#and shone even more brightly as the show progressed

[teafiend]

All gifs credited to: @Nungchae (Twitter)

The physical performances by Jung Eun Chae in her role as Kang Gil Young never fails to impress me, particularly in the context of her previous roles. So glad she decided to accept and excelled in the role of this much beloved character.

[seongsgirl]

— your girl.

; no smut in this, but my blog is nsfw, so please, mdni.

— I dedicate this work to @starryjake <3 me and jake love you so much.

You laid flat on your bed, eyes fixated on the tiny glow in the dark stars that you insisted that Jake help you stick to your ceiling. They glew dimly in the dark, not getting enough sunlight during the day to make the glow to their full capacity; it didn’t help that you had the curtains drawn closed all day. 

The room was dark, not feeling like getting up to turn the light on and opting to sit in the dark, the only light coming from the sticky stars and the little sliver of light peeking through the crack in your doorframe that shone from the hallway. 

You sighed softly and turned to your side, eyes landing on the framed picture of you and Jake on your desk. He was slightly crouched and your chin rested on top of his head, both of you adorning the cheesiest smiles you have ever wore. Jake’s glasses were slightly crooked and his cheeks were tinted red, much like yours. 

The photo was taken during some event that was happening on campus a little under six months ago. It was one of the happiest moments of your life and you silently thank Jungwon daily for capturing that moment perfectly. 

Then again, any moment you spent with Jake was a happy one. He knew just what to say every time you needed reassurance, knew the perfect remedies for a broken heart when Heeseung left you with one. He knew things about you that you didn’t even know about yourself, he knew everything and more. 

Jake was essentially everything you have ever dreamed about, the person you always dreamed of being with. And you were with him, but not in the way you truly wanted. He was just your best friend and roommate, nothing more, nothing less.

And that made falling in love with him even harder to deal with.

You sighed again and rolled over to your back again, looking at the stars. They began to dim even more, losing their charge as the night progressed. It reminded you a lot of yourself and your current state. You were so bright, so full of energy and ready to show the world what you are capable of. But something shifted within the last few months, and your spark was dulling. Nothing quite felt the same anymore, and you didn’t know what was changing, but something was.

Maybe it was the unrequited love and stress of masking it for so long.

You took a deep breath before looking over at your desk again, searching for your desk clock. The digital clock read nine-thirty and you mentally prepared to see Jake any second now. It was a Saturday night, your usual night to spend with Jake in the living room, a movie on the television and snacks and drinks littering the coffee table as you both caught up with each other from the events that occurred over the week. But you really couldn’t be bothered to partake in the weekly ritual tonight. 

Almost like clockwork, you hear a faint knock on your door and a familiar voice saying your name. You didn’t respond.

There was another quiet knock before the door slowly creaked open. The hallway light shone brightly in your bedroom and burned your eyes, groaning as you clamped them shut. 

“Y/n?” Jake says slowly, as if he’s scared. You slowly open your eyes and look at the boy standing in your doorframe, his head tilted like a puppy. 

“Sorry, Jake.” you started, a puzzling look taking over the boy’s face. “I don’t think I’ll do movie night tonight.” you mumbled.

Jake took a couple cautious steps into your room. It wasn’t like you to skip movie night, in fact, you’ve never skipped one in the entire two and a half years that you two lived together. Jake licked his bottom lip before speaking. “Is everything…are you okay?”

You chuckled. “Not really.”

You could practically hear Jake’s heart shatter in his chest. There you were, his best friend in the entire universe, laying in a dark room while blankly staring at the ceiling and he had no idea you weren’t okay. 

You heard Jake take in a breath before shuffling through your room and sitting on the foot of your bed, your head close to his thigh. You looked over at him to see him already looking down at you. His hair was scruffy and he had his glasses on, really bringing together his nerdy boy image. His eyes were full of worry, yours full of nothing. 

And you both sat there, looking into each other’s eyes in silence for a moment before you turned your attention back to the now dim star stickers. 

“What do you do when you love someone, but they don’t love you back?” you said abruptly, breaking the silence.

Jake looked back over at you, eyes slightly wide. “Huh?”

A sad smile crept onto your lips. “You know what I’m talking about, Jake.” you turned back to him, “When you feel like you can’t love someone even more than you already do, but you know that those feelings aren’t reciprocated. How does someone get closure with something like that?”

Jake’s eyes turned glossy, and his lips scrunched to one side of his face. “I-I don’t know…” he said softly. “I wish I did, because I know exactly how you’re feeling.” Jake put a soft hand on yours that rested on your stomach. 

You sighed. “It hurts, knowing that he’s exactly who I always dreamed about but knowing that he’ll never love me the way I do with him.”

“Do I know him?” Jake asked.

Your lips fell into a straight line. “Yeah, you do.”

Jake hums, acknowledging your response. “Well, I hope he finally sees what’s in front of him and stops being stupid.”

You chuckle softly. “I hope your girl realizes that, too.” and silence falls upon you both again. 

Minutes feel like hours and years before you speak again. 

“Jake,” you mumbled, not letting your vision stray from the stars, but you see Jake shift to look at you in your peripheral. “That’s his name.”

You hear Jake’s breath catch in his throat and you feel your eyes glaze with tears, a single one slipping out and falling down your face. 

“Y/n…” Jake whispers, taking his thumb and wiping away the stray tear. “That’s her name.”

And suddenly the ever growing pit in your stomach doesn't feel as big.

You look over at Jake, and he’s still looking at you. You sit up and come face to face with him. Jake’s hands come up to your cheeks, holding your face gently, and you melt into his touch. 

“I’m sorry I never told you…” Jake whispers, your noses brushing and foreheads pressed together. “Me too,” you reply, your lips ghosting over his. 

“I’ve always wanted you to be my girl. From the day I met you, I knew I had to do whatever it took to get you.” his thumb brushed your cheek.

“Jake,” you press your lips to his softly and you feel him immediately melt into the kiss. You broke away and looked at him with a soft smile. 

“I’ve always been your girl.”

[yeonzzzn]

for astra: park sunghoon

intro of for astra | spotify playlist

pairing: sunghoon x afab!reader word count: 5.8k

synopsis: sunghoon finds himself waking up and repeating the same day over and over again until he finally breaks the cycle and finds himself on a space station called ‘astra 1’. he soon learns he is one of the few who are still alive and that they aren’t alone…

genre: space!au, survival!au, neurologist!sunghoon, neurologist!reader, strangers to lovers, angst, smut.

warnings: swearing, blood, m*rder, guns go pew pew, other life forms, some science talk, unprotected sex, biting, hair pulling, sunghoon fucks reader against the wall, adding more as the story progresses, MINORS DNI!!! (these tags will be on every part even if they do not consist of said tag)

intro | part one | part two

a/n: tysm for 4.3k follows guys!!! i’m grateful more than words can describe. this means the world to me. so have this spacey thriller based off my favorite video game for the celebration 💜

[ 𝙻𝙾𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶… ]

[ … ]

[ … ]

[ … ]

[ 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙿𝙰𝚂𝚂𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳 ]

[ ****** ] 

[ … ]

[ 𝚆𝙴𝙻𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙴 𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺, 𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝙳 ]

[ 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝚆𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝙳𝙾? ]

[ 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙈𝙀𝙉𝘾𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙅𝙀𝘾𝙏 𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙍𝘼 ]

[ 𝙻𝙾𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶… ]

[ … ]

[ … ]

[ 𝖴𝖯𝖫𝖮𝖠𝖣 𝖯𝖱𝖮𝖩𝖤𝖢𝖳 𝖠𝖲𝖳𝖱𝖠? ]

[ 𝙔𝙀𝙎 ]

[ //𝖴𝖯𝖫𝖮𝖠𝖣𝖨𝖭𝖦… ]

[ 𝖴𝖯𝖫𝖮𝖠𝖣𝖤𝖣 ] 

[ 𝖯𝖱𝖤𝖲𝖲 𝖤𝖭𝖳𝖤𝖱 𝖳𝖮 𝖲𝖳𝖠𝖱𝖳 ]

[ 𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙍 ]

Sunghoon’s eyes fluttered open, wandering them to the glass sliding door leading out to his balcony. The morning sun shone brightly into his studio apartment. With a sigh, he pulled himself out of bed, dragging his feet across the floor towards the bathroom. Stretching out his arms and letting a small yawn leave his lips. 

He really didn’t want to go to work today. But nevertheless, he brushed his teeth and changed into his favorite pair of tan slacks and gray button-up shirt with lab-appropriate shoes then out the door he went, waving a hand and giving a smile to the apartment staff, “Good morning Mr. Park!” They smiled and waved back. 

Sunghoon took the elevator to the roof, where his private helicopter was waiting for him, the pilot giving him a nod as he climbed in, “Good to see you again, Mr. Park.” 

“Pleasure is all mine, like always.” Sunghoon teased. The pilot's laugh filled the copter and forced Sunghoon to smile even more. He really did have the best staff working for him. 

And soon enough, he was walking into his company building, pulling his ID badge from his pocket and sliding it across the counter to the guard, once his ID was confirmed he was well, him, he was sent through. 

“About time you showed up!” Heeseung teased with a tilt of his head, “What time did you wake up this morning?” 

Sunghoon rolled his eyes, “Do you forget who owns this company? I show up when I want to.” 

Heeseung patted his best friend's back, “Co-own. Don’t forget my half.” Sunghoon chuckled and shoved his friend, following at his side to the lab. 

“What tests are today?” he asked. 

“Let me think,” Heeseung checked his watch, “I think we can start with the drawings.”

Sunghoon groaned, “The damn drawings?!?” 

They turned the corner and walked into the lab. All the scientists and lab techs rushing around to prepare for today's tests, “They won’t take long, promise!” Heeseung crossed a finger over his heart in terms of his promise. With a sigh and eye roll, he stepped into the testing box. 

“Good morning, Dr. Park.” One of the scientists said, “We are starting with drawings, yes?” 

Heeseung slid to the scientist's side, giving Sunghoon a thumbs up. Oh man, if there weren’t a glass wall between him and Heeseung right now, “Correct,” Sunghoon said looking away from his best friend, “Send them in.” 

Sunghoon sat down at the desk in the middle of the room, a tablet sat in front of him. With a press of a button on the counter by one of the lab techs, the tablet screen went bright, showing the first drawing. 

Sunghoon raised a brow, “It’s two people facing away from each other.” 

Heeseung glanced at the computer on the counter, looking at the same image Sunghoon was. 

“Good, good. Next photo.” The scientist waved the lab tech to continue. 

Sunghoon slid back into his chair, glaring up at everyone on the other side of the glass, “These are fucking stupid.” 

The test they were running on him was the Rorschach Inkblot test. Ya know, the blobs of ink someone dumped on paper to show to psych patients and see how crazy they are. 

“Hoon,” Heeseung warned, “Please.” Heeseung was always the more level-headed one out of the two of them. 

Sunghoon pushed his tongue into the left side of his cheek, shooting his eyes back down to the tablet, “It’s a butter—“ His vision went blurry. A massive pain in his head throbbed and his ears rang. He shot to his feet, covering his ears with his hands, and let out a scream. 

“FUCKING DO SOMETHING!!!” Heeseung yelled at the scientist, “SHUT IT DOWN!!!” 

Once his vision went black, everything went silent. 

His eyes fluttered open, wandering them to the glass sliding door leading out to his balcony. The morning sun shone brightly into his studio apartment. With a sigh, he pulled himself out of bed, dragging his feet across the floor towards the bathroom. Stretching out his arms and letting a small yawn leave his lips. 

He really didn’t want to go to work today. 

Sunghoon stopped midway to the bathroom, slightly shaking his head. Something felt too…familiar. He shrugged his shoulders, deciding it was just another day. 

“I think we can start with the drawings today.” 

“The damn drawings?!?” 

Sunghoon dropped his head into his hands, stumbling back a few steps, Heeseung immediately at his side ready to keep him from tumbling over, “Hoon, you okay?” 

Sunghoon wasn’t sure how to answer that question. How does he tell his best friend he’s been getting a major case of deja vu today? So he shrugged him off, “It’s nothing. Just a small headache is all.” 

Heeseung placed his hands on his shoulders, “We can reschedule today for another if you’re feeling sick?” 

“Let’s just get the damn drawings over with.” he pushed past his friend. 

Sunghoon stared at the inkblot pictures in front of him then shot to his feet, covering his ears and screaming until everything went silent and black. 

His eyes fluttered open, and this time he didn’t look out onto his balcony. He stared straight up at the ceiling. His head was pounding. His heart was racing. But he got up anyway. 

He glanced around his studio apartment, looking like it always does. Neat and clean. Not a single spec of dust. His couch looks new. Like new new, hasn’t been sat on kinda new. 

As he made his way towards the bathroom, Sunghoon couldn’t shake the feeling that something was…well, wrong. His deja vu and the splitting headache wouldn’t stop. Sunghoon tried to wrap his mind around it as he reached for his toothbrush. 

“I think we can start with the drawings today.” 

Sunghoon blinked multiple times and shook his head, connecting his palm to the side of his face. 

What the hell is going on??

He sees the inkblot of the butterfly and he starts screaming, everything going black until he’s once again waking up and staring up at his ceiling except this time….

He remembers the events that just took place. Sunghoon quickly sits up in his bed, sweat dripping down his face as he takes in his apartment. It looks normal but more eerie. The air felt thick and the apartment complex sounded too quiet. He swallowed as he stood from his bed, slowly walking to the middle of the room. He listened for any sound possible, but only heard the quiet. Not even the sound of birds was present. Something was definitely wrong. 

That’s when his eyes landed on his kitchen countertop, a card sat there straight up, his name written on the front. It drew him in, calling for him. He took the white card between his fingers, flipped it open, and read the contents inside:

Sunghoon,  Meet me in your office as soon as you get up and get ready. We have a lot to discuss.  You’ll need to break the glass. 

Sunghoon scoffs and tosses the card back on the counter. What did this mean? Who sent this to him? But the more he lingered his eyes and thoughts on the card, the more questions he had and the more confused he was. With the events that happened yesterday(?) and now waking up to this card…all on top of his deja vu and headaches…He needed answers. Now. 

He quickly got ready and laced up his boots, checking the time on his watch, the helicopter that takes him to the company building would be leaving in ten minutes, he needed to get a move on. 

He counted each step it took to his front door, holding his breath as he reached for the door handle. Here goes nothing. The knob twisted and turned, pulling the door open slowly and his heart nearly ripped out his chest. 

The hallway was dark. One of the light fixtures was barely holding on by its cord, flickering and sending out sparks. 

His whole body shook as he took that first step out of his apartment, realizing there were no other doors on this floor besides the ones to the elevator. 

What is happening…

Sunghoon slowly walked into the hall, immediately clenching his fingers over his nose. Eyes searching up and down the hall for the source of the smell until he found it. 

One of the apartment workers on his floor was slumped against the wall, head hung low, and dried blood covering their entire body and staining the floor around them. Tools and other equipment are laid beside them. They’ve been dead for a while because of the looks and position of their body. “Good fucking god,” he pressed his back against the wall, forcing his eyes down to the other side of the hall, “What the fuck is going on?!” 

The office. His office. He needed to get to his office. With a deep breath, Sunghoon pushed himself off the wall and rushed down the hall, keeping his eyes straight ahead to not look at the decaying body as he moved past it, heading for the elevator and quickly tapping the button. He bounced his weight back and forth with his anxiety building up along with the questions running through his brain. He reached forward again and pressed the button once again, the realization sinking in that the elevator was not working. 

You’ll need to break the glass. 

Sunghoon turned back around, looking at the empty hallway with only his apartment door being the only door. What glass does he have to fucking break??

Then it hit him. The glass door to his balcony. 

He quickly rushed back to his apartment, the bright sunlight forcing him to squint his eyes until they adjusted but he didn’t stop moving, taking notice that he couldn’t see his reflection in the glass. Sunghoon tried to open the sliding glass door, only for it to be bolted shut…or…maybe…

Sunghoon placed his palms against the glass and pushed, but it didn’t budge. He furrowed his brows and traced the tip of his finger along it, could this be…??

He needed to break the glass. But if his suspicions are true…

The tools by the dead worker. They had a wrench. He rushed back out of the apartment and into the dark hallway, averting his eyes from the body and locking them onto the tools, and picking up the wrench from the floor, its metal cool against his skin. Once he found himself back in front of the glass, his heart raced. What was he about to find once he broke the glass? What was waiting for him? Heeseung. He could only hope his best friend was the one who left that note for him. It only made sense. 

So he swung the wrench, connecting it to the glass and watching it shatter, the sound of it breaking echoing in his ears. His eyes widened as he took in what was now in front of him, arm slowly resting back at his side and hand clenching the wrench tighter. He pressed forward, carefully stepping over the broken glass and into the new area before him. 

His suspicions were true. He was being watched. 

Two rows worth of computers, monitors, and cameras filled the room. Dry-erase boards that tracked every movement Sunghoon made sat in the corners of the room. Stacks of folders filled with records sat on almost every desk along with multiple broken coffee cups scattered amongst the floor. In the furthest part of the room were rows of shelves filled with food and water. The same exact food Sunghoon has in his cabinets. 

Sunghoon slowly turned around and faced his…apartment? Would that even be the correct term to call it? He wandered his eyes over the room he was held captive in, seeing that every inch of that wall along the glass door was see-through. It only proved his suspicions more. Not only was he being watched, the entire wall was a two-way mirror. 

Quick on his feet, he rushed to one of the desks, grabbing at the folders and flipping through the records, hands shaking at everything being revealed to him, “What the fuck…” Sunghoon was being used as a test subject. Forced to replay a specific part of his life over and over again as the experiment for over a year. Everything about his experiment was fixed. The time he woke up every day. The meals he ate. The time he left the apartment. The helicopter(which was just past the elevator and in fact just a simulation ride). The company building. It was all fucking fixed. This whole area he was currently standing in was a fucking stage and he was the performer. 

Squeezing the wrench, then pushed everything off the desk out of anger, frustration, and confusion. What the actual fuck was going on here? He needed to get to his office. And since this seemed to be the company building, he knew exactly where to go. 

Before a step could be taken, a mug rolled past his feet. It startled him, but he kicked it away anyway, chalking it up to be one of the items he pushed off the desk and walked towards the door assuming to be the exit. As he reached the door, the sound of the mug still moved, causing Sunghoon to whip his head around, seeing the mug finally halting in its place. There’s no way he kicked that mug that hard, did he? He didn’t have time for this and completely disregarded the stupid mug and opened the door, leaving his captive place and the weird mug behind. 

Only to step foot into the lab, the main source of his deja vu. He placed his other hand onto the wrench, slowly making his way further in. Bodies of the scientists and lab techs were on the floor, at their desks and stations, and leaned against the wall. Their bodies were different than the one in the stage hallway by his ‘apartment’. Their skin was completely pale, their faces looked hollowed in like someone vacuumed sealed their skin to their bones. Sunghoon didn’t know which was worse to see between the bodies here and the worker in the hall. He kept his eyes moving, wandering off to the testing box, seeing the tablet still sitting on the desk with the butterfly inkblot still pulled up. How hasn’t that thing died yet? 

His head pulsed just then looking at the inkblot. Body wincing and bringing him down to his knees, dropping the wrench at his side to cup the sides of his head with his hands. He bit down on his lips to keep from screaming, trying with all his might to keep his eyes open. 

Please don’t black out again. Please don’t black out again. 

A noise from across the room shook him from his daze and settled the pulsing of his head and blurred vision. He looked in the direction, swearing to god he saw something moving from behind one of the desks. 

