papers spread across the floor, each with a different task. Cj explained that they decided to pick up side jobs to do on the way to wedding. Ash and Jo had realized they would be a week early if they went straight there, so this was a perfect idea.

Faithy just shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t party leader anymore so if anything happened, it wasn’t her fault.

“Wait which one is first on the list?” Dax finally decided to pipe in, as he knew he was free of compasses.

Carter held up their’s proudly, “we’re going after this thing called the uh....” he quickly flipped the paper around to read, “Mortem Spera... I don’t know if I said that right.”

“What is it exactly?” Ash asked. Carter read some more and shrugged. Apparently no information on it... weird.

Carter on the other hand, was having a tougher time that the two gods. Both of Ash’s and Jo’s cloaks were ripped to shreds. So their ears were out and the open, reminding Carter plenty of what they truly were.... Nyah Nyah kawaii anime cat people.

Jo had on a large hat, thank Gjhar feiiled, but her tail was sticking out. Ash on the other hand was a free cat boy, disgusting...

Carter was scurrying to look for a blind fold, make it out of anything... But there was hinderance to that plan.

“So Carter... Do you like oranges?”

Carter pulled all of his mental strength to not freak out that this cat girl was speaking to him. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes tight. “Why?” Jo just blinked at him. “I don’t want to answer that” carter continued. “I swear it’s not a deez nuts joke.” Jo replied. Carter kinda just roll his eyes but not, being that they are closed. “Kinda... but that’s so random— I’m confused.”

Jo giggle, “I just wanted to know if you liked oranges.” She replied. “I don’t hate oranges.”

“Anyway, I guess you can ask questions about me, or I can ask more about you— whatever you are more comfortable with.”

Carter shrugged, walking past her to pick up something he spotted once he opened his eyes. It was a clothe that was sticking out of rubble. “Uhhhh...” The nymph examined the clothe, it was embroidered with strange writing and lots of stars.

“Ash, you’ve studied a few ancient languages right?” Jo looked over him to find him staring at a large tapestry on the other part of the cave.

“No, where did you get that idea?” He asked. Jo just shrugged, “I didn’t know if you did, was just trying my luck.”

Carter brought over his clothe to compare the writing. It seemed to be the same letters, but slightly different... maybe it was handwriting? Ash looked over at Carter’s finding but they jumped away from him, trying to keep some distance.

“Oh shoot I forgot.” Ash said, flattening the ears on his head. Carter frowned and took a deep breath and inched back toward the bard. “Take this hurry up!” Carter shoves it at him and scurries farther away.

“Ok I guess.” Ash went back to the tapestry, trying to figure out the reoccurring letters.

Jo scooted closer to carter and smiled widely. “So... what happened with cats that caused you to be terrified so much?” She asked sweetly. Carter pauses. “Uhhhh....”

Earlier....

“Ok, everyone stick together. The shop keeper says there’s major stress at the entrance of the cave.” Cj explained as she examined the map that they bought from a gift shop. It was a old mine that housed crystals, but now it’s a tourist attraction.

The whole surrounding town was super old and and had a temple for just about every religion in the land. Even Gjhar feiiled.... Faithy kept her cloak on put away any loose jewelry. The main temple was up north, so as they traveled that way, more and more of them were more common.

But I’ll stop there. The shop keeper said someone covered in dragon scales came through the shop with a large box and went straight into the caves. He seemed like he was running for someone, so whatever was in the box seemed important.

As they ventured in the unconsciously huddled into three separate groups, Faithy and Echo on the left, Carter, Jo, and Ash on the right, and Dax and Cj in the middle.

Definitely unrelated though, Echo was tracing a wall painting with it’s finger and the mountain started shaking. “WHO DECIDED TOUCHING SOMETHING WAS A GOOD IDEA?!?” Ash screamed. “IT WAS CJ” Dax yelled back.

Like it was an action movie or something, rubble came tumbling down and separated the party.

“Ok whatever. Can you use your plants to get us out of here?” Dax asked he traced the walls of the cave.

Cj’s face read “oh duh” but as she went to feel the walls for roots or anything else she frowned. “No good. If I call them I have no idea what it’ll do to integrity of the cave.”

Dax huffed, frail mortals had to be so... frail. Sure the two of them would survive, but his favorite humanoids definitely wouldn’t.

A whistling noise echoed through the tunnel and they taking a fighting stance. Dax signaled her was going further in and Cj followed. They walk around a corner to see a green light emerging from further in.

“You got a few more millennias to live, I’ll go ahead.” Dax said dramaticly. Cj rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “Like someone would be able to kill, much less defeat a Chaos god.”

Dax slapped a hand on either side of his face and acted surprised.

“To think you’d have so much faith in me!”

Cj just punched his arm, “that would be Faithy, not you.”

“Can I help you two?” A voice from behind them caused them to scream and Dax jumped into the smaller God’s arms.

Even though she was a goddess, she didn’t have supernatural strength of any nature. So her small frame was having trouble keeping him up.

It was a very very very very very very very old person. Now, Cj and Dax had no room to talk, but they had a better skincare routine.

Dax jumped out of Cj’s arms suddenly and her arms flung upwards in a very fast motion, knocking her down in the process. Dax helped her up and they readjust themselves.

“Are you the reason I heard some rumbling?” He asked as he shown his blue lantern around.

A sweat ran down CJ’s back.

“Actually, it was a lizard thing.” Dax spoke up. Cj looked at him with audacity. He had just blamed her for touching the thing she shouldn’t have, causing the mountain to come down on them. So he knew....

The old person simply nodded, “ah well, it’ll take them some time to dig that out. It earns the nearby too much money from tourist to let it stay caved in.” He explained. “Now, why don’t we talk for a bit? I’ll pour some tea.”

They reluctantly follow him into his little cave house. Well it was a small cave room, what’s the term for that? Google isn’t very helpful because all it’s wanting to do is give me tips for a man cave layout.

“So what brings you into an empty crystal cave? You seem more like adventurers than tourist.”

Back to Carter and the cats.

“Oh yeah... cats.” Carter looked away, trying to avoid the question.

Jo sighed and took a step back. “Ok it’s ok, you don’t have to answer that.”

Carter sighed in relief and turned straight around. “But how did you learn to be so swag?”

Carter paused and slowly turned back to them and was about to answer when Ash interrupted.

“OK GUYS! The thing we’re are after is a weapon!” He then broke his instrument and tore off a part of his cape to make a proper torch. Now you might be wondering how they could see without a torch. Ash and Jo could see enough not to bump into anything and Carter could tell where the general area of something is. That piece of clothe was just pure luck.

“Jo can you light this?” He asked her. She nodded and snapped her fingers to start a flame and lit it like a birthday candle.

“How did you do that? I don’t think archers can do that.” Carter said in confusion. She laughed and pointed at her hat. “I can change my class depending on my hat. Not that I have any control of it... if kinda just happens and I can’t ever remember what hat goes with what, we kinda just got lucky.”

Carter blinked slowly. The hat made no sense and there was so no sense of making sense of the thing.

“Guys look!” Ash held up the torch near the tapestry to show the words formed a picture of a weapon. There were also stars scattered around it.

“How do you even know that’s the thing we’re looking for? It could just be something relating to something else?” Jo asked.

“Carter give me the flier.” Ash asked sticking his hand out. Carter scrambled around to remember where he stuffed it, “it’s on your belt of daggers.” Ash said. He grabs it and hands it to the cat boy.

Ash holds it up and looks for any similarity between the flier and the tapestry. “Well thats only convenient.” He said. Jo and Carter look over his shoulder and the weird drawing on the flier almost matches the tapestry.

“It’s missing the words that make up the weapon.” Jo pointed out. Now that was very apparent to Carter and Ash but ummm.... Jo is nice and is explaining what’s going on for you sweet Reader-Chan!

(Aughh that took thirty years off my life. I feel like I’m writing on Wattpad again)

But every single star was present. “Wow I feel smart for figuring this out.” Ash said proudly.

“Do they make a pattern?” Carter asked. Ash shoved the flier at him and started kicking random rocks until one fell apart. He picked it up and grabbed the flier back from carter and plopped down.

He used the fragile rock as chalk and connected each start. “Oooh smart.” Jo added.

There were five large stars and a few smaller stars scattered as well. When Ash connected them all together it looked like a deformed turkey.

“Surely that’s not right.” Ash quickly dusted off the flier and connected only the large stars. “Ok tell me if I’m wrong, but does this look like a straying path?” He pointed out.

It started at one point, split into three, then back to another. “Oh yeah I can see that.” Jo replied.

“Maybe we were going to split up anyway and the rubble just sped it up.” Ash purposed.

“I still don’t see how this has anything to with the Mortem Spera“ Carter replied. Ash thought on his question for a minute but shrugged. “Most of these stupid quest have no reason to link up together the way they do.” The cat boy replied.

“Wait, that means we should be able to meet back up with the others then.” Jo replied. Ash quickly rips the tapestry off the wall and rolls it up. “I don’t know if this will be helpful, but it’s worth a shot.” They then head off the find the others.

“So these star forgers are immortal?” Cj asked before taking another sip of tea. The elder nodded.

“The only thing known to strike down one of these beings is something called the Mortem Spera.” He replied, drinking some of his own tea.

The two gods looked at each other, remembering that was thing they were hired to receive.

“But hear my warning. No mortal has managed to get their hands on it, and if they did they would surely meet their end.” He added.

“So who wielded it?” Dax spoke up. Dax did not have tea, he was drinking black coffee. Not that the old man had coffee, he made it himself— French press and everything.

The old man fell silent and put down his cup. “I don’t know the answer to that question. My theory was a dying god.” Interesting, interesting cool story bro.

“But I don’t actually know that. But I don’t think too much about the subject.”

“Well thank you for your time, but we need to find our friends.” Cj announced and pulled Dax up with her.

“Thank you for humoring me, you young folk have fun.” He said as he was went back to drinking tea.

Cj and Dax scurried out and proceeded further into the cave. “I’m sorry I don’t think he knows what’s he’s talking about.” Dax said.

“How so?” Cj replied. The older god sighed. “As long as I’ve lived, I would have at least heard about a dying god THAT desperate to live. Sure some seek out the fountain of youth, but trying to kill something like a star forger.”

Cj thought on it and nodded, “he did seem like he belonged in a loony bin.”

They then turned another corner to find... Faithy and Echo having a tea party?

She had on a fake crown and Echo had on a fake mustache and top hat. But this wasn’t your average tea party, it was the real thing. With delicate dishes, a tower of Pastries, and Gjhar feiiled forbid... a white lace table clothe.

“Is this what you’ve been doing this whole time?” Cj asked, not that she was one to ask.

“We ran into this lovely dwarf who owns a restaurant in here and we’ve been waiting on the rest of you.” Faithy explained before drinking out of her cup with her pinkie at ninety degrees.

Dax and Cj looked at them confused, “how did you know we were coming this way?” Cj asked.

“Ahh... so the shop owner was telling us that the cave coming down on itself was just a illusion.” Echo replied.

Cj flops down onto the ground and leaves an indention around herself.

“Yeah the whole thing is tourist trap role playing adventure. At the end they trick you into trading a sack of gold for a wooden spear.” Faith added.

“That does explain why it didn’t get any darker when the rocks blocked the entrance.” Dax replied.

Cj shot up from her Cj shaped hole in the floor and started screaming incoherently. She then stop and narrowed her eyes at Dax. “You’re a Chaos god and you couldn’t sense an illusion?”

Dax just shrugged. “I’m a chaos god, everything I do is legit. I have no use for mortal’s artificial magic.” He said with disgust. “That and I wasn’t thinking about it.”

Then. A loud thundering noise echoed through the cave, causing everyone to get up and put up their guard. But here comes ash carrying a stupidly large tapestry and Jo carrying Carter like a baby. How were they making so much noise????

“Ok good, we all found each other and someone isn’t trying to get through rocks like an idiot.” Ash said in relief.

“How did you know about the illusion?” Cj asked. Ash raised his eyebrow, “what illusion? The freaking flier made a map. It’s stupid simple but it works I guess.” He replied.

So... this was so freaking long.

And color coding is a pain

Never again

Ever

I hate everything

Masterlist

Figure out who everyone is, I dare you

#saveethanchanfromsoup #the party party #friendfiction #original story #cottage core goddess might fight chaos god???#garfield #red herring #don’t trust old people #cat boys

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twoflipstwotwists · 5 years ago

Link

After the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, many of the gymnasts likely to make up the gold-medal-favorite U.S. women’s squad quickly signaled they planned to press ahead. The superstar of the team, Simone Biles, stayed quiet.

The 23-year-old Biles wrestled for nine days with what to say about the impact of a year-long delay on her plans to defend her Olympic crowns. Now, she almost has an answer.

“We’re just kind of playing it by ear,” she said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. “I haven’t decided not to do it, but I haven’t really decided to do it.”

Biles said she can’t fully figure out her next move until she’s able to get back in the gym—she is currently sheltering in place at home—and see what it’s like then.

“I really have to listen to my body and my mind,” she said. She added that it would take a lot to be able to push on for longer, given everything she’d already put in, but that she was also reluctant to throw her work away.

Biles has been carrying an extraordinary load for years—often overlooked because of the apparent ease with which she’s defied the boundaries of her sport to come back and then take back-to-back world all-around titles again in 2018 and 2019.

