#and then you let go two seconds later because my hands are HELLA clammy and it only gets worse when im nervous

[napping-sapphic]

It’s a simple transaction: you hold my hand and I repay you by blushing a lot and hiding idk what else there is to explain

[embeanwrites]

Variables

Nines x Reader

Masterlist

A/N: Logically, I know that this timeline is hella rushed, but this is a one shot so let’s roll with it

An RK900 unit is able to preconstruct thousands of possibilities and be able to select the one that is the most probable or the most likely to succeed. It was a feature that provided much use to any unit working for the police department. 

Nines prided himself on this ability and he made sure everyone knew it. Going as far as to call Connor out when he made the slightest mistake. 

But when it came to her? 

She was too unpredictable. 

Nines could look at hundreds of ways that something may play out, but the moment she became a variable Nines had no way of knowing what was going to happen. 

Especially in a scenario with them, an armed suspect with a happy trigger finger, and back up too far away. 

Nines knew the suspect was going to shoot. It’s why he had positioned himself in front of her. His parts could be replaced with no noticeable change, but he should’ve known he could not predict what she would do when she noticed the suspect was going to shoot. 

As always, she caught him and the suspect off guard. The moment the suspect realized who he shot, he ran. Nines knew he should’ve ran after the suspect, it took them months to finally corner him and losing him now would indefinitely set the case back. 

But it didn’t matter. 

“You’re an idiot, stay still.” Nines hissed at her. He had quickly maneuvered her so her head was on his lap and he was pressing his Cyberlife jacket to the gunshot wound. Nines could tell that the bullet had clipped her left lung. Emergency services were two minutes away, it would be tight but Nines knew if he acted fast enough she would survive this. 

Nines kept his eyes trained on his hands as he pressed down on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. 

“Nines-”

“Don’t talk! An ambulance is a minute and forty seconds away.” He narrowed his eyes, his jacket and hands were both stained red at this point, she was losing a lot of blood and fast. Nines continued to track the ambulance, hoping it got here quick enough. He took a moment to message Connor, asking him to meet him at the hospital. 

“Nines,” She tried again. Nines was going to tell her not to talk again, but he felt her hand on top of his, her hand felt weak and clammy. “Are you okay?” Nines’ head jerked as he looked at her face. She was pale from the blood loss and her lips were blue. She was going into hypovolemic shock. 

“Am I okay?” He responded slowly, as she gave him a weak smile. “What were you thinking? My parts can be replaced, my consciousness can be uploaded and moved to another body.” He watched her release a sigh and close her eyes for a moment, causing Nines to panic. 

“I’m sorry.” She murmured, opening her eyes again. Nines was numbly aware that she was trying to comfort him as she laid here bleeding out. 

“Just hang on, the ambulance will be here in less than thirty seconds.” She opened her mouth to tell him something, but he cut her off before she could start. “Save your strength, you can tell me later.” He reminded her, hoping he was right. 

Nines stood in the waiting room, next to where Connor was sitting. Connor had tried to get Nines to sit down next to him, but Nines felt he didn’t deserve to sit down. He had failed her, he allowed his partner to get hurt and he knew that she may not be able to come back from this. 

“She’s strong and you’ve said it yourself, she’s always defying the odds.” Connor reminded Nines softly. This was the fifth time Connor had said something like that to Nines since arriving at the hospital. Nines didn’t bother responding to Connor, knowing that they were in a stalemate about the situation. Connor saw what she did was brave, Nines saw it as idiotic and a mistake. 

Nines kept his eyes trained on the door, she had been in surgery for three hours and despite Connor’s convincing the nurses refused to give the two any updates, since they weren’t family, but since they worked for the police department they would be allowed back in her room if she made it out of surgery. 

If

Nines wanted to turn himself into Cyberlife, have them take him apart to try to figure out why he couldn’t preconstruct accurate scenarios when it came to her. If he had taken her into account maybe he could have pushed her back, kept her from taking the shot. He failed at apprehending the suspect and protecting his partner. He should be scrapped for parts. 

Nines looked over at Connor, who was fidgeting with his coin. It was clear by the other androids LED that he was nervous too. 

“Detectives?” Both androids looked up to see a nurse holding a chart. She looked nervous as the two stood and towered over her. “The surgery went fine with no complications. She’ll be sedated for a while, but you can come back to the room now.” 

