#and then the guy in the last image is my oc ray. he was supposed to be a grav/ity fa/ll/s oc for an au me and my friends made but

[p33p33p00p00]

ok ❤️ yay ❤️

now. i know i shouldnt post all of these in one place. but! im balling

(btw images with writing in them have transcriptions in alt text)

[ofwizardsandmen]

Foreign territory

Pasión de Gavilanes AU

Characters: Tara (OC), Mark Lee, Sungjae Lee, M, Emily

Word count: 2,6k

Genre: fluff, angst(?)

(Part of a larger story and multiple AUs, but can be read on its own)

“Our favorite girl is here!” An excited voice exclaimed causing Tara to spin around scandalized, her abundant jet black hair whipping about her head and eventually falling down her shoulders in a nearly cinematographic way.

Across the room, the owner of the voice—a tall, long-necked man of pretty dimples,—stood by a massive wooden staircase, keeping an educated distance and looking puzzled. Considering that his last encounter with Tara Lee had been anything but peaceful—the night ended up in chaos, with her cousins storming out of their own party,—he wasn’t expecting to find her pacing up and down the foyer of his house with a toddler in arms.

“I- I meant Astrid, of course,” The man, M —as his closest friends and family called him— added, nervously looking away from Tara’s judging glances. For someone who barely knew Tara and whose only “interactions” with her had consisted in cold remarks and snarky comments —from her part—the man still took offense in the way her expression contorted into something mildly similar to disgust. “Anyway… Thanks for coming”

Tara who couldn’t quite believe she’d dared to set foot in that house—if her mother or any of her aunts found out she was there, she’d be kicked out of the Delacroix State in a heartbeat,—and was still surprised by how majestic and prosperous everything seemed, only responded with a single acknowledging nod of the head.

“Wow Astrid, you’re growing so fast” M chose to ignore the fact Tara was looking around the house, seemingly unimpressed and held out both arms calling his niece’s name. In an effort to cut the distance between them, he also gave two short, cautious steps forward. “It was about time you were allowed to visit your dad and uncles,” he said, his voice changing drastically to what was supposed to be a child-friendly tone that, Tara thought to herself, was hard to emulate with his deep voice.

However, Astrid, the one-year-old toddler—daughter of Minah and Sungjae—was easy to impress. She cooed cutely waving her tiny hands around in the air as if trying to reach for the crystal lamp—or probably just her tall uncle.

The scene was sweet enough for Tara to relax and let out a soft chuckle as she made the mental note to tell her cousins about this later. There was no doubt Jane and Minah would go in a long rant about how Astrid was turning into a little traitor. They would probably have two different people to blame, but it would obviously involve the Lee brothers.

According to Tara’s cousins, M and his brothers, Sungjae and Mark, were the root of all evil, the equivalent to Satan on Earth and the reason Delacroix Group was bordering bankruptcy. And truth to be told, once upon a time, Tara herself was convinced of it and she had even go as far as campaigning against the three brothers. Tara hated each of them: Sungjae and whatever it was that had Minah acting like some hormonal teenager, M and those dimples that seemed to erase all traces of judgment from Jane's brain and above it all, Mark Lee and that stupid smile of his.

But lately, things didn’t seem so black and white anymore. Tara had promised Mark—the same Mark Lee she hated to the bone once upon a time— not to jump to conclusions when it came to their intentions anymore. And at least for now, she was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

For now, Tara had even offered to take Astrid to visit her dad and willingly drove 10 miles to the brothers' ranch. That was a weekly task Jane had taken upon herself, but that she refused to carry out after the fiasco at the Delacroix fashion show.

Tara didn’t blame her.

After all, the image of Astrid’s little arms moving up and down, desperately trying to reach for her uncle would have probably caused her cousin an aneurism.

Tara, on the other hand, was much more collected, wise, and less visceral. She was also the only person in Delacroix Manor willing to see the Lees. And anyhow, Tara wasn’t pleased with the prospect of spending another afternoon with her cousins if that meant having to act sympathetic when Jane complained about how that “deceptively handsome devil”—M, her husband— showed up unannounced to their collection’s launch party and “ruined” her date with Jaehyun Jung, a textile industrial she had been frequenting. Tara wasn't sure if Jane’s complained because—she claimed—M was the last person on Earth she wanted to see or because he looked so devastatingly hot that day, dressed in a classic Ralph Lauren suit that was a striking contrast with the clothes he usually wore, or because up until that day Jaehyun had no idea Jane was—technically—married.

Then there was Minah, who despite being less vocal on her complaints, lately looked so lifeless that her mere presence seemed to drain all the energy out of the room. Tara had vainly tried to play the role of supportive cousin who offered words of consolation and encouragement, but Minah always brushed her off. Unlike Jane, Minah avoided mentioning the Lee brothers at all costs. The last time Tara asked about Sungjae, Minah got angry and claimed to be absolutely unaffected by his new romantic relationship with Ashleigh Hastings. Of course, watching her drown herself in work and rosé suggested otherwise, but Tara didn’t dare to point out the flaws in her argument. Tara was also unwilling to spend another afternoon pretending not to notice Minah’s eyes filling out with tears every now and then.

“So, Jane won’t come anymore?” M asked, clearing his throat casually as if to get Tara’s attention. It worked because Tara snapped from her thoughts and looked back at him.

“What do you think?” She replied sarcastically. M opened his mouth to say something, but Tara signaled him to hold Astrid before the hyperactive toddler decided to jump off her arms. Once M was jiggling Astrid up and down and her laugh echoed down the hallway, Tara went on as if nothing had interrupted them “If you don’t want me to come here, next time-“

“For god’s sake, Tara, don’t be ridiculous” Another familiar voice spoke from behind her. Tara was quick to notice two things. The first one was that the man’s voice dripped exasperation, the second that her heart did a wild flip when he pronounced her name. “Of course we want you to come, especially if you’re bringing our niece to visit.”

Tara gulped quietly and slowly turned around.

She was greeted by a close-up of Mark, M’s younger brother and the owner of the vast lands adjacent to Delacroix State—where Tara and her extended family lived. There, smiling that exasperating smile—confident, but warmth-inducing and absolutely gorgeous—Tara had hated for months—years, probably—, Mark Lee stood blocking the sun rays filtering through the windows. The light gave him an angelic aura. It didn’t help he was suited in a beige suit that made his back look broader than Tara could remember.

“Hi Tara, nice to see you,” Mark said simply, a full smile still present in his face.

“Hey, how are you?” Tara mentally kicked herself thinking of how awkward and unnatural she sounded, how his simple words had her feeling all sorts of nervous.

Thankfully there was no time for further regret because Mark’s older brother, Sungjae, materialized at the top of the staircase and practically flew down the stairs, pulled his daughter from his brother’s arms and smothered her with kisses.

Astrid cried solid ten seconds but then burst out with loud contagious giggles.

Watching the Astrid & Sungjae show was oddly endearing, but somehow felt like an invasion of privacy. For a second or two Tara looked around trying to find a place to sneak to while Sungjae caught up on the missing time with his daughter. But when she started to move, Sungjae’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Ummm, so Minah is not coming?” He asked as Astrid played with a strand of his hair “She’s never talking to me again or what?” Sungjae’s eyes bored into Tara’s as if trying to get an honest answer from her.

“I did everything possible to bring Astrid” Tara replied with a frown, she hesitated before adding “I really don’t think I can convince Minah to come”

It resulted impossible to ignore the shadows immediately invading Sungjae’s eyes. Tara wondered if talking about her cousin had put them there or if there was something else worrying him. The man already looked a bit haggard when Tara first saw him, but upon further inspection, she realized he looked particularly hollow-cheeked and pale “It’s fine, I’m still thankful you brought my daughter, Tara” There was a pause where Sungjae looked at Astrid with a faint smile “I really mean it. Thank you”

“Well, don’t thank me…” With a slight tinge of guilt, Tara added “We really can’t stay long. I promised to take Astrid back before our aunts notice we’re gone. You know what they think of…” she trailed off, realizing how inappropriate it was to complete that sentence. Telling the Lee brothers how much her aunts despised them seemed unnecessary and somewhat repetitive considering those four women were not exactly subtle and never missed the chance to let M, Sungjae and Mark know they were as welcome in the region as a plague was in their fields.

Sungjae’s expression dropped considerably.

“Tara, you just got here” M protested, though he kept his kind smile plastered on the face “Sungjae hasn’t seen Astrid in weeks, he won’t admit it, but he was going insane”

Mark chuckled at his brother's comment, knowing Sungjae wouldn’t appreciate being exposed like that, but looking away when Sungjae frowned at him.

“No, I am serious, guys” Tara said apologetically “We have to go soon”

“Tara, don’t be so impatient” it was almost ironic that Mark let out an impatient sigh just after calling her that. Tara looked away to hide the smile tugging at the corner of her lips

“Yes, Sungjae deserves some time with Astrid” A female voice coincided, taking Tara by surprise. When she looked up to the second floor, she found a beautiful young woman—Emily Choi—smiling down at them and leaning against the banister. Emily was the only daughter of Madame Elsie Choi, a wealthy and old land-owner who was too close of a friend of Tara’s aunts for her liking. However, as of recently, Emily had officially moved into the Lee residence, God knows why. Rumors said Emily was actually related by blood to the Lee brothers, but Tara was not one to listen to gossip or care about other people’s affairs.

And yet, she still supposed the change of air had been beneficial to Emily because the girl looked happier than Tara remembered her to be when she was still living with her old mom and those two annoying cousins of her. Emily smiled at her and waved a hand cordially.

“I was just dropping by to say the staff prepared a little tea party at the terrace, if you want to join me and Lucas,” she announced happily.

“Oi, he’s coming today? Again?” Mark questioned, eyes narrowing a bit comically.

“He was here yesterday and the day before. At this rate I think it’ll be better to have him moving here” M said with an eye roll

“I was just being nice” Emily scoffed, but her smile did not vanish from her lips “You’re welcome to join, but if you don’t want to, then” she shrugged casually. “I’ll be at the terrace if you need me” She made a fake reverence and before disappearing, she briefly added a “nice to see you, Tara.”

“And that’s our cue to leave” Tara attempted to move forward to retrieve Astrid from her father’s arms when a hand wrapped around her wrist, keeping her in place. The woman didn’t need to turn around to know it was Mark who was holding her back, partly because M would’ve never dared to touch her and partly because her pulse accelerated inexplicably.

“I-“ Mark looked at his hand, as if startled by his own actions “I would like to talk to you before you go, Tara” he let go of her wrist and gave her a quick apologetic curtsy that caused his brothers to raise brows and share incredulous looks. “If you follow me-”

Mark led Tara through the stables and horse training facilities of his ranch. “El Dorado” was undoubtedly the greatest horse farm in the region, sprawled for miles and neighboring the Delacroix Ranch. Mark—and by default his brothers—had become the owner of this billionaire property through what people considered to be a questionable marriage that didn’t even hit the 24-hour mark. Tara had recently found out that the story was not as simplistic and accepting that the Mark she claimed to hate for years was not a gold-digging bastard had been quite of a ride. It started with him showing up at some of the most exclusive events in the region, avid of revenge and acting like he was beyond the rest of land owners. Then Tara nearly killed him, knocking him off his horse. And ended up with Tara saving his life from some lowlifes who attempted to kill him. All in the span of a month. Now, Tara followed him God knows where and for some reason she couldn’t completely grasp she didn't even protest.

“The Ranch is spectacular, you really manage it properly” Tara commented, mostly because the silence was starting to stretch for too long.

“Well, it still has nothing on yours” The man gave her a lopsided smile. It was not a secret that Tara was—or at least used to be until very recently—the real mastermind behind the Delacroix Ranch's prosperity.

“Well, lately we’ve had-“ Tara paused “a few setbacks, as you probably noted”

“It’s Julien’s fault, no?” Mark wasn't subtle, but it was an open secret that Julien Toubeau—Minah’s ex-husband and one of the most despicable humans on Earth—had recently been appointed Deputy Finance Manager of the Delacroix Group and things had gone downhill since.

Tara didn’t deny it “Mostly” she nodded “but the girls —she said referring to her cousins Jane and Minah— and I have a backup plan to save the ranch” Tara explained.

“And I’m sure you’ll do great” Mark reached to pat Tara’s shoulder, causing her to stop walking and freeze on the spot. “Especially you, Tara” he said, moving so they were facing each other “Everybody knows you’re brilliant and hardworking”

Tara looked down, afraid that if she allowed Mark to look into her eyes, he’d noticed the effect his words had on her.

“And I was furious when Julien tried to take your position from the board of governors, you know?” Mark also looked down in an attempt to find whatever it was that Tara found so interesting on the ground.