And she had long made it clear to anyone who asked that she was absolutely ready to retire by August 2020. “It’s really in my mind, if I can keep going mentally, because I was already starting to check out,” she said Wednesday.

On top of everything else, she carried the additional burden of being the only self-identified victim of Larry Nassar’s abuse still competing in elite gymnastics, fielding questions and learning more about what had gone wrong at her sport’s governing body USA Gymnastics even as she was preparing to represent them by performing skills that could kill her if they go wrong.

“Mentally I don’t know if I can deal with USAG for another year,” Biles said. “It was hard enough to come back and deal with them again.”

She learned from a Wall Street Journal story last year that she was among the first three athletes who had been flagged to USA Gymnastics officials as being uncomfortable with Nassar, but that the federation did not follow up with her about it. New leaders at the organization have apologized to Biles, but she has continued to criticize them for what she says are other mis-steps.

Biles said that ultimately she had reached her conclusion alone, and without being influenced by anyone else. “Nobody can tell me what to do, I’m 23 years old,” she said.

Still, the hoped-for one-year delay to Tokyo carries higher financial stakes where Simone is concerned. There is a documentary crew trailing her. She is the leading face for some of her sponsors—who include Visa, Nike, gymnastics equipment manufacturer Spieth America and the World Champions Centre gym that her family operates—as well as for the broadcaster NBC, which without a Michael Phelps or a Usain Bolt, lacks household names for these Games.

“It’s your decision to make. You are in charge of this,” Janey Miller, Biles’s agent, said she told her, though she didn’t know how much it registered.

“She has an amazing ability to compartmentalize, but she’s also very aware of the big picture and the magnitude of what she’s taken on,” Miller said.

There’s also the post-Olympics tour that Biles announced last year, effectively seizing control of an event formerly run by USA Gymnastics. Biles said that whatever happened, she was still looking forward to doing that.

The tour will feature her friends, Olympic teammates as well as former collegiate gymnasts, with choreography by the former UCLA coach Val Kondos Field, who made her name by shaking up the rigid styles of elite gymnastics.

Now it will be delayed like the Olympics. Kondos Field said that while the tour didn’t need Biles to have competed at the Tokyo Games, it would certainly matter. Either way, the tour will now still take place just as it would have, a year later. Lee Marshall, the tour producer, said 40 new dates had already been rebooked for next year instead.

Biles had gone back and forth in her mind about what she was going to do about the Games, her coach Cecile Landi said, before texting and then FaceTiming with her Monday about the decision.

Last Tuesday, when the Olympics’ postponement was announced, a very small group of elite gymnasts was still training at the World Champions Centre gym.

Landi said she spoke briefly to everyone about the situation, and then followed up individually with Biles during her workout and stretching. Landi’s husband Laurent, another of Biles’s coaches, talked to her while she was on the uneven bars. Both were trying to make it a low-key chat.

“I told her not to make an emotional decision,” Cecile Landi said. She added: “You don’t have to speak up right away, you don’t have to tell us if you want to do it. You go home, you talk to your family, you talk to yourself… We understand if you want to be done, we understand if you don’t want to be done.”

Biles’s mind seemed to jump from signaling no way, to the idea that she’d put in too much work already to give up now, before swinging back.

By Thursday, the last day before the gymnasts were sent home, Biles was saying she was frustrated by what she was reading on Twitter, especially people suggesting that throwing away months of careful preparation, or readjusting to a new calendar, was no big deal.

“Your brain is wired for that time, and having it shut down, as much as we know why and there was no way we could have gone forward, it hurts,” Landi said.

Time outside of the gym will be painful too, Landi said. Gymnasts come back to sore wrists and shoulders as they go back on their hands after even a week’s break of walking on their feet. Her athletes will not be taking chances by tumbling in their backyards either, she said—even an ankle roll on the grass, she has told them, could add a six-week setback.

An extra year of intensive training is just an extra year of chances for injury in a sport where a two-second turn can change the course of your career. At the same time, she said, Biles has a broken toe that is currently “on and off,” which could benefit from resting.

“I can’t speak on her behalf, but knowing her, there’s no way this is the way she wants to finish her career. But at the same time, it’s a 16-month road from today,” said Landi.

#simone biles

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samsexualdeancurious · 4 years ago

Text

What I See

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Words: 1,764

Summary: The reader comes up with an idea to try and show Bucky how she sees him.

Warnings: implied smut, Bucky being a sexy beast but not realizing he's a sexy beast.

A/N: Written for @saxxxology for her May fic. This was inspired by an image someone posted in Saxxy's discord (the picture is described near the end of the fic) but I can't find the original to share with you guys.

Betaed by me.

---

Waking up next to Bucky is one of your favorite parts of your day, especially if you wake up before he does. Last night was a good night - no nightmares - and Bucky looks peaceful beside you, metal arm slung over your waist and nose pressed against the curve of your shoulder. His hair is a mess and there’s a little pillow mark on the cheek you can see. He must have rolled over recently.

You smile, warmth swelling in your chest as you take in the sight of him. You don’t want to get up because then he’ll wake and the moment will be over. So instead you lie still and just look for a long while.

He stirs eventually, rubbing the tip of his nose against your shoulder and sighing a tiny little sight that makes your stomach do a funny happy flip. Who would’ve ever guessed that a super soldier would be this cute?

“I can feel you watching me,” he mumbles without opening his eyes, arm tightening around your waist.

You roll onto your side and squirm down on the bed so you’re face to face with him. “I just like looking at you, I guess.”

One sleepy blue eye opens, blinks at you, and then closes again. “Can’t imagine why.”

You frown and bring one hand up to trace the fading pillow mark on his cheek. “Bucky.”

“Hmm?”

“Someday you’ll believe me when I say things like that.”

He shakes his head. “I doubt it but okay.”

Silence settles in the dimly-lit room. Bucky’s eyes are still closed and while he does whatever it is he’s doing - probably falling asleep again - you allow your mind to wander, a plan slowly shaping itself in your mind. By the time FRIDAY’s pleasant voice asks if the two of you will be joining the team for breakfast and Bucky rolls out of bed with an adorable grumble, you know exactly what you want to do.

“I’m sorry, you want to do what?”

“A photoshoot,” you reply calmly, swirling a bite of pancake around in the pools of syrup on your plate. “Stop looking at me like I’ve grown an extra head. I know you know what those are.”

“I didn’t know you did stuff like that,” he says slowly, still staring.

“I know we’ve been together a while but you don’t know everything about me yet. Prepare for more surprises as time goes by. Now, are you in or not?”

Bucky sighs. “I’m not a model. I won’t look good.”

“I’m sorry, have you seen yourself? Buck, you’re fucking gorgeous.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re dating me.”

You fix him with a firm stare. “James Buchanan Barnes.”

He looks at you with wide eyes. “What?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth or in my mind.” He wilts a little in his chair and your gaze softens. “I know you’re not comfortable with your body, so I figured I would try and do something to help you see yourself in a more positive light.”

Bucky stuffs the last of his pancakes in his mouth, eyeing you with suspicion. “... what kind of photoshoot are you planning?”

You shrug casually. “Nothing too crazy. I was thinking we could do some gym or workout shots, maybe something in the shower…”

“The shower? I thought this was a photoshoot, not a porno.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. It will be tasteful.”

“So not shots of my dick?”

You roll your eyes. “No. I will not be taking pictures of your dick.”

Bucky chews his lower lip thoughtfully, staring at you a moment and then down at his empty plate.

“Okay,” he finally says. “I’ll do it. Because it will make you happy.”

You manage to persuade Bucky to do the photoshoot today. Most of the team is busy with their own things so there’s no one else in the gym to make Bucky feel self-conscious, something he was worried about. It’s a little spur-of-the-moment, obviously, but you instruct Bucky to just do his regular workout routine to begin with. After a quick break for you to get you gear - just your camera and a couple of small lights - and for Bucky to change into a grey tank top and shorts, the two of you head down to the gym.

You end up with a series of gorgeous shots of Bucky stretching, wrapping his hands, and, finally, squaring up against a punching bag. He has his hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, a few strands escaping to frame his face just so. It takes him a little to grow accustomed to your presence and to get into his groove without being too distracted by you dancing around him with a camera. He quickly works up a sweat, skin gleaming, and you can’t help yourself.

Ignoring his confused look, you hurry across the room to turn the overhead lights off. This leaves just your small set up of lights around him. It’s much more dramatic lighting and you wish you’d thought of it before. Bucky looks stunning in the low light, sweat-slick skin shining in the best way. You’re definitely drooling a little as you move around his set-up, taking a long series of pictures and mentally making note of one that you know is going to turn out amazing.

Bucky abandons the punching bag a few minutes later to do some light weight lifting. He would usually go all out but he doesn’t have Steve to be his spotter so he settles for some smaller hand weights - if the biggest weights a compound for superheroes stocks can be considered small. Bucky is naturally very strong and fit just from the effects of the serum Hydra used but he works hard to make sure that his right arm matches his left arm as closely as possible.

You definitely don’t mind, not when you get to watch both the bulge of his right arm and the shifting plates of his left. You never would have imagined that you’d find a metal arm sexy but god, the way it moves. You could watch that all day and you do let yourself linger on it for a while. Bucky notices and doesn’t say anything but the arch of his eyebrow is enough to draw heat to your cheeks.

“Your, uh. Your arm,” you say clumsily.

“It’s awful, I know,” he cuts in before you can continue, eyes darkening as he looks away.

“No!” you protest as he returns the weights to their stands. “Buck, look at me.”

He hesitates and then turns to meet your gaze.

“I think it’s awesome.” You reach out and trace your fingertips over the gold edging of one of the plates. “Can you… do that thing where are the plates readjust?”

He furrows his brow but rolls his shoulder and then it happens. You hear the whir of the mechanics adjusting and watch the plates shift across the surface, almost a ripple from wrist to shoulder.

“That’s hot as fuck,” you manage, gazing up at him with dark eyes.

Bucky stares at you for a second, processing your words, and then his cheeks flush. “I didn’t realize,” he says, a little shy.

You grin and reach out to grab his metal hand. “Help me take my equipment upstairs. You need a shower and then I’ll show you just how hot I think your arm is.”

You move the photos to your computer later that night. Bucky is curious and wants to see them but you don’t let him, insisting that he has to wait until you’ve picked out the best ones and edited them how you like. It’s quick work once you get into your flow, flipping through photos and marking your favorites.

A few days later, the pictures are ready and Bucky drags a chair over to see what you’ve got to show him. Despite his reluctance to do the shoot in the first place, he’s been bugging you about the results since before the afterglow of the post-photo shoot sex had even faded. You’re excited to show him how the pictures turned out. Every picture is good in its own way but there are two in particular that you adore.

The first is a stunning shot from the workout portion of Bucky in motion, fist just colliding with the bag. His expression is intense, his body poised and powerful. The lighting is warm on his skin, sweat giving him a natural highlight in all the right places and shadows giving him an air of dark mystery that makes heat coil in your lower belly.

The second picture, though, is one you simultaneously want to show everyone you meet but also keep for your eyes only. You’d managed to persuade Bucky to do some more creative stuff during the shower and this picture is a result of that. It’s a simple black and white shot taken early in the shoot. In it, Bucky is nude except for the shower curtain he’s pulled to loop across his hips and cover him from the waist down. The curtain is thin enough to see the shape of one thigh through it but not thin enough to see anything else. His metal arm holds it in place, leading the eye from his face down to the v of his hips. He’d just gotten into the shower and his skin and hair were wet, the latter only partly so but still sticking a little to his face and neck as he looks at the floor, gaze parallel to the length of his body. He looks graceful, powerful.

Beautiful.

When he sees the picture, he stares at it in silence for a long time. You glance between him and the computer screen, nervous about his reaction.

“That’s… wow,” he says softly. “I look amazing. I’ve never. I’ve never seen my body - seen myself - like that.” He glances at you, a quick move you would have missed if you weren’t already looking at him. “Is that how you see me?”

You lean over to rest your cheek against the curve of his metal shoulder. It’s cool against your skin. “It is.”

He studies the picture some more. “I didn’t realize.”

“I know.”

“This doesn’t fix everything I think about myself, though.”

You tilt your head to press your lips to metal, less than an inch from where it connects with scarred skin. “I know that, too. I just wanted you to see yourself in a new way.”

He turns to look down at you with a soft smile. “Mission accomplished.”

---

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#bucky x reader #marvel fanfic #my writing

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gingerpeachtae · 5 years ago

Text

Concentric [11]

masterlist

Words: 10.1k (😅)

Genres: fantasy!AU, angst, fluff, enemies to lovers, eventual smut (?)

Warnings: dom!jk says hi again; some sexy times (nothing explicit)

Summary: You had been ready for the end of the semester. You had been ready to spend time away from your best friend, Jimin, and finally move on from the feelings you harbored. Yet, after your friend was forced to reveal a secret, you found yourself in a new world that was chock full of magic, war, and wonder. So, here you were, basically thrown into your own fantasy novel, with your best friend on one side, and six male warriors on the other.

A/N: 😅 😅😅 over 10k... eye- lol its a wild ride of a chapter... pls engoy!

“Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountain!

“Secret!

“Secret tunnel! Yeah!”