“Hello?” He slowly brought himself back to his feet, squeezing the wrench in hand and ready to use it as a weapon, “Who else is in here?” there was silence, “Heeseung, I swear to god man if that’s you…” 

Except it wasn’t Heeseung that moved from beside the desk. It wasn’t even human. The thing was small, black, with four legs and dark veins that moved from his circular body down to all the legs. It moved fast, quickly jumping itself onto the nearest desk. Sunghoon took steps back, keeping his eyes locked onto whatever the hell that thing was. Watching as it moved itself from one desk to the other, making its way to him, jumping back to the floor, and morphing into a piece of paper that it landed beside. Without a second thought, Sunghoon rushed over, slamming the wrench down onto the monster, its appearance going back to normal and its four legs wrapping itself around the wrench and his wrists. On instinct, he lifted his arms up and quickly slammed them back down repeatedly, shoving the monster over and over again onto the floor until it stopped moving and its legs went limp, releasing his wrists. 

Sweat dripped down Sunghoon’s face as he squats down to inspect the thing, “What are you?” 

ₐₙd wₕₐₜ ₐᵣₑ yₒᵤ?

Sunghoon fell back on his ass, swinging the wrench once more against the monster until its black blood pooled onto the floor. 

“Oh, fuck,” He whispers, “Oh, what the fuck!” He scrambles to his feet and rushes away from the dead thing, nearly tripping over the dead bodies as he runs to what he was praying to be the exit. He just needed to get to his office. Then everything will be answered for him. 

But what Sunghoon was expecting to find, and what he did find, when the door swung open were two completely different things. His jaw dropped as he stared out the windows, arms limp at his sides as he walked to the nearest railing, “Holy fucking shit.” 

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Blinking multiple times just for good measure to double-check he wasn’t dreaming. 

He was in space. He was in fucking space. Sunghoon looked over the railing, seeing what he was assuming to be the lobby of this…spacecraft? Space station? He goes with station after seeing banners and signs of the like with the name ‘Astra 1’ written on them. 

He swallows and decides to explore, walking down the steps to the first floor of the lobby. He couldn’t help but smirk as he took in the sights in front of him. He was in space?! What the fuck happened that lead him here? 

As much as Sunghoon wanted to explore the lobby in its entirety, he remembered the small alien(?) he just encountered. If there was one, there had to be more. Maybe even something worse than that small one lurked among this station. He needed to find his office and get the fuck off this station. Fast. 

Thankfully for him, purple signs that matched the station's color theme pointed him in the exact direction he needed to go. The offices were on the top floor of the lobby along with a few meeting rooms, a break room, and the trauma center. Sunghoon walked the three stories of stairs as fast as he could, finally reaching the top floor and noticing a turret sitting in the corner, pointing to the door of the trauma center. 

What could a turret be here for? Sunghoon looked at the door to the trauma center, seeing the keypad was green, probably meaning the door was unlocked. Curiosity got the best of him as he slowly walked to the door. What could this turret be watching for? All those questions were answered the minute the door caught his motion and slid open. The sound of the turret started up and Sunghoon quickly dropped to the floor and pushed himself backward. The alien he saw standing before him looked exactly like the small one, except more human-like. As tall as one, with two large dark purple eyes at the top of its head. Its skin was also black but shinier, almost electric-like; a current flowed through the outer layer of its skin. It stared back at Sunghoon, tilting its head. 

yₒᵤ’ᵣₑ ₐfᵣₐᵢd? wₕy?

The turret starts shooting out its bullets, the creature quickly rushing further into the trauma center for refuge and the door sliding closed. Sunghoon rushed back to his feet and over to the keypad, pressing his index finger against it, finding the lock icon, and pressing it repeatedly until the screen turned red. He waved a hand over the motion detector and let out a sigh of relief. 

yₒᵤ’ᵣₑ ₙₒₜ ₗᵢₖₑ ₜₕₑ ₒₜₕₑᵣₛ. wₕy ᵢₛ ₜₕₐₜ? yₒᵤ ₜₕᵢₙₖ?

Sunghoon looked through the small thin window of the door, seeing the dark purple slits looking back at him. The creature hunched over into a corner. Why can he hear these things speaking to him in his mind? What the fuck is going on in this damned space station?!

He turned quickly, marching past the turret and down the hall that led to the offices. The hall had three doors on each side that had two desks on either side of each of the rooms. One door sat at the end of the hallway. It was cased in purple steel with a golden outline of flowers. It was beautiful, truly. 

As he got closer to the door, just above the trim was a silver plate that read: Dr. Park Sunghoon. This was it. This is his office. 

The keypad was red to show it was locked. Sunghoon pressed the lock icon and two options popped up:

Enter passkey

Face ID

Sunghoon chose face ID, because what the fuck would the passkey even be? He clearly doesn’t have any memory of stepping foot into this space station, what made him think he’d know the passkey? 

The screen changed into a camera, showing him his reflection. A white bar moved up and down, and side to side across the screen to scan his features. It lit up green, and the door to the—his—office opened. 

With a deep breath, he walked inside. The lights seemed to be motion-censored as they lit up the office with just the few steps he took inside. This office was HUGE. To his left, he had a view of the Astra 1 lobby and the infinite space. In front of him was a locker with another passkey he didn’t know. To his right sat his desk at the far side of the room with a workbench off to the side and a kitchen on the other. 

He slowly walked over to his desk, tracing his fingers across the smooth surface as he rounded the corner of it. Sat on top of the desk were two monitors with the logo of his company slowly spinning in a circle and three picture frames. One with him and Heeseung as children, the other with them the day they created this company, and the last one is a photo of him, his younger sister, and his parents at one of his last figure skating competitions. Sunghoon smiled at these photos, fondly remembering them. But his smile soon faded at the realization he doesn’t remember anything else after a certain point. 

He sighs and shifts his head to the other side of the desk, seeing a fresh apple and another card. He picked up the card first. 

Sunghoon,  If you were able to make it here, unlock the computer and click accept on the operator screen which will be already loaded up. The passkey is 20201130. I know you must have a lot of questions, everything will be answered soon.  Please eat the apple as well. You more than likely haven’t been given proper nutrients. 

Sunghoon didn’t realize how hungry he was until reading the card. Quickly tossed the paper down and grasped at the apple and sinking his teeth into the fruit. He dropped himself into the chair and leaned back as he chewed. How long has he gone without actually eating? 

Once he finished the apple and tossed the remains in the trash can under the desk, he got to work with the passkey, typing it in and watching as both screens unlocked. Just like the card said, a window was already open to accept the operator. He clicked accept instantly. 

Curtains came down the windows and the lights dimmed. One monitor shut off, and the other loaded up a video. 

“Hello, Sunghoon.”

His heart stopped. The video was…of himself. And a small white ball floated beside his head…an AI, he assumed. 

“You probably have a lot of questions,” he said, holding his hands together and leaning forward in the chair he was sitting on. The room he was in was a bit dark and looked to be in the corner of the lab downstairs, “For starters, I want to apologize on behalf of the things they will do to you,” he looked to the floor, licking at the corner of his lips, “I hacked into our companies system and saw the things they are planning for you, for us.” The white ball floated to the other side of his head, “How rude of me,” he chuckled, “This is November, Nov for short. He is…exceptional. He is us of course. We created him with the help of our technology and the neuroscience department. With the help of…” he looked down at his hands and twisted a ring around his middle finger, forcing Sunghoon to look down at his own hands and seeing that ring wrapped around his middle, when did that get there? “We were able to implant pieces of our psyche into these wonderful robots. We are the only one who successfully implanted our psyche into these things,” he gently tapped his index finger to the small bot, it turned to face him, obviously giving an attitude, “Hee was pissed we figured it out first,” Sunghoon smiled and looked down at the floor away from the monitors, missing his best friend and wondering where on earth he could be in this station. The video continued, “I’ll get to the point since I’ve messed around enough,” he leaned back into the chair, squeezing at his thighs, “The Typhon—the life forms we found while exploring space—I’m sure you’ve encountered them. If my predictions are correct then you undoubtedly encountered a few types. Or your memories returned and you’ll remember everything and I made this video as a safeguard for nothing,” he shrugged, “But I doubt it would be the case, unfortunately.” There was another voice shouting off in the distance. He stood to his feet and walked closer to the camera, worried filled his face, “My worst fear has happened,” he placed both hands on the side of the camera and swallowed, “I’ll leave instructions with Nov to explain the rest,” he glanced away from the camera, tucking his lip between his teeth, “Godspeed, Sunghoon. Good luck.” Then the video ended. 

The curtains drew up and the lights came back on. What the fuck was that? The sound of a panel opening somewhere in the office jolted Sunghoon to his feet, the small white robot flew into the room, turning and looking at Sunghoon. 

“Hello again, CEO Dr.Park,” Sunghoon carefully walked around his desk, meeting Nov halfway, “Have your memories returned?” It shocked Sunghoon on how alike his voice sounded coming from the bot. 

He shook his head, “No.” 

Nov tilted to the side, “What is the last thing you remember?” 

Sunghoon shrugged, looking away from the ball, “That I was reliving the same day repeatedly, taking the inkblot test. Seeing the same image and everything going black until I finally somehow stopped the loop. I have no memory of this station or even stepping foot in it.”

Nov hummed, “It’s because you stopped taking the medication they were forcing you to use, to keep you in that loop.”

They were drugging him? “Explain to me what is happening!” 

“CEO Dr. Lee and yourself, built Astra 1 after the discovery of the Typhon,” Heeseung and himself…discovered these aliens on this station? “They are smart creatures, and hold the key, secrets, and abilities for the mission you and Dr. Lee aimed for.” 

To reach beyond the depths of our psyche and grant gifts to those who have none, to heal the less fortunate, and discover ways to extend our lives by transferring our psyche. They did it. Nov and the video Sunghoon was shown is the living proof of that. He couldn’t believe it, “How did we discover these aliens?” 

“After Astra 1 was finished being built, Dr. Lee, yourself, and multiple others came up here to take a look before officially opening the station. The Typhon snuck their way into the station somehow. You and Dr. Lee found the mimics in the kitchen down in the crew quarters. One moment there was one mug on the table, a second later there were two.” 

Sunghoon chuckled, thinking back to the small creature he encountered in the lab, “Mimics, perfect name for them.” 

“Dr. Lee named that one.” 

“Of course he did,” Sunghoon bit his lip, “Where is he?” 

Nov tilted to the other side, “The whereabouts of Dr. Lee Heeseung are unknown. His tracking bracelet was disabled after the outbreak.” 

Sunghoon froze, “The outbreak?” 

“Yes. The Typhon are smart creatures, they played a coup and waited for the perfect opportunity to break out.” 

Sunghoon scoffed, “That’s what happened in the video I was shown wasn’t it? The outbreak was happening.” 

Nov hummed, “Indeed it was.” 

Sunghoon gripped the side of the desk, “What happened to me?” 

“After the discovery of the typhon and their abilities, as the video stated, you with the help of another doctor, successfully found a way to transfer over the psyche and created the neuromods to help with the transfer. Then the trials of using the neuromods on the typhon commenced. Once the trials were successful, it was time to take the psyche of the Typhon and plant them into humans. You being the primary test subject.” 

Sunghoon clenched his fist, anger boiling up within him. He was fucking used as the primary test subject? HIM?! The fucking CEO of this goddamn company was used as the test subject?!

“I didn’t spend years of my life getting my doctorate in neuroscience just to become a damn fucking test subject!” Sunghoon snapped, locking his jaw tightly. 

“That’s the thing, Dr. Park,” Nov moved closer to him, “You volunteered for it.” 

His heart stopped. He did this…to himself?

“But you had no idea what the other scientists had planned, at least not at first. You were injected with the Typhon neuromods and took tests every single day to see how their abilities were working. It went perfectly until your mood started to change. That’s when they started wiping your memory. They stripped the Typhon psyche from your brain and restarted the trails.” 

Sunghoon nearly fell to the floor, a piece of memory coming back to him of seeing Heeseung on the other side of the glass, screaming at the scientists each time over and over again to shut everything down, “Heeseung was a part of this too…He put me through this, he let me do this?!” 

Nov fell silent for a couple of moments, “Dr. Lee tried to talk you out of it. Once the results were good, he no longer tried fighting you, until your mood changed and the other scientists took over the project. Dr. Lee had no control after that and had to play into their games, same as you.” 

Sunghoon shook his head, “How has he completely just gone missing?! I just saw him yesterday for the tests!” 

Nov shook as if saying no, “Dr. Park, the last trial you went through was almost three months ago,” Sunghoon stared at the floor with wide eyes, “The outbreak was contained a bit, but your trials continued. You eventually caught along to the trials and hacked into the station's mainframe and discovered everything they’ve done to you and what they plan to do to you. Not just you, but also the Typhon. You had plans to shut the project down but were caught in the process. The last memory you have was right after that final trial and before you were caught.” 

His headache formed once again, dropping his head into his palm and gripping the desk tighter. It all made sense. Every ounce of it made sense. He needed to get off this ship. To find Heeseung and get off Astra 1 and report what has happened here to the police. 

“I need to get out of here,” he said quickly, looking back at Nov, “You said Heeseung had a tracking bracelet, and I’m assuming the whole crew had one. Is there a way to turn it back on and find him?” 

Nov went silent again, moving to look at the floor, then back up at Sunghoon, “There’s a list of the entire crew's bracelets and their locations, but after the outbreak, only one person was given access to the locations. Which brings me to the next piece of information you told me to tell you.” 

Sunghoon nodded, waiting for Nov to continue.

“You need to destroy Astra 1 and all the information here along with the Typhon.” 

He froze once again, “What about the survivors here? There have to be survivors on this station! Innocent people!” 

Nov went silent then floated even closer to Sunghoon, “There are escape pods just below of the bridge, use those to escape with the survivors along with yourself after setting the station to explode.” 

Sunghoon sighed with relief. This was good. It gave him time to search for Heeseung. 

“You’ll only have ten minutes after setting the station to explode to get back to the bridge and escape. You’ll need to move fast.” 

The locker slowly swung open, “I went ahead and unlocked the locker for you. In there, you’ll find your space suit to protect you not just from the damages of the station, but also the Typhon that is lurking around. A shotgun is also provided.” 

Sunghoon walked to the locker. A red suit hung inside with the shotgun sitting on a shelf above up. He took the suit in his hands, inspecting it. Dr. Park Sunghoon was written on the name tag attached to the chest. He wasted no time pulling the fabric onto his body and zipping it up. God, past him really thought everything through with this outbreak. Too bad he doesn’t remember a damn thing about it. 

“The suit has an auto function for the helmet,” Nov said, “For example, if you encounter a typhon or radiation, the helmet will automatically equip.” 

Sunghoon raised his eyebrows, impressed, “Who designed that feature?” 

“Why, you did, Dr. Park.” 

Of course, I did.

Sunghoon grabbed the shotgun and the box of bullets sitting beside it, working fast to load up the gun. 

He was officially ready to find Heeseung and blow this motherfucker into pieces. 

“You said one person was given access to the entire list of the bracelets,” Sunghoon shifted his weight to the side, “Who is this person?” 

“You’ll need to find Dr. YN/LN. She has the list.” 

Sunghoon glanced up at Nov, “And where do I find Dr. YN?”

intro | part one | part two

— perm. tlist: @alvojake @ikeuverse @woniebae @shawnyle @jwnghyuns

@in-somnias-world @zyvlxqht @aaa-sia @wonniethepoo @addictedtohobi

@eneiyri @skzenhalove @fakeuwus @cherry-park @vousty

@ladyartemesia @criminalyun @cmoundiamante @enhaverse713586 @wondipity

@lhsvibez @jaeyunq @rikizm @kaykay11sworld @pockettwinzz

@vixialuvs @seunghancore @enha-cafe @ppanghoon @sunpov

@zeeloveshee @hxxsxxng @moonrisearies @brownsugarbaybee @nshmrarki

@vveebee @teddybeartaetae @kookify @abysofsteel @aileeeeeeeeeeeee @hee-lvrr @1309zip @moon0fthenight

[aughby]

The quiet hum of Yuki Ishikawa’s television filled the dimly lit apartment in Perugia, Italy. It was a familiar routine after his own practice sessions—analyzing games, both his and others. Tonight, though, his focus was solely on his younger sister, Mayu Ishikawa. Her team in Novara had just finished a fierce match, and Mayu shone brightly, leading her team to a spectacular victory. She had been named Player of the Game, and Yuki couldn’t help the small, proud smile creeping onto his face as he watched her post-match interview.

He leaned back on his couch, remote in hand, pausing the screen at the moment Mayu lifted her trophy. It was a strange bond they shared—supporting each other from afar. They rarely spoke in person due to their demanding careers, but Yuki silently followed her progress, checking her stats after every game. He admired her resilience and dedication, though he would never admit it outright.

As he stretched his legs and began tidying up for the night, the sharp sound of the doorbell broke the silence. His brow furrowed in confusion; it was late, and he wasn’t expecting anyone. Tossing a towel over his shoulder, he walked to the door, unlocking it cautiously.

To his surprise, Mayu stood there, her duffel bag slung over one shoulder and a shy smile on her face.

“Mayu?” Yuki blinked, caught off guard. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey,” she said casually, though her cheeks were slightly flushed. “I was in the area, and… well, I figured I’d drop by. You’re not busy, are you?”

“Busy? No, I just…” Yuki glanced back at the television, where the paused image of Mayu still glowed on the screen. He coughed, trying to play it cool. “Uh, come in.”

Mayu stepped inside, slipping off her sneakers and looking around. “Nice place,” she said, setting her bag down. “So, are you going to offer me anything, or do I have to raid your fridge?”

Yuki rolled his eyes but headed to the kitchen. “What are you really doing here, Mayu? It’s not like you to show up unannounced.”

“I wanted to watch your game tomorrow,” she said simply, leaning against the counter. “You’re playing against your old team, right? Tatsunori’s on that squad now.”

Yuki’s hand froze mid-reach for the cupboard. “You came all this way just to watch that?”

Mayu shrugged. “It’s a big game for you. And since I’m close by for once, I thought… why not?”

Yuki didn’t reply immediately, focusing instead on pouring two glasses of water. He handed one to her, his expression unreadable. “Well, it’s not exactly a rivalry or anything. Tatsunori and I are still on good terms.”

“That’s not the point,” Mayu said, narrowing her eyes at him. “I don’t get to watch you play live very often. I thought it’d be nice. Or is that a problem?”

“No, it’s not,” Yuki said quickly, though he still seemed flustered. “It’s just… unexpected. You’ve never done this before.”

Mayu rolled her eyes, plopping down onto the couch. Her gaze flickered to the television, and her jaw dropped when she saw herself frozen on the screen, trophy in hand. “Wait a second… were you watching my game?”

Yuki scratched the back of his neck, feeling cornered. “I… might have been.”

She raised an eyebrow, a teasing smirk forming. “Wow, I didn’t know you were such a fan.”

“Don’t get cocky,” Yuki muttered, sitting on the armchair opposite her. “It was a good game. You deserved the award.”

The room fell into a comfortable silence for a moment before Mayu broke it. “Thanks, Yuki. That… means a lot.”

He glanced at her, surprised by the softness in her voice. “Yeah, well, don’t let it get to your head.”

They spent the rest of the evening catching up, something they rarely had time for. Mayu talked about her team’s upcoming matches, while Yuki shared some insights about his own training and the challenges of playing against his former teammates. It was awkward at first, but as the night went on, their conversation grew more natural, peppered with the occasional sarcastic remark or sibling jab.