“Thanks, that means-“ she took a deep breath and raised her head “a lot to me, Mark”

“You have nothing to thank me. In fact, I should be thanking you for bringing Astrid to visit.”

“Honestly, I’m not doing it to ingratiate myself with you or your brothers, Mark” Tara suddenly turned serious “I did it because I knew Sungjae would do anything to see her and I didn’t want more problems. Things are-“ she hesitated “very complicated right now and I don’t want our families to start fighting again and-” Tara trailed off when she noticed Mark slipping a hand into hers. “And it’s not right for you to hold my hand” she added, without concealing a giddy smile making its way to her lips “The workers can see us and God knows what they’ll think. I don’t want any rumors floating around”

“And you know, I’d do more than just holding your hand,” Mark said leaning closer and closer to Tara.

“Don’t even think about it, Mark” Tara chuckled, her face a mixture of amusement and regret “It’s really not the right time”

“So, you don’t let me send you flowers, you won’t let me thank you for saving my life, Tara-“ Mark inhaled loudly “I’ve been meaning to ask you out-“ Mark could almost hear an excuse escaping from Tara’s lips, so he hurried to place a finger over them “You can’t say no, the only valid answer is a place and a date”

Tara shook her head defeated “Is it supposed to be a date?” She dared to question although she knew very well it was.

...

[pandastern]

Gravity (Bakugou x OC)

Part 7: A Soldier’s Strength

Bakugou x Vigilante!OC

Warnings: angst, explicit language, violence

Word count: 3488

Genre: enemies to lovers ; angst ; romance, slow burn

When a new student makes an entrance, Bakugou has a real bad feeling. There is something about this girl that just doesnt feel right. From the flaming hair to the calculating glint in her green eyes, everything about her just pisses him off.

Little does he know that his fate is intertwined with the person he despises so much, defining his future path in a way he would have never expected.

“That should be all of them,” Kirishima said, wiping the sweat off his brow as the last of the villains that had attacked them fell unconscious to the ground.

“For now, anyway,” Bakugou growled.

After their attack on the portal villain had gone awry, they’d been sent here, straight into the middle of a group of waiting villains.Bakugou and Kirishima had fought hard and managed to overpower them, though even Bakugou couldn’t deny that it had taken a good chunk of energy out of him. His arms hurt from using his quirk so vigorously. He was well aware that they needed to be careful with their strength. God only knew how many more of those villains were around. Not to mention that wispy bastard. 

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” said Kirishima. “I’m guessing since we’re still here, the others must be inside the USJ. Now that we’re finished here, we should try and find them. They probably need our help, especially since we’re the reason we ended up in this mess. If we hadn’t attacked that portal guy, Thirteen could have just sucked him up... Yo, Bakubro, are you listening?”

Bakugou was, in fact, not listening. His mind was running over the events leading up to this fight. After their failed attack, the black clouds of the portal had engulfed them and dragged them away. He remembered clearly how the wispy villain’s tendrils had wrapped around Artemis’s body, whisking her away by herself.

He looked around. The five villains that had waited for him and Kirishima were still down on the floor. What if Artemis had had to face similar odds? Bakugou could feel his own exhaustion clawing at him, and Kirishima didn’t seem to be much better off. Even though the villains hadn’t exactly been the strongest, it was the amount of them that they had to keep on eye on. Shit. If Artemis really was alone, this could mean serious trouble for her. The image of her face popped up in his head and something in him tensed. Would she be okay?

He shook his head. Of course she’d be okay. As angry as the memory made him, Artemis had wiped the fucking floor with him in their fight. That girl was a force to be reckoned with. Of course she was okay. She had to be.

Unease rose within his stomach. Why was he even worried about her? Perhaps he felt responsible for her in a way, since anything that happened to her now would be indirectly his fault. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, Bakugou shook his head. No, Artemis would be fine. She was strong and fierce. Not that he cared, obviously.

The sound of a bullet hissing through the air past his ear and hitting the wall just inches away from Kirishima’s face ripped him out of his train of thought. Hearing his classmate yelp in surprise, he whipped around, ready to blast the next enemy to kingdom come. He spotted a man dressed in black leather gear in the broken window of the rundown room they were trapped in. The barrel of a gun pointed directly at his face. Shit. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, making his skin prickle. He may be fast, but not faster than a fucking gun! No use in stalling his attack. He needed to hurry. He raised his gauntlet hand and got ready to fire.

With a slam, the door burst open and something sharp hissed into the room. A long ice arrow buried itself into the gunman’s left shoulder. The momentum of the shot knocked the villain off his feet with a pained cry.

Bakugou’s red eyes flickered to the direction from where the arrow had come.

Artemis stood in the doorway, swirling water bow in hand, a wild look in her eyes that sent a shiver down his spine.

For a moment, silence fell over the room as Bakugou’s brain tried to process what had just happened. He realised that she’d shot that man without so much as a hesitation to save them. 

“Whoa, Artemis! Are you okay?” Kirishima’s voice pulled him back to the present.

Kirishima was already on the way to the door. He caught Artemis just before her knees buckled and she sank down to the ground.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, pushing his hands off her.

“Artemis, you’re… you’re covered in blood,” Kirishima gasped as he looked her over.

Bakugou stepped closer, taking a closer look at her. Kirishima was right. Artemis had several blood splatters across her PE uniform. Her clothes were ripped in several places and bruises covered her skin. He noticed a particularly nasty cut on her cheek and right upper arm.

Artemis pushed Kirishima off her again and rose to her feet. “Don’t shit yourself, Kirishima. It’s not my blood.”

“Is that supposed to calm me down? What the hell happened?”

“Villains. Would you rather it be my blood?” Artemis snapped at him.

“Wha- Of course not!” Kirishima gasped.

Bakugou stayed in the background as he observed the situation. A surprising wave of relief washed over him. Artemis was fine. She couldn’t be that bad, considering how she was yapping about again. A few bruises and cuts didn’t usually kill anyone, right? But something about that wild look in her eyes was… alarming.

Ignoring Kirishima’s protests, Artemis walked over to one of the villains lying on the ground and poked them with her foot.

“They’re out cold,” Bakugou growled, crossing his arms. “I made sure of that.”

Instead of answering, Artemis closed her eyes and kept still for several seconds. A familiar anger bubbled up in Bakugou’s gut. He really didn’t like being ignored. “Oi! I said-” he barked, but Artemis held up a hand to stop him. “I can see that,” she said before looking up. “Kirishima, help me out.”

“S-sure.”

She started to strip off her PE jacket. What in the hell was she doing now, Bakugou thought. There were no snide undertones, no cockyness in her voice anymore. Just clear-cut seriousness, like a veteran soldier emerging from his latest battle.

“What exactly are we doing?” Kirishima asked as he helped Artemis put her jacket onto one of the unconscious villains.

“There’s someone on the roof of the building next to us. I want to check something,” she replied.

“And how would you know if someone is on the roof? You came from the back, genius!” Bakugou protested. “Have you got an x-ray vision quirk now, too?”

“No, you idiot. I sensed him,” Artemis replied.

“Sensed him? How?”

Artemis sighed deeply, as if she were having to explain something simple to a child. God, he hated it when she got like this. How the fuck was he supposed to know what kind of stealth wizard magic she had?

“My quirk, Bakugou,” Artemis replied calmly. “I can manipulate and sense water molecules. That means I can read heartbeats. My quirk picks up on water molecules in a person’s blood and can read how fast it’s circulating by the pressure of the heartbeat”

Silence fell as both boys tried to process what she’d just dropped on them.

“Wait, hold on.” Kirishima laughed nervously. “So, what you’re saying is that… you can feel how fast water moves through the body by the pressure of the heart?”

“Exactly that. There’s someone on the roof and their heartbeat is slow and steady. In other words, they’re pretty confident of their position. And since it’s unlikely for one of our classmates to be this calm, I’m pretty sure whoever that person is, they’re bad news.”

The gears in Bakugou’s head had already started turning. It made sense. Blood was essentially water, after all. He remembered how Artemis had drawn the moisture out of the vegetation around them as they’d fought, how the grass and plants had turned to dust, dried up and dead. A shiver ran down his spine. Was she able to do that with everything? Plants and the air was one thing, but what about animals and...  people?

As quick as that thought entered his mind, he pushed it away. No. Who did he think Artemis was? Jesus, or something? No way. While she wasn’t someone to be taken lightly, she certainly wasn’t that strong. UA wouldn’t let someone that dangerous loose among them, would they?

Bakugou watched as Kirishima helped Artemis dress the villain in her uniform jacket and drag him towards the door.

“What exactly are you trying to do?” he asked in a gruff tone.

Kirishima just shrugged. So, Crazy Eyes hadn’t told him anything, either? How annoying. 

“Don’t pout, Bakugou. You’ll see soon enough,” Artemis grumbled before turning back to Kirishima again. “On three, throw him outside the door.”

Kirishima frowned in confusion. Bakugou’s fingers itched for his quirk. Even injured, she still had the strength to look down on him. To think that he’d been worried for her safety just a moment ago…

“The body should be visible from the roof there,” Artemis said.

Bakugou watched as Kirishima shrugged and followed along. A slight suspicion started to grow inside him. Was she gonna use that villain as bait? Begrudgingly. he had to admit that this wasn’t the worst plan he’d ever heard of.

Artemis grunted as she helped Kirishima pick up the body. Bakugou narrowed his eyes. Had she just flinched, or had he imagined it? With a groan, he stepped closer and pulled her off the villain.

“Hey!” she protested, but he ignored her and took her place.

“Just fucking admit that youre tired, woman! You’re gonna kill yourself like that,” he grumbled.

He sensed Kirishima raise his eyebrow, but one glare made him look away quickly. He wasn’t doing this because he cared. Of course he didn’t care. He was doing this because should Artemis overexert herself, he’d be the one who’d have to protect her and that was absolutely not on the goddamn table. 

Bakugou took a deep breath to steady himself. Giving Kirishima a nod, they counted to three and threw.

The body of the villain, clad in Artemis’s PE jacket, hadn’t even hit the ground before a gunshot echoed through the air. The bullet pierced the villain through the neck. Bakugou’s blood froze. Looking over to Kirishima, he could see him pale as well. 

“Tch.” The sound of a tongue clicking in annoyance made him whip around.

Artemis stood unfazed, her brows furrowed as if she’d just encountered a minor inconvenience in her plans. How was she not scared? There were people out to fucking kill them. With bullets!

And here she was, acting like this was just a normal, everyday situation. 

“Of course it would be a sniper.”

“You knew,” Bakugou said flatly. “How did you know?”

Directing her attention back to him, Artemis crossed her arms and took a deep breath.

“I didn’t know, but I had a suspicion,” she replied in a calm voice that sent shivers down his spine. “No one in combat is that calm on a roof during a battle. In my experience, it’s usually snipers.”

“Your experience?” kirishima asked, his voice laced with disbelief. “What the hell did they teach you at that school in Europe? That’s crazy!”

That seemed to catch her off guard a little bit. Artemis shook her head and crossed her arms. “Let’s just say my education was… thorough.”

Thorough, huh? Bakugou could tell that wasn’t entirely the truth. Again, Artemis was hiding something, being vague with who she was. It irked him to the point where he just wanted to grab and shake her.

“So, what exactly are we gonna do now?” Kirishima asked. “I mean, I can be bulletproof for a period of time, but I don’t think I’d be able to shield both of you to get out of here.”

“Just point me in the direction of that sniper and I’ll blast him right off,” Bakugou growled, cracking his knuckles.

“You’d both be dead before you could even reach them,” Artemis interjected.

God, Bakugou hated it when she was right. He turned towards her, eyes narrowing. “What do you propose, then? You seem to have something cooking in that freaky brain of yours.”

For a moment, Artemis froze in place, as if he had managed to catch her off guard.

“Well…” she started tugging at her bottom lip, a habit he’d noticed she did whenever she was deep in thought. “I may have a plan, but I’m not sure either of you is gonna like it.”

“Just spit it out, man,” Kirishima said, flashing her a toothy grin.

“Fine. Kirishima, I need you to get out that door and distract the sniper. Meanwhile, Bakugou and I will take the stairs up to the second level.” Her eyes set on Bakugou with an intensity that froze him in place. “I need you to blast yourself into the air while holding me. If I get high enough to take a clear shot, I can take out the enemy without us having to engage in any further combat.”

“You want me to do what?” Bakugou scoffed. “Carry you? What if you miss? You’d leave us open for attack, not to mention give our location away to any other villains in the area.”