The two wordlessly followed the nurse back to the room. Nines froze once they were in the room as Connor walked past him and sat in a chair next to her bed. 

She looked smaller, her personality was always able to fill up a room and as she laid there motionless in bed, Nines felt as if his thirium pump had stopped working. He ran a scan and came up with no reason he should feel this way.  

“Nines, do you want to sit down?” Connor asked softly, snapping Nines out of his thoughts. 

“No, I have a better vantage from here, if someone tries-” Connor stood up and walked over to Nines, putting both hands on his shoulders.

“Nines, go sit next to her. No one is going to attack either of you in this room. I understand that you’re scared-”

“-I am not-”

“But Nines she needs you.” Connor spoke over him. Nines looked at Connor, frustrated with his accusation of being scared. Why would he be scared? Sure she was injured, but the nurse said there were no complications and she'd probably wake up within the next couple days. Why would she need him to begin with? It was because of him that she was shot, he wasn’t quick enough. She should hate him for letting her get hurt. 

Nines was brought out of his thoughts when Connor dropped his hands down. Connor sighed, even though he didn’t need to. 

“Just go sit down, be here when she wakes up. I’m going to go to the station and cover for you.” Before Nines could argue, Connor was gone. Slowly, Nines walked over and sat where Connor was. He rested his hands on his lap and watched her. He listened to the sounds of the room, the beeping from the heart rate monitor, the ventilator making sure she was breathing, and the nurses quietly walking around the hospital. He felt a strange feeling of wishing he could hear her laugh right now. 

Nines looked at her face closely, playing back the scene over and over again. There were hundreds of ways he could have easily prevented this, but in the end he did nothing. He even called her an idiot for protecting him and now he may not get a chance to properly thank her. Nines decided instead of torturing himself any longer he would enter stasis. 

Nines felt something touch his hand as he exited out of stasis mode. He blinked and saw her looking at him. She was turned on her side and facing him, she had a small smile and her hand was resting on top of his. 

“You stayed?” She croaked out. Nines nodded, not trusting himself to speak. She nervously looked at him and shuffled to the other side of the bed, for a moment Nines feared that she did in fact hate him and would want him to leave. 

But she gently patted the empty spot next to her. Nines stared at her hand for a moment. 

“You need to rest and you’ll be able to-”

“Nines, please.” She whispered, interrupting him. Realizing she wouldn’t take no as an answer, Nines got up and laid stiffly down next to her, trying his best not to touch her. By the reflection on the wall Nines could tell his LED was spinning yellow, flashing red for a second when he felt her move so her head was on his chest. He moved his arm to behind her head to better accommodate the position. “I was scared I wasn’t going to see you again.” She whispered, Nines peered down at her, she had shut her eyes. 

She needs you

Connor’s words echoed in his mind, slowly he moved his arms to rest on the small of her back, keeping his touch feather light. He watched her face for any indication that she wanted him to remove his hand, but she didn’t react. 

“I owe you an apology and a thank you. While I think it was foolish for you to take that shot for me, I appreciate the fact you were willing to risk yourself for me.” He whispered, gently moving his thumb in circles, something he had felt her do absentmindedly when she touched him. He heard her hum softly. 

“I’ll always risk myself for you.” She murmured, snuggling closer. He saw her grimace for a second from pain but she quickly recovered, clearly comfortable in her current position. 

“But-”

“It would be just as hard for me seeing you bleeding out.” Nines felt her hand grip his shirt tightly. Even though he didn’t need to, he sighed deeply. 

“Alright.” He whispered, she moved her head to look up at him, she had a sleepy look in her eyes. 

“Nines, I have to tell you something...I-I’m in love with you.” She whispered, Nines could feel her heart rate accelerate and felt her fidgeting with his shirt. “And I know that you may not feel the same way and that’s fine I just was so worried I wouldn’t be able to tell you and I just needed you to know because-” Nines gently shushed her and pulled her back down so she was laying on top of him, he felt her shake for a moment. 