Later, as Mayu settled into the guest room, she called out from the hallway, “Hey, Yuki?”

“Yeah?” he replied from his room.

“Good luck tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll be cheering for you.”

A small smile tugged at his lips. “Thanks, Mayu. Get some rest.”

As he turned off the lights, Yuki couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his chest. Their relationship might have been distant and awkward at times, but moments like this reminded him of the unspoken bond they shared—a bond forged not just by blood, but by mutual respect and quiet support.

The morning arrived sooner than expected, sunlight streaming through the blinds of Yuki’s apartment. He woke up to the faint sound of pots clinking in the kitchen. It was a rare and unfamiliar noise—his mornings were usually quiet, filled only with his thoughts or the occasional podcast. Throwing on a hoodie, he padded out to find Mayu in the kitchen, fumbling with a frying pan.

“What… are you doing?” Yuki asked, leaning against the doorway.

Mayu turned around with a sheepish grin. “Attempting to make breakfast. Don’t get your hopes up—I’m still figuring it out.”

Yuki smirked, crossing his arms. “I’m surprised you’re even trying. I thought the only thing you knew how to make was instant ramen.”

“Hey!” she retorted, flipping an egg that landed messily on the edge of the pan. “I can make... other stuff too. Like burnt toast.”

Yuki laughed, shaking his head. “Move over before you set the place on fire.”

He took over the stove, efficiently making scrambled eggs and toast while Mayu leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “You’re oddly domestic for someone who lives alone,” she said, smirking.

“Just because I don’t make a mess everywhere like you doesn’t mean I can’t cook,” he replied, sliding a plate toward her.

As they sat at the small dining table, a comfortable silence settled over them, broken only by the occasional clink of forks on plates. It felt oddly normal—like they’d done this a hundred times before, even though they hadn’t.

“So,” Mayu began, breaking the quiet, “how do you feel about today’s game?”

Yuki chewed thoughtfully before answering. “It’s just another game, really. Tatsunori knows my style, but I know his too. It’ll be interesting.”

“‘Just another game,’ huh?” Mayu said, raising an eyebrow. “You always downplay everything.”

“It’s true,” he said with a shrug. “What about you? When’s your next match?”

“Day after tomorrow,” she said. “Coach gave us a light schedule after yesterday’s win, so I have time.”

Yuki nodded, finishing his coffee. “You should probably head to the arena early if you want good seats.”

“Already got tickets,” Mayu said, smirking. “Front row.”

“Of course you did,” he muttered, shaking his head.

---

The arena was buzzing with energy as Yuki stepped onto the court for warmups. The crowd was alive with cheers and chatter, but he found himself glancing toward the stands. Sure enough, there she was—Mayu, seated in the front row, her arms folded as she watched intently. She wasn’t the type to hold up signs or shout encouragement, but her presence was enough.

Tatsunori, warming up on the opposing side, caught sight of Yuki and jogged over. “I see you brought a guest,” he teased, nodding toward Mayu. “Nice to see her in person for once. She’s as competitive as you, huh?”

Yuki smirked. “Don’t let her quiet demeanor fool you. She’s tougher than she looks.”

As the game began, Yuki found himself more focused than usual. Knowing Mayu was there added a layer of pressure, but it also fueled him. Every spike, every block, every dive—he played with precision and determination. Tatsunori, as expected, was a formidable opponent, but Yuki held his own, leading his team through tight sets.

During a particularly intense rally in the third set, Yuki executed a powerful spike that sealed the point. The crowd erupted, and for a brief moment, he glanced at Mayu. She didn’t cheer loudly like the others but gave him a subtle nod of approval, a small smile playing on her lips.

By the end of the match, Yuki’s team emerged victorious. As he walked off the court, sweat-soaked and exhausted, he saw Mayu waiting near the tunnel.

“Not bad,” she said, handing him a water bottle. “I guess you can still hold your own.”

“Coming from you, I’ll take that as high praise,” he replied, smirking. “Enjoy the game?”

“Yeah,” she admitted, looking away as if embarrassed. “It was good to see you in action. You’ve improved.”

They walked out of the arena together, the night air cool against their skin. “You know,” Yuki said after a moment, “you didn’t have to come all this way.”

Mayu shrugged, her expression softening. “I wanted to. I know we don’t see each other much, and… I thought it’d be nice.”

Yuki glanced at her, his usual stoic demeanor softening. “It was. Thanks for coming.”

As they walked back to his apartment, the silence between them wasn’t awkward—it was filled with a quiet understanding. They might not have been the type of siblings who said everything out loud, but in their own way, they showed up for each other when it mattered most. And for Yuki, that was more than enough.

[junosmindpalace]

students returning home from school filed into the neighbourhood, animated conversation vibrating through the air. the sun shone down brightly, yet the breeze coaxed out a few shudders, provoking kids to huddle into themselves, students who anticipated the cold snuggling into their scarves and jackets.

it was a chilly afternoon, the remnants of summer slowly fading with the green of the leaves and the first indicator of autumn weaving through the group of kids. you hadn’t anticipated the chill like some of your classmates, which is why you clinged to tooru more so than usual. not that he was complaining in the slightest.

your arms and fingers were intertwined, and you leaned against each other lovingly. it was truly a romantic sight; such a cliché display of young love, yet it never got stale in the eyes of passersbys, gushing in their minds over the sweet show of affection. tooru leaned down as his eyes crinkled, laughing with you about something you had said. he always loved being so close to your face, admiring the light in your eyes, taking in the sight of your smile. 

there wasn’t anything more heartwarming, both to you and your boyfriend and the pedestrians who passed by, small smiles playing on their own lips as you walked practically joined at the hip. 

you shuddered against him when the breeze reached you, leaning your head against his arm as you continued your conversation while walking. “-oh! and i was confused when i saw her jacket, ‘cause apparently it was supposed to be warm today, but i think i’ll pick up mine from home on our way to lunch.” 

a branch snapped off its tree. the two of you paused in your tracks. you realized the error of what you had done as soon as the words came out of your mouth. wide, blank eyes blinked up at one another in a comedic fashion. and then everything happened at once.

tooru immediately went to rip off his jacket, but you reacted a slight bit faster, reaching over to grab his wrists. you struggled against one another, teeth gritting as you attempted to resist each others actions. 

“oikawa tooru, keep your damn jacket on.” you gritted out, mustering up all the strength you could against your athlete boyfriend. he bared his teeth at you.

“you’re cold. i’m giving you my jacket.” your boyfriend seethed just as menacingly.

tooru was a romantic. so romantic and gentlemanly he was that it made your heart race at how deeply he cared for you. the way he wasn’t even the least bit shameful (much to the dismay of his teammates) just made all the kind things he did count all the more. 

but you knew he tended to prioritize you over himself. tooru oikawa always loved a little extra, always had a habit of putting the things he cared about before his own well-being. you worried for him on these instances, but tooru’d only ruffle your hair and reassure you that he’d be, or he was, alright, even if it was obvious he wasn’t. most times, you were able to take care of yourself and only felt bad for making him worry. 

you had slipped up this time, knowing before the last of the words came out what would happen. you only wanted to look out for him the same way he looks out for you. especially with the cold weather and tooru’s rigorous training did he need to stay warm. but the two of you were equally stubborn, and neither would back down so easily.

the loving sight had dissolved almost instantly. passerby’s didn’t know what to make of this new progression besides the fact that the two must’ve resented each other. 

you managed to keep him in place for a while, but you were only delaying the inevitable. eventually, tooru was able to free himself from your hold and in a swift instant yank off his jacket and throw it over your shoulders, keeping his hands in place so you wouldn’t shrug it off.

“tooru!”

but he only gave you a cat-like grin, rubbing his hands up and down your arms before wrapping his arm around you again and kissing the crown of your head, humming contentedly. 

you sighed, knowing that all the berating in the world wouldn’t stop oikawa tooru from putting your needs above his. it was how he was- with volleyball, with school, and of course, with you. he never meant to be smothering with his affection, it was just the way he was.

and so you gave into the comforting scent of his body wash and cologne that lingered on the fabric and leaned against him yet again, the heartwarming display of young love restored.

[thesassypadawan]

Under My Tree *part 1* (Knight Obi-Wan x RealWorldFemReader)

Summary: It’s Christmas Eve. Your knight is nowhere to be found and all you want is a cozy rendezvous under your tree. (Pairs well with *NSYNC’s song Under My Tree)

Warnings: A lot of the fluffy and just a little bit of the dirty talk.

Note: Wizard *part 2*

It was Christmas Eve. Stars twinkled merrily in the night sky, as snow fell softly to the ground. All so magical, all so romantic…but it wasn’t the same without him.

You had held out the hope that your knight would have joined you this evening. However, as the party progressed on, it was clear that he was not.

You understood that there were certain duties he had to attend to and, let’s face it, crossing between your realms wasn’t exactly the easiest of feats. But that didn’t mean you still weren’t heartbroken over his absence…especially at times like this.

None the less, you had a nice time. You laughed with new and old friends. Caught up with relatives that you rarely got to see. Indulged in some delicious treats. You even enjoyed a cup of good cheer or two.

Such a wonderful gathering. You were sad when it finally came to an end, and you had to make the lonely trek back home.

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

Dusting the stray flakes off yourself, you pushed open the front door and was met with…

Nothing. No music. No twinkling lights. No happy, warm greeting. Not even a worn cloak or pair of boots in the entryway. Absolutely nothing.

With a heavy sigh, you shrugged off your coat and made your way to the living room. Maybe a cheesy holiday movie would help lift your spirits.

As you reached for the switch, the room magically came to life.

The tree shone brightly. All around you candles flickered. A familiar Christmas tune played. Even a fire crackled in the hearth.

And there…tucked beneath the branches…surrounded by a bunch of fluffy blankets and pillows…wearing a Santa hat…posed rather sexily was… “Hello there.”

“Well, hello there yourself,” you giggled, a surprised look on your face.

Offering you a glass of wine, Obi-Wan asked enticingly. “Care to join me for a cozy rendezvous?”

“Just relax, enjoy the view?” You reply playfully, accepting the drink and cuddling up with him inside the little Xmas nest.

“I’ll show you how good it could be,” Obi hummed, wrapping a strong arm around your waist.

“I wish that Santa could be here… Oh, wait, he already is.” You mischievously gave his beard a tiny tug.

Obi-Wan jokingly made a “oof” sound and pulled you in closer. “Careful now, darling; that’s how you’ll end up with your stocking filled with coal.”

Leaning your head against his shoulder, your grinned up at Obi not so innocently. “Then I’ll be sure to do it a few more times tonight.” And gave another tug.

“Such a naughty little girl,” he teased into your ear, fingers trailing lazily down your arm.

“You’re one to talk, Kenobi Claus,” you purred, shivering at his touch. “I know that’s not a candy cane I’m feeling in your pocket.”

Emphasizing your point with a flick of your hips.

“True,” he groaned, trying to keep his composure. “However, it’s a much better gift than what you think.”

“Oh, and what would that be?”

“Close your eyes,” Obi-Wan whispered huskily. “And no peeking.”

Doing as he said, you felt an invisible hand snake between your bodies. Tenderly caressing down your back, eliciting a small moan from you, before disappearing into his pocket.

You squirmed in anticipation, from the feathery strokes along your posterior. Your mind was abuzz with excitement for what would come next. Except, nothing could prepare you for…

“Open them.”

…a box hovering in the air. A ring resting inside. “Obi,” you muttered softly.

“Attachment is forbidden for us jedi, it’s said to lead to the dark side. I was once a firm believer in this, until you came along. Although our meeting wasn’t normal or logical by any means, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know nothing about our relationship has been easy, but we’ve made it work so wonderfully. You’re the light of my life, the other half of my heart. Will you marry me?”

Obi-Wan’s words hung heavily in the air.

This man that you cared for dearly. Your precious knight that you loved so deeply. He wanted to…

“Yes,” you said shakily, tears of joy in your eyes. “I will marry you.”

Nuzzling your neck affectionately, he murmured. “Extend your left hand, dear one.”

Doing just that, you watched as Obi used the force to place the silver-colored ring on your finger.

“I realize it’s not the fanciest, but I made it myself,” he explained. "The band is a piece of my padawan braid encased in carbonite and the jewel… Well, it’s a sliver of my lightsaber’s kyber crystal.”

Tilting your hand, you admired how the blue twinkled in the tree’s lights. “It’s perfect,” you said happily. “Just like you.”

Looking back, you twisted yourself around in his hold. With a flash of a tiny grin, you pounced on top of Obi-Wan. Sending you both crashing back into the mound of pillows.

You gave him a passionate kiss, which he returned tenfold. Obi even went as far as to roll and capture you beneath himself. Showering your face and neck with kisses, until you were a laughing mess.

“O-Obi! Stop! I-I can’t breathe!” You squealed, trying to stop the barrage from his lips.

“Sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t help it,” he chuckled, pressing his forehead to yours. “You just made me the happiest man in both galaxies.”

Gazing deeply into each other’s eyes. You lace your fingers together. Both whispering, “I love you”. And, in that stolen moment, nothing else mattered. It was a very Merry Christmas…it was truly beautiful under your tree.

[darkstar225]

Twice's 10th member during Sixteen ft 6mix

A/N: I got an ask on Tumblr from one of my besties on Tumblr and I loved writing it, ty bae! :D

The request: i will ask anything I want >:D lol, this is a pre-debut ask so like 6MIX like Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Sana, Jihyo and idk Jiwon bc she was a jyp trainee. so they only have..can you count? 5 members :D how is that gonna work they got 6 in their name and we aint doing no seventeen bs anyhoo Jiwon really did not wanna be the maknae she was already being babied by nayeon and Jihyo (mainly jihyo) and she was...not enjoying it so she was thrilled that they added y/n as the maknae of 6MIX (even though 6mix never had their official debut)

PS: Tysm for everyone that reads what I write, I hope I can bring a smile to your faces every time I post! I'd like to thank whoever sent me this idea 'cause I loved to write it <3

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In a bustling metropolis, where dreams and aspirations intermingled, five young girls embarked on a journey that would shape their lives forever. Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Sana, Jihyo, and Jiwon were among the talented trainees at JYP Entertainment, part of a group called 6MIX. Their hopes were high, their spirits unyielding, as they aspired to debut and showcase their talents to the world. Among them, Jiwon, though filled with talent and passion, found herself in a peculiar position. As one of the oldest members of 6MIX and already used to being doted upon by Nayeon and Jihyo, she struggled with the thought of becoming the maknae if they debuted. Jiwon had already experienced the role of being the youngest, and it didn't suit her. To her delight, the agency decided to add a new trainee, Y/N, to the group. It was an unusual decision, given that their name implied six members, but the girls were ready to embrace the change.

Y/N was a bright and spirited young girl who had recently joined JYP Entertainment as a trainee. Her talent was undeniable, and her personality was infectious, quickly making her friends with the other members of 6MIX. From the start, she had a natural chemistry with the group and brought a unique charm to their dynamic. As they practised and prepared for their potential debut, the younger girl effortlessly settled into the role of the maknae, and Jiwon was more than relieved to relinquish the position. With Y/N around, Jiwon no longer felt like the centre of attention and found her place as a reliable older sister figure to the young trainee.

Time passed, and their bond grew stronger, despite the uncertainty of their debut. They supported each other during times of doubt and celebrated every small victory. Their friendship extended beyond the practice rooms and stages, as they became inseparable in their daily lives. Yet, fate had different plans for 6MIX. The group never received an official debut, and their journey took an unexpected turn when they were presented with the opportunity to join a survival program called Sixteen. JYP Entertainment saw this as a chance for the trainees to prove themselves and become part of a new girl group.

Though Jiwon had bonded with her favourite dongsaeng, she decided to pursue a different path. She left the company and joined another, hoping to find her own way to stardom. Despite her departure, Jiwon remained close with the members of 6MIX, knowing that true friendship knew no boundaries.

The remaining five members of 6MIX embarked on Sixteen, each determined to secure a spot in the upcoming girl group. They showcased their skills, poured their hearts out, and faced various challenges throughout the competition. The days were long and tiresome, but their unwavering support for each other fueled their determination to succeed.

As the show progressed, the youngest's presence shone brightly. Her radiant smile and charismatic performances captured the hearts of the audience and judges alike. She made friends easily, always displaying genuine care and concern for others. Despite her talent, 6MIX's angel remained humble and grounded, never letting fame get to her head. Throughout the competition, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Sana, and Jihyo stood by their girl's side, cheering her on with pride. They knew that she embodied the spirit of 6MIX and was a vital piece in the puzzle that would soon become their debut girl group.

The final episode of Sixteen arrived, and the anticipation was palpable. Y/N found herself among the nine trainees who had successfully secured a place in the new girl group, TWICE. With tears of joy streaming down their faces, the five original members of 6MIX embraced the girl they saw as their little sister, celebrating her success as if it were their own.

TWICE debuted with a bang, and their popularity skyrocketed. The bond between the members was unbreakable, stemming from their days as 6MIX. Y/N's addition to the group had transformed them, creating a harmonious balance that complemented each other's strengths. As TWICE took the world by storm, Jiwon cheered from the sidelines, proud of her friends' accomplishments. She might have taken a different path, but she always cherished the memories and experiences they shared as 6MIX. Despite not being part of TWICE, she remained a part of their lives, an irreplaceable friend who would forever be in their hearts.

TWICE's journey was filled with highs and lows, but their unyielding friendship carried them through every challenge. They continued to support and lift each other, standing united through thick and thin. Y/N, the youngest member of TWICE, grew and blossomed alongside her unnies. She never forgot the bond she had formed with the members of 6MIX, treasuring the friendship that was forged before they even became TWICE.

And so, in the book of K-pop history, the tale of 6MIX would remain a daily reminder of the power of friendship and how an unexpected addition could bring about a harmonious destiny. Theirs was a story of dreams, love, and music. A story that would be forever etched in the hearts of those who followed their journey, proving that some bonds are meant to last a lifetime. And with that, Y/N could only have one thought:

I am so proud of my dear unnies.

A/N: I apologise for any errors, English is not my first language. Pls, let me know if there's something wrong, ty for reading <3

[k-hyunjae]

One Kiss...

The Lights in Seoul shone brightly as Yuqi and Soyeon strolled through the streets, they were going home after a nice day out shopping. The other members didnt wanna go, they just didnt understand the beauty of spending money for the fun of it. It was cold, this was normal for that time of day, but only one of the pair came prepared. “Soyeon im absolutely freezing and my arms hurt from carrying these bags cant we just take a taxi?” Yuqi shuddered. Soyeon looked at her with that same passion in her eyes, she always denied having feelings for Yuqi but everyone knew she did, but she was just too scared to admit it. “Here… give me your bags, and take this.” She pulled off her thick jacket and wrapped it around Yuqi, she let out a deep breath as she was overcome with warmth. “Thats too kind, thank you, dont push yourself if you dont need to, the bags are heavy” Yuqi said. “Im okay, lets just worry about getting you home and warmed up okay?” Soyeon hummed. She was so cold, but as long as Yuqi was happy, she was okay.