“I don’t miss,” Artemis deadpanned. “I never miss. I know this plan isn’t optimal, but it’s the only possible way to get us out of here. I need…”

Bakugous eyes widened as she stepped closer and grabbed him by the wrist. He could clearly feel the trembling of her fingers. “I know you hate me, but just this once, please… trust me.”

Trust her? Was she joking? Every second word that came out of her mouth was a lie! Bakugou was ready to go off on her, when the look on her face made him stop. This girl looked nothing like the calculating soldier he’d seen when she’d first entered the class. Artemis almost looked… vulnerable and human.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Let’s do this.”

He gave Kirishima a nod and waited until Artemis had explained the precise details and timings of her plan before taking the lead up the stairs. He cursed himself for not taking both of his gauntlets to the dome, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

When they reached the second floor, Bakugou opened the window and climbed onto the sill. He held out his hand to Artemis.

“Are you going to be okay? You only have one shot.” Her face was so pale. She really was running on fumes. But he couldn’t let that stop him if he wanted to live. He couldn’t help but feel respect for her for willing to push herself that far.

Taking his hand, Artemis let herself be pulled against him. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna miss. Just blast yourself up and throw me up as high as you can. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Her determination was unbroken, and Bakugou hated that he liked that about her. Taking a deep breath, he waited until he heard Kirishima’s loud voice taunting the villain on the roof and the sound of bullets ricocheting off his hardened skin before jumping. Using as much force as he could possibly muster, Bakugou blasted himself upward with Artemis clinging to him.

“Now, throw me!” Artemis shouted in his ear. He shifted, placing his hands beneath her foot, and launched her as high as he could.

Bakugou watched as her small body twisted in the air, water collecting around her hands to form her bow. She took aim and shot. The loud  thud of an arrow successfully hitting its target echoed through the area. Then she fell.

Quickly blasting upward again, Bakugou caught her in his arms. Now falling together with her, he prepared to lessen the fall with his quirk, but before he could gather his energy, water started to draw towards them and encased them in a bubble.

The moment their bodies hit the ground, the bubble burst, taking most of the blunt force of the impact. Bakugou rolled onto his back, coughing. The landing had knocked the air out of him.

“Well, I gotta say, that went better than expected.” Kirishima’s voice called out to him.

He was right, Bakugou thought. He almost couldn’t believe it himself. He got back onto his feet and looked for Artemis, who’d been unusually quiet since the landing.

Artemis lay on the ground, curled up, writhing slightly. His stomach dropped.

“Artemis!” Bakugou knelt beside her, grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

“I’m fine,” she hissed, her breaths ragged.

Clearly, that was a lie. So, she’d taken a bigger hit than he’d suspected at first. “You’re not. You’re close to collapsing! For fuck’s sake, Artemis, you should have-”

She grabbed his arm with a strength he hadn’t expected, shoved him off and forced herself to her feet again. Was she trying to kill herself? 

“I can still fight! Don’t worry about me. We need to get to the others. The rest isn’t important,” she snapped.

White hot anger bubbled up Bakugou’s gut, setting his veins on fire. “Do you even hear yourself? You’re done! Look at you. If you keep this up, you’re going to fucking die! You won’t be able to help anyone,” he roared.

How could a single girl be so stubborn? Didn’t she care about her own life? Just earlier on the bus, she’d been so arrogant about being a liability in a fight and now here she was! God, he just wanted to smack her.

But before he could snap at her and vent his own anger, a huge explosion made the whole USJ tremble in its foundations.

“What the hell was that?” Kirishima gasped as finally he caught up with them. “There must be a huge fight going on.”

“We need to help them.” Artemis gritted her teeth and started walking.

“No, you dont!”

Bakugou jumped to his feet and went after her with big strides. Enough was enough. He wasn’t about to let her push herself to a point where she’d lose her life through her own stubbornness. If he had to grab her and knock some sense into that thick skull of hers, so help him God, he would.

Artemis had put quite a lot of distance between them when she started to wobble. Bakugou noticed the dangerous sway in her step and sped up, catching her just before her knees buckled.

“Fucking told you, dumbass,” he hissed.

He pulled her into his lap, alarmed at just how hot her skin felt.

“No… I need to…” she mumbled, her speech becoming slightly slurred.

“The fuck do you mean, you need to? You can’t do shit like this! You’ve done enough,” he growled.

A strange wetness spread across her back, soaking through her black shirt and seeping into Bakugou’s glove. Confused, he pulled her closer, his free hand pulling up her shirt to expose the area.

What he saw turned his blood to ice and made his anger simmer down to fear.

There was a deep wound on her back, just below her kidney. The flesh around it had turned an unnatural greenish blue tint. The weaker Artemis grew, the more blood seemed to seep through.

“What the…” he whispered in horror.

When had this happened, and why hadn’t she said anything? How had she just now started bleeding?

“F-fuck,” Artemis whispered weakly, her eyes becoming glassy. “A villain… stabbed me. I held it in… I think… poison.”

Bakugou stared down at her in disbelief. “Held it in? How did you… How the fuck did you even fight with that?”

“Quirk… I controlled my own blood flow.” She coughed weakly. “I had to. It was either fight… or die.”

Artemis struggled in his arms, trying to get up again, but he pushed his arm under her legs and picked her up, putting a stop to her struggles. He needed to get her to the teachers. She was dying. Even he could tell that much.

“Shut the fuck up,” he barked and started walking, Kirishima trailing after him.

Every few steps, he looked down at her, making sure she was still awake. Fear made his head pound. More and more blood leaked from her, soaking his clothes and leaving a trail of droplets.

“You stupid woman,” he growled. “Why didn’t you say anything? You’re fucking dying, goddamnit.”

Why was it that she looked so small and broken in his arms? As if all her walls had finally crumbled.

“I’m… sorry,” Artemis whispered, barely audible. “Thank you… for trusting me. No-one has ever…”

Her voice trailed off and her head fell back. Artemis had lost consciousness.

“Shit! Fucking hell, Artemis, dont you dare!”

In that moment, more shots echoed through the USJ and the loud scream of Present Mic told him that help was here at last. His steps picked up the pace. He needed to get her to the teachers. Now.

[whatcouldgowrong-ohthat]

We Do This to Live Ch. 5

Chapter Five

Summary: On Earth-198742, there are no heroes. There’s humans. There’s mutants. There are even some that fall somewhere between. But when Boliver Trask manages to get the Sentinel program signed, it’s up to a thief and her brilliant sister to find those that still believe in something more - something good. And maybe, along the way, they’ll get the chance to save mutant kind.

Pairings: Rogue x Remy, Marie x Shuri (eventually), Geneva x Bucky (eventually)

Word Count: 3475 words

Warnings: Violence? Cussing? That sort of thing?

Masterlist to OCs - Masterlist to Other Works 

Previous Chapter

---

“Y’the only t’ief crazy ‘nough t’steal more than is asked o’ya.”

Geneva shrugged from her spot on Marie’s bed. She had come home only a handful of hours ago and while she knew she should rest, her powers were matching her emotions. A constant hum was in the back of her ears and her nerves felt particularly prickly. Until she found out what all of this new information meant, she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep. “T’anks for takin’ a look.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Marie was impressed that in the last twenty-four hours, Geneva had not only caught Jean-Luc up on everything that had happened, but she’d duplicated the contents of the flash drive. It was sneaky…underhanded…and absolutely something Marie was proud of. “Don’t t’ank moi yet.” She clicked on a file. Lab results, videos, photos – everything one could ever hope to find – popped up over the multiple screens. Marie raised a brow, finding a particularly interesting piece of information. “This project was terminated ‘cause the mutant escaped.”

Geneva bit her lip, taking in the x-rays that showed a metal skeleton. A shiver ran down her spine. “What was his name?”

Marie glanced back at the redhead. She knew Geneva had always been hesitant to learn about more of her kind, but it seemed like she was shedding that fear as she got older. “Uh…” She looked back at the information, eyes flitting from each piece of the puzzle until she pulled up the patient’s name. There was a small photo with it. “James Logan Howlett.” Shock washed over her as she told Geneva, “He was military. Part o’that Cap’n America’s Howling Commandos.” A couple lines further down and she realized why this guy was so important. “His mutation was enhanced healin’. No way o’knowin’ ‘ow old the homme really is.”

The familiar creak of her bed let Marie know that Geneva had moved, no doubt standing behind her. The two stared at the sleeping face. A patient used for experimentation and yet…he looked so peaceful in that single image. Who knew what drugs were in his system?

“Ca va,” Geneva muttered, resting her arms on the back of Marie’s chair. “What else?”

Marie exited out of the Weapon X file. “T’ought y’said there were five files.” She glanced at Geneva. “There’s only four.”

“One o’them needed voice recognition t’even move the damn t’ing,” Geneva admitted, running a hand through her hair. “Was called the Sentinel Program.”

Marie’s nose scrunched. “Weird.” She clicked on the Avenger file. Scrolling through the files, her eyes widened. “Oh, mon dieu.”

“What?”

“Shush.” Marie kept scrolling, utterly amazed at the amount of information Geneva had gotten her hands on. “Gen, y’managed t’get the file on all the Avengers and what happened to ‘em. Not the bullshit the media gave us. The real story.”

“Sonovabitch…” Geneva’s eyes sparked a little brighter, excitement coursing through her at the idea of such important information. And she was the one who found it.

A knock came from the door, earning two sets of curious eyes as it opened. Rogue peeked her head inside, leaning against the doorframe. If she had opened it even half a second earlier, she would have caught sight of all the information the pair had been looking at.

Instead, she saw the inner workings of Essex Industries.

Closing her eyes, Rogue took a slow breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Marie…”

“Technically not a government organization.” The excuse tumbled from Marie’s lips effortlessly, as if well practiced and thought out.

They had a deal. Marie could hack away to her heart’s content – but she had to stay out of government business. It wasn’t that Rogue and Remy weren’t proud of her capabilities. They just didn’t want to bring unwanted attention their way.

Rogue forced her shoulders to relax as she looked at the girls. “Just be careful.”

Marie threw a thumb’s up her way as Rogue stepped inside. Geneva, ruffling the tween’s hair, looked at her mom. “Somethin’ up, Mama?”

“Your grandfather told Rem and I how your first mission went. Wanted to congratulate ya.”

Geneva grinned, her powers shimmering under her cheekbones. “Merci.”

Rogue chuckled as she sat on the foot of Marie’s bed. “He also told us how Marie helped.”

Marie tensed, looking over her shoulder. It wasn’t a secret that Geneva and Marie hadn’t been seeing eye to eye. If she didn’t know better, Rogue would comment about how much she loved to see them spending time together once again.

But Rogue was a very smart woman. She knew to keep her mouth shut. At least regarding their mended friendship.

“I wanted to talk to you two ‘bout that,” Rogue told them, bouncing her leg as Marie spun in her chair. “Your dad knows that you’re talented, Gen. We’re not doubtin’ that,” she assured her daughter. Just like she had been at Geneva’s age, the teenager was still self-conscious about her own talents. “But where ya might not think everythin’ through, Marie does.”

Marie shrugged. “What’s your point? ‘M a phone call away. She’ll be fine.”

“We don’t want it to have to be a phone call, Marie.” Rogue sighed, looking between the girls before settling her gaze back on Marie. “I know bein’ a part of the Guild isn’t what ya want. And I don’t blame ya at all. This won’t require you to do anythin’ you don’t already. But when Geneva goes on assignments, we’d like it if ya worked together. Someone needs to have Gen’s back and know what to look for.”

Silence fell in the room. Rogue knew it was a hard sell and understood why. With what had happened to Henri, Marie didn’t trust Jean-Luc or the Guilds. She hardly trusted her uncle, Remy.

But…

“I don’t want anyt’in’ t’happen t’Gen. If my ‘elp can benefit ‘er then…” Marie shrugged. “Ca va. ‘M in.”

Rogue looked at her daughter. Geneva simply shrugged. “Sounds like fun t’moi.”

--

That night, the two were in Geneva’s small house. Her projector illuminated a blank wall, showing them the videos she had stolen.

There was Dr. Strange’s arrest. The Eye of Agamotto had been glowing so brightly against his chest, refusing to leave its owner. They took his cloak though, no matter how feisty it had tried to be.

Charles Xavier’s students being arrested, despite their age. The school being shut down. Xavier being injected with so many needles, so much medicine, that he looked like a husk of the brilliant telepath he had been.

There was a clip of Natasha standing trial, being asked questions she refused to answer.

Another with Stark in the same predicament except…he spoke too much. His confidence screamed arrogance to those deciding his fate. They couldn’t trust him.

Both walked out in cuffs.

Geneva remembered learning about them in school. Photos of the infamous Black Widow and Ironman, teachings of how they were traitors to humans.