“I’m not sure about my feelings for you, but I know I enjoy being around you and I was...scared you weren’t going to wake up and the last thing I would’ve done is call you an idiot...may I try something?” He asked and she nodded. Nines maneuvered himself so they were pressed nose to nose, he took a beat watching her eyes. Her pupils were dilated and she was holding her breath. Slowly, Nines pressed his lips gently to hers. The kiss was chaste, neither of them moved. Nines pulled away after a few seconds and looked at her, she kept her eyes closed and had a smile on her face. Nines brushed some of her hair out of her face, causing her smile to grow. 

“Nines, I don't want to pressure you into anything.” She whispered, Nines smiled even though she wasn’t looking at him.

“You’re not, but you need rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.” 

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

[breathinginthevapor]

Rainy day

Summary: You get caught up in the rain with your best friend Harry, and it might just be your chance to tell each other how you really feel. This was requested by anon and I really think y’all should read it cause it’s hella cute.

A/N: Alright, this was soooo hard at the beginning but then it felt like I cracked the code and it just took off. It was requested as a blurb but I guess it got a little longer than I intended, but yeah, it’s really cute. I love best friend blurbs, and even though it was difficult to write about Harry at first, I hope I did alright. Please leave feedback, no matter what you think (I love constructive criticism almost as much as I love flattery lol) Also, I was sooo close to turning this into smut so there might be a few sexual undertones still, (I’ve got a dirty soul). just like y/n i can’t believe i’ve spent my whole life not kissing harry styles rip

masterlist

I don’t own the picture, it’s from Harry’s instagram

The sky, which was blue and cloudless just a few minutes ago, is now grey and stormy as the rain pours down on you. Your hair is soaked, sticking to your face, your yellow summer dress has darkened and clings to your every curve and when you look at your best friend, his face shows a whole new level of panic behind the once curly brown locks that’s now been flattened and painted a black-ish colour by the water.

“Not my new Gucci suit,” Harry cries out, his voice dripping with desperation and agony.

“Told you not to wear it today, you idiot,” you remind him and laugh.

“’m not an idiot, and ya know long I’ve waited to wear it, yeah?” he argues as you search through your purse for the keys to your apartment. Your hands scramble past lipsticks, band-aids, recipes and small notes, but no key yet.

“I know, Haz, I was just joking. You know I love the suit.” You nod approvingly at the flowery multi-colour suit, and he chuckles, leaning in close to you when you insert the key into the keyhole.

His breath is hot against your ear as he mutters with a low voice, “You’d love to take it off me, too, wouldn’t ya, love?”

You feel a blush creep on your cheeks, bowing your head down and acting like you’re all focused on unlocking the door. When you’ve pushed it open with your shoulder, you look at him and reason with a voice that’s much calmer than your heart beat, “actually, I’d prefer if you stripped yourself and didn’t act like a baby when we get inside. Wouldn’t want you to catch a cold, and you still got a drawer with clean clothes in my closet.”

He rolls his eyes, and you know he thinks your reaction at his sexual remark is funny.

“We’ll hang the suit up and try to save that, too,” you add, attempting to change the subject.

“Thank you, love.” His voice is back to normal, and the nickname is far from new, but there still runs a shiver down your spine at his words. It doesn’t make it better that his hand, although clammy, sends fiery sparks through your skin when he touches the swell of your back.

He doesn’t remove his hand before you’ve entered your apartment, and all the way up the stairs, it feels like a gentle guiding force, like he’s protecting you. It feels nice, but your skin feels just as cold and wet when his hand disappears.

“Go shower, darling, I’ll find some comfy clothes for you and make us some tea,” he offers, and your heart swells at how considerate he is.

However, you shake your head, instead grabbing his hand and smiling softly at him, “Nono, we both need to warm up. We’ll just shower together in our underwear.”

He looks taken back by your proposition, cheeks turning pink. Then he nods with a wide grin, squeezing your hand and leading the way to your bathroom. The air is thick as you strip, discarding your wet garments on the floor and making a mental note to yourself to hang it up later.

He carefully steps into the shower cabinet, looking back over his shoulder at you as if to check if you’re still on.

“Scooch over,” you order, and he laughs as he makes room for you, taking another step towards the shower head.