They reached their house and dashed in, Yuqi collapsed onto the sofa and Soyeon headed to the kitchen to make her some hot cocoa. She couldnt help but admire Yuqi, she looked so pretty, lit up by the fireplace. But she couldnt say anything to her about it, she would never reciprocate the feelings. She brought the drink to Yuqi and she smiled brightly as she took a large sip from the mug in her hands. Soyeon sat beside her, “Better now?” “Mmm, yes, thank you so much, have some” She purred as she handed Soyeon the warm mug. They spent the rest of the night talking and laughing and watching movies on netflix, there couldnt be anything to make the night better, that they knew of.. Yuqi turned to Soyeon, “soo.. Random question, you ever.. Done stuff with a girl?or had like a one night stand with a girl?” She was taken aback by this question, she didnt expect that from Yuqi, she gave off the vibe that she was innocent, perhaps not. “Ummm well, yes, but its never really been good. Y’know our song? ‘Oh my god’? Thats kinda like about my fantasy i guess, even if i wanted to do anything with a girl again, it wouldnt happen, nobody has really showed any interest in me like that.” She hung her head, feeling slightly embarrassed. Yuqi took her hand, “Soyeon, youre a beautiful, smart, funny woman, any girl would be lucky to have you, honestly im jealous of anyone whos had you in the past.” Yuqi covered her mouth, shocked at what she just said.

Soyeon looked her in the eyes, “what are you trying to say Yuqi?” “Im trying to say.. That i have feelings for you? I have for quite a while..but i never said anything. I was sca-” Without getting to finish her sentence, Soyeon took Yuqi’s face in her hands and kissed her deeply. At first, it was soft and sweet, but it slowly progressed to be more aggressive. They both wanted it, and they both knew it. Before Soyeon knew it, she felt Yuqi pull herself onto her lap, she had been waiting for this moment for the longest time. Every time they accidentally touch hands, every time they shared a joke, every time they found themself changing infront of eachother. She could never take her eyes off her perfect body. Curves in all the right places, skin glistening from the body cream she used. She was perfect in every single way. So many images were racing through Soyeon’s head as she felt her hands going through Yuqi’s hair, and Yuqi’s hair tracing every inch of her body. She couldnt take it.

They pulled away and Soyeon growled, “youre so fucking beautiful” before laying her down infront of the fire place and laying ontop of her, bringing her into another kiss. Yuqi had been also waiting for this moment for ages, everyone thought she was an innocent angel, but they wouldnt say that if they were inside her head when she was looking at Soyeon, everytime they were on stage together she just wanted to take her right then and there. Time seemed to have stood still, nothing else was moving, to them, they were the only two people in the world in that moment. Soyeon let out a gasp when she felt Yuqi’s hand find her way up her skirt, and she groaned at the pleasure of her touch. It was better than she ever imagined. “Youre taking me so well, you want more my love?” Yuqi hummed. Soyeon twitched at the softness in her voice, “please” she replied Already high on the feel of her wetness, Yuqi’s hand started vibrating against her, causing Soyeon to start rolling her hips with the motion of her hand. It didnt take long for her to cum, after all shed been waiting for this moment for so long and she couldnt hold back, covering her mouth as she moaned Yuqi’s name with such passion and volume that it was a surprise they didnt get a noise complaint.

Little did Soyeon know. Yuqi had two hands, so she wasnt just making Soyeon cum. She had her hands down her own pants as she went to town on the girl she had wanted for what seemed like forever. Soyeon collapsed onto her, wrapping Yuqi into a tight hug as they cuddled by the fire, not changing positions, this felt right. They wasnt going to address the fact that this couldnt be made known to anyone, their careers would be ruined, and their friendships. Yuqi held soyeons chin, “yknow, we could make this a regular thing, i know we cant be together, we can just be friends who fuck from time to time..?” Soyeon smiled, and pecked Yuqi on the lips before replying, “I’m sure we can be sneaky and work that out…

…just dont you go falling in love.”

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this was written in like 10 minutes or so, because it was requested by my bestiee, so i hope you guys like it, she told me i should post it ._.

[spring-lxcked]

@aquaticflora asked: ❝ it's almost two o'clock in the morning! what are you doing here? ( from michael <:3c ) ❞ ( misc sentence prompts )

The voice pulled William from his work, tools set aside so he could check his watch. He had lost track of time. Again. His response came in the form of a smirk cast over his shoulder, "I could ask you the same. You should be asleep." It wasn't a particularly scolding statement. No, that tone became etched into his words when he added, "I told you not to come in here alone." William's workshop—well, the one situated in the leftmost side of the basement of his home. His active creations were never kept within the home, but even these sparsely put together pieces could cause damage. Finally, William turned to face Michael. "Or were you looking for me?" His gaze flitted from Michael to his current project—just a skeletal beginning of what it would soon be. William's expression shifted, a genuine smile finding its way onto his face. He gestured for Michael to come closer. "Come here." He stepped to the side, revealing the animatronic-in-progress. For the most part, it was an endoskeleton, if a different design. William's design, entirely unique. However, the head and neck were in place over the endoskeleton, the brightly colored vulpine-esque creature kept in place with holders. "It's alright, it's unpowered." And here a sort of honest joy shone through William's often poised performance. Part of it was an honest, innocent sort—the joy of showing off one of his creations. The other part, however, was knowing he was creating something veritably dangerous, showing it off to his son who could not know any better.

"This," he began, "is my new variation of Foxy." He reached out to carefully shift a faceplate, not enough to pull it away from the endoskeleton, but enough to mimic the movement he hoped it might one day make on stage. "This one won't be a pirate, but it's much more. . . dynamic than the previous iterations." Reaching out, he placed a hand on Michael's shoulder. "What do you think, Michael? Will it be a success?" The answer didn't matter—William had plenty of pride in his own work. Still, he looked to Michael as though the response was paramount.

[makishinichi]

some thoughts about look back under the cut

im unfamiliar with fujimoto's works, but there were high praises for the film so i decided to just go ahead and watch it. im glad i did!

in all honesty, considering how each new chapter of chainsaw man spawns endless discourse on social media, i was expecting to be shocked in some way. to my surprise, the plot was rather predictable. as the story progressed, i could smell the character death coming from a mile away. but ultimately, i dont think this movie is meant to have a shocking or unexpected plot line. more importantly, the author/director wanted to convey obvious messages to the viewers. the childhood days fujino spent drawing brought back old memories of my own childhood. the death of kyomoto due to an enraged artist was reminiscent of the tragedy that happened at kyoani years ago. the sequence of fujino working without rest on her manga echoed the many complaints made by artists working in manga and animation companies. i felt that these situations were stories the author and director wanted to highlight and show their audience. it wasnt unpredictable because these stories have already happened and are still happening. it wasn't meant to shock the audience, but rather, it made the audience "look back" on their own memories and on themselves.

there have been many high praises about the animation work in the movies, and as someone who knows nothing about animation i will leave that to the experts. but one thing i loved most about the movie was the music sequence. grand and beautiful music played as fujino (and kyomoto) struggled, celebrated, and everything in between. it felt like each failure and each success was deserving of a beautiful score. your effort will never be a waste! even when you gave up on your art, the experiences you gained during that time shaped you into the person that you are! even when fujino felt that nothing good came out of her art, she reminisced on the time she shared with kyomoto. perhaps her art really did lead to kyomoto's demise. but on the flip side, how could she say that nothing good came out of the art she drew, when she remembered so many cherished memories with kyomoto?

it was a beautiful movie, deserving of the hype. if you want something unpredictable, perhaps this isnt the movie. but it was a movie with a lot of heart, and the ultimate message the author wanted to convey - that effort is never a waste - shone brightly throughout this wonderfully crafted film. it was something i appreciated and cherished, even without being an existing fan of fujimoto's work. i highly recommend it!

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Reader x Wei and Wing Imagine Part Two - When Korra decided to stick around in Zafou for a while you were pleased for two reasons, their names were Wei and Wing.

Part one here

I’ve tagged some people who wanted a part two, sorry it took so long!! Tagged: @dangerouslysimping @tincdraws​

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Even since you’d caught their attention that first day the boys were smitten so you saw a LOT of them. You began training with them pretty regularly and team avatar picked up on the fact the twins seemed to occupy all your time.

You were enjoying a nice afternoon together with your friends when you spotted the time and realised your plans with the twins were starting soon. You waited until Bolin and Mako finished bickering with a fond smile before standing up and Bolin immediately frowned “noooo” he cried “we just got here you can’t go!”. “We’ve been here 40 minutes” you pointed out but he just crossed his arms “so?”. You laughed along with the others and Mako looked at you “so where are you heading off to?”. “Do you really need to ask?” Korra smirked and you rolled your eyes. “Ahhh the twins” Mako said with a smirk and you threw a rock at Korra. The gang liked to comment a lot on your situation with the twins and Korra was the worst for it. “Hey don’t attack me you’re the one dating them both”. “we’re not dating we’re just...having fun” you shrugged and Asami laughed “that what you’re calling it huh?”. Korra chuckled “I mean i get it they’re both attractive powerful benders like you....why wouldn’t you want to have fun with them?”. “Exactly” you nodded gathering your stuff and Korra smirked. “Plus I bet the metal bending comes in handy in lots of ways hey y/n?" Korra smirked and Asami laughed along with her. "What does that even mean?" you asked confused and Korra shrugged watching Asami with a smile "I don’t know but I bet the fact they’re both so physically fit being metal benders comes in handy". You frowned “I never thought about it that way just because they’re metal benders...Asami what’s your experience with metal benders being more physically capable?”. Asami paused “Why would I....”. “Well because Korra’s a metal bender I figured you’d know all about that” you grinned as both the girls went bright red and babbled while Mako laughed. “And on that note goodbye” you smirked and headed off.

“You’re late” Wing called as you reached the yard and you frowned “I know sorry I got lost, your home is huge”. “Yeah we’re pretty rich” Wei commented and you laughed shaking your head “yeah? Well maybe you should hire a bodyguard for these training sessions? I’ve been kicking you around so much it should be illegal”. Wing smirked as Wei’s swagger dropped and he stumbled over words trying to think of a comeback. “Don’t strain too hard” you smiled sweetly and patted his shoulder before walking out onto the yard. Wing followed you still smiling and you glanced at him “does that smile mean you forgive me for being late?”. “Totally” he grinned and you smiled, Wing had a really nice smile especially when the sun shone off his face like that....you were distracted from your staring as people called out Wing’s name. You looked up and saw there were some spectators today. You didn’t recognise any of them but you soon saw why, they were clearly here for Wing and Wei only. “Who is that?” you asked smirking and Wing looked at you awkwardly “some...friends”. “Just friends?” you asked smiling and Wei appeared “why are you jealous?”. “You wish” you grinned catching the helmet he tossed to you and throwing it to the side “no helmets, my trainer told me they’re crutches that dim your bending, she said earth bending is all about taking risks and showing brute strength”. “You know the more you talk about this swamp woman the less i think she’s real” Wing commented and you went to argue the crazy swamp lady was totally real when Wei waved to the girls above making them all cheer. You watched slightly annoyed at how much Wei seemed to enjoy the attention and he smirked “you done talking yet?”. “You done showing off to your girlfriends?”. “Just about” he smirked and you rolled your eyes.

You would all start off stood an equal distance from one another and attack one another fairly. But Wei and Wing had a habit of forming an alliance against you and it was their favourite thing to do when they were losing. They did it whenever you got into a good rhythm and as soon as you were getting into your stride they crept closer. It was always harder when they could help one another so you actively tried to keep them apart. You loosened Wing’s footing and launched an attack at Wei focusing all your attention on him. “You’ve got this Wei” a spectator called and you heard several other girls cheer him on. Given this advancement you began attacking Wei harder. He was hardly blocking your attacks and Wing just watched. “Aren’t you going to help?” Wei called but Wing just shrugged “nah i’m good”. The girls began chanting for Wei and it only made you smile because he was going to lose. You moved closer and closer, your attacks only marginally missing him and he was struggling big time. You felt the winning strike as you released it and could see Wei knew it was over too. You heard the crowd above gasp as your disk roughly crashed into Wei and smirked slightly. “I quite like your cheerleaders Wei” you called as he stood back up slowly “their gasps of concern really warm my heart”. Wei rolled his eye as Wing laughed. “Whatever you’re just jealous”. You snorted “maybe if you were a better metal bender but at the moment....”. You were suddenly interrupted by shouting. “What are you doing in here this is private property!” a voice called and the girls all began to argue. Bataar junior appeared in view and spotted you all “Wei how many times have i told you no sneaking your cheerleaders in here!”. Wei shrugged “ahhh come on Bataar, I can’t disappoint these lovely ladies”. You rolled your eyes at the same time as Wing and Bataar junior. “Well I can” Bataar junior replied coldly “out!” he yelled and all the girls began to disperse. “Bye Wei! bye Wing” they called and walked away. Wei watched them go before his eyes fell to his oldest brother “so were you just here to ruin my fun or did you need something?”. Bataar glared “I am here because I need your help, I need someone to metal bend the new machine me and dad are working on, mom’s busy with the avatar, Huan would never do it and I can’t think of anyone else, so one of you need to come help me”. Wei and Wing looked at one another. “Not it!” Wei cried suddenly and Wing swore “really we’re doing that? Are we four?”. “Yep, it’s the easiest way and you lost so run along and leave me and y/n alone” Wei smirked stepping closer to you. You saw Wing look down at that clearly unhappy with that scenario and stepped forwards “don’t worry you won’t miss much, I was only toying with Wei to keep the match going but now you’re gone I won’t have much motivation to...”. Wing smiled “ow really?” and you nodded “yeah why did you think I was going easy on you? Your eyes look really good in this sunlight”. Wing blushed and you smiled seeing the shyer twin react to compliments. “Okay well I’ll go help Bataar and see you guys later?”. You nodded “totally” and smiled. Wing smiled brightly at you before walking away still wearing a dazed look.

You turned back around to see Wei heading towards the other end of the field. “Wei?” you asked and when he didn’t reply you followed him. “Wei?” you called and he looked over his shoulder “ow well I was just thinking if you’re worried I might be too boring for you how about we make the stakes a bit higher?” he asked. He pulled a lever and parts of the ground fell away to reveal different terrains and objects. “Nice, why have you never shown me this?” you asked and Wei shrugged “my dad only just finished making it, he wanted to go a big show of it with a lot of people but as we’re alone I figured we could give it a test run?”. “Totally” you grinned excited to use the different terrains and surfaces to your advantage. “And one more thing to make sure i definitely can’t bore you....” Wei pulled out two pieces of cloth “why not do it blind?”.

You’d trained blind before, your earthbending teacher had made you do it all blind initially but that had been a while ago so you were a little out of practice. Combine that with an unfamiliar environment and terrain you hadn’t experienced before and you were way out of your depth. But you’d never admit that to Wei. You walked to your end of the field and tightly tied the bandage around your eyes. You took a strong stance and let Wei attack first. You deflected his shots without retaliation and just worked on getting your bearings. “What’s wrong?” Wei called “not so confident anymore”. You heard his voice come from your left so sent a disk that way. You heard a soft grunt and smiled “and that’s why you shouldn’t talk so much loudmouth”. “Good point” Wei called back and then went silent. So silent you couldn’t even hear him moving. That made you panic.

You moved away from your position as quietly as you could, trying to make sure Wei wouldn’t know where to find you. You were making good progress when you stepped onto a new terrain with a loud crunch. You winced as immediately attacks were sent flying at you. You managed to dodge some by instinct and began moving quicker trying to escape Wei’s range. You lightly ran over the terrain but Wei just followed you. He seemed to gain on you no matter where you ran and so you stopped and maintained your ground. You were on some loose rocky terrain so footing wasn’t good but at least now Wei had to block your attacks. You sent rock and metal flying at him but after a while you didn’t hear anything. “You know...you’re not as good at this as I thought you’d be” Wei said suddenly right next to you. You jumped and backed up but hit a wall. “Yeah...we’ll i’m not done yet”. You strook out at Wei but he sensed that. Wei retaliated by moving the earth beneath your feet making you slip and he took his opportunity. While you were trying to stay upright, he snapped metal around your waist and fixed it to the wall without any hesitation. He simultaneously secured your hands in rocks meaning you couldn’t move. You grunted in shock and breathed heavily, utterly surprised and a little bit annoyed that you’d lost. “I think I win” Wei said coming into view as he tugged your blindfold off your face. “Of course you’d say that” you huffed and Wei laughed “you’re pinned against the wall, i have your hands trapped and i’m holding a massive piece of metal”. You shrugged “I could still get out of this”. “Ow really?” Wei asked and you nodded confidently “easily” and Wei laughed. “God you’re stubborn” he grinned watching you. “I know” you said staring at him “you got a problem with that”. “Nope, I actually rather like it” he smiled tracing your jaw lightly “your confidence is...impressive, I’ve never met someone quite like you”. You smiled in reply and just looked up at him “I know”. Wei laughed shaking his head before his eyes fell to your lips. He dropped the restraints from your body but didn’t step away and neither did you. He closed the distance between you and just when his lips were about to touch yours a voice called out “Wei? Are you there?”. Wei paused centimetres away from you and you felt his body slump “sometimes I hate having so many siblings”. You smirked and Wei moved away from you slowly. Wei stepped out of the shadows and looked around “Opal? I’m down here, what’s wrong?” he called. “There you are!” Opal cried with relief “come quick Mum’s fighting with aunt Lin!”.

You and Wei ran to the gardens to see Lin and Su yin were indeed fighting. You gaped shocked at how good they both were. “Korra shouldn’t you....” you called but Bolin shook his head “this is how siblings fight, they’ll be fine”. You raised an eyebrow but were brought out of your thought by Wei and Wing. “Go mom!” Wei called and you saw Wing frown “what’s wrong with you they could get hurt!”. Wei shook his head “mom won’t get hurt she was trained by the greatest earth bender that ever lived!!”. “So? What is she hurts aunt Lin?”. Wei paused “we have really good medics?”. Wing groaned storming off and Wei sighed “someone’s in a bad mood”. “I mean he does have a point” you shrugged “they could both get hurt”. “Yeah” Wei nodded “but Wing’s just jealous that’s why he snapped”. You frowned feeling bad, “maybe one of us should go after him?”. Wei nodded “sure but I know you’ll make more progress than me”. “But he’s your twin, don’t you know him better than anyone?”. “Yes and that’s why I know without a doubt you running after him will definitely improve his mood”. You laughed shaking your head “fine, i’ll go comfort your brother”. Wei nodded “have fun, but not as much as we had of course...”. Wei grinned at you suggestively and you looked down blushing. “I’ll see you” you replied after a brief pause and rushed after Wing. 