“We should show this to Pere ‘n’ Mama,” she whispered, absentmindedly drawing circles on her inner knee.

Marie looked back at her. Her cousin, the mutant, looked so terrified. Curled against the wall as if everything she had been taught was a lie. The media had told so many stories about the evils of mutant-kind. Of the Avengers. It was easy to lose track of what you were supposed to believe. Marie remembered a time where Geneva refused to believe heroes even existed. As far as she knew, the redhead still clung to that belief. To her, the only ones that were good were her own parents.

“We can’t, Genny,” Marie told her, smiling at the annoyance that flashed across her face. It was better than the fear. “Y’pere wouldn’t let y’go on more missions. Y’know that.” Pausing the clips, Marie turned to face her entirely. Geneva’s eyes, staring so intently at the pale images, finally looked at Marie. “’M gonna be helpin’ now. Y’know that too. This way, we can keep learnin’ the truth. If we get enough, we can stop SHIELD.” She took Geneva’s hand in her own, not bothered by the slight shock that tingled her palm. “We gonna do this toget’er. Y’not alone.”

Geneva blinked, her eyes finding their hands. “’M not a hero, petite. Not tryin’ t’be one eit’er.”

Marie nodded. “I know.” She gently squeezed her hand. “And y’don’t ‘ave t’be. Just gotta promise that we do this together. Just us.”

--

Bringing Marie in to help Geneva provided an almost-guarantee that their daughter was going to be safe. Where Geneva didn’t naturally over-think, Marie did. She knew the security guards’ schedules. She anticipated changes whether they occurred or not. While Geneva was smart in her abilities, there were cracks that Marie managed to fill in.

They worked well together. Naturally performing like a well-oiled machine.

Knowing and seeing that, Jean-Luc sent Geneva on more missions. Bigger and higher stakes that made stealing a few files look like nothing. Not that Jean-Luc believed so. A single promise to Marie had Geneva gathering as much information as she could, sidelining it and keeping it under wraps from the man in charge of it all.

He had no idea that any inkling of HYDRA existed.

Or that he kept sending her in the middle of it.

“This ‘as t’be the stupidest idea,” Geneva muttered, knowing Marie was listening on the comm.

“Jeez, tell moi ‘ow y’really feel.”

Geneva snorted as she stepped into the service elevator, janitorial clothes hanging loosely off her figure. Her hair, tucked behind her ears and hidden well under the company hat, was kept out of sight and mind. It was a fair enough disguise. People were leaving to go home at about this hour. It meant less disturbances. On paper? It totally made sense.

In person? Dressing as a janitor to slip in and out of Pym Technologies? It was slightly more terrifying. A single ding came from above and she stepped out. Just ahead, two workers were hanging a new sign.

Trask Industries.

Nodding to the boys, she kept walking until she came across the janitorial closet. The ID card deftly slipped between her fingers as she asked, subtle accent perfectly intact, “Didn’t think to tell me Trask bought this place?”

Silence.

Geneva opened the door as she asked, “Marie?”

“I didn’t know.”

She hesitated, barely able to gather any sense before she was tugging that blasted janitorial cart out of the closet and down the hall. Her nerves were going haywire as she trudged along. This hadn’t been a part of the plan. Breaking into Pym’s was one thing, but Trask? Alexander Pierce’s best friend?

“Breathe, Genny. It’s gonna be okay.”

Geneva snorted. “Easy for you to say.” She visibly relaxed when that sign was finally out of sight. From here, she could at least pretend it didn’t exist. She could act as if she wasn’t walking into a warzone entirely unprepared.

The doors opened with a hiss. She slipped inside, the doors closing behind her. Metal walls surrounded her, long labs stretching here and there. A quick glance to the last specialist was enough for Geneva to focus on taking out the trash.

“T’ink this is the most I’ve seen y’clean after someone else.”

Geneva wanted to snap at that, but she knew better. Each table had a small trash can next to it and by the time she had gotten to the fourth, the dweeby scientist was finally leaving. She set the bin down. As she looked up, a loose strand of hair fell free. She was alone.

Well, sort of.

“What’s the passcode,” she asked as she walked to the back of the room. There was a second door made of heavy metal. A keypad too. On the other side, something that might help them with sneaking just a little bit more. Geneva glanced through the window. No doubt it was thick glass. Probably bullet-proof.

“135081965.”

The keypad beeped with every input, followed by a much longer one as the door unlocked itself. “Any tricks I should know ‘bout?”

“Shouldn’t be, non. The glass’ll be thick, but y’powers should be able to handle that.”

Geneva chuckled as she took the hat off, shoving it in one of her many pockets. “Should bein’ th’key word, right,” she muttered, almost closing the door before stepping further inside.

The room was massive, bigger than the one before. It made no sense to her. The glass bubble, thick glass secured by metal, was the only thing in the room. And its contents were the smallest thing she’d ever seen.

“There’s no way that’s an actual suit.” Geneva circled the glass.

“It’s called the Yellow Jacket.”

Geneva looked up, bright eyes sparking a little brighter. But... Who the hell? There was no one in the room. “Marie? T’ought y’said no tricks.”

“I got nothin’.”

“Oh! Sorry. Uh…give me a second.”

Geneva’s jaw ticked, fingers crackling with electricity. A static filled the air and prickled her skin before a figure appeared in front of her. A red suit, silver helmet and red lenses, and…was he just small?

“I’m Ant-man.”

“What’s happenin’, Genny?”

Geneva didn’t say anything to Marie. This was the first time she had ever really crossed paths with someone that wasn’t…normal. “I – I’m Geneva.”

“Gen, what’s goin’ on?”

He tilted his head. “That’s your alter-ego name?”

Geneva’s brow furrowed. She shook her head. “Not exactly.”

“Oh!” He pressed a button and Geneva curled her fist. She couldn’t help it. It was simply instinct. But seeing the helmet disappear, she was met with a…surprisingly kind face. Well, there was no way the guy was a thief or assassin. “I’m Scott.”

Definitely not an assassin.

“Geneva, be careful. You don’t – “

“Guessing we’re after the same thing?” He pointed to the suit between them. Something so small and so protected. Just how powerful was the thing?

Geneva took the comm out of her ear. She could hardly think with that thing in her ear. Shoving it in her pocket, she dropped the fake accent and told Scott, “’Fraid y’not the one that’s goin’ t’walk away with it.”

Scott huffed. “Look, we’re both thieves, right?”

She shrugged. “Eh. Maybe not on the same level.”

And with that – the lights flickered off.

Geneva’s eyes lit up, glowing in the new darkness. She recognized the whizz that came from Scott’s helmet, but paid him little attention. He wasn’t where her focus was needed. Fingers brushing against the glass, she watched it tremble.

But before it could shatter – something small and heavy hit her stomach.

Geneva’s back slammed into the wall. Fluorescents shattered above as Scott reappeared. Now – between her and her prize.

A hand pressed to her abdomen, she asked, “Were y’just petite?”

“Did you do that?” Scott’s hand pointed to the ceiling.

It seemed to dawn on them at the same time. Maybe this wasn’t going to be an easy assignment for either of them.

Geneva dropped low. Her staff extended. Swiping at his legs, she smirked when he landed on his ass.

Scott groaned. “You’re not a normal janitor, are you?”

“What clued y’in?” Her eyes sparked a little brighter and her staff lit up, crackling with her powers.

She swung for his head. He rolled, shrinking down to an impossibly small size. Geneva hopped to her feet. “Where the fuck…?” She looked around, desperate to catch sight of any sort of movement.

Something.

Anything.

She felt the tug at her wrist. A twist and jerk forced her hand behind her back. Pinned between her shoulders. Geneva hissed. She stumbled towards the wall, her hand pressing against the metal before her jaw could.

“Sonova…” She growled. Electricity shimmered over her hair, flying towards the lights. They burned ever so bright.

“Ah, fuck!”

There he was.

Her power surged through her pinned arm and –

ZzZzAP

Scott flew through the air. She spun, watching a small dent appear in the metal protecting the yellowjacket’s case. He grew in size, twitching here and there. The sparks of electricity still dancing on his suit zapped through the air, seeping once more into her skin.

Her veins and scars lit up as she threw a punch. There was too much going wrong with this assignment. She needed to wrap it up. Marie’s warning now long forgotten, Geneva aimed for his head. He dropped, vanishing once more as her fist, and her powers, shattered the metal and glass.

An alarm rang.

Scott reappeared behind her as the door swung shut. Locked.

With no way out.

“Ya sonova – “ Geneva turned towards him, eyes wide and panicked as Scott’s helmet vanished.

“I didn’t do it! You did!”

“Y’coulda let moi hit ya!”

Scott huffed, crossing his arms as if waiting for her to realize how ridiculous that sounded.

“I know ‘ow it sounds and ‘m not takin’ it back.” She turned away from him. Pressing a hand to the door, she focused on her abilities.

That was when the room’s light went red.

“Whoa.”

Geneva looked over her shoulder. Scott’s attention was still focused on her, staring at her appearance. “What?”

“Well, when the lights went red, it…” He pointed to her skin.

Geneva followed his gaze. Her skin, once glowing brilliantly, looked as normal as it possibly could. Her brow furrowed. The familiar buzz in her ears…the tingle to her skin…Those things she had grown so used to…

It was all gone.

She stumbled then, exhaustion tugging at the corners of her eyes. Scott stepped forward, offering her a hand. “Hey, careful.” He helped her lean against the wall, oblivious to the gas that was appearing through skinny vents. “Are you okay?”

Geneva blinked slowly, looking around. Her comm link. She needed – Her eyes drifted to the gas. Squeezing his hand, she nodded towards it. Their fight forgotten, survival seemed far more important. “’M powers make moi so…”

“It’s okay. I understand. You’re a little battery, aren’t you?” It was a lighthearted joke, something to make her laugh and hopefully wake her up a bit. He glanced at the gas, noticing how it started to fill the room. His helmet appeared, a barrier for him though he couldn’t do anything for her.

“Y’should…” She coughed, resting her head against the wall. “Go. S’meone is bound t’show up and there’s…” Another cough, this time followed by a yawn. “No point in us both getting’ caught.”

“You were ready to kick my ass a minute ago.”

Geneva shrugged, offering a weak smile. She saw his eyes through those weird red lenses. He was concerned and she appreciated it. “That was a minute ago. Sil vous plait, go.”

Another minute passed. A part of Scott didn’t want to leave her. It seemed inhumane. If this was still Hank’s building, he might consider it, but the whole reason he was here was because of Trask. The man was changing everything. He had a plan. He had power. And he had had enough of both to push Hank out of his own company.

But if he stayed…what would happen to Cassie?

“I’m sorry. I – “

She shook her head, pushing his hand away. It was then he noticed how green her eyes were. Like pretty jewels. “Don’t. Jus’ go.”

Scott took a step back, shrinking just in time for the door to open. He stumbled back, feet brushing against the vent just as the door opened. Geneva seemed to be drifting between consciousness and sleep, eyes barely able to stay open. With one last apology, Scott stepped through the vent, making his escape.

Geneva allowed herself to smile, relieved that at least both of them wouldn’t be caught. Competition was one thing, but prison? No, she wouldn’t wish that on anyone. She looked up, nodding slightly as masked guards came in. And right behind them, someone much smaller stepped inside.

Trask.

She grinned. “Y’lot shorter than I ‘magined.”

“And you,” he told her, voice muffled by his own mask. “Were almost smarter than I anticipated.”

--

Marie sat in her chair, curled up to look as small as possible. The shouting down the hall did nothing to ease the tears slipping down her cheeks. Sniffling, she wiped her nose on her sleeve and looked to the News.

“After apprehending a mutant thief, Boliver Trask has looked to SHIELD in hopes of fast-tracking his newest creation. With long-time friend Alexander Pierce holding office as Secretary of SHIELD, it appears this mutant’s actions were all that was needed to fast track what they are now calling the Sentinel Program. SHIELD officials have plans to introduce these creations to our larger cities first and - ”

She turned the screen off. Head hitting the chair behind her, Marie listened to Remy and Rogue screaming at each other. Shouting blame. Shouting worries.

Another sniffle as Marie stared at the ceiling.

What was going to happen to them now?

 --

Permanent Tags:

@butcherofblackwater​

[flowersfrombefore]

Flowers and Pianos:Part 2  (Greta Stirling X Roger Taylor) (OC)

AN: today on ‘I am the worst’ I’m so sorry you guys ended up waiting so long for such a short chapter but my writers block has been killing me. I think it’s gone now so I should be getting stuff out faster. Anyway, this chapter is kinda a middle ground thing. Not really story line until the end, more relationship building (they’re cute and I’d die for them) 

Editing isn’t real in this chapter because I got pissed off don’t @ me about spelling mistakes or I’ll fight. 