Neither your bathroom nor your shower cabinet are very commodious, and you realize that you didn’t really think this through. If you had, you would probably have realized that it wouldn’t be good for you to stand so close to him that your bare shoulder is touching his arm, and your legs almost bump into each other, especially because you’re only wearing underwear. If it wasn’t hard enough already, he also looks insanely good in those tight black Calvin Klein boxers that leave very little to your imagination, and you know you aren’t supposed to look, but it’s really hard not to.

He turns on the shower, the cold water hitting your skin and making goose bumps appear. Luckily, though, it only takes a few second before the water heats up and you close your eyes, letting the pleasure run through your veins.

“Please don’t make that face, darling,” Harry begs with a hoarse voice that does something to your body you don’t want to admit. You open your eyes again and notice his eyes are fixated on the tiles on the wall, teeth clenched and a painful expression on his face.

“What do you mean? What’s the matter?”

Have you done anything wrong? Overstepped? Crossed his boundaries? The last you want to do is make him uncomfortable just because you’ve got these stupid feelings for him.

“It does… things to me,” he admits, still not meeting your eyes.

“What- Oh.” You only realise what he’s talking about when you look down. And then you laugh, because the whole situation just feels peculiar.

“Don’t laugh,” Harry poutingly mutters, and you can’t help but embrace him in a hug.

“‘m sorry, Harry.” You smile widely and look into his eyes until he can’t help laughing as well.

“Do you need to have a couple minutes by yourself? I’d offer to help you out but ‘m really tired.” As if to emphasize your point, you yawn and he chuckles once more, but his cheeks are pink and there’s a weird and thick tension.

“A couple minutes would be nice,” he whispers, clearly not comfortable enough to speak loudly. You nod, stepping out of the shower and grabbing two towels, laying one of them on the closed toilet seat for Harry to use when he’s done and wrapping the other one around your wet hair after quickly drying your body.

“See you in a bit.” You give him a little wave and then close the bathroom door behind you.

You make two cups of tea, (his favourite with strawberry) and then you find some chocolate in your fridge and break into smaller pieces in a cute little pink bowl you got from Harry’s mum a couple years ago.

After putting the snacks on your bedside table, you rid yourself of your wet underwear and quickly find a pair a new set and a of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt in your drawer. You throw on the dry clothing and then slip under the duvet, waiting for Harry to come back and help you decide on which movie you want to watch.

He walks in a couple minutes later, curls a wet frazzle and only a towel covering his lower body.

“Where’s that drawer you were talking ‘bout, love?” he asks nonchalantly, voice void of the tension from before.

“Third on your left.” He opens the drawer you described and picks up what appears to be some worn grey sweatpants and a pair of blue boxers, letting his towel fall down and putting on the underwear, leaving you a complete sight of his naked butt.

When he’s clad in both boxers and sweatpants, he turns around and looks at you through the strands of hair that clings to his forehead, “‘s okay if don’t put on a shirt? Not really in the mood.”

Your eyes fixate on the small droplets of water that’s spread across his shoulders. You bite your lip and swallow a lump, your tone low and scratchy when you assure him, “sure, I don’t mind.” You clear your throat, with a stronger voice, “Just dry your hair, don’t want my pillow getting all wet because of your stupid ass.”

He chuckles, picking up his discarded towel. “The only thing in that bed getting wet tonight is your panties, love,” he states and wink.

You pick up an extra pillow and throw at him, causing him to curse at you when he’s thrown off balance for a few seconds.

“That’s a really weird thing to say after you just jerked off in my shower.” He laughs once more and then does as you told him to, quickly drying his hair with the towel before hanging it over the backrest of a chair.

He only needs to take two steps (it’s so unfair how long legs he’s got) before he can crawl into bed beside you, pulling you against him with a tired whine. You get what he wants and moves so you’re placed between his legs, your head laying on his damp chest and ear just below his heart, letting you hear its every beat.

“I can hear your heart beating,” you state. He hums, and you easily feel the vibration of his deep voice. He doesn’t say anything, though, just draws small patterns on your hip beneath your shirt.

You lay there in silence for a while, your eyes closed and enjoying the sound of his breath.

Then he speaks up, voice raspy and deep, sounding sleepy, “Do ya think we have a weird friendship?” Your heart skips a beat and your stomach churns when he mentions the word ‘friendship’. Not because you aren’t proud and happy to be his friend, his best friend, but because you feel guilty that the word also sends little arrows of sadness into your heart.