You caught up to Wing quite quickly and spotted him not far away on the path. “Wing!” you called and he paused “y/n?”. “Are you okay?” you asked “Wei thought that was a bit unprovoked”. “I’m fine” Wing sighed “just....I have to finish doing this for Bataar”. You nodded your head “how about I help you? Two metal benders will get it done faster than one”. Wing smiled softly “sure, it’s this way”. He led you into a large laboratory and you whistled impressed. Your job was literally just straightening out some pieces of metal but there was a lot. You got to work but it was boring and slow. “You know you don’t have to help” Wing called after a few minutes and you smiled “was my face that obvious?”. He nodded “go find Wei, it’s okay I don’t mind”. You frowned at how Wing said that, as if you would obviously prefer Wei. You enjoyed your time with Wing just as much as your time with Wei, but Wing didn’t seem to expect that. “No I promised to do this and so I’m going to finish this if it kills me”. Wing laughed and then frowned in thought “well we could talk, that could make it go faster?”. You nodded your head “sure what do you want to talk about? Metal bending? The avatar? How rich you are?”. “I have a question actually” Wing replied and you nodded “shoot”. “What’s your family like?” Wing asked and you paused “mine?”. “Yeah...I just realised I never ever asked, I can’t believe how rude Wei and I have been that we didn’t even ask you about your family”. You laughed “it’s fine, my family is good! Small but good, it’s just me my mom and dad, we were kind of outsiders in our tribe. The water nation isn’t progressive and so many people were wary of my earth nation dad and then me too when I developed earth bending...but then I met Korra and that all changed! Being her friend literally overnight changed my life. My family was no longer shunned but respected and acknowledged and it was all because Korra ordered it” you said smiling fondly “Korra...she’s my best friend in the entire world”. You were cut off from your speech by said best friend. Korra, Asami, Mako and Bolin were walking by and they all of course spotted you. Korra grinned as she looked from you to Wing.  “Well what do we have here?” she asked strutting into the room “the sparring wasn’t enough to get rid of all that tension I see”. You sighed and looked at Wing “forget everything I just told you, Korra I will kill you if you don’t get out and leave us alone this second!”. “Okay I’m going...just keep it PG in here okay? Avatar’s orders!”. You earth bent her out of the door and groaned “Wing I’m so sorry....” but Wing just smiled a small blush on his face “it’s fine...it’s just what family do”. You nodded your head and Wing glanced at you “what she said was true though...I am glad I got to talk to you privately, sometimes it feels like a constant show between me and Wei when you’re around...so it’s nice to talk without feeling any tension or pressure”. “Yeah it is” you smiled “it’s also nice to just talk and not throw rocks at each other”. Wing smiled “yeah, did i miss much earlier when i went with Bataar?”. You blushed slightly remembering how close Wei had come to kissing you and struggled to look Wing in the eye “not much, he showed me the new special feature your dad worked on”. Wing frowned “we were saving that to show you next week...trust Wei to jump the gun”. “Ow sorry I didn’t know” you frowned but Wing shook his head “it’s not your fault it’s Wei, he loves getting the upper hand but you know what? This time I won’t let him”. Wing stood up suddenly and you jumped as he held out a hand to you “come with me”. “Where are we going?” you asked and Wing grinned “Wei isn’t the only one with secrets to show off”.

You followed Wing into the centre of Zafou to a guard tower. The guard recognised Wing and he managed to talk his way inside the building, telling them his mother wanted him to oversee the procedures tonight, whatever that meant. The guard looked at him and then at you sceptically before letting him inside. Wing led you to the top floor and onto an airship that was waiting to take off. You caught it just in time and watched as it soared into the sky. Wing led you to the front of the airship with huge windows and smiled. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me why we’ve stowed away on an airship?”. Wing shook his head “nope! So don’t bother asking”. You nodded your head “okay fine” and Wing paused “wait that’s it, seriously?”. You smiled “I’m not always unreasonable, if you want me to wait and see...then i’ll do that”. Wing nodded his head “i’m impressed, you deserve the best seats, come on!”. Wing led you to a ladder and grinned at you before climbing. When he reached the top he stepped out of a hole onto the top of the airship and moved so you could follow. “It’s a bit cold and it may be a bit too much if you don’t like heights...” Wing started but you cut him off. Your eyes were instantly captured by the view and he doubted you were listening. “Wow!” you yelled leaning over the railing “this is amazing!” and Wing smiled. He joined you by the railing and pulled you back a bit “these railings aren’t my father’s best piece of work so maybe don’t lean on them too much”. “Got it” you nodded “this is amazing Wing, it’s so beautiful, thank you for showing it to me!”. Wing smiled “this isn’t it yet”. “What else could you show me?” you asked and Wing smiled as the creaking sound started “this”. You watched amazed as the giant metal walls of Zafou began to move. They slowly began to bend down towards the ground and you watched amazed as they began fitting into one another. “The gates....they’re closing to form domes” you said amazed “your dad really is the best architect in the world!”. Wing nodded “he is” and you turned your gaze back to the ground. All over the cities domes were forming as the walls closed to form protected perimeters. The metal looked beautiful and shone in the setting sun sending out blinding reflections. Finally the last dome was sealed just as the sun set. “So did you like it?” Wing asked and you grinned “like it! That was amazing! Just when I think this city can’t get any cooler...thank you for showing me this” you smiled and Wing blushed “no problem”. You smirked as he looked away first and stared out at the sealed domes. “If you’re cold we can go back inside” Wing asked and you smiled “I know I’m an earth bender but i’m half water tribe too, this is nothing”. “Ow yeah” Wing asked and you smiled seeing him shiver “but we can back inside if you want?”. “No it’s fine” Wing said “if we go back inside then we’ll get back quicker”. “But you’re cold” you said pointedly “come on, I won’t think less of you just because you can’t handle the cold”. Wing blushed but nodded. Wing led you back inside and you smiled as he walked swiftly to the heater. The ship landed and you were transported back into the centre of Zafou. You stared up at the closed dome, now amazed by them having seen how they worked and Wing laughed grabbing your arm to stop you from falling over. “Stop staring at the sky” he smiled “it’s not a good gift if it makes you injure yourself”. “I can’t help it” you grinned “and either way it will be an amazing gift I’ll always remember!”. Wing smiled but went quiet in thought “better than Wei’s?” he asked suddenly. You paused wondering how to answer that and Wing sighed “sorry i shouldn’t have asked you that....whatever you and Wei do is between you two”. You nodded your head “it is...and honestly I just have a really good time with both of you, it’s not a competition” you added pointedly and Wing blushed “yeah I I know...but with siblings everything feels like one”. You were going to reply when you came around the corner to your home and found all your friends sat outside but there was a new edition. Wei was sat in the middle of your friends and was in the middle of a story. He stopped abruptly as soon as he saw you and smiled “y/n....and my brother”. “Hi” you smiled “what are you doing here?”. “Well he came to find you but you weren’t here” Korra answered before Wei could speak “you should really keep better track of your boys, one got lost” Korra finished and your eyes widened. “Korra i’m going to kill you” you glared but the others all just laughed. Wei blushed and stood up heading towards you. “I’m sorry I hope you weren’t waiting long?” you asked and Wei shot you a dazzling smile “it’s no problem, I was just nearby and thought i’d stop in that’s all...” before he looked at Wing “have you calmed down from earlier?”. Wing nodded “yeah, y/n helped with that”. You felt the heat rise to your cheeks as Wei tried to decipher the meaning of that. “We went for an airship ride” you clarified and Wei nodded “cute date but bet you didn’t show her the underground caverns? That’s the most beautiful place in Zafou, you have to let me take you to go see them!”. You nodded “yeah sure but can we do it tomorrow? I’m beat...you guys really know how to tire someone out”. The brothers both blushed and you smirked at how alike they were sometimes.  “Of course we’ll get out of your hair” Wing grinned “see you tomorrow y/n”. “Bye y/n” Wei echoed and you waved to them before joining your friends on the grass. “So how were your dates?” Mako asked and you rolled your eyes “ha ha very funny”. “I don’t know how you have the time for two boyfriends” Mako continued and you frowned “well didn’t have two girlfriends at one point? Surely you’d understand?”. Bolin hooted and even Asami and Korra laughed at Mako’s embarrassed expression. “Ouch, point taken I’ll shut up” Mako replied and you smiled. “As much fun as it to see you roasting Mako we have news” Korra said. You stared at her expectantly and Korra took a dramatic pause “we’re leaving tomorrow!”. “Tomorrow?” you asked “so soon?”. “Yep first thing in the morning!” Korra explained “Opal’s coming with us so there’s no reason to stay any longer”. Excitement filled you at the thought of seeing an air temple but it was bittersweet. You loved being in a metal bending city and felt like you fit in. Not to mention two men who had made your time here very enjoyable. You frowned “you couldn’t have told me earlier?”. Korra shrugged “you were gone all day!”. You sighed going inside and wrote a message to Wei and Wing. You explained the situation and asked them to meet you at the airship tomorrow morning. You had some farewells to give. 

The next morning

You paced anxiously on the launch pad as there was no sign of Wei or Wing. “I still can’t believe you told me so later Korra” you complained. “Again you were out all day, how was i meant to tell you?”. “I don’t know but you should have told me before Wei and Wing left, you knew I’d want to say goodbye to them”. Korra sighed "their sister is leaving, trust me they’ll show up”. 

The avatar had a way of being right far too often and today was no exception. Not 10 minutes after you scolded Korra Wei and Wing appeared and she shot you an *i told you so* look. You ignored her and rushed forwards “you got my note!” you cried happily and the twins nodded. “Yeah sorry we’re late we had to grab something” Wei explained waving a box he had in his hand. You nodded “well you’re here now” and the two brothers smiled. “I’ve got to admit it’s going to be weird not having you around” Wing frowned. You smiled and Wei nodded “yeah we’re going to miss you, a lot!”. You blushed and laughed “i’ll miss you both too but I mean, once the airbenders are all set up...there’s nothing to say I can’t visit? Or even you guys could come to the temple! Or the water tribe!” you said excitedly to Wing “I promise this won’t be the last you see of me”. “What a shame” Wei joked and you rolled your eyes pushing him. “You know i’m only kidding” he grinned “we will hold you to that promise y/n” he said turning very serious “if we don’t hear from you in 6-months we’re turning up at the air temple”. You laughed and smiled at them both “well I promise that won’t happen, you’ll be hard to forget”. “Well still don’t try too hard eh?” Wei asked and he leant forward to hug you. You wrapped your arms around him tightly and smiled “thanks for letting me kick your ass so much, it’s really boosted my ego”. Wei rolled his eyes but smiled “no problem” and moved away from you. Wing stepped forwards more awkwardly and hugged you more tenderly “take care and don’t let the water tribe get you down, your family sound amazing and they must be if they’re anything like you”. You smiled blushing “thanks, your family’s pretty good too” and stepped back. “Y/n you done yet?” Korra called and you waved her away. “I’m just saying everyone’s onboard apart from you...” before Lin yanked her inside. “Wow even our aunt approves?” Wei frowned and Wing nodded “wait is that a good thing?”. “I’m not sure but I really should go”. “Ow before you go we made you this” Wei said pushing the small box into your hands. You blushed and smiled at them “you did...how many times did you break out into an argument in the process?”. “I stopped counting after the thirtieth time” Wing replied and you laughed before opening the box. Inside was a necklace was an intricated metal pendant, it used various metals which were woven together using very precise bending. “Guys this is beautiful!” you cried “thank you so much, now I have something to remember this trip by”. “It’s no problem” Wei smirked and Wing nodded “we’re just glad you like it”. “I love it” you cried and hugged them both tightly. “But now I really should go...we’re creating a scene”. The brothers laughed and stepped away from you “of course, go...we’ll talk to you later”. You nodded and with a last smile walked up the runway.

The airship took off and after waving goodbye to everyone you collapsed onto a sofa beside Bolin. “Wow who would’ve thought I’d leave Zafou with a girlfriend?” Bolin asked and Korra smirked “yeah but y/n had you beaten, she got two boyfriends and they’re twins!”. You punched Korra’s arm and Bolin laughed. “You know the one good thing about leaving Zafou is you’ll stop teasing me about Wing and Wei now”. “Don’t be too sure about that” Korra grinned and you raised an eyebrow “stop or i’ll starting teasing you about your crush on Asami”. Korra’s eyes widened and flitted to Asami who was across the room talking to Mako”. “What, how do you know?” she cried far too loud for someone trying to keep a secret. “How? You all but announced it” you grinned “you’re crazy for her Korra, anyone can see that”. Bolin nodded backing up your claim and Korra blushed shrugging “I guess I am”. “So truce?” you asked and Korra nodded her head “fine!” and stormed away. You watched her go smiling before you looked out the window where Zafou was disappearing from the horizon. You took the metal necklace out from your pocket and turned it over in your palm You’d hidden it from the others to avoid their teasing but now admired it openly before fastening it around your neck. You touched the pendant as it dangled from your neck and smiled. You wouldn’t be forgetting the Beifong twins anytime soon and you were sure somehow, someway you’d see them again.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Long Live the Queen

“A special spell”, as @panacea-wishes would say, but this time for the Sorceress herself!

***Warning: Mild chapter 5 spoilers!***

Imagine this...

Any affair hosted by Pomefiore was sure to be an opulent one—but today, the dormitory was decked out even moreso than usual. Decorations dripping with gold, tablecloths of shimmering silk, gourmet catering, a private orchestra, and immaculate outfits for each attendee... No expense was spared for the special occasion.

You were but one face in that shining sea, dressed in your finest garb—the only outsider invited to join the festivities. To your left and to your right, strangers in long robes and ties drifted about. They moved so fluidly, cutting across the polished floor like swans upon a lake of glass.

You shifted your feet uncomfortably, feeling a bit out of place in such a glamorous space. You took an anxious sip from your flute of sparkling apple juice. Bubbles danced up and tickled your nose as the beverage went down.

“Did you hear?” a nearby mob student said—not to you, but to a few of his friends. “Schoenheit-sama will be interning with Potions & Lotions, that famous skincare company from the Land of Pyroxene.”

“I heard, I heard! He’s going to be working with their prestigious Research and Development deparment, isn’t he? His proficiency in magical pharmecuticals will serve him well there.”

“Amazing, as expected of Schoenheit-sama! He makes me proud to be a student of Pomefiore!”

You took another swig of your apple juice, trying to avoid eavesdropping. But your curiousity got the better of you, and the mob students’ words floated over yet again.

“What of Hunt-senpai?”

“I heard he will be interning at a detective agency in Pyroxene’s capitol! He was scouted by the police chief himself for his eye for detail.”

“Wow... I hope we’re able to get fancy internship offers like that when our fourth year arrives.”

That’s right. People are moving on. Growing up. Advancing in the world.

Good for them.

You took a third sip—this time, the juice was somewhat bittersweet. Your eyes flitted about, seeking a familiar face, not gossip, to latch onto. Luckily for you, you did not have to search for very long.

“Your attention, please.” A clear, commanding voice announced—and at once, the orchestra silenced. All heads, including yours, turned to the peacock throne at the head of the room.

There stood Vil, in all of his beauty. Today, he wore a form-fitting suit, woven in the colors of green, blue, and violet—the colors of a peacock. His golden hair was up, held in place by a jeweled pin with feathers that jutted out. Vil’s eye makeup mimicked the colors of his suit, cool hues flaring out and making him seem even more bold and imposing than before.

He nodded in satisfaction at those in attendance. “Thank you for being here for the ascension ceremony this evening. As you all know, I will soon be departing to complete an internship—as will your vice-dorm leader, Rook. Therefore, the time has come to crown a new queen for Pomefiore. He will be responsible for selecting a new vice-dorm leader... as well as leading you potatoes to greater heights.”

A mob student before you started to clap. Then a few others joined in.

You wondered if you should set down your class and join in the applause, but Vil was quick to bring a hand up. The beginnings of clapping ceased.

“Hold your applause for your new dorm leader,” he insisted. Vil raised his voice. “Epel Felmier.”

“Yes.”

You swallowed hard at the mention of his name, at the swell of his soft voice.

He stepped up from the crowd, which parted to make way for him. Epel had grown several centimeters in the past few years, now only a bit shorter than Vil. He maintained the delicate beauty he had held in his time as a first year, those wispy lavender locks, long lashes, and full lips. But his eyes—they had sharpened into sapphires circled with makeup moonlight, and he walked with a newfound confidence.

Pomefiore’s dorm leader uniform fitted his new form well. Flowing cloth cascaded over his long arms and legs, and formed a train of fabric wherever he walked. Click, click, went his boots, the cords that bound his waist falling in time with his steps.

All that he was missing was the coveted crown.

“Vil-senpai.” Epel stopped before his dorm leader—soon to be ex-dorm leader—and knelt.

“I am entrusting you with the safety and the security of Pomefiore’s students—and the dorm’s future,” Vil declared, chin raised. “Are you prepared to take on the responsibilites of a dorm leader?”

“I am,” Epel replied with quiet conviction. “I swear...!! I will lead Pomefiore to greatness, just as you and Rook-senpai have before me.”

“Hmph. Don’t let me down, then.” Vil smirked before turning and calling out, “the crown.”

Rook, in a violet suit and crimson bowtie, approached with a plush cushion—and upon it, an intricate crown. The same crown Vil had once worn himself, wrought of gold. A sword piercing a heart as the centerpiece.

The huntsman kneeled, bowing his head and holding out the cushion to his queen. He didn’t need to look to know that Vil had nodded to him before plucking the accessory up.

“With this crown, I pass the torch to you. With this crown, you are Queen undisputed.” Vil recited, raising the glittering diadem over Epel’s head. He brought it down upon the boy’s hair. Gold dug into lilac locks, finding a new home nestled on his head. “You may now rise.”

Epel slowly stood—his back to the crowd, to you. He lifted his head and looked Vil right in the eyes.

Sapphire and amethyst colliding.

“May you carry on the unrelenting efforts of the Beautiful Queen in my place.” Vil took his junior by the shoulders and spun him around. “Pomefiore—your new dorm leader, Epel Felmier.”

The crowd erupted into applause and whistles, cheers and elated well wishes. You, too, were swept up in the frenzy. What little remained of your sparkling apple juice had been set aside in favor of clapping.

Clapping, clapping—one palm hitting the other in rapid succession. Hard, loud. Until your hands were red and swollen and raw.

Raising a dainty hand, Epel waved back.

“... Hey.”

You jumped at the familiar voice that greeted you as you picked up a new flute of apple juice. You dared to look—and there was Epel, in his full, regal dorm leader regalia. Crown and all.

“O-Oh... Hey!!” you stammered, trying to play off your nerves (and failing). “Nice party, huh? Thanks for inviting me as your plus one... I don’t think I’d ever be invited to a shindig as fancy as this one if it weren’t for you.”

Epel offered a gentle smile. “I wanted you to be here. I should be the one thanking you for coming.”

“Of course I’d come. I wouldn’t want to miss your big coronation,” you reached out to give him a playful shove on the arm—but paused midway and let your arm fall. It wouldn’t be appropriate to act so casual with a dorm leader, you scolded yourself.

“You’re all grown up now, Epel,” you whispered, clutching a hand to your chest. “Congratulations, Mr. Pomefiore dorm leader.”

“Ah, well...” Epel rested a hand on the back of his neck. “It’s a new title, but... I like to think that I’m still ‘just Epel’, the Pomefiore student. I’ll always be that farm boy that tried to pick a fight with Vil-senpai—Great Seven knows how many times.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’ve come a long way since your first year. Especially during VDC—you shone really brightly on that stage.”

“That’s true, but I’ve still got a long way to go. Vil-senpai helped me to realize that.” Epel glanced to the surrounding Pomefiore students. Eating, chatting, laughing. “I just hope I can live up to the legacy he left behind. It’s some pretty big shoes to fill in.”

“You’ll do just fine. You always do,” you reassured him with a pat on the shoulder—before quickly jerking your hand back.

Too familiar, too causal.

Epel raised an eyebrow. “Is... Is something the matter? You’ve been a little jittery all evening.”

“I...” Your voice trailed off as soon as you gazed into his curious blue eyes. Like the ocean, welling up with sincerity. You couldn’t lie to him—you just couldn’t. “I’m just worried that we’ll grow apart now that you’re a dorm leader.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because!” You gestured vaguely to the celebration. “A dorm leader has more important things to do than hanging out with people like me. You have students to lead, events to plan. I... I think I’d only get in the way of your progress.”

“... Don’t say that,” Epel pleaded, suddenly grasping your hands. “Please, please don’t say that.”

You stared at the contact—where his hands met yours. “I... I don’t understand...”