“If you sing that song… One. More. Fucking. Time. I’m going to feed you to the next quigta we come across.”

You could just picture the annoyed expression gracing his face and you snickered to yourself. If he wasn’t holding you up by your legs, you have no doubt that he would have rubbed a hand down his face and shot you a nice glare.

“Oh, well I’m sorry that since we still haven’t found a way out from this lovely cave, I need to distract myself from our impending death where our friends never find our rotting corpses.”

Jungkook sighed in a way that could only be described as aggressive as he readjusted your position on his back. “Ugh, you’re so dramatic. Why does it have to be that song?”

“Because it’s a classic? And it fits our situation?” You leaned forward to rest your chin against your arm that was loosely wrapped around his neck. “Also, I better not hear you disrespect Avatar again or I will unleash hell.”

“Alright little human, let’s settle down and not say things we aren’t capable of.”

“Hey! I’m being serious!” You tried saying it as hard as you could, but a hint of pout managed to creep its way into your voice.

“Mhmm. Sure you are.” Jungkook laughed. “And going off whatever you’ve been singing, I’m going to say that ‘Ablatar’ thing is horrible.”

You slowly lifted your head off your arm to regard the male you couldn’t see.

Welcome to hell, buddy.

You unwound your arms, lightly gliding your fingers against his neck as you did so. The slight touch of your fingertips ghosting across his skin caused a shiver to run down his body that you couldn’t see but definitely felt. You smiled to yourself as you moved your hands lower to hover above his torso. To keep your balance, though, you had to tighten your legs around his waist and lean your front further into his back.

“Wh-what are you doing?” His voice came out breathy.

“I told you what would happen if you disrespected Avatar again…”

With that, you attacked.

Digging your fingers into his sides, you began to viciously tickle the male. Immediately, his entire body tensed up for a heartbeat before wiggling and squirming violently. All the while, you cackled manically.

“Ahh! St-stop! Y/N! Fuck-ahh-ing stop!” In an attempt to dislodge your hands, Jungkook threw his elbows out wide.

His efforts were futile, though, because you were determined, dammit. Nobody gets away with insulting the great Avatar the Last Airbender. Not in this house cave. Not on your watch.

“This… is… what… you… get!” You half-screeched, half-laughed.

With his elbows lifted, you changed course to attack the delicate flesh just below his armpits. The sensitive area made Jungkook yell even louder. Abruptly, he let go of your thighs, letting your body drop. With a yelp, you stopped tickling him and tried to blindly grab at his arms so that you wouldn’t fall on your ass.

Also, you had no idea what was beneath you and being penetrated by a stalagmite was really not on your bucket list.

Unfortunately, you didn’t manage to grasp the male’s arms in time, so you fell to the cold, damp ground in a heap of splayed limbs. Groaning, you rolled to your side and began massaging your poor bottom.

As you rubbed the tender meat that was your bruised peach, you heard Jungkook breathing heavily above you.

“That… that was mean!” He whined, still gasping for breath.

You rolled your eyes while snorting. “So is disregarding Avatar and doubting me.”

You heard him shift closer and you stilled, praying that he wouldn’t retaliate and tickle you back. You would be at a severe disadvantage in fighting him off since you were below him and you couldn’t see.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and hit him in the balls if I flail enough…

As you were mentally planning your defensive maneuvers, you suddenly felt arms snake underneath you. Then, you were easily heaved up. The action made you yelp again, which in turn caused Jungkook to chuckle as he placed you over his shoulder.

“Let me down, you heathen!” You gave his body a smack.

Your eyes widened when your hand, instead of his back as you anticipated, met the firm plumpness of what had to have been Jungkook’s booty.

“Oh, so you would rather walk around… in the dark… on your own?” You could hear the teasing smirk seeping into his voice.

You huffed before placing your elbows on his back and resting your face in your hands. “No.”

“Good girl.” He gave your own butt two gentle pats and set out walking again.

“Hmmpf. This is so not as comfortable as before, I just want that to be known.”

“Too bad, sweetheart,” he said lightly. “This is your punishment for playing around. Deal with it.”

“Ugh, whatever. Just find an exit, would you? I don’t want to look at your nasty butt for long.”

“First, my butt is not nasty. It’s spectacular. Second, you can’t even see my ass right now so be quiet.”

“Its ugliness penetrates the dark.” You began to tap your hands against his butt as if the cheeks were drums.

You had to do something to keep yourself entertained.

Jungkook just laughed and shook his head, continuing his march through the cave as he muttered about how it was at least better than that atrocious (amazing) song.

“It’s been four hours!” Tae gripped his hair and pulled it in frustration. “They should be back by now!”

Jin walked over and placed a gentle hand on Tae’s shoulder to get him to stop stressfully pacing. The younger Saeni turned and clung to his brother’s frame, who began to rub Tae’s back soothingly.

“Maybe they got lost on the way back?” Jiae spoke up softly.

Hobi scoffed and crossed his arms, the metal from all his blades clinking. “Kookie? Lost? That would never happen.”

“Hey, you don’t have to dismiss her like that. She’s just trying to help.” Jimin frowned and stepped up behind the lilac-haired girl in a protective manner.

The kiela’s spy raised a single brow. “I didn’t dismiss her. I just stated a fact we all know.”

Namjoon was quick to step between his brothers, his yellow eyes flashing with warning. “Calm down. Your bickering isn’t helping.”

Jiae turned and placed a hand on Jimin’s bicep, murmuring that Hobi wasn’t being rude and that he should listen to Namjoon.

Jimin met Hobi’s eyes over their leader’s shoulder and sighed before lowering his head. “Sorry, hyung.”

Then, they heard the unmistakable sounds of someone approaching. With a jolt, they all swiveled their heads in the direction of the footsteps, thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was their missing friends.

But it was only Suho, Mingi, and Chungha returning from their search. As the trio slowed their jogging to a walk, the kiela and Jiae still looked to them with held breaths and hopeful eyes… but the court guards shook their heads. No sign of you or Jungkook.

With a tiny yell of frustration, Jimin then looked toward Yoongi, who was lounging on the ground with his back against a tree. “Hyung, can’t you find them?”

His pink eyes slowly rose to meet the half-Saeni’s brown ones. “No… I’ve tried but I can’t feel Kook’s energy. It’s like nothing’s there.”

“The draikensu…” Tae looked up to Jin’s face, his blue eyes wide and glossy with sudden fear. “What if they-”

The eldest was quick to shush him, not wanting the worried Saeni to consider such things.

“Kook wouldn’t let any of those bastards do shit,” Hobi said with conviction. “Honestly, neither would Y/N.”

Most of the kiela nodded their heads in agreement, but Jimin ran a hand through his apricot locks. “But then, where are they!?”

“He said he wanted to take Y/N to the cave we passed by yesterday.” The mint-haired magic user stood up and brushed off his pants.

Tae whipped his head toward Yoongi, hope dancing in his eyes, while Namjoon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before replying. “And you decided to wait until now to mention that.”

Yoongi only shrugged in response.

Namjoon mumbled a curse under his breath directed at the male before trotting over to where his mace rested on the earthy ground next to his sleeping mat. Once the heavy weapon was securely strapped behind his back, he addressed the other Saeni and ordered them to quickly gather their things.

“So, you’re telling me that there’s this creature… with red eyes and large wings… and your people call it Mothman?”

After approximately twenty or so minutes of you non-stop drumming on Jungkook’s butt cheeks and the male complaining that his rear was going numb, he finally let you return to his back. You eagerly climbed up, glad to not have to hold your head up to keep from passing out anymore.

“Mhmm!” You rapidly nodded your head in excitement and leaned your face forward, so it was closer to his. The metal of his earrings touched your neck and you briefly recoiled from how cold they were before leaning back in. “And it’s supposed to be able to fly faster than a hundred miles an hour!”

“Is that… fast?”

Oof, right. He probably has no idea what that measurement equates to.

“Yes, it’s very fast. Super fast. Like ZOOM fast!” You emphasized your words by making a weird upward slashing gesture with your hand.

“Zoom… fast…?” He whispered in a confused, yet amused, tone. “I just don’t understand why you call it Mothman.”

You shrugged and started to swing your legs, praying you wouldn’t accidentally ram your foot into a rock formation. “It’s big, grey-brown, and has massive wings. Allegedly, it’s like an abnormally large, humanoid moth. Hence, Mothman.”

Jungkook made a noise of slight disgust. “Sounds like something that should be squished.”

“Hey!” You slapped your hand against his chest. “Let Mothman live in peace! It just wants to fly around and be a happy, lil moth!”

“You said it’s supposed to be taller than Namjoon…”

“And your point?”

“That’s not ‘lil,’” he said pointedly.

You hummed, thinking, before replying. “Eh, it can be.”

“How in Illai’s name can that ever be considered little?”

“Compared to Godzilla, he’s a very smol bean,” you responded matter-of-factly.

“Who?”

“Godzilla! He’s this big, spiky, powerful lizard thing! And I mean really big. Like seventy Namjoons stacked on top of each other big.”

“Seventy Namjoons… whoa…”

You giggled at his wonderous tone. “Yup. He’s a big boy.”

“You know who else is a big boy?”

You rolled your eyes.

This guy…

You decided to mess with him a bit.

“Namjoon? I mean we are using him as a measurement tool.”

“What? No. Try again.”

“Hmmm… Jin? He’s got those wide shoulders.”

You felt him release a deep breath. “Try again.”

“Tae? He’s a sweetie pie but can probably get down to business, if you know what I mean.” You wiggled your brows, disregarding that he was not facing you.

“No.” You heard a sliver of annoyance begin to creep into his voice, making you snicker internally.

“Well, Hobi dresses like an NSFW enthusiast, so-”

“Not him.” He paused for a second before adding, “And what does that even mean?”

“Not Safe for Work.”

“What the-”

“If I need to explain what that means, then you’re probably too young to need to know my dear child,” you informed with a grin.

Laughing at his blubbering, frustrated attempts at protesting your statement, you suddenly gasped and tightened your hold on him in fake realization.

“Oh, I know who you’re talking about! It’s Yoongi! He radiates big dick energy.”

With a long, sharp inhale that signaled he was at the end of his patience with you, he slowly let the air out of his lungs. “I’ll give you one last try.”

You hummed, pretending to think hard before lifting your shoulders and dropping them. “There’s nobody else that comes to mind.”

“You really love being difficult, don’t you?” Jungkook huffed, which made you laugh, the sound echoing off the cavern walls.

“What can I say?” You teased, sending a puff of air to the back of his head to ruffle his hair. “You’re just not ‘big boy’ material Coco.”

“That’s not what you said before your first sparing match.” The males voice was laced with knowing.

It was your turn to protest; whining that for the last time, those were Tae’s words, not yours.

He only made a skeptical noise in response.

You opened your mouth to defend your honor more, but instead squealed in happiness when you saw a small dot of white appear far in front of you.

“You really think they’re okay?” Tae asked his mint-haired brother while brushing his damp locks out of his face.

Luckily, the rain had let up to the point where it was only drizzling now. It wasn’t enough to make Yoongi bother to convert the magic shield he had placed over the camp into individual ones for each party member as they made their way to the cave, though it was still enough to get their clothes and hair a little wet.

The magic user turned to look at the grey-haired Saeni, who was usually so aloof and exploding with joy, but now filled to the brim with worry for you and their youngest brother. Dark eyebrows drawn close together, sharp blue eyes downcast, hands fiddling with each other. Yoongi knew that both you and Jungkook were extremely close to Tae, so he could understand why the male was worried sick. The older Saeni took in Tae’s wilted appearance and sighed before subtly waving his fingers. They briefly glowed a light, mint blue as his magic placed an invisible barrier over Tae’s head that kept the lazy rain off and sent a gentle warmth down.

To other magic users, it wasn’t the most “responsible” or “proper” use of his magic. They would have thought it was below them to do such a thing, but Yoongi didn’t give a shit. He just wanted his little brother to feel better. Even if it was only by a little bit.

“Like Hobi said, they wouldn’t let anything happen. To themselves or each other.”

Tae looked at is brother and gave him a small smile and nod, really hoping those words were proven true.

Yoongi then saw a blur of orange walk up beside him and waited for Jimin to ask yet again.

“Can you try just one more time hyung?”

Yoongi knew it was useless. He had already tried to locate Jungkook through their kiela bond numerous times and each attempt came back empty. But he nodded and did it again anyway. Hands glowing once more, Yoongi closed his eyes and concentrated. Trying to focus in on his brother’s energy and location… but got nothing. Not even a whisper or a trace. Releasing the air from his lungs, he opened his eyes and looked into Jimin’s brown orbs, not saying anything. Just shook his head slightly. The apricot male groaned in response and ran a hand through his hair, averting his eyes from Yoongi’s sorry ones.

Jimin’s chest began to heave in panic as he began to spout out how he had told Y/N to stay behind because he was worried something like this would happen.

“Hyung!”

Yoongi’s head snapped up toward Namjoon, who was gesturing at him to come to the front of the pack. Leaving a panicking Jimin to be consoled by the others, the mint-haired Saeni jogged forward to meet his leader. As he approached, his eyes widened as he took in the mass of fallen rocks.

“That’s why you can’t feel him, right? Your magic can’t reach that far underground.” Namjoon said tentatively.