Before you can answer his question, he elaborates, “Like, we shower together and ya give me a hard on and have no problem with me jerking off in your shower and ya even offer to help me out and then I come in here and cuddle you without a shirt on. ‘S that weird?”

You grab the hand that isn’t caressing your skin and tangle your fingers together, giving his hand a squeeze. You don’t like hearing him so self-conscious and insecure, but you’re well aware he has always cared a little too much about what other people think of him for his own good.

“Not necessarily. Like, yeah, I know that most friends don’t act like us, but that doesn’t mean that our friendship isn’t just as good as theirs. You get me?”

He makes an agreeing noise, but you can tell he’s not entirely convinced. That’s one of the perks of being friends for as long as you and Harry have. Although it does make it nearly impossible to surprise each other with birthday gifts or surprise parties.

“And if I had the choice between all those normal people and friendships, I would still choose you, Harry, you know that. I don’t believe in soulmates or anything, but if I did, I’d say you were mine.” You turn around so you lay on your stomach with your hands on his chest, looking him in the eyes and smiling at him.

He smiles back at you and licks his lips, green orbs glistening in the light of your fairy lights. Then he reaches out and gently cups your face with his palm.

“And you’d be mine,” he promises, dimples appearing on his cheeks. “Can I tell ya something?” he then asks, putting a strand of hair that has escaped the towel back in, his fingertips gently touching your forehead.

You nod, “of course, Harry, you know you can tell me everything.”

He takes a deep breath, the rise of his chest making you rise with it as you lay on top of him. It seems like he’s debating whether to say something or not, but you know better than to pressure him. He’ll tell you when he’s ready.

“I think our friendship might be different because it’s more than friendship to me.”

You feel your mouth dry out, not sure if he’s saying what you think he is. You really hope he is, though. “What do you mean?”

“Like, I want to kiss ya in the rain and hear ya laugh about how stupid I am for wearing a suit worth thousands of dollars when the forecast said it’d be raining and I want to get in the shower with ya and not having to keep our underwear on because we’ll just drop ‘em and have sex either way, and I want to sleep over like I always do but not having to explain it to my friends afterwards because there’s nothing weird in us sleeping together since we’re dating,” he rambles, not once pausing to breathe. Then, after a few seconds of silence, he adds, “jus’ want the whole package, yeah?”

He looks expectantly and nervously down at you, biting his lip. His green eyes seem larger than usual, you realize, almost looking like a little kid scared of a horror movie.

“The whole package sounds nice,” you whisper, heart racing in your chest.

His lips break into a hesitant smile, clearly not daring to believe you completely. He must be just as scared of getting hurt or rejected as you are.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, really nice, Harry,” you smile, feeling a warmth spread all through your body.

He presses his lips against yours, almost desperately, and then he parts his lips and kisses you with an open mouth, breathing warmly into your mouth. He tastes like coffee and the piece of chocolate he just ate, and it feels nice and cosy and like you should have done this a long time ago. Honestly, you can’t believe you wasted your whole life not kissing Harry Styles.

Not breaking the kiss, you change your position so you’re sitting on his lap and with your legs on each side of him, leaning down and supporting your body with your hands on the mattress beside him.

“Finally,” he breathes against your mouth, “Been trying to seduce ya for months.”

“Really? How?” Between and after your words, you give him a little peck on his lips. After a whole lifetime of not kissing him, you’re determined not to spend too long without his mouth on yours.

“Like, ten minutes I said your panties were going to get wet tonight and I’m pretty sure I made a remark about ya undressing me when ya were unlocking the door,” he reminds you, and you feel a blush creep onto your cheeks.

“Oh yeah, I see it now.”

“Has anyone ever told ya you’re really oblivious?” His voice is teasing but his eyes are loving and there’s no doubt in your mind that this is more right than anything you’ve ever done in your life.

“Just shup and kiss me, Harry Styles,” you demand, leaning down so your nose touches his. And as the good fella he is, he gently caresses your cheek with his thumb and kisses you, tongue exploring your mouth and teeth sinking into your lower lip. You can feel his damp hair against your forehead and the hand that isn’t on your cheek traveling down your back, stopping at your butt and giving it a gently squeeze, causing you to smile against his lips.

