#and she was like. ok this awkward odd guy who i took a chance on and who i really really like in spit of myself is just

[july-19th-club]

ok dean's do as i say not as i do ass in the cassie episode when sam realizes that not ONLY is his supposed playboy brother actually a guy who will drop everything and reveal The Secret to the first girl who spends more than a month with him but . he will reveal The Secret at all, a thing he's spent the past six months loudly saying there is never any use in doing because we can't keep friends in this life anyway

[therealvinelle]

Ok I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I'm just now copying your Norwegian Bella AU into a text translator, and if you don't already have 50 people in your inbox demanding a translation then shame on ALL OF US because this is glorious! And while Google Translate does have a certain charm (it translated "piper hun ut" as "she beeps") I'm curious to see how you'd put it in English.

Troquantary is referring to this post. In which Bella doesn't speak English.

Fun fact, you're the only one who's gone into my inbox to request this. I was so sad, had the translation half-written and everything, but I was too proud to beg. So thank you, Troquantary, for popping this ask.

As for the dictionary fuckups, sounds about right. I made a few typos, too, that made Google Translate suffer even more. (Such as managing to mix up "henne" (her) and "hendene" (hands), resulting in Aro patting Bella instead of clapping his hands. Poor Google.)

Also, there are a few cultural references and language things that would be lost in the translation, in an attempt to keep them I included notes clarifying things.

Some things, like Aro and Carlisle's very old man way of speaking, are easier said than done to translate, you'll have to bear with me there.

Additional notes are that I added a few things to this version, many of them because translating is hard, but a few because while translating I thought "oh you know what would be much funnier-" and then wrote that.

Alright, without further ado:

When Renée left Charlie she did not go to Florida, she went to Oslo. And she went all in to make her daughter a true Norwegian, hiring Norwegian nannies and making sure never to speak English around the child. Since transatlantic flights are expensive, little Bella Swan rarely got to visit her father, and as such she never did learn what should have been her native language.

She quickly forgot what English she did have in favor of Norwegian, with the exception of words like “Yes”, “No”, and “I’m Bella”.

The few trips she took to visit her father were all the more awkward than in canon since she couldn’t play with the Black kids. Let not the blame fall upon Charlie: he took Norwegian classes and speaks conversational Norwegian. He can’t speak to Renée, because her Norwenglish is incomprehensible even to Norwegians, but he can communicate with Bella.

Not that he’s had a lot of chances to do so.

Bella makes it to seventeen years old, she’s in second grade at Handels* and is a major outsider among the preps there, and then Renée marries a handsome skier**. Together they shall travel the continent all winter to participate in as many skiing races as they can, and in the summer they’ll take gigs at Hurtigruta to see the coast.

*“Handels” is the nickname for an Oslo high school infamous for its pupils being rich and beautiful blonds who are going to be CEOs when they grow up.

**Skiing as a sport is huge in Norway

***Hurtigruta is a famous ferry that travels across the Norwegian West coast

Bella, who sucks at skiing and is too young to work at Hurtigruten, takes the hint.

With dread in her stomach and dictionary in hand she goes to her father in America.

Where she doesn’t speak the language.

Faen.

Charlie gives her a car, and I wish this meta was set in the present because I could have joked about electric cars and the automat only driver’s license*, but Twilight is set in 2005 so I can’t. The car part proceeds without drama.

*An increasing number of Norwegian youth take the driver’s license for automatic cars only, and we’re the country in the world with the highest percentage of electric car purchases.

School is worse than in canon, because she is now a thousand times more sensational than if she was merely the new student. She is from another country! All of Forks keels over with excitement.

To make matters even worse, our girl doesn’t understand a word of what people are saying.

She is too awkward to let them know she doesn’t know English. It’d become a thing, and they might think she’s dumb. To be fair, it’s not good that she’s been through primary, secondary, and now a year and a half of high school and still sucks at English.

So she nods, smiles, mumbles “Hi, I’m Bella” to the new faces, and blushes heavily when anybody says anything.

People assume she’s shy. That’s a bit boring, but oh well.

She has her biology class with the redhead hottie she noticed during lunch. She watched him and his family, they were fascinatingly pretty, but she doesn’t know anything more about them. Sure would have been great if she could have asked the tiny girl (was it Jess?) about them.

Biology proceeds as in canon - Edward badly wants to eat the delicious girl, but fortunately doesn’t.

She runs into him in the office when he tries to switch to another biology lesson, but she has no idea what he’s saying so she only has the suspicion that this somehow concerns her. Which is still uncomfortable, but Bella is probably the problem here. The hottie surely can’t be.

He’s missing from school for a week, Bella finds that weird.

He returns, and to her great horror he starts talking to her.

“Hello”, he says.

Bella dies inside. He’s too handsome!

"I'm Edward Cullen," he continues, and ok, she got that. The hottie is called Edward, that’s good to know. She’s not sure she caught that last name, though, Köln?

He says something else, it’s gibberish to Bella even though she’s concentrating, and at the end there he says “Bella Swan”.

She gulps.

"I'm Bella Swan," she confirms and nods. That should be correct. God, she hopes it’s correct.

He smiles a crooked, boyish smile. She’s awed. She didn’t think it was possible to be so beautiful.

He says something else.

Bella didn’t catch it.

She blushes even harder, she hasn’t been more embarrassed in her life. Here he is, the most handsome guy in all the world, and she has nothing to say to him. Literally, they don’t speak the same language.

She should tell him.

It’s one thing to chicken out of telling the town she doesn’t speak English, but there’s something different about Edward Cullen. He deserves the truth.

But...

He’s the most beautiful person she has seen in her life. He is American, too, so the odds of him knowing Norwegian are microscopical. If he finds out she doesn’t understand a word he says he’ll stop talking to her, and selfish as she is she doesn’t want that.

So with a slightly guilty conscience (but not enough to fess up) she contributes to the conversation with enough words and smiles to pull through. "Yes", "No", "Thank you", and "That's nice".

He is surprised by several of these answers, but instead of giving her odd looks and losing interest he grows more invested in the conversation.

Class ends.

The next day the near accident happens, and he saves her. She is stunned - dear god, did he just pick up a whole car? After teleporting across the parking lot..?

Soon she’s in the ER, and more than a little bit stressed about that fact since she knows the Americans have a terrible healthcare system.

She hopes Charlie has an insurance.

An insanely beautiful man walks into the ER, and Bella is shocked. He is just as handsome as Edward and Edward’s lunch friends!

He introduces himself as Carlisle Cullen, and Bella can only assume this is someone’s older brother. Possibly related to the blonde girl.

He smiles at her, says something, and she answers, "I'm Bella Swan."

He frowns.

That must have been the wrong answer, then.

His hands return to investigating her scalp, and to her great surprise he switches to perfect Norwegian, "kjenner De* noe ubehag når jeg holder her?" Do you feel any discomfort when I touch here?

*De is the Norwegian polite pronoun for “you”. Du = thou = the French tu, and De = you = the French vous. These polite pronouns went out of use in the 1980’s, save for when addressing royal persons, and would be considered antiquated in 2005.

He hurries to add, "Norsk lærte jeg i... fjor sommer. Det var et nettkurs." I learned Norwegian… last year. Online class.

"Hvilket da?" Which one? Bella asks, because Charlie needs to hear about this. The doctor has beautiful, if slightly outdated, pronunciation.

The doctor’s smile turns uncertain. She gets the feeling there’s something he doesn’t want to say. "Husker ikke," I don’t remember, sier han etter en litt vel lang pause.

That’s a shame. And weird.

"De hadde hellet med Dem i dag, som ikke ble truffet av den bilen." You were lucky today, not getting hit by that car. he then says, noticeably changing the subject.

"Det var ikke hell, det var Edward," It wasn’t luck, it was Edward, she replies sharply.

The doctor definitely looks uncomfortable.

She continues, "Han krysset skolegården på et blunk, og plukket opp hele bilen. Jeg så det," He crossed the schoolyard in a moment, and picked up the whole car. I saw it,

The doctor laughs. "Om han kunne det hadde nok gymkarakteren hans vært meget bedre. Nei, frøken Swan*, jeg beklager å si at det høres ut som at De er litt omtåket. Det er helt normalt ved hjernerystelse." If he could do that, his PE grade would be a lot better. No, Miss Swan, I’m sorry to say you seem confused. That’s normal with concussions.

*Addressing a young woman as “frøken” is even more outdated than using polite pronouns.

Why does Bella get the feeling he’s lying?

She’s discharged.

We’ll jump ahead to her trip to La Push - that trip uneventful, since Jacob knows she doesn’t speak English. They stick their hands in their pockets and stare at the sea.

The next day she’s shanghaied to Port Angeles, because apparently she said “Yes” at the wrong time when talking to Jessica (Turns out Jess’s name was Jessica!) and accidentally said yes to a day trip to Port Angeles.

Like in canon she wanders away from the others, and as in canon she is nearly gang raped. And again as in canon she is saved at the last moment by Edward.

He buys her dinner, and she can’t believe her own luck- and misfortune. A date with the most handsome guy on the planet (hence the luck) and she can’t say a word to him (hence the misfortune)!

He says things to her, lends her his jacket, and really this is it for Bella, she’s peaked, life can’t get better than this.

(That’s a lie, it would be better if she spoke English.)

He’s so amazing.

She’s gotten pretty good at navigating conversations with him, so she nods and aha’s her way through.

In his car on the way home the tone takes a more serious turn.

He asks her about something, and it’s a serious question, that much she’s gathered. She answers in the confirmative.

He is silent.

Did she say anything wrong?

(Edward, on his end, just asked if she knows what he is. She said yes, so calmly, not even a trace of fear in her.)

A few days later he takes her out on a walk in the woods.

He shows her a meadow in the woods, and when he steps into it he lights up in the sunlight.

Bella is in shock.

She knew there was something different about him, but- holy cow. This guy isn’t human.

Is she dating a god?

She stumbles into the clearing after him, and they spend a day together where he says things, and she can barely hear any of it (nevermind understand it) because she’s so distracted by how pretty he is.

The next day he takes her to a house in the middle of nowhere. She doesn’t want to guess that this can be where he lives. Surely gods don’t live in houses?

He shows her inside the house, and introduces her for Dr. Cullen and a lady with a name she doesn’t catch.

Bit weird that these two are acting like a couple of parents, they’re far too young and divine for that.

Edward shows her around in an old-fashioned office, and she doesn’t know what to make of i when she sees a painting of Carlisle. Edward launches into a long story when he sees her watching it, unfortunately she doesn’t catch any dates or artist names. At one point she heard the word “suicide”, though, and that’s not good.

She doesn’t get much out of the story.

The baseball game doesn’t happen because Bella didn’t pick up on what Edward wanted and didn’t realize she was being invited to a thing. They spend the afternoon watching a movie instead.

The relationship continues, impeded slightly by communication problems, but she’s mostly able to cover those up.

Until her birthday comes around.

She gets a papercut.

Jasper lunges at her. Edward throws her into a glass table, and then everyone is leaving.

Carlisle is kind enough to switch to Norwegian when he’s stitching up her arm, perhaps remembering the last time she was his patient. "Jasper har ikke vært på dietten vår så veldig lenge." Jasper hasn’t been on our diet for very long.

"Diett?"she asks. She’s never seen Edward eat anything. She wasn’t clear on what the Cullens ate, honestly she thought they were above such things. She was thinking maybe photosynthesis. The knowledge that they apparently eat food astounds her, but diets?

"Dyreblod istedenfor menneskeblod," Animal blood in stead of human blood, Carlisle clarifies.

Whachasay?

Carlisle gives a slight smile. “Jaspers liv som vampyr fikk en brutal start." Jasper’s life as a vampire got off to a brutal start.

...

Vampire?!

Bella’s missed something here.

Oh dear lord, oh fy faen, she has missed something.

“Åja”, uh huh, is all she can say, and suddenly she’s very aware of the fact that she’s sitting there with a bleeding arm.

And Carlisle.

Who is a vampire.

Over the course of the following conversation Bella makes a host of discoveries.

Edward has been a vampire this whole time, and he’s a telepathic vampire. Whether Bella should be a vampire too or not has been a matter of hot debate, but due to religious reasons Edward doesn’t want that.

Carlisle also brings up how Edward died of the Spanish flu.

"Jeg var under den oppfatning at Edward fortalte deg bakhistorien min?" I was under the impression Edward told you my back story? Carlisle asks at one point, and Bella just has to ask very nicely if he’d be so kind as to repeat it.

Turns out the guy is nearly four hundred years old.

Jaha.

Jahahaha jaa ha.

That’s… a lot.

She wanders out of the house in shock, and hardly notices Edward’s strange behavior over the next couple of days.

One day he picks her up at school, and takes her behind the house.

That works out.

He’s a vampire, but he never hurt her. He is endlessly beautiful, perhaps easier to love now that she knows he’s not a god. He’s her Edward, and that’s suddenly easier now that she knows.

They can still be together.

But now that she knows this about him, it’s about time he knows something about her as well.

It’s time to finally be honest with him.

So when he opens his mouth, she opens her mouth as well, but she doesn’t get any further than to “Edward-” before he launches into a monologue.

She’ll have to wait until he’s done before saying her piece. It’s a bit embarrassing, but it doesn’t seem like he intends to stop talking anyway.

And what he’s saying seems to be serious, so it’s probably best to let him finish.

Edward concludes his monologue by kissing her forehead. Then he disappears.

Where did he go?

A big unsure, Bella goes back to the house. She’ll just have to wait until he gets back.

She doesn’t know what to think when Charlie returns from work and tells her the Cullens have all left.

Oh, god.

Edward must have found out she doesn’t speak English.

She made a mockery of him.

He has every right to leave.

Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to live with.

Bella sinks into a depression.

The hallucinations begin, as in canon, though Hallusinward speaks Norwegian. Thank god for small mercies.

The friendship with Jacob (dictionary in hand) blooms, as someone has to help her see those hallucinations.

The cliff diving happens, and Alice shows up. Bella’s not sure what this is about, but she has gotten good enough at English to know that something bad happened, and Alice wants them to do something.

She’s a bit surprised to find herself on a plane to Italy, though.

Alice tells her to “Run to Edward” and ok, she got that, actually.

So she saves Edward.

After that she’s taken into the sewer, which turns out to house dozens of vampires.

Bella, Edward, and Alice are received in some kind of hall, where an unusual vampire has quite a bit to say. She understands some of what he’s saying, at least the part about “la tua cantante”. She knows a bit about Italian, see, so she knows that he’s talking about a song now.

She wishes she knew the context.

At one point he takes her hand, and appears fascinated by it. She wonders if he’s a palmreader. Not very vampirey, but what does she know.

He asks her a question.

"Yes," she says.

Saying yes has gotten her this far, after all.

But when he lights up and claps his hands together, and Edward and Alice stare at her in shock and betrayal, she knows she must have said the wrong thing.

The two are dismissed from the room before Bella can do or say anything, she’s just listening to Edward make a racket outside in the hallway.

Not good.

The unusual vampire brings her further down in his sewer palace to a basement, and she is given comfortable clothes to wear.

This is getting terrifying.

The vampire leans towards her - and she chickens out.

"Jeg snakker ikke engelsk!" she squeaks. "Non habla ingles!" I don’t speak English.

Han stanser, og ser forvirret ut. "Que- Hva behager*?" I beg your pardon? spør han etter et øyeblikk.

*A very formal, and slightly outdated (you can use it, but people will think you’re putting on airs. And they will be right) way of saying “excuse me?”

Sobbing, Bella tells him the whole story, from how she didn’t want to be the weird kid in school to how she’s now somehow in Italy without knowing why nor what she just agreed to.

When she’s done the vampire starts laughing.

"Dette forklarer jo en hel del," This explains quite a bit, ler han. "Men, kjære Bella, jeg er redd det ikke endrer noe." But, my dear Bella, I’m afraid it changes nothing.

He tells her that she has agreed to serve him and his army of undead warriors into eternity.

Well fuck.

"Du skal få slippe det, når du ikke visste hva du samtykket til - men skjebnen din forblir den samme. Loven er loven." You’re released from that promise, as you didn’t know what you agreed to - but your fate remains the same. The law is the law.

After a moment of silence, during which she looks terrified, he hurries to add, "Vi har en lov. Du må bli en av oss." We have a law. You must become one of us.

A law that Bella Swan has to become a vampire?

People are finally speaking Norwegian, and Bella is still lost. And it’s too embarrassing to keep pestering this poor, polite man with questions.

So she nods.

He gives her a glittering smile, and bites her.

When she wakes, Aro offers her an English course. A language course that, naturally, leads to her staying in Volterra. Why not learn a few more languages while we’re at it, dearest Bella?

Some time later Edward breaks into Volterra to save his Rapunzel, only to barely recognize her now that she’s a vampire who says things. Lots of things, she talks all the time now. WHAT DID ARO DO TO HER.

Too mortified to admit that she never spoke English, Bella claims she’s been brainwashed.

Aro is having too much fun to correct her, and the whole sad affair sets off a regrettable flood of rumors.

[queenshelby]

The Last Semester – Part 21

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Words: 1,856

Warning: Pregnancy, Angst

A week had passed since Cillian found out about the pregnancy and he had been nothing but gentle, helpful and responsive since. Every day, he asked you how you were feeling. He brought you prenatal vitamins and constantly reminded you to drink enough water. He even risked a black eye on several occasions when running into your father who was struggling with the situation and has refused to speak to Cillian again. He was furious and blamed him for everything, thinking that he should have been the responsible adult.

You weren’t sure whether Cillian did all this simply for the fact that you were pregnant or whether he wanted to get back together with you and, whilst you hoped that the latter was true, you wouldn’t make it so easy for him this time around. He had to fight for you if you were what he wanted.

You loved him, but part of the trust you had built throughout your relationship had faded after he pulled away from you for the second time when he faced what you thought were just a few small hurdles. What you didn’t know was that, in fact, the hurdles he was facing, weren’t so small at all. He was deeply conflicted and being with you could cost him much more than his friendship with your father. It could also cost him his career and this was something he began to slowly realise.

***

It was a Sunday afternoon and Cillian was waiting for Nadine, his ex-wife, to pick up the boys from his home.

As usual, she was late and his sons were getting frustrated having to wait around for her once again.

‘This sucks dad’ Charlie growled, causing Cillian to calm him down whilst, deep down inside, he hoped that Nadine would arrive soon as he had invited you over for dinner that evening and, the last thing he wanted, was having you and Nadine in the same room together

Until recently, Nadine had again broken court orders, withholding contact to the boys on several occasions. If it wasn’t for the fact that Charlie had his own mobile phone, Cillian wouldn’t have been able to communicate with them at all for weeks.

It was like a game to her. Whenever Cillian was even remotely happy with someone else, she would come out to play and he soon regretted having given her another chance earlier that year before he took the teaching position in London.

When she found out about you, all hell broke loose. She felt humiliated and embarrassed especially knowing that her attempts to get him back were futile.

And the worst of it all was that she knew about you for a very long time, using you as leverage against Cillian until he finally gave up and let you go.

It was that night, when he called you, breaking up with you when he found out that you were his friend’s daughter, that he slipped. He slipped with Nadine because she was there to pick up the pieces when he was at his worst.

Whilst this little hiccup didn’t result in anything more than a few kisses, it was a mistake and he knew that it was a mistake. The worst of it all was that it gave Nadine hope in a situation where there was none. After all, he loved you and not her.

Of course, Nadine was willing and able to use this against Cillian. She had already threatened him on many occasions to make public the many façades of their marriage and how he chose a young girl over the mother of his children.

This was exactly what his agent was worried about. He knew Nadine for many years and he knew about the skeletons in Cillian’s closet and, whilst there weren’t many, they could become quite scandalous.

Being with you and loving you was too difficult. It was an against all the odds type of situation. A twenty-year age gap was hardly going to be successful. Was he going to risk everything to simply give it a try?

***

Finally, at 6 o’clock, Nadine’s car pulled up in Cillian’s driveway and she quickly jumped out of her seat and ran towards the front door.

‘I am sorry I am late. I got caught up with a friend’ she said in a haste.

‘You could have called’ Cillian then said before allowing her inside.

‘Why, do you have a date?’ she then chuckled, causing Cillian to sigh and call out for the boys.

Just as they emerged from their bedrooms, you also pulled up in the driveway and Cillian immediately knew that this would be problematic.

You noticed Nadine’s car but walked towards the front door of the house anyway and Cillian was quick to let you in after giving you a polite kiss on your cheek.

‘Hey’ you said, greeting Nadine who didn’t bother to say anything to you but, instead, roll her eyes.

‘What is she doing here?’ Nadine then asked Cillian, ignoring your presence.

‘I invited her. Why?’ Cillian asked somewhat annoyed and Nadine immediately huffed in disapproval.

‘I don’t want her to spend time with my children. It sends the wrong message to them’ Nadine explained.

‘And what message may that be Nadine?’ Cillian asked rather irritated before Nadine escalated the situation and, once again, insulted you.

‘You think it’s a good idea to show the boys that this is ok? Being with someone that much younger who clearly isn’t compatible in any sort of way?’ Nadine then said before Cillian told the boys to wait in the car as he didn’t want them to hear the conversation between him and their mother.

‘Can you not do this in front of the children?’ Cillian asked angrily after the boys left with their Gameboys.

‘Do what? You are the one who is fucking a uni student, not me’ she then shouted and it soon became too much for you to listen to.

‘Hey, listen, I am going to go. This is awkward and I don’t want to be in the way, really’ you then said, feeling uncomfortable.

‘Wait on Sweetie. I am not finished’ Nadine said and you turned around at the door, rolling your eyes at her as you did.

‘Did he tell you that, when he visited Dublin a few months ago, he spent time with me? Just the two of us?’ Nadine then asked before telling you how she was very well aware of Cillian’s needs and that you were likely too young and inexperienced for him and he would have realised this by now.

‘Nadine, that’s enough!’ Cillian growled, interrupting Nadine as she went on.

‘I am going’ you then huffed out, irritated and upset. She was taking it too far and you didn’t need this in your life.

‘Y/N, hold on’ Cillian said, trying to hold you back but you shook your head and left. You didn’t want to deal with this.

‘Just remember what I have against you Cillian. Surely, if this becomes public, Y/N might get some ideas. Poor thing, so young and innocent. Also, the boys are staying with me for the next two weeks’ Nadine chuckled somewhat amused.

‘Fuck this, Nadine. I have had enough of this crap. Fucking do it, eh! Send it to the fucking paper just as you have threatened for years. I no longer give a shit and in so far as the boys are concerned, I will be in contact with my lawyer tomorrow. A fit and proper person doesn’t use their children as leverage. Fucking wake up, would you’ Cillian growled before storming outside with the boys’ backpacks and putting them into Nadine’s car before giving each of them a hug and saying goodbye to them.

‘Love you guys, see you on Wednesday’ he said with a warm smile before getting into his own car with the view to drive after you to apologise about Nadine’s behaviour and having you get caught up in this.

***

As expected, just before Cillian arrived at your house, he received a call from his agent Brian who was clearly upset and annoyed.

‘We have a problem Cillian’ he said with an almost terrified voice.

‘I know. Her name is Nadine’ Cillian chuckled.

‘I have seen it. Just then. She sent it to me via email’ Brian said concerned.

‘Did you enjoy it?’ Cillian laughed.

‘You need to take this seriously Cillian. Nadine also told me that you are back with the girl’ Brian then said.

‘She held this against me for fucking years and I played along for the boys’ sake, but I can’t keep going like this’ Cillian then explained, causing Brian to sigh.

‘This and the fact that you are with a 20 fucking something year old who also happens to be your friend’s daughter is a fucking disaster mate. You need to break it off’ Brian argued.

‘She is pregnant’ Cillian then said, knowing that this would annoy Brian even more.

‘You are fucking kidding me. Fuck mate. For your career’s sake you need end it with this girl quietly, pay her, get her to sign an NDA’ Brian explained.

‘No Brian, I won’t be doing any of these things. Let me tell you something. I married Nadine because she was pregnant with Charlie. I never loved her. I simply did what others told me was the right fucking thing to do. This is probably why our relationship was so messed up. I was about to do this again, listening to what others tell me is right or wrong and what is good for me. Listening to you, to Nadine, John and my mother. But, luckily, this time, I just came to my fucking senses’ Cillian said just before he pulled up in front of your apartment building.

‘She is twenty years younger than you, what do you think will happen in twenty years? Will she still be around? Will she be worth all this?’ Brian then asked somewhat upset.  

‘I don’t know, but I am keen to find out’ Cillian said as turned off the car.

‘This could be career suicide Cillian’ Brian said.

‘Perhaps. So, I suggest that you work hard for your commission while you still can and use these connections of yours to make publication of what Nadine has sent you hurt as little as possible’ Cillian chuckled.

‘It’s a sex tape Cillian. What the fuck do you want me to do about it? Censor it?’ Brian asked.

‘If you do, keep the good parts, eh? I need to go’ Cillian said.

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[latte-fairytaekwoon]

Kickstart My Heart Pt.II (Kang Yeosang) Rated

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Pairing: Racer! Kang Yeosang × Waitress!/Fuckgirl! Reader (Female)

Genre: Smut, Light Angst, Crack, 80s Au.

Summary: Getting the chance to spend time alone with Y/N, Yeosang jumps at the opportunity, getting a little more than he bargained for.

Word Count: 3.5K

Warnings: Dumb attempts at humor, second hand embarrassment, Lynn is still creepy, slight voyeurism/ exhibitionism, making out in car, heavy petting, allusions to oral (male receiving).

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The two best friends giggled amongst themselves as they entered inside the establishment, hands full of bags that contained to go boxes with several assorted sandwiches, burgers and fries inside of them. Hearing the bell signal customers, the peppy blonde at the front counter looked up from the thick stack of papers in front of her, mouth automatically showcasing her perfect and commercial worthy smile she always used when greeting newcomers or even regulars.

"Good afternoon what can-" Her expression immediately soured, smile fading and in its place puckered lips took shape.

"Oh... it's just you two." She drawled out the last words, eyes rolling as she peered back at the papers she was busy with.

Looking over at each other, Lynn simply shrugged her shoulders as one of her eyebrows raised up in puzzlement. Meanwhile, Y/N couldn't contain the soft snort that passed through her tight sealed lips, the sound coming out more like a goofy raspberry that further irritated the girl at the counter.

"Hey Sora. How's your day going so far?" Y/N tried to make conversation, but it was obvious the girl wasn't having it, blatantly ignoring both of them as her hand scribbled even faster, pages being turnt at a fast speed. Shifting awkwardly in her stance, Y/N turned her head to look at her friend, who merely shook her head, face clearly indicating to her to not try to act nicer and to simply get to the point of why they had come all the way to the workshop.

"Are the boys still here?"

With a few muttered grumbles, Sora lifted her pen and pointed it behind her towards the door that led to the garage, silently answering where the mentioned individuals currently were.

"Thanks."

Sora let out a scoff as the two girls made their past the counter, annoyed ever so vastly by the fact she had no authority nor power to forbid them from going to the back. Being friends with Wooyoung and the rest of the gang, obviously they got special privileges that allowed them to come and go as they pleased not only in the shop but also down at the tracks. And frankly Sora hated it, hence why she didn't refrain from demonstrating her hostility towards Y/N and Lynn, but especially towards the latter for more personal and complicated reasons that everyone was aware of but Lynn herself.

"I don't know why you go out of your way to be friendly towards her. She's been needing to take a chill pill ever since high school." Lynn retorted. Putting down the bags she was carrying for a moment, she pulled the sides of her oversized denim jacket back over her shoulders, the top having slipped off rather uncomfortably on her torso.

"Honestly?...... merely to piss her off." Y/N snickered maliciously, her true intentions finally coming to light.

"Well I'd say you do a fantastic job then. She just takes one look at you and her blood is boiling." Lynn pointed out as she picked up the bags once more.

"Trust me Lynn, you anger her more than I do." Thay statement made the petite girl do a double take at the office behind them.

"Me? Whatever did I do to Barbie?" She questioned, never once recalling a moment where she even spoke two words to the preppy girl that wasn't a casual greeting or goodbye.

Y/N looked with a deadpanned expression to her friend.

"You seriously don't- you know what? Never mind."

Not wanting to waste time trying to explain to her frequently unobservant buddy why Sora had a price on her head, Y/N just quickly rushed over towards the group of men huddled around the red Ferrari F40, one of them hidden underneath it, no doubt in the process of checking or fixing minor issues. Seeing the girls approaching them, all of the boys quickly sprang to life, Wooyoung leading the entourage as they came up towards them.

"So our lovely diner girls actually decided to join us for a movie night. I knew you guys couldn't resist my deadly charm."

Not only were the girls unamused by his little joke, but even his friends behind him shook their heads, disapproving greatly of his overly confident and light narcissistic attitude that he exuded at times.

"I only came cause I am not going to spend a perfectly good Friday night cooped up in my house watching Dynasty." Y/N firmly stated, shutting down any further attempts of flirting directed towards her.

"I like to see people get stabbed or gutted to death."

Cringing at the macabre girl's overly calm response, Wooyoung tilted his head back and looked at the tallest member of the gang, nose crinkling significantly as he silently mouthed a few words over to him, deeply questioning his friend's taste. Said friend simply shrugged and stepped up closer towards the girls, not surprising anyone that he'd pick a stance that had him facing Lynn from the front as he always liked to do.

"Well I'm just really happy you guys decided to join us. I thought you would be happy at knowing it was a horror film."

Not too far behind him, San and Mingi were already giggling amongst themselves, sending each other signals and jokingly theorizing how the night was going to go like.

"I am exceedingly happy Yunho. My body is so filled with joy and immense contentment that I can hardly keep myself from grinning." Despite the jubilant sentence, Lynn's face displayed absolutely no emotion and her raspy and low toned voice was still as monotone and lifeless as it tended to be. Yunho's bright smile nearly faltered, feet rocking back and forth awkwardly as he did not know how to proceed after such a statement. Luckily Mingi stepped in and changed the topic.

"Please tell me there's food in those bags and that we can have some." He pointed to one of the many bags that the girls were carrying.

Lifting one hand up then the other, Y/N shook the contents lightly.

"Your favorites." She chuckled when San came up and tightly squeezed her body into a hug.

"This is why I love you both." Y/N did not mind the slightest bit when he suddenly pulled her face towards his, mouth pressing hard and intense pecks on her cheek repeatedly as a show of gratitude. She was so used to his affectionate nature.

Turning around, Wooyoung cupped his hands over his mouth so that his voice could resonate loudly.

"Yeosang quit tinkering with it already! You're going to get dirty and we have a movie to catch." He shouted at whom the girls presumed was under the race car.

"You literally have speakers built into your vocal chords, there was no need for that makeshift megaphone." Lynn grumbled at him, causing the male next to her to burst out in a fit of giggles.

"Speakers built in hie vocal chords. Good one." Lifting his hand up, Yunho held it up towards Lynn, expecting her to high five him back but was instead met with her cold, squinting eyes that inspected his palm.

"Your aura is overly forced....and you have leftover grease on your hand." She looked away after finishing that sentence. Hearing her say that made Yunho instantly check his hand, immediately wiping it off on his jeans as he mentally slapped himself for looking like an idiot in front of the girl he fancied.