Yoongi nodded. “Well, what the fuck are we supposed to do now? Dig those idiots out?”

Namjoon shook his head as the others finally arrived at the collapsed entrance, gaping at the massive pile of rock.

Crossing his arms and walking up to the crumpled entrance, Jin asked the group whether anyone saw another opening that might lead into the system.

When no one spoke up, the eldest released a deep breath and fixated his dark eyes on one Saeni. “What do we do Joon?”

You were practically vibrating as you neared closer and closer to that patch of light.

Please, please, PLEASE be a way out.

Jungkook’s back was comfy and all, but you wanted light for fuck’s sake.

As you got even closer, you were able to make out that it was an opening in the ceiling of the cave, letting in a beam of soft sunlight as well as a tiny waterfall of rainwater.

With a gasp, you pushed at Jungkook’s back and wiggled out from his hold until you were on your feet.

“Y/N!” The male called after you as you went to rush forward.

He shot an arm out and grabbed your wrist, stopping you before you could run ahead and possibly hurt yourself. You still couldn’t see directly in front of you, after all. You could only see that beam of freedom.

“Jungkooooooook!” You whined as you tried to yank your wrist away.

When that didn’t work, you began trying to simply drag the Saeni with you.

The male planted his feet firmly on the cavern floor and tugged you back to him. “Y/N, stop! You still can’t see properly, am I right?”

Throwing your head back with a groan akin to a temper tantrum, you replied, “Yes, you’re right, but what does that matter? It’s right there. Let’s go already!” You reached out and grabbed his hand holding your wrist with your free hand and tried to pull him along again.

“It matters because there’s a bunch of fucking holes in the floor between us and the exit. So, unless you want to enjoy a natural, underground slide, I suggest you wait patiently while I lead you.”

At his words, your body stilled as you pictured yourself taking a plunge down into the rocky bowels of the earth.

“Mhmmm, that’s what I thought. Now, hold my hand and waist and follow me. Slowly.”

You let Jungkook move in front of you then did as he instructed; slipping one hand into his and interlocking your fingers while the other fumbled against his torso until it settled on the tiny curve of his waist. Without a sound, Jungkook reached down with his free hand until it rested over yours lightly touching his side. He gently curled his fingers so that you were forced to grip onto the fabric and straps underneath your palm. Satisfied that you had a firm hold on him, he reminded you to stay close before taking a step forward.

He weaved around all the holes and protruding rock formations, though to you, it just felt like mindless wandering. But, minute by minute, that beam of light came closer and closer. It was basically taunting you.

Come here, baby. I’m ready for you!

Within the next thirty seconds, you were finally ten feet from the light. Squinting, you reckoned that the opening was about eight feet above you. Not very far, but way higher than you could jump up to. Then, you were plunged into brightness.

With a yelp, you quickly squished your eyes closed and threw a hand over them for good measure. “Ah, fuck. MY EYES!”

“Stop being so dramatic and come here so I can hoist you up.”

You peeled your hand away from your face, keeping your eyes tightly closed. Then ever so slowly you opened your lids, still squinting a bit. You were going to mouth off to Jungkook for his comment. He didn’t know what it was like to be in complete darkness then thrown into a ray of fucking sunshine suddenly, but when you saw his good-natured smile you just had to smile back. Crouching down a bit, he let you put one foot into his cupped hands while your arms went to his shoulders for balance as he easily lifted you up.

“Don’t drop me Coco.” You warned the male.

“For Exia’s sake, I’m not going to drop your ass.” He huffed and rolled his green eyes before his expression morphed into a pout. “And why aren’t you calling me Kookie?”

You looked down at him in confusion, tilting your head to the side but being careful not to knock into the rock beside your head. “You… told me not to call you that?”

A blush took over his face as he stammered out, “Y-you don’t remember?”

“Remember what?” You breathed out as you slowly eased your head up and out of the opening.

Hissing at having a full barrage of light attacking your eye balls, you squeezed your eyes shut again until you felt like you could peek out without dying. With your eyelids half-closed, you settled your hands on the ground by your head and told Jungkook to give you a boost up as you pushed with your arms. With an awkward squirm from your lower body, you heaved yourself all the way out of the cave and on to the forest floor. Rolling over to your back, you took in a deep breath and let your limbs splay out. Seconds later, you heard a grunt and you looked back to the opening in time to see Jungkook pulling himself out of the cave. Taking after you, he flopped down on the earth beside you, though unlike you, he wasn’t breathing heavily from exertion.

“I, uh, said you could call me that, but you were really sleepy at the time. It was right before the first quigta… I guess you were more out of it than I realized, but um, yeah, you can call me Kookie… if you want…”

“Wow. I don’t remember that conversation at all, I must have been totally out of it.” You laughed and lolled your head to the side to meet his eyes, but he was staring straight at the sky. “Honestly, I’m kinda partial to Coco at this point, but I guess I can pepper Kookie into my vocab from now on…”

“Okay.” He tried to say it nonchalantly, like he didn’t care one way or the other, but you didn’t miss the tiny smile that teased at the corners of his lips.

Cute.

Your eyes widened at the thought and you quickly rolled your head to look up at the sky and leaves too.

You are not going there, Y/N. You are not going to think he’s cute.

It was one thing to think he was hot and attractive, but cute? That shit was borderline crush territory and you most definitely did not want to go there. You already received verbal confirmation that he wasn’t attracted to you, so you did not need yet another useless pining situation on your hands. You sat up suddenly, which caused Jungkook to turn his head toward you questioningly. You just pretended to crack your back before standing up and looking at the scenery around you. All you could see was an endless green forest that was collecting and dripping rivulets of rainwater.

“Where are we?”

Jungkook sat up and rested his forearms against his knees, taking a look around as well. “No idea.”

Fantastic.

Yoongi froze when he felt a slight nudge of Jungkook’s energy on the edge of his magic. He had been randomly turning the magical radar on and off since they left the collapsed entrance, but he swore he felt something right before he turned it off again. Though he didn’t want to say anything until he was sure because he didn’t want to give the others false hope. As the rest continued walking ahead to try to find another opening into the underground system, Yoongi slowed his steps with a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he let his magic flare up yet again. Fingers glowing, he reached out with his mind to search where that nudge came from.

Then, all at once, it was as if Jungkook appeared like a marker on a map. There was no mistaking it now. He must have resurfaced.

Yoongi found his brother.

He sucked in a breath, mint hair rustling as he whipped his head up, petal pink eyes shining. “Wait, guys! I got him! I feel Kook!”

You hummed your favorite song as you walked through the dense forest, brushing branches out of your face and tilting your head to follow the occasional bird that flew by.

You heard a series of laughter erupting to your right. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Tae, Hobi, and Kookie still running around the group and weaving between trees as they played their version of tag. You say their version because instead of a gentle shoulder tap to switch who was “it,” those boys were straight up tackling each other into trees or on to the ground.

Boys will be boys, I guess.

Yesterday, after popping out of the ground like a flower and Jungkook replying that he had no idea where the two of you were, you started to wonder if you would ever find your way back to the others. Fortunately, they found you.

Illai knew how far you traveled while underground, so you could be anywhere at this point. You started to picture your Tarzan-esque future with Jungkook and shuddered at the thought of the male doing the Tarzan yell while swinging through the trees. It was such a disturbing thought that you broke out into a somewhat deranged laughter. The image of Jungkook yelling as he swooped through the trees in a loincloth being too much for your chickpea brain to handle at the moment.

“You good?” You heard the subject of your thoughts ask you curiously.

You deeply inhaled through your nose and let out a few hyperventilated breaths as you tried to calm yourself down and rid your brain of those mental pictures. “Hooooo. Okay, yeah. Just thought of something I never want to think of ever again.” With one last big exhale, you looked toward the male. “How are you not worried about finding the kiela?”

He maintained his lazy posture, just shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands briefly. “Eh, by now Yoongi should be able to find our location through the kiela bond. Might as well just wait for them here.”

“Just… wait… for them?”

He hummed his confirmation, which made you plop back down on the ground. No point in standing if you’re just going to be waiting around. A cool breeze rushed past your face as you did so, causing some of your hair to tease your cheekbones. You brushed it back in place before laying down on your back. You squirmed slightly as the cold, damp ground seeped into your clothes, but with the sun shining down on you, you couldn’t find the shits to give.

“How long do you reckon until they get here?”

“Meh, I’m not going to worry about it. They’ll get here when they get here. Let’s just enjoy the quiet while we still can.”

It took them about three and a half hours, at least you think. You really had no clue no long you and Jungkook had been laying down, motionless and soundless. If anyone had been watching from afar, they probably would’ve thought you two were dead as hell.

All you know was that after a phat minute of waiting, you suddenly heard an elated yell consisting of you and Jungkook’s names. You raised your head with a groan but was suddenly squashed back down by a tall boy with grey hair.

“T-Tae?” The male looked up from where he was smushed against your chest and you saw his big, boxy smile that you loved dearly. “TaeTae!”

You threw your arms around the male and smothered him with cheek kisses.

“For Exia’s sake, you’d think you were long lost lovers or some shit.” You heard Jungkook grumble.

His voice made Tae wiggle out of your arms and run to latch himself on his brother. “Kookie!”

You smiled fondly at the two Saeni hugging each other when you yanked upright without warning and pulled into another bone-crushing hug.

“I was so worried!” You felt Jimin bury his head into the crook of your neck.

You rubbed his back soothingly, trying not to giggle. “I’m alright, Slim Jim. Kookie took good care of me.”

You looked up and locked eyes with the green-eyed male and smiled, though it was quickly knocked off your face when another body slammed into you and Jimin with a cry.

Stumbling back a bit, you grunted but didn’t even bother looking to see who it was because there was only one other person in the kiela who would have jumped on you like that.

“Hi there, Hobi.” You gasped out while laughing and trying to keep your balance.

“Hey, kids. Glad you’re safe and all that nice shit.” You heard somewhere over your left shoulder.

You snorted. “Thanks, Mr. Sparkle Hands. Glad you found us and all that nice shit.”

Finally, Jimin and Hobi released you and went over to greet Jungkook. You saw them grasp each other’s forearms before pulling into a bro-hug.

Why do so many guys hug like that? Is it instinctual?

You chuckled as you observed their reunion. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught sight of two males standing on the outskirts, watching everything unfold with relieved faces. You turned and walked over, smiling and nodding at Jiae and her guards as you passed them on the way.

When you were a few feet from Namjoon and Jin, the latter surprised you by reaching out and tugging you into a short hug, voicing how he was happy that you and Jungkook were okay.

You pulled back and grinned at him. “Thanks, Papa.”

The raven-haired Saeni sent you a smile back and nodded once before leaving to go see his youngest brother. After Jin stepped around you, you turned to Namjoon and did your best to mimic the forearm grasping hand shake thing with confidence. The Saeni just lightly laughed and pulled you into a brief hug as well.

“Hopefully you didn’t run into too much trouble,” he said with warm yellow eyes.

You just shrugged and looked over your shoulder, eyes landing on the male with light green eyes and burgundy hair before murmuring, “It wasn’t too bad.”

Nobody had wanted to walk anymore after that, so you had decided to just set up camp where they found you and Jungkook. You had settled down on your mat (Jimin had grabbed and carried your things while Tae had taken Jungkook’s), feeling exhaustion take over your body and mind. It had been a long and eventful day, to say the least. With Tae on one side of you and Jungkook on the other, you had been ready and eager to get a good night’s sleep. That plan had been thrown out the window maybe two hours later, when Jimin woke and began freaking out about how he felt something strange. His outburst effectively roused everyone up in an instant. After speaking with Namjoon, Yoongi, and Jiae, they all concluded that he was feeling a pull toward a draeva, something he had obviously never experienced before. Once informed of that news, you had too much excitement flooding through you to go back to sleep. There would be no more mindless wandering! And maybe you’d be able to find his father’s draeva fast, since Jimin had a vague idea as to which direction to go in.

And that’s how the group was travelling now. After completing your morning training with sluggish movements, everyone had packed their things and set out with Jimin acting as the compass.

Your eyes darted over to where Jimin was walking with Jiae, her three guards trailing directly behind them like hawks circling overhead.

Geez, they really need to relax. Let loose with some drinks or get laid or something.

Although Jimin was trying to pay attention to Jiae and be involved in their conversation, you could tell that he wanted to play with his brothers. The way he glanced over every time one of them screamed in joy or frustration with a longing look on his face was a dead giveaway if you’d ever seen one.

With an amused shake of your head, you walked past the guards and began strolling next to them, giving them both a small wave when they saw you approach.

“Why don’t you go hang out with them, Slim Jim? I can tell you want to.”

His face flushed, and he ran a hand through his hair as he stammered, “N-no, it’s fine. I really don’t want to.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes, you do.”

“But I don’t want to leave Jiae alone…”

The lilac-haired girl began to defiantly say, “I’ll be fine! You don’t hav-”

“She won’t be alone, dummy. I’ll stay with her.” You tilted your chin in the direction the boys were running. “Now hurry up and go.”

He sent you a grateful look and ran off to join his brothers, who screamed in elation at his arrival.

Those boys… You thought as you watched them act like fools.

Adorable fools, but still fools nonetheless.