Part one

Word count: 1430 (I’m sorry I know it’s short ) 

Enjoy babes.

Warmth hung in the air of the bedroom though outside the wind would send a chill through bone. Light from the sun still soaked the ground and the trees but it was a cold light, an empty promise of warmth.

Rays of light began to seep through the sheer curtains, casting ridges of shadow and white light across the floor and across the two bodies intertwined together in the sheets. Sleep had hardly settled over them when the sun had found its way through the curtains and onto their bare skin. Words had passed effortlessly between them until the darkness gave way to the soft gray that morning tended to bring.

Greta stirred only a short time after she’d drifted off in the comfortable heat and exhaustion, mixed with intoxication that her body was swimming in. Her eyes fluttered open lazily, only partially sure of where she was. The muffled pounding in her head was enough to tell her that no matter how long she’d been awake the night before her hangover had still caught her. She attempted to ignore it the best she could, looking out through the small break in the curtains on the window to the trees and the patch of flowers only just visible.

One thing she was aware of completely was the body pressed against her in the sheets, the lips still brushing against the back of her neck and the feeling that his arms were safe and warm and a place she never wanted to part from. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of his touch wash over her as she tried to recall exactly what had happened. She knew generally what she’d done, what they’d done, though a little blurry on why it had happened in the first place. She searched her mind for a sense of regret and came up empty, and came to the conclusion that this was something she was okay with.

A whisper of his name crossed her lips, only to see if he was awake as well. It was met with no response.

She needed to look at him.

She didn’t know why.

She supposed there was a need to know it had happened, even though a glance at her chest and the blossoming bruises was enough to tell anyone it definitely had. Less a need to know it happened than, more a need to know they were who she thought. When nothing feels real it’s all you can do to make sure your bad decisions were worth something and that they were real.

They were almost too close together for Greta to move without waking him, but it didn’t matter. She just wanted to look at him. They could fall back asleep just as easily if her head lay on his chest.

Shifting her position was easier than she expected even with his arm lazily draped over the outline of her ribs. With a slow movement she was able to turn herself without much disturbing of the sheets and was met with a mess of blond hair obscuring the face she wanted to see so dearly.

For only a moment her heart stopped in her chest.

Sarah.

Now without the dimness and the blurry vision of last night it hit her how similar the two could be. With a shaky hand she brushed the hair away and exposed Rogers face. Strips of light illuminated lines across his face leaving the rest in a shadow. Where it fell on his hair it gave off a glow that was almost unnatural. Greta remembered the thought that had crossed her mind the night before about him giving off the appearance of an angel.

“I was right.” She whispered to herself at the thought, not being able to stop herself from dragging her fingers lightly over his cheek. At her touch Roger stirred, his breathing changing from its previously steady sound.

As Roger slowly started to wake Greta closed the gap between them and brushed her lips against his. His eyes shot open in surprise and he pulled away, but only for a moment. The shock on his face softened in an instant.

“You’re still here.” It was a statement that could have been mistaken as a question.

“So are you.”

The words that passed between them would have meant nothing to anyone outside of the events but it was almost a realization on both sides. It’s all that was said for a time. Nothing else needed to be said after Roger had enveloped her in his arms and kissed her like his life depended on it. His hands found their way into the the sea of red that was Greta’s hair as he pulled her on top of him.

Twenty minutes later they broke apart, breathless and a little overwhelmed. Roger’s back was pressed against the headboard with Greta in his lap. The sheets had fallen from them leaving them colder than before. Roger trailed his hands up and down the sides of Greta’s body, tracing over the outline of her hips and her a-little-too-prominent ribs. The touch sent a shiver through her spine, it was like ice had been injected into her and froze her where she was, except to tighten her fingers in Rogers thick hair.

It was almost innocent.

“Stay with me.” Roger spoke up finally. The words fell from his lips like a plea.

“What do you mean?”

“I-I know that it’s not typical of me, and I know it would be hard with both of us touring and-” He was babbling, Greta thought it was sweet. She brought one finger to rest of on his lips to quiet him. She didn’t need to say it for him to understand. It was an unspoken request for the blunt truth. She lifted her finger away when she was sure he understood.

“I don’t want you to just leave after this. I want to be with you.” He looked away from her, resting his gaze on the window. “I’m sorry, ignore what I said I’m sure it’s just me.”

Greta tore her eyes from him and shifted her eyes to the window as well, she could see the flowers outside clearer now, and she smiled to herself remembering part of a conversation her and Roger had had the night before.

“I have two conditions.” As she said it she turned him to face her with a hand on his neck. She held up two fingers and dragged them down gently over his eyelids making them close. She lifted them away but Roger kept his eyes closed until she leaned down to kiss his forehead.

“One.” She poked a small bruise on his collar bone with one finger. “I get to call you Flower.” She giggled in spite of herself, as she was trying to sound even a little serious. Roger grinned, he’d found that her laugh was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever heard.

“Why is that going to be my nickname? We can’t compromise the tiny amount of masculinity I have with that.”

“Yeah we can, seeing that we spent an hour last night ranting about flowers. Just cause you were drunk doesn’t mean I’ll let that go.”

“Okay, okay it’s acceptable. I’ll just pretend I don’t like it to keep up some kind of image.” He let his head fall into Greta’s shoulder as the giggles he had been trying to hide died down. “What’s the second?”

Greta moved herself off of Roger before she spoke. She interlaced their finger and brought herself to sit beside him. She tapped two fingers this time on his knuckles.

“No one else. That’s my condition.” She turned to look at him, finding his eyes had been lingering on her since she had moved. “If I stay you’re mine.” She pressed a small kiss to his shoulder and nuzzled into his neck. “And I’m yours.”

“No one else.” He didn’t need to say anything else, Greta knew it was an agreement.

It didn’t cross either of their minds until later, when they had parted to find their bands, that staying together was going to be almost impossible. The promise had in no way been empty on either side, but the quiet oblivion of that bedroom had erased the serious obstacles.

There was no way.

They’d live knowing they’d made that promise, knowing they wanted the other, and they’d never be able to live up to it.

Or it seemed to them for weeks, until what seemed like an empty promise was filled by luck and coincidence.

Tag List: @blushy-monkey @crazyweirdocalledfriday @dreamer7black @greywind2 @clara-who @secretsweetscollectionblog @rogers-wristbands @bitemerog @thebohemianpenguin  @anuknowha @goodoldfashionlovergirl

(sorry if i forgot to tag, there’s a few people I forgot to write down.)

As always my rule to be on the tag list is that you leave some kind of feedback, i dont care what it is just something.

[21st-century-daydreamer]

This Stupid Little Thing Called Life pt.3

Summary: 6 teenagers got kidnapped while on a trip across Europe. The reader finds out that it’s not just a usual kidnapping. That the world is not what she thought it was. The mundane girl got swept into the world S.H.I.E.L.D and H.Y.D.R.A.

Word Counts: 3271

Warnings: nothing yet.

Pairing: Eventual Steve Rogers x Reader, Bucky Barnes x Reader, OC x Reader, Avengers x platonic!Reader

if you wanna be tagged on the next part or have a request please message me here.

Previous part here

Light.

It’s really bright.

Soft cotton.

Cold.

“Sir she’s waking up.” I heard a female voice next to me.

When I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings, I realized that this was not H.Y.D.R.A. Their facility wouldn’t be this nice, and a man with an eye patch walked in.

I remembered. 

Vincent. Blood. Knife.

Glass Box. Gamma-Ray.

“Good Morning Miss Y/L/N.” He took a seat next to me.

“Who are you?” I asked him.

“Nick Fury, I’m with SHIELD. And that is Goose.” He shifted his gaze towards an orange cat that was sitting on the edge of the bed. “A cat really?” I thought to myself.

“What do you want with me?”

“I’ve seen your file. Taken at 17, experimented, escaped, and your body counts are high for a 21-year-old.”

“You here to arrest me?” I cut him off. He just smiled. “Execute me? Get on with it then, I don’t need the last meal or shit.”

“I’m not here for that. You that eager to die?” He asked.

“For all I know you’ll be no different from HYDRA. Vincent’s dead. All my friends are dead. I doubt that my parents are still looking or even would consider taking me back after all the shit I’ve done. HYDRA’ll never stop hunting me. So what else can I live for.”

“This.” He handed me a file paper. I reached to take the file but he took it back. “Before you get your hands on this I need to ask you a few questions.”

Some guy in a suit came inside the room and hook me with some cables to a machine. At first, I was hesitant but what else do I have to lose. 

“Your name is Y/F/N Y/N Y/L/N. Correct?”

“Yes.”

“Where were you born?”

“Y/C”

“Why did you do those ‘mission’ of yours?”

“I thought they’ll take me to the doctor that did all this to me, and I can finish it off and live my life as a free woman.”

“Do you believe that freedom must be sacrificed for safety?”

“No.”

“If you were given a chance to do good with your ability, will you do it?”

“Good for who? An organization? Individual?”

“Good for humanity.”

“Yes.” He looked over at the man next to him, he was signaling something to Nick. He smiled and handed me the file.

The Avenger Initiative.

“Welcome to the team!” A man that I recognize as Tony Stark walked in. “She said yes right?” 

I must be on heavy medication right now. If you asked me a week ago if I would ever say yes to this team, my answer will be no. But right now, I have nothing. Vincent’s gone, at least if I joined I could use their resources to find Dr. Gruirera. 

Vincent

The thought of him makes my heart aches. He’s gone and there’s nothing I can do to bring him back. Streams of tears escaped my eyes, I’m torn. On one side I was devastated that I lost him. But on the other side, I feel relieved. And I felt guilty that I felt that. The only explanation for what I’m feeling right now is that Vincent is too far gone. Even if we managed to find Gruirera, I don’t think he’ll stop. His bloodlust has consumed him. He changed. He is not the man I love anymore. He was someone else.

Looking at the tears from my eyes Tony said, “Did I say something wrong?”

Goose purred and crawled into my lap, trying to comfort me.

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

I spent the next few months in and out of the lab with Tony and training, trying to gain their trust. I lived in Tony’s Miami home. I’ve grown very close to Pepper, she’s like a mother to me. I had a few episodes throughout my time in Miami, the first one was when one of the scientists from SHIELD triggered my memory of the facility. It happened after just a few weeks being with Tony. 

“You are gonna be the strongest asset here, our only hope against-” he said.

My mind went on a frenzy, I felt this pit on my stomach and my lungs felt like it was collapsing. I heard multiple muffled distressed voice and the heartbeat monitor going crazy. The room was spinning and I can’t think straight. I felt the bed under me started to shake. 

“Y/N!” I heard someone shouting my name.

“No sir, don’t come in there!” One of the scientists called out. 

“Y/N!” He was trying to get my attention. I looked up and saw Tony walking over towards me. He reached out to touch my hand, he was shaking. “Can you feel my hand? Focus on it. Feel the bed underneath you? Deep breaths... You’re safe. Where are you?” He asked me while still holding my hand. 

“Answer me... Where are you?” he asked me again. This time it broke me out.

“Miami,” I whispered softly.

The shaking stopped, “You are kid, you’re safe. No one can hurt you here.” he exhaled.

Afterward, I realized that Tony wasn’t shaking with fears; it was the ground. I caused an earthquake, thankfully it was only in the mansion. The whole room was trashed a scalpel wedged itself inside the wall. “I did that?” I thought to myself.

Tony, despite the flying scalpel and earthquake that I caused still decided to, came inside the room and help me. It was the exact opposite of the image of Tony that was portrayed in the media. He was selfless. 

In September Tony decided that me, him and Pepper will be living in an apartment that he bought in New York so that he can keep a close look on the self-sustaining tower that he was building. 

The apartment was spacious, Tony being Tony everything is extravagant. I spent my time as Pepper’s personal security, she told me that she didn’t really like the security that she didn’t really know so I offered my help. I can be her security and a friend at the same time. It was also a practice for me and it can make them trust me even more. Overall Pepper didn’t really attract danger, except for that one time when a drunk man in a bar tried to touch her. He ended up with a broken arm and 3 broken ribs. I admit that I went a little too far on that one. I’m getting bored with my routines. Nothing exciting really happens, it was a stark difference from my life a few months ago where I have ‘jobs’ every day. I was getting bored until October 7th.

We were having dinner, that I cooked. I was extremely proud of myself. It was kind of like my way of saying thank you to Pepper and Tony for taking me in. Pepper was enjoying her Risotto that I made, “This is amazing Y/N!” Tony, on the other hand, looks like he was having a mental battle and was constipated at the same time. “Tony? You okay?” Pepper asked him.