Not paying mind to whatever was happening around her, Y/N's eyes were glued on the figure that emerged from under the car. She couldn't help but admire the strong and buff biceps that were peeking out of the plain white tshirt the man was wearing, sleeves slightly rolled up above his shoulders. The angelic face belonging to him looked even more dazzling due to the light sheen of sweat around his temples, no doubt caused by the work he was doing. Even as he reached for one of the cleaning towels so he could wipe the grime and oil off his hands, Y/N continued to gaze at Yeosang, mind already conjuring up many ideas and fantasies with him as the main protagonist.

"Oh sweetie, you're not making this any easier." She mused inwardly, one of her fingers twirling a strand of her hair.

Discarding the rag on one of the toolboxes nearby, Yeosang carefully approached the group of friends, still awkward in interacting with all of them, trait that only helped in making him stand out like a sore thumb, more than he already did. Clamping a hand over his new buddy's shoulder, Wooyoung brought a hand up and patted one of his squishy cheeks.

"Now that you're finally here we can go." Looking around, Wooyoung gestured around.

"So who's riding with who?"

Immediately Yunho turned his face towards the girl next to him, about to voice out his want of having her in his car, but it seemed as if his plans would fall through as Mingi latched an arm around him.

"I'm going with Yunho." He seemed determined not to let go of him.

"Why? So you can cling to him during the scary parts?" A chorus of laughter poured out at San's amusing words.

"As if!" Mingi huffed, though it was more than obvious to everyone that it was precisely as San had predicted.

"Mingi... I was kinda hoping I could... you know?" Yunho tilted his head over to Lynn, making him get the picture of what he wanted.

"Whatever happened to bros before hoes?" Mingi sighed as he detached himself from Yunho.

"Ok then. Yunho you go with Mingi, San you can take the girls and I'll keep Sangie here company since he's still a little bit shy you know."

It seemed as if it was all decided about how their night was going to run, so Y/N knew she had to speak up and take the opportunity before it was all settled.

"Why don't I ride with Yeosang instead?"

Hearing her suggestion, the male in question widened his eyes in shock, not expecting her to voice that out loud. Even Wooyoung found it slightly odd and suspicious that she'd say that. But then he remembered the type of girl Y/N was and it started to set off alarm bells in his mind.

"Oh it's ok Y/N. You probably won't like to have him scream in your ear and cover his eyes like a baby at the jump scares." Not taking kindly to such blasphemous talk about him that painted an inaccurate picture.

But Y/N remained undeterred. She would stand her ground no matter what.

"Oh please, I insist. I'd love to take care of him..." She did not hide the sultry way she said that last part, eyes locked on Yeosang's, the boy swallowing hard and pressing himself further into Wooyoung's side. Wanting to bargain even further, Y/N took hold of her friend.

"How about this? Lynn goes with Yunho and Mingi, you ride with San and I get Yeosang?"

San cupped a hand over his mouth to muffle the laugh he wanted so desperately to release.

"I don't think it's just him she wants to get." He chuckled to himself.

"You're seriously leaving me alone with these 2 giants?" Lynn pointed to the two men at her right, one of which obviously was more than willing to welcome the arrangement.

"I promise Mingi won't disturb you too much with his crying." Yunho swore to her, hand coming up to clasp around Mingi's mouth when he attempted to protest that decision.

Wooyoung looked over to Yeosang, leaning in and dropping his voice so that only he could hear.

"If you don't want to, just say the word and I'll get her off your case." He offered. Although they had only met just a couple days ago, Wooyoung felt compelled and obligated to look out for the new boy, even if it meant protecting him from his other friends.

Knowing that he probably shouldn't and that it was a bad idea, Yeosang glanced over at Y/N. Meeting her eager eyes and cunning smile, any resolve to stay close to Wooyoung was immediately dispelled from his mind. He might never get another opportunity such as was presented to him and he would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that he was rather curious to find out more about the young vixen that he had heard so much about since he moved into town. With an assured smile that slightly worried Wooyoung, Yeosang stepped forward and held out his hand towards Y/N.

"Shall we get going then?"

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Unable to focus his attention towards the gigantic screen right in front of him, Yeosang slumped down further in his seat, fingers tugging his red sweater over his body. Every few seconds or so, he'd turn his head to peer at the girl on the passenger seat, looking exceedingly calm and collected unlike him. He was overly anxious to the point his food was still untouched, sitting in the backseat, long forgotten. Y/N, although collected, was bored out of her mind, elbow rested on the window, head being supported on her palm as her eyes never lingered away from the gore filled scenes being displayed across from them. There was a deafening silence inside the black Iroc Camaro, the tension between both individuals becoming increasingly thick.

Becoming desperate after 40 minutes of not getting him to make a move or even attempt to break the ice, she decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. Unzipping her green varsity jacket, Y/N began to slide it off her shoulders, revealing the low cut crop tank that she was hiding thus far.

"It's so hot today, don't you think?" She asked him as she tossed the clothing item behind her before settling back into her seat, fighting hard to keep her signature smirk off her face.

If he wasn't feeling hot before, Yeosang certainly started to feel heated after she had taken off her jacket. His hand reached out to grab the cup of soda in the cup holder, gulping most of the contents and ice down to help cool him down. He made an effort not to glance back at his companion anymore, knowing if he did he would have been unable to keep his eyes off her chest. Although it was dark and he turned away almost immediately, he had not missed the fact that she had chosen not to wear a bra, her nipples slightly poking out through the thin and flimsy shirt that even slowed one to make out the outline of her areolas. It was definitely a weakness of his, and Y/N was quick to find that out. Thumb coming up to her mouth, she began biting down on the nail to keep from giggling at Yeosang's reaction. He was devastatingly adorable with his wide eyes and stiffened posture, knee restlessly bouncing up in an agitated fashion. Looking in between his legs, she felt disappointed that she hadn't caused enough damage to earn a tent forming in his pants. He obviously knew how to calm himself in time. That wasn't enough to make her give up. On the contrary, it only hardened her resolve to get him to break.

Letting out an overly dramatic sigh, she reached her hands inside of her tank top. Cupping her breasts in her palms, she started off with slow movements, massaging them gently. Her eyelids started to flutter, closing only briefly as very faint and soft sighs were being exhaled through her nose. Although it was mostly done to tease the boy next to her, she got carried away and started to become more and more turned on with what she was doing. Each time she'd purposefully pinch and pull at her hardening peaks, a muffled whine would be heard coming from her throat, legs starting to spread inch by inch as her planters started to stick against her core.

Opening her eyes and tilting her head, she witnessed Yeosang's astounded expression that also held some lust in it. He was no longer sipping from his drink, but rather his teeth and tongue were merely toying around with the blue plastic straw as the grip on the base of the cup was lightly crushing it. The movie ultimately failed its purpose of keeping him distracted as his attention had fully diverted over to the sexy girl next to him, watching intently as she pleasured herself, wishing that it were his hands instead that were ministering such devotion to her breasts.

"Wanna be a doll and help me out here?" It seemed as if she had read his mind.

Without even a second of hesitation, Yeosang reached down and adjusted his seat back as far as it could go. Jumping at the invitation, Y/N climbed on top of him until she was straddling his lap. Yeosang's hands eagerly clasped around her waist, thumbs circling on the skin of her exposed abdomen. Cupping his cheeks, Y/N leaned her face down and harshly entangled her lips over his own. Yeosang hummed softly as he tasted the remnants of her cherry flavored chapstick, head tilting back when one of her hands tugged at his hair. His hands didn't hesitate to trail up and cup her mounds through her shirt, taking over the job that was previously being done by the owner's hands. Her insistent mouth parted his trembling lips, tongue poking out ever so slowly until it began divulging in the sweet taste of his wet cavern. Although he was no stranger to French kissing, Yeosang had never experienced a makeout session as intense as the one Y/N offered. She was very skilled and experienced, as proven by the swirl and swivel of her tongue against his own. He couldn't stop the moans pouring out from inside him, his hips bucking up into hers as if on instinct while his hands became more harsh and aggressive as they grasped at her breasts with near ferocity. Y/N would only pull away from their kiss for a few seconds to allow him to catch his breath before her lips lured him back into her. It was finally dawning on Yeosang's mind why so many men became captivated by her charms, even when knowing what the outcome would be. Here he was, the most lovely and hottest girl he'd ever met in his life, on his lap, making out with her while simultaneously getting to second base. He felt so damn lucky. But Y/N wanted to take it up a notch, not satisfied with ending the night with just heavy petting.

Sliding off his lap, she suprised him when she took hold of his belt and began to take it off him. Getting an inkling as to what she might have had in mind, Yeosang took hold of her wrist, making her head shot up at him.

"Is something wrong?" She began to get a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Had she really fucked things up already.

Yeosang turned beet red as he swallowed harshly, trying hard to form the words his head was attempting to sought.

"Are you.... are you a virgin?" She felt like she would have died if the answer was yes.

Seeing her worried face, Yeosang quickly shook his head.

"No! I'm most certainly not a virgin." He sounded almost offended at the insinuation, but it helped calm Y/N down, releasing a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"I just...I've never tried...that before."

His confession just made him cuter in her eyes, previous desire to corrupt and play with him only heightening to new levels after that revelation. Wanting to entice him, she moved her hand to cup at his bulge, loving the way he immediately gasped when she started palming him through his jeans. He bit down at his lip so harshly he believed it would draw blood. He wouldn't contain himself as he bucked his hips up into her palm, desperately wanting her to help him out with his problem. When her fingers reached for his zipper again, he didn't stop her, he merely lifted his hips up to help her as she pulled his pants down by the belt loops, his hardened cock popping out to greet her, surprising her when she noticed how large and thick it was, the head leaking with precum which she used to her advantage and began spreading it down his shaft. The contact of her hand gripping him had Yeosang shuddering, low groaning spilling out his lips. Looking up at him with a devilish grin, Y/N began lowering her head until her lips brushed against his tip.

"Just sit back and relax pretty boy."

A raspy wheeze was caught in Yeosang's throat as soon as he felt her warm mouth on his length, hands flying behind him to clutch at the leather seat of the car. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. It felt so dirty, so wrong and yet he wanted it. He wanted her........

He didn't care if he was playing with fire and he'd get burned by the end of it.

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Taglist: @little-precious-baby @multidreams-and-desires @yunhofingers @deja-vux @hanatiny @brie02 @couchpotatoaniki @daniblogs164 @a-soft-hornytiny @yunsangoveryonder @mingismoon @ateezbabysitters @minhyukmyluv @rainteez02 @nanamarkie @serialee

[ipuckwithhockey]

Just Ask- N. Patrick

a/n: More Nolan stuff? Yup. I should preface this with the fact that we should all be considerate of all hockeys and their personal lives. They have lives that do not include us and we should respect that. This includes their online accounts whether they are private or public. I say that because this does slightly touch on Nolan’s music taste/interest in music, but there’s nothing specific. Also, lets remember that this is all fiction! We’re just here to have some fun. Anyway, this is a short one, nothing too crazy. Let me know what y’all think!

warnings: drinking, swearing

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Meeting the Flyers was a byproduct of your friendship with Carly. The two of you have been friends for ages and she introduced you to the boys early into her relationship with Travis. You were able to avoid being the consistent third wheel by finding a comfortable place within Travis’ group of friends. Although Carly and Travis have insisted that they try to set you up with someone on the team, you continually refused, saying that it would be awkward if it didn’t work out. Not to mention the fact that you didn’t think any of the guys were interested.

The lovesick couple bothered you about it for ages, trying to push Beezer and Frosty on you, and then saying that you and Nolan would be “so cute” together. Joel and Morgan were great, you loved them both dearly, but there was no way you were dating either one of them. They were more compatible with each other than with you.

However, the last one you didn’t disagree with. You agreed, and thought that you and Nolan would make an exceptionally cute couple. It takes two to tango though, and Nolan definitely isn’t interested. Nolan has always been friendly and your personalities mesh well enough that you would consider him a good friend. The two of you even hang out by yourselves when TK and Carly cancel on you to do god knows what. You’ll grab food or watch a movie, but he has never made any inclination that he feels anything more than platonic towards you.

Nolan is shy, and dry, yet incredibly funny. He’s blunt and has a few sharp edges to him, but he’s not the fiery time bomb that TK resembles. He’s more reserved, laid back, and you can feel at ease with him because of it. You loved Travis to bits, and he was the perfect match for Carly’s outgoing personality, but you can only handle so much of him.

Take right now for example. You’re standing in the kitchen of a post-win house party, and Travis is incessantly nagging you to go talk to Nolan. The house you’re in is full to the brim with people you’re sure they don’t know and you and Travis are in the kitchen fixing yourselves another round of drinks. From where you’re standing you can see Nolan in the family room towering over a few doe eyed girls who hang on his every word. They are fixated on him, and you think that he could tell them to get on their knees right then and there and they would do it gladly. (You’re not sure you would say no either, so no judgement there.) 

You’ve seen him take girls home from parties and bars, and he’s seen you with your fair share of conquests as well. It doesn’t bother you, and you figure it doesn’t bother Nolan either. Would you mind being the girl he took home? No, not at all, but unfortunately that was a role you would probably never be cast in. Even if you were you wouldn’t want to be one of those other girls anyway. You wanted to be the girl. You wanted to be the girl who made him forget about all the girls before you.

Your silent pining was becoming a little sad, and as much as you hated it, you couldn’t do anything to change how you felt about him. When you first met Nolan, you figured your little crush would soon dissipate, but the opposite ended up occurring. Now you were the sad, lonely, pining girl. You hated being her, but you couldn’t help it. You were totally gone for him.

“Come on, he’s not even listening to whatever those girls are saying to him. And you know he’s been checking you out since you got here.” Travis lays it out simply for you but you’re quick to refute, “Trav, he’s only looking over here because you haven’t stopped staring at him all night. If any two people at this party are into each other it’s you and Nolan, not me and Nolan.”

“What are you guys getting so heated about over here? And why do you keep looking at Nolan like that, Trav?” Carly comes over to tuck herself into Travis’ side as he puts his arm around her. You make a face at Travis as to say, “I told you.”

“He won’t leave me alone about Nolan, thinks I should go over there and interrupt the fan club.” You motion in the direction of where Nolan is still standing in front of his little doe eyed fans.

Carly’s eyes light up, “Oh, he totally checked you out earlier! You should go over there. Scare all those little girls away. They never had a chance anyway,” she explains matter-of-factly.

“Carly! You’re supposed to me on my side, remember?” You look between your friend and her boyfriend, who’s grin is getting bigger and bigger as spreads across his face.

“Look, you can deny it for as long as you like, but he’s totally into you, and you’re totally into him. Travis and I both know it.” Carly and Travis look so satisfied with themselves, that they think they’ve played matchmaker between the two of you, but you’re still not convinced.

“Ok, give me 5 reasons you think he could possibly like me, or that we are somehow compatible, and then maybe I’ll go over there.” You motion back in Nolan’s direction.

Travis is quick to the pitch, “You’re both oddly quiet. Like it kind of freaks me out when I come into the room and it’s just the two of you sitting there on the couch, and you’re not even talking! Sometimes the TV isn’t even on. It’s just silent. Like who even does that?”

This elicits an eye roll from you as you remember the many times Travis has walked in on you and Nolan sitting in a quiet room together, neither of you feeling the need to constantly fill the air with pointless conversation. Travis has never understood it.

“What about how Nolan always gets you drinks when we’re out?” Carly chimes in.  “He doesn’t do that for everyone. Hell, I don’t think he’s ever asked me if I needed another when he’s headed up to the bar.”

You’ve never noticed that he doesn’t ask anyone else when he goes up to the bar. Thinking about it now, it does seem kind of odd. But the two of you will often find yourselves next to each other while you’re stuffed inside a packed bar on any given weekend, and you figure he’s just being nice since you’re usually one of the only single ones there.

“That’s only two, and your reasoning is horrible. He’s just being nice and being introverted is not a crime.” You lean back onto the counter behind you as you cross your arms in front of your chest.  Now you’re facing toward the open room where one of the girls has inched her way closer to Nolan.

“He’s been a lot more excited to go out lately. He always asks if you’re coming. The last time we all went out I gave him a hard time about it. I don’t think his face has ever been that red.” Travis explains. “That’s another one! Whenever you show up or you do that thing that girls do when they’re flirting, you know the one where they touch a guy’s arm when they’re talking, he gets so red. Like tomato red.” Travis isn’t very eloquent in delivery, but you understand what he’s saying. “That’s four, baby.” He reminds you.

“He gets red when anyone talks to him and whenever anyone is brave enough to touch him. And I do not do that flirting thing.”  You look to Carly for reassurance, “Do I?” you ask.  She doesn’t offer the reassurance you were looking for, instead stating, “Oh, you totally do that. Sorry, you’re just not that subtle.”

“Oh my god.” You let your head hang back as you look up to the ceiling, “He probably thinks I’m an idiot or just creepy.” You really didn’t think you were that obvious, but clearly you were wrong. He probably feels bad for you because he knows you’re totally into him. “Well, if that wasn’t enough to deter me from ever speaking to him again, that’s still only four, so I think I’m going to call it a night and head home and then never show my face near Nolan again.” You try to exit the kitchen with the last bit of dignity you have left but Travis is quick to jump in front of you.

“Nope. I have a fifth one.” He’s standing there with is hands on his hips and you’re sure he thinks it makes him look more commanding. You just roll your eyes for what feels like the millionth time tonight.

“Really? You think it’s good enough to get me over there?” You quip back at him as you nod back towards Nolan.

“Oh yeah.” He nods back, “And if it makes you feel better Nolan is super obvious too. Like I said, tomato red.”

“So, are you going to tell me the fifth reason or are you just going to keep me hostage here all night?” Now you’re mimicking his stance with your hands placed firmly on your hips.

“It pains me to admit this one because he doesn’t even let me do this,” Travis sighs. “He lets you have the aux every time you’re in his car. No questions asked, he just lets you play whatever you want. Doesn’t even complain about it!”

You’re processing what Travis is saying. Nolan did always let you choose the music in the car, but you didn’t think anything of it. You probably grabbed the aux without hesitation the first time you hopped in his car. That’s just what you always did with your friends. It never dawned on you that he might not let other people do that too.

It checks out though, Nolan loves his music. It’s important to him, and his perfectly curated playlists are like little works of art for him. You’ve watched him manicure his playlists for hours as he sits on the couch, and admittedly you have similar taste in music. Maybe that’s why he didn’t care? Maybe you just always chose songs that he would have also picked? Although there was that one week where you made him listen to the Frozen soundtrack on repeat. He probably wouldn’t have picked that one…

You don’t have time to decide on why you think Nolan would ever let you get away with something he holds so sacred because he has since left his group of girls and has found his way into the kitchen where you’re still squared off with Travis.

“You guys gonna pull your pistols out soon?” Nolan mumbles an announcement that he has entered the room, and you realize that you’re still stood in front of TK, both of you with your hands on your hips.

“Nope, we were actually just heading out to play pong, we’ll see you guys later!” Travis quickly ushers himself and Carly out of the room, and before you can protest, you’re left alone with Nolan. He’s leaning against the counter opposite to you, and when you move your eyes to rest on his figure you can’t help but do a quick intake of just how good he looks. He’s wearing the same basic outfit that just about every other guy in the house is sporting, and yet it looks so much better on him.

“What was that about? You guys okay?” Nolan asks.

“Uh- Yeah, Trav just being Trav, you know?” You attempt to brush off the topic of what you and Travis were discussing prior to Nolan’s arrival. Similar to those times that Travis was referencing, neither of you feel compelled to fill the air with unneeded dialogue, and you fall into a comfortable silence. Neither of you are saying anything now and Nolan takes the time to twist off the cap to another beer from the fridge.

“I was gonna go out back. It’s too hot in here, wanna come?” Nolan nods his head to the sliding glass door at the other end of the kitchen, and you respond by following him out to the deck. The quietness and crisp winter air that fills your lungs is refreshing. The two of you lean against the railing of the deck and enjoy the break from the chaos inside. You continue in your silence and you can’t help but watch as Nolan takes long drags of his beer, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows.

“Can I ask you a question?” You ask, and without speaking he nods, giving you the go ahead.

“Why don’t you let Travis have the aux?”

Nolan chuckles a bit, “Of all the things you could ask, that’s what you choose?” he retorts before answering, “If you must know, he has horrible taste in music. But also, I don’t let anyone have the aux. My car, my music. It’s the rules,” he states, taking another quick swig of his beer that’s almost empty now.

He confirmed what Travis had said to you, but you’re not convinced. There had to be a catch. He probably never realized that you did it. You’re sure of it.

“But you let me have the aux?” You form the sentence with a question mark on the end, and your eyes follow Nolan as he leans over the railing to look out into the backyard. He’s avoiding meeting your eye, and you can tell he’s thinking, deciding on what he’s about to say.

“Probably ‘cus I can’t say no to you,” the muttered words come out under his breath, like he doesn’t want you to hear it.

“What? What does that mean?” He lets out a huff of air as his hands push is his long hair back out of his face, something he only does when he’s stressed.

His body turns to face you now, “You could literally tell me to jump off a bridge or run through this house naked, and I would probably do it. No questions asked.”

The quizzical look that occupies your face prompts him to continue. He’s frustrated, you can tell, “I just don’t know how to say this without fucking us up as friends…” He starts to pivot away from you again, but you reach out for his arm, stopping him from leaving, “What if I don’t want to be friends?” You’ve chosen to be the bold one now, and if it bit you the ass you were just going to have to live with that, but you can’t help but feel like you’ve both been on the same page all along.

“You don’t want to be friends with me?” Hurt. Confusion. Annoyance. They all flash across Nolan’s face before you can interject again, “I don’t want to be just friends with you. I want to be more than that. I want to be the girl you take home when this party is over, and the girl who gets to wake up next to you every morning after, and even if you don’t want that, you need to know that’s how I feel about yo—“

He doesn’t say anything, he doesn’tt pull you into a heart wrenching kiss, there aren’t fireworks playing behind you. To your surprise, Nolan has chosen to haul you over his shoulder, your arms falling over his back as he walks swiftly back into the house.

“NOLAN! What the fuck!? Put me down!” You yell at him as he continues to carry through the house. The party is so wild by now that you’re sure no one even notices the 6’2 hockey player with a girl over his shoulder.

“Nolan! Seriously. Put me down!” You’re feel like a little toddler who has gotten herself in trouble, and when Nolan finally does place your feet back on the ground, you’re outside next to his car that is parked in front of the house. He sets you down, and you’re slightly dizzy from being swung around like a rag doll, but he steadies you in front of him with his hands on your waist.

“What the fuck was tha—”

He cuts you off again, but this time he isn’t hauling your body into the air. This time his hands are on either side of your face and his lips find yours and there are even metaphorical fireworks going off as you kiss him back. You stand there, pushed against the side of his car, with his hands tangled in your hair, and your tongues exploring each other mouths. When you finally come up for air he pushes back away from you so that he can meet your eye.

“If you wanted to be that girl all you had to do was ask.” A smirk is plastered across his face, and you lightly shove at his chest even though it does little to move his large figure.

You surrender, “Okay, but we have to get an Uber, we’ve both had too much to drive.” You can’t help but grin back at him as he reaches for his phone to order a car for the both of you. When the car arrives, you get in to head back to Nolan’s apartment with your hands wrapped together. “I can’t believe Travis was right,” you say as you let your head rest on Nolan’s shoulder and he turns his head to you with his eyebrow furrowed, “Right about what?”

[ah-ga-seven]

Till’ The End Of Summer -  Chapter 11

>> series masterlist <<

Pairing: Choi Yeonjun x Reader

In a Nutshell: College!AU, Rich Kids, Friends to Lovers, Fuckboy athlete Yeonjun, Overprotective Best friend Soobin, contains all of TXT and other Idol cameos, Omnipresent perspective.

Synopsis: You and Yeonjun are caught up in a cat and mouse game because of unspoken feelings and endless pining for each others’ attention. With the summer break approaching and lots of college parties, will you finally get a chance to explore your feelings for each other; even though the world and Yeonjun’s reputation makes things complicated?

Word count: 12K

Genre:  Angst, SMUT, Fluff

Warnings: very descriptive mature content, read at your own risk, I put a bolded warning at the start and closing. I also didn’t proofread cause well...12k words. I’ll get to it asap!

“What are you waiting for? Come in. You’re all acting like strangers to each other.” Your mom snickered as she wiped her hands on a paper towel so she could greet them properly.

“Oh, y-yeah.” Mia says as she steps inside, walking past Soobin without a word to greet your parents.

Your frozen state vanishes as you make eye contact with Mia, and you automatically start to walk towards Yeonjun with big, confused eyes.

You looked at Yeonjun, and he looked at you. The corners of his mouth lifting up a little as he opened his arms for you. You didn’t think twice about launching yourself into his arms, though your confusion got the best of you, you were still incredibly happy to see him. Your whole body relaxed as he enveloped you into his strong arms, patting your head as he buried his nose in your hair. “Hi baby,” he whispers into your hair. Closing his eyes to savor the peaceful moment.  

You look up with glassy eyes as he cupped your face, caressing your cheek with his thumb before he planted a kiss on your lips, followed by a sweet kiss on your forehead.  

“Did you miss me?”  

You nod bashfully, burying your face in his chest once again and he just chuckles, tightening his hold on you a little. “Me too,” he hums as the feeling of being whole and loved washes over him.  

It’s like you forgot your parents, Soobin or Mia were in the room. It felt like time stopped. As if it was just you and him in your apartment.

Your father cleared his throat, cringing at the scene. “You didn’t hug me like that when I came in.”

The comment made Yeonjun chuckle and you felt your cheeks heat up in embarrassment as you let go of him.

Soobin’s eyes were focused on Mia, but he snapped out of it as he heard your father speak. Putting on a smile at his comment. “Well, he was gone for almost two months,” Soobin says as he grabbed Yeonjun by his shoulders, smiling at him with love emitting from his pupils.  

Yeonjun chuckled, pulling Soobin towards him for a hug. “You could have given us a heads up.”

“He wanted to surprise you.” Mia chimed in quickly, giving Yeonjun a look that Soobin couldn’t read, and he didn’t like it. But maybe they did visit here to surprise you? All in all, he was confused at them showing up here together, but it seemed like you didn’t find it odd at all.  

“Let’s talk later,” Yeonjun says as his pupils dart from Soobin to your parents, nodding at them.  

Soobin immediately understood, since they didn’t need words to communicate.

It was still awkward for Soobin to see you interact with Yeonjun like this, he wasn’t used to seeing Yeonjun being more whipped than heavy whipped cream for a girl, and since you were that girl it made it all even more awkward to watch for him.

“Give me a second,” Yeonjun says as he let go of your hand, making his way through your apartment to greet your parents.

You gulped at the sight, suddenly the nerves in your body were taking a toll on you and you unknowingly grab a hold of Soobin's hand who was standing next to you.  

Soobin raised his eyebrows, looking at your intertwined fingers and he scoffed with a side-smile. Whispering an ‘it’s ok’ to you in the process.  

Yeonjun was a charmer, he could make anyone like him by adapting his energy to theirs. For some reason, he thought your dad would appreciate it more if he went to greet your mother first, and so he did. Receiving an approving smile from your father.

“Hi Mrs. y/l/n, I’m Yeonjun.” He smiled at her brightly, taking her hand with both hands as he bowed to her politely.

You saw your mother's breath literally hitch in her throat at the sight of his smile and you roll your eyes at her.

Mia chuckled as well, and so did Soobin. Really? All it took was a smile and a simple ‘Hello’ and she was already in awe?

“Y/n, where the hell did you find him?” Your mother chimes giving you a shocked look and you curse at her through your teeth for embarrassing him and yourself

“Mom!” you whine, rushing to his side to grab his arm for comfort.  

Heat rose to Yeonjun’s cheeks as he giggled softly at the not-so-subtle compliment. “We actually kind of found each other.”

“Okay, stop before I throw up my lunch.” Soobin says as he plops down next to Mia on the couch, putting an arm around her.

Everyone chuckled lightly, and your father made his way to the kitchen as well to talk to Yeonjun.

As everyone was getting acquainted with each other, Soobin leaned into Mia.  

“You ghost on me for days and now you show up here with him? What’s going on.”

Mia’s mouth went dry, not wanting to ruin the moment given how happy you were to see Yeonjun and your parents together. She eyed your facial expression and melted. She hasn’t seen you this happy in weeks. She sighed, averting her attention back to Soobin. “I’m sorry…I had deadlines and stayed up all night, Yeonjun called me up to surprise you guys that’s it…”

Soobin’s hard demeanor softened and he wrapped Mia into his arms tightly as he pouted. “Oh no, my baby. Did you work so hard?” he cooed, babying Mia to his best ability; similar to how he baby’s Hueningkai from time to time.

Mia giggled, relaxing in his touch. “I missed you, I’m sorry. It was a really important deadline.”

“It’s ok…I understand,” Soobin says as he pecked her lips softly, staring into her eyes lovingly before pulling her closer to him on the couch. “I know I should’ve just trusted you, I’m sorry.”

Mia avoided Soobin’s eyes, feeling guilty about lying yet another lie but this just wasn’t the time.

“You’re on the team with Soobin?” your dad asked suddenly intrigued by the revelation.

You lean against your kitchen counter and watch your dad like a hawk, but he seemed to like Yeonjun already, especially if he’s this interested.  

“Oh, yeah. I like to believe I’m their star player.” Yeonjun states cockily, huffing out his chest while nodding to Soobin who just rolled his eyes at him.

“He’s good. Sure.” Soobin admits bitterly, making your parents laugh in response.

You smile at Yeonjun adoringly for being able to win over your parents so easily, something you didn’t think was possible given your track record of dating incompetent men. The two other boyfriends you brought home weren’t necessarily approved of. They were tolerated but not liked, and you could already sense that this was not the case with Yeonjun.

With every ‘I told you so’ you heard from your mom whenever you broke up with an ex, she made you realize that mama indeed ‘knows best’ but given the way she was looking at Yeonjun with stars in her eyes as he conversed about this and that, you already knew she’d see him as a keeper. Which made your shoulders drop in relaxation.

“I’d love to talk some more but this dinner isn’t going to prepare itself.” Your mother chuckled pointing to your kitchen area. There was literally no space left on your counter because of all of the ingredients and Yeonjun’s eyes widened.

“Do you need help miss?” Yeonjun offers politely, putting a hand on her shoulder as he smiled at your mother softly.

He couldn’t help but notice how similar you looked to her, how you have the same mannerisms and the same twinkle in your eyes. She smiled at him and shook her head. “No, that’s really nice of you to offer but I think y/n, Mia, and I will have it handled. Right?”

Mia got on her feet immediately and that’s the exact moment you notice her presence for the first time. Your eyes widen and you burst out laughing, giving her a clumsy hug as you cling to her. “Oh my god dude, I had no idea you came.”

“It’s ok,” she scoffs. “I know where I stand.” You playfully hit her arm as she rolls her eyes, and Yeonjun smiled at both of you, giving Mia a look you couldn’t quite read after he kissed your temple.