Jiae giggled at them then turned her eyes on you, her pale blue eyes bright and wisps of her lilac hair flying in the breeze. “Thank you, Y/N. I kept trying to tell him I would be fine by myself, but he wouldn’t listen!”

“Yeah, he can be a stubborn pain in the ass like that sometimes.” You laughed before giving her a serious look. “But if you do want to be alone, just say the word and I’ll yeet myself outta here.”

She was quick to hook her arm through yours, tethering you to her. “No! I’ve been wanting to talk to you actually…”

You sent her a half smile and nodded, already knowing why. “About Jimin.”

Because why else would you want to talk to me?

Her eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head with a tiny grin. “Nah, not about that tangerine head. We really haven’t gotten the chance to know each other yet, so I was hoping we could, you know… get to know each other finally.

You stared at her, looking to see if she was telling the truth. When you saw that her face was genuine, you blinked at her a couple times.

Huh… really wasn’t expecting that.

“Sure, I’d like that,” you said.

So, you talked. Everything from describing your childhoods and the first time you both met Jimin, to how annoying it was to always be “prim and proper” around court officials at the palace. Eventually, the conversation morphed into what your favorites were. Fruits, words, plants, hobbies, and other things. She was easy to talk to, funny and sweet. You don’t think you could become super close with her, like you were with Jimin and Tae, but you could see yourself being friends with the girl. You could see why Jimin liked her.

All of the sudden, she smirked at you, a wicked glint erupting behind her eyes. “Who’s your favorite member in the keila?”

Because the gods of Illain apparently liked to make your life difficult, she asked at the exact fucking time Tae, Jimin, Hobi, and Jungkook ran past you, shrieking like people who werejust told they could stop by McDonald’s on the way home. Having their dumb heightened senses, they heard her question through their screams and came to screeching halt, their game temporarily forgotten as they looked at you expectantly.

“Go run along children.” You tried to shoo them away.

Jimin laughed and looked at his brothers, raising his chin as he met their gazes. “It’s obviously me, guys. I’ve known her the longest and I am her best friend after all.”

You locked eyes with his soft brown ones.

Try me, bitch.

“It’s TaeTae.”

“Yaaaaaas!” The grey-haired Saeni yanked his headband off and began swinging it around in victory with a boxy smile overtaking his face.

Jimin’s face, on the other hand, dropped in exaggerated shock and disappointment as he clutched at his heart. “Betrayed by my own best friend. How could you!? You wound me!”

Hobi merely shrugged, not very surprised by your answer nor the other’s reactions.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes and looked between you and Tae a couple times before huffing and stalking away.

From your left, you heard Jin’s voice shout out, “Yah! How could you, Y/N!? No more food for you!”

You froze as his words reached your ears. “WAIT! Papa, I’m sorry! You’re the best, I swear!”

“It’s too late now, little scorja!”

“Fuck,” you murmured under your breath.

You knew Jin was joking, but you wouldn’t put it past the male to not whack you with one of his spoons later that night.

“You know,” Jiae leaned over to whisper in your ear. “I really thought you would’ve said Jungkook. You two seem really close.”

As she pulled back, she wiggled her light purple brows at you.

The insinuation of her words made you cough as you felt heat rush to your cheeks. “Ah, uh, no. Nothing there. I mean, yes, we are friends… good friends, surprisingly. But nothing more!”

She gave you a look that implied that she didn’t believe you one bit but didn’t press it further.

CAN THESE PEOPLE STOP THINKING THAT SOMETHING IS GOING ON BETWEEN US!!??

It’s kinda making it harder to ignore-

You were snapped out of your thoughts as Tae cried out behind you. “Ow! What the fuck, Kookie!? You didn’t have to hit me that hard!”

You rolled your eyes and chuckled to yourself.

Boys will be boys.

Two days later, you found yourself staring at a skinny, yet super tall tree gently swaying in the wind as sunlight filtered through its green leaves. You wouldn’t call yourself a tree expert by any means, but it looked like a birch tree. The white, paper-like bark had the same flashes of brownish-black running up the trunk that you’d seen on white birch trees on Earth.

This was the tree that Jimin was drawn to, his father’s draeva. You watched as your best friend slowly approached the tree with bated breath. It all seemed too easy.

You hadn’t run into any draikensu along the way. You had been wary when you passed through a village at the base of the mountain you were currently on, thinking that there might be a spy or draikensu follower lurking in the shadows. It didn’t help that it felt like someone had been watching you all afternoon, so you voiced your concern to the Saeni. The kiela had assured you that those people were peaceful and of no trouble. You still weren’t able to shake the feeling but did your best to ignore it since the boys said it was all okay.

Jimin’s inner compass had proven to be reliable. He felt a steady pull in the same direction over the past couple of days as your traveled. Occasionally, you had run into problems when there had been a body of water or other obstruction in the way, but for the most part, it had been a pretty standard GPS situation.

I wonder if he got a “you have arrived at your destination” message when they reached the draeva because he had stopped really abruptly.

Overall, though, there had been absolutely no trouble. It just felt like there had to be some catch. It shouldn’t have been this easy. It was never this easy in the books or movies.

Jimin paused, looking up at the limbs rocking back and forth high up in the air before looking back at you and the others. “What, uh… what am I supposed to do?”

“Maybe find your father’s handprint?” Jiae suggested.

He nodded and turned back to the draeva, inspecting the branches and walking around the trunk with a concentrated face.

After a couple trips around the tree while murmuring to himself, he stopped and said, “I can’t find it. I’m gonna have to climb.”

You opened your mouth to tell him to be careful as he placed one hand on the trunk to steady himself. Your words trailed off as he just stood there… not moving.

You heard Namjoon whisper, “Ah, so that’s what it is…”

You were going to ask what he meant, when suddenly, Jimin gasped and his back straightened like a rod. You called out his name and went to move toward him, but Jungkook was quick to stop you by wrapping an arm around your waist and tugging you back.

You glared at him over your shoulder. “Why di-”

“Shhh, just wait.” He had a soft smile playing at his lips as he kept his eyes pinned on his orange-haired brother.

Your eyes moved sideways to look at the other Saeni. They all had similar, knowing expressions on their faces. You turned back to look at your friend, who’s shoulder blades were now shifting below his clothes as black smoke drifted out from underneath his hand to curl and dance in the light breeze.

What the…

You could see Jimin begin to breath heavily as more smoke poured out between his fingers.

What the fuck is going on!?

“Oh…” You heard Jiae delicately say beside you as a shudder ran through her body.

You thought you saw her eyes glow slightly.

Your eyes bugged out when Jimin slowly removed his hand from the white bark. Left behind was a mark in the exact shape of his hand, like it had been burned into the wood. Chest rising and falling rapidly, Jimin kept his gaze on his hand as he turned back to the group. When he finally lifted his head, he was smiling so hard his eyes were squished closed. Small tracks of tears ran down his cheeks and dripped off his jaw.

“It’s not my father’s… it… it’s mine. My draeva.”

You were sitting next to the fire in the middle of village, watching from the sidelines as Jimin still celebrated with the others.

“My draeva.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his brothers rushed forward and tackled him in giant group hug. Even Yoongi joined in. They all tugged at his shirt, and he laughed joyously as he yanked it off over his head and turned around. Right between his shoulder blades were three concentric circles. His draeva mark.

You felt a tear slip down your cheek.

Jimin looked over to where you, Jiae, and the guards were still standing in awe, and he ran over and scooped Jiae up in his arms.

“Can you feel it? The connection?” He asked in a hopeful voice as he buried his head in her lilac hair.

She wrapped her arms around him tightly. “I can feel it.”

He sobbed into her hair, but it was a cry of pure happiness. He let go of her slowly and turned to you, his grin almost splitting his face in two.

“Y-you found your draeva… Jimin, I’m… I’m so fucking happy for you!” You launched yourself into his open arms, squeezing him with everything you had in you.

A loud cheer roused you from the recent memory. It was dark out, but the moonlight was bright enough for you to see that even the locals were in on the celebration now. You wondered if they questioned why Jimin was receiving his mark so much later than usual. If they did, you were sure one of the boys would conjure a quick lie to explain why.

Besides the three rings now imprinted on his back, Jimin didn’t appear to be any different physically, but there was definitely a change in him. Maybe it was the way his eyes seemed more alive, the amber flecks in his irises vibrant. Maybe it was the way his skin seemed to be perfectly clear and glowing. Maybe it was the way his breathing seemed to come easier. Or the way he seemed more sensitive to sounds and touch. The way he seemed to be finally and entirely be who he was meant to be. Like he was previously missing a part of him and he hadn’t realized it.

In a way, it was true.

You tried to smile as you watched him excitedly converse with Jiae, there heads close together as their eyes drank each other in. You felt a pang in your heart, but not because of them being together. If you were being honest with yourself, you hadn’t felt any negative emotions when you saw them side by side for the past couple of days. You only felt happiness… for both of them. Maybe getting to know Jiae was the final hurdle you had needed to let go of your feelings for your best friend.

But was it even love if I got over it so easily?

You shook your head at yourself. You truly did not know the answer to that question. It had felt like love. At least, it felt how you thought love was supposed to feel. The way your heart would pound, and your breathing would quicken.

Or was I just in love with the idea of being in love with my best friend?

Maybe Jimin had been right. You needed to stop reading smut online, specifically best friends to lovers smut. There was no chance you were going to stop with the tentacle fics. That shit was just too nice.

You peeked at the unofficial couple again and saw Jiae tuck some of her hair behind her ear, giving you full view of her extended elf-like ears. Then, you felt another twang of hurt course through you. The discovery of Jimin’s draeva made you realize just how different you were. How entirely human and normal you were. You would never have elf-like ears or heightened senses and abilities, you were just… you. Human and normal and different from them. Looking at his squished eyes, you couldn’t help but think how he looked like he belonged here. With a sharp inhale, you realized that was the reason for your hurt.

You felt like you were losing your best friend.

You didn’t blame him in the slightest, though. He found a girl, his connection to Illain, and his brothers were all here. There was no reason for him to come back to Earth with you at the end of all this. Maybe now you would be the one to see him only a few months out of the year. He wouldn’t be with you all the time anymore. You felt your throat choke up and tears begin to form in your eyes. You blinked rapidly to keep them at bay, but the urge to cry just kept building and building and building. You fisted your hands and dug them into your thighs as you continued to think of a life without a constant Park Jimin. Switching tactics, you glared straight into the fire beside you, hoping the light and heat would simply burn away your tears.

It didn’t.

You dropped your head into your hands, trying your damn best to will away your sadness. This was supposed to be a happy occasion, for fuck’s sake.

Be happy, you dumb bitch! You scolded yourself, but it only made you feel worse since it wasn’t working.

You didn’t think he would, since he was too wrapped up in the festivities, but you didn’t want Jimin to see you like this. You didn’t want him to look over and see you wallowing in your tears. With one last look in his direction, you inhaled deeply before standing and walking off into the darkness of the tree line.

You fisted your hands as you stalked further into the dark. All you wanted to do was shut your eyes and walk in a silent oblivion, but you didn’t think you could safely navigate the forest that way, so you instead let the soft moonlight guide you through the trees.

You walked and walked and walked, every once in a while, stumbling in the dark. You kept going, just needing to get away and be alone. You kept going until your felt like you could finally breath. You stepped through a pattern of branches and entered a meadow-like clearing. The moon supplying just enough light that you could make admire the tall grass and wildflowers dotting the landscape.

“You had to walk fucking far, huh?”

You whipped your head to the side to look over your shoulder at the sudden voice, body tense as you loudly gasped. You relaxed when you saw it was just Jungkook standing there with an annoyed yet concerned face.

“What are you doing here?”

He took slow steps toward you, like he was worried you would run off if he moved too quickly. “I followed you.”

You gave him an “are you serious?” face because no shit he followed you.

When he didn’t say anything else, you groaned and crossed your arms. “Then why did you follow me?”

By now he was directly in front of you, his mouth slightly downturned. “You looked upset. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

You sighed and looked away from his eyes, focusing on the open clearing instead. “I’ll be fine, I just needed to clear my head.”

He studied you for a few moments, observing the heaviness of your breaths and your clenched jaw.

“Hit me.”

You turned back to gawk at him. “What?”

“You obviously have something on your mind, and you need to work off some steam, so hit me.”

You opened and closed your mouth a few times, completely thrown off by his words. “N-no! I’m not going to just hit y-ahhh! What the hell!?” You had to jump backwards to avoid his fist aimed at your gut.

Immediately and automatically, you fell into your fighting stance. Feet planted on the ground but still light on the balls of your feet, legs shoulder width apart, and arms raised with fisted hands.

An exact mirror image of how Jungkook was now standing.

“Like I said, you need to work off some steam. What better way to do that than sparing?”

Does he ever think of anything besides fighting?

You were silent and still for several heartbeats as you debated his offer.

To hell with it. Just go punch him.

You inhaled and narrowed your eyes, readying your limbs. He noticed the slight change in your demeanor and smirked before initiating the fight with a kick.

You don’t know how long the two of you went at it, exchanging hits and blocking attacks. It was a pleasant surprise to you that you managed to land a hit on Jungkook numerous times. Either he was going easy on you, or you had just gotten that much better.

I hope it’s that I’ve gotten better.

And you thought it surely had to be that because with every hit you landed, brief shock and awe would flash across Jungkook’s face.