“I couldn’t have made it this far without your support, either. You picked me up when I was down, and you cheered me on when I was at my lowest and about to quit.” Epel’s delicate featured hardened—from glass to diamond. “So don’t ever say those awful things about yourself.”

“But... You’ve made it so far, and I’m still—“

“A farmer never forgets his roots,” Epel said mysteriously, a finger taped to his lips, “and it’s not just me. We all flower one day. You may just be a late bloomer—but when you finally do bloom... I bet you’ll be the prettiest apple blossom in the whole orchard.”

Your cheeks flamed. He laughed, giving your hand a squeeze, and pulling you close to him. You fell against his chest—sturdy and secure and warm—and glanced up at him in shock.

“What are you...”

“Dance with me,” Epel suggested with a light-hearted smile, “and I’ll show you that you’re worthy of this queen.”

The orchestra had started up again, the strings to a new song flowing like water. Turn, twirl, dip, went the pairs on the dance floor, in time with the music. All of this, set in golden lamplight.

Outside, the sky was a dark blue, the starlight reflected in his sapphire eyes. And here he was, offering his outstretched hand to you.

He was still the same sweet, loyal Epel you had always known. The same young man that set your heart aflutter, whether he was soft-spoken or brash. He was both—just as he was both a dorm leader and your beloved.

You melted, and your hesitation dissipated like the winter snow.

You slipped your hand into his and beamed. “Long live the Queen.”

[remmushound]

Bay/rise 38!! @errorfreak88 @brightlotusmoon @digitl-art-monstr @selfindulgenz @dakotafinely @yarchurr @sententiously-sarcastic @sprinklestheditty

Content warnings!! Trauma and a scene that may resemble suicidal signs (please lmk if you can think of a better phrasing)

Leonardo and Hueso sat lotus style facing each other, Leonardo’s sword laid out in front of them. The rest of the mutants and April were forced behind a line of tape, told they could watch as long as they were quiet. Mikey and Raphael, it seemed, had trouble remembering that they couldn’t cross the line and would have to be gently reminded by Raph and Michalengalo to move back. They’d be so drawn into the ceremony like fish to a lure that they’d outright forget that they had crossed the line. Raphael, after the long nap gifted to him, was looking much brighter and calmer than the state Leonardo had left him in, and Leonardo had trouble focusing on Hueso without his eyes wandering back over to check on his brother. Hueso would snap his fingers each time Leonardo strayed and give a simple, “Eyes on me.”

The two of them sat in a silence for a long time, their hands joined. Hueso said it was only supposed to be a ten minute reflection to draw the memories forth from the sword, but for the first few times, Leonardo would have made some noise, no matter how small, and the progress of the ceremony would be lost. Finally, with great mental strain and biting his tongue to keep it from wanting to talk, finally they made it the full ten minutes. It was a delayed reaction, just enough for each of the brothers to consider that maybe they did something wrong. Then it happened all at once.

The lines traced along the blade of the odachi lit up in the brightest cerulean blue, spiraling in on itself until it illuminated a sixteen-petaled lotus with a downward-facing triangle in its middle surrounding a circle. Hueso opened his eyes finally, and Leonardo couldn’t hide the gasp as he witnessed the newfound beauty of the calaca. The usually blank canvas of his bones were decorated in bright rainbows of designs that seemed somehow dull in the presence of the glowing odachi. His normally white eyes shone a deep, powerful blue and his teeth each took on a different color.

“Hueso— your bones!” Leonardo remembered he wasn’t supposed to talk the minute the words left his mouth and he flinched with the expectation that all their progress would be erased, but it was not.

Hueso laughed at Leonardo. “My bones? You should take a look at yourself!”

Leonardo gave a confused hum and looked back at his companions, who all stared at him with wide expressions of awe and in various stages of cheers and silent words Leonardo couldn’t hear. “Why can’t I…?”

“It’s normal, don’t worry.” Hueso said, “We are truly alone. Check your reflection in the glint of your odachi if you care to.”

Leonardo leaned forward to look at the glowing odachi closer and, beyond the blue light, his reflection was as clear as if it were a mirror. Every mark and flaw on Leonardo’s face was lit up brightly, his stripes the brighter shades of the normal color, except glowing, while the rest of the imperfections matched the color of the odachi. Every scar and fault and blemish that covered his face and body was highlighted bright and beautiful.

“Wow…” Leonardo whistled, “I look hot!”

“You are Kintsugi.” Hueso said with a laugh, “And your chakra, of course, Vishuddha.”

“The throat chakra…” Leonardo touched his neck and felt the heat of the burning chakra within. “Wow. I’m literally hot!”

“You have no shame do you?”

“None at all.” Leonardo stuck out his tongue.

Hueso sighed and shook his head. “The sword holds the memories of all the places it has been. 
Each rift is opens leaves a mark in the very metal…” 

The reflection in the sword started to shift and change to show the most recent uses. Leonardo using the portal to defeat Leo in the spar. Leonardo using the portal to reach his father. Leonardo portaling away from Krang’s technodrone...

“There.” The memories stopped shifting at Hueso’s word, “When you’re more experienced, you will be able to draw forth these memories on your own. But for now, you did amazing.” Hueso let go of Leonardo’s hands to stand up. “Take your odachi and create your rift.”

Leonardo grabbed his odachi and stood up, every part of his body feeling numb and overwhelmed at the same time, and he traced the odachi through the air. It ripped through the fabric of reality almost audibly, the portal brighter and stronger than Leonardo had ever made or seen. The force of its draw was intense and unrelenting that Leonardo would have been pulled off his feet if it wasn’t for Hueso grabbing him by the bridge of his carapace to hold him still.

“We do not want to cross through there.” Hueso spoke just loud enough to be heard over the whistling of the rift, “You must move the rift to a safe entry point.”

Leonardo back to the rift and saw its placement, high in the center of the technodrone with hundreds of feet of open air below. He took a shaky breath as he moved just close enough to take a better look inside. 

“T… there?” He pointed at a ledge farther down the wall of the technodrone.

“You tell me.” Hueso said calmly. 

“Y… yes.” Leonardo decided, almost confident. “Yes, that would work.”

“Then let us retrieve your brothers.”

****

Everything was going just as planned. Krang was rubbing his ring with that devilish grin spit across his pink face, a tentacle occasionally rubbing the ring just to feel the rush of its power once more. The Shadow Fiend did just as Krang ordered, down to the smallest request. When Krang said to walk, The Shadow Fiend walked. When Krang said to sit, the Shadow Fiend sat. When Krang said to jump or growl or roar or beg, The Shadow Fiend listened. Krang liked that. He could only imagine what this creature would be like at its full power, and he could hardly wait to use it to its full potential.

“How much longer?” Krang looked away from his ring just long enough to address Draxum.

Draxum was humming softly as he did his work, as slow as he could manage without drawing attention from Krang. He had to give that skeleton enough time to find the brothers and bring them here, and he was running out of ways to stall. “The ceremony has to be perfect, Great Oni. I must make sure there is no fault in my lines.”

“Very well then.” Krang huffed, “Just hurry up then! I want my new prize sooner rather than later.”

“You will have your prize.” Draxum promised, “You just must be patient.”

“Patience isn’t a virtue of us ‘oni’ in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Oh trust me, I have.” Draxum muttered under his breath, too low for Krang to hear. Krang was too busy looking at his ring again to care anyway. Finally, Draxum brought Yoshi to the middle of the ceremony, the rat blind folded with his arms and legs tied as Draxum could manage without snapping the limbs. Mutants were all so delicate compared to yokai, especially their fleshy bits.

“You are a cruel creature, Baron Draxum!” Yoshi spat, trying to snap at Draxum’s hand while the yokai handled and positioned him like a doll. “Gaining the trust of me and my sons, pretending you’ve changed— betraying my dear Orange!”

“You should talk less.” Draxum warned.

Yoshi didn't stop. “And now you bring these innocent other worldly creatures into your lust for power?! What— you want to steal their mutagen too? Haven’t you done enough damage to the people of New York?!”

Draxum laughed and planted his hoof firmly on Yoshi’s back, pressing the mutant slowly and firmly into the ground and twisting him almost playfully. “You are not people, Yoshi. You. Are. A. RAT!” 

He slammed his hoof down hard and Yoshi cried out as the sharp hoof pierced the fur and flesh. 

“Leave him alone!” Splinter cried out from where he was still being held captive by Draxum’s vines. 

Draxum rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on the talkative mutant. “Why is he still alive again?”

“I want him to watch as I destroy his sons.” Krang laughed, “Or, more as my new pet here does. It’ll make him all the more entertaining after I freeze him.”

Cassandra didn't know how to feel. She trusted her master more than anything, and her master seemed to trust this ‘oni’ so she had to trust him too. But at the same time… this Splinter had been so kind to her. Sat down with her during her girl scouts phase… talked with her… advised her. He was so nice, and to see him being abused by her master jut felt wrong. But then she shook her head to dismiss such treasonous thoughts as they tried to invade. She was Cassandra freaking Jones! Loyal to the Foot Clan and to her masters to the very end! And when she could get her hands on the orb and free her family and clan, she would do just that and everything would be well again— just as long as they got those turtles out of the way!

****

The portal took them through just as planned. Their feet carried them swift and quiet, even the large box turtles able to walk as silent as a panther stalking through the night. The bigger brothers were the first through, followed by the mix-matched set, and lastly April, which made the bay brother’s eyes widen in apprehension .

“Should she be here?” Raph asked, his voice as low as one could hope it to be. “This ain’t exactly safe!”

Donnie’s eyes seemed to bug out of their sockets in his panic that quickly turned to confusion. “Wait— her o2 stats are still stable… how is she breathing right now?”

“She won’t be if she goes down there.” Raph growled, “This ain’t amateur hour.”

“AMATEUR?!” 

Michelangelo practically tackled April, pressing his finger to her lips to shush her. Leonardo watched the scene with a strange expression on his face. Raphael and Donatello were quick to notice, both of them exchanging looks to make sure the other was seeing what they were. The expression wasn’t quite sad nor happy nor upset nor mad. It was just… calm. Calm and so unnerving on the usually animated face of their little brother.

“April, maybe you should stay behind.” Leonardo’s voice was even and quiet. 

“What? But Leo—“ April stopped talking the minute she saw the look on Leonardo’s face. Tired and scared and calm all stitched into his face in such a subtle manner that to anyone other than family it would be inperceptible. Something was wrong, and Leonardo’s voice sounded so serious that April quickly forsaked her previous outrage for a gentle, “Yeah… right. Whatever you say Leo…”

She went back through the rift and left them. Leonardo turned his attention then to Raphael. 

“Are you sure you’re okay to fight?”

“Y-yeah! Feeling better already.” Raphael tried to smile, but it was hard. “Are you alright Leo?”

“Yeah. Fine.” Leonardo sounded more like Donatello than like himself as he hovered over the edge of the ledge and looked down at the long drop beneath, vertigo spiraling in his mind though he hardly cared. “On your call, bud.”

“Leo…?” Michelangelo finally caught onto what was happening, sticking out his bottom lip as he eyed Leonardo with red eyes that burned like the sun. “Are you okay?”

Leonardo gave a weak laugh and smiled, his eyes looking to Michelangelo, and the box turtle could see tears trying to escape them. “Don’t you worry, Hermano. You’ll be just fine. I love you all so much.”

“Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye…?”

Leonardo didn't answer.

[minizode]

memory

pairing: jay / f!reader

wordcount: 3.3k

genre: angst, comfort

warning: breakups, evil management, hurt feelings, enhypen being crazy, jay is kind of an ass in the beginning, female pronouns

+ summary: jay breaks up with his girlfriend of two years. why?

note! hey! this is my first fic on kpop tumblr... i really hope you guys like it. i’m pretty bad at writing angst but i’ve had this idea in my head for such a long time that i really wanted to post it for more people to see! also this is in third person, so pls lmk if you’d prefer second person because i couldn’t decide

“y/n!” Jay called from the door.

Backstage was crowded with people bustling from left to right, preparing for the next performance. Jay stood tall and searched the crowd for the face of his girlfriend.

His saving grace, y/n’s bandmate, saw Jay and caught her attention, motioning her to the door where Jay was. She smiled and quickly maneuvered past the staff members to stand in front of him.

“Hey,” she smiled. “Good job on your performance, by the way, you looked really good up there.” She paused.“But why are you here? I have like… five minutes until I need to be on stage.”

“Thank you.” Jay nodded and pushed his hands into his pockets. “And I know, but Heeseung-Hyung said I needed to tell you this as soon as possible.”

“Okay! Can we just go over there? It’s really hard to hear you,” She motioned for him to follow her to a space behind some boxes of equipment. “Can you help me?” She said with the sweetest smile, and Jay felt his heart crack a little more down the middle. She held out the wires for her mic pack, which he took quickly and turned her around. 

“So, we’ve been dating for a long time,” Jay started as he plugged the wires into the small black box on the waistband of her shorts. “You know, it’s almost our one-thousand days.” 

y/n giggled and nodded.  “Five more days, yeah.”

Jay took a breath and pursed his lips as he pulled her hair to the side, exposing soft skin on the back of her neck. He bit back every urge he had to rest his head there and adjusted her mic before turning her around to face him. “Well, don’t you think it’s been a little too long?”

y/n’s eyebrows furrowed together, surely ruining her makeup and creating creases.  “What are you trying to say?”

“Just… don’t you think it’s time to focus on ourselves? We’re progressing with our lives and-”

y/n’s scoff cut him off. “Just say you’re bored of me, Jay. Just say it.” Her tone had taken a complete shift from what it had sounded like mere seconds ago.

“That’s not what I’m saying, y/n.” He sighed. “I just want you to be happy, I want to be happy too.”

“But I am happy,” she rebutted. 

“Not as happy as you could be. Our relationship is the same routine, nothing new is happening. I mean, I’ve finally debuted… don’t you think it’s about time for us to move on?”

y/n let out a laugh of disbelief. “Is that not what a relationship is supposed to be? We’re supposed to be comfortable… and you didn’t seem to have a problem with that when I debuted.”

“We can’t be together forever, y/n. That’s just not realistic,” Jay muttered and pursed his lips. y/n shook her head.

“And I thought…” she sighed and ran a hand through her freshly curled hair, ruining that too. “Whatever. I don’t have time for this,” she said, turning on her heel and walking toward the entrance of the stage right as the staff called her name. “We’re over, Jay. Have a good life.”

And with that, she walked on stage, a perfectly crafted smile on her face.

Jay got back to his seat just by the time the music started.

“Did you do it?” Sunghoon asked with hesitancy. 

Jay nodded and turned to the stage. Automatically, his eyes flickered towards y/n, as though it was an impulse. To any normal person, she would look fine. Happy, even. Her makeup didn’t look creased and her hair looked fine; she looked beautiful as always. She was smiling when she sang her part, she shone just as brightly as her other members. However, Jay knew her better than anyone; he could see the sadness mixed with anger in her eyes. But she was a professional, and as always, managed to mask her feelings with the factory manufactured expressions on her face.

“Was she mad?” Niki asked from beside Jay. He turned to Niki and shrugged.

“I think so.”

“You should have waited,” Sunoo muttered. “Telling her right before her performance was a dirty move, even for you.”

Jay scoffed, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Just as Sunoo opened his mouth to contradict, Jungwon placed his hands on both of their shoulders. “Stop fighting, guys. You can discuss all you want back at the dorms. Just not in public, people are watching.”

The other members watched Jay roll his eyes and turn his attention back to the performance. 

The song was reaching its end; the climax, y/n’s part. She was singing with passion and fervor, Jay would even go as far to say that she sounded, and looked, better than ever. The tears in her eyes made it all the more powerful. 

And then, just like that, it was over. Her chest heaved as she smiled at the camera. There was an emotion on her face that he couldn’t quite place, but it didn’t matter, because they were over. He would never see her face again.

y/n laid in her bed, watching the dust specks glide through the sunlight, landing upon her bedsheets. There, strewn upon them, was the black sweatshirt of Jay’s that reminded her of all the things she had a day ago. It reminded her of everything she lost over one simple conversation.

Part of her wished she had ignored him at that doorway; she wished she didn’t take him to a quieter area, she wished she didn’t ask him for help with her mic pack, she wished she hadn’t even let him speak. Maybe then, the conversation would’ve been saved for a better day. 

She was confused; why did he break up with her? It was so out of the blue, so random. It hadn’t even occurred in her mind that they would ever break up. y/n had never experienced a break up before. Was it normal to feel this bad?

She knew, upon hearing her friends’ ailments, that it sucked. But y/n had never realized the true meaning of heartbreak until now. But she wasn’t crying… was she supposed to cry? Was she supposed to feel something? Right now, she only felt numb. Like she was a speck of dust floating in the cold winter sunlight and falling onto her bedsheets. 

There was a soft knock on her door. Silence for a second, then another series of knocks, followed by the door opening. Due to the layout of her room, she couldn’t see the door, nor the person coming inside. She thought it was one of her members again, telling her to come to eat or drink some water, to go shower or use the bathroom, or even just get out of bed and change into something else to save her from wallowing in a well of sadness. What she didn’t expect, however, was the gentleness of the leader of Enhypen, one of her closest friends. 

“y/n,” his voice was warm, just like the hesitant hand on her shoulder. “You need to get up.”

Her body turned so she could face him. He looked tired; dark bags under his eyes. His irises were lacking their usual stars, and his lips were pale. What happened to him?

“Are you okay?” were the first words that left her lips from last night. Her throat was dry, it felt like sandpaper. It showed in her voice; the scratchiness of it. 

Jungwon sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. “This isn’t about me, noona. Minju called and told me you haven’t even gotten out of bed since after the show last night.” He brought his face closer to hers with his eyebrows turned down. “Did you even take off your makeup?”

She shook her head. 

He sighed again. For a sixteen-year-old, Jungwon sighed more than a disappointed old man. “Please get out of bed. You’ll die at this rate.”

A hoarse giggle escaped her throat and she ran her hands down her face. “I think that’s a little overdramatic.”

“No, I’m serious! For real… I thought you guys would be able to take care of yourselves. Turns out a kid two years younger than you has to take care of you because you’re both too stupid to do it yourself.”

“Hey!” she sat up in her bed. “That’s rude, Jungwon.”

“You know what’s rude?” Jungwon said. “Ignoring your basic human needs and making the people close to you worried!” Jungwon never raised his voice, let alone at someone who was older than him.  Was he really this worked up? “It’s nearly four P.M, noona. You haven’t eaten anything since last night. At least Jay-Hyung is doing better than you… at least he got up. Even if he’s so upset that he’s been playing games all day, at least he’s taking care of himself.”

y/n’s face twisted to annoyance. “Upset?” she scoffed. “Why in the name of God would he be upset? He’s the one who broke up with me.”

“You don’t think he feels bad?”

Silence engulfed the room. y/n had known Jay for three years, dated him for two. In all that time of knowing him, one thing was for certain; he always tried his best to not show his negative emotions. That was one of the things that tested their relationship almost constantly. He never told her when he was upset because he knew she would feel guilty for it. He never wanted to hurt her, even though it ended up hurting her more by finding out through other people. Even now, they experience the same thing. 

“Then why did he break up with me?” y/n’s voice was small. “We were happy… at least I thought we were. He even planned a big date for our one-thousand days on Monday,” she didn’t realize her voice was shaking until Jungwon pulled her into a hug.