“I’ll be with Soobin and your dad.” You look back at him and give him an awkward smile while your brows furrow with concern. “Tell me when my dad’s being annoying ok.”  

He chuckled, crossing his arms in fake defense. “If I can handle you, I can handle anyone.”

The comment made your mother snort to herself as she cut up some veggies, and you just give him a kittenish angry face as he makes his way to the couch, plopping himself down between Soobin and your dad.  

He watched you for a while, the corners of his mouth curling up into a slight smile without knowing. He noticed how content and happy you were to be with a room full of people that you love, and his heart did a thing at the view.  

As he was getting lost in thought, his smile faltered while he thought of the reason he came here in the first place. Seeing you like this made it so much harder. He didn’t have the heart to wipe that pretty smile off your face and neither was Mia from the looks of it.

“Right Yeonjun?” Soobin cooed, snapping him out of his daydream.

Yeonjun’s head snapped back to reality, looking at Soobin and your father with big confused eyes. “Ah…sorry I wasn’t paying attention.”

“I know. You were looking at my daughter.” Your father chuckled, patting Yeonjun’s thigh, which made Yeonjun freeze in place at being caught. He nervously smiled, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

“Well, at least it’s super obvious he cares about her.” Soobin chuckled, putting his arm around Yeonjun to pull him back and trapping him into a hug.  

“You two seem pretty close too,” your dad remarks with a smile.

“Oh yeah, we live together,” Soobin says as he snuggles his head into Yeonjun’s shoulder.

“Stop that. I’ll get jealous.” Mia pouts waving her knife around as a warning and Soobin immediately let go, making everyone laugh in response.

Yeonjun looked back at Soobin with an amused smile. He furrowed his brows at Soobin as he something odd about his attire. “Are these my clothes?” he asks pulling on the black bedazzled Vetements shirt Soobin was wearing.  

“Oh…yeah about that…”  

“That’s more than he was wearing when we came in here, so be glad.” Your dad jokes, not noticing the damage he did.

Soobin coughed, basically choking on air, shooting your dad a look of desperation.

“What?” Yeonjun asks raising his eyebrows at Soobin. He was trying not to sound too annoyed given the presence of your father, but it failed miserably. If Yeonjun can’t hide something it’s his jealousy, he fucking hated it about himself but there was nothing he could do at this point.

“Ahh, hyung. It’s nothing. Seriously. She told me to change into your clothes since I crashed here but I couldn’t find your shirts, so I walked out and at that exact moment her parents were in the living room…I had no idea.”

Yeonjun squinted his eyes at Soobin but didn’t want to say anything else since your father was right in front of him. He didn’t want to seem possessive or jealous, even though he was. So, he decided to let it go for now. “We’ll talk later,” Yeonjun says through his teeth, which made your father laugh out loud, enjoying taunting Yeonjun a little too much.

When Yeonjun looked back at your father he saw a smug grin on his face, and Yeonjun knew enough. He was doing it on purpose to test him; and luckily, he passed the test.

“Honey! We forgot the honey.” Your mom says in panic as she rummages through the grocery bags.

“Are you calling me honey or…” your dad asks looking back at your her.

“Yes and no, go be a good husband and get me some honey.”

“Ok, honey.” He sighs exasperatingly, getting up from the couch with reluctance.  

Yeonjun chuckled, enjoying the dad jokes a little too much and you roll your eyes at him. “Oh my god.” Mia sighed. “I guess they found each other.”

You smile at them both lovingly but your smile falters quickly. You catch yourself being way too giddy and positive about life right now. You were so used to everything going completely wrong all the time that you wouldn’t let yourself have this moment of peace, serenity, and happiness without overthinking.  

Mia noticed, nudging your shoulder. “You ok? What was that?”  

“Nothing, I just…I’m really happy right now,” you say with a million kilo-watt smile, which made Mia’s eyes twinkle.  

You deserved this more than anyone after all the shit you’ve put yourself through to make your relationship with Yeonjun work. Guilt consumed Mia again as she averted her attention back on the task at hand, peeling these damn potatoes.  

“At least someone in this house appreciates my humor. I guess I’ll go get it then.” Your dad says as he retrieved his jacket from the coat rack.  

“Let me come with you.” Yeonjun volunteers as he got up with determination. “I can drive,” he offered, and your dad just nodded at him in response.

You blinked a couple of times to check if this was really happening. Your dad let Yeonjun come with him?  

You were taken aback by the fact that your dad allowed Yeonjun to come with him, and even more taken aback by the fact that Yeonjun volunteered to get grilled in the car. Knowing your dad, he’d probably lynch him alive with questions, and you felt bad for him already.

You give Yeonjun a look, mouthing a ‘Are you sure about that’ but he shrugged it off, giving you a reassuring nod.

“Ok, well…have fun you two, and don’t take too long.” Your mom nags as she continues to stir into the large pan on the stove.

“Yeah…hurry back.” You pout at Yeonjun and he chuckled, pecking your lips.

“Don’t worry.” He whispered into your ear, patting your head before he followed your dad out of the house.  

“This is your car? A Range Rover?”

“I-uh…it was a birthday present,” Yeonjun said opening the door to the passengers’ seat for your father.  

Your dad got in, looking at his surroundings with big eyes. “That’s some birthday present. What do your parents do again, son?”

‘Son’ wow, that’s a first.

“Uhm, they operate in software and applications, well my mom does. My dad is well….dead.”

“Oh, Jesus. I’m so sorry. I completely forgot.” Your dad quickly apologizes as he fastened his seatbelt.  

Yeonjun bit his lip, starting the engine. He wasn’t off to a great start. He wanted to keep things light and airy, but he should’ve known that a 22-year-old, driving around in a 50.000+ dollar car would raise questions with heavy answers.

“It’s ok. Well, I mean it’s not Ok. We had a complicated relationship. My parents were never really around so they compensated that with…gifts such as these.”  

“You seem well mannered though.”

“Yeah, my housekeeper raised me.”

“Housekeeper?”

“Ok, I’m sorry.” Yeonjun chuckled nervously. “Can we please start over sir? I’m starting to sound like a brat.”

“Only if you stop calling me sir” your dad says with a smile, patting Yeonjun on his shoulder which made him relax in his seat as he turned the corner on his way to the nearest supermarket.

“What do you think they’re talking about.” You nervously say as you munch on a rice cake.

“You.” Soobin shrugs, stealing a rice cake from the pan which made your mother slap his hand away.  

“Use a spoon!” she nags, making Mia laugh in response.

“I knew you guys were close, but I had no idea Soobin had a second mother,” Mia says comforting a pouty Soobin by rubbing his back.

Your mom smiled at Mia and looked back at Soobin adoringly. “Well, he basically grew up in our house, the same goes for y/n in his home. His mom and I went to college together, and never parted ways since.” She explains as she fishes a rice cake out of the pot with a spoon, handing it to Soobin so he could try it.

“Ahh, that’s gonna be us!” you giggle excitedly, smacking Mia’s arm.

Mia gave you a half-hearted smile. “Yeah…” she says lost in thought, trying not to make things too obvious.  “I hope so…”

“A guy as well off as you should have his options open. So why y/n?” your dad questions as Yeonjun and him walk down the aisles of the supermarket in search of the secret ingredient to your mothers famous stew.

Yeonjun chuckled. “She saw me for me before she knew who my parents were. We just really clicked. We share the same interests. We just get each other. Also, I did most of the chasing, she was not convinced at first.”

“How come?”

“Let's just say I didn’t make the greatest decisions. We really had to work on the way we communicate and though I’m still working on it…I do feel like we’re finally getting somewhere.” Yeonjun carefully explains as he skims the aisles for pots of honey.

“Can I tell you a secret about my daughter, Yeonjun.” Your dad starts lost in thought as he stopped in front of a shelve filled with different types of condiments.  

“Y-yeah…of course,” Yeonjun states standing behind him, putting his hand in his pockets as he waited for your dad to speak up.  

“y/n tends to see the guys she dates as projects. She wants to fix them and when it doesn’t work out, she’s the one left broken hearted, because she puts all of her soul and energy in trying to make things work…even if they don’t want to work.”

Yeonjun was taken aback by your father's statement. Projects? Men? What now?

“I...I don’t think I fully understand.”

Your dad turned round after having retrieved the biggest pot of honey he could find on the shelve, looking at Yeonjun seriously.

“You seem to care about her a lot. I can tell. By the way you look at her, talk about her. It’s evident that your heart is in the right place and that your intentions are good, but the last two guys she dated were similar to you, and I actually like you, so I would hate for you to end up as some failed experiment.”

Yeonjun blinked a couple of times as he followed your dad to the long line behind the cash register. “I never even asked her about her exes, are you saying she sees me as a project?”

“Oh no! God. No. She’s going to kill me.” Your dad quickly jumped to his own defense, looking at Yeonjun seriously.

“She’s never looked at a guy the way she looks at you, trust me. I’d know. She doesn’t even look at me like that.” He jokes to lighten the tension but Yeonjun furrows his brows in concern, which made your dad sigh at the sight.

“Y/n wants to fix people; it’s basically embedded in her DNA. I used to serve in the army, I wasn’t around as much, and her mother had a hard time with it. So, y/n took care of her from a young age. When I got back, she was hesitant around me, not knowing what it’s like to have a father around and all. Although we’re good now; it somehow scarred her in ways I don’t think she even knows about herself.”

“She…never told me,” Yeonjun says as they moved forward in line, he was too lost in thought to even comprehend what was happening around him, and just followed your dad like a lost puppy.  

“I think it’s because she doesn’t think it’s an issue. My daughter only knows how to take care of others, she neglects her own needs. You could call her somewhat of a wounded healer. She’ll do anything to make your relationship work Yeonjun, what I’m asking of you is to take care of her when she’s taking care of you.”

“Of course,…I’d do anything for her.”  

Yeonjun sighed dramatically. Of course, it takes two to tango. If he’s going to tell you that he wasn’t planning on going back to college, you’d probably blame yourself. He had to think long and hard about how he was going to break the news. For once he has the advantage, and he was going to do it right.

“All in all, it’s kind of my fault she’s like that. The fear of abandonment, not knowing how to put herself first, it’s because of my absence in her childhood.”

“So, to summarize this, she has….daddy issues.” Yeonjun blurts out without thinking.  

Your father snorted, holding in his laughter as they made it to the cash register, Yeonjun was too lost in thought to even pull out his card, though your dad would never let him pay, he wanted to make the gesture.  

It was already too late as the lady at the register handed the receipt to your father. And he turned to Yeonjun, looking at his fallen facial expression.

“See it as something you have in common with her.”  

Yeonjun’s eyes turned from serious to playful at the out of line comment your dad just made and he couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess so yeah, I guess we’ve been too focused on me and my past. This was really helpful thank you.” Yeonjun says as he took the bag from your father, carrying it to the car.

“Fix your flaws together, not separately.  If it works it works, and if not and you break her heart…I still have my gun from the army.”

Yeonjun’s eyes widen, and your dad laughs as he opens the car door. Enjoying his empty threat, a little too much. Yeonjun nervously chuckled as he got in the car again, biting the inside of his cheek.

“Got it.”

Your dad and Yeonjun walk in, and your heart finally started beating again. They looked fine, and your dad was even laughing with Yeonjun as they stepped foot into your apartment.  

Your eyes grow in size and Yeonjun immediately makes his way over to you, standing between your legs since you were seated on top of your dinner table to watch your mother cook.

“I’m back,” he says with a soft smile, pulling you in for a hug.

“What did you two talk about?” you whisper, your eyes follow your father as he hands your mom the bag with a quick kiss on her cheek.

Yeonjun looked at your parents, and then back to you with a smirk.

“Oh, nothing. He told me all about your ex-boyfriends that’s all,” He says nonchalantly letting go of you, but you hook your legs around his thighs to keep him from leaving.

“He what!?” you whisper-scream, but Yeonjun just shot you an amused wink, untangling himself from your hold to compliment your mother on her cooking.

Dinner was served pretty quickly afterward. Soobin and Yeonjun had to move your desk from your bedroom to extend your dinner table since your place wasn’t made to have 5 guests over.

Your parents sat across from each other as Mia and Soobin sat next to each other on one side, while Yeonjun and yourself sat next to each other on the opposite side.

The setting was intimate, candles were lit, and soft music was playing in the background as all of you made light conversation about your studies and how you all met.

When your dad and Yeonjun were gone, you instructed your mother to keep from asking deep questions to Yeonjun about his family for the time of being. You didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable or burdened to answer, especially since you didn’t have time alone with him since he returned, meaning you couldn’t really check on him given his unexpected return.

You could tell that Yeonjun was trying his best, but he kept zoning out and suddenly you feel yourself worrying about what your father might have said to him, so you decide to distract him.

Your hand found his under the table, and you intertwine your fingers, squeezing his hand while placing your intertwined fingers on your thigh just above your knee.

He didn’t think much of it, continuing to listen to Soobin ramble about their first encounter in the locker room during freshman year.

He was laughing, listening intently. He looked relaxed and you couldn’t help but stare. You start looking at his features one by one. At his honey skin and eye smile. At his cushiony lips as he chewed on the food your mother prepared.

Yeonjun looked down at you, feeling your eyes on him and when he caught you staring, he giggled shyly. “What is it?” he asked with a smile, but you just shake your head, guiding his hand up your thigh a little more, passing the fabric of your skirt which made Yeonjun’s eyes widen.

“Nothing,” you say innocently, raising your spoon up to your mouth with your free hand to take a bite as you guide his hand even higher up your thigh.

He basically choked on his food and started coughing, trying to untangle his fingers from yours. He grabbed a napkin, covering his mouth with it to muffle his coughing sounds.

“Yeonjun? Are you okay?” your mother asks in concern which made Yeonjun’s eyes travel to hers as if he got caught.

“Ah..y-yes, I need to chew more.” He chuckles apologetically.

“It’s delicious, the best kimchi stew I’ve ever had.” He compliments, which made your mother smile proudly.

“Yes! Completely agree.” Mia says.  

“You should all come over for Christmas, bring the other boys too. I can cook you a real dinner then.” Your mother proposes which made Soobin gasp. “That would be amazing!”  

Yeonjun smiled at your mother and Soobin, but you weren’t done taunting him.  

You ‘dropped’ your chopstick, the noise alerting everyone in the room.

“Oh, sorry. Let me just-“

“I’ll get it,” Yeonjun offers quickly, but you stop him.

“No, It’s ok, I can see it from here.”  

The attention of your dad, Mia and Soobin was quickly averted back to your mother so you took your chance. Grabbing Yeonjuns thigh, digging your nails into his jeans for leverage as you bend down to grab the lost chopstick between his feet.

He froze but knew exactly what you were doing and when your head dipped down, his eyes widened. This could NOT look right from the outside looking in.

He couldn’t believe you, first the whole shirtless Soobin ordeal, then the revelation of your ex-boyfriends you never told him about and now you are provoking him at the dinner table? What the fuck has gotten into you.

You come back up, letting go of his thigh and you innocently set the chopstick aside, raking your hand through your hair as you give Yeonjun a questioning look.

His eyes were burning into you, but you just shrug with a sly smile. “Keep this up. I dare you.” He whispers through his teeth, counteracting his threat by sweetly tugging a strand of your hair behind your ear.

He dares you? Ha. Ha. Ha. He should know by now that you’re crazy.

It didn’t take long before everyone was finished, so when you cleaned the table you made sure to reach for Yeonjun’s plate over his shoulder, brushing your arm over his chest and touching him subtly whenever you could.  

You could tell he was losing his patience with you but frankly, you didn’t care. It’s the least he deserves for basically ignoring you for the past few weeks and showing up here like nothing ever happened. Of course, you were happy to see him, but you were bitter, and you were going to make him suffer the best way you could.  

After dinner, dessert and tea you were completely stuffed and low on energy. You wanted everyone out of your apartment and your father was quick to notice the way you dragged your footsteps around your apartment. He proposed to leave not long after, and to your relief your mother agreed.

Soobin and Mia left first with a lousy excuse of finishing schoolwork but judging off the looks they were giving each other all night you knew better than that.  

“It was so nice to meet you, Yeonjun!” your mother exclaims pulling him in for a hug. He stiffens in surprise at first but relaxes in her touch instantly. As he let go of her, your father patted Yeonjun on his back and shook his hand firmly. “I guess we’ll see you at Christmas.”

“Yes. For sure.” Yeonjun smiles, and it in unknowingly made you giddy inside that he made plans to be with you and your parents so far in the future.  

He really wasn’t going anywhere this time, and you couldn’t be happier.

After exchanging hugs with your parents and promising to contact them more often they leave, and you sigh in relief.

_  WARNING: Heavy Smut ahead. Soft Dom!Jun, oral/finger play, size kink, choking, rough sex, playful banter, sweet/dirty talk and aftercare. _

When the front door closed the air got thick. It’s like your breath hitched in your throat and you knew the endless diner table teasing was about to get you in trouble.

You were almost afraid to turn around and meet his eyes. You halted your movements for a few seconds before you found the guts to do so and immediately regret it.

He stared at you through hooded lids, the dimmed lighting in your apartment was accentuating his features perfectly and romantically. He walked closer to you with slow strides, backing you into your front door as he trapped you between his arms on each side of your body.  

“In front of your fucking parents' y/n?” he starts, letting his fingers ghost over your bottom lip before he tugs at your chin, making you look at him.

You gulp with wide eyes, lust filling your senses as you basically see him undress you with his eyes.

“You’ve given me multiple reasons to completely wreck you today.”

Without a warning he parts your legs by propping his knee in between. Bending down to curl his strong arms around your thighs so he could lift you against the door frame. Your legs instinctively wrap around his waist as your back hits the door frame with a loud thud.

You moan at his sudden actions and he was quick to shut you up by kissing you roughly. Trapping your lip between his teeth, tugging lightly before he started to pepper your neck with wet kisses and love bites.

He moaned against your skin, nails digging deeper into your thighs as he tightened his grip, making sure not to let you fall.  

“Did you miss me that much baby?”

You nod furiously, your fingers tangling into his hair as he kept kissing your neck.

You feel his teeth graze over the sensitive spot below your jaw that he just ferociously sucked on. A breathy moan escapes your lips as you tug on his soft locks a little harder to let him know you wanted his lips back on yours, but he didn’t budge, grinding his hips into yours as he kept sucking hickey after hickey into your delicate skin.

“Tell me you want it.” He growls, grinding his hips against your clothed core once more. He grins smugly against your skin as your legs shudder at the barely-there sensation against your heat.

Your body was reacting to him in ways he had only fantasized about and he was going to take his sweet time with you. The number of times you almost had sex was infuriating, and he was sure to go through with it this time, swearing to himself that the only thing that could stop him right now would be a fucking fire in your apartment building.  

“P-please,” you pant, throwing your head back as you feel his tongue glide down your neck, going straight for your breasts.

The anticipation was too much. You hold onto him as he pulled his arms from underneath you, hiking up your shirt enough to where he could expose your tits.

He licked his lips, approving the sight; skillfully unclasping your bra with one hand.  

A string of curses and praises left his lips as he started to litter your chest with kisses, sucking on your nipple while he made sure not to neglect the other by rubbing circles onto the sensitive nub.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful” he cooed, placing you back on the floor.  He hooked his arm around your waist to stabilize you as the other found the hem of your skirt all while his mouth was still busy alternating between kisses and bites on your neck, lips and tits.

Lewd moans left your lips as his long fingers make contact with your clothed clit. “Right here baby?” he asks sweetly as his middle finger starts to rub slow circles against the fabric of your panties.

“Yes, baby please.”

“Please what?”

“Please, more.”  

His fingers pushed the fabric of your underwear aside, making contact with your bare skin for the first time. Your slick surprised him; it didn’t take much to get you this wet so he could only imagine how juicy you would sound with him buried deep inside of you.

He licked his lips at the thought, your moans only becoming less controlled as he spread your wetness between your folds with his long, cold fingers.

You whine at his teasing movements, hooking your leg around his waist to give him better access.  

At that his eyes found yours again before he pushed his ring finger inside of you completely while still rubbing circles on your clit with his thumb.

The sudden filling sensation made you gasp. The hunger in his pupils only amplified as he listened to your wetness being fucked by his finger. You were tightening around him already making him smirk to himself. “Not sure if I should let you cum after all that.”  

You whine in response and grab on to his wrist down there while your head fell back, enjoying him pump a second digit into you at a faster yet steady and comfortable pace.

It felt good, too good, and you knew that he knew exactly what he was doing to you.

“You’re so fucking tight, and wet. Fuck” he compliments before he pecks your lips again.

“ahh, Yeonjun, I’m close.”  

He curled his fingers inside of you, fastening his rhythmic tempo as he kept thrusting his fingers deep in and out of you deliciously.

God he was good. He didn’t lose his rhythm, giving you something to concentrate on which only brought you closer and closer to your orgasm.

“I-I’m gonna cum” you whine, biting down on the skin of his neck to control yourself.  

He wanted to deny you your orgasm, he really did. But he was too whipped for you to care all of a sudden. Having you cum for him is something he fantasized about for months now, and he wasn’t going to pass up on the opportunity. At least not now.

“Let go baby, go to heaven.” He encourages you, lacing the fingers of his free hand through your hair tightly as he rested his forehead on yours while the speed of his fingers thrusting into you started building a little more.

Your legs start to shake as you feel euphoria approaching and with a few more hard yet controlled thrusts, you come undone.

You fall quiet as your orgasm washes over you. A squeal escaping your throat as he slowly pulls his fingers out of you, maintaining eye contact before you see him do the hottest thing you’ve ever seen him do in your life.

He brought his fingers up to his lips, sticking out his tongue and curling it around his fingers, licking your wetness off of it while maintaining eye contact with you.

Your chest was still heaving up and down as you were trying to compose yourself from the first orgasm Yeonjun has ever given you and your mouth goes completely dry at his beauty. You’re dumbfounded by his dirty actions as he smirks again, grabbing your face with both hands as he kisses you once more, a lot slower and more passionately this time.

“You taste like fucking candy baby.” he smiles against your lips and you giggle at his lewd compliment. Shying away from him as the embarrassment of your loud moans from before suddenly washes over you.  

“Don’t hide that pretty face,” he says as he makes you look at him again, placing both hands on your shoulders before blinking at you intently.

He smirked again, slowly pushing you down until you were on your knees for him. You placed your hands on your thighs, submissively staring up at him with big eyes, waiting for him to tell you what to do.

The sight made him groan loudly in approval, tugging on your chin with his hand while his fingers pinched your cheeks together.  

“Are you going to let me fuck that pretty mouth of yours?” he asks licking his lips, rocking his hips forward a little.

Your eyes land on the tent that had formed in his pants and you gulp given his size.

You look up at him again, nodding sweetly as you start to undo his belt while keeping eye contact with him as he tightened the hold he had on your face.

He helped you fasten the process by aggressively ripping his jeans open, helping you pull his jeans and boxers down simultaneously all while staring at your naked body.

His eyes averted back to yours, and he looked at your bewildered facial expression when his cock sprung free. He was huge, fully hard and he had pre cum leaking from his angry tip. He grabbed the base of his cock, laying himself across your cheek to compare his largeness against your small face.

It got him off more than he liked to admit, and he caressed your cheek gently, love emitting from his pupils as you lick your lips, waiting for him to push himself into your mouth.

You take over from him, spitting into your hand to slick him up. You start to slowly pump him, making sure to twist your wrist to cover his whole base while applying the right amount of pressure.  

“Fuck. Yes. Baby,” He groans in approval, throwing his head back as he enjoys your skilled hands pump his shaft steadily.

You keep eying his facial expressions and you feel yourself getting wet again at the sight of his enjoyment.

You open your mouth, sticking out your tongue to lick the precum off of his tip. The action made Yeonjun’s had snack back in response, but he was quick to avert his gaze back to you.  

He looked at you part your lips even more so you could take more of him, and you nod; blinking a couple of times as a silent okay for him to start pushing his cock down your throat.

He loved how you knew what he wanted, and how well you were taking him despite his size. To be really honest your experience kind of baffled him. He secretly wanted to teach you everything he knew, to corrupt you and make you his personal slut – in the most loving way possible – but given the way his dick was almost balls deep down your throat without a single gag or whine, he knew that you knew what you were doing.

“Holy fucking shit baby.” He hissed through his teeth, slowly thrusting his long and veiny length in and out of your mouth.

You were taking him like a champ, keeping your eyes on him as you stabilized yourself on his thighs. You hum in approval and the vibrations almost drive him insane. He bucked his hips, and you lean back, letting him pull out of your mouth completely before he came too fast from your mouth alone.

Watching him was the best part. He’s never been so riled up for sex and that was purely because of the fact that it was you pleasuring him.

He crouched down, giving you a sloppy kiss on your lips and you grin back at him, enjoying the amused glisten in his eyes. “Condoms?”

“Bedside table.”

“Then let’s fucking go,” he huffs, picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder. You squeal and start laughing loudly, wiggling your feet around in protest.  

“YEONJUN!” you scream, smacking his back but he wasn’t having it, giving your bare ass cheek a loud smack before he swiftly opens the door of your bedroom, dropping you on the bed roughly.

As both of you were still laughing, he hovered over you, giving your neck a quick kiss before taking off his shirt and throwing it on the floor.  

He was completely naked now and you just stare at him, in awe of his physique. In awe of the fact that this toned, milky skinned man is all yours.

He noticed your gaze and the way your eyes were doing a full up and down analysis of his body. He stood before you confidently, snickering as he pulled you towards him by your legs, situating himself between your thighs.

He reached down to open the drawer of your bedside table as he leaned back, pumping himself with his free hand. The show he was giving you was one of heavenly proportions, and you weren’t sure if he realized just how hot he looked in the moment.

He scoffed, ripping the condom package with his teeth and discarding the rest of the foil on the floor.

“Why the fuck is the last one in the packet.” He scowls at you, rolling the condom onto his shaft without breaking eye contact and you can’t help but roll your eyes at him.

“I had a social life before we were a thing Yeonjun, now shut up and fuck me.”

“You’re gonna roll your fucking eyes at me while you’re lying in front of me like this? Bold move baby, I don’t think you know what I’m about to do to you,” he threatens as he leans into you. His hand now wrapping around your throat as he used his other hand to spread your wetness between your folds with his tip.

He silently aligned himself with your entrance, but you were too busy to notice, your mind completely occupied with his burning stare and the tightening hold he had on your throat.

Fuck you loved this, you loved him, and you were more than ready to feel him stretch you out.

“Don’t hold back.” You challenge him and he inhales sharply at the way you look under him, absolutely beautiful and bare. He pulls you even closer, making you rest your legs on each side of his shoulders.

“I won’t.” he smirks at you smugly, pumping himself a few more times as he kept staring at your body.

He didn’t ask confirmation for what he was about to do next, since he couldn’t wait any longer and honestly, the answer is pretty obvious. He pushed his tip inside of your tightness and eyed your reaction to him.

The stretch was intense yet heavenly, you licked your lips and watched his tip disappear in and out of you with ease.  

If his tip alone was making you feel this good than what the fuck was yet to come?

As you arched your back in pleasure, he knew he could continue with pushing his length into you a little further and so he did. You gasped simultaneously at the immaculate feeling of your walls tightening around his grit and he groans, being on the other receiving end of the sensation.

He slowly pulled out of you to do it again, and again, and again until you were comfortable enough to take all of him. He took his sweet time, enjoying your moans and mewls. He was nice enough to let you adjust to him, taking note when your body started to relax more with every thrust.

“S-so…fucking…big.” You were grabbing on to his wrists with full force, trying to take him without being a little bitch to your best ability but he was a lot to handle.  

You could easily take him in your mouth but since it’s been entirely too long since you’ve had sex with anyone it started to feel brand new, and his size wasn’t helping.

“U ok?” he asks as he kisses your temple sweetly, brushing your hair back with his fingers as he watches your face contort in both pain and pleasure.

He was sure to wreck you for your smart mouth, but the most important thing to him was your comfort, so he couldn’t bring it upon himself to live up to his threat.

You nod, burying your face in his neck as he starts to thrust into you a little deeper, agonizingly slow so you could adapt to him completely before he’d start to build up some speed.

“I…ah…I’m,” you start, but you’re unable to complete your sentence, too concentrated on being fucked by the love of your life.

Again, his rhythm was steady, almost robotic which gave you something to concentrate on other than being ravaged by his monstrous size. You were moaning, trying to form words but your mind was hazy. You were unable to tell him how well he was fucking you and how good he felt as your eyes roll back while he kept thrusting in and out of you with slow and deep strokes.

“Use your words baby. Tell me what you want.” he says in a whisper as he caressed your cheek with his thumb, finally releasing the hold he had on your throat this whole time.  

“More,” you moan, tugging at his grown-out hair on the nape of his neck and he growls in approval. Wanting nothing more than to be buried balls deep inside of you.

He silently caressed your thigh, taking one of your legs off of his shoulder, bending your knee up to your chest so he could plunge into you fully.

He watched his cock disappear inside of you completely and a low, yet throaty moan escapes your lips as you grip the sheets tightly, your knuckles turning white at how hard you were gripping at the sheets to deal with the stretch.  

He growled as he felt your walls contract around him, your tightness only edging him on to thrust into you faster and harder.

“Yes, baby. Yes!” you moan loudly, throwing your head back on your mattress, and he fastened his pace. Pounding in and out of you as he sucked on a newly found sweet spot on your neck.

“Ahh, so fucking tight,” he mused. “You’re sound so beautiful baby, fuck.”

He was praising you with every thrust. His pace steadily increasing, and you were just about to lose it.

You hated yourself for comparing him to your previous lovers in a moment like this, but you already knew that he took first place without a doubt. No one you’ve ever fucked came even close to how Yeonjun was making you feel right now.  

Your mind focusses on the steady pace of his thrusts again, your wetness combined with the dirty skin slapping noises edging him on to continue to fuck into you mercilessly.  

Your second orgasm of the night was approaching fast as you felt the knot in your stomach starting to form, and by the way you tightened around his cock even more. He sensed how close you were as your moans started to sound like pleading mewls.

He gave you a kittenish grin, biting down on your earlobe as he panted, moaning into your ear while his thumb found your clit, rolling delicious circles onto the sensitive nub. Applying more pressure with each of his thrusts.

“Y-yeonjun.” You gulp for air as you moan his name. “I can’t.”

“Yes, you can baby, yes you can. Come on. Do it for me.” He encourages you with a low voice, wanting nothing more than to see you cum on his cock.

His thrusts were getting erratic, the mix of your moans, his grunts and skin slapping sounds filled your room and he bent your other leg to your chest, exposing you to him completely as he fucked into you harder and even deeper than before.

You watched him bulge in your stomach, the feeling being just as intense as it looked and Yeonjun could swear that he had never seen a more arousing sight. He bit his lip, watching you completely lose it under him as you throw your head back, letting him have you the way he pleased as you grabbed on to your sheets again for some type of leverage.

Somewhere inside of you, you found the strength to lift your head to look up at him and the view alone of watching him fuck into you animalistically was enough to make you come undone completely.