You were sweating, hair sticking to your skin. You didn’t have the best vision, either. It being nighttime and all. But you applied every note Jungkook had given you about fighting with obscured vision. You listened, paid attention to the shifts in the air, and relied on your instincts.

You were somehow holding your own against the one and only Jeon Jungkook.

That made pride bubble up inside of you.

But that was your mistake.

You got confident and forgot, just for a moment, how good Jungkook was.

How he was the best.

You reached a little too far with your attack.

Your balance shifted a little too much to one side.

He took advantage of that slip up.

Dropping below your arm, he sent a leg out and knocked you down.

In an instant, he was above you.

You were going to be pinned.

Making a split-second decision, you lifted your arm and rammed your elbow into the side of his jaw.

He reared back ever so slightly, and that flinch let you grab him by his straps and roll the two of you over.

Now it was you hovering above him.

You were straddling his waist, breathing heavily as you leaned down over him. One hand wrapped around his throat while the other held down his shoulder. Your eyes traced over his pinned figure, taking in his straining muscles that, for some reason, were allowing you to hold him to the ground. Your eyes went up past his heaving chest, beyond his large, rough hand wrapped around your wrist at his throat, past the smooth expanse of his neck, and further than the sweat plastering his burgundy hair to the sides of his face. Up until you locked gazes with his peridot-green eyes. If it were possible, the intensity of his stare made you breath even harder. He was looking at you in both shock and surprise, but it was the pride burning in his eyes that quickened your breaths. The pride… and something else. Something dark and angry and lustful. It danced at the edge of Jungkook’s expression. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, as if he was trying to calm himself down or control himself.

Is he mad that I clipped him in the jaw?

Adrenaline was rushing through your veins as you gasped out, “I… told you… I would… beat… you… someday.”

Jungkook didn’t bother to open his eyes. “You only won because I let you.”

Probably, most definitely true.

With a pout, you let go of his throat and shoulder and moved your torso upright, yet doing so inadvertently caused your hips to roll against his lap. Before you could register what you just did, Jungkook’s hands shot out and gripped your waist. Hard.

You gasped as he forced your hips down, making your core press directly against him. You looked back up to his face to see his eyes open once again, but with a sinful glint overtaking his expression. The veins in his neck were prominent as he lustfully glared up at you. You might have been the one on top, but his appearance signaled that he was about to be the one in charge. Ever so slightly, you felt him thrust up into you, the action eliciting a tiny whimper to escape past your lips. Jungkook groaned at the sound, eyelids briefly fluttering closed before he locked his gaze on you again. Digging his fingers into your sides, he did the motion again and again and again. Each time just a little more forceful than the last.

With each second that passed by you could feel his bulge growing underneath you.

And with each upward rock of his hips, he made sure to hit the very center of you perfectly.

The sensations left you lightheaded and gasping for air, though you were doing your best to quiet your moans. Much to his displeasure.

“I want to hear you, sweetheart.” He forced your hips down as he sent a wrecking thrust upward.

You mewled, sucking in more air harshly. Whether it was his words, his commanding aura, or his actions, you had no idea. Maybe it was all of it, but whatever it was, you liked it.

Loved it.

“More,” he demanded.

Your mewls finally changed into breathy moans as you began to meet every one of his thrusts with a roll of your hips.

“More.” He growled.

There was no way you were going to deny him. Not when he was making you feel like this.

“J-jung… ngh… Jungkook-ahhh.”

“That’s it, sweetheart.” His voice was deep and raspy and utterly addictive. “Be loud for me.”

“Mmm. I want… ngh… more!”

“So needy,” he remarked roughly.

He used his tight hold on your waist to quickly flip the two of you over so that you now laid underneath him on the soft grass. Completely at his mercy. With rattling breaths, he let go of your waist to slip his hands to your legs and wrap them around his torso. The angle allowing your core to once again be pressed directly to his front.

The sweet sensation was too much, but at the same time, not enough. You moaned his name and arched your back, wanting more, more, more. You felt drunk off him. Off his weight on top of you. His hands sliding against your body. His intoxicating scent. His dominating presence. Off his everything.

After securing your legs around his waist, his hands drifted up your thighs and past your hips and chest until they settled gently against your neck. He lightly stroked your skin, making you inhale sharply as waves of pleasure wracked your body.

“J-jungkook. Please.” You desperately tried to pull him down to you fully, but he resisted with a tsk.

His green eyes were completely blown out and they bore into yours as he peeled our hands off him and pinned them to the ground beside your head. “You need to be patient, sweetheart.”

He leaned down and ran the tip of his nose from the base of your throat all the way up to your ear, lightly sucking at the delicate skin up there. You moaned and writhed beneath him as he continued nipping just below your jawline. The cold silver of his earrings dragging against your skin made you shiver. The scorching trail of his hot tongue made you pant.

You were about to release another sweet moan as he ground against you, but the sound of a twig snapping made you cease all actions.

“Is that… oh, shit! Run, hyung! Abort! Abort! Abort!”

IS THAT FUCKING TAE!?

Jungkook, who had also frozen at the sound, slowly turned his head in the direction of the panicking voice.

“You idiot! I think they heard you!”

HOBI!?

With wide eyes, you shoved Jungkook off you and quickly stood up while tugging at your clothes and running your fingers through your hair. When you rose to your feet, you saw Tae and Hobi trying to backtrack out of the clearing.

Jungkook, stood up as well, an absolutely pissed off expression consuming his face. “What the fuck are you two doing?”

The two Saeni yelped and sheepishly turned around to face you. As subtly as you could, you inched away from Jungkook so that you weren’t so close together.

Tae had the audacity to act surprised. “H-hey, Kook. Little scorja. Crazy seeing you guys out here!”

“Again, what the fuck are you doing?”

Hobi just let Tae take the heat, and you could see him start to slowly take a step back toward the tree line.

Tae just pouted at Jungkook’s question. “I was just looking out for my little scorja-”

“She’s not yours.”

Tae ignored Jungkook’s interruption, just smirked slightly. “-because the last time you followed her alone, you yelled at her.”

Okay, maybe we all should just calm down and then give ourselves concussions, so we can forget what was just happening.

Also… WHAT THE FUCK WAS JUST HAPPENING!?

You laughed nervously. “I’m, uh, just gonna let you two duke this out. I’m gonna leave with Hobi!”

You went to take a step forward, but Jungkook grabbed your shirt and pulled you back. “I’m not letting you leave this time.”

That made Hobi stop his quiet exit. “This time?”

Tae gasped. “Wait… has this happened before!? Are you two together!?”

Realizing what he said, Jungkook let go of you and even gave you a tiny push away from him, his green eyes wide with sudden panic. “Hyung, come on now. As if.”

Excuse me?

“Oh, Kookie, you come on now. You can’t lie and say that Y/N isn’t a beautiful girl.”

“Guys…” you tried to get their attention.

I appreciate the sentiment Tae, but I really don’t want to hear his answer.

“I-you-she-she’s human and it was nothing. We were just sparing.” He avoided looking your way.

Annnnd that’s why.

You stared at him, unable to comprehend anything that just happened. Why did he do that? Why did you go along with it? Why would he do that if he didn’t find you attractive? Why would you go along with it when you knew how felt toward you? Why did he say it was nothing? Why did that suck to hear? What in the everlasting fuck is going on inside of his stupid head!?

Hobi and Tae didn’t say anything else, just blinked and looked back and forth between you and the burgundy-haired Saeni next to you.

It was painfully quiet for the next several seconds until Jungkook mumbled to you. “Don’t be late for training in the morning.”

Then, he left in a hurry; walking into the trees without a single glance back.

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jamesmydeer · 6 years ago

Text

gee, I think you’re swell remus x reader

this time when i said soon, i meant it. i missed you guys! i decided to come back with a remus. i don’t know how i feel about it quite yet, but i really need to post. i think it starts strong, but kind of falls off. oh well, let me know what you think! thank you 3000 for reading! this is based off of elenore by the turtles.

word count: 4.2k

warnings: bad dad

masterlist

you got a thing about you / i just can’t live without you

Remus Lupin had been in the library for four hours. This wasn’t so out of the ordinary; he was a peculiar boy who enjoyed studying. At least, that was what y/n had come to observe about him. She too had been in the library for the same amount of time. However, it had been for a different reason.

Y/n L/n had been enthralled with Remus Lupin for the duration of her Hogwarts attendance. She didn’t know what it was, but something about him drove her mad.

Maybe it was his kindness. Y/n liked to think that was it. She couldn’t remember every time she had been bumped into in the halls, sending her books flying. She could, however, remember every time Remus had stopped to help her. No matter where he was within the hallway, he would walk over to her and help her gather her things. Each time, he would smile at her, hand her the last item, dismiss her gratitude, and run back to his friends. Each time, y/n feared her tell-tale heart would give her away.

Maybe it was his looks. After all, that was why she was in the library. She hadn’t enough courage to speak to him, so she had to be content with looking. Creepy? Extremely. Y/n realized this, but every time she decided to stop behaving borderline stalkerish, she would glance at him and see him smiling down at his potions book. Out the window her rationality would fly.

Maybe it was his intelligence. He was, without a doubt, the smartest person she knew. Or, knew of at least. Always top of the class, always answering the professors’ questions, and always in the library. Y/n envied him for this. By no means was she unintelligent, she was right behind him in academics. She envied him for the ability to answer questions in class. Y/n sat in the back of the class, by herself, mouthing the answers that would then be vocalized by Remus.

She thought no one noticed this. She thought no one noticed her. She was wrong. A certain boy noticed that every time he answered a question, she would mouth it in sync with him and smile when he got it right. That certain boy thought it was very cute.

your looks intoxicate me / even though your folks hate me

Y/n L/n had been in the library for four hours. This wasn’t so out of the ordinary; she was a peculiar girl who enjoyed studying. At least, that was what Remus had come to observe about her. He too had been in the library for the same amount of time. However, it had been for a different reason.

Remus Lupin wasn’t sure when it happened, but it did. It happened suddenly; after all, he was always one to fall quick. He had fallen utterly head over heels. He knew he shouldn’t have, but he just couldn’t help it.

Remus had intended to stay in the library an hour, hour and a half at most. But then she walked in at the hour mark. He had been standing to collect his things, but his heart quickly forced him back into his seat when she walked in. He tried desperately to look like he was studying, but he wasn’t. At all. She didn’t seem to notice him staring, much to Remus’ delight.

She was a bit odd, in the most endearing way. She was peculiarly quiet. She didn’t talk at lunch, she didn’t talk in class, and she didn’t talk in the halls. Remus liked to think she came unglued everyday in her dorm room, talking a mile a minute.

Sirius and James quickly figured out about his crush on Y/n. They then told the oblivious Peter, leading to a dorm room full of three rowdy boys and one bashful Remus.

Once James and Sirius finished their role play of Y/n and Remus, Sirius dropped the playful look. He sat down beside the boy and gave him a sad smile.

“You know who her dad is, right?” Sirius cautioned. Remus gave him a questioning look. He shook his head no.

As Sirius spoke, Remus zoned out. He didn’t need to hear anymore than the part about her dad working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Her dad hated him. Remus didn’t think he would ever end up with her, but it was nice to dream. After figuring that out, even dreaming felt weird.

there’s no one like you / elenore really

Remus tried to stay away. He knew he couldn’t be in the same room as her and not have her be all that his mind consisted of. So, he avoided y/n, which he thought would be a simple thing to do considering he never even spoke to her. He was sadly mistake.

Remus walked into the library, hoping to get some transfiguration studying in. The fifth years had decided to cram for their owls, and Remus knew there would be a student in every chair. Upon entering, he realized he was right. There was not a single open seat within the room. Remus wasn’t new to this. He had been shy of a seat in the library many a time as a kid, and always went to the same secondary location.

Readjusting his grip on his studying material, Remus set out for the Black Lake. It was always a peaceful place to study, and, although he far more enjoyed the peaceful serenity of the library, it was a rather pretty day outside. Silently praying to himself that no one was sitting under the tree he longed to study under, Remus exited the doors of Hogwarts.

Muttering a thank you to no one in particular for his study spot under the tree being unoccupied, Remus settled down and began to study. After getting two paragraphs into the impact Gulliver Pokeby made on the findings of magical birds, Remus was startled by a voice over his left shoulder.

“Ooh!,” y/n yelped, frightened to see someone sitting where she was just about to plop down. “Oh, I’m sorry Remus,” she spoke, a little upset that someone was occupying the spot she had planned on studying in.

“I’m guessing you had the same idea as me. If those 5th years hadn’t waited until the last minute to cram in all this studying, we’d have a nice seat in the library,” y/n rambled. She looked down and Remus was steady staring up at her.

Her head was positioned directly in front of the sun, effectively blocking it from the boy’s eyes while also creating the illusion that there were rays of sunlight coming directly from her. She looked quite literally radiant. It was as if she was an angel, Remus observed. He wasn’t supposed to think of her in this matter, but there was no way he couldn’t. He was snapped out of his dreamy daze by a soft call of his name.

“Oh, uh yeah. Yeah, crowded library,” he mumbled, mentally face palming for clamming up in front of her.

Y/n took his words as dismissive. She understood, he was trying to study and did not want to be interrupted. “I guess I should be going now.”