“I think the only way you’ll be able to figure out the answers to everything is if you talk to him yourself. I can comfort you, but you won't be able to get closure unless you talk to him.”

y/n pulled away and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think I can get more upset than this so…” she trailed off. “Maybe it’s worth a shot? Besides, I have a lot of stuff to do and I can’t let this plague my mind anymore otherwise I’ll get in trouble with my manager,” she let out a teary laugh. Jungwon giggled with her and nodded his head.

“You can come with me back to the dorm. But only after you get ready and eat some food.”

y/n sat on the grey futon in the boys’ living room. She had been there several times ever since they had moved in, but something was different this time; Jay wasn’t sitting beside her. It felt wrong sitting on the center cushion without the warmth of a body beside her. Well, there were actually two boys sitting beside her trying to cheer her up, but it didn’t feel the same.

“He’ll be back in an hour or so,” Heeseung had told her. “He and Niki went out to get some groceries.”

y/n watched as Sunghoon chased Sunoo around the living room with a spatula that held a fried egg (one that y/n had actually cooked for them when she arrived. Why Sunghoon was chasing Sunoo rather than eating it was beyond her). Jungwon and Jake sat on either side of her, laughing at the ungraceful occurrence before them. Heeseung walked out of the bathroom and into the living room, running face-first into Sunghoon, who splatted the egg all over his shirt. 

Amongst the commotion of y/n grabbing a towel to help Heeseung and Jake getting him a new shirt, the door opened and the two missing boys arrived in the apartment. Upon hearing Jay’s greeting of “We’re home!”, y/n frantically looked around the room for an escape. She resorted to hiding behind Sunghoon and Sunoo, who were bickering about who’s fault it was. 

Too bad that Jay was as sharp as an eagle. He saw her the moment he and Niki walked into the living room. 

The deafening silence that followed raised goosebumps on everyone’s skin. Jay looked over each of his members’ faces before finding the guilty look on Jungwon’s; a dead giveaway. Jay pressed his lips in a tight line before leaving the room, probably going to the kitchen to put away the groceries. 

“Um…” Sunoo turned to y/n. “Maybe you should come back later… he looks like he’s in a bad mood,” he whispered.

“He’s only in a bad mood because Jungwon brought her here.”

“Well they need to talk, it’s not my fault he decided to end things that way.”

“He should’ve been more considerate of her feelings.”

Niki, who had been silent the entire time, walked over to y/n and opened his arms for a hug. It made her smile slightly. The youngest was always somewhat reserved around her. Maybe it was because she was a girl, or maybe it’s just because he didn’t know her as well as he would’ve liked. But he probably caught onto the fact that she wasn’t in a good headspace, and he was a good-hearted kid, so he just wanted to show her he cared. 

“You should just talk to him now,” Niki said lowly. “Jay-Hyung!” he yelled, and all the other members looked at him in shock. “Come here!”

In seconds, Jay appeared in the doorway. The other boys looked around at each other before moving out of the way. 

“We’ll give you guys some space,” Jake said softly before leaving the room. The others followed suit. 

y/n stood in the middle of the room, looking at the patterned socks on her feet. Her large hoodie hung to her mid-thighs, covering the denim shorts she wore underneath. She was never too good at confrontation… it was scary and there were so many factors to consider. But she had to do it this time.

Jay stood in front of her and reached out to grab her hand, running his thumb across her knuckles, something he knew calmed her down in most situations. But right now, it only made her feel worse. Didn’t he hate her?

“What did you wanna talk about?” he said slowly, cautiously.

She breathed in quickly and looked up at him before speaking. “I just… I just need to know why. Why did you want to end things? Two people in love can’t just break up one day, you know? It has to have been some build-up. What was it? What did I do?”

Jay hummed and looked down at their connected hands. “I was going to just continue on the lie I told you back at the show but,” he paused and shook his head, looking back up at her. “I can’t keep lying to you. It kills me too much.”

y/n looked confused. “What does that mean?”

“You know how when I got the chance to be in the show, they didn’t really like the idea of us dating?”

She nodded, a signal for him to continue.

“Well, the company said that now that I’ve debuted, it’s an even bigger problem. It would be fine if you weren’t an idol, but you are. And they don’t like how famous you are compared to us, I guess?” Jay looked torn. y/n’s group was one of the most popular girl groups on the charts. “They think that people will find out about our relationship, and that will bring down our reputation, apparently.”

“Seriously?” y/n pulled her hand from his. “That’s… the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard.”

“I’m not lying, baby. I would never lie to you about this.”

y/n walked backward before sitting on the couch and putting her face in her hands. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, Jay. It’s just… that’s so stupid. Why would they make you break up with me now? Why didn’t they talk about this earlier? And why didn’t you just tell me? I would’ve understood.” She sounded hurt. Understandable, considering the words leaving his mouth. “I, of all people, would understand. I know how important this is to you. Don’t you think I would’ve listened if you just told me the truth?”

“I just thought that if I made up something, it would be easier for you to move on. Because now, you know I never lost feelings for you. I just can’t bring my group down incase anything ever got out to the public.”

y/n’s lips quivered. “So… so that’s it then?” her voice was threatening to crack. Her throat was tight and sore, and it felt like if she made one wrong move she would break. “We’re just going to end things like this?”

“What other choice do we have? I don’t want you to get caught involved with a scandal… That would ruin your career more than it would mine.”

She sniffled. “I just wish that things were different.”

“Hey,” he stepped closer to her. “Please don’t cry. It won’t be fair to both of us.” 

He was right, as he always was. She couldn’t cry; it wouldn’t be fair. Because life was never fair to them. It pushed them to the extremes and they always came back intact, holding each other tightly so they wouldn’t lose the pieces. Like when her grandfather was sick, or when Jay had to move away. When they couldn’t contact each other for months, or when she got injured when he was gone. Life was unfair, but they had to make it through.

Her heart was unsettled, thumping weakly against her chest as she stared up at the boy. His platinum blond hair brushed over his eyes and she moved it away. He gently smiled down at her. 

She wanted to close her eyes and pretend everything that happened was fake; she wanted to wake up from this nightmare of a reality. But she knows she can’t. So her eyes searched his face as she remembered everything they’ve done together; everything he’s made her feel. Her heart was shattering all over again, each piece a memory from her life with him that she would have to move on from. Each piece that she would have to pick up when he left because they were too valuable to be left on the ground. 

But no matter what, y/n would not cry, because it wouldn’t be fair for Jay. 

“Not crying.” she nodded her head. Tears pooled around the corner of her eyes. Jay could see them, and his heart trembled a little. But he has to do this, for both of them. It wasn’t fair, it never would be. They didn’t sign up for this when they signed those contracts. But this is what they needed to do, and upon seeing that she listened and supported him, he didn’t want to make it any harder for her than it already was. 

Jay smiled a teary, broken smile. He sniffled and blinked away the tears beginning to sting at his own eyes. He nodded his head in agreement and reached his hand out to run his fingers through her messy hair. His heart wanted one thing, but his head told him something else. It would be okay for him to be selfish for a spare five seconds, right? It wouldn’t hurt, he guessed. So he leaned down and pressed a soft, sparing kiss on her lips. It was short, but it spoke more than a thousand words.

Please take care of yourself, please stay safe, stay healthy. Thank you for loving me, thank you for letting me love you. His soul tears a little when he pulls away, but he quickly holds himself together. He couldn’t break in front of her. It wouldn’t be fair.

note! ahh okay! that’s it that’s the end!! i actually really dislike this, now that i’ve read it over and over again. i’m not too good at this type of stuff, but maybe i’ll get better in the future. i hope you guys liked it, at least a little, and it wasn’t a waste of your time. @nico-nico-niki​ , since you wanted to be tagged <3

[mochegato]

Covert Romance

Continuation of Covert Dating 

Marinette nervously followed Jason up the narrow stairs, clutching his hand for reassurance.  “Are you sure it’s okay for us to be up here?” she whispered anxiously despite there being nobody else in the stairwell to hear.  She was positive they were breaking some kind of rule.  There was no way random people were allowed to just jaunt on up to the roof of the Wayne Enterprises building.  It was one of the most secure buildings in the city, hell, maybe the entire state.

The security officer at the front door had let them pass with little more than a nod to Jason and a smile, showing very little concern about them wandering around.  But now they were almost on the roof and it seemed like there should be another level of security to get up there, like someone appearing out of nowhere to check ID’s and intentions.  But there was nothing.  Just her and Jason and Jason’s keycard granting them the run of the building.

“Yeah Princess, it’s fine,” he reassured her with a smile squeezing her hand. “There’s a reason I have a keycard. I’m allowed to go anywhere in the building I deem necessary.  And I have deemed it very necessary for me to be up here right now with you.” He threw her a dashing smile that made her blush brightly as he let go of her hand to pull out his keycard again.

“Ready?” he asked putting the keycard back in his pocket after swiping it on the security pad.  

“For what” she asked with a suspicious smile.

“It’s a surprise.  Close your eyes and wait here for a second,” he said, excitement creeping into his voice. He had never brought someone up here before.  The view from the roof meant a lot to him.  It was one of his favorite spots in the world.  Gotham looked magical from up here.  Something about bringing her here made him feel exposed and he was eager to see how she reacted.  

When Marinette closed her eyes, he pushed the door open and gently placed the box he had been carrying with their dinner on the ground before turning back to Marinette.  “I’m going to bring you out now,” he said gently as he put one hand over her eyes and the other on the small of her back to guide her to a particular spot on the roof. “No peeking,” he warned gently. She could hear his cheeky grin in his voice.

As soon as she stepped onto the roof, she could feel the cool, crisp night air hit the exposed parts of her face, cooling her burning cheeks.  She could barely register the sounds of the city over her racing heart as he led her out onto the roof.  Her heart nearly stopped when she felt him step behind her almost touching his chest to her back and whispered, “Okay, open your eyes.”

She opened her eyes and gasped at the sight in front of her.  “What do you think?” he asked eagerly.  When she didn’t respond immediately he anxiously explained, “This is my favorite spot in the entire city.  It is the best place to see all of Gotham lit up.  From right here, you can see the neighborhood I grew up in, the waterfront, gargoyles… you can almost imagine something good could happen here.  Like there’s hope for us all.  ” he whispered with a shaky smile.  

Her eyes opened exceptionally wide as she took in the view.  “Jason, this is absolutely gorgeous.  I’ve never seen Gotham this way.  Oh my God, this is… I should have brought my sketchbook. Jason, this is amazing!”  She finally tore her eyes from the city to turn and face Jason, her smile beaming.  “Thank you for bringing me up here.”

Jason looked down at her, her exhilarated expression making his heart skip a beat. He let out the breath he had been holding since he removed his hand from her eyes.  The city lights were reflected in her gorgeous blue eyes making them sparkle even more than they usually did.  He smiled gently at her “I guess we’ll have to come back up here for our next date too, so you can bring your sketchbook with you.”  

Marinette’s breath hitched as she noticed how very close they were to one another.  She smiled shyly, “Second date huh?”  

He raised his hand to move a strand of hair the wind was whipping around her face to tuck it behind her ear, before moving his hands to cradle her face and run his thumbs over her cheeks.  God, he wanted to see that expression on her face every day, every moment.  He wanted to be the one to make her look like that.  “Or third… or fourth… two hundredth.  However many you’ll let me have, I’ll take.”  Sincerity shone in his eyes as he leaned down slowly.  He gently lifted her chin, keeping eye contact the entire time to check for any signs of apprehension.  Seeing none, he moved to within centimeters of her lips and whispered, “Is this okay?”

“Please,” she whispered back pushing up to meet his lips with her own, giving him a gentle kiss that was far too short for her.  She pulled away and opened her eyes to look up at him.  When their eyes met she saw the same desire she felt clouding his eyes.  She quickly pushed up to give him a second, longer, hungrier kiss.  His arms wound around her waist, pulling her body closer to him as hers found their way up to his neck and hair, pulling his face closer to her so she could deepen the kiss.

When they finally broke apart, breathing deeply, she smiled happily and twisted in his arms back toward the city, snuggling back against him.  He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and curled around her.  She leaned her head back against his chest with a happy sigh, taking in the beauty of Gotham at night.  She matched perfectly with his body, her head tucked snugly under his chin, like they were designed to fit together.  His body molded around her like a comforting blanket, making her feel warm and secure. She wanted more of this, more of him. “I’ll give you as many dates as you want.  As long as you’re there and kissing me like that, I’ll be happy.”  

“Couldn’t be much of a date if I wasn’t there.  Sounds incredibly boring for you.  What would you do?” He questioned in mock concern.

“Probably pine after you.  You’re right, I should just stick to dating you.”  She said pretending to come to a resolution.  

“It’s settled then,” he said nodding.  He squeezed her tightly for a moment and said, “Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”

A few minutes later, the blanket Jason had borrowed from his favorite Italian restaurant had been spread out and the dishes they had ordered placed on it along with a couple bottles of wine and glasses the owner had also packed in the box for them.  Joe had packed the box with everything they would need for an impromptu picnic and promised to tell his brothers, or anyone else asking about him, that he hadn’t seen or heard from Jason for a few days.  He even promised to ask if he should contact them if Jason did turn up to further the illusion that he hadn’t seen them.  Regardless of whether his brothers believed him or not, they wouldn’t get any information out of Joe to know if he went to another restaurant or got take out.  Jason was going to have to do something extra special for Joe.  This was exactly what they needed to escape from his family.

After dishing the food onto their plates and pouring the wine, Marinette broke the comfortable silence.  “Oh wow! You were right.  This is delicious.” He bowed slightly in acknowledgement instead of answering since his mouth was currently stuffed with food.  “So… you said there was a reason you had a key to go everywhere in the building.  What is that reason?”

“Oh… um…” he swallowed the mouthful he had just taken, “I’m head of security for the company.”  He’d had his answer prepared.  It was a plausible excuse, easy to believe with his expertise and familiarity with the building and employees.  

“Really!?  Oh my God! That must be insanely stressful.  This is one of the most targeted businesses in Gotham,” she reeled back in shock.  No wonder he was always keeping an eye out for suspicious activity and acting on it. She did it too, but that was because she had been Ladybug.  Now it made so much sense that he would do the same.  “I hope they give you lots of vacation days to burn off that pressure.” She took another bite of the pasta and furrowed her brow.  “Is that how you have access to a private jet?  They let you borrow it occasionally so you don’t go insane?”

“Not exactly but kinda, yeah.  Mr. Wayne lets me take it if I need to for some reason.  And my best friend’s dad is filthy fucking rich and has no problem using it to buy affection so... yeah.  What about you though?”

“Well… I mean, I don’t really.”

Jason raised his eyebrow at her. “Your roommate said that was bullshit.  Come on Mari, I want the whole and unabridged answer here,” he said urging her to continue.

She sighed.  “Okay so, my best friend… you almost met him tonight, my roommate, Adrien? Yeah, he used to be really wealthy with a private jet or two, but his dad turned out to be a supervillain… oh, remember me talking about Hawkmoth?  That was his Dad, Gabriel Agreste, so… not so many jets anymore.” Jason hadn’t expected that turn of events.  That would explain why she was so hesitant to talk about it.  Not a lot of people liked discussing their association with a supervillain.  Odd that her roommate would mention it in front of strangers, but then again who was he to critique someone else’s coping mechanisms.  

Jason was about to change the subject to a less dismal topic when Marinette swallowed her food and continued. “One of his other best friends is also rich.  Her dad is the mayor of Paris and her mom is Style Queen.  She likes me, Style Queen not the friend, although she doesn’t hate me anymore so… progress!  Well… tolerates me, so… frenemies?  Is it frenemies if only one person is doing it?” Marinette asked scrunching her face and cocking it to the side as if she was trying to figure out a puzzle before continuing to ramble on.  “But, she would really only let me borrow the jet if she thought it would annoy Adrien… or my other friends… or her parents… or anyone who said she couldn’t.  She really doesn’t like being told what she ‘can’ or ‘can’t’ do,” she rolled her eyes and grinned at Jason.  “Can’t really blame her though.  I’d do the same.  Also, my uncle is a rock star and another friend is a pop star and another is a supermodel… actually, she doesn’t have her own private jet but she does have a lot of people willing to let her use theirs whenever she asks, no questions asked... Also, I have a few clients that would probably let me borrow a jet if I asked desperately enough.”

Jason stared at her slack jawed.  His food was falling out of his open mouth unnoticed. “Holy fuck, Pixie!” he exclaimed when he could finally speak again.

“You wanted the whole answer! ‘Unabridged’ you said,” she protested, her cheeks bright red in embarrassment.

“And was that the whole answer?” he asked only half joking.

“I think… Oh, and I know a producer that probably has a few jets.  It seems like the kind of thing he would do. Maybe a few others.  My friends and I don’t really talk about things like that when we get together.”  She shrugged.

“Damn, who the fuck are you, Marinette?” he asked in awe.

She smiled and looked down timidly, “Didn’t I tell you?”  She looked back up with a scowl. “I am Batman” she growled out in a gruff voice.

Jason gave her a deadpan look and threw down his fork.  “That’s it. I lost my appetite.”  He mock pouted.  “That's it, Princess. You've managed to do what none of my brothers or hundreds of hours of hours of gory horror movies managed to do. I completely lost my appetite”

She gave him a raucous laugh that he quickly matched.  After the laughter had died out she looked back up at him with shining eyes and said playfully, “By the way, you can’t use ‘Princess’.”

“What?” he asked in confusion.

“You called me Princess a few times tonight.  You can’t use that one.  You’re going to have to stick to Pixie Pop or Cupcake or come up with some others.”

“Okay, but what’s the hang up with ‘Princess’?  Bad memories? Someone who’s ass I need to kick?”

“No, no, nothing like that.  It’s just that it’s Adrien’s nickname for me and he’s very protective of it.  Not that he doesn’t have a lot of them for me, but that one means a lot to him.”  She looked at Jason apologetically.  

Jason nodded, “Got it.  Princess has already been claimed.  I can live with that.”  He narrowed his eyes at her and pointed a warning finger at her before saying, “You can’t use Zombie or Buckethead.  Those are already taken by my brothers.”

She laughed loudly.  “Seriously?” He nodded solemnly in response.  “Damn, those were the ones I was going to use too.”  He squawked in response making her laugh even louder. Once their laughter had lightened she looked back out to the city and hummed.  “So what do you think our friends and family are doing now?  Do you think they are still looking for us?”

“I’m betting,” he started, taking another bite before continuing, “they went to the restaurant we picked up the food from, it’s a family favorite, tried to track our phones before seeing they were turned off, asked Alfred where we might have gone, and when he told them to back off, went to a coffee shop to regroup and plan.”

“Hmmm… That’s a lot of time with each other.  I wonder which of your siblings Adrien is going to say he’s in love with when I get home.”

“That desperate, huh?” he joked.

“That much of a romantic,” she corrected.  “When he falls, he does it quickly and with his whole heart.”

Jason hummed in response.  That was something he could bond with Adrien over.  He smiled gently at her as she looked peacefully out over the city with a gentle smile.  She was the smartest, strongest, sweetest woman he had ever met.  She was really too sweet for Gotham.  She was definitely too sweet for Red Hood.  Was he making a mistake bringing her into his life?  He really, really liked her, maybe even loved her at this point, but his life was dangerous.  He knew she had experience with danger after her years living in Paris while the Hawk guy was running around, but being with a vigilante was a different thing all together.  How would she react the first time he came home with a gunshot wound or broken ribs? How would he react if someone took her to get to him?  She wasn’t a hero like him.  How would she protect herself? He shook his head to clear the negative thoughts out of his head.  They had plenty of time to discuss that.  Tonight, in this spot that promised so much hope, he was going to enjoy his date.  “We should dance,” he said smiling lovingly at her as he stood up and walked a few feet away.