Your orgasm washes over you so intensely that your whole body starts to shock around him, your legs shake uncontrollably, and he leans into you, muffling your noises with his hand so your neighbors wouldn’t start complaining to you the next day.

With a few more thrusts, you tightening around him even more and the visual stimulation of your extreme orgasm, he came. His liquids filling the condom to the brim after he pulled out of you completely.  

You whimpered at the sudden loss of contact and squeal.

He was panting heavily, watching you like a hawk as you bring your hand to your forehead, panting as you press your thighs together tightly, hoping it would subside the tension.

_ end of smut _

You were trying to calm down, but your chest was heaving up and down so quickly that it almost felt like hyperventilation. You closed your eyes in order to concentrate on your breathing, trying to get your heart beating at a normal pace.

He was quick to notice just how fucked out you were and speedily discarded of the condom, wrapping you into his arms as he held you tightly, patting your head in an attempt to calm you down.

“Shhh, it’s ok, it’s ok.” He kissed your temple, and then your forehead, and then your nose, followed by a quick peck on your lips.

“Baby talk to me. Are you okay?” Concern was evident in his voice as you stayed quiet, still trying to catch your breath at the overstimulation you just experienced.

“I need a minute,” you manage to say, your voice hoarse and barely audible but he understood.  

He caressed your back in comfort, letting his fingernails graze your bare skin in up and down motions to calm you down and you did, your lashes fluttering as you open your eyes slowly.

He just held you, pulling the sheets over the both of you so you’d feel less exposed and warm.

“That was incredible.” You finally speak up, completely calmed down from your adventure.  

You were tired though, unable to do and say what you wanted since your brain didn’t allow you to.

All the muscles in your body were finally able to relax after being in a complete state of flux for over half an hour.

“Damn right it was.” He kissed your bare shoulder, massaging your scalp with his fingers, applying just the right pressure, making sure to help you relax even more.

“Stop, I’m going to fall asleep like this,” you mumble into his bicep, your eyes closing involuntarily at the divine feeling of his warm embrace in combination with the massaging motions of his fingers on your scalp.

“Then sleep baby.”

“But I wanna talk. I missed you so much.” You pout against his skin, blinking slowly to fight the heaviness of your eyelids.

“Me too, but we can talk tomorrow, and the day after that…and the day after that.” He lowkey reassured you of the fact that he wasn’t going anywhere, and his words made you smile to yourself since the confirmation was something you didn’t know you needed.  

You nod, a small yet cute yawn escapes your lips with a squeal and the sound has Yeonjun’s heart doing martial arts in his chest. “You’re adorable,” he remarks and chuckles as he covered your shoulder with the duvet, making sure you were completely covered and warm.  

“Goodnight baby, I love you.” He hums into your hair, tightening the hold he had on your waist while brushing your hair back as you rest your head on his chest comfortably.

You close your eyes overwhelmed with his sweetness and the love you felt for him.

This is where you belong, in his arms. Safe and sound.

At the moment you felt as though nothing could ever change the way you feel about him. That there was nothing in the world that could tear you away from him. You were his and he was yours, and you were sure your neighbors knew that by now too.

“I love you too, Yeonjun.”

You’re awake and happy, despite the soreness in your body.  

You already showered, got dressed, had a coffee but Yeonjun was still asleep. You figured he’d be spent given the trip from home and the sudden family reunion at your place followed by the sexy stuff that happened afterward; so, you let him sleep in. Not having the heart to wake him.

You collected all of your scattered clothes throughout the house and made sure to fold them up for Yeonjun as he slept.  

When you got out of bed you replaced your own warmth with a pillow that he was clutching on to as his lips were parted slightly. Breathing slowly with your sheets covering his manhood while his chest was covered by the pillow he was holding.

You adore him some more before you find something hard in the pocket of his pants as you fold the piece of clothing, retrieving the item from his pocket.  

Ah, his phone.  

The screen lit up automatically, and you didn’t mean to snoop; but her name on his display was enough to make you frown, using his asleep face for facial recognition to open up his phone.

[Mia, 9.21 AM]: Last night was a blow.

[Mia, 9.21 AM]: We need to tell them today.

[Mia, 9.22 AM]: Or else I’m going to lose it istg.

[Mia, 9.23 AM]: How tf did you manage to pretend like everything was okay last night?

You’re….so….confused.

You look over to Yeonjun and bite your lip.  

Stop overthinking.

Just ask him when he wakes up….it’s probably nothing.

Your eyes dart from him to his phone again and you sigh, hating yourself for what you’re about to do.

You check his recent call list, and your eyes widen. All you see is Mia’s name.

Missed calls, calls that went through, calls from him to Mia and calls he had with her in the week he was ‘too busy’ while ignoring you.

‘Don’t. Freak. Out. Play it smart, play it safe.’ you tell yourself. You quickly put his phone back on the nightstand and put the pile of clothes next to it.

Walking out of your bedroom and closing the door behind you.

Yeonjun woke up about half an hour later. He looked around your room, but you were nowhere to be found. He frowned, discarding of the pillow in his arms that he was hugging tightly and as he did, so he found his phone on your bedside table, on top of a pile of his folded clothes from last night.

He didn’t think much of it, thinking you were in the living room or something but when he opened his phone and saw Mia’s already opened texts, he sits up immediately in shock.

“Fuck,” he curses, kicking the sheets off of him. He put on his boxers with the speed of light while making his way to your living room. Empty.

Kitchen, empty.

Bathroom, empty.

“Shit baby, where are you…”  

“Hey, hey, hey. What’s wrong?” Soobin rushed over to you. You were seated on a bench in the park in front of your apartment complex, reading the screenshot you took from their texts over and over again to make sense of it all.

You told him it was an emergency, so he hurried to your side as quickly as possible.  

He hugged you tightly and your lip starts to tremble as you bite down on it harshly, trying not to cry.

“Soobin, I hope I’m wrong, I really fucking hope I’m wrong,” your voice was shaky and laced with sadness as you looked up at him with big and confused eyes.

“Y/n…you’re scaring me,” Soobin says as he rubs your back, sitting down next to on the bench.

You hand him the phone in silence, and he smacks his lips in confusion as he read it, his pupils darting back and forth in disbelief.

“What is this?” He manages to ask, not understanding what was going on.

“You said she was acting weird since school started, they have been calling each other all throughout summer even when the semester started. When he was too busy to reply to my texts, he was on the phone with her…” you stop yourself from rambling and look at Soobin.  

He looked completely hurt. “This…has to make sense somehow. Don’t think the worst of it. Mia would never do this to me,” he tells himself in reassurance. She wouldn’t. He had to believe it to stay sane.

Soobin’s last relationship ended with the girl cheating on him and if it was to happen again, he wouldn’t be able to take it. Especially with Mia. He has never had a relationship that he was so sure about before, but this…and with Yeonjun? Nothing made sense to him.

“I’ll call her over.” Soobin says through his teeth... “They’ve got some explaining to do.”

Your phone was blowing up with calls from Yeonjun but you didn’t pick up, waiting for Mia to get to your apartment. You lured her in the same way you told Soobin to come, hoping that she would race to be by your side just as quickly, cause if not; you’d know enough.

To your surprise, she arrived in no time, her face full of worry as she approached, but when she saw Soobin beside you with an equally fallen facial expression to yours, she stopped in her tracks.

“W-what’s going on?” She asks as she made her way to you, putting a hand on your shoulder but you shrugged it off, making her step back in shock at your coldness.

“Soobin…” Mia started but he sighed. “Let’s go inside first.”

Yeonjun sat defeated on your couch after a quick shower and a change of clothes, waiting for you to return home. He sighed, rubbing his forehead but when he heard your door open, he got on his feet in a split second.

He made his way to the front door watching you walk in with sad eyes followed by Soobin and Mia.  

Oh…no.

“Baby…let me explain.” He starts, taking a step closer to you but you took a step back as he did. Hiding behind Soobin who stood between you two protectively.

Mia’s eyes dart from you to Soobin to Yeonjun and suddenly everything clicked to her.

“You saw the texts…” Mia speaks, her eyes looking down at the floor.

“Someone better start talking, or I swear to god.” Soobin says clenching his fists.

“It’s not what you think. I swear. We came here last night to talk to you both, but your parents were here and y/n you were so happy…I couldn’t do that to you..” Mia says she gets teary-eyed.

“Do what to me!? What are you talking about? Stop being so fucking vague.” You yell at them, your gaze lingering on Yeonjun.

Mia sighed, throwing her head back, emotion getting the best of her.  

“Yeonjun…please…after last night…I can’t…,” you didn’t finish your sentence because he already knew what you meant.

“It’s nothing like that. I swear. Y/n believe me.”

“Then what,” Soobin speaks averting his gaze to Mia.

“I was keeping tabs on y/n through her.” Yeonjun says with sad eyes, and Mia slowly walked over to Yeonjun’s side so she could look at both you and Soobin clearly.

“What?” you say confused as ever, why would he do that? Why would he need to consult your best friend instead of talking to you personally when he had the chance to.  

“That night of the funeral, I noticed something weird about him.” Mia chimes in. “He was looking at all of you as if he was trying to remember your faces and something didn’t sit right. I walked into the kitchen to talk to him and…”

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back.” Yeonjun says, finishing Mia’s sentence.

Your heart dropped, looking at Yeonjun with disbelief.

“Y-you weren’t coming back?” you question in horror.

“And you knew?” Soobin says averting his attention to Mia.  

She avoided his gaze, playing with her sleeves.  

“Y/n…you don’t get it. There are so many secrets, so much baggage. So much pain. I didn’t want to come back to you unable to give you what you deserve. I needed to make sure my past didn’t haunt me back to school.”

“So instead of talking to me about it…you were going to ghost on me?” You were past being just hurt. The fact that it was so easy for him to turn his back on you was beyond your comprehension; and the fact that Mia basically aided him in doing so only amplified how damaged you were by the revelation.

You couldn’t even be angry. You were just sad, disappointed, and broken.

“Y/n…being in the know could get you hurt. If malicious people were after the company, or if my dad had enemies I didn’t know about… I could never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me. If I told you, you would never leave my side. You know that.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t have left you!” you sniff. “You told me you loved me for crying out loud!” you yell at him as tears spill from your eyes and Yeonjun broke at the sight.

“Please…please don’t cry.” He stood in front of you, grabbing your face to make you look at him but you push him off of you. “You could have told me before you decided to fuck me last night.”

Yeonjun gulped. “N-no, y/n. Please. It’s not like that.”

Soobin glared at Yeonjun, anger filling his senses until his eyes landed on Mia, his anger turning to sadness as they made eye contact.

“What he does is his business. I get why he’d want to handle his business before he returned. I do. He could have handled it better, but we already know that Yeonjun hyung is fucked up. But you…lied to me…for two months…you lied to me so easily…Mia…that’s…” Soobin’s disappointment was evident.

“I was just…trying to help.” Mia sighed wiping the tears from her eyes.

You couldn’t even look at her. All the heartache you went through, venting to her about how much you missed Yeonjun all while she knew that he had no intention of coming back made you sick to your stomach.  

“When will you stop choosing other people over our relationship?” Soobin says, his sadness turning back to anger as he raised his voice a little.

“That night when Yeonjun hyung and y/n fought…you rushed to be with her instead of staying with me to go together. You left me that night and I needed you.”  

“Soobin…don’t…please.” Mia was sobbing by now. The empathy in yourself felt bad for her, but she did this to herself, and frankly, you were still too mad at her to jump in her defense.

“Why did you do it? Why did you keep it from me?” You sniff as you look at Mia, her heart breaking into a million pieces seeing your distressed state.

“Because I didn’t want you to be hurt…” she replies through her tears.  

You can’t help but scoff, aggressively wiping your tears from your eyes with your sleeves. “This hurts way worse,” you say as new tears spill from your eyes. You were trying to breathe normally through your tears, but you couldn’t manage to calm down until Soobin grabbed your hand.

Yeonjun was looking at you, defeated as ever. He lost. Again. “Y/n…”

“No…” you stop him from speaking. “Please, shut up. I hope you had your fun with me last night. If I’m such a joke to you then please grab your shit and leave.”

“Y/n, stop. You know how much I love you.” Yeonjun pleads. He needs you to understand that he felt like he didn’t have a choice. That it was an either-or situation to him, but you were hurt and angry. You weren’t going to listen to him now and he knew that.

“No, no I don’t,” you say looking down, and Yeonjun’s heart shattered.

“I don’t think I can be with someone who can’t seem to get her priorities straight. I was always afraid I loved you more than you loved me” Soobin states looking at Mia with hollow eyes.

Yeonjun, yours and Mia’s eyes widen simultaneously at Soobin’s cold words.  

You swallow harshly, looking up at him. “Soobin…”  

He didn’t look at you as he bit his lip, tears filling the brims of his eyes as he kept staring into Mia’s tearful eyes “I need time,” he says raking his hand through his hair. “Alone.”

“N-no, Soobin. I-” Mia starts, but Soobin was already on to the next.

“And you,” he says diverting his attention to Yeonjun as he pulls you behind him protectively as if he was hiding you from him.

“You hang up this sad story about wanting to work on yourself, making sure y/n gets what she deserves from you. Wanting to keep her safe from god knows what. But you return just as fucked up as you left? Maybe even worse.” Soobin snaps, taking a step in Yeonjun's direction but Yeonjun didn’t budge though.  

You pull him back by his arm, giving him a pleading look to contain himself.

Yeonjun was looking at his best friend with sad eyes for a second until he avoided his glare, looking at Mia on your couch with her face buried in her hands.  

“You can’t be mad at her. I asked her to keep quiet.”

“I don’t give a fuck what you asked of her. She’s her own person, making her own decisions. As are you.” Soobin strikes back.  

“Was it worth it? Did you at least find something useful about your family?”  

Yeonjun shook his head in disappointment and looked at you. You were still looking down, clinging onto Soobin’s arm for leverage. You were sure your legs were going to give out on you if you didn’t hold onto him, so you held on for dear life.

“I couldn’t find anything. I came back because Lita helped me realize that my happiness is here. With you, the guys…with y/n.

You glanced up at the mentioning of your name.  

“Nothing back home outweighed what I have here... My mind was clouded by loss and sadness. I couldn’t think straight and completely lost myself in the company and dealt with grief the wrong way, but I promise, I’m getting help. I’m going into therapy, I’m going to be better.”  

Soobin scoffed. “Seeing is believing,” he states as he tugs on your arm.

“Let yourselves out. I’m not staying here to look at your faces.” he says as he pulls you with him

You stop in your tracks, your eyes darting from a lost looking Yeonjun to a broken looking Mia.

Leaving them in your apartment while you left felt odd, but you didn’t know what else to do at this point.

You lock eyes with Yeonjun and quickly avoid his stare, sadness washing over you as you see a tear spill from the corners of his eyes.  

“Let’s go y/n.”

The halls of the massive Vila were completely empty.  

Yeonjun’s mother had left for a long day at Choi Enterprises a few hours ago. Leaving Lita on her own in the house.  

Lita’s heels were ticking on the marble tiled floor as she made her way through the endless halls.

Her stride slowed as she approached Daniel’s old home office, looking over her shoulder before she retrieved a key from her pocket to unlock the door.

She walked through, closing the door behind her, making her way to the bookcase in silence.

Her fingers grazed over the shelves, looking for the 13th book from the 9th shelf, Yeonjun’s birthday.

Lita pulled on the book and stepped back as the bookcase folded inwards automatically, revealing a staircase to a hidden bunker in the house.

She looked over her shoulder once again, calmly making her way down the hidden lair.

It was dusty and dark. The only things left in the room being an old desk, a computer, a phone, and some vaults.  

She waited patiently before the clock strikes 5.53 PM.

The old phone on the desk rang, just like they agreed on and she sighed contently, clearing her throat before she accepted the call.

“I did what you said. The boy isn’t a problem anymore. He went back to that college.” 

She took deep breath. Relaxing at the thought of Yeonjun no longer butting in to her business.  

“We can proceed with our plans, I still have people shadowing him just in case.” she says as she smiled to herself.

“It will all be ours soon honey. We’re closer than ever now.”

Chapter 12

[r0zyp0zy0zy]

✾D.K- Two words: fuck, yeah★✶

Master list 

Words: 2535

Warnings/kinks: Somnophilia(?), Exhibitionism(?), masturbation, Denki being a perv

Pairing: Kaminari Denki x reader

Summary: a sleepover with the squad, and Denki being horny

                                    ===NSFW under the cut===

Even if you didn't admit it aloud, you were glad Mina dragged you into her friend group. Even if you were in a different class, you still hung out with the group a lot. It took awhile to get used to since you didn't really have any friends before UA, even Mina; she was an acquaintance at most. So having four loud dudes, and an over dramatic Ashido, was a little much.

Kirishima was very patient with you, encouraging your social growth. Bakugo just never talked to you, Sero was like Kirishima and made sure to tone down his energy. Jiro was pretty quiet, but you loved listening to her music. And Kaminari on the other hand.. was a lot like Mina. Over-dramatic, loud, and energetic, oh and not to mention flirty.

In fact, the first words he said to you were, "woah, hey there beautiful."

Needless to say, you avoided talking to him as much as possible after that encounter with him, you didn't want to embarrass yourself. But after you saw him flirting with literally everybody, it gave you a bit of reassurance that he wasn't doing it just to you.

Over the course of six months, your bond grew stronger with the group, and you even started talking to Bakugo when he wasn't as moody. You were still flustered around Kaminari, trying to work up the courage to make him flustered.

"Pass the popcorn," Mina said to you, pulling you out of your daze.

"Oh— here," you handed her the bowl of popcorn. Only about half of the group was actually watching the action movie.

It was strange being in a boy's room, especially since you were sat on the bed with Mina. It wasn't too odd because it was Sero's. It was comforting, it always smelt like Rose incense, and the fairy lights gave it character.

"Y/n if you're not gonna pay attention to the movie at least let someone who actually is on the bed," Sero said with a raised brow.

"Sorry," you said, scratching the back of your head. You slid off the bed to switch spots with Sero, and realized that you were now sitting next to Kaminari. Ahaha, great.

"Oh hey cutie," he winked. He knew what he was doing. It gave him confidence that he was making a pretty person like you blush.

"Hey Buzzy," you replied with a nervous side-smile. You heard his breath hitch at the new nickname, something you came up with about a week ago after training.

As the movie progressed, you could feel Kaminari's gaze periodically land on your face. It made you self conscious, so you thew your hoodie hood over your head and pulled the strings tight. You heard a giggle from Kami.

"Well that was a boring ending," Kirishima said as he switched off the TV. "They could've at least left it on a cliffhanger."

"Well let's just get settled in, then," Sero said.

"I'm gonna go back to my dorm now. Thanks for the movie," Jiro said.

"Oh yeah, anytime," Sero replied.

Bakugo had also left for his room about an hour ago, already two hours past his typical bedtime. So it was just you, Sero, Mina, Kirishima, and Kaminari. One for the hammock, two for the bed, and two on the floor.

"Who's sleeping on the floor?" Sero asked.

"Not it!" You and Kaminari yelled at the same time, pressing a finger to your nose.

"Not it!"

"Not it!"

"..not it! Shit," said Kirishima.

"Well at least you won't be alone on the floor," Sero shrugged.

"I call the hammock!" Mina yelled, jumping onto the piece of hanging fabric.

...shit.

"Well beautiful," Kaminari said, slinging an arm over your shoulders, "looks like you and I will be talking the bed."

"Yeah," you grumbled. "Let me get changed, one sec."

You grabbed your bag and headed to the bathrooms. Of course. Of course this would happen to you. You had to sleep beside your unofficial crush! Wait— what. You let out a sigh at your self-confirmation, slipping on a white tank-top. Well, if you were going to try and fluster him, now would be the perfect time. You pulled on your silky black pyjama shorts, and took a slow spin in front of the mirror. You quickly fixed up your hair and brushed your teeth.

By the time you got back, everyone had changed into their sleeping clothes and were chatting away.

"Oh, y/n! We were just talking about how—" Mina got cut off.

"—how cool Hanta's twinkle lights are! See, they have three different colour settings," Kaminari interrupted, flicking through the settings.

Sero let out a chuckle as he fluffed out his pillow. You might be a little bit of an idiot, but you knew for a fact that they weren't talking about the lights.

Denki took in your sleep-ware, and his jaw nearly broke off the hinges. How on earth was he going to be able to sleep beside you when you were wearing that. True, your shirt had a few random stains, but did you not notice that you could just barely see your nipples through the white fabric?!

Kirishima gave him a quick nudge as if to say, "good luck, careful what you wish for".

Denki knew he shouldn't, but he really wanted to tell you how nice your nipples were. For once he kept his mouth shut, and crawled into Hanta's bed. You and him got separate blankets, but that wasn't enough to calm Denki down. He was going to be laying next to you, while you were wearing the most unintentionally sexy tank top ever. And those shorts... thank god those would be covered under the sheets.

"Ok, what were you guys actually talking about?" You asked, sitting against the headboard.

"We were talking about how Kami's gonna be sleeping with a girl for the first time!" Mina yelled before Denki had the chance to butt in.

Denki felt his face heat up as you started giggling.

"Lucky me," you chortled. You put your hands behind your head as the conversation continued.

"—yeah Denki, why do you brag about being so experienced, but you've never laid down beside a girl before?" Hanta teased, nudging Denki.

"Well you gotta have confidence! That's what gets all the ladies," Denki crossed his arms and stuck up his nose.

"Yeah? Where's your proof?" Kirishima prodded.

"Ok, fine. It hasn't worked.. yet!" Kami said, loosening his stance.

"Whatever you say, Denki," Mina giggled.

The four of them continued to talk for a while, you occasionally giving input. You were pretty drowsy, and remembered that you had barely any sleep the night before. You began to drift, still sitting against the headboard.

Denki let out a startled squeak as he felt a pressure land on him. You were asleep, head leaning on his shoulder, and he felt your arm slowly wrap around his, "uhh."

"Hahaha! Denki you're so red right now!" Mina laughed, hand on her stomach. He felt his cheeks with his free hand, and he was in fact blushing profusely. He leaned over to look at your sleeping figure, and couldn't help but stare at your chest. Your nipples.. were so.. perfect..

"Hello, earth to Kaminari!" Kirishima slapped Denki's leg.

"Ah— hmm?" Denki said, snapping out of his trance.

"You might wanna put a blanket over yourself," Kirishima nodded to Kami's lap.

"O-oh, right. Sorry," denki stuttered. He hadn't even noticed how hard he was, and since he was wearing sweats it was on full show. He quickly grabbed his blanket, and covered his lap. How awkward..

"Imagine if y/n knew what she was doing to you," Mina teased.

"You wouldn't," Denki gulped. No way would you forgive him if you found out.

"But I would," Mina smirked. "Unless..."

"Oh don't blackmail me, Pinky," Denki pouted.

"I wasn't finished!" Mina giggled. "Unless you grow a pair and take her out on a date."

"I-I can't," He started to panic. What if you said no? He didn't usually care about rejection, but with you..

"You've asked out literally every girl in our class, you shouldn't have a problem confessing to your actual crush," Hanta added.

"Ugh," Denki leaned his head back, "but it's different with y/n. I really like her, and I don't wanna fuck things up."

"Your choice," Mina shrugged with a sly grin.

"I'll think about it," Denki frowned. He was too conflicted to rejoin the conversation.

He felt you slip down his arm, and he tried to readjust you, and ended up with your head in his lap. Fuck, not what he intended to do. It felt so good to have some relief from his hard-on, but trying to restrain himself from jerking his hips up— fuck. He did not want you to wake up to him humping your head. He felt his cheeks get hotter, and took a deep breath.

He later managed to gently push you off of him, and covered you with your own blanket. He really needed to have a quick shower.

"Hmmph..?" You mumbled, gripping onto Denki's arm as he tried to escape. Shit.. so cute..

He sighed quietly, and decided to stay in bed. His erection would go away at some point. It was easy but difficult to sleep at the same time. On one hand, you were cuddling into him, and on the other, you were cuddling into him.

Fuck. Erection did not go away. Denki pulled out his phone and squinted at the time: 4:15am. He was now even harder than he was before, but he was still trapped. In fact, you had managed to sneak under his blanket and fully drape one arm over his torso. Shit, Shit.

Maybe he could just peel your arm away from him and— ah crap. Your thighs gripped his leg; another restriction. Denki could admit that he was really enjoying your attention, awake or not. The thought of your crotch so close to him made Denki whimper. He couldn't just go back to sleep, he would end up having a wet dream and horribly embarrassing himself.

Denki guilty looked over to Hanta's side table at the tissue box. He glanced at you again and took a gulp of air. Fuck, here goes nothing. He reached his free hand, (thankfully you only restricted his left), and pulled out a couple sheets. He laid them beside his hip for later. He slowly slipped his hand under his sweatpants, and began to pump himself.

Denki was scared shitless that you were gonna wake up and freak out. God, he was such a pervert. He focused on your thighs, and how wonderfully they felt clamped around his left leg. Your arm was still on his torso, loosely gripping onto his T-shirt.

He let out a soft sigh at the thought of you gripping his shirt as he kissed you, "a-ah~"

Denki shamefully glanced down at your relaxed face. Oh what he'd do for you to let him cum on your face. He picked up the pace, moving his gaze down to your chest. He let out a soft groan when he saw how hard your nipples were, breasts practically falling out of the tank top. He was getting close. Just a little longer.

"Oh fuck y/n, please," denki whimpered quietly, loving the way you shifted your position slightly, your hand falling down to rest on his stomach. He felt butterflies explode inside him, and he quickly grabbed the tissues and laid them on your arm.

"Hmgh," denki struggled. Your tits.. so close to him.. thighs.. oh fuck! He let spurts of cum land on the tissue, a little missing and landed on your hand.

His chest heaved as he tried to breathe properly again. He carefully folded the tissue and dabbed the drop of semen off your hand. He couldn't see the garbage from here, so he just stuffed it in his bag. He haphazardly put his dick away, and sighed contently. He couldn't believe he just did that. Needless to say, he had a good sleep after that.

You on the other hand, had woken up in the middle of Denki's activity. You weren't totally surprised that he did what he did, but you were surprised that he moaned your name, (and the fact that he basically jizzed on your hand). You couldn't help the heat that beat through your body, making you gently grind Kami's leg.

No, you thought. You aren't gonna do what Buzzy just did.

You had a bit of a restless sleep, waking up about every 30 minutes. When you finally did fully wake up, you realized that you were basically on top of Kaminari. Your left leg sprawled over his pelvis, and your left arm gently holding onto his broad shoulder. Just as you were about to try and get more sleep, you felt Kami stir awake.

"Oh fuck," he whispered groggily, using his left hand to stroke your hair/head.

"Oh hey Denki," Kirishima greeted, giving him a toothy smile.

"Hey," he replied, rubbing his eyes.

"L/n sure looks comfortable," Kiri teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I know," Denki groaned, "she was like this all night. Not that I'm complaining or anything."

"All night?" Kiri asked.

"Yeah, I basically couldn't move."

"Well good luck with that," Kirishima grinned, "I'm going to the gym with Bakugo, tell the others?"

Denki nodded as his friend left the room. You decided now was the time to 'wake up', and you shifted around your weight, "hmm."

"Morning miss cuddle bug," Kaminari said, grinning stupidly as you looked up at his face.

"Good morning," you mumbled, "sorry about that, I kinda latch on to anything in my sleep."

"Don't worry about it, it was nice," Denki blushed.

You peeled you leg off him, as well as your arm, "I'll be right back. Bathroom."

His eyes trailed your ass as you left the room.

"So Denki," Mina popped up, causing him to yell in surprise, "how was sleeping with y/n~?"

"Erm-" he started.

"I know what you did," Mina said evilly.

"W-what?!" Denki jumped out of the bed. "Please don't tell, I'll do anything—!"

"Denki I was kidding!" Mina interrupted. "I don't even wanna know what you did, you big perv."

He gulped nervously, "I-I'm gonna be right back."

Denki sped out of Sero's room, nearly bumping into you down the hall.

"Whoa, what's the rush?" You asked, now in a hoodie.

"Mina— was—," Denki huffed.

"Teasing? Typical," you rolled your eyes, "anyways, I need to ask you something."

Denki got nervous all over again. Ask him what? Why he jerked off last night? "O-ok, shoot."

"Did you know that you're super comfy? Like actually," you continued.

"Oh r-really?" He replied. What a dumb reply, at least say 'so are you' dunce face...

"Mhm! And something else," you licked your lips. "Can we cuddle again sometime?"

Denki practically choked on his saliva, "y-yes! Of course!"

"Cool," you smiled up at him, continuing your way back to Hanta's room.

Two words: fuck, yeah.

[collecting-stories]

Heaven, We’re Already Here - t. 05 - JJ Maybank

Summary: Things are progressing between y/n and JJ. 

A/N: We’re halfway to the end...can you even believe it?

You Are Ok Masterlist | Outer Banks Masterlist

✞ My soul isn’t yours to save anymore ✞

The bet had become a thing of contention between JJ and John B since the night of the kegger. It was fairly obvious that JJ wanted out and the only reason he was still hanging on was because he had convinced himself that he desperately needed the cash. 

But the more he spent time with you the harder it was becoming to justify to himself that cash was worth the level of humiliation he would be subjecting you to if you knew that this was all just one massive joke on you. From the moment he saw you in the church JJ knew that this was no game or bet, no matter what he tried to tell himself when you weren’t around. And after spending the day in Chapel Hill with you he was more convinced than ever that he needed to end things before they got out of hand.  

“Here.” JJ practically slammed the money on the table, pushing it across to Sarah.

“What’s this?”

“I forfeit.” He replied. “Take your 200 back.” 

“I thought you needed the money,” John B said, tone mocking the way JJ had grumbled about needing cash three weeks ago. 

“Yeah and now I don’t.” He snapped.  

Kiara looked away, grabbing the empty glasses off the table and taking them back to the counter. The only nice thing about him doing this in the Wreck was that she could walk away from the table when it got uncomfortable. Kiara hadn’t been shy in telling JJ that he should call off the bet, “if you really need 200, I’ll front you.” But she was less inclined to put herself in the middle of the altercation with him, John B, and Sarah. 

She knew that he regretted making the bet in the first place and she had felt guilty hanging out with you, knowing that it was all just a joke behind your back that JJ and his friends could laugh at. But he was making good on his promise to cut off the head of the beast, giving Sarah her money back and ending the bet before anyone really got hurt. It could fade into obscurity, just be something no one even remembered anymore. 

“You were almost to the finish line,” John B teased, feeling shockingly okay with a bet he’d first made when he was drunk and barely coherent enough to walk. “I mean, unless you don’t think she’ll let you get that far-”

“Shut up.” JJ snapped. “I said I was done, so I’m done.”

“Why?” Sarah pried.  

“I thought it would be funny but it’s not. She’s a real person, I’m not gonna fuck with her just so you guys can laugh.” JJ replied. He’d been feeling guilty about the bet since that first day he saw you in the church. The way you looked at him, a mirrored image of his own restlessness, depression, and emptiness. He didn’t deserve you on a good day, when he was completely devoted to you with no ulterior motive at the back of his head.  