“No!” Remus called out rather quickly. Realizing that she hadn’t yet moved from her previous position, Remus looked down at his lap and blushed.

“I mean, you don’t have to leave, that is. I don’t mind the company.” Remus rushes out, avoiding eye contact at all costs. Y/n smiled down at him.

“No, I really should leave you to it. I’ll see you around Remus.”

She smiled sweetly at him, before turning and walking away. As soon as she was out of earshot, Remus promptly began chanting ‘stupid stupid stupid’ to himself. He couldn’t help it, really. When she was around, his mind went all fuzzy.

He tried to go back to studying, he really did, but the same picture of her glowing in front of him kept replaying in his mind. Struggling to shake the interaction, Remus began to copy his notes. He quickly grew bored of this, and his hand grew a mind of its own. His paper was littered with one name.

elenore gee I think you’re swell

Remus completed absolutely none of his work. The sun that had at first felt nice on his skin now caused sweat to form right along his brow. He shifted uncomfortably and stood, promptly bumping into his mates, who were waiting to scare the boy.

“Hello twats,” Remus sighed, walking forward past them.

“You sound chipper,” James slung his arm around the boy’s shoulder. “whoever put you in such a fantastic mood?”

“Probably us, James,” Peter spoke as if it was obvious. Sirius looked at him, seemingly unamused.

“You think?” James asked, reaching back and flicking him in the ear.

“Apparently not fellas,” Sirius smirked, snatching something from Remus’ hand.

“What do we have here?” James questioned, wiggling his eyebrows at the taller boy.

“Looks to be his Care if Magical Creatures homework lads,” Peter snorted, amused by his two friends lack of sense.

“Pete stop talking.”

“Well, he’s not wrong James. It just so happens to be notes on his favorite magical creature,” Sirius teased, Peter finally understanding the matter of their taunting.

“Would you shut up?” Remus begged, snatching the paper from Sirius’ grasp. “I just… couldn’t concentrate.”

Sirius, finding the matter at hand extremely comical, went to tease his friend some more. James places a warning hand on his chest, silently telling him to cut it out.

“I get it,” said James, patting his friend on the back in reassurance. “You know, it’s better to talk about it than to keep it cooped up.”

Remus let out a frustrated sigh. He knew James was right, but he didn’t even know where to start.

“I don’t know, she’s just… ugh! I can’t even think when she's around, much less talk. Even if I did want to ask her out, I’d mess that up for sure. What am I supposed to say? ‘Gee y/n, I think you’re swell!’ It’s hopeless.” As Remus ranted, James nodded along, face ridden with pity.

“Swell? I think you’re swell? I’m out on that one.” Sirius snorted, shaking his head in mock disgust and grabbing Peter’s arm, dragging him with him back to the castle. Upon passing James, Sirius received a slight kick to the back of his leg. He went to retaliate, but James’ expression was stern and Sirius knew he was already walking on thin ice. With a swift hand gesture, the pair were on their way.

“She come out here?” James questioned, knowing the answer, having passed her on the way out, but wanting his friend to open up.

“Yeah. She did.”

Remus sounded bored. He was bored. Bored of his hands getting clammy when he spoke to her. Bored of the polite smile she gave him when she caught him staring. Bored of not having an excuse to kiss her, or hold her hand, or even just talk to her whenever he wanted. He was bored, and he was going to do something about it.

“I’ll see you guys later,” Remus spoke, speed walking towards the castle.

“Hey wait up, where are you going?” James chuckled, trying to catch up with him.

“I’m going to tell my favorite magical creature that she’s swell,” Remus called out, a smirk on his face as he turned to wink at James. He then took back off towards the castle, stumbling every so often.

you’re my pride and joy et cetera

While walking around the castle, Remus remembered a multitude of things that put him in a bit of a pickle. Number one, he had no idea where she was. Number two, what if she was in a crowded area? While numbers one and two only made him more anxious, number three caused him to stop in his tracks completely. Number three, her dad.

Her dad hated werewolves. Her dad was one of the main reasons Remus couldn’t let anyone know about his condition. If her dad felt so strongly about werewolves, who’s to say she didn’t agree with him. She probably hated Remus too. A soft voice followed by a light hand on his shoulder jerked him out of his thoughts.

“Remus, are you alright?” she asked, face stricken with concern. Of course it would be her. When Remus wanted to see her, she was nowhere to be found. When he didn’t, she found him.

“Fine, thanks,” he dismissed her, turning to walk away.

“Actually Remus, I was kind of wondering if you’d seen my book. I think I dropped it while I was outside, and figured you might have seen it.”

Remus noted that she seemed frantic. He assumed the book was a school one, and y/n knew that if she lost it she would be in trouble.

“No, I’m sorry. If I do, I’ll let you know,” Remus rushed out, eager to increase the distance between the two.

“Thank you so much,” y/n smiled up at the boy, making him weak in the knees. “Have a nice day Remus.”

Before Remus could manage out a ‘You too’, she was gone. As he had many times before, Remus muttered the word ‘stupid’ over and over to himself all the way to his dorm room.

Upon entering his room, Remus was met with a chorus of ‘how’d it go?’s and ‘what’d she say?’s.

“Knock it off, I didn’t tell her.”

“What? Moony, you seemed pretty serious about it out there,” James asked, confused at Remus’ complete shift in emotion.

“I know, it’s just… it’s complicated J.”

James smiled understandingly at Remus, who didn’t seem to enjoy his friends’ pitying looks. Feeling claustrophobic, Remus plopped down on his bed and pulled out his study material, preparing to drown out all his inner thoughts with his schoolwork.

Upon opening his bag, Remus was met with a bright yellow book. He knew the book wasn’t his; his school books were tattered and dull. He reached into his bag and pulled out the book. Engraved in big black letters across the front was her name. Her name. It was the book she was looking for.

Unbeknownst to Remus, Sirius had been eyeing him the whole time. He saw the book. He saw the look on his friends face. Remus wasn’t going to read it. Sirius knew y/n liked Remus, as did the rest of the population. It was obvious. The book was a journal, that much was easy to see. So, Sirius was going to make him. Or at least, make it hard for him not to.

“Prongs! Wormtail! We’re late for that thing!” Sirius jumped up, ushering the two out of the room.

“What? There’s not a thing,” James spoke with a confused look on his face, only to be replaced with a suspicious one when Sirius shot him a wink. Sirius winks were never any good, but they hadn’t gotten him killed yet.

“Oh yeah, the thing, let’s go Pete,” James mumbled, grabbing Peter and rushing out of the door that was being held open by Sirius. As he went to trail the pair, he turned back to Remus, who was sporting a bewildered look.

“Open it.” With that, Sirius was gone.

Remus knew he shouldn’t, it was an invasion of privacy. After battling against himself for a minute, he came to the conclusion that he would not open the book. There were, however, two pieces of paper sticking out of the book that Remus would read.

The first was a letter from her father. The thought that the very paper he held once belonged to the man sent chills up his spine. The handwriting was sharp, there were no streaks or blobs of ink. He felt guilty, but after the first line, guilt was the last thing on his mind.

Dear daughter,

I’m sorry you feel that way. I don’t see why you would want to advocate for such reckless and ruthless creatures. I respect your sharing of your views, incorrect as they are. I understand in your letter you specified that you were accepting of any punishment brought along with your rebelliousness. That won’t be necessary. As my daughter, you are my pride and joy. That being said, I expect you to come to your senses, seeing that your opinion goes directly against the well-being of others. Werewolves are monsters y/n. I don’t expect you to change your views so soon, but I expect a letter back as soon as possible telling me why you would believe such ghastly things. Ignorance will not be tolerated in my household.

Remus was seething. He wanted to rip up the paper into little pieces. He couldn’t believe the sweet girl he had fallen for had spoken up against her father, only to be harshly condescended to. He had never felt so much anger towards one person. He started to pack his things and try to ease his mind, but then he remember the other note.

This one was from her, he could tell. The handwriting was sweet. That’s how he would describe it. She had clearly been in a rush to write the letter. The paper was crumbled and messy. Remus didn’t want to intrude further, but his eyes began involuntarily scamming over the words.

Dear father,

I appreciate your response, yet do not understand it. I would want to advocate for such “reckless and ruthless creatures” because they are humans. Before the are bitten, they are people. After they are bitten, they’re still people. In the kindest way possible, an opinion can only be invalid if it directly goes against the lives of others. If anyone’s opinion is incorrect, it’s yours. I’m not rebelling, I’m trying to enlighten you to what’s right. Sure there are bad werewolves, but what about that scared child who has to endure excruciating pain once a month and have such a large percentage of people hate them for it. They grow up knowing they can’t do what others around them can. They’re victims. They did nothing wrong, yet you treat them as if all they’ve ever done is wrong. The only ignorance I can sense is your own, and it is highly palpable. The real monsters are people like you.

There was more. Remus didn’t care, he couldn’t believe what he’d already read. If he read anymore, he might cry. He couldn’t believe she would stand up to her father for him. She didn’t know she had, but she still did it. In a flurry of quick movements, Remus folded the letters back and stuck them in the book, jumping up and running down the stairs and out of the Gryffindor common room.

elenore can i take the time / to ask you to speak your mind

Remus knew she’d be outside. He knew the moment she saw he’d left, she’d take his former spot. So, that’s where he was going. He pushed through the crowds of students, not caring if he bumped into anyone. He needed to see her. For once in his life, he wasn’t thinking about what he was going to say. He was going to speak his mind. He wasn’t going to chicken out. He needed to see her.

Remus flung the door to Hogwarts open, earning sharp glances from a group of students sitting on the stairs. Remus cowered under their stares, but quickly stiffened once he saw a familiar face walking towards him. She sent him an amused smile, causing Remus to smile down at his feet.

“Hey Re-” y/n started, but was cut off by Remus hastily telling her they needed to talk. Noticing the worried glance in y/n’s face, Remus chuckled.

“No, I mean can we? Can we talk?” Remus asked softly, trying not to scare her off. She nodded slowly, still a bit confused. Remus pointed to the tree the pair had previously met at, silently asking if that spot was alright with her.

“Sure,” she spoke, heading off in the trees direction. Now was the time for Remus to think of what to say; he still had no idea. He couldn’t properly formulate any words in his mind. He was cut off of his contemplation of whether or not to turn and run by a cough coming from below him. He look down to see y/n looking up at him, eyebrows raised in amusement. She patted the spot beside her, Remus gladly plopping down on it.

“You okay?” she questioned, and Remus realized she still had no idea what the topic of their discussion was going to be. Not that he did either.

“Uh, yeah, I found your book,” Remus murmured, handing her the journal.

“Oh my, thank you so much Mus!” Y/n exclaimed, politely taking the book from the boy. Remus was too caught up in the fact that she just called him Mus to see her open the book and find that the letters had been moved from their original spot. Once he gathered himself, he noticed the way she was looking at the papers. He knew she knew.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have read them” Remus started, feeling the guilt all over again. Y/n placed a reassuring hand on his knee.

“It’s okay, I would’ve done the same,” she spoke softly to him, avoiding eye contact.

“Hey, look at me. I think it’s great that you’re standing up to him like that. You should send it.”

“I don’t know. He’s already pretty mad. I’m surprised that one wasn’t a howler. I just don’t get how he can think the way he does,” y/n spoke exasperatedly. Realizing she had went on a bit of a tangent, she blushed, avoiding eye contact.

“Hey,” Remus started “Your dad’s an arse.”

Y/n chuckled at this, bringing a hand up to the scar that stretched from nose across his cheek bone, rubbing over it gently with her thumb.

She knew. Y/n knew Remus was a werewolf. He searched her eyes for the pity he expected. Like the looks he got from his friends after a full moon. He didn’t receive it. Her eyes were genuine. He expected her to cower away from him, to break eye contact. She did perform the latter, only to look down at his lips.

Remus quickly licked over his bottom lip, his mouth dry. He looks down at Y/n’s lips too. He’d looked at them before, stared at them even, but he’d never truly seen them. They looked nice. She was biting them and they looked soft. He wanted to find out if it was true. He looked back up at her, seeing that she had done the same. The eye contact sent a shock through his body.

“Can I kiss you?” Remus whispered, already leaning in. Her thumb on his cheek ceased to move, and she eagerly nodded, leaning in as well. Slowly, their lips met. Neither of them had ever felt anything like it before. After a second, Remus pulled back shyly. The couple met eyes once more.

“Good?” Remus asked, hoping more than anything that y/n would say yes. She didn’t, but Remus enjoyed her answer better. Y/n reached forward, running one hand through his hair and placing the other on her jaw. Nodding, she leaned in, kissing him with more fervor than before. Reciprocating the kiss, Remus brought his hands to her waist, pulling her closer.

“You didn’t happen to read the stuff I wrote about you did you?” Y/n pulled away to ask. Remus quickly brought her back forward.

“No, but I will now,” he mumbled against her lips. Moving the journal out of Remus’ reaching grasp, y/n smiled up at him.

“Gee, I think you’re swell,” she mocked, batting her eyelashes. Remus’ jaw dropped.

“How did you- when did you- why… Sirius?” Remus knew the answer. After a teasing smile and a nod, Remus snatched the journal from y/n’s grasp. He quickly stood up, holding the journal out of her reach.

“He’s so irresistibly charming,” Remus read in a high pitched voice. “You really think that?”