Life has never been better.

[wannawrite]

Neighbour In Danger

MXM's / Produce 101's Im Youngmin X Reader 

TW: mentions of alcohol, smoking, violence, sexual harassment 

Word count: 1868

• You're walking back down a shady ass lane after school 

• it's hella creepy so something's bound to happen 

• neighbour! Youngmin ( saves the day ) says hi  

• ft. created character Jessica 

⚠️ ATTENTION ⚠️ 

YOUNGMIN HAS DEBUTED WITH DONGHYUN AS MXM ( alpaca and buffalo ) AND I AM LIVING THANK YOU 

thank you for requesting this anon, hope you like it :))) sorry it took SO INCREDIBLY LONG I SHOULD QUIT 

Fun fact: my school actually has night study sessions 

________ 

You groaned, rubbing your temples and slammed your mathematics textbook shut, the sudden thud cut through the graveyard like silence in the library yet every student was too focussed on their material to even flinch at the noise. 

You glanced at the clock. 

10.12 pm. 

You should have started to head back home about an hour ago, as your house was pretty far away from your college but of course, you were too engrossed in your notes and hadn't realised how fast time had flown by. It had been an exhausting Friday at school, the last thing you wanted was to stay any later for night study. 

Your best friend, Jessica, who you had come to the night study session with, barely noticed when you stood up and pushed you chair in. Of course, you could wait for her to wrap up and take a taxi home together but she lived within walking distance... it was late and dangerous for anyone out though. 

"Jess, let's go. It's so late already," you hissed, tapping on her shoulder. 

She nodded, packing up her books and stationery. You bid the sleeping librarian goodbye and ventured out into the night. It was weird to see campus which was usually bustling with life deserted like a ghost town. 

"There's no way we can get a taxi at this hour, school's too inconvenient. We have to walk out and I might as well just walk home," Jess said, half asleep.

"Do you want me to walk you home? Are you okay?" You offered. 

"No, no. Thanks but you stay really far away and I don't want to detour you any further. Walk out. Grab a taxi, go home," Jessica insisted, declining your offer.

She had a point, a good one at that. 

So, you hugged her goodbye and made sure she was safely across the street until you flagged a taxi and began your journey home. It was so dark in that part of town it made you shudder, at least around campus was better lit but this estate is more rundown than the one I live in, you thought. 

I hope my parents have gone to sleep already, waiting for me would be too late.

"Oh my god!" You yelped as the taxi ran over something, after that, something felt amiss. "Uhm..." 

"Sorry miss, I think it's a flat tire. This is how far I can bring you. My apologies, I hope you get home safely," the driver apologised as you paid him for the ride.

"It's okay, accidents happen. Goodnight, be safe," you replied despite the displeasure of walking the remaining journey home. You knew there was a stretch of famous bars before your house, it was pretty freaky at night and you hated to even look at it, much less walk pass. 

Whatever, I'll just ignore them and have the police on speed dial. 

When you stuffed your hand into your pocket, you discovered you had forgotten to bring along your ear pieces. Now you had to just put up with the horrible and loud music playing from the clubs.  

Is today just a series of unfortunate events? 

Slowly but steadily, you stumbled along the street that lead to your house. To your delight, it did get more brightly lit as you ventured closer towards the more developed housing estate but you knew what was coming up soon. Maybe I should have just crashed at Jessica's penthouse...... 

... 

You shivered but not because of the cold gust of wind that blew by. Your ears could already pick up the sound of shitty music in a near region. To make matters worse, it was a Friday night. To clubbers, the night was still young and you knew more people would be arriving to party. 

The stretch approached, it was just across from where you hid, behind a large tree. You hoped you could avoid it. 

Should I call my dad to come and get me?....No! No! He's probably sleeping after working so hard... or he's still in the hospital working. 

You shook your head free of unreasonable ideas and inhaled a deep breath. "Okay, Y/N. You can do this, there's nothing to be afraid of," you told yourself then poked your head round to check. 

Ew, there were people smoking outside. 

Not that you had anything against it or them, you just hated the smell of smoke. Tentatively, you took a small step but quickened your pace as you passed club after club, bar after bar. You tuned out to the wolf whistles, cat calls and shouts, trying to attract your attention. 