He couldn’t do this to you, make you the butt of the joke to every pogue who heard about the bet and was enough of an asshole to find it funny. On his second time around the thought, he knew he really couldn’t do that to anyone. But John B thought it was funny and he and Sarah had used JJ’s lack of funds and general ‘go-with-the-flow’ attitude as a means to an end. 

“You’d do it if she was some kook.” Sarah commented, counting the 20’s he’d handed over. 

“Well she’s not.” JJ snapped, “look, I’m giving you the fucking money back, bet’s off.”

“Dude-“

“He said it was over John B, just quit being a dick.” Kiara piped up. She hadn’t been there when the bet was made but she had heard about it after the fact and been pissed. She was only relieved now that JJ seemed ready to put the bet to rest.  

“She might like you now but it won’t last.” Sarah said when JJ started to walk away, “I mean, you guys have nothing in common JJ, do you really think she fits in at keggers or sitting around getting high all day?”

JJ stood there, jaw tense, clenching his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, face turning red. The anger was just insecurity because, yeah, he agreed with Sarah. He knew he didn’t have a lot to offer you but hearing her say it knocked him down a peg and had him seeing red. 

“Just go,” Kiara urged, grabbing JJ’s arm and pushing at him, trying to get him to turn around and leave, “go.” She would yell at them for him, a much better defender of his character than he was. 

The door slammed behind him, the spring on the old wooden screen creaking in protest when JJ threw it shut as he left, already brushing tears out of his eyes as he walked, cutting through the woods back to the cut. It was stupid to get so upset about something Sarah said but he couldn’t help it. He’d been worked up as it was over calling off the bet and Sarah had only made him feel worse. 

Despite that, or maybe because of it, JJ took the path through the woods that led to the church. Taking a walk to cool down worked for everyone in the world but him, the further through the woods he walked the angrier he got. At himself, at Sarah and John B, at everything that made him take that stupid bet in the first place. The only thing keeping his anger in check was the thought of you. Sitting in the church practicing the piano or hanging laundry outside. Anywhere he could stay just out of sight of your parents, relishing in your attention.  

JJ came up on the church, not thinking to look inside before he entered. All he was thinking about was seeing you, forgetting entirely that you were not the only one who lived on the property. He stopped at the end of the aisle, still a little worked up, and caught off guard by the sight of your dad at the altar, rehearsing his sermon for Sunday. He tried to back up but failed, his clumsiness catching your dad’s attention.  

“Can I help you?” He called out when JJ bumped into one of the pews, the sound of his boot colliding with the wood reverberating in the nave. 

“Sorry,” JJ spoke up, “sorry I-“

“You came to church a few Sundays ago?” Your dad said, recognizing JJ’s face when he stepped off the altar and walked down the aisle. The blond, he realized, was the boy he’d noticed watching you. Though his wife told him he was being crazy, he was certain that he’d seen the boy in the yard once after that. 

“Ah, yeah...” JJ nodded, sniffling a little to clear the congestion from crying, “wrong turn on the way to the smoke shop I guess.” He was sure his face was still red, eyes still bloodshot, and the last thing he wanted to do was get cornered into some weird testimonial moment with your dad. He just wanted to see you, to remind himself that what Sarah said was bullshit, that you liked him, that this was more than a bet.  

“Is there something I can help you with now?” Everyone always said how welcoming and charismatic your dad was. The church wouldn’t have half the congregation it did now if it wasn’t for your dad’s ability to reel people in with smiles and an easy-going personality. 

That ease was not present as he stood there sizing up JJ. The kid gave him a bad feeling and he was absolutely certain he’d seen flashes of him around the yard before. The teenage population on the island was not a group your father was a fan of and JJ seemed the perfect embodiment of all the things wrong with that group. He looked unkempt, a little worse for the wear, and he smelled like pot. 

Before JJ could say anymore, the doors to the church opened and you walked in, eyes wide at finding your boyfriend there, “uh, mom said to call you for lunch?” You said. 

For his part, the second the door opened, JJ’s attention had snapped that way, and there you were. Exactly who he had been looking for and he felt like he could breath, like things would be alright because you were right there and he shouldn’t be so conspicuous but he couldn’t take his eyes off you. Like a magnet.  

“Of course,” he seemed to recover his bad mood relatively quick though he glared at the back of JJ’s head when he realized the boy was staring at you. “Go ahead back to the house and tell your mom I’ll be in.” 

You kept your eyes on your dad, not daring to look at JJ, “should I ask her to set an extra space?” Your dad had always been a fan of inviting church members in for dinner or lunch when they stopped by with something, you weren’t sure if it was compensation for a dwindling household or if he just liked to seem approachable but you used it against him now. If you had looked at him, you’d have noticed the slow smirk on JJ’s face as he stood there. 

If your dad said no it reflected badly on him. He always guilted you about not being helpful enough or considerate enough. “If...” he trailed off, clearing his throat to get JJ’s attention as he waited for a name. 

“JJ...JJ Maybank.” 

The frown increased in size; he’d heard the last name before. He’d hired a Maybank to do work on the roofing a few years back and remembered the man being nothing but a mean drunk. “If JJ wants to stay, we would love to have him.”

“I’ve got no where to be,” JJ replied, grinning at your dad. 

Lunch had already been finished when you went to call your dad, needing only to be plated, something you were thankful for because the awkward and uncomfortable silence that settled between JJ and your dad was unbearable. There was no way you could’ve survived waiting through lunch prep with the two of them.  

You weren’t even entirely sure what JJ was doing there. He hadn’t mentioned seeing you, he was supposed to be spending the day with his friends, as he’d already told you the night before when he snuck over because “couldn’t stay away”. He’d invited you on the boat but both your parents were home all day so there was little chance that you could go anywhere without drawing attention to yourself. Weekends were easier, your brothers and sisters who had stayed close came over with their kids and if you left no one missed you. But during the week it was just the three of you, an odd adjustment after so many years with so many kids.  

You sat at the table across from JJ, doing your absolute best not to look at him, knowing he was staring at you just to piss off your dad, who had already mentioned your upcoming engagement twice. Your mom let your dad lead the conversation like she always did and didn’t object to his over excessive mention of Timothy.  

“Do you go to the high school then?” She was doing her best to be polite, not completely certain your dad’s paranoia was based on fact. (“Just because you say you saw him in the yard doesn’t mean you saw him in the yard.”)

“Ah, yeah...” JJ nodded, “sometimes.” He took another bite of the sandwich, “hey, this is really good, you’re a really good cook.”

While The Wreck technically counted as homemade because it was Kiara’s dad who made it, JJ hadn’t eaten a real, home cooked meal, in a long time. His mom, when she had been around in his childhood, was not making lunches or any meals for him that she couldn’t microwave.  

“Oh, Ace made it.” Your mom said, beaming at you, “she’s a natural in the kitchen.” 

“You’ve been-“ JJ stopped himself short of saying you’d been holding out on him, coughing and then continuing on, “it’s good.”

“Thank you,” you chanced a glance up and then quickly back down at your plate. 

Lunch was excruciating and when it was finally over, JJ leaving and your dad watching him walk back into the woods, you told your parents you weren’t feeling well and went to lay down. You were flushed all over from lunch, sitting there across from JJ with your parents in the room. It was like knowing a secret you knew you weren’t supposed to. 

Tapping sounded on your window and you opened it, JJ standing there outside, “you’re gonna get me trouble,” you whispered. “My dad is convinced he’s seen you around our yard.”

“That’s cause he has.” JJ replied, kissing you once he was inside the room. 

“I know that.” You whispered, “what are you doing?”

“I’m reading your love letter from Timmy,” he shrugged, sitting down at your desk and pulling the letter out of the envelope. 

“It’s not a love letter,” you huffed. When you got close enough to try and take the letter away JJ spun in the chair, grabbing you around the waist and pulling you into his lap. 

“Let’s see, oh, coming to visit?” JJ said, poking your sides as he read the letter, leaving kisses along your shoulder. “So you get to go on a date?”

“Well, chaperoned.” You replied. “My dad wants to go somewhere ‘outer banks’ style, whatever he thinks that is, to show off to Timothy and his parents.” 

“Go to the Wreck.” JJ said. 

“I’m not going to Kie’s, I’m not gonna embarrass myself.” 

“Trust me,” JJ insisted, kissing you, “go to the Wreck.” 

You ran your fingers through his hair, brushing it back out of his face and kissing him. Your hands moved down so you could hold his face, leaning your forehead against his.  

“Are you okay?” JJ asked, his hands sliding up under your shirt, his warm skin against yours.  

“I don’t want to do this.” You admitted, “I don’t wanna have dinner with Timmy.”  

“Hey,” JJ pulled his face away, tilting so he could look you in the eye, “That shit doesn’t mean anything.”  

“It does in the long run,” you replied. When you had gotten Timothy’s letter that morning you’d been more than upset, knowing he was coming to North Carolina felt like the last nail in the coffin before your dad was sending you off to Tennessee.  

“Do you like him?” He asked, matter of fact.

“No, no.” You shook your head. There was no way you had any feelings toward Timothy other than mild annoyance. He wasn’t bad but he wasn’t for you. And maybe he would’ve been if this was all there was but you had JJ and there was an entire other space out there. “I wish we could just…stay like this.”

“Me too.” JJ replied.  

You pulled away from him suddenly, remembering the way he’d looked when you had walked into the church and found him there with your father. “I forgot, you were upset earlier-”

“It’s fine, it was just a dumb fight with John B.” He insisted, “I’m over it.”

“Are you sure? You can tell me anything.” You promised. You had been secret keeper and confidant for your siblings plenty of times over the years and while their conflicts had never really been worthy the secrecy, you had still been good at the task.  

“I’m fine, I promise,” he repeated, “I was just upset and I wanted to see you.”

“Well you’re seeing me now,” you teased, holding his face again so you could kiss him, “though I think you should consider leaving before anyone comes to check on me.”

-

The Wreck was totally not where you wanted to be going on a chaperoned first date with a guy who looked almost more sheltered than you felt on a regular basis. He had khakis and a polo tucked in, spikey blond hair and you were trying so hard not to be mean in your head. This was the guy your parents thought would make a great addition to their family. This was your future husband?

Any concerns or reservations you had about Timothy went out the window as you walked into the Wreck ahead of him and realized that JJ and Pope were sitting at the counter. JJ turned in his stool as you came in, propping his chin on his hand and smiling at you. 

“Hey,” Kiara had donned jeans and a t-shirt for the occasion, “six?” 

“Actually, these two will have their own table.” Your mom piped up and you looked at Kiara, attempting to convey the absolute horror of the early evening dinner.  

“Of course,” she said, grabbing menus. You could hear your father behind you, mentioning JJ’s presence in the restaurant. Whether Kiara heard it or JJ had just requested that this be the most difficult first date to get through, the table she sat you at was facing the counter. Your parents sat two tables over with Timothy’s parents while you sat down in perfect view of JJ and Pope.  

“So, what’s good here?” Timothy asked, his voice an octave higher than he looked like it would be.

You scanned the menu as if you ate there all the time and then looked at Kiara, hoping she could offer more of an answer then you could.  

“The grits are good, we do them with sausage and shrimp.” Kiara replied.  

“That’s fine.” You handed off your menu, not bothering to consider another option. Even though Kiara knew that this was all something you had to do, you felt a sense of guilt, sitting there with Timothy while JJ was sitting at the counter.  

It was palpable, you felt like you could taste it in your mouth as you spoke, felt the guilt dripping off you. Timothy wasn’t the worst, probably, and, probably, in someone else’s life he would make them happy but you weren’t sure there was any reality that would allow you to walk away from what you had with JJ and resign yourself to this life. To your mom’s life, or your sisters’ lives.  

“I’ve been looking into getting my pilot’s license, I’ll be done seminary soon-” Timothy started to say after Kiara walked off.  

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were interested in becoming a pilot.” You replied, glancing over his shoulder at JJ who was turned around in his stool, his back against the counter, watching you. If your dad wasn’t facing the opposite direction you were certain he’d be having a fit right now.  

“...the plane license would take another year at least but it’s something I can easily pursue after the marriage and it would allow us the opportunity to be missionaries-”

“Missionaries?” You paled, focusing your attention back on Timothy and away from JJ.  

“Timmy’s older brother is ministering in Zambia and they’ve always talked about Timmy joining him,” his mom cut in.  

“Missionaries in Zambia...all the time?” You asked. Your father had already launched into a separate conversation about the importance of ministry work and you felt close to absolute collapse. When Kiara came back to the table to make sure the food was okay you practically clung to her, “bathroom?”

“Through the kitchen,” Kiara lied, noting the look of distress. “Our regular bathroom is being fixed.”  

“Thanks.” You bolted. Through the restaurant and the kitchen, right out the back door and you might’ve run all the way home but somehow JJ was right there, grabbing you as you collided with him. “I can’t do this...I can’t, I can’t....I can’t be a missionary! I can’t live in Zambia and have like thirteen kids and name them all something stupid and have poufy fucking hair!”  

“Whoa, hey, babe,” JJ urged, pulling you into a hug, rubbing your back soothingly, “it’s gonna be okay.”  

“What if it’s not?” You could keep pretending like you didn’t have to think about it but the truth was, you couldn’t run from your parents’ expectations and plans forever. “I can’t do this.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” JJ promised, kissing the side of your head as he stood there holding you, “I love you. And I don’t give a shit about Timmy, or your parents, or whatever...we’ll figure this out.”

“This was a bad idea, having lunch here.”

“Hey, I don’t think so. I got to hear you curse for the first time.” He joked. “We’ll be okay, just head back inside alright?”

“Okay,” you pulled away, fixing your hair and taking a deep breath, trying to right yourself. It was just dinner. It wasn’t Zambia yet. It wasn’t even the wedding. Just dinner and JJ was right there. “Oh, JJ?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too.” You said before hurrying back inside, leaving him standing behind the Wreck with a sad smile on his face.  

-

“Scarlett does it every year with some of the kooks, like a raffle.” Sarah explained, recounting Scarlett’s ’Touron Game’ for JJ and John B, “500 to whoever gets the most tourons...they have like a scoring system. Kind of awful, I guess, but...I mean it’s not like they don’t know it’s just sex.”

“500?” JJ asked, “I could use that.”

“What are you gonna do, pimp yourself out?” John B joked.

“I’ll give you 200,” Sarah replied immediately, cutting her boyfriend off. She was looking across the parking lot of the convenience store.  

“What’s the catch?” JJ asked, following Sarah’s line of sight to the old minivan, a girl their age standing with her mom at the trunk.  

“That’s the weird pastor’s daughter, right?” Sarah asked, already knowing the answer, “get her to sleep with you. I’ll even give you the 200 dollars up front.”

“Yeah okay. It’s a deal.”  

-

Taglist: @heavenlymama @vindictive-hearts @alexa-playafricabytoto @dontjinx-it @randomficsandshit @niamhobrien @strangerthanfanfiction713 @tovvaa @freckled-and-daydreaming @harleylynn @bibliophilewednesday @dpaccione @bolaurel @poguestyleskye @beautyandthebleh @under-a-canyon-moon @stevie-buck @bijleegiregi @vitaminekabc @minigranger @teamnick @just-smile-darling @obxsummer @damonsalvawhore27 @isqbella @tomzfrog @fangirlvoice @phantompogues @98starkeys @ilovejjmaybank @lemur46 @khiaraaa-in-spacee @babygal-babygal @niya-savage @divvrx @princess-of-the-fandoms @thecaptainsgingersnap @jenjie @yourprincess-maybe @outrbanks @mendesmaybank @thehomeiknow @minnie-bby @katiaw2 @2kayla64 

[topazy]

What we found

Parings: John Murphy/ OC

Warnings: mentions of blood

Chapter: eleven

Cora

I sat up with a groan, gripping my head as the dimly lit room I was in started to spin.

Murphy kneeled beside me. "Hey, take it easy. You’ve had a nasty fall."

Fall? I couldn’t remember falling. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realised I was inside a cave, and the only light was coming from a small fire. "How did I get here?"

"John carried you," Emori said before sitting down beside me. "Do you remember anything that happened?" I shook my head. "You saved us from reapers."

"And took a beating in the process," I snorted. It wasn’t the first time that I’d been beaten in a fight, and I doubted it would be the last. It was strange that a reaper knocked me out but left me alive.

I raised my hand to scratch my neck and almost screamed when I felt something move. Frantically, I began shaking my hair, watching the different twigs and dried leaves fall out. My face began to burn as I felt embarrassed. "I thought it was a bug."

Murphy smirked as Emori continued to stare at me with a worried look. "You were asleep for a long time. I was starting to think you wouldn’t wake up."

"Oh, thanks for not leaving me to die." Neither of them replied, and we sat in awkward silence. "What are you guys doing here anyway? I thought you wouldn’t be back in Polis."

Murphy shared a look with Emori before he answered. "We didn’t want to be tied down."

"Fair enough."

Emori stood up, "I’ll get you some water."

Once she walked to the other side of the cave, and began rummaging inside her bag, Murphy turned to face me and spoke quietly, "I know."

Puzzled, I raised my brows. "You know what?"

"I saw your blood."

Oh fuck. Chills spread through my body as his words sank in. I leaned forward, "Does Emori know?"

He shook his head. "No, but you owe me an explanation."

"I owe you nothing," I snapped.

"I risked my life trying to get you back to camp."

I turned away from him and smiled at Emori when she handed me a bottle of water. I found it odd that Murphy dropped the subject when his girlfriend sat back down beside us. I had just assumed he would have told her. Luckily for me, he didn't. I couldn’t tell either of them anything, they would just betray me. Everyone always did.

Murphy

"You said there'd be food here."

Emori leaned her head back against the wall, and let out a sigh. "There should be. These woods have always been good to me. Now there are not even bugs."

"Well, fortunately, I'm not hungry enough for that to be upsetting yet." I grimaced at the thought. "I actually kind of miss Polis. They had this drink there-sweet, made out of sheep's milk-"

Emori shot me a look, "Ontari gave this to you?"

"Yeah... I told you it wasn't all bad."

What did she expect me to say? No. The food was terrible? I wasn’t going to lie to her.

"You told me you were trying to survive." The tone of Emori’s voice through me. She was mad at me.

"I was."

"What else wasn’t bad?" She asked, turning to face me. "John, sex?"

The question made me feel physically sick. I’d already made it clear I didn’t like anything that happened. Why couldn’t she be more understanding? Why didn’t she believe me when I said all I wanted was to be back with her? I glanced over at Cora, who was pretending to sleep. "Emori," I sighed quietly. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Fine. Then let's not."

Standing I dusted off some of the dirt that was sticking to my clothes. "I didn't have a choice, ok? Emori. I didn't have a choice."

She looked up at me and panicked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go to Arkadia."

"What? Why?"

I shrugged, "I'm a better thief than I am a hunter."

"I'll come with you."

Emori looked hurt as I shook my head. "No. I'll draw less attention alone,"I pointed over to Cora.

"One of us needs to stay here with her."

"John…"

"It’s our fault she got hurt," I squeezed Emori’s shoulders. "She saved our lives, then we saved hers. I’m sure she’ll want to go back to wherever it was she was going in the first place."

A part of my hope was that what I said was true. The other part? The part I was desperately trying to ignore, wanted to know everything about her.

Emori

I watched in silence as Cora continued to chop at her hair with a knife she had pulled from her boot, before throwing the braids into the fire. It was strange, but I had a feeling her actions had a meaning behind them.

The light from the fire only illuminated the small scars that covered her face and neck. Remembering what John had told me about her, my stomach began to turn. The way she had healed her own wounds while they hid in the bunker sounded agonising. I understand Cora did what she had to, but I personally don’t think I could have. I opened my mouth to ask her about it, but stopped when I heard footsteps.

"Oh, finally." Seeing John approaching, I went towards him and threw my arms around him. I knew he was capable of looking out for himself, but I still worried.

He pulled back from me with a worried expression on his face, "Emori."

"John, what's wrong?"

"It looks like we may need my people, after all." He gulped down. "There's a storm coming. When it hits, we need to be on the right side of that door."

Oh god, this definitely wasn’t part of our plan. "So we make ourselves useful."

"Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I've already started working on Abby. Come on. I'll explain on the way." He glanced over at Cora, who still hadn’t lifted her head. "What is she doing?"

Cora was now running her fingers through her tangled, messy hair that stopped just under her ears. I leaned into him and whispered so Cora wouldn’t hear me. "She’s been like this since she woke up."

"Has she said anything?"

I shook my head. I didn’t want to feel paranoid, but I didn’t like John's genuine concern in his voice. We hardly knew this girl and he cared more about her welfare than most people he grew up on the ark with.

John took a few steps forward. "Cora, I think you should come back with us."

Cora scoffed, "No thanks. I’ll take my chances in the cave."

"Bellamy’s been looking for you."

Finally, lifting her head, Cora looked up at us with a wide-eyed expression. "You spoke to him?"

"No," John let out a sound of frustration. "I spoke with Abby, and she told me he was asking you before meeting some spy from ice nation."

"Fine," Cora stood. "We should go before it gets dark."

John looked disappointed. I wasn’t sure if it was because Cora was leaving with us, or how her face lit up when he mentioned Bellamy.

Notes: I love Emori as a character, and hate that I’m dragging her into a love triangle. But never fear, I’m going to write her an alternative happy ending

[flightrules]

Which Kind Do You Want to Be?

Summary: You’re from a deeply sex-positive culture. He hasn’t gone unarmored in front of another human in... It’s been a very long time.

Three days on board the Razor Crest featuring moments of angst, domesticity, kindness, explicit consent, and Din doing his best to be a conscientious parent in the midst of everything. Heads up for descriptions of canon-typical violence, mention of past dubious consent, and a moment of (unintentional) violence between our protagonists. Din/cis female OC, on the hetero end of the scale. Ending is bittersweet.

Rating: Mature? Explicit? Anyhow, grown-up sexy stuff in later chapters. Please be old enough to be reading this kind of thing.

Watch for upcoming chapters here, or read the complete story on AO3. 

Chapter 1

He's sitting there looking at you, head tilted, and it's like somebody needed an illustration of curiosity for a children's book so they drew this Mandalorian and stuck that on the page.

"Isn't 'stop' good enough?" he says.

"Sometimes people like to say that and not mean it. Having a different word lets you both know you don't want what's happening anymore."

"If I say stop, I'll mean it."

There's something about that voice modulator that makes everything he says sound final.

The two of you are sitting across from each other on the floor, in the cramped hold of the Razor Crest. You're dressed in your usual practical trousers and shirt, but you've kicked your boots into a corner and your rifle's propped against a nearby wall.

He's still wearing the beskar.

The child is spending the night with Peli, who took him delightedly, crooning about getting him some decent food and a nice soft place to sleep. 

She also spared a moment for you, looking you up and down before shooting a pointed look at the armored man beside you. "It's about time."

"Can you trust her?" you asked on the way up the ramp, as Peli and the child disappeared into her shop.

He shrugged. "With my life? No. With his? Yes."

How exactly does this man decide whom to trust with his life? 

You've known each other, what, a few days? The acid burn on your right shoulder is still raw, the skin still peeling away in shreds. Interesting lesson, that. Gark-vipers don't bite, they spit. 

The scar will be your souvenir from a three-day trek through the jungles of Silicaria. One day in to snatch the little green rug-rat back from the bounty hunters who took him, two days back on tired legs, without food and no idea if the water in the streams you passed was safe.

You were hired help at the beginning. 

By the end, between fighting off hungry jungle creatures, sharing watches through pitch-black nights, and taking turns carrying the kid, you and this man were something like friends. 

Not that you didn't still collect your credits. A girl's gotta eat.

But you also didn't turn down the chance to get cleaned up in his ship's refresher, or to bunk down in a corner of the hold for a decent night's sleep.

He got the baby to bed first, briskly bathing the yawning little creature in the galley sink, then wrapping him up in a clean blanket and tucking him into a hammock in what looked like the man's own sleeping quarters. 

Then he indicated the refresher and sonic shower for you to use. "I'll wait upstairs." 

It was nice of him to give you privacy to get cleaned up and changed, even if it seemed a bit odd to you. Where you come from the human body's nothing to be ashamed of. But not all cultures see things that way.

Clearly his did not. You'd think after what you'd both been through, he'd want to get into some comfy clothes and leave the armor in storage for a while. But no, he switched places with you in the cockpit, disappeared down into the hold, and came back up a little later smelling a heck of a lot better but fully decked out again.

"I promise I'm not dangerous," you said, teasing.

It was a little insulting how easily he said, "I know." But he added, "I have food. If you're still hungry," and that felt like something a friend would say. So you bit back the temptation to remind him that if you wanted to, you could be dangerous, indeed.

The Razor Crest's food stores were nothing to write home about. Your body was going to make good use of the calories though, whether they tasted good or not. You leaned against the galley cabinet and gnawed on a protein bar. He started working on cleaning weapons and putting them away in what looked like a small but impressive armory.

"So what's the deal with the outfit?" Curiosity wasn't a sin where you came from, either.

"What do you mean?"

"You're home, right? We've agreed I'm not dangerous. Who are you planning to fight?"

"I'm not," he said, settling a blaster in its place next to an array of grenades. 

"So?"

"Mandalorians don't go unarmored around anyone but family."

You were struck by a sudden image of him with the kid, the two of them playing tag or something down here among the crates and stowed weapons. The kid in his little brown robes and the Mandalorian in, what? A pair of soft trousers, maybe a shirt that showed his arms. Barefoot, maybe. Probably hair all a mess. If he had hair. Or would he shave his head?

You had to shake your own head to get the image to clear.

"Huh," you said in reply. "Really? I crossed paths with some guys like you, a couple years back. They didn't seem to have any issue."

You were surprised to hear a sigh. "There are different kinds of Mandalorians."

"Do you get to choose?"

He didn't answer. 

You finished up the protein bar and looked around for somewhere to toss the wrapper. There wasn't an obvious wastebin, so when he looked back your way again you held it up, inquiring.

"Behind the door, lower left," he said. And then, "You don't get to choose."

"Who chooses for you, then?"

He turned back to the armory. It looked to you like everything was in its place now, but he lifted out the grenades, turned them over in his hands, put them back. "I was a foundling," he said. "They raised me in the Way."

How he said "the Way," you could hear the emphasis, like it was a sacred word. "A foundling? Like your kid?"

"Yes."

"So, you're going to teach him to live like this, too?"

The answer came quickly: "No." He closed the armory doors. They latched with a clicking sound. "We should go."

"We?"

"The child and I need to get off-world. Someone knew we were here. Where do you want to go?"

What made him think you didn't already belong in the village where he met you?

"You're not from here."

No, you weren't. The place you're from isn't there anymore, though, thanks to the Empire. 

It wasn't a story you cared to tell right then. 

"Sure, yeah, wherever you're headed next." Anywhere you could find work would do. "I'll jump off at the next port." You indicated your shoulder, where the acid burn still stung. "As long as they don't have gark-vipers."

You slept cozily enough that night, wrapped in a blanket he gave you and using the bivy bag from your own pack as padding beneath. At one point you woke to the sound of the child fussing, followed by the man's voice softly singing. The child quieted down and you found yourself lulled back to sleep, too.

“Are you sure the kid’s safe down there?” 

“He’s safe.”

You’re picturing the dusty repair yard, the bare-bones shop behind it, the handful of repair droids who were probably great with wrenches but not so much with guns. Peli looked like she had some wiry strength to her, but she was on her own. “She a former soldier or something?”

“She has a safe-room behind a hidden panel with a ten-centimeter durasteel door. They’ll be fine.”

Your eyebrows go up. Mos Eisley looks like a shambling backwater town. 

“Tatooine has wildlife. Some of it has guns.”

You glance at your own rifle, leaning against the wall nearby. You’ve fought off some of that kind of wildlife before. 

What a strange family you’ve fallen in with. 

“All right,” you say. “Good. I guess you know what you’re doing.”

You expect him to nod, confirm, like he did when you said you weren’t dangerous. Instead, you see pauldrons and breastplate shift as his shoulders sag a bit. “Sometimes.”

This thing you’re doing now, or about to do. It started with a joke. Well, mostly a joke. A victorious mission, the child safe, the two of you safe now too, and alone behind closed doors. The sweat of the mission washed away, guns laid down, a chance to rest. Back home, you said, as you took the blanket he’d found for you, a man and a woman would celebrate. 

You hadn’t expected him to take you up on it, but you also hadn’t expected him to freeze like that, one hand still holding the blanket. Until this moment, he’d looked like that armor was part of him. Suddenly, somehow, the way he reached out to you looked awkward, pauldron and vambrace no longer in line, and that helmet turned the tiniest angle, like he didn’t know where to direct his eyes.

“Never mind,” you said, smiling to let him know it really was ok. “We’re not where I come from, are we.”

Something shifted back now, and the shapes of his armor made sense again. He let go his grip on the blanket as you took it. “No.”

As you went to shake the blanket out and make up your bedroll, you noticed that your shirt was sticking a bit to the burn on your shoulder. “One thing, though, I could use from you. Do you have a medkit?”

“Sure.” He turned in the small space, graceful now, broad shoulders under the beskar pauldrons shifting as he reached up to open a high cupboard. You couldn’t help noticing how trim his waist looked, even under all that steel and fabric. Oh well, some things were not for you. 

The medkit had burn ointment and bandages, but no bacta. You’d have been hesitant to use any, anyhow. It would heal that wound in a day, but you knew what it cost. You’d never had the credits to buy it yourself. 

He started to turn his back, to let you undo your shirt in private and get a bandage over the oozing burn. But the acid had dripped far enough down your shoulder blade that you couldn’t quite be sure you’d covered it. “If I promise to stay decent, can you help here?”

He made quick work of anchoring the gauze to your skin with strips of steritape, while never putting pressure on the places that still ached and stung. Those were hands that had bandaged up wounds before. You’d wondered already what was underneath the armor, but suddenly you found yourself wondering what pattern of scars you might find. On a man who clearly fought as easily as he breathed, maybe almost as often--and apparently didn’t have the credits for bacta, either. Unless he went through it so fast, he couldn’t keep it stocked. 

He flipped the medkit closed. He stowed it back on its high shelf, then crossed to the little room where the baby was still sound asleep, curled in that tiny hammock. “Sleep well,” he told you, before lowering the room’s metal door. 

When you woke in the morning that metal door was up and you were alone in the dimly lit hold. You took advantage of the refresher and used your fingers to comb down your hair, where you could feel it was standing on end. No mirrors in here. You’d been too tired last night to notice. 

Well, if you really wanted to know what you looked like you could check your reflection in that armor.

You made yourself at home in the galley, poking around until you found some caff powder and another of those protein bars. Then, mug in one hand and bar in your pocket, you climbed the ladder to the cockpit.

The Mandalorian was in the pilot’s chair, helmeted head framed by the lights of hyperspace beyond the windows. The little green child was nowhere to be seen. You made your way forward to settle into the passenger seat, meaning to ask if one of you should check on the baby. But there he was, after all, perched on one armored thigh, staring wide-eyed at the lights while his tiny hand held fast to the man’s gloved index finger. 