“Stop it Mus,” y/n whined, reaching for the book again. When her actions failed, Remus was sure to notice the mischievous glint in her eyes. She reached up on her tip toes and cupped Remus’ face.

“I do think you’re irresistibly charming, you know?”

“Yeah?” Remus smirked, not noticing his arms slowly falling down to his sides.

“Yeah,” y/n nodded, grabbing the book from his hands and running off towards the castle in a fit of giggles.

Remus shook his head, a soft smile on his face.

“Wait up!” he called out, grabbing her stuff and taking off after her. He was enamored. Absolutely smitten.

#harry potter #marauders #jamesmydeer #marauders hc #harry potter imagines #harry potter hc #harry potter imagine #remus lupin x reader #remus x reader #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin hc #remus imagine #remus #remus lupin

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geekofmanyforms · 5 years ago

Text

New Beginning

Chapter Eight

*** This chapter has been edited by my Beta Casey. Please let me know what ya think. Feedback is super welcome, and something that keeps me writing.

I opened the front door and was surprised to see Bonnie, waiting inside our kitchen.

"Hey, El, is Elena with you? She sent me an S.O.S. text, told me to meet her here,"

I tilted my head in confusion. "An S.O.S. text? Did she say what happened? She seemed fine when I left," I said, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"No, she just said something about Stefan, but gave me no details,"

I chugged the entire bottle of water quickly — no way was I going to have a hangover tomorrow.

"Okay, well I'm gonna head upstairs and get outta this dress," I said.

She nodded and grabbed two containers of ice cream from the freezer. I almost laughed at her serious expression — it was as if she were preparing for battle. I grabbed another bottle of water and headed up the stairs just as Elena flew through the door, her hair was in disarray and her dress crumpled. She looked a complete mess.

"Elena...are you okay?" I asked, from my spot on the stairs.

She lifted her head and sent me a glare. "I don't know, Elara. Ask Stefan — you seem to be great friends," she spat.

My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open as I watched her storm into the kitchen.

Wow, she is really pissed.

I hurried upstairs and into my room. I stepped into my closet and took off my dress as quickly as I could. I needed to figure out what the hell had happened, and I had a terrible feeling. I grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans and dressed. I put my flats back on and grabbed my cell phone just as it began to ring. I looked at the caller I.D. and was surprised to see Caroline's name and number flashing up at me. I slid my finger across the screen and answered.

"Hey, Care," I said casually.

I could hear her panicked breathing on the other end as she attempted to choke out words.

"Care, Caroline — what's wrong?" I asked urgently

"He w-wanted-" She blubbered for a moment more, squeaking through hysterics

"Calm down, I can't understand you,"

"Ellie, he wanted me to help him find a crystal. I...I..I'm so scared. Elena saw my neck earlier and freaked out — I think he blames me. Please, help me," Caroline cried.

I didn't even have to ask who she was talking about. I had been afraid this would happen. Elena was never one to keep her nose outta other people's business.

"Caroline, listen to me. Where are you?" I asked.

She was quiet for a moment as she took a few deep breaths. "I'm still at the Lockwoods. That's where he said he hid the crystal. He left me to go and find it, but I'm afraid he is gonna come back Ellie," she said, sniffling.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, trying to control my emotions.

"Okay, just stay there," I said, "I'm on my way."

I hung up the phone and slid it into my back pocket. I opened my window and closed my eyes. It had been a really long time since I had attempted this spell and I wasn't sure how well it would work. I concentrated on a mental image of what I wished to become — a small falcon.

"A me intuitus facti sunt,"

I felt my body shrink down and change shape as my spell took effect. I stretched out my grey wings and lifted myself into the air. As I passed by my window, I could see my reflection in the glass. The spell worked — I had indeed become a small falcon.

My wings were mostly gray but tipped in black. My stomach and neck were covered in white feathers. I flew easily past my house and across town, enjoying the feeling of the wind in my feathers. The Falcon was my favorite form to take.

I approached the mansion and lowered myself to the ground, perching on a tree branch. I used my advanced hearing and listened carefully for any sign of Caroline. A few moments passed before I could hear her crying out.

I flew closer. I could hear her speaking to someone and lowered myself to the ground, whispering the counterspell in my mind. A small light erupted around me, and my body took its original shape.

"I swear, I didn't say..." Caroline said, crying.

I ran forward and saw Damon standing behind her with his arms around her waist.

"Shh, shh, shh. It's okay. Unfortunately...I am so over you now. El will be angry, but I'm sure she will get over it,"

Anger clouded my judgment as I rushed towards them. Power surged through me like a supercharged electrical shock— he would be sorry he messed with my best friend.

"I wouldn't, Damon," I growled angrily "I warned you and yet here we are,"

His head shot up and met my gaze, trepidation plastered to his face.

"I will never forgive you if you hurt her, Damon. Don't...please," I begged.

I didn't want to hurt him, but I would if he forced me too. Someone had to protect Caroline.

"This is who I am, El. You were the one who said we couldn't go back," he said, wrapping his hand around Caroline's neck.

I took a step towards them. He squeezed, making Caroline cry out in pain.

"Stop, Damon! Stop!" I yelled fearfully.

I lifted both of my hands out in front of me, my breath shaking as I exhaled.

"She knows too much," he said "I have to get rid of her,"

Tears formed in my eyes as my hands started to shake.

"Don't make me do this, Damon," I pleaded "Don't make me choose — You won't like the outcome,"

It felt like time stopped as he looked at me. I could see him make his choice as his eyes filled with regret, and before he even moved a finger, I had made mine. I shook my head sadly and closed my outstretched hand. With a loud snap, he fell to the ground, temporarily dead. Caroline stood shakily where he had left her, looking at me in fear.

"Care, come here, it's okay, it's okay,"

She fell into my arms, shaking and sobbing. I looked up as a quick breeze filled the air — Stefan now stood beside his brother, staring at his limp body in shock.

"How...what happened?" he said, exasperatedly "I was coming to find him,"

I placed my hand on Caroline's forehead, and she went limp in my arms. As I laid her on the ground, a small talisman fell from her hand. I recognized it immediately; it had belonged to Emily Bennett, and I knew precisely why Damon had wanted it.

I picked it up without Stefan noticing and moved my hand above Caroline. She began to float beside me. Stefan looked at her then back at me, trying to understand.

"I snapped his neck, Stefan. He took things too far when he threatened her. I warned him..." I said, with sadness in my voice.

Stefan stepped beside me and looked Caroline over.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

I ran my fingers through her floating hair and frowned.

"Yeah, I'll handle it. She needed to rest, and I didn't want her to panic,"

He shook his head and grabbed his brother's body. He threw him over his shoulder without much effort.

"Well, I'll take care of Damon. You just handle Caroline and Elena — she's pretty pissed at us both. She thinks we were flirting, mix that with the fact that she knows I'm hiding things, and you get a furious Elena," he sighed.

I rolled my eyes at her ridiculousness and folded my fingers. Caroline moved forward as we walked away.

"How are you getting her home," Stefan asked.

I bit my lip and shrugged. "I guess the easiest way would be to send her home magically, but that spell can be complicated, and I've not been practicing,"

Stefan readjusted Damon and smiled. "If anyone can do it, it's you. I better get him home and locked up."

Stefan sped away quicker than I could blink. I looked at the empty night before me and took a deep breath.

You can do this — you've done this a hundred times in the past.

I turned to face Caroline and lifted my hands above her. I closed my eyes and pictured her room in my mind. I made sure to remember every detail correctly, so I could be sure she appeared where she was supposed to.

"Mitte illam, ut ubi pertinet,"

I spoke slowly and clearly, ensuring that I was speaking the correct incantation. With a bright flash of light, she was gone. I waited for a few minutes before I pulled out my cell and called Sheriff Forbes. The phone rang a few times before she answered.

"Hello?" she asked.

I put on a fake carefree smile and made sure it was presented in the tone of my voice.

"Hey, Mrs. Forbes, Its Ellie — I just wanted to make sure Caroline made it home safely. I didn't see her when I left," I said.

There was a rustling sound on her end, and I could hear a door open.

"Yeah, she is in bed asleep. Everything okay?" she asked.

I lifted my head towards the sky and closed my eyes in relief. "Yep, just checking up on her. You know how I tend to worry,"

I could hear her close Caroline's door before speaking. "She is fine. I'll tell her you called," she said.

I said my goodbyes and slipped my phone away before I transformed and headed home.

It had been three days since the Damon and Caroline incident. Luckily I had been able to cloud Caroline's memories. The only thing that would make her remember everything was the change, and I sure as hell didn't plan on letting her become a vampire.

The Bennett Talisman sat on my bedside table as I dressed for the day. I could feel its power radiating around me. I knew it wanted to find Bonnie, and I debated on whether I should give it to her or not. I knew what it was capable of and wasn't sure If I should allow it to be used for what it was meant for. I could very easily destroy it, but it wasn't mine. I knew it shouldn't be me who decides its fate.

It was like I could feel Emily yelling at me for even considering allowing it to fall in the hands of someone who would use it to free those trapped in the tomb. After all, I was a witch and was supposed to hate vampires.

The crystal sent another burst of energy my way. I huffed and spun around to face the damned thing.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll make sure you get to Bonnie," I said, exasperatedly.

I pulled my hair into a messy bun and fixed my pink tank top before grabbing the crystal and slipping it onto my neck. I patted it and sighed as I felt a surge of acceptance. It knew I wasn't planning on using it and was allowing me to wear it without pain.

"Thank you," I said.

I grabbed my car keys and slipped out my door quietly. No one else was up yet, and I didn't want to wake anyone. It was only five, and I would be flayed alive if I got caught sneaking out this early. I hopped over the squeaky step in the middle of the stairs and slipped into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottled yogurt from the fridge and tiptoed to the front door. I slowly opened it and stepped outside, then sprinted to my car.

I put my car in neutral and pushed it out of the driveway before starting it up and driving away. I grumbled for a minute, annoyed about being over a thousand years old and still having to sneak around before opening my yogurt and drinking it.

I passed by the town square, where the shops were still dark and quiet. I had always loved being up before everyone else. It was peaceful. As I passed over Wickery Bridge, I slowed my car and rolled down my window. I reached into my pocket and grabbed a penny before tossing it out my window and into the river below. It was a silly little tradition, but it was my way of remembering my parents. I continued my journey to the Salvatore boarding house and put my hand out my window so I could feel the breeze. I hated that my peaceful morning would be quickly made hectic the moment I stepped foot inside the Salvatore's house, but reminded myself that I had too. I couldn't just let Stefan handle everything with Damon — who knew what he had planned.

I pulled into their drive and tucked the crystal under my shirt before getting out of the car. I walked up to the front door and headed inside without knocking. I felt like the brothers and I were at the point in our relationship where we can be open with each other, house and all.

I checked the living room for Stefan, to no avail — he must be with Damon. I looked through the rest of the house until I came across the cellar. I listened carefully and could hear muffled voices. This must be where he is keeping Damon.

I headed down the stairs with my hands grazing the stone wall beside me. All I needed was to trip and crack my head in a house with vampires, especially one who likes to fight his true nature. As I reached the last step, I could hear Damon's voice.

"Where is my ring?" he said.

So that was Stefan's plan? Lock him down here without his daylight ring?

"Won't be needing it anymore," Stefan said.

I stood beside the entrance to the room, out of their line of sight. I was sure at least one of them had heard or smelled me, but neither acknowledged it.

"How long have I been here?" Damon asked, his voice weak.

I felt a single pang of guilt before reminding myself of what exactly had caused this to happen.

"Three days," Stefan said plainly.

I could hear someone shuffle before Damon spoke.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I leaned against the cold stone wall and listened to Stefan describe the process of desiccation. My face scrunched up at the idea of Stefan starving him to the point of mummification.

"I've injected you with enough vervain to keep you weak. Once your circulation stops, I'll move you to the family crypt, and then in 50 years we can reevaluate," Stefan said.

I tilted my head against the wall and had a quick internal battle with myself. Could I do this to him? I knew how dangerous he was, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the image of him when he was human out of my head. He was a good man. Was there really no saving him?

"I'm stronger than you think," Damon said weakly.

I could hear Stefan move closer to where Damon's voice could be heard.

"You always have been. But you're not stronger than the vervain, and we both know it. I'm sorry. It didn't have to be this way, but you forced my hand." Stefan said, exiting the room.

He looked at me briefly before he shut the door and locked it. He walked past me, and I stood in place. I put my forehead against the door and ground my teeth together. Dammit, why was this decision so hard? I gave the door one last look before ascending the stairs. I headed into the living room where Stefan was talking to a man, whom I guessed was the last living Salvatore.

"He's awake. He's weak, but it's probably best to stay out of the basement. 'm not sure how dangerous he still might be," Stefan explained.

I walked over to the liquor and poured myself a glass of bourbon. Stefan swiftly took the glass from me.

"It's a little early for that Ellie, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you may be right, but it's either this or deal with the extreme guilt I'm feeling right now," I muttered.

Stefan wrapped his arm around my shoulder and put his chin on my head.

"It's for the best. Damon can't be trusted."

I took the glass back from his hand and downed it in one gulp.

"Can we?" I asked shakily.

I placed the glass on the bar, more forcefully than anticipated, and walked out of the living room and towards the front door.

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