He looked like he was thinking hard for a second, “They found Captain America.” He blurted out.

“His corpse?” I said.

“Not really a corpse,” he paused for a second. “I shouldn’t be telling you this but, what the hell. He’s alive.”

“WHAT!?!?!” Pepper and I said at the same time.

“How the hell did he survive that? It’s been what 70 years?” Pepper put down her fork to focus on the conversation.

“Well, my best guess is that the ice reaches the temperature like a cryogenic tube. And of course the serum.” he theorizes. 

I don’t really know much about Captain America or Steve Rogers, all I know is that he was injected with a serum and became the world first ever super soldier.

“It must be hard for him to wake up after 70 years in a very different time,” Pepper said. 

“He’s still unconscious, but I’m going there first thing in the morning. You wanna come with?” He asked both of us.

“As much as I would love to meet the man out of time, I have to fly out to San Fransisco tomorrow to take care of some business deals. Y/N can come with you.” she offered.

“No, I’m supposed to be your security.”

“It’s alright hun, I have a whole team with me. And you will be protecting Tony.” She smiled.

“It is settled then. Tomorrow at 10 o’clock; don’t be late, kid.” he smiled and continue eating his Risotto.

The next morning, I woke up at 8 and got ready. When Tony and I arrived there. they escorted us towards the viewing room. They decided to put him in a fake recovery room with a lot of retro techs.

“What? Are they gonna lie to him about what year it is?” I asked Fury.

“It’s best to break it to him slowly.” 

All they do is watch him, his vitals, brain activity, and other stuff that I didn’t understand. I was getting bored so I decided to get lunch. I told Tony that I’m leaving to get some food. When I got back it was already 4 pm, well I did wander around for a bit. When I got inside the building I texted Tony. Suddenly there was a booming sound over the speaker, about code something. I looked around, everyone was panicking. I tried to call Tony when I was hit by what felt like a brick wall from behind me and I face planted on the floor. 

“I’m really sorry ma’am.” I heard a voice and someone tugging me up.

It was golden boy. Steve Rogers.

Before I got the chance to collect myself he ran away. I just stood there frozen for a minute until Tony grabbed my hand. “Where were you?”

“Ca-”

“Yeah, he freaked out a bit.” 

Tony told me to go back on my own since he had some business to deal with, in the car I decided to call Pepper.  “PEPPER! OMG YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO ME.”

“What?”

“I get to talk to Captain America before Tony did.”

“He’s awake?”

“Yeah...but he kinda freaked out and ran out of the building. He knocked down walls and me in the process.”

“You?” 

“Accidentally, he’s su-Wait pep hold on.” I noticed that there was a black SUV behind us, it has been following us since we got out of the building,

“Happy did Tony sent another security car? The black SUV behind us-”

“Wait what black SUV?” Pepper said on the phone, she started to sound worried. 

“I don’t think so..” Happy replied, “Your seatbelts on?” he asked.

“Yeah..” and with that, he sped off trying to lose the SUV. But now it becomes clear that it was following us. My adrenalin was spiking and I can feel another panic attack coming, the car started to shake uncontrollably while moving in high speed. “Miss you need to calm down! Your gonna kill us if you lose control.”

“Y/N Listen to me, breath... Deep breath alright. I’m calling Tony right now. Everything is gonna be alright.” It wasn’t working. Happy finally lose them after a couple of turns.

A couple minute later we arrived at the apartment. Backups already there, with Tony. I ran into him and hug him with all my might. Tony helped me got inside the building, but my power is still surging. Tony stopped and made me look at him. “Feel this, This is my hand on your back alright. Listen to my heartbeat. Focus on it, you’re safe. I promised you that they will never get you again, do you trust me?”

“I do.” Tears kept falling off of my eyes.

It took me a few minutes to fully calm down, “Are we good to enter an elevator now?”

“Yeah” I chuckled.

That night the security in the apartment got tighter, Tony doubled up the men and the tech. And we also got visitors from SHIELD,

“Agent Coulson.” Tony greeted him.

“Director Fury wanted me to take her to the retreat, it became obvious that HYDRA is still after her. And with all that is happening SHIELD can’t protect and ensure the safety here.”

“I can handle it if they got me, I’m not helpless alright?”

“Not yours.” They’re scared that I’d lose it again. Ever since Vincent’s gone my control over my power is well problematic, to say the least.

Happy walked out of my room with two suitcases in his hand, did he already knew about this? “Did you know about this?” I turned to look at Tony.

“Kid..this is for your own good.”

“Please...Do- Who even is at the retreat, I can’t. Please hel-”

“You think I like this kid? all I know is that I can’t protect you, but they can. So I need to let you go.”

“Trust them, kid. They’re gonna take care of you,” he added. I hug him and proceeded to follow Coulson to the car.

“It’s a secret facility of SHIELD. So you’ll be safe.” Coulson lead me inside a plane. A quinjet.

After a couple hours, the plane touch down. When I got out I was shocked. I was expecting something like a military sort of bunker, but what’s waiting for me was a cozy cabin on a lakefront.

“You like it?” Coulson asked.

“Well, it’s cozy. How many others are on this ‘retreat’?” Coulson helped me with my suitcase and lead me to the front door. “Just one.” he knocked on the door three times and someone opened the door.

“Good Morning Cap.” Coulson greets him.

“Agent Coulson,” he turned to me, “Ma’am.”

“Please don’t call me Ma’am, I’m not old. I’m Y/N.” I smiled and held my hand out.

“I know. I’ve read your files.” he shook my hand and smiled. Damn, that smile will be the death of me. There’s no denying that Steven Grant Rogers is hot. 

“Well, come in.” he stepped aside to let us in.

“Right, I’m not gonna hover for too long, I believe that everything you need Y/N is already in place and um, cap do you mind?” Coulson politely asked Steve to leave so that he can have a conversation with me. He walked outside.

“Y/N, You’re here for two reasons. The obvious one is for your safety, but this is also your first official mission. Help him adjust to the new world.”

“So my first job in S.H.I.E.L.D is a tour guide?”

“You both will stay here until further notice. Director Fury expects a daily mission report,” Coulson gave me a bracelet with a heart pendant. “What’s this for?” I admire the bracelet.

“Since there will be no internet or phones here you will need to send those mission report the old fashion way. Fax machine.” he smiled and continued, “Use the pendant on the vase outside.”

“Got it.” Coulson was getting ready to leave when something dawned on me. “NO INTERNET? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET HIM USED TO THE WORLD?”

“Start on little things Y/N. And we will give you more.”

Coulson left right away, saying he has some more business to attend to. I’m not gonna lie, I was kind of freaking out a bit. I mean can anyone blame me, that man is a walking sex and righteousness. The first couple of days, we don’t really talk much. Except for the conversation about what’s for dinner or lunch. On day 5 I decided to have a conversation other than just what food we’re eating.

“So...How you’ve been holding up?” I asked him out of the blue while we’re eating breakfast.

“Well... I’m more or less okay. Yes, the world has changed but some of it is for the better, like this food. We used to boil everything.” 

I decided to push it a little bit, “It must be weird huh. one day your friends and family are there and the next they are either 90 years old or gone. Any girl waiting back home?”

He smiled and looked down on his half-eaten food. “Well I don’t think she’s waiting for me anymore.” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push it.” 

“What about you? Anyone before all this?” he straightened his back on the chair he was sitting. Damn. I mean my parents are still looking for me, even my other friends. I felt like an asshole, to be honest. it’s true that I could never contact my parents while on the run; for their safety. But after Shield found me, I should’ve told them. But what am I going to say? Hey so this secret evil organization kidnapped me and experimented on me, and I also kill 2 of my best friend and after that, I escaped and become a mercenary and assassins while going on a murder spree. Yeah.

“My family and friends. Last time I checked they’re still out looking for me. After all these years.” I looked down. Guilt and embarrassment surging inside of me. “I mean the mundane and most possible outcome of this is that I’m already dead. It’s been what almost 3 years at this point? Why bother?”

Steve sighed, “They care about you, and I know what you’re feeling. You feel like an asshole for not contacting them, but if you do they’ll become a target.”

“Should I ask Coulson to make a fake body that contains my DNA?” I said half-jokingly to lighten the situation. Steve chuckled and we continued with our dinner.

“Damn, it would be great to have a tv right now, I could show you everything you need to know about the 21st century. Strictly entertainment though, no work stuff.” I took our finished plate to the sink. “Maybe HYDRA won’t kill me but boredom will.”

“Let me, you’ve cooked us. Let me do the dishes.” Steve said while taking the plates that was on my hand.

“Sure.” 

After dinner I was planning to write the daily report for Fury, it was nothing fun really. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was on my way to the pen and paper that I use for the reports, it was hidden away inside one of the fake fashion books on the top shelf in the living room. While I was reaching up, I heard the water stopped and a huff. “I think the sink is broken,” Steve shouted from inside the kitchen. He walked out of the kitchen with soapy hands towards the bathroom. A couple seconds later I heard another huff from the bathroom. “ I think our water system might have a problem,” he shouted. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a figure standing near the lake. That couldn’t be Coulson, he didn’t send a signal or anything telling us that he would be coming tonight. The water system could only be accessed from the outside. I could bet your ass that our water problem has something to do with this man outside.

“I’ll check-”

“No! I- I’ll do it. Your hands are soapy anyway.” 

I opened the door and the figure on the lakefront disappear. What the fuck is going on? The air felt really heavy, I walked over to the machine and examined it. Somebody has cut one of the cables. I looked around trying to find the man in the darkness that was surrounding the retreat; my only light source is from my glowing hands, considering that the machine was located on the backside of the cabin that had no window. 

“How you doing?” I heard a voice behind me.

I gasped.

[pkmntrainergreyze]

I Am Up To No Good Pt. 1 (Pete Wentz x Reader)

a/n: Sorry I didn't updated so quickly, I had tons of drafts I want to finish all at the same time! I learned that I can do things one at a time.

I noticed I've been leaning more on First Person POV, I'll try to make this in 2nd. Also, I couldn't think of the character names so I used my friends' OCs. I hope you'd like this modern HP!Au

----------

Pete had always been the friend you love to hate. Whether the circumstances involve the Hogsmeade games or not, in the end he'll always be the man you'll call for help when pranking Brendon or bricking Joe's Samsung.

Yeah, usually the "hate" intensifies when it's the infamous decking halls season. Especially when old Mrs Minerva initiates the Hogsmeade field trip, which she also did this year. The duels in form of curses— whether work of magic or foul mouths— it's what made the Hogsmeade games so popular.

The magic of your friendship had been slipping lately, a shame really. He rarely ever joins your party, putting your letters back to the rejected-Pete-invites mailbox.

Now's the 27th invite, and you prayed prank wars will spark your friendship once more.

So here's to the fifth anniversary of the Hogsmeade games

You created a group

Nicole Row What's this group for?

You named the group Genius Ravenclaws

Andy Hurley I'm honored

Dallon Weekes I failed divinations why am I here?

Ray Toro Good evening everyone

You  Hey genuises

Nicole Row set his name to Nic

Dallon Weekes set his name to DJazzy

You Where do you find trolls?

Nic ?

Ray Toro What for?

You Pete

Dallon Why do you insist on participating.

Nic Forbidden forest. Saw one near Hagrid's place, almost made an unbreakable vow

Ray Toro Maybe it's about time you stop? Let me remind you last time you got the all of us in detention

You Thanks guys

Nic Don't tell Hagrid I said that

Andy Hurley Are you sure you're not a slytherin??? @Nic?? Seen by Nic, Dallon and Ray Toro

You went offline.

You dove back to your azure blue bed.  The bedsheet engulfed you in a light hug in seconds. The more you sunk, the more you can sniff the 4th year's "love potion" project, like yesterday, it reeks of wood, mint and... vinegar?

You hooked your hand to the edge of the mattress and kicked high enough for you to reach the faraway lamp. Before you could complain about the smell you heard a distinct cough, a very gutteral one. Almost intended.

You turned to look, only to see a disappointed Hufflepuff in a riddle secured Ravenclaw dorm.

The dandelion haired boy lingered beside your nightstand. He pulled his hand back as he saw the lights flicker on. When your eyes met he immediately fixed his tie and took a deep breath.

"I heard the game's still on" He's soaked in what seemed to be his house's trap. The acid slid into your nostrils. Your immediate action was to grab your wand. You waved it and like magic— no, with magic, the awful stench was gone and his cloak's dried.

Patrick muttered "thank you"

He rubbed his shirt and smiled a bit "I was absent when Miss Quills taught that" Thankfully he went for one of the brightest witch of the year, but the gleam in your eyes told him no excuses.

"Were you also absent when Sir Ford taught us the hot-air charm?"