Neither of them looked over at you, but neither one seemed startled when you spoke. You addressed the child, because why not. You’d been through a lot together, the past couple days. You figured you’d reached an understanding. “Does he sleep in that armor, too?”

The baby looked your way for a second, cooed cheerfully, and returned his gaze to the sky. 

You took a sip of caff, appreciating the spark it sent straight to your brain. Caff was a rare treat for you at the best of times, and on that jungle planet, where every bean had to be imported, it had usually been out of your reach. “Well? Do you?”

“Sometimes.”

“Last night?”

“Last night you might have needed something.”

“But most of the time, you don’t have to. You said, family.” You gnawed off a corner of the protein bar and washed it down with another sip of caff. “So where are the rest of them?”

He reached forward to adjust something on the console, a smooth movement of arm, shoulder, and back that left the baby peacefully balanced in his lap. “This is my clan,” he said. “Until I find the child’s people and return him to them.”

“He’s your whole family?” You needed another gulp of caff to process this. “And when you’ve dropped him off you’re just going to--” That couldn’t be right. People couldn’t go their whole lives walled off like that, beskar steel and cloth padding between them and the whole entire world. “Are you sure you don’t get a choice, here?”

He was silent for a long time. During the quiet, the baby looked up at him, then looked your way. The man disentangled his hand from the baby’s grip and rested it on the tiller. “This is the Way,” he said. It was hard to hear emotion through that helmet and whatever the electronics were doing to his voice, but--he sounded quieter than usual. A little slower. He sounded sad. 

“Well,” you said. “There’s got to be other Ways. Those other Mandalorians I met, they sure had a different way. Pretty sure they weren’t flirting with the barmaids because they wanted to keep their armor on.”

“There are different kinds of Mandalorians,” he repeated, same thing he said the first time you asked. 

You wrapped both hands around the mug you were holding, enjoying the warmth against fingers that still ached a bit from the punches you’d had to throw. “Which kind do you want to be?”

For some reason, you couldn’t let it go. You didn’t push, exactly. That wouldn’t have been right. But there wasn’t much else to do as the ship sailed through hyperspace. He was making a couple jumps, he told you, right-angle turns at out-of-the way nodes, to make it harder for anyone to guess the ship’s trajectory and follow. 

In between setting the next course, there wasn’t much to do besides watch the sky, play with the baby, and talk. After a while, he started asking you questions, too.

“What’s it like?” was one of them. What’s it like to walk around exposed all the time, nothing between your fragile skin and the world but a thin cotton shirt and trousers. You’d never thought about it all that much, but he had a point. The knife scar just below your ribs was a testament to that. 

“What’s it like,” you asked him back. He told you about the electronics in the helmet that make it hard for anyone to sneak up on him. He showed you a few of the hidden weapons, although you’re certain there are many more you haven't gotten to see. He explained the history of some of them, how he’s wearing not just the latest technology but a thousand years of Mandalorian history. He said, in a way, it’s like always having your own backup. Like never being completely alone. 

It wasn't until much, much later, when the ship was on its last trajectory, the baby was in bed, and the two of you were sitting side by side on the floor down there in the hold, a jar of bitter ale in your hand and him still stone-cold sober, that he admitted it was lonely.

And that’s how, after a couple more hours of talking and a night of much more restless sleep, the child’s ended up with Peli as a babysitter and the two of you are alone up here in the Razor Crest, sitting cross-legged across from each other, knees almost touching but with space and several kilos of beskar definitely still between you. 

“All right,” you say. “The word for stop is, stop. You sure you still want to do this?”

“No.”

You’re disappointed, but it’s got to be up to him. You start to scoot back, ready to stand up, to give him some actual room. 

A gloved hand closes around your calf. “Yes.”

You cover that hand with your own. When he doesn’t pull away, you lift his fingers gently from your leg, find the cuff of that glove, and slide it from his hand. 

His hand is trembling.

“You’ll remember? The word for stop?”

He laughs, short and sharp. It makes a faint sound of static through the helmet’s modulator.

Carefully, slowly, you use your own hand to guide his fingers to the bottom edge of that helmet. “How do I…?” He lifts his other hand to help you. There’s a soft, electronic sigh as whatever holds it in place loosens. And then, all on his own, he lifts the thing from his head.

He’s got curly hair. It’s the first thing you notice, as you run your fingers along his scalp and those curls, flattened by the shape of the beskar, spring back into ringlets. You’ve no idea what color his eyes are because they’re closed, and his head is bowed down as, fascinated, you wind one of those curls around a finger. You slide the other hand down to his neck and lean in to plant a single, gentle kiss against his temple. 

It takes him two tries to gasp out the word. “Stop.”

You drop your hands and rock back from kneeling to sitting, putting space back between you.

He huffs out a short laugh again, catches his breath, then raises his head to look at you.

His eyes are dark brown, almost black. Tiny lines at the outer corners hint at how old he might be. The paleness of his skin reminds you, it probably hasn't seen much sun. You might look the same age, but you bet he's got a few years on you.

"Was that a stop for now, or a stop altogether?"

"I don't know," he says. "No one's done that since…" His voice trails off. 

"Do you want to get put back together? We can try again later. Or not."

He's so solemn when he says, "There's no going back." He adds softly, as if to himself: This is the Way. And then, looking at you again, "Do you mind if I…?" He indicates the vambraces covering his forearms, moves as if to take one off.

You can't resist. "Can I help?"

The whole thing is more complicated than you might have thought. It's not just the individual steel plates. Each piece connects into an underlying electrical array, woven into the fabric of his clothing. He shows you first, on one side, then lets you follow his hands with yours to do the other. 

It's probably good you're helping, actually, because his hands are shaking again. By the time you get to the shin guards above his boots, he needs you to undo the catches. 

"No wonder you never take this stuff off." You're kneeling at his feet now, and you reach over to set the second boot next to the pile of beskar that has now joined your rifle against the wall. You worried briefly about just stacking it up like that, but he shrugged. The stuff was made to take blaster bolts. You weren't going to hurt it.

"How long does it take to put it all on again?"

He's watching the tremor in his hands. "It's faster when I'm alone."

"I can go," you offer. "Climb up to the cockpit for a bit and let you…" Let him what? This whole thing got started because he was tired of being alone.

"No," he says. "Stay."

All right. "You've still got a lot of… machine going on there. Am I going to break something if I touch you?"

He looks down at his own body, as if surprised to realize he's still wearing anything. 

"Where do we start?"

The bodysuit array turns out to be a single piece with a diagonal seam across the chest and down to his waist. You work together to undo the line of hook and loop tape that holds it shut. His hands, so capable with fists and weapons, have gone clumsy, and as you help slide the array from his shoulders you can feel the shaking has spread. The man's whole body is trembling.

Underneath, he's wearing a simple, soft shirt with sleeves down to his wrists and black leggings that you can't help but notice cling to slim hips and defined quads.

You knew he was fit. You spent three days fighting beside him. It's still fun to get to see, even if he also looks like he's not going to last much longer on his feet.

You step closer and reach a hand out, and although you can't see his face well now--he's still almost a head taller than you, even with you both now standing in stocking feet--you can hear his breathing quicken as you lay your palm against his chest. His heart is pounding like you've been in battle. 

He's proven he knows how to say stop when he wants to. You move closer again, thighs up against his, belly to belly, your chin against his collarbone, and wrap your arms around him. You're not sure if the sound he makes is a grunt, a laugh, or a sob.

Before long you've sunk to the floor and you end up half in his lap, tangled together, and usually by this point with a new partner you'd be laughing and reaching for bare skin beneath each other's clothes. Here, he's now holding you so tight you couldn't get free if you tried. His face is buried in your neck and there's no mistaking it now. He's absolutely sobbing.

Where you're from, the human body was nothing to be ashamed of. And that includes all the awkward things that bodies do. You slide one hand from his back, up his neck, to rest your fingers in those lovely curls again, and you let him cry.

When he finally winds down, the shaking has stopped too. Gradually his hold on you loosens, and you find yourself shifting against him so you can see his face. His hair's plastered against his forehead now and those warm brown eyes are lined with red. He looks awful, and the thing you want most in the world right now is to kiss him.

He doesn't smile, but he gives another of those short laughs. 

You bring a hand to his face, curving your palm against his cheekbone, using your thumb to wipe away some of the wetness below his eye. You lean in slowly to try a kiss against his temple again, and then his cheek, and then, gentle as you can manage, against his mouth. 

He's already warned you this would be new for him so you're careful, slow, pressure first and then tracing his lips with your tongue. One hand still caressing his face, the other against the back of his head, and you can't resist a gentle tug on those curls. 

But when you do, suddenly he's not responding, until he chokes out your safeword. Stop.

You do, of course, disappointed until you see he's gasping to catch his breath. "That good, huh?"

"It is." And then, he shakes his head. "I don't think I can. I don't know what to do with it all."

You've never been shy around men. Where you're from, a tumble is so normal you don't even count partners. This is new for you. Usually, they keep asking for more.

All you can think to do is say, "You got any more of that bitter ale?" It's not for him exactly, you wouldn't want him making decisions he'd regret. 

It's for you.

He does, indeed, have a whole stash of the stuff, although the dust on the lids suggests he doesn't get into it all that often. You end up sitting side by side on the floor again, backs against a row of cupboard doors. 

When you get up to get you both a second round, your own judgement's fuzzy enough that you plunk back down right next to him, hip to hip, and rest your head a moment on his shoulder. 

A little later his hand finds yours. 

You sit there, side by side, fingers twined together, until both your ale jars are empty. By now you're tired, you're a little bit drunk, and you're still turned on. And you can't do a damn thing about it because the last thing he said was, stop, and now he's probably a little drunk, too.

"I should get some sleep," he says beside you. "You should, too."

You end up back in your makeshift bedroll, while he's a whole two meters away in his sleeping quarters. You lie awake for a while, wondering if he's lying awake too, until the combination of ebbing hormones and the effects of good ale finally lead you to sleep.

It's easy to lose track of time on the Razor Crest, where sunlight doesn't make it down into the hold. But the ship's chrono wakes you with its loud, annoying buzz. 

He's already up. He hits a control panel to silence the noise, then takes the few steps from the galley to bring you a cup of caff. He crouches beside your bedroll to hand it to you.

He stays there a moment while you sit up, drag your fingers through your hair, then take the mug from his hand.

He's dressed now in a pair of black trousers and a black shirt that shows off chiseled arms. The color makes his brown eyes look even darker. Overall, the effect is making it hard for you to think.

"I need to pick up the child," he says. "You'll be all right here?"

You rub your eyes, trying to clear your head. "Give me a minute, I'll come with you. I need to figure out where to stay tonight. Look for some work. Maybe your friend can point me in the right direction."

You've gotten so used to having to read him through the armor, it's startling to see the expression of surprise on his face. Like he'd forgotten he only offered you a ride this far. I'll get off at the next port, you'd told him. Tatooine is it.

He settles down beside you, now, watching you sip at the caff. You're halfway through the mug and thinking you'd better get up and get ready, when he reaches out to rest his hand against the side of your head, then draw his fingers through your hair. 

"We didn't get to finish, did we," he says. "Will you stay?"

Tatooine's twin suns are making complicated shadows on the ground of the repair bay. You have to squint against the bright light as you and he make your way down the ramp. 

You're wearing the same clothes as yesterday--it's all you've got that's anywhere close to clean--but you've made yourself presentable, checking your hair in the shiny surface of the beskar breastplate that's still propped against a wall. 

You made sure he looks presentable too, finger-combing tangled curls into submission before you let him out the door. 

Peli emerges from the shop with the child perched on her hip. As soon as he catches sight of the man beside you, the little arms reach out and he's bouncing to be let down.

Peli looks up and lets out a whoop of surprise. "Well how about that! I always wondered what was under there." She finally notices the child's struggles and sets him gently down. "You go ahead to your papa."

The little creature toddles across the yard to be scooped up and examined. "Did you have fun?" He tucks the child in the crook of his arm and crosses the rest of the way to Peli. "What do I owe you?"

She's staring at him unabashedly. You can appreciate her appreciation for how that shirt fits.

"I don't know how you did it," she says to you, "but I'd say this is an improvement. Although," she confides, as if he's not standing right there, "there was something appealing about all that--" she gestures to her own shoulders, hinting at the shape of pauldrons-- "all that shiny.

"Now go on." She's waving the three of you back toward the ship. "I've got a freighter coming in here any minute, and he's actually going to pay me. If you can get that thing off the ground," she adds as if to herself, and then to you, "You tell him if breaks that thing again he better bring it here to be fixed. No more of that Mon Calamari nonsense."

You've got no idea what she's talking about, but it's nice to know that somebody else cares about this man and his odd little child. 

You'll go along with them for a while, you think, see where things lead. Offer to do what you can around the ship, help out wherever they're headed next. 

Mostly though, you're looking forward to seeing what happens tonight, once the baby's tucked in and you're alone together again.

[mediocre--writing]

Hi! I love your writing and your blog, I was wondering if you would write a second part for "and he loved you back" following the rest of events + a little epilogue when they are already married with kids? But just if you want! I just loved those headcanons so much, thank you! ❤️

Harry Potter x Gryffindor!Muggleborn!Reader

Summary: You and Harry are officially together (ish) but war can get in the way, though it can’t stop your happy ending

Word Count: 4367

Warnings: mentions of scars, torture, starvation, and war

I may have gotten carried away again, and I also may have added a few tweaks on the storyline because I believe in second chances and people being alive :)

Part I: And He Loved You Back

after you went back to school for the rest of 6th year, you and harry were back on your bullshit

joking around and being together

but in the happiness of the moment

you never really discussed

what

exactly

you

were

so you were in that weird gray area of bf/gf or just flirting???

everyone thought you were just getting over an argument because this is how you always were with each other

then

after a spectacular quidditch win

right in the middle of the common room party

you kissed

every

single

person

watched

ew

but it wasn’t like it was an important kiss, you’d been stealing kisses here and there since your night on the couch so it wasn’t anything big

though little colin

(who wasn’t very young anymore)

snapped a quick picture

he gave copies to you both that morning in the common room

yours was put in your pocket every day, no matter where you went

it was your favorite picture ever

the year remained pretty neutral

until

dumbledore died

you, ron, hermione, and others that were in dumbledore’s army were trying to fight off death eaters with the order of phoenix

it was terrifying

you were cornered by a wild woman with even wilder hair

she looked deranged and it wasn’t until she was standing over you with a wand pointed to your face that you realized

that was bellatrix lestrange

you knew she was at the department of mysteries with you all

but you never tried to remember her face

neville blasted her off you

you almost cried in relief

you hugged neville really tight when the hallway cleared out

he was so awkward but it was ok

then you sprinted off to find harry

he was crying over dumbledore’s body

you’d never been emotionally close to the headmaster

so his death wasn’t too life-altering to you

i mean nobody was safe anymore

but you didn’t feel like you were losing a friend

you were dragging harry away from him

when he saw snape

who he chased after

and got knocked down

multiple times

then bellatrix decided to make matters worse

and use the cruciatus curse

and we can’t have that now can we

so while she was being yelled at by snape for trying to get harry

you shot your own little curse at the mad woman

and you

sort of

kind of

maybe

used the cruciatus curse right back at her

oopsie

her screams of agony were what brought the other death eaters to turn around

and even though you were the one to cast the spell

you were the most shocked that you did it

your anger at her for hurting harry had controlled your feelings

you didn’t even know you knew how to do the spell

you just did it

and then one by one the death eaters started disapparating

and one whispered into snapes ear before disapparating himself

and snape strolled up to you and harry

you were defensively standing in front of harry, who was still in a great deal of pain

snape grabbed your arm tightly and disapparated

with you

harry screamed your name

but you weren’t there to hear it

you were being dragged into voldy’s headquarters

the malfoy manor

you were sick of those dumbass blond boys

utterly sick of them

you were oh so kindly greeted by a variety of death eaters, including, but not limited to:

snape

bellatrix

big malfoy

little malfoy

a man you assumed to be fenrir greyback

two other scary looking men you’d seen on wanted posters a time or two

and

the man of the year

old voldy toes

your wand was taken out of your hand with more aggression than necessary

and you were trying to stand up with the best posture you could muster

but you hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning and had gone through a lot in the past two hours

so it was a bit hard to maintain confidence

and consciousness

when you were being swarmed by scary adults

and you just got the ability to use magic outside of school

it just didn’t seem fair

but you didn’t have much time to dwell on it when there was a creepy, snakelike voice

“go on, bella”

then a high pitched giggle was heard before the world went fuzzy

you felt like there were a million pins sticking into every pore on your body

and you heard screaming

it sounded distant

but it was you

you were writhing on the floor screaming louder than gryffindors after a quidditch match win

after the third round of her torture,

you were laying on your back

clutching your head

trying to bang it on the floor

as if that would stop the pain

bellatrix stopped after because what was the point in torture if they died before it began?

so you were aggressively carried/thrown down to the cellar

it was dirty and gross and was barely lit

but you didn’t regain consciousness long enough to really survey the room

and that’s where you stayed for the next few days

you could barely stand the first day

your head was bleeding and your muscles felt more worn out then ever

blinking seemed like too hard a task

your vision still felt fuzzy

after the third day, you could move all your fingers individually at will again

which was more of an accomplishment than you would think

and then you realized

there was an odd bulge in your jean pocket

it was a crumpled piece of paper

but not just any paper

it was a picture

an amazingly wonderful picture

the wonderful gryffindor common room in all its glory

and right in the center

drawing the most attention

was you and harry

sharing your first public kiss

and you wondered if he was looking at the picture too

you wondered if he was looking for you

a part of you didn’t want him to find you because you didn’t want him to be subject to the same torture you had

and you cried quietly that night

you couldn’t stop

you were slumped against a dirty cement wall, tired and hungry and thirsty and you couldn’t stop crying

apparently your sobs were louder than you thought

because you could hear the stomping of someone’s feet on the stairs

you tried to stop crying and tried to hide the photo back in your pocket before the person got to the creepy door/gate thing

but you were still sniffling and you couldn’t get the photo back in your pocket while sitting down

and when you saw the platinum blond hair outside the gate, you tried to shove it into your pocket faster

he opened the door quietly and made eye contact with you before slowly walking towards you

you looked back down, not wanting to look him in the eye

until you saw a shiny, green apple to your left

slowly, you looked up and saw draco handing you an apple, pity in his eyes

you took it cautiously and he turned and walked away, back to the entrance

he looked over his shoulder once again

you were staring at him, eyebrows scrunched together

he mouthed two words before locking the door and going back upstairs

“i’m sorry”

the days went on

every once and a while, when bella was feeling particularly aggravated or thought you looked a bit too happy, she would torture you a bit

the day when she found the photo in your pocket was the worst

she craved the word “mudblood” into your arm

so now you had a werewolf scar and umbridge’s “i must respect my superriors” on your left arm and the messy carving of “mudblood” on your right

it went on for almost seven months before you finally gained a bit of hope

you were with the company of luna lovegood, ollivander, and a particularly crabby goblin

but one day, when you expected the same routine of one of you guys being pulled from the dungeon to be questioned or tortured

(though those were basically the same thing)

you heard bellatrix’s cackling before anything else

then some yelling

then a name

harry potter

your heart twisted in both longing and regret

he was here, but at what cost?

there was no telling how this would play out

voldy has been trying to kill him since he was born but harry had a knack for getting out of sticky situations

meanwhile, upstairs, harry was on his knees, ron and hermione were being held back, and draco was more conflicted then he ever had been

he knew it was harry

it was more obvious than the fact that he, himself had platinum blond hair

but he got flickers and memories every time he blinked

he saw the way you would clutch onto your picture when he would bring you an apple or a small piece of chicken from dinner

how sad you looked when you were writhing on his living room floor while being tortured

how, after christmas break during sixth year, you both looked absolutely unbothered by any upcoming war or disaster when you were in one another’s company

so he stalled

he knew that granger was smart

he knew that ron and harry had a strange way of getting out of trouble

so he waited for any of them to make a move

to do something so he wouldn’t have to

but the distraction came from the snatchers, though it did buy some time regardless

and as harry and ron were struggling to resist against being pushed down the stairs, draco felt a small pinch on his heart as he knew that harry and you would be reunited

you were laying against the wall, tired but not sleeping

sleeping during the day was like insulting bellatrix right to her face, and sleeping at night was almost as terrifying

but suddenly, you didn’t feel so tired anymore

because you saw it

the bright red hair that could only belong to a weasley

and with the mention of potter you heard echo through the house

it could only mean one thing

so the second the door was shut and nobody was left on the stairs, you stood up as quick as you could, not that it was very fast with the lack of food and sleep you’d had

but the sound of your footsteps caused harry--

who, no offense to him, looked hideously deformed--

to turn around

and he swears to this day that he could have cried in that very moment at the sight of your thinning body wobbling towards his, tears in your eyes, and arms reached out to him as he ran faster than when he was being chased by snatchers, just to hold you tight as possible in his arms

the sweet moment, however, was interrupted by hermione’s screaming, pulling a pitiful whisper of “no” from your lips

ron was banging on the gate and screaming for hermione, so was harry, but he was also switching between looking up the stairs and staring at you

it took a while, and a little help from dobby, but you all got out of the cellar and were in a kind of battle with the death eaters upstairs

you were barely able to do anything, given your wand was in the possession of one of the death eaters since you’d been there, and there was no way you were any good at wandless magic

but nothing seemed to hit you

and then you realized

while everyone was fighting each other

without the other knowing, both harry and draco had been taking turns sending defensive spells to whoever targeted you

hermione was in bellatrix’s grasp and there was a squeaking sound before dobby had released the chandelier, and you had sprinted to hermione to push her away

you both barely made it out from under the broken chandelier, and your legs were on fire from using them so vigorously after barely standing for the past few months

but you were all safe, and dobby had gotten you, hermione, harry, and ron into a cluster to disapparate, when two things were thrown at you before you could get away

a knife, thrown by bellatrix, was lodged into dobby’s stomach when you got away, sadly killing the sweet house elf

the second object, a wand, your wand, was laying on the sand beside you all

draco had had your wand and thrown it to you before you escaped

that night was rough

you were helping hermione, because you knew that the pain didn’t really go away after the spell stopped, 

it lingered and it didn’t feel like you were in your own body

you also made light of the carving that now graced both of your arms, yours was more healed over, of course, but the discoloration and raised skin still stuck out like a sore thumb

hermione fell asleep quickly that night, the mental and physical exhaustion and having a comfy bed again mixed and she was out like a light

you, however, were in the living room with harry, each of you talking about how your past seven months had been without the other

you sat with your back pressed into harry’s chest as he ran his fingers along your arms and shoulders

you were freshly showered for the first time in a while and you were in one of bill’s classic weasley sweaters and fleur’s sweatpants and fluffy socks and couldn't have been anymore comfy than you were in that moment

harry held you tighter when you talked about bellatrix

he loosened his grip when you talked about luna and ollivander

he felt a pang in his heart when he heard that you had looked at the picture frequently, just as he had done while with hermione and ron

he wasn’t sure how to feel when you talked about how kind draco was, how he was genuinely scared

he didn’t like draco but he was also glad that he had given you food and a bit of company or hope while you were stuck there

he felt happier than ever when you had fallen asleep in his arms, steady breathing lulling him to sleep as well

you weren’t allowed to go to the ministry with them, because you were still too malnourished and bill, who was more like his mother than he cared to admit, outright refused to let you do anything but eat homemade soup and lay on the couch with a book

you were grateful for his kindness but also anxious to know how harry was

you’d felt good as new after a day, thanks to fleur, who was really extremely talented at healing potions

the order was called to hogwarts to aid harry, and of course you weren’t technically part of the order, but you were good as

so as you all made your dramatic entrance, harry had a gleam of pride in his eyes as he looked at you, standing tall and with a dangerous glare that made him feel lucky you were fighting on the same side

the fighting began before you could realize

you had gone with fred, george, and percy to the courtyards, protecting any younger students who were still there or anyone else on their side

while fighting, you and george had taken one end of the courtyard and percy and fred had taken the other end

you had a twisting feeling erupt in your stomach, not the one that was there before, but now it was worry for something about to happen

and that’s when you saw the wall start to collapse right over fred and percy

“aresto momentum!”

the words came before you even realized, and the bricks were hovering over fred and percy as they ran towards you and george, then the bricks fell as you took your wand away

you felt more relieved than ever, until everything died down a bit and you made your way back to the great hall and saw the true destruction

you saw professor lupin and his wife, tonks

you saw poor colin creevy who, albeit being a little annoying, had a soft spot in your heart after he gave you your favorite picture

you saw lavender brown, who annoyed the living hell out of you, but never deserved to die

you grabbed harry’s hand when he came into the hall, scared he would all of a sudden drop dead too

and when harry said he was actually going to meet voldemort in the woods, you were going to be the reason he dropped dead

but you couldn’t truly stop him because it was his choice, so you told him everything

“i love you, and i know you know that, but it’s important that you go into this knowing that everyone here isn’t getting hurt because of you, they’re getting hurt because the cause is important, and you may not believe it, but everyone here cares about you. i care about you and i can’t lose you, too, h. please be cautious and safe and, if you can help it, don’t leave me.”

“marry me.”

“excuse me?”

“when i get back, marry me. that’s how i want the rest of my life to go, so marry me and we can live in a small house, or a big house if you want, and we can have a family-- or not, whatever you want-- but i want to be with you forever, so when i get back, let’s get married”

“of course, when you get back, i will marry you, harry”

“i love you”

“i love you as well”

so harry set off with a light ignited in his heart as he walked to what would surely be his last breath

and it wasn’t until students and order members were standing around the courtyard watching as voldemort and his army were walking with hagrid, who was carrying something

that something turned out to be a dead harry potter

you were standing in the crowd between with the twins to your left and draco malfoy to your right

your heart broke and you decided that nothing would feel as dreadful as this moment

as voldemort was making his official speech as if it would encourage everyone who had just been fighting him that they wanted to do a full 180, a certain long-haired blond began calling over draco

draco looked close to tears as you inched closer and closer to him

his dad was begging him to come across the courtyard to the death eater side and draco took a single step forward before you grabbed his elbow

he hadn’t been paying attention to anything but his father and the stares of the students

your grasp on his arm startled him

you raised your eyebrows at him as if saying “this is your choice, not his”

and that was all he needed

draco needed someone to see the good in him, to tell him that there were people who cared for him beyond whatever use he may serve as a weapon or soldier

he needed a real friend

he needed you

and so he didn’t move

and neville made his grand speech

and harry potter lept out of hagrid’s arms

and the war commenced, ending quite sooner than anyone had thought

once their leader was dead, the death eaters seemed to realize it was a losing battle

so the order and the students were all rallied in the great hall, the hallways, and sparsely in the courtyards

narcissa, who seemed to be the only one dressed in black robes at the castle, was looking for her son when she ran into you

“i’m sorry dear-” she apologised as she ran into you

“you’re fine,” you stopped when you realize who it was “draco is in the great hall, had a scratch or something so he’s getting checked”

“thank you” she hugged you as tight as she could, and you could feel the tears on your neck as she held you close “i’m so sorry and i couldn’t be happier that you stopped him from coming over, i couldn’t bare-- i don’t want him to be hurt--”

“i understand, mrs. malfoy”

“narcissa”

“ok, well he’s probably waiting for you, so,”

“oh, yes, well thank you darling,”

“it was no big deal. everyone deserves a second chance,”

you had made your way to harry, who was standing with the weasleys, and you kissed him like you had never done before

it was almost better than your first and almost as magical as the one in the common room

“so…” harry blushed

“so… i guess we’re getting married!”

you embraced once more, holding onto each other for dear life

it was barely two months after the war when harry finally told you about remus and tonks making him the godfather of their son, edward remus, and that he’d been staying with tonk’s mom, andromeda

harry wanted to make the young boy’s life better than his own

not that he had any doubt of adromeda being an amazing mother, but she had already raised a child, and didn’t need to start over again

you both relieved andromeda of her duties and kept young teddy with you full time

neither of you were too eager to get a job just yet, as harry could do basically anything he wanted, and you, while not being the best student or anything, were insured a job at weasley’s wizard wheezes once you felt like it

you both got married in the fall, outside the burrow

you wore a simple, lacy gown, and harry wore a simple set of dress robes

everyone wore casual clothes, as it was a very, very small wedding, including only the weasley family, ron, hermione, a few other gryffindors from school, and the malfoys

just draco and narcissa

who had only showed at the reception, as they didn’t want to intrude, even though they were invited

it was a little tense

but everyone knew that draco was on their side from the little thing at the battle of hogwarts

you and harry were happier than ever

you had two more kids besides teddy, who you loved like your own son

(and how that boy ended up being exactly like remus without ever truly meeting him, you both will never know)

your other children, twins, were james sirius and lily minerva

of course you don't name them after a teacher who bullied his students and a headmaster who didn’t do what was best for anybody

who would do that?

it’s just stupid???

ron and hermione had rose and hugo and lived close to the burrow

fred had never married, claiming that he was built to be the fun uncle to every niece and nephew

which he did flawlessly

a little recklessly...

but that was good ‘ol uncle fred

george and angelina had two children, fred and roxanne

the entire weasley family believes that george named his son fred just to cause a little more chaos during holidays

luna and ginny had gotten together about six years after the battle, living together for three of them, and molly wondered how she didn’t figure it out sooner

neville, along with harry, worked at hogwarts teaching

neville taught herbology and became gryffindor’s head of house after mcgonagall had decided that being both transfiguration and head of house was too stressful

harry took up the post of dada professor, in which he taught with remus in mind

you had gone on to work with fred and george in the joke shop when you could, along with working on products at home when you had to watch the kids

you still kept in close touch with draco malfoy, who had married a girl in the year below you, astoria, and had a son, scorpius

you made sure to meet up as often as possible, especially since your children were close in age

draco had become the potions professor at hogwarts, and was actually a favorite to most students, given he was an amazingly intelligent man and held kindness and compassion to the younger kids, making sure they all knew they had choices on who they were in life

you would visit the castle frequently once your kids all got out of the house

while you still had fred and george at work and the others to talk to sometimes, it got lonely in the big house that was usually filled with noise

you would go to the castle and sit in a student’s desk while mcgonagall taught, waiting for her to notice you

which she did, every time, as it seemed age never brought her personality down a bit

you would chat with neville and draco on their breaks, and you always went down to see hagrid when you were there, enjoying his big, bad, teddy bear persona

and you loved to watch harry teach, because he was so in his element that it made you feel a deep-rooted sense of happiness just being around him

and you made sure to come around every year, around the week before christmas break started, and you and harry would share stories of the war with the sixth and seventh years who were curious

but your favorite part of the trips to hogwarts was embarrassing your children, just as god intended

you would wave to and sit with teddy at the hufflepuff table and share stories that made his face turn as pink as his hair

you would go up to the twins, who had both been sorted into gryffindor, and pinch their cheeks and somehow mention the fact that you had baby pictures of them in the bath together

life was peaceful now

you still had the scars from your teenage years

and harry still had his lightning bolt scar on his forehead

but he was never mentioned as “harry potter: the boy who lived” anymore

he was now “cool professor potter”

and, occasionally, if a student was annoyed, they would call him “y/n l/n’s husband or whatever” (a nickname started by teddy lupin himself)

their life was small, and filled with gory details, but they wouldn’t change it for the world

[torialeysha]

Cold feet - Part 16

Bakers redemption

A/N: I’m on a roll guys! Your love, patience and support for this story fuels my fire for writing, a fire I thought I had lost and for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you all <3

Songs: Carry me home - Jorja Smith ft Maverick Sabre

Can’t buy happiness - Tash Sultana

Fortunately the awkwardness of the journey home was lost on you as all you could do was think about Alfie. You questioned the sincerity of his visit and wondered why it had taken him so long to realise you had lied about the ridiculous possibility of him not being the father of your unborn baby? He had asked you for forgiveness. A shot at redemption. Could you give it to him? Could you allow him another chance when he had already let you down not once but twice? Were you foolish enough to give him the opportunity to do it again? Would he do it again? He said that he had seen the error of his ways and that he really did want the baby. Did he mean it? Could you believe him even if he did? He said he could prove it to you and you were curious to see how. Silently you pondered, driving yourself insane with question after question that regrettably you didn’t have the answers to.