“There’s no music,” she laughed incredulously.

“Then we make our own,” he extended his hand to her.

Marinette stared at his hand for a moment before looking back in his sparkling eyes.  The eyes she would follow anywhere.  The eyes she fell in love with.  She smirked at him, “You have some secret beatboxing skills you haven’t divulged yet? Because that would be amazing.”

He smiled gallantly down at her “No, but my humming would make Bocelli jealous.”

She laughed, “Oh that I have to hear.”  She set down her plate and bounced up.  Before she reached his hand, they heard a thump on the other side of the roof.

“Oh shit,” Jason sighed out in annoyance and he moved between Marinette and the noise, effectively hiding her behind him.

Marinette watched the side of the roof the noise had emanated from, steeling herself to fight.  Batman emerging from the shadows had honestly never occurred to her, although it made sense. He was probably investigating why there were unauthorized people on the roof.  “Why aren’t you suited up?” he growled at Jason.

“I’m not working tonight, Batman,” Jason said very deliberately, shooting him a warning look, “so I’m not in my uh… uniform.”

“Oh my God, it’s the real Batman.  Did I… did I summon him?” Marinette whispered to Jason peeking out from behind him.

Batman glanced down at Marinette and looked back at Jason.  Jason could feel the disappointment and raised eyebrow under the cowl.

“His son is the demon, not him.” He said quietly to her with a smirk. Turning back to Batman he said, “We’re here on a date B.  Hiding from my family who couldn’t mind their own fucking business and decided to crash our date.” He said pointedly.

“You’re hiding from your family and you decided here was a good place to hide from them?”

“Hiding in plain sight.  They would assume I’d take her to a restaurant for our date not here.  And nobody else is expected to work for a while.  I was hoping we’d be out of here before then.”

Marinette’s mind was reeling.  Jason seemed unnaturally calm talking to the Batman.  She supposed he might be familiar with him considering his position for Wayne Enterprises. But, they sounded like they know each other really, really well, more than just Jason working with him for security. Also, that didn’t explain Batman asking him about suiting up.  That wasn’t a term you used with civilians.  It was a term heroes used…. “Oh my God.  You’re one of the bats!  You’re one of Gotham’s heroes.”

“Vigilantes” Jason said

“Oh my GOD!!” Marinette exclaimed backing away.  “One nice, normal guy, that’s all I asked for.  Just one love interest that wasn’t a fucking superhero. Why is that too much to ask?”

“Vigilante.  What do you mean just one?  How many superheroes have you dated?”

“You know, it isn’t even just boyfriends. Just one friend that doesn't risk their life constantly.” She ran her hand down over her face, “ugh, Adrien is never going to let me hear the end of this.”

“Oh, I don't risk my life, I make others risk theirs…” he paused to consider what he had just said and furrowed his brow, “I just realized that makes it sound like I need to get rescued a lot.  That's not what I meant.  I meant the bad guys do…. You know what?  I never said anything. This never happened.”

“Jason you almost got Robin killed last week. And you've literally died”

“What?!  I mean join the club, but what?” Marinette shrieked at him.

“What do you mean join the club?!” Jason exclaimed toward her then turned back to Batman “and Damian was in danger because he got cocky and rushed in.”

“SECRETS Jason.  Secret identities don’t do much if you tell them to everyone you take on a date.”

“It’s not like I’m Dick.  This is the first date I’ve been on in a year,” Jason said rolling his eyes.

“Really?” Marinette asked softly.

“Yeah, I hadn’t met anyone I wanted to date in a while.” he shrugged more vulnerable than Marinette had ever seen him, like she was witnessing a part of him he rarely let people see.  “And I didn’t tell her,” he defended, rounding back to Batman.

“Well she figured it out somehow,” he growled back at Jason.

“Me either,” she smiled gently up at Jason, then turned back to Batman.  “Actually, it was you with the ‘why aren’t you in uniform’ and all the familiarity you had with him that gave it away,” she said significantly less gently to Batman.

Batman gave her his patented glare.

“What is that supposed to do?  Intimidate me?  It isn’t going to change what happened.”  She stared back at him unimpressed with a raised brow.  “I’ve been glared at by the best.  I’m not going to lie, you’ve got a good glare but if you think your glare is better than Gabriel Agreste or Audrey Bourgeois or my Mom’s you’re delusional.  I’ve stood up to all of them and their glares without flinching.” Aside to Jason she said “except my mom because she’s really scary when she wants to be.”  Turning to face back to Batman, “I took Gabriel Agreste and his glare down.  I can do the same to you.”

Jason stared at her mouth slightly agape.  What, and he could not stress this enough, the FUCK was happening right now?  His little, too sweet for Gotham girlfriend… girlfriend, right?  She did agree to only date him so… He’d have to get confirmation on that.  His too sweet for Gotham girlfriend was making Bruce her bitch.  He was fighting hard against the urge to drag her back into the stairwell and push her up against the wall.  No, focus. He needed to focus.  Something about what she had said was off.

His mind started racing through what she said.  She said she took Gabriel Agreste down.  What did that mean… didn’t she say Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth? Ladybug took down Hawkmoth… Oh my God! That’s why she has a history with superheroes! “Holy Shit, you’re Ladybug!” He grinned widely.  His sweet, kind, brilliant Pixie was a superhero who could protect herself!  And, could backtalk Bruce like she was already a Wayne… He could make that happen actually…

Marinette looked up at Jason with a shocked expression “What?”

“You said you took down the Hawk guy.  Ladybug took him down.  You’re Ladybug.  You’re a superhero!   Wait... Adrien is the other one, right?  The cat one you talked about?  That's why you're so close.  That’s why you two always had each other’s backs.  Oh fuck.  That means he was fighting his dad the whole time and didn’t know it.  Oooh, B you really need to keep Selina away from him. She’ll adopt him… actually, you should stay away from him too.  I already have one blonde, secret superhero child of a supervillain sibling.  I don’t need another.”

“Secret identities, Jason. They're a thing for a reason” Marinette hissed at him.  

He just smiled back at her annoyed face as he wrapped his arms around her, “I’m just so glad you’re a hero and can protect yourself.”

“SILENCE,” Batman yelled.  “Who is Ladybug?  Who is Hawk Guy?  And, who is ‘The Cat One’.”

“I’ll brief you later,” Jason said grinning lovingly down at the woman in his arms. “Right now, I think I need to borrow the jet.”

Marinette opened her mouth to argue about secret identities but instead shook her head and sighed resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m not getting married without a white dress,” she said in resignation.  “I’m a designer, I need an amazing wedding dress.”

Just then the door to the roof burst open and Dick, Tim, Stephanie, and Adrien rushed through, tripping over each other in their haste to get out on the roof.

“I knew it!  I told you they would be here,” Tim said to the others in triumph before freezing when he saw Batman.

“Oh my God!  It’s Batman. It’s the Batman.  This is amazing,” Adrien gushed bouncing on the pads of his feet.

“It isn’t really that special, Blondie.  He’s way over hyped.” Stephanie said rolling her eyes and shooting Batman a sardonic grin.

“So… what’s going on guys?” Dick asked cautiously.

“It’s all good.  He can explain,” Jason said pointing to Batman and grabbing Marinette’s hand, guiding her toward the door.

“Hey, where do you guys think you are going?” Dick called out to them.

“We’re going to let the Bat explain everything.  Also, just so we’re all on the same page, everyone up here is a hero or vigilante,” Jason grinned back at them like he hadn’t just thrown a grenade. “Have fun with that conversation. We’re taking this date on the road,” he said pulling Marinette through the door and closing it behind them. “Come on, let’s get going before they come around.  Maybe we can be in Vegas before they recover.  If you want to.  If not we can date like proper people do and see where it goes.”

“I’m always up for a little chaos,” Marinette responded pressing a chaste kiss on his lips and grinning at the grumble he let out when she pulled away.  When he leaned back toward her trying to recapture her lips she pushed him away gently with a finger on his lips.  “We better move quickly then and if I start really kissing you again, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop,” she said giving him a seductive look.  “My Uncle’s in Metropolis tonight.  I can have his jet here within an hour but he’ll probably demand to be a witness. That gives us enough time to stop by my workshop and pick up the dress I just finished working on, which just happens to be white.  Kismet,” she grinned, grabbing his hand as they ran down the stairs laughing deliriously.

 Continued in Covert Wedding

______________________________________________________

Did I write this entire fic just for the ‘I am Batman’ line?  Yes, yes I did.

[crossingbard]

What Makes You Different Ch. 4 Intimate

ao3

Summary:

Change is a nasty, insidious thing. One second a seed is planted, then the next time you look there sits a tree. It's hard to notice a large shift when things seem to change daily.

Chapter Summary:

Thancred is upset. Thancred continues to get progressively more upset.

Through clenched teeth, Thancred Waters let out a long, drawn-out breath.

These headaches were getting worse.

He rubbed at his temples, shutting the book he had been staring at for hours. When he brought his hand back down, he reached for the black crystal necklace that draped his neck, gingerly touching it as the weight rested against his sternum. He doubted that it had any medical properties, but he found the action soothing, nonetheless.

He knew the headaches were likely due to the fact that he was working too hard. Unfortunately common when most of one’s nights are spent reading by candlelight. Still, he had to show that he could be useful. He had to show that he would not let them down again.

Which would be easier if he could think straight.

He set his jaw and looked across the tavern of the Waking Sands, rage boiling within him like a kettle on a stove.

How anyone was expected to get anything done in here was nothing short of a miracle.

Thancred shook his head, thinking that perhaps field research would be more appropriate…before he shouted at someone. He glanced towards a group of newer Scions, a miquot’e, and two hyurs as they ribbed and joked, and he forced himself to hold his tongue.

Field research would definitely be a better idea.

Thancred turned on his heel and made his way to the door, set on leaving without speaking. He was in no mood to talk. He was in no mood to see anyone.

This is, of course, why someone had almost hit him with the door as he tried to leave. He took a step back, a scowl impossible to hide, looking up at a familiar face. Dorien Aurifort jolted and looked down at him. Seeing his friend, the elezen grinned, and his eyes shone brightly as he spoke, “Ah. Thancred.” He moved aside to let him leave first. “Were you on your way out?”

His features softened, and he found himself at ease in a way he had not felt in a while. Despite his previous unwillingness to speak, he made an exception for Dorien, a brief exception. “Yes, I am not able to find much of anything here. I fear more field research is in order.” His head throbbed again, and he forced back the wince.

As Dorien walked with him, he intertwined his fingers behind his back, a slight bounce to his step, “Are you looking to be out for long?”

You always ask after me. Do you not have anything better to do than wait around?

The thought came unbidden, and he kicked himself for it. He enjoyed Dorien’s company. He liked that he kept an eye out for him. Yet, that fire, that spark, did not dim, and he could tell he was getting frustrated, meaning it was time to take his leave. “I do not know presently, I’m afraid.”

The mage looked at him, the soft smile, typically reserved for when they were alone, resting on his features. However, they were not alone; this was the middle of the Waking Sands, and people could see Dorien favoring him.

“Let me know if I can help, alright? I can keep an eye out for leads while I am on my own missions if that would help.” He spoke quietly as if hiding the fact that he pitied how incompetent he was from the others under a mask of kind exuberance.

Do you not think I am capable of finding my own leads? I don’t need your help. I doubt you would even know what to keep an eye out for.

His head throbbed again, and he did not catch himself before he winced, ever-so-slightly. He needed to leave. He looked up and saw that the elezen caught it, his attention to detail unparalleled as always.

Dorien’s features clouded with worry, and Thancred found himself equal parts touched by the concern and furious from the pity. The elezen reached out but stopped short of actually touching him as he whispered, “Are you alright?”

He dared the mage to lay a hand on him. To take things just one step too far—No, he didn’t. Why would he think that?

“Quite alright, my friend. Simply a headache. I have a plan for it, though, so fear not. Anyroad, I must be going.” Thancred moved passed the elezen without another word, and when the other man called out a farewell, he waved over his shoulder, not looking back.

He really should just mind his own business. He meddles far too much.

He let out another long breath, shaking his head. Maybe some quiet would help the headaches.

--------

It did not.

He felt as though most of his time had been spent outside the sands at this point, and all he got for it was more missing time.

He could not say it was…entirely missing, though. If he thought hard about it, he could recall. It was almost as if he was watching himself go through the motions as an audience member versus being the one to do it himself. Not only that, his short-tempered thoughts had not ceased. If anything, they were louder, angrier.

He did his best to avoid the Waking Sands, knowing better than subject others to his foul mood. No one deserved that.

Just because he didn’t vocalize the thoughts doesn’t mean they didn’t cross his mind. Even he found himself shocked at some of them, feeling guilty that those words would come to him at all.

Yes, he probably should stay away until he got some rest.

--------

You fight too hard. Is this not a much better alternative?

Not particularly, if I am being entirely honest.

He realized now, though it was far too late. He watched Thancred Waters move about the Waking Sands, getting ready to deliver a false report to Minfilia regarding the whereabouts of the Ascian that was standing in front of her.

He had tried so hard to fight but found it fruitless, so now…he watched.

If his headmate let him, he would drift into unconsciousness, for he found he was tired of watching the people he loved accept a lie day after day.

You know, I can get away with this because you wear that smug, nonchalant mask. It’s so easy to pretend to be cheery, and people fear confrontation far too much to consider any alternative. They do not even care about my supposed missteps, for they have written you off.

He did not answer.

The door to the Waking Sands opened, and Thancred’s gaze glanced over. A familiar face—Dorien Aurifort saw him and grinned, and he felt cold with dread.

When he was still him, albeit the him before the anger, the him that was fighting this beast, he had made a point to spend more time with the mage. He had initially been avoiding the base in hopes that people would leave him be, but Dorien sought him out instead. He offered Thancred a hand when he was going through the worst of it.

After his negligence almost killed the man.

The taffy was a small treat, but it did mean a lot to him. It showed him that Dorien was there.

Dorien, who wore a mask of his own. Dorien, who could ease his unspoken worries.

Indeed, he would see that something was off. He would say something. This would be different.

Are you sure about that? You put a lot of faith in him, considering.

Considering what?

Considering those you have known for years took no notice. Would you like to see?

He fought his captor, trying to gain control. The headaches were better than this. At least he could control his own words, even if he could not control his thoughts. As always, though, his attempt was all for naught. He stared on, frustration brewing as his captor laughed at him.

Dorien ran up and leaned over. He was…positively glowing with excitement at seeing him, simultaneously warming and depressing Thancred’s heart. “It’s been a minute, dear.”

“It certainly has.” Not-Thancred went back to his pensive stare forward, and Dorien looked on, confused. “Pray do not concern yourself with my welfare. My current investigation has yielded some curious results, and at present, I am pondering how best to proceed.”

Dorien’s face betrayed no emotion. Instead, he took a seat on a stool next to him, looking down at the hyur man. “Will you be here for long? I was thinking of leaving in the morning, and if you—”

“No, I will be leaving.”

“…Alright. What did you end up finding?”

“I will let you know after I relay the information, Minfilia.”

That familiar, newly acquired rage overwhelmed him again when Dorien chuckled at the statement, “What, do you think I will go and tell her before you can?”

Not-Thancred did not respond.

Dorien let out a quiet but long breath and stood, smiling once more, but instead of the excited look about him earlier, it was cordial, almost political. “I only meant that a sounding board of sorts might help you organize your thoughts. I apologize for taking your time, dear.”

He retreated after giving a small bow, and Thancred was furious.

Why would you do that?

Why, because all mortals are the same, Thancred. The Warrior of Light is no different. It is best time you learn that.

--------

He would say that maybe a week passed, though it could have been more. He stopped paying attention. He was tired of watching this farce. He was tired of the snide remarks from his mouth, though not from him. They didn’t know that, though. They let him take time for himself, and Thancred had found that he was alone, even when he was home.

He felt hopeless.

They were to meet up with Minfilia today, and he knew he would have to watch himself as he lied to everyone’s faces. Lahabrea certainly would not let him sleep through that, the prick. Until then, though, he could rest. He did not need to know.

Oh, but you should really be here for this.

Piss off.

Come now, before I make you watch by force.

He let himself tune into the world around him again and faced Dorien. Dorien with his tired smile and sad eyes. The dread started enveloping Thancred, seeping straight into the core of his being.

Leave. Him. Be.

Dorien had his arms folded, elbows resting on his knees as he fidgeted with the sleeve of his tunic. They were…outside? Yes, they were behind the Waking Sands, near the pier.

The mage had his legs dangling over the water, kicking absentmindedly as he gathered his thoughts. His voice was cordial, professional, distant as he spoke, “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.”

Thancred, though not Thancred, smiled and nodded, “Of course, friend. You know I always enjoy your company.”

He faltered again as he muttered, “…Right…”

It was such a blatant lie, and it was apparent how much Lahabrea delighted in watching Dorien struggle. His first moments of control were spent rooting around Thancred’s memory as if it was a trunk in his proverbial attic. He examined everyone Thancred cared about, looking for strengths, weaknesses, and how much they mattered to him. The Warrior of Light was just a toy to Lahabrea.

The mage sighed and pleaded, “I will just come out and ask it then. Are you alright, dear?”

So, he did notice. He noticed, and he decided to speak up about it. Which meant that…maybe he would say something, perhaps he would realize. He felt a sliver of hope for the first time in ages.

“I am perfectly fine. I have just kept to myself.” His voice said matter-of-factly.

Dorien’s expression sat pensively, and he said, “I do not—Hm. I—…You’ve been acting differently. We hardly speak, and when we do, it feels short. Upset. I do not…think…I am the only one who has drawn this from you, but I wanted to speak with you about it before anyone else. If I have done something to you, pray just tell me, alright, dear?”

“I don’t actually think you would care for that.” His body rested his head on a fist, looking unconvinced.

“I am asking. I value our friendship; I do not wish to lose you over something I may be able to fix.”

Thancred wanted to fight back, but he was too tired. It had been too long.

It was hopeless.

His body let out a breath through his teeth before continuing, his expression unchanging, “Our friendship?” A scoff from his mouth. “I’ve been giving you space because I think you are in need.” His friend looked as though he had been struck, “We agreed that this be casual, but you have been acting nothing of the sort.”

He whispered, “Oh. I—”

Thancred’s voice spoke slower. His tone was less sharp, though a dull blade was still a blade, “I am not blind to the fact that you seek me out specifically. You treat me differently than those around us. That is nothing short of people even coming to me and asking about all this. I fear this casual arrangement has gotten far too intimate. You say you wish to preserve our friendship. Can you honestly say that is all you seek?”

Dorien did not speak for a while. When he did, it was raspy, distant, “I apologize for overstepping your boundaries.” His voice sounded forced. Every word was said like it was written for him to read aloud.

Thancred’s voice was quiet, feigning an apologetic tone even, as he replied, “Yes, well, now you know. I would appreciate if I could have some space.”

Thancred watched in despair as Dorien stood from his seat and reached towards him, though keeping a measured distance. “Of course, d—Thancred. I can do that. Feel free to reach out whenever you choose to. I will…work on my…I will do better.” He turned and left, keeping his speed even, his shoulders squared as he left.

That should stop his ceaseless prying. You should be thanking me for this, you know. Was it not you who requested this extend not beyond mere "friendship?"

Thancred did not reply.

Lahabrea did it.

His last bastion. His last beacon of hope.

Now, he was alone.