"Um, yeah.... that seemed to be the case" He chuckled. He ruffled his hair and avoided your eyes. No, I didn't understand a word Mr Ford said.

You chuckled.

"Understood" You chirped "but why are you here? How did you got here?"

Patrick looked at you as if he was expecting for you to know the answer to life's toughest questions, then cleared his throat. His eyes balled around, reluctant to answer

"Pete"

When the name rolled off his tongue you dashed and dug your wand in his neck. He yelped, taking large steps backward, nearly tumbling down. His terrified eyes had no effect on your daunted aura. His lips wobbled and nose scrunched. You directed your malice at him. Eyes twitching in anger.

"Talk."

"HetoldmethepasswordfortheHufflepuffdormchangedandsaidIshouldaskMikeybutthenitturnsoutitwasn'ttherealMikeyitwasBrendonUrieandhetoldmethepasswordwasSherbertLemonsbutitwasn'tandoneofthebarrelsspiltvinegaralloverme—

"Um" You stopped kneading his cloak "Say what?"

Once you held back he scurried two feet apart from you. He took a Marina's Trench deep breath, before he attempted to rap.

"PetewillneverstopteasingmeandIneedreveng—

"Are you trying to copy Eminem, the Rap God or Ryan Ross?" You furrowed your eyebrows. "Cause honestly, no one knows what Ryan tells his girlfriend"

He raised both his hands, and bended his spine down. He bowed down for seven times till his chanting morphed into something audible

"please let me help you in the Hogsmeade games..."

With that, you clapped both hands to his shoulder. You turned your head up, and greeted him with sun bright eyes with zigzag smile crooked enough to scare him.

"Permission granted"

You both entered a dim room at seven pm.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" You asked. The blonde nodded and swiped the curtains up.

"Yeah, from what I've heard, Miss Clovette stores it in her chest"

You gave him one last stare before you scurried to find said chest. The Hufflepuff said the box is supposed to look give a luxurious and ancient vibe. You checked under the table, around the bookshelves, stumped the floorboards for a secret passage— alas, nothing.

You turned back to Patrick, defeated and skeptical.

"You said this was the place?"

"I'm sure it's here somewhere," He bit his bottom lip "I saw the third years practicing the riddiko-what-lous charm in it"

You can faintly remember that Bogarts were part of your brother's lesson, and he's a third year. If your recollection is correct then Patrick's statement wouldn't be so far fetched. He grinded his teeth, fingers subconsciously sneaking up his mouth. You sighed. What's his motif anyways?

While you turn books and scraps around, you asked questions.

"What did you say your reason to help me was again?" You paused for a bit. You levitated another pile with your wand and Patrick mimicked your movements, before he gave up and had to use labor instead.

Patrick groaned as he dispatched another pile aside. The weight lifted from his chest set him eased him. He wiped his brow.

"Payback"

Shame, for a Ravenclaw you find yourself completely puzzled. You opened your mouth but shut it. You tried to think about an image of Patrick and Pete arguing but none were valid in your standards. Besides, the only moments you see the two together is in Quidditch.

But the word does compliment a hot ass like Pete's, so you let your experiences talk for itself.

"As much as I want to believe me, cause everyone knows Pete can be a dick" Patrick chuckled slightly, which made you huff a laugh too "—Aren't you two the bestest of friends?"

Patrick frozed

"Y-you" He gawked "You don't get it do you?"

You shook your head "No, why?"

"He forces himself that he's my quote on quote" He drew an air quotation mark

"—Best friend, treats me like his personal entertainment at reunions, finds a way to push my buttons, makes a scene, next thing I know I had him covered in purple paint and have detention!"

"Wait" You poked his chest "Good boy Patrick is in detention?!"

You refused to believe such thing. Maybe Patrick is in Pete's side of the war on this one.

He squalled "What's more disappointing is that you actually thought Pete and I are close!"

You scowled "well it's not that farfetched, you're cousins and Quidditch fanatics"

"Yeah, but it gets annoying how Slytherin wins all the time"

"Cause Hufflepuffs are weak"

He squeaked. The voice was dark but it cheeped like a bird. It didn't felt natural.

You made sure you focused on Patrick, and only him, even when his crooked finger pointed behind.

"Patrick...." You cooed "take out your wand"

He whimpered "W-why?!"

"Just do it"

"Aww Patrick's quivering, look at his eyes (Y/n)! Look at him!"

You tried eyeing the man behind you but your eyes reached it's peak. You don't need to look to know what it was, the cold shivers down your spine spiked a wave to your left brain.

"You know the spell"

Patrick gulped and with shaking hands, he reached for his pockets. It took him a while to feel the edge of his wand, before he slowly aimed above your shoulder.

He took a deep breath

"Riddikulus!"

You turned around quick and tried to contain the Bogart. However, when you did, you saw nothing. You looked from left to right, then found the answer down below.

An egg wearing eyeliner.

"Didn't thought it would work" He gasped in disbelief

"So... is turning Pete into a hard boiled egg one of your wildest dreams?" You smirked, in which he returned with a shrug and toothy grin.

"You could say that" He chuckled "last Christmas he told the entire Stumph and Wentz family when making eggnogs that he usually scrambles eggs but would fertilize them for some quote on quote crazy superfine lasses—"

"Alright! Alright!" You covered your ears, feigning innocence "I don't need to know that!"

Patrick grabbed the egg and pursed it to his abyss-like bag. You avoided gazing at it. Everyone would prefer not to look directly at their fear, unless paid with a million galleons perhaps.

"Is it in?"

"That sounds awfully dirty" Patrick shivered. With the amount of time he must've spent with Pete his quotes rubbed off him. You smacked him directly at the head without looking. You felt sorta proud of your achievement and guilty at the same time.

"Merlin's beard, just tell me!"

"Yes, it's in the bag"

This is going to be a long week, ain't it?

----------

a/n: Sorry Pete's barely in here. He appears more on the next parts, I just wanna cut things off so it wouldn't last 5k like last imagines. Promise I'll try to make up for it.

[fromthedeskofelizabeththird]

Fracture 6/10

Please note that this chapter references torture

If you like Juyeon, go love on @yoosungshoodie, since Juyeon is her OC and gave me her blessing to use her. The banner comes from @kiserusmoke!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Epilogue | AO3| Masterlist

There’s something else. I believe that whoever left the note is an employee of C&R.

“C&R?”

Suddenly, Seven’s mouth was dry and he mourned the soda Vanderwood scrubbed from the floor.

“I asked my security team for the full details of who came and went to the apartment today and the last people to leave were Nari, Juyeon and housekeeping, in that order.”

“I’ll look into it!” He cried out, hoping his enthusiasm masked his concern. “Don’t worry about---”

He hung up before Jumin could even respond and hopped out of his chair to gather together as many maps and files as he could carry.

“Hey, hey,” protested Vanderwood, “what are you-” He flinched as Seven threw car keys in his direction.

“Come on! We have to go.” “Go? Go where?”

Seven frowned over the top of the mountain of research in his arms.

“If there’s a mole in C&R, we need to warn V. There’s no telling exactly how much they might know or use to their advantage...it could jeopardize the entire investigation,” he said. “There’s a safe house not too far from the castle, so come on, we need to hurry!”

Vanderwood frowned, glancing from the messy floor to his flustered expression. Neither mentioned that the safehouse Seven referred to came into their possession in the earlier days of the Mint Eye investigation, nor that every single team to use it was MIA.

“Fine,” he said. “But just so you know, this means the photographer guy owes us double.”

Jihyun arrived at the castle boundary at midnight, which was strangely apt the more he thought about it. The outhouse he had previously used as a camp had changed a good deal in the last few months, which he supposed made sense. It belonged to the cult in the castle, after all, perhaps intended as a sentry post or something far more sinister. Either way, the last time he saw it it contained little more than a handful of water bottles, a worn bible and a pamphlet or two. He had been careful not to disturb the shelves much on his last visit, sniffing at the water in the bottles before taking a tentative sip. Whether or not it was clean was anyone’s guess, but at the very least it didn’t make him sick. Now that he was back, it had a few new boxes filled with musty uniforms and somebody’s shoes. In the far corner was a crate of wine bottles, though he recognised none of the labels.

Assuming the inner workings of the castle had not changed too much, the guard rotation changed at five o’clock every morning. He did not have the luxury of time, though, and after taking the tarpaulin from the back seat of his car and stretching it across until he was satisfied its dark shape was almost invisible in the forest, he shrugged on one of the newer looking sets of robes from one of the outhouse boxes.

He reached for his phone before leaving, sighing at its low battery and reaching to dial Nari’s number. He paused, though, taking in each of his missed calls from both Luciel and Jumin. Even considering the best case scenario: that Luciel was the only person looking for him, Nari’s phone was not at all compromised and she was being kept in a relatively safe environment, he did not know her well enough to presume her response to the revelation she was in danger. The worst case scenario, on the other hand, was one he did not want to entertain: that he was being traced by multiple hackers and had been for some time, Nari’s phone was compromised and had been bugged since her death.

He threw his phone into the river, watching it disappear into the darkness as he pulled up the hood of his robes.

A few hours from then everything would be changed forever, and though the optimism of it was clear even to him, he hoped it was for the better.

Ordinarily, Jumin took his good instincts for granted; he was confident making increasingly difficult business decisions and planning the future of C&R in an ever changing climate. Items and industries that dominated their accounts in previous years no longer held any value and keeping the company ahead of the game was as much about intuition as it was careful research.

When it came to Nari, though, he felt scrambled; every negative possibility equally as plausible as the next. Deep in his gut he knew there was something strange about Nari’s disappearance. Perhaps she was in danger, or had left him the note only as an afterthought.

It seemed almost distasteful to prefer the scenario where she was in danger, and yet he spent the night waiting for a callback from Luciel that ultimately never came.

After their argument, he had scooped up Nari’s engagement ring, meaning to give it back to her when they next spoke. In her absence, though, he placed it on his bedside table and hoped that when he woke up it would all be a bad dream.

Come the next morning, Luciel had not returned his call and any to Nari went straight to answer machine. As much as he wanted to dial her over and over again until she answered, the off chance that she genuinely meant to leave held him back.

He hoped he was wrong, considered that as he put on his tie the next morning. Before leaving for work, he put the engagement ring in his pocket, smoothing his fingers across the metal in the backseat of his car.

It took him half the journey to draft a message and even then it was only half complete:

We need to talk.

Nari woke early, the time on her phone screen one that would ordinarily leave her groaning and pulling the covers over her face. This time, though, she all but flew out of bed, changing into her clothes from the previous day and carefully folding the itchy nightdress. To say it was a relief to be out of it was an understatement; as she rinsed her face in the bathroom mirror, she saw that her neck and collarbones were red and blotchy from the irritation.

After dressing for the day, she dialed Driver Kim’s number and sighed when he did not respond. She doubted he was still asleep, for that particular time of day perfectly matched Jumin’s daily departure for the office. Juyeon did not answer either and Nari sank onto the bed, logging in and out of the messenger to no avail. She remembered the number Ray had written down for her as an afterthought and for a moment or two considered calling him; he had, after all, offered her an ear morning or night. It was very early in the morning, though, and surely he had a home to go to.

By something of a coincidence, he answered her question not long afterwards; barreling into her room with a tea trolley while she scribbled notes in her organiser. She had several appointments that afternoon that quite possibly needed rearranging, though the scent of Darjeeling made it more difficult than usual to pay much thought to problems beyond the castle walls.

“Good morning,” said Ray, “did you sleep well?”

He lifted the teapot into his hands as he said so, only turning to pour the tea when she nodded.

“I feel much better today,” she said, accepting the cup he offered. “I’ll be out of your hair in no time!”

It was good tea; its warmth spreading from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. At first she did not notice Ray’s expression of conflict.

“About that,” he said, “I received word from your driver this morning.”

“Is he alright?”

“He will be better soon,” he said, “don’t you worry!”

He seemed reluctant to tell her any more than that and, as a consequence, her imagination ran wild. Suddenly all she could think of was Driver Kim standing in Jumin’s office describing the events of the previous day; Driver Kim bed bound with the flu; Driver Kim receiving word of an emergency in C&R. Each possibility was worse than the next and Nari cupped her hands around her teacup, pushing each dark thought to the back of her mind.

Even so, she did not know what Ray meant by ‘better’. 

“Our lady meant for you to take breakfast in the garden today,” said Ray, turning to her with a grin. “I wasn’t sure of your preferences, so I filled in a few of the blanks myself.”

“Will your boss be coming to eat with us?”