After a tedious battle with the London traffic the car finally pulled up outside the opulent townhouse Charles was renting. The atmosphere still frosty and tense as you crossed it’s threshold. You were in the process of removing your coat when one of the butlers collared Charles.

“There’s a Mr Changretta waiting for you in the lounge, sir.” He announced casually as he took your coat. Your hair immediately stood on end.

“Ok. I’ll be right there. Meanwhile, could you please fetch Ms Y/L/N something to eat.” Charles hands his coat to the butler then turns to you. “I won’t be long. Feel free to start without me.” He told you coldly. But you were no longer worried about food and more concerned about the fact that Luca Changretta was in the next room.

Fraught, you staggered to the dining room and began to pace, anxiously wondering what the occupants next door were discussing. You manoeuvred towards the wall that separated the lounge from the dining room and placed your ear against it, hoping that the divide was thin enough to be able to hear their conversation. Their muffled voices vibrated through the wall. You edged closer to the crack of the locked double doors that connected the two rooms and the voices got slightly clearer.

“...And you really trust this broad? You’re sure she isn’t the problem?” It was Luca’s voice.

“Of course I trust her! I wouldn’t have involved her if I didn’t.”

“How much does she know?”

“Hardly anything. She asked me some questions about the club. Why I bought it for her and why I insisted I put it in her name and not mine, but her curiosity is only natural, Luca.”

Your stomach rolled realising they were talking about you.

“What did you tell her?”

“I fed her some bullshit about wanting to give her the world.”

“Nice. So she doesn’t know anything about the money coming in from New York?”

“No, I take care of the books and I keep them locked in my safe.”

“Good.”

There was a brief silence before Luca spoke again.

“Tell me, Cuz, what are your feelings for this broad? You still intend on marrying her when this is all over?”

Cuz? Why would Luca call Charles that?

“Yes. I love her.”

Charles’ confession made you feel sick.

There’s another long pause before Luca speaks again.

“Then you have my blessing. But I’m warning ya, I don’t know if my dear Aunt will be as accepting. You know how she only wants the best for her son.”

Cousin? Aunt? Son? You felt the colour drain from your face as realisation dawned on you.

“Y/N is best for me. Now can we please stop discussing my personal life and get back to business.”

“Of course. I hear what you’re saying about the Jew but we need him alive for now. I think he’ll be able to help us deal with Thomas Shelby.”

“Solomon’s is tight with Shelby. There’s no way he’d sell him out.”

“Oh, he will.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse... Don’t look so worried, Chuck, all will be revealed soon. You just carry on doing what you’re doing and remember that we’re doing this per la famiglia. Luca’s foreign tongue made you shudder. “Once Solomon’s, Shelby and Sabini are dealt with. London will be ours for the taking.”

You pulled away from the door just as Charles was asking about Sabini. You had heard enough.

It was worse than you or Tommy had anticipated. Charles and Luca wasn’t just business relations, they were blood relations. His money was their money. Your time and efforts had been in vain. Any hope of sabotaging their connection was gone. Replaced with an overwhelming sense of alarming trepidation. You had to leave. There was no way you could stay now knowing what you know.

The main door of the dining room swung open, startling you.

“I’m terribly sorry miss. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The flustered housemaid apologised as she shuffled in with your supper.

“Please don’t apologise.” You told her shakily.

“You’re white as a sheet! I must’ve given you a proper fright. Poor thing. Sit ya self down and I’ll fetch you something to drink.”

“No, no. I’m fine. It’s just-I’ve received word today that my friend isn’t well and it’s come as quite a shock. I would like to check on her to see if she’s feeling better. Could you let Mr Fenton know that I’m going to visit her and I won’t be back until later.”

“Of course, Miss, but what about your tea?” She signals to the silver tray she’s carrying.

“I’ve suddenly lost my appetite. I’ll eat it when I return.”

“Ok, Miss. I’ll put it by for later.” She took off with the tray of food and without a second thought you made for the door without even stopping for your coat or purse.

In a daze you wandered down the street, feeling hopelessly lost in a city that had been your home for 20 odd years. You headed north, knowing that regardless of your current uncertainty towards Alfie you would have to warn him and get word to Tommy. Without your purse you had no money to jump on a bus or the underground. Your only option was to trudge the busy late afternoon streets to your destination. It would take roughly an hour to get from Central to Camden, probably the same amount of time it would take Charles to suspect something was amiss. It was a distressing thought that caused you to pick up pace. To make up time you decided to take a shortcut that lead you along the river and down the canals. It was a risky move as the muddy banks of the canals were refuge to some unsavoury characters - mainly drunkards - desperate men that would find easy prey on a young woman trekking the waterways on her own.

The sun was slowly sinking into twilight by the time you had reached Camden lock. Despite your exhaustion you were relieved to have made it in one piece but you shouldn’t have spoke too soon. In the distance you could see a group of what looked like 3 men huddled together along the path which you needed to pass to get across to the bakery. Your blistered feet slowed but it was too late, they had already spotted you. You quickly tried to think of an alternative route. The only other way was to swim across but jumping in and braving the grim green water that was frothing with rubbish and other questionable substances wasn’t tempting to say the least. There was nothing you could do now except carry on walking with your chin held high as if their shady presence didn’t intimidate you. You argued with yourself as you approached that maybe you had jumped to a brash assumption and that they were in fact a harmless trio who would just let you pass without a second glance. As you got closer they rose from their makeshift perches and swayed towards you. It was then you knew that your brash assumption had been correct.

“Evening treacle.” One slurred. “What brings you down ‘ere then?” He smiled, revealing a row of yellow teeth that were gradually rotting a browny black. You ignored him and tried to pass but he obstructed you.

“Let me pass!” You ordered him.

“Now then, that’s not nice. You could at least ask nicely. Say please.” He slurred.

“Please let me pass.” You said through gritted teeth.

The other two came to stand beside him. Panicking, you tried hard to conceal the trembling of your body.

“Beg.” He tells you through a snarl.

“I love it when they beg.” One of the other men chimed in, earning a chortle from his soapy comrades.

You laugh as if joining in with their sadistic merriment. Then quick as a whippet you tried to barge through their burly blockade, effectively knocking one of the men into the drink. The middle one grabbed you. You turned as he did so, kneeing him between the legs. He dropped to the floor and you made to escape but was grabbed again by the last remaining man. His filthy hand covered your mouth, cutting you off mid scream. You thrashed in his arms. Your eyes widening as the man on the floor rose slowly.

“We’ve got a feisty one ‘ere, Del.”

“Let’s see how feisty she is once I’ve finished with ‘er.” The man you knocked to the floor was now fully upright, stalking towards you.

You closed your eyes, helplessly awaiting your fate.

“Get your filthy fucking hands off ‘er!”

Your eyes shot open at the unmistakable voice coming from behind you.

The man turned suddenly with you still in his arms. Your eyes landed on Alfie and Ollie and you wanted to cry out in relief.

“Mr Solomon’s - I was only helping the poor Lass. She was lost, ya see.” He muttered a sheepish reply. His arms loosening around you. You pushed away from him stricken and lurched into Alfie’s arms.

“Are you ok, Yahalom?” He asked, pushing away the hair from your face and checking you over for any sign of injury.

You noded, clinging to him.

“Run!” One of the men shouted and they both fled in opposite directions. The one who had hold of you tried to leg-it past Alfie who with a flick of his cane tripped him before he could get any further. Alfie pushed you to Ollie, and pounced on top of the fallen man. Savagely he landed a shocking set of bone crunching blows upon the sputtering and sobbing man on the floor.

You started to shake uncontrollably. Your chest heaving to draw in breaths.

“Alfie, stop now. You’re scaring ‘er!” Ollie yelled at Alfie who stopped immediately.

“Get ‘er out of ‘ere!” He shouted.

You felt Ollie tug on your arm.

“No-I c-can’t go-I need t-to talk to A-alfie.” You chattered numbly.

“It’s ok, Y/N. Let’s wait for him inside and you can talk to him then, yeah?” Ollie asked you soothingly. You stopped resisting, allowing him to guide you over the bridge of the canal and inside the huge double door entrance of the bakery. He set you down on a crate.

“Are you ok?” Ollie asked. Kneeling in front of you.

You shook your head from side to side, unable to speak through the loud chattering of your teeth.

“We were just leaving. You’re lucky we spotted you, ya know.”

You didn’t answer him. Instead you reached out and gave his hand a grateful squeeze.

Alfie exploded through the doors, making you and Ollie jump. His blood splattered face was a fit of pure rage.

“How many fucking times have I told you not to walk the canals on your own? If me and him would have left ‘ere half hour ago like we were supposed to, what would have happened then, ay?” His eyes flickered as he tortured himself pointlessly with the sickening possibilities.

“Alright, Alfie. Calm down, ay? We left at the right time and luckily Y/N weren’t hurt-“ Ollie started calmly before Alfie interrupted him.

“- You sure they didn’t hurt you?” Alfie asked.

“I’m sure.”

“The fuck was you thinking, Pet?” His stern voice was slightly softer now.

“I-I wasn’t-“

“-Where’s your coat?” He asked suddenly. “Them cunts take it?”

“No, I left it behind-there was n-no time- I had t-to get out of there fast-I left my coat behind along with my p-purse-I’ve had to walk from Central-thats why I t-took the sh-shortcut.” You stuttered senselessly, barely pausing to take a breath. Alfie took off his coat and draped it over your shoulders. You pulled it tightly around yourself. His musky scent clung to the heavy wool material that was still warm with the heat of his body. You inhaled deeply, feeling instantly calmer. “I couldn’t stay there, Alfie. I had to leave, I had to get out of there!”

“Calm down, Yahalom, and tell me exactly what’s happened?” He ordered, his eyes wild.

“It’s Charles. He and Lu-ca Changretta are related. They’re cousins. I-I overheard them talking. They said something about money coming in from New York and taking over London. They’re going to take down everyone in their way - you, Tommy, even Sabini. Everything Tommy said is true and there’s nothing I can do about it. We have to warn Thomas.”

Alfie exchanged a look with Ollie.

“Did he know you were listening in on his conversation?” Ollie asked.

“No. But he’ll know I’m missing by now and maybe he’ll put two and two together. I told the housemaid to tell him I was visiting an ill friend but I’m not sure he’ll believe that.”

“Right then. Well, first things first.” Alfie put his arms around your shoulders and lifted you gently from where you rested. “I need to get you out of here.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay here and help sort this.” You told him wilfully.

“You’ve done all you can, pet. Let me and Tommy deal with this now.”

“So all of this was for nothing? Me staying with Charles, weeks of misery and sneaking around. That was all for nothing?”

“This isn’t your fight, Y/N. It never was your fight.” Alfie sighed.

“They’re planning on killing you, Alfie - the father of my unborn baby. Tell me how that isn’t my fight?” You sobbed angrily.

He grabbed your shoulders, shaking you lightly.

“Look at me.” He said firmly. Your wide eyes rose to his. “I can handle it, right. What I can’t handle is the worry of anything happening to you. Which is why I’m getting you out of ‘ere, even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming. I’m taking you and that unborn baby of mine to safety. You ‘ear me? That’s our priority now, yeah?”

“...Yeah.” You whispered, knowing he was right.

“Come on.”

You held on to him as you walked, your weary feet stinging with every faltered step you took.

“You need me to carry you?” He asked.

You shook your head weakly.

The sun had now almost set but the brightness outside was still blinding as you emerged from the darkness of the distillery.

“Get in the car.” Alfie ordered.

You did as he said, sliding into the front passenger seat and trying to avoid looking across the canal where your attacker still lay, a lifeless crumpled, mess on the floor. You blocked it out and focused on Alfie through the windscreen instead. He was leant into Ollie, telling him something. Ollie gave him a contrite nod and handed him what looked like a set of keys. With a pat on the back, Alfie left him to climb in to the drivers seat. He started the engine.

“Isn’t Ollie coming with us?”

“Na. He’s got to sort a few things out for me.” He replied, shoving the shift stick into gear and pulling off. You watched him intently. An unsolicited heat crept over you as he manoeuvred the machine with a confident ease that you couldn’t help but find alluring.

“Where are we going?” You asked croakily.

“Let me worry about that, right. You look exhausted. Rest your head and I’ll wake you when we get there.”

Too weak to argue you did just that. Leaning your head against the window which was slick with condensation. The soft purr of the cars engine lulled you rapidly into a deep and dreamless sleep.

You were roused from your confined slumber by Alfie as he lifted you from the passenger seat into his arms. Your neck throbbed where you had laid awkwardly propped up against the window for God knows how long. You let the aching heaviness of your head rest against Alfies chest as he carried you. A whooshing noise echoed familiarly in the blustery background, intertwined with what sounded like crunching gravel beneath Alfie’s feet as he walked. Curiously your sluggish eyes peered at your surroundings. You could just about make out the silhouette of a building and an unusual looking tree against the dark blue of the night sky.

Exhausted, your head fell back onto Alfie’s chest and you buried your face in the crook of his neck to shield it from the tenacious chill of the night air. He came to a stop holding you tightly with one arm as the other searched his trouser pocket. A jingling of keys and the sound of the lock turning, then you were finally inside and out of the cold.

The smell of fresh paint and varnish filled your nostrils as he carried you over the foreign residence. After kicking the door closed with his foot, you felt him ascend a set of stairs in the darkness, effortlessly, as if he was already well acquainted with the steps. A door creaked open and then shortly after you were being lowered. You unfolded from him as he placed you on the soft cushioning of a mattress. Your head sunk into the fluffy pillows, your arms stretching across the width of the spacious bed. Your eyes opened when you realised Alfie wasn’t joining you.

“Don’t leave me.” You begged.

“Sssh.” He soothed softly. His heavy hand brushing back your hair from your face. “You’re safe now, Yahalom.”

Your eyes closed, his reassuring tone and tender touch settling you back to sleep.

You awoke with a start. Looking around the huge room that was now highlighted by an orange hue emanating from the fire that crackled and danced in the fireplace adjacent to the bed. The ceaseless whooshing you heard earlier broke in from a set of french doors to your left and you raised from the bed to investigate. Pulling back the floor length curtains that decorated them, you were shocked to see the mosaicked balcony and the beach landscape that it overlooked. At a glance it appeared that Alfie had stolen you away from the perilous situation in London and brought you to Margate - your safe haven. But what was this place? It wasn’t a B&B or a hotel because you remembered that Alfie had entered with a key - you assumed the same key Ollie had handed him before you left. You glanced around the room once more, the unfamiliarity of your surroundings causing you great unease. And it was quiet, too quiet. Where was Alfie?

You poked your nose out of the bedroom door and peeked down the length of the darkened hallway. A sliver of warm light shone from a partially open door of one of the rooms and cautiously you ambled towards it. You lingered outside, your nerves settling when you heard Alfie’s hushed tone beyond the wood.

“Did you get hold of the rabbi?”

There was a long pause before Alfie spoke again.

“I don’t care what fucking time it is just keep trying. I want him up ‘ere by the end of the week, before the fight... Yeah? Well make-fucking-sure.” You heard a crashing bang which you guessed was the receiver of the telephone being put down on whoever Alfie was talking to.

“Are you gonna stand out there all fucking night or you gonna come in?” He shouted out to you, causing you to smile.

You entered slowly, stalling in the doorway.

Alfie was sat at a desk, a much neater, more fancier desk than the one he usually occupied at the bakery.

“You alright?” He asked, watching you intently as you came to sit in front of him.

You nodded absentmindedly, too busy taking in the plush interior of the room.

“Did you speak to Tommy?” You asked eagerly, your eyes finally meeting his. He waited a moment before answering you.

“Na, I ain’t been able to get hold of him. I’ll try again in the morning...You sure you’re alright?”

“Where are we?” You queried, ignoring his question.

“Margate.”

“No, I mean here.” You pointed to where you were sat. “Whose house is this?”

“This is our house.” He said casually.

You look at him stunned. Your mouth agape.

“Our house?”

He nodded simply.

“W-when? How?” You stuttered, dumbfounded.

“I bought it a while back, after I saw you again at the Eden. It was in a bit of a two an’ eight when I bought it. Taken me an’ the boys a little while to do up.”

“I’m confused.” You shook your head. “You’ve bought a house in Margate? But we’re so far away from London, from your businesses. What about the bakery?”

“I’m retiring, Yahalom. I’ve sold up all the properties I own and I’ve handed the bakery down to Ollie. This was my plan all along. The only way I knew I could keep you safe.”

It took you a moment to process everything and still you were stunned speechless.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“I thought this was what you wanted?” He cites.

“It was-“

Alfie narrowed his eyes at your use of past tense.

“-I mean is.” You corrected swiftly before carrying on “It’s just come as a bit of a shock is all.”

“Hmm.” He let out a suspicious grunt. “It’s not the best timing after the day you’ve had, I get that. But that was out of my control wern’it?”

You nodded solemnly. Still trying to wrap your head around everything.

“I thought you’d be happy, Yahalom?”

“I am.” You frowned.

“At least show it then. Crack a smile or summin. You’ve got a face like a slapped arse at the minute.” You heard a frustrated annoyance creep into the grimmess of his voice.

“I don’t know how I feel about it, if I’m being honest. The last few months have been a whirlwind for me. I haven’t slept properly in days, weeks even. Weary to the bone. Wracked with guilt and worry. I honestly don’t know wether I’m coming or going. And now you’re telling me that you’re selling up. Leaving behind everything you’ve worked so hard to build and for what?”

“For us!” He barked. “For us to be together without the worry of someone hurting you to hurt me. And yeah, I’ve worked hard, I’ve earn’t my money, however, it’s time for me to rest now and enjoy the fruits of my labour.”

“I’m not sure, Alf...” You hummed uneasily.

“What’s there to be unsure of?”

“I still ain’t sure this is what you really want!” You snapped frustratedly. “A quiet life by the sea, a child you never wanted...I just can’t see it.” You admitted sadly.

He exhaled harshly, rising from his desk and stepping round to extend a hand to you.

“Come with me. I wanna show you something.”

Reluctantly you took his offered hand and let him guide you back out into the hallway and along to a room that was situated next to the one you had been resting in earlier.

He opened the door and moved aside for you to enter.

The waxing moon shon brightly through the bare windows, lighting up the room with it’s spectacular lunar glow. You stepped through noticing immediately the cot that lay new and empty against the far wall, next to it was a matching chest of drawers and a rocking horse that looked like it had been plucked from a fairground carousel.

Your eyes shot to Alfie whose bear like frame was leant in the doorway studying your reaction.

“When did you do this?”

“A couple of days ago. The room needs a lick of paint but I thought you might wanna choose the colour.” He came to join you in the centre of the room.

“So you did all this before you come to see me? Before you were even certain that the baby yours?...Why?”

He was silent for a moment, deep in thought.

He shrugged. “I s’pose deep down I knew you were lying and that the baby was mine... or maybe I didn’t fucking care, I dunno... doing this...it just felt right.”

“But you said-“

“-I know what I said but saying don’t mean fuck all does it. Actions speak louder than words.” He motions to the room. “And this speaks fucking volumes, dunnit. I mean if this doesn’t prove to you that this is what I really want then I don’t know what will.”

Reassurance drifted over you as you looked once again around the unfinished nursery.

“Say something.” He requested quietly.

Wordlessly you rushed to him and threw your arms around his broad shoulders.

“You like it then? You’re happy?” He confirmed uncertainly.

“I do. I am. It’s...wonderful! Thank you!” You choked a reply, your voice struggling past the forming lump in your throat.

He pulled you closer, his shoulders relaxing as if a weight had been lifted off them.

“You want me to show you round the rest of the house?” He whispered gruffly into your hair.

“Not tonight. Show me tomorrow in the daylight so I can properly take in the beauty of it all.”

“Alright. Well, what shall we do now then?” You were sure you heard a seductive undertone in his question and took full advantage.

“Take me to our bed.”

“You ain’t gotta ask me twice.” He said. His eyes lighting up at your words.

You squealed when he lifted you in his arms and carried you to the next room.

“Cor blimey. You’ve got heavier already.” He huffs.

“Oh give over, I ain’t even showing properly yet. You’re just getting weaker with age, old man.” You teased him.

“Oi! I’ll have you know that there’s nothing wrong with my stamina and I will gladly prove that to you in a minute.” He threatened hotly. Sending your pulse racing. “There’s just one more thing I’ve got to do first.”

He set you down carefully on your own two feet.

“Can’t it wait?” You whined as he stepped away from you and headed towards the door.

“It won’t take me a minute.” He assured you.

You stood in the middle of the once unfamiliar room that you now knew was yours and Alfies. Sighing happily, you glided to the french doors and tried the handle. They opened willingly under your touch. The chill of the night air was refreshing as you stepped out on to the balcony. Leaning on the stone balaustrade, you observed the unrelenting waves that stretched the distance, relishing in the peacefulness of their crashing melody. Nothing could ruin this moment, not even the ugliness of the Changretta situation. All that mattered right now was your future with Alfie, a future that this morning never even existed.

“Yahalom?” Alfie called, having returned.

You spun to look at him. He marched skittishly towards you, his hands behind his back, as he joined you on the balcony.

“I know I’ve asked you this before but as you so poignantly pointed out to me the other day, it’s a proposal that has since expired. So, I’m gonna ask you again... Y/N Y/L/N will you marry me?” He asked gruffly, his eyes so intense you thought they could set you on fire. You gasped unexpectedly. Although it was the second time he had asked you, it was the first time you had heard him say those words aloud.

“Oh, Alfie. Of course I’ll marry you.”

“Thank fuck for that. Here then.” He produced a ring that was hidden in his clenched fist behind his back. Grabbing your hand he slipped it on your finger. You stared down at it in awe. A ruby once again burned brightly on your finger but it wasn’t the one you were used to. You frowned down at the foreignness of the rings delicate beauty and the circle of winking diamonds that surrounded the red gem like a halo.

“I searched high and low for the other one in the bakery but couldn’t find it. So I bought you another one. D’you like it?”

“It’s beautiful... I was just expecting to see the old one.” You replied, your heart sinking at the thought of your first engagement ring being lost forever. It was only supposed to be a temporary ring, taken from Alfie’s pinky finger until he had gotten you a proper one. There wasn’t much to it just a thick gold band with a faceted ruby so red it was hypnotising. Back then you had persuaded Alfie not to buy a replacement, that you wanted to keep his one as every time you looked at it it reminded you of him. Now, thanks to yourself you’ll never see it again.

“That’s old hat now that one though, innit? a token of who we used to be. We’ve been through a lot of shit, right, shit I wanna leave in the past. I want us to have a fresh start, a clean slate, and this house and this ring is where it begins.”

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Tag list: @storm-bjorn @alsheyra @lililolli @jaegers-and-kaijus @lightwoodt @stars-trash-18 @anrm1 @innerpaperexpertcloud @alitheamateur @hardygal69

[quicksiluers]

For the ship prompt, 30 and Grant/Julia or Grant/Sherman 'cause tourist Grant has been my headcanon ever since i read his memoirs

ok so this one....I had to stop writing at some point and I apologize for where I left it because if I didn't stop, I was never going to. I may continue this if people like it! And it's got a mix of both in there, cause you know I love them both :) But I'm thinking of going back later to add...if people like it enough, maybe lol

there should really be called "can Ali write under 1,000 word challenge?" and have me fail them all because each one has been way too long

“So they started thinking about making the part back in the 1860s because they thought of having something like New York City had with Central Park. Which, for my money, I think the Golden Gate Park is far superior. I mean, Central Park is great but this right here? It’s amazing. Does Central Park have a Japanese tea garden in it? I don’t think so. Anyway, so they really got into work on it around 1870…”

Grant nodded his head along, but his mind zoned out as he walked with the energetic redhead beside him. His enthusiasm was special, that Grant couldn’t knock him for.

Julia had planned to meet up with a friend of hers for most of the day and being the type of person not to sit around and do nothing, he had decided he would explore the city. San Francisco had always been a place he wanted to visit but never got the chance. They had already hit up a few of the more touristy parts, which while he enjoyed, didn’t really give him the feeling he was looking for from the city.

Julia told him to see if he could find a local to help him. Grant thought it odd, asking a stranger out of the blue to point him in the right direction, but he told his fiancé he would keep it in mind.

A hand grabbing his shoulder brought him out his musings, “Let me show you the Japanese tea Garden, it’s really incredible. It started as a village and a tea garden when they had the World’s Fair back in 1894. After the fair, they sold it off to the city who then hired this guy Makoto Hagiwara to take care of the garden. He was one of the main guys to be around to see it turn into what it is now and brought all kinds of Japanese animals for people to see.”

Grant hadn’t been sure what drove him to ask the redhead, Sherman?, for assistance. He had noticed him when he was crossing the street toward the park. It was hard to miss the red hair. Grant had been looking down at his map, trying to pinpoint the best spot to start when he passed the lanky stranger by. That was when he heard footsteps behind him and turned around, meeting the man’s brown eyes.

Now he found himself being pulled along the sidewalk, the ginger chatting away nonstop. How could he talk so much, so fast? The amount of information he was spewing out was dizzying.

“Hopefully the tea house isn’t too busy, it’s early enough in the morning where we should be able to get in,” Sherman explained happily, hand still gripping Grant’s shoulder. He tried to slip his way out of it but it was no use. Heat crawled onto his cheeks. Julia was the only person that was really able to pull him along like this. Their touch almost felt the same, though Sherman’s was stronger, firmer, and…

What are you even thinking?

“Hey, is the sun getting to you?” Grant felt pressure on his forehead, Sherman’s brown eyes staring down at him with concern. Unconsciously, he leaned into the touch, the cool feeling of it soothing him. His skin felt like it was on fire “You’re pretty red, do you want to sit?”

“Uh…,” Grant pulled back quickly, silently cursing to himself. Why had he done that? He coughed into his hand, trying to cover up his burning face, “N-no it’s fine, I just…”

“You’re not used to the heat,” Sherman injected, smiling proudly as if he figured it out, “Totally understandable. You said you were from Illinois right? That’s a different type of heat.”

“Sure…,” the word was drawn out, Grant nodding after a moment. That made sense, it seemed like the taller man already bought into it, “Yes, I guess that makes the most sense…”

“Well, we can get something at the tea house. Which is right over here, I think you’re really going to like it.”

Walking along the path, he tried to keep a good amount of space between them but it was too crowded for that. He felt his arm brush along the redhead’s a few times, the other man seemingly oblivious as he talked on and on about something else. At this point, Grant couldn’t keep track. Everything was too mixed up for him to focus. Why did he feel so weird? It was like butterflies in his stomach, which in itself sounded horrifying. He’d only ever felt like this around Julia and that was a whole other level. He couldn’t have…whatever was going on when he and Julia were engaged! What would she think?

All he needed was an excuse to get away from Sherman. That was it, simple as that. He’d go back to the hotel, tell Julia he hadn’t been feeling well, and just decided to hang out inside for the day. The idea of lying to her filled him with dread. He couldn’t do that, she would know in a second it was something else. Julia always had a way of knowing.

The whole situation left him confused and uncomfortable. None of it was Sherman’s fault, he was just being helpful. And he seemed concerned when he thought Grant wasn’t feeling well. It was Grant’s fault for making the whole situation seem weird.

Walking through the garden brought him a small sense of calm. The pathway was less crowded, allowing them to explore around. Sherman pointed out the different structures and described how they were built, how much time it took, and what parts of Japan they were popular from. Grant was absorbed into his descriptions, asking questions along the way that the ginger seemed to have every answer to. The uncomfortable feeling disappeared as they walked, Sherman pulling him over towards the pond and pointing out each of the fish that peacefully swam around.

“You seem like you know a lot,” Grant teased, crouching down to have a closer look at the fish. All the different colors caught his attention. He pulled out his phone, taking a quick look back at the suddenly quiet tour guide.

Sherman had been staring down at something but had turned his head quickly away. “Well, I do spend a lot of time around here,” he stuttered briefly, catching Grant’s attention. That was the first time he’d done that today, “I have a brother who brings his kids into the city a lot and they’re always asking questions.”

Taking a few photos, Grant stood back up with a small smile, “Well, that’s nice. I’m sure they love learning all about it.”

As they walked up to the tea house, Sherman talking a mile a minute again, Grant wondered what had made the redhead so quiet before. Had something caught his eye and made him shut up for a moment? That seemed out of the question.

Had he been looking at him?

What a ridiculous thought. Grant felt his cheeks heat up again, pushing away the notion.

God, why was he acting like this today? Couldn’t someone just be nice without anything behind it?

The tea house was special. They had gotten there at the perfect time, able to sit down a try out a few of the food options that Sherman liked the best. He also recommended the Sencha, which was a type of green tea that Grant particularly enjoyed. Though the weather was a bit warm, the tea brought with it a soothing sensation that he was in desperate need of.

Making a note of coming back, Grant pulled out his phone to take a quick photo for Julia. He tried to sit back a bit to get the photo and Sherman attempted to lean out of the shot, “No, it’s fine,” Grant reassured, waving his hand a bit, “You can stay in the photo.”

His red hair contrasted nicely with the greenery around them. The lighting was perfect too. It wouldn’t hurt to have one little thing to remember Sherman by.

Not odd at all.

They continued their journey through the park, Grant taking a particular interest when they were passing the pol field. A few horses were galloping around, seemingly warming up before a match was going to begin.

“Do you play?” Sherman asked, picking up on Grant’s flickering gaze as they slowly walked by.

“No, my father wanted me to but,” he paused, mind wandering off before he reeling it back in. No use in revisiting that, “I stuck with other equestrian sports.”

He felt Sherman’s eyes on him, that awkward silence falling over them. Maybe he didn’t mind the redhead’s constant talking

Eventually, they found themselves at the end of the park, crossing the street to walk closer to the beach. The sky was a perfect blue, with a few clouds peppering the sky. Waves rolled over naturally, a few kids crying out in glee as they rushed into the water, and others lounging on the beach sand without a care in the world.