She had seen so little of the castle that she found herself increasingly curious of it. Were all of the rooms like her own? What sort of person was in charge? All she knew of the owner came from the few references Ray had made. Those small details were not particularly helpful in forming either an opinion or mental image, however, and Nari feared she had invented so much of the owner and her personality that the reality would leave her disappointed.

Ray had not expected her to ask such a question; it was written across his face. Almost immediately she wished she had never asked, for the owner surely had a busy schedule too and her overnight stay had inevitably left a few noses out of joint.

“Ah,” she said, “it doesn’t matter. I’ll grab my coat.”

When it came to his son, Chief Han liked to think that he knew him the best. Business was in the boy’s DNA and even as a child he had understood the proper order of proceedings for any given eventuality. His engagement to a commoner had come as a shock to everyone, Chief Han most of all.

Sometimes he forgot the circumstances of Jumin’s birth; forgot Jieun. Before Jumin, she had been the person he thought he knew best of all, only to learn otherwise when it was far too late.

“What was it you wanted to speak to me about?” He asked, sitting back in his chair to properly observe the man opposite. Jumin had skipped most pleasantries when they arrived at the restaurant, not even bothering to read the menu. In the end, Chief Han was the one to order coffee and light refreshments, wondering why he had been summoned for a meeting on such late notice.

“I wanted to talk about Nari,” said Jumin, his own cup untouched.

Retrospectively, he should have seen it coming. He had learned the hard way how difficult weddings were to organise, especially when the bride did not come from a privileged background as he had. More than one of his brides to be had ended their relationship without ever making it down the aisle, in part because of the influx of offers from media outlets and other companies. With this in mind, he had taken Jumin’s engagement as an opportunity to pursue every business deal and proposal he had previously dismissed. If the unreasonably short deadline didn’t strain their relationship, the more ridiculous of his suggestions surely would.

So far, Nari had not only been flexible, but almost excessively so. Chief Han knew it was only a matter of time before his requests became intolerable and doubtlessly that was why his son had insisted on a meeting. Perhaps the girl had already left him and his strategy had finally blossomed into fruition.

“I see,” he said, helping himself to coffee. “How is my future daughter in law?”

“Don’t speak as if you don’t know,” said Jumin, “I expected this sort of behaviour from my mother, not you.”

That was a low blow and Chief Han grimaced into his coffee cup before setting it down.

“I did not expect for my son to resort to petty insults,” he said, “and yet here we are.”

“As far as I can see, you have two options,” said Jumin, shrugging off the barb. “You give my wedding a wide berth and we start again with a clean slate.”

“Or?”

“Or I leave my post at C&R.”

Only then did Chief Han realise exactly how far he had underestimated his son. It was true that business was in Jumin’s DNA, but in his arrogance he had forgotten that outmaneuvering people was too. He had no idea if Jumin was serious or calling his bluff and that uncertainty was dangerous, as he was almost certainly aware.

Suddenly Chief Han was thirty eight again, with clammy hands and a fluttering stomach, staring down the mother of his son. It had been a long time since anyone backed him into a corner in such a fashion and for Jumin to do so twice in only a matter of months left him oddly sentimental, a fact that must have transferred to his face.

“Is something funny?”

“No, no,” he said, “it’s just that the way you said that...it reminded me of someone else.”

Only after he arrived at the castle did Jihyun realise any of the flaws in his plan. He had not thought very far beyond his arrival, heart thumping with adrenaline at the thought of breaking Nari out of one cell or another.

A lot had changed since his last visit to the castle, though. The staff he once knew by identification number had since been promoted, whether to a different division or rank, and many of the chambers that had been barricaded off were now fully realised. Worse, from what few tidbits of information he could glean from other acolytes, the saviour had devoted most of her attentions to the control room and a guest on the third floor.

The gardens were new; all manner of brightly coloured flowers where before there had been plain earth. There were mazes and archways, fountains carved out of stone and pathways so well worn that it was difficult to believe how recent they actually were.

Halfway through, towards the castle, he rested a hand against a tree and sucked in one breath and then two. His chest was tight, his mind foggy, and worst of all he did not know where he planned to go next.

No one he had talked to knew much about the mysterious guest on the third floor, only that she was important to the cause and being treated as a VIP. The obvious answer was Nari and Jihyun did not know if he should be relieved or not. Not one of the answers he had received confirmed or denied her involvement in the organisation and, as foolhardy as it was, he refused to accept it. There had to be a better explanation than Nari betraying the RFA.

He had thought about confronting Rika; begging and bartering for Nari’s life. Luciel’s words, though, were clear in his mind, that his plan was reckless to the point of suicide. Jihyun supposed he agreed with him, but there again, none of his imagined attempts at saving Nari ended with him going home. At some point, he had made peace with the fact that the chances of him leaving alive were slim to none.

If he was completely honest, he was ready to die; ready to rest his body and his conscience.

As if in response, someone called out from the garden.

“This place,” they said. “It must take you such a long time to maintain it!”

It took everything he had not to run to her the moment he saw her; Nari, her hair loose about her shoulders, hugging herself as she walked the main path to the pavilion in the center. Two steps ahead of her was a man in magenta clothes, pointing out individual flower beds as he walked.

“These are Lily of the Valley,” he said, stopping to kneel and lift one by the root. “Here-“

He twisted the stalk in his fingers as she turned to see, forming a simple chain that he lowered onto her head. Nari had not been expecting it, that much was clear and she took two steps back at his touch.

“Perfect,” said the man in magenta, turning to the side and giving Jihyun a clear view of his face. He had bleached his hair and his eyes were a different shade, but it was unmistakably him: Saeran. 

“Oh,” said Nari, reaching up to the flowers in her hair, “I...thank you!”

Jihyun had no idea what Saeran was doing in the castle, nor what exactly they had planned for Nari. She did not appear to be in any immediate danger, though, which left one possibility.

A possibility that became far more apparent as someone behind him clapped a hand to his shoulder.

Breakfast that morning was no less extravagant than the one from the day before. Someone, possibly Ray, had assembled a feast under a large pavilion in the center of the garden, surrounded by sweet smelling rose bushes.

Nari wished she had several more heads so that she could better admire the flowers, and her heart skipped a beat when Ray placed a crown of lilies on her head. She was not sure how to thank him for the gesture and stammered a thank you before approaching the breakfast table.

“Is something the matter?” Asked Ray, noticing her hesitant steps.

“Oh it’s...it’s nothing,” she said, blushing a bright red at her own transparency. “I just thought Juyeon would be here.”

The prospect of her own increasingly complicated schedule and the absence of Driver Kim left her more desperate than ever to see Juyeon. Perhaps Juyeon had passed on a message to either Jumin or C&R already. At minimum she must have gotten in touch with everyone they had arranged to meet.

“Oh, don’t worry, your assistant will be here soon,” said Ray, reaching to pull out a chair for her, “she told me that she had business to attend to and will join us as soon as she’s done.”

That did sound like Juyeon, though Nari hesitated before accepting the seat he offered. The castle, the grounds, Ray...it was all like something from a fairy tale and at the back of her mind she had a strange feeling about it. Perhaps because it was so idyllic, she felt more inclined to seek out its darkest secrets.

“Are you alright, Miss Song?” Ray asked after she had been silent for quite some time.

“I,” she said, a sudden rush of guilt when she noticed the concern on his face. “It’s nothing. Thank you for this meal!”

She accepted the chair he offered and watched as he reached for a tea set, preparing her Darjeeling just as he had before.

“If there is anything I can do to make you more comfortable, just say the word.”

Nari sighed at that, wondering how she could explain to him-to anyone- her feelings from the past few days.

“Do you ever just wish that you could live your life again? The same years, but with different choices,” she said, absentmindedly running her fingers over the empty spot where her engagement ring used to be.

It was a question that had lingered at the back of her mind even before she entered Rika’s apartment. Before she even graduated high school. Just saying it out loud made it seem like nonsense, though, and she chuckled as Ray positioned a fresh cup of tea in front of her.

“I’m sorry,” she said, hiding her face behind the cup, “that probably sounds ridiculous...I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“Oh no!” Ray said, snatching up her hands in his. “I understand completely. Before I came here, I was…”

He shuddered at the thought, though tried -and failed- to pass it off as laughter.

“I was weak before,” he said. “Our Lady, she gave me purpose again, showed me the truth. I only wish I had known then what I know now, but spreading the word about everything we’ve accomplished here..well...it’s comforting. Surely there are others waiting to be saved as I was.”

Nari had yet to meet the manager of the castle grounds, but she thought she got a feel for her as she glanced around the garden. Only someone with a good deal of ambition and a kind heart would build such a unique environment and reach out to those in need.

“I think,” said Nari, squeezing Ray’s hand, “I’m going to like your boss.”

Believer B401 was far from pleased and Jihyun did not need to know the inner workings of the castle to guess why. He had frogmarched him out of the garden without so much as a word, pushing him through a side door and locking it behind them both. At first Jihyun thought he had been caught, only for Believer B401 to chastise him about his lack of discretion in regards to their guest.

“How do you mean to explain your robes,” he snapped. “Mister Ray gave us clear instructions!”

In a way, he was grateful for the interruption. Left alone to his devices he would almost certainly have acted without thinking.

“I’m sorry,” said Jihyun, “I’m on the intelligence team and only returned to the castle today.”

As excuses went, it seemed to do the job. Believer B401 let out a sound of annoyance and hit him in the shoulder.

“Don’t let it happen again,” he said. “If you jeopardize the operation, the Saviour might never forgive you.”

“What’s so special about the girl?” Jihyun asked, knowing exactly why Nari was important, but willing the acolyte to reveal more. Did they plan to recruit her? Was she a hostage, as her picture had implied? Just how did Rika plan to use her?

Unfortunately, he was out of luck in that regard. The acolyte did not know anything.

“All I know,” said Believer B401, “is that they put her under the care of Mister Ray and Miss Jenny.”

“Mister Ray?” He repeated, louder than he meant to.

“Ah, of course, you probably missed the ceremony. Mister Ray was the man in the garden.”

“Mister Ray,” said Jihyun, sounding out the name and wondering at its origins. There had to be a reason Saeran had chosen such a name…

And then there was the other question burning away at the back of his mind. If Saeran was Mister Ray, then who was Miss Jenny?

“Ahhhh, I always get the dirty jobs.”

Believer C607 leaned her head against the bars of the cell, taking in the shivering form of the prisoner.

“Hey,” she said, giving him a tentative nudge with her toes, “hey wake up.”

Despite her efforts, he lay still and she motioned for the nearest acolyte to open up the door. The cell smelled quite strongly of sweat, medications and other things she did not want to think about and she wrinkled up her nose in disgust as she stepped inside, taking extra care not to dirty her shoes.

“You had better start talking,” she said, kicking over the bucket of water they had positioned in the corner. The prisoner gasped as water spread across the floor of his cell, chancing a look at her as he repostioned his weight.

He froze on the spot as he took in her face, eyes suddenly desperate with recognition.

“J-Juyeon,” gasped Driver Kim as he reached to grab her by the waist, crumpling the magenta fabric of her blazer, “Juyeon, we need to get out of here, Miss Song-“

He groaned as she kicked him away, realisation setting in too late.

“First of all, don’t touch me with those filthy hands,” she said. “And secondly-“

She stepped back out of the cell and smiled at the second acolyte; a new girl whose hands shook as she held up a tray of instruments.

“If you want to leave here alive,” said C607, taking a set of pliers, “you will call me Miss Jenny.”

AUTHOR’S NOTES:-

Jumin’s Mum’s name is Ji Eun and she shows up in my other fic The Other Woman

My headcanons for her (or rather the head canons and backstory I put together for vabverse) are thus:

Like basically she is also from a chaebol family except all of her brothers went into the top positions and her parents wanted her to get married because it was like?? The 70s?? Maybe even the 60s man idk how old she is anyway, she studied corporate law and took on a job with chief han, since he thought she was hot and she used him to get a job

She planned to use her position at C&R to prove she was good enough for a job at her parent’s own company, all while taking C&R apart from the inside

She fell for chief han though and agreed to marry him, later stabbing her family in the back and ruining their company instead

And then she had jumin and chief han started seeing another woman while she was pregnant

She left when jumin was like 3/4. She said if was for work and a new opening but in truth she wanted him (Chief Han) to change and see sense

I bet she made it super hard on chief han’s other girlfriends

Like they’d sneak around her and lie and she’d be like... Cut the bullshit, i know youre screwing my husband

Blackmailing them through various means. Paying them off.

Jieun works in business law and im betting she created So Many Contracts with the Worst fine print

Chief Han’s lovers (the ones who have illegitimate children) receive this tiny ass stipend but come public about it and they’ll be sued and lose their home

Eunha got her bitchiness from Ji Eun

I love her.