“If we talked along the road here, we could go see the Golden Gate Bridge,” Grant felt Sherman’s hand press into his back lightly, turning him in the direction he was pointing, “It’s a bit of a hike and I wasn’t sure what else you had planned for the day…”

Grant glanced down at his watch, “I’m not sure I would have the time…”

The redhead’s face fell, only for a moment, before he nodded in understanding, “No yeah I totally get it. We walked the whole park which is pretty incredible as it is, that’s a lot of walking. And then we’d have to walk the whole way back because I don’t know what direction you were coming from or where you were sta-“

Reaching up, Grant grabbed the collar of Sherman’s shirt and pulled him down, pressing their lips together. The silence was almost blissful. His lips were warm, cracked slightly from the summer air. There was a lingering mix of sweetness and bitterness from the tea and cookies from the tea house. He moved to tilt his head before he caught himself, embarrassment rushing through him. What was he doing?

Pulling away, Grant took a few steps back from the redhead who was staring back at him in confusion. How could he have done that? “I-I’m so…,” he stuttered, hands shaking slightly. Before Sherman could say anything, he turned and rushed back across the street.

“Grant! Wait!”

The trees and people passed by in a blur, his mind spinning out of control. What was he doing? Kissing someone he barely knew, without even asking! He didn’t understand what had gotten into him.

It felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

[beclynn-herondale]

In Another Universe Chapter: 11 - Retrieving the Mortal Cup

It was still slightly raining when Simone pulled up at the corner and honked at them twice. Clar's heart took a leap, a part of him was worried she wouldn't come. Jayce squinted through the rain and said something about how the van looked like a rotting banana, which wasn't wrong.

Simone honked again. Clar saw her through the blurry wet windows. with a sigh he pulled his hood up over his head. "Come on, let's go."

They splashed through the filthy puddles on the pavement.

Simone crawled into the back to open the door for them, revealing the torn and beaten up seats, that had springs sticking out.

Isidore's nose wrinkled. "Are these safe to sit on?" "It's safer than riding on the roof," said Simone in a pleasant tone. "Which is your other option." She nodded a greeting at Jayce and Alec, ignoring Clar entirely. "Hi." "Hi indeed," said Jayce, and lifted a bag that held their weapons. "Where can we put these?" Simone pointed to the back, where the girls usually kept their instruments, while Alec and Isidore climbed into the van and sat on the seats.

"Shotgun!" Clar announced as Jayce made her back around the side of the van. Alec grabbed for her bow strapped across her back. "Where?" "He means he wants to sit in the front seat," said Jayce, pushing wet hair behind her ear. "It's something mundanes say."

"That's a very nice bow," said Simone, with a nod towards Alec. Alec blinked water off her eyelashes. "Do you know anything about archery?" she asked, in a tone of doubt. "I did archery camp," said Simone. "Six years of it." The response for this was three blank stares and Clar giving a supportive smile, which Simone ignored as well. She looked up at the sky.

"We should get going before it starts raining again." The front seat was covered in chip wrappers and food crumbs. Clar brushed as much as he could off.  Simone put her foot to the pedal before he'd finished, and flung him back against the seat. "Ow," he said. "Sorry." She still didn't look at him.

Clar heard the soft talking of the others in the back, probably discussing battle plans and the best way to cut off a demons head with getting ichor on your new leather boots. There was nothing separating the others from the front of the van, Clar still felt the awkwardness between him and Simone.

"So what's up with the 'hi' thing?" he asked as Simone turned the car. "What 'hi' thing?" she replied. "The 'hi' thing that people do. How when you saw Jayce and Alec, you said 'hi' and they replied 'hi' back. Why not 'hello'?" "Hello is not badass," she informed him. "Real badasses are laconic."

"So you're saying the more badass you are, the less you say?" "Exactly." She nodded past him, he could see the east river. "That's why in the movies the badasses don't say a word, just nod. The nod means 'i am a badass, and I recognize that you are a badass as well,' but they don't say anything cause they are Wolverine and Magneto and it would mess up their vibe to explain it."

"I don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about," said Jayce, from the back.

"Good," Clary said, and Simone gave him a small smile.

——————

When they got to Clar's house, the rain had stopped. Jayce, Alec, and Isidore, went to check the "demon activity levels" while they had Clar and Simone wait by the van.

Simone watched them as they went around the house. "Demon activity levels? Do demons like do workouts inside the house or something?" "No," Clar said and pushed his hood back. "The sensor tells them how powerful the demons are and if there are any demons around." Simone had an impressed look. "That's actually very helpful."

He looked at her. "About last night—" She held her hand up. "Don't. We don't need to talk about it. In fact I don't want to talk about it." "Let me say one thing," he spoke quickly. "I know when you said you loved me, my reply was not what you wanted." "True. I had always thought when I finally told someone 'I love you' they'd say 'I know' back, like in Starwars." "You're so geeky," said Clar, not able to help himself.

She gave him a glare. "Sorry," he said. "Look, Simone i—" "No," she said. "You look, Clar. Really look at me. Do you think you can do that?"

He looked at her. Looked at her brown eyes, her uneven eyebrows, her dark brown hair and shy smile and her hands graceful like a musician's that was all part of Simone, who was part of him. If he told the truth, could he really say that he'd never known she had loved him? Or that he had just never thought what he'd do about it if she did?

He sighed. "Seeing through glamour is easy. It's people that are difficult." "We see what we want to see," she said quietly. "Not Jayce," he said, thinking about those clear and emotionless eyes of her's. "Her more than anyone."

He gave a frown. "What—" "Okay," called Jayce's voice, interrupting their conversation. He turned to her. "We have checked it all, nothing. Very low activity. Most likely just Forsaken, and they probably won't bother us unless we bother them." "And if they do bother us," said Isidore, with a grin. "We'll take them down."

Alec pulled the bag out of the back of the van, dropping it onto the sidewalk. "You ready to kick some demon butt!" she announced. Jayce gave her a odd look. "Alec, are you ok?" "Fine." Not looking at her, Alec put her bow and arrows down in the back seat of the van and grabbed a wooden staff with two blades on the end. "This is much better." Isidore gave his sister a look of concern. "But your bow. . ." Alec cut him off. "I know what I am doing, Isidore."

The bow kay in the backseat, Simone reached a hand out to touch it, then drew back when she saw a group of young women pushing strollers down the street. They didn't notice the armed the three teenagers, standing by the van. "Why can I see you guys?" asked Simone. "What happened to your invincibility glamour?" "You can see us," said Jayce. "Because you know the truth of what you are looking at now." "Yeh," said Simone. "I suppose I do."

She fought a little when they insisted she stay back and wait with the van, Jayce told her the importance of needing getaway car by the curb and ready. "The sunlight is fatal for demons, but not to Forsaken. What if they come after us? What if the car were to get towed?"

The last Clar saw of Simone was her feet on the dash and going through Erica's CDs.

The moment they walked into the house the smell hit Clar, he couldn't quite describe it. it smelled like rotten eggs, bad meat and seaweed rotting in the hot sun. Isidore's nose wrinkled and Alec looked sick, but Jayce looked as if they were in a field of flowers and smelling the perfume of them. "There were demons here recently," she announced with a cold delight.

Clar with an anxious look, asked. "They aren't still here—" "Nope," she shook her head. "We would have picked it up on the sensor. Still." She jerked her chin towards Dorothea's door. "She may have questions to answer if the Clave finds out she has been dealing with demons." "I doubt the Clave will be happy to hear any of this," said Isidore. "Although, she'll probably fair better than us with this." "If we get the Cup they won't care," said Alec, looking around, her blue eyes taking in the foyer. "Especially if we take down a few Forsaken while we're at it." Jayce shook her head. "They are in the upper apartment. I guess that unless we try to get into the upper apartment, they won't bother us."

Isidore blew a strand of hair out of his face and frowned at Clar. "What you waiting for?" Involuntarily Clar glanced at Jayce, who gave him a sideways grin. Go on, her eyes said.

He walked across the foyer to Dorothea's door, gently stepping. The skylight was blackened with dirt and the entryway lightbulb was out,  the only light came from Jayce's witchlight. He reached the door and knocked lightly, and then again with more force.

The door swung open, light spilling out into the foyer. There stood Dorothea.

"Clar!" she exclaimed, and swept him into a hug. "Good God, boy," she said, shaking her head. "The last I saw of you, you disappeared through my portal. Where did you end up?" "Williamsburg," he said. Her eyebrows went up. "And yet they say there is no convenient pubic transportation here in Brooklyn."

She swung the door open all the way and gestured them inside. The place looked to be unchanged, everything the same as it was when Clar was here last: The same tarot cards and crystal ball on the table. He had the urge to grab the cards. Dorothea sat down in a armchair and stared at the Shadowhunters with Beady eyes. Scented candles burned on the table, which didn't do much for the smell that was in the entire house.

"I am assuming you still haven't found your mother and sister?" she asked Clar. He shook his head. "No. But I know who took them, now."

Dorothea darted her eyes towards Alec and Isidore, who were looking closely at the Hand of Fate on the wall. Jayce, looking unconcerned in the slightest in her role as bodyguard was lounging against a chair arm.

Satisfied that the none of her stuff was being destroyed, Dorothea looked back to Clar. "Was it by chance—" "Valentine," Clar confirmed. "Yes." She sighed. "I feared that," she sat back in her chair. "Do you know what he wants from her?" "I know that she was married to him—" "Love gone terribly wrong. The worst."

Jayce made a soft, almost inaudible noise at that—a chuckle. Dorothea pricked her ears at that. "What is so funny, girl?" "What do you know about it?" she said. "Love, I mean." "More than you may think," she said. "I read your tea leaves, little Shadowhunter, remember? Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?"

Clar thought back to that day, when Jayce seemed to not be paying much attention to Dorothea reading their tea leaves and him drawing the ace of cups, in fact he was almost sure Jayce was probably only half there until the name Valentine came up. But he remembered Madame Dorothea saying something about her falling in love with the wrong person, and he wondered if she even cared.

Jayce said. "Unfortunately, my one and only true love remains to be myself." Dorothea roared. "Well, at least," she said. "You don't need to worry about rejection, Jayce Wayland." "Not necessarily, I do turn myself down occasionally, to keep things interesting."

Dorothea roared again. Clar interrupted her. "You are probably wondering why we are here, Madame Dorothea." "I figured," said Dorothea, "That you enjoyed the pleasure of my company. Am I wrong?" "I don't have time for the pleasure of someone's company. I need to help my mom and sister, and to do that there is something I need."

"And that is?". "It is something called the Mortal Cup," Clar said. "Valentine thought that my mother had it. That is why he took her." Dorothea looked astonished. "The Cup of the Angel?" she said in disbelief. "Raziel's Cup, in which he mixed the blood of angels and of men and gave it to man to drink, and created the first Nephilim?" "That's the one," said Jayce with dryness in her voice.

"Why would he think she had it?" Dorothea demanded. "Why Jocelyn, of all people?" Realization started to dawn on he before Clar could say anything. "Because she was not Jocelyn Fray at all, yes of course," she said. "Back then she was Jocelyn Fairchild, his wife. Who everyone thought was dead. She took the Cup and fled, didn't she?"

Clar thought he saw something flick in her eyes but it was gone so fast that he thought he Imagined it.

"So," said Dorothea, "have you any idea what you're going to do now? Wherever she has hidden it, t can't be easy to find—that is if you even want to find it. Valentine could do horrible things with it." "I want to find it," said Clar. "We want—" Smoothly Jayce cut him off. "We know where it is," she said. "It is simply a matter of retrieving it."

Dorothea widened her eyes. "Then where is it?". "It's here," said Jayce, in such a smug tone that Alec and Isidore came over from the bookcase they were looking at to see what was happening. "Here? As in you have it on you?"

"Not exactly," said Jayce, who, Clar felt was enjoying herself in an appalling manner. "I mean you have it." "That isn't funny in the least," she said with such a sharp tone that Clar was worried everything had gone terribly wrong. Why does Jayce always have to antagonize everyone? "You do have it," said Clar quickly. "But you—"

Dorothea sat up from her chair to her full height and Looked down at them angrily. "You are mistaken," she said with ice in her voice. "In Imagining I have the Cup and in daring coming here and call me a liar."

Alec put her hand to the staff. "Uh, oh," she said under her breath.

Bafflely, Clar shook his head. "No," he said very quickly,  "I am not saying you're a liar, I swear. What I am saying is the Cup is here, just you never realized it." Madame Dorothea still looking at him coldly. "Explain," she said. "What I am saying is my mother hid it here," said Clar. "Years ago. But she never told you because it had nothing to do with you." "she gave it to you disguised," Jayce explained, "In the form of a gift."

Blanky Dorothea looked at her. Doesn't she realize? Clar thought,  he was puzzled. "The tarot cards," he said. "The card deck she painted for you."

Dorothea's gaze went to the cards on the table. "The cards?" Clar walked to the table and picked the deck up. He found the Ace of Cups and pulled it out, setting the rest of the cards back down. "Here," he said.

They all were looking at him, perfectly still. He slowly turned the card over and looked at his mother's artwork: the hand wrapped around the golden stem of the Mortal Cup.

"Jayce," he said. "I need your stele." She pressed it into his palm. He turned the card over and traced the runes that were painted on it— a twist there and line here, they meant something entirely different. When he turned the card back over, the picture had changed:;the fingers had released their grasp on the Cup, the hand seemed to be almost offering it to Clar as if saying, take it. He slid the stele into his pocket. And reached into the small square of the card. His hand wrapped around it and he pulled it out, and thought he heard small sighs before, the card that was now blank disappeared into ashes.

Tag list: @khaleesiofalicante @chibi-tsukiko @spotsandclawsthings @megs-readstoomuch @magnus-the-maqnificent @replayfootsteps @simply-ellas-stuff @bookfast-at-tiffanys @my-archerboy @jazzkaurtheglorious

[eunsthings]

Museums

Part 2 l Again?

Genre: fluff🥰, slow burn i guess

(Reader is a veterinary student on more or less her final year of vet school who has a part time job in editing and is kinda smol and socially awkward)

Pairing: Tsukishima x fem!reader (post timeskip)

Word count: 2.2k

Here’s Part 1  II Series masterlist II Part 3

You have been offered a big project and now the odds are really testing you... 

[friend] = a friend’s name

The content of the sent email—along with other details—stated that if you were willing, to email them back and go to the Sendai City Museum whenever you were free this week. Sitting on your bottom bunk-bed, checking your schedule, you see that you were available on the 7th of September; a Friday afternoon. You email them and confirm that you were going.

A few days had passed and it was now Friday. You were having lunch with [friend]—a close friend of yours—in a café outside your campus. After your lunch, you were going to head to the museum.

“You know, you should have just texted me.”

“What?” [friend] stops and looks up at you, pausing from eating, an innocent expression plastered on her face.

“You where the reason my phone almost got destroyed,” you deadpanned.

Your friend stares with a blank face… then bursts out laughing. “I’m so sorry—” she says, almost choking on food from laughing, “I—hahaha!” still snickering trying to speak in between gulps of air, “Oh, man. I really am sorry; it’s just that… what kind of luck do you have? A nosebleed because of a phone call?” It went on like this for some time.

“Oh by the way, are you going on the school trip?” your friend asks.

“When was that again?” you face her.

“Uhhhhh, the last week of September I think…”

“Oh, yeah, right. I don’t really know… going on a trip with people I barely know for a whole week is kind of draining,”you softly replied; pondering.

“But like—oh no! It’s almost time for your meet-up,” [friend] tells you; cutting her sentence short, both of you got lost in the euphoria of chatting with one another.

“Oh yeah, no, I have to go, I’m so sorry. Byeee~” you reply in a jumble standing up and bringing your bag with you.

“Wait,” your friend stands up with you, “I’m going with you,” She left no space for refusal as she picks up the scarf you almost left and hands it to you.

“Wow, ok,” you thought to yourself as you see the museum building in front of you. It was a very nice modern-looking building.

 With your friend beside you, you enter its doors.

Inside, it had many things on display–mostly about the history of Sendai and samurais as well as a certain “Date” family. Both of you try looking for the office and almost ended up lost before you were able to look for a person to ask; it was weirdly devoid of people.

Reaching the office, an assistant, you had guessed, told you to make yourself comfortable while waiting. You did as you were told. Both you and [friend] were seated in a big open space with displays all around. This area was frequently passed by tourists, you can tell by the layout of the space.

Your friend was looking at displays around the huge space and you were scrolling through your phone when a man appeared around a corner.

You barely glance up when you look back down to your phone. “Wait a second,” you look back up again, bewilderment rising. He was holding a pen and notebook in his hands, “Oh no,” by now, memories of your “faceplant incident” had surfaced. You were silently staring as he passed–the blond man who handed you a handkerchief. “What in the world!? Was he here to take notes for research or something?” he turned to the side almost disappearing around another corner when you made eye contact.

He momentarily paused, fixing his glasses ; probably confused—“He had glasses on… did he have glasses last time?”—when another voice sounded from the end of the hall he was in. Someone probably called him. He then broke eye contact and vanished behind a wall.

You were still dumbfounded, staring at the wall in front of you trying to process what just happened. “What are the odds of that huh?” you had chuckled at yourself. “Who was that?” your friend had come down to sit beside you.

“Ugh. Remember when I told you about how my phone almost broke?”

“Yeah, you faceplanted on the sidewalk.”

“That guy was there to witness it and kinda helped me,” [friend] burst out laughing again after your statement.

“What are the odds of that happening!” she now had tears in her eyes from laughing, “Is it embarrassing? HAHAHA. It’s ok… it’s ok,” by now she was smacking her leg and doubling over.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, stop laughing at me~” you were shaking her trying to make her stop. You can’t handle any more shame.

“Ok, ok. But he was just probably here for his studies you know, so that’s over now, at least you didn’t have to talk to him.”

“Yeah, ‘at least.’”

The assistant had come back for you, telling you to follow them to the office. Your friend had only offered a thumbs-up as you left her in the hall.

You enter what you guess to be an office. A middle-aged man sat behind a desk in the room and gestured for you to take a seat; a chair in front of his table. He introduced himself as a Mister Yasuhiro, the director for the museum. He discussed the reason for calling you; they’d have a big charity event to be held in the museum on the first week of October; so that leaves about a month of preparation time. They needed animators to make the motion picture to be played in a loop all around the exhibits---for overall effect. He smiles warmly at you.

“Y/N, I know you’re a very talented artist,” he stated, “We’d really like to have you on-board for this project although I know you have school. You have top marks so I don’t think that it will be a problem considering you’ve been doing this for a long time now,” he was right, you never really had a problem in school, just times when you have off weeks or think you failed but still keep pulling though up top, “Although of course you’ll have one other animator with you to help share the load,” Yasuhiro continues.

You were thinking and something seems off to you, “Um—Sir, I’m really thankful for the opportunity you’ve given me but… why me? There are better professional animators out there… which, compared to me—” he cuts you off, “You see, we are also tasked to showcase the talents of young individuals and why not apply that to everything else?” You couldn’t reply anything else but a soft “oh”.

“We’d love to have you but I’d really have to ask if you’d be okay taking on this project on short notice,” Yasuhiro makes you consider the offer. “If you’re really fine having me help, then I’d be very much more than willing to,” a soft sort of calm determination escapes you—this was a very big chance after all. The middle-aged man lit up in joy and thanked you.

 He seemed friendlier in contrast to others with the same position as he; much more now when he was clapping softly. You had noticed he was a cheerful man.

After you accepted their job, he discusses to you about the amount they’ll be paying you; and man were you happy you took the offer. Yasuhiro then proceeded to talk about what you’ll be doing in a general sense, “Oh and don’t worry about the content, you’ll have someone as a partner from the museum to help you with it.”

“That would really be great! Thank you!” You replied.

The director then proceeded to call his assistant, “Could you bring him in now?” Your brain glitches a bit, “him”? "A boy!? Nah, it’s just probably someone he’s got business with,” a short internal monologue played in your head.

You hear the door squeak open behind you and then come to a close. You were still facing the director, “This fellow will be helping you with the content of your animation, he’s currently an intern here,” you slowly turn around trying to face the alleged intern hoping to see a new face. Instead, you were met with a tall, blond and uninterested-faced person; glasses in front of his golden-brown irises. “Your partner for the project, Tsukishima Kei,” Yasuhiro announces from his desk.

Looking down for the first time since he entered, the guy named “Tsukishima” only blinked in response to what seems to be his own  shock and confusion.

Unable to meet his gaze, you turn back around to face the director just gawking at him with slightly squinted eyes and a stupid expression displayed; unable to form words. “What are the odds?”

Mister Yasuhiro—having been facing you—asked, “Is something the matter?” he trailed off awkwardly.

“No,” you replied in unison.

 “Oh?” the director was now joined in both your confusion.

 “It’s fine, we just happened to bump into each other a while back. We’re just surprised,” Kei explained in his drawly voice as if nothing happened.

 “Oh! Well that’s good then. You’re already acquainted so that’s step one done,” the director clapped his hands together in joy. “So that’s that. Kei will be showing you around the museum later. He’ll coordinate your schedules and disclose to you everything else that I missed,” the director smirked and sat up from his chair, “You can meet with the other duo the next time you come here. Good luck to you both.”

 You found yourself in a hall outside of the office. A tall man beside you. Silence heavy in the air.

“So…” the beanpole spoke, “What’s your name?” both of you facing the same end of the hallway.

“I—uh. L/N F/N. Nice to meet you,” a straightforward reply, still refusing to look at each other.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too… for the third time.” The awkwardness was killing you.

“Yeahhh—about the first time… I never got to thank you for helping me…” you soften to a whisper, “and your handkerchief is ruined—I’ll just replace it.”

“Tch. There’s no need for that,” he looks at the bunch of paper in his hands, “Anyway~” he starts walking, “I have to show you around the museum.”

 You follow behind him and later he stops abruptly. You are now in the big hall you were waiting in earlier. He hands you a sheet of paper, “Here’s the initial schedule. We’ll alter that to accommodate your own next time. Hold on to it for now,” He then looks around the room, “Weren’t you accompanied by someone else?” Realization dawns on you, yes, you were accompanied by F/N. Where is she now? You check your phone.

“Ah. She had forgotten to submit a term paper,” Tsukishima’s only response was a shrug and a slight pout, “Well then, let’s proceed.”

Touring around the city museum took a long while, your amazingly weak ankles decided to act up but in the end, you finished going around the displays in the building. He showed you where they were planning to put the main event as well as where all the side gimmicks would be. Accounting it all, it would kind of be an immersive event wherein wherever you go in the museum, you’d be greeted by animations and displays. 

Both of you finished your tour at the main entrance balcony outside; it was already late in the afternoon. He paused beside you and turned to face you. You look to your side and see him fumbling around his pockets.

“Uh— w-what are you doing?” you asked meekly.

He raised his head to the ceiling and let out an exasperated sigh, “I was supposed to give you your museum pass. But I forgot that the ones meant for you and the other guy haven’t been modified yet—don’t ask.”

“Well that’s fine I guess, I can always just ask permission.”

“No, that makes a lot of hassle for everyone,” he interjects too quickly for your liking, but then he follows softly, “plus not everyone is always present here to let you in… that and the varying schedules clash.”

You felt thankful for his kinder follow-up, “Oh. So what now?”

“About the schedule, I think we need to exchange contacts.” And so you both did.

You gave him your phone number as well as your messenger account (in case). He then entered his phone number in your phone.

“Huh, I guess your phone’s okay now,” he handed it back.

“Really!? He had to bring it up,” you half-scream internally.

“And about the pass…” he placed everything he was holding in one hand and removed the ID dangling from his neck, “here,” he was holding it out to you.

You held your hands up, “But that- that’s yours—”he didn’t let you finish your sentence, “I can’t have you coming and going without a pass, so here, I won’t always be here to babysit you” he slipped it on your head, “Your pass later on will look somewhat like that. Don’t worry, I have an extra one at home, just don’t lose that. We’ll trade later.” Your face began to heat up, “What the heck!!”

"Until next time then Y/N."

He walked back to the doors but before he entered, he held the handle and looked back at you, “Expect me to contact you sometime between tomorrow and the next day, try not to ignore it,” with that, he goes inside leaving you in front of the stairs in the late afternoon glow. 

Part 1 II Series masterlist II Part 3

Notes:

We use messenger because why not... (It’s actually because in my country we use messenger a lot and so yeah...)

I wish you enjoyed (0.0)

[spice-chan]

Runaway Omega -Chapter 3

The runaways made their way back from the beach to the house. You promised Shoto you’d teach him how to cook.

Now here you are, teaching him how to peel potatoes.

It was cute. Seeing a 6 foot Alpha staring at the potato with so much concentration, his eyebrows bunched together as he attempts to mimic the movements she demonstrated.

Eventually, he succeeded, and moved on to help you with other tasks that you had to walk him through.

After blood, sweat and tears, the final product made the pain all worth it.

Shoto never enjoyed a vegetable stew so much.

Maybe it was the combined effort, the good vegetables or the recipe, but Shoto could swear, this is the best fucking vegetable stew he tasted, maybe in the history of mankind.

“How is it Sho ? “ you called out, Shoto enjoying hearing the self given nickname coming from your lips.

“Amazing”

.....

After about a month of living with Sho, your bump was now evident, no longer can one blame it on over indulging during dinner.

Shoto, after having fully recovered, insisted that you share the bed.

“The bed is big and your pregnant, what if the pup gets hurt ? “

After Shoto insisted needlessly, showing a stubborn side to him you never even knew, you relented.

Your back will thank you for this, you guessed.

You can still remember the awkwardness of the first night. The stillness of the air melted throughout the night, giving way to a restful sleep.

But Shoto didn’t know how you two ended up in each others arms in the morning. He woke up to you bundled against his chest, the spooning position seemingly very natural, like you were meant to be there. Your arm, so much smaller then his, was wrapped over him as be had his own arm close to him but behind your head, keeping your head pressed loosely against him.

Shoto was confused by the redness covering his face. He was sure he didn’t eat any spicy.

.....

“Ok Sho, do you have the list with you ? “ you asked.

“Alright, wear a coat though, its cold outside” you warned him, moving to put your own coat on and hearing him say a quite ‘ok’.

You and Shoto had slipped into a little routine. He was fully recovered now, and his recovered strength was proving quite useful.

You can still remember when you walked into the living room and found his doing sit ups with his shirtless glory, droplets of perspiration going down his pecs. Some of those rippling muscles must have softened during his stay in bed and recovery, but if this is the softened version, what was his peak shape ?

The sight made you feel things, but you shook your head before your thoughts can leak into your scent. He still caught your stare though .

“( y/ n) , sorry I didn’t ask before doing workouts in your living room, its just that, the weather outside is too cold” he apologized, mistaking your stare to one of displeasure.

“I can still move outside though, I don’t mind”

“What ? No no Sho , you’ll catch a cold !”

“Are you sure ?” He asked one more time to make certain.

“Yup, I’m going to make some soup !”

Shoto insisted on helping you with, well, everything.

Now its a Tuesday, grocery shopping day.

You and Shoto set on your journey to town, people staring at the Alpha who had his hood up covering his hair and shielding his face. You asked him why he does that, he said he doesn’t like peoples stares.

He usually stands close to you, which makes your Omega feel quite safe, so you didn’t complain, and he makes sure to carry all the bags. Your bump had gotten noticeable now, the women in town stopping to congratulate you. You were fairly distant with them, given that you live in a place a bit secluded from the rest of the houses, but you didn’t mind, you were never the biggest social butterfly. You appreciated their sentiment nonetheless.

You didn’t appreciate it much when they assumed Shoto was the father though.

You were never the one for gossip, but part of remaining low key, is sadly not correcting those assumptions. Its also partly beneficial for the pup too, having an Alpha around increases the pups security, especially one as capable as Shoto, it shows he’s capable of providing.

But you still need to remember that he isn’t your mate. So after the butchers wife again, made that assumption, your mood soured for the rest of the journey.

You had been together for a while now, somehow, you’re going to have to get used to being on your own again. Shoto probably feels that he needs to repay you.

You continued your trip with a little sourness permeating your scent.

If Sho noticed, he didn’t let on.

While you were making your way back home with Sho carrying the bags in tow, you found a boy standing at a secluded spot, bawling his eyes out.

Before you knew it, your legs took you to him. Crouching down to his eye level, you patted his head soothingly.

“Come on little guy, whats wrong ?”

The boy looked at you, his blue eyes glimmering with tears. He hiccuped, unable to get the words out. I continued rubbing his back soothingly.

“Mummy...she’s dying” he finally managed to get out, the revelation bringing a fresh onslaught of tears.

“Why?! What happened?” I asked urgently.

“Shes sick !” The little boy screamed in anguish.

“The doctor said today is her last day “ he said with his lips quivering. He could barely squeeze words out through his pain.

I paused at that. I could help her but...

If the word got out that a healer lives her, it could bring unwarranted attention. You didn’t need him to catch wind of it, even if the chance of him looking for you is slim.

That could be bad for you and your pup.

And Sho told you that most healers resided in King Enji’s castle to insure his odds are good in case he decides to war.

But as you looked at the little boy, trembling wailing for the coming loss of his mother, you were suddenly filled with shame.

That little boy could have been your own, crying die to your untimely death, and if you were in that position, you’d want nothing more then to take his pain away.

“What’s your name ?” I asked him softly.

“Haru” he sniffed out.

“Well Haru, take me to your mummy, I can help her.”

He suddenly stopped and looked at me with a star filled gaze.

“Really?!” He asked in hope and disbelief.

“Really”

He jumped up and clutched my hand, the red rimmed eyes and damp cheeks the only remaining evidence of the crying that just occurred. He took me and ran as fast as his tiny legs could carry him, blue eyes shining like the wondrous skies, just as they should.

He stopped in front of a little house, weeds littered the porch, leading to a wooden door that looked to be barely standing on its hinges.

You walked inside and finished the job in no time, but swore the mother to secrecy. Her son was blooming with happiness, and soon, you hope, their home would bloom again too.

You were filled with contentment, knowing that you brought the smile back to their little family, that they no longer needed to part ways. You didn’t know what this little endeavor is going to bring upon your doorstep, and you decided not to think about it.

“You’re finally happy again” Sho observed.

Your heart palpitated for a second. So he noticed.

“How...?”

“You seemed tense somehow, and your scent gave it away” Sho explained.

Your scent barely changed, was he that attuned to it ?

Your heart was suddenly filled with something other then contentment, a feeling so foresight yet familiar, like warm honey pouring down and sweetening every inch.

You were standing in the ocean near your house, where you first met him.

Back then, the ocean only softly rippled, now it was raging, emotions spurring on vicious tides.

“Sho, are going to leave soon, aren’t you ?” I took the plunge. The conversation we were avoiding for a while now. It’s time to have it.

“I’m going to have to” he relented.

We both knew it deep down, but hearing it filled me with immeasurable sadness.

“But I don’t want to”

The air stilled.

“ (y/n), you might not be aware of this but... I don’t really have a home other then here, when I think of home, I think of you”

“And when I think of him, I can’t imagine it without you in it Sho” I reciprocated. And it was true. I can’t imagine living without this poker faced Alpha keeping me company. Without him trailing behind me during grocery shopping, and admiring the beach for all its beauty with me.

But the exchange was filled with unspoken secrets.

“But Sho, there’s something I have to tell you if you are going to stay.