"Hey! You! School girl!" ( that kink can fcking die already )

"Someone's got cake!" 

"Join us!" 

You forced yourself to look away and continued walking, jogging almost. 

"Hey! Come back!" 

"Don't ignore us!" 

You could feel the anxiety and fear bubbling inside of you. The second you heard a beer bottle smash on the ground and fast footsteps approaching, you tore off down the road. 

... 

Thud. Thud. Thud. 

You weren't sure if that was the sound of your heart or the sound of footsteps pounding on the pavement. Beads of perspiration trickled down the side of your face but you didn't even stop to wipe it off, all you could concentrate on was making a break from those weird guys. 

But of course, you were beyond dead-tired and your heavy bag and books weighed you down tremendously. There was no way you could outrun them... but you had to try. The ground was bumpy and made it hard for you to get a stable grip, your ankles throbbed from all the exertion. The tears which had welled up in your eyes because of your fear started to drip down your cheeks when you felt your legs buckling in, worn out. 

"Aww, she's crying." One of them said, slime dripping from his words. Another yanked you up by your hair, causing you to scream. "She's a loud one. Let's see how loud she can really be tonight." 

"Don't touch me!" You shouted, kicking but it was useless, they were just too strong for you. Their chortles disgusted you to no end and you wanted it to all end but there was only one ending to situations like these. You felt fury, not fear rise in your chest. You opened your mouth to retaliate but someone cut you off.

"Hey!"

There wasn't time for the first dude to react, he was on the floor, knocked out cold with his nose bleeding profusely in seconds. 

Your eyes shot up to the person who had punched him but it became a blur after that. Managing to wrangle free from the other man's grasp, you escaped to a safer corner while a knight dressed in a black hoodie and black jeans battled with the other two sickos. He seemed to be really young, you got a glimpse of his face. 

Wait, wasn't that Im Youngmin? My new neighbour? He had briefly introduced himself a few weeks ago. 

You couldn't be sure but at least you had a suspect. 

Wow, he's so strong...and handsome. Shut up! This isn't time for you to be thinking about that! 

You blushed at the memory of you watching Youngmin watering his plants shirtless early in the morning as you were doing some morning stretches. 

Y/N, no! 

You gasped when Youngmin didn't notice the other man come up from behind with a glass shard, he was too busy fighting the other one off. 

Instead of yelling 'look out' helplessly, you grabbed your 10cm thick, hard cover with 400 pages of text mathematics textbook and ran forward. There was an advantage from a back attack, using all your might, you brought the book down on the man's head, before he could spin round, you hit him again with the book and he collapsed on the ground, writhing in both shock and pain. 

Hmm, I suppose math textbooks are now important. 

Youngmin managed to subdue the other guy, he didn't take a second glance but grabbed your arm and together, raced down the street. 

...

"Wow, Miss Y/N. I didn't know you were such a badass," he finally broke the silence. 

Playing along, you scoffed, "That's my neighbourhood you moved into, kid. You don't know anything." But despite your brave exterior, you were still badly shaken from the incident, your clammy palms was a dead giveaway. 

"Hey, you okay?" Youngmin asked in a soft, comforting tone. He even stopped in front to look you in the eye. Cautiously, as if not to spook you, he placed his hands on your shoulders to steady you. 

Your breath caught at the sudden close proximity but Youngmin didn't seem affected by it so you tried to control yourself. "I-i'm fine...thanks." 

"You sure? That was... a really rough incident you had," he asked again. 

You nodded, unable to manage uttering words, at least intelligibly. 

"Why were you out so late?" 

"I could ask the same for you." 

"Ahh, there she is. The infamous little chilli padi I hear about from my neighbours. Well, Donghyun wanted to watch a movie but we realised we had like zero snacks so he sent me out on a convenience store run," he revealed without hesitation. 

Donghyun? Another other attractive boy?

But you couldn't lie and say that you weren't more attracted to Youngmin, especially after he had saved you. "College night study session," you answered, looking down at your feet as you continued walking. 

"Ahh! It must be finals season. Well, all the best, study hard." 

"T-thank you," you whispered, face reddening. 

"Aww! You're so cute!" Youngmin complimented, his eyes twinkling brightly. 

You were grateful you arrived at your gate, unable to tolerate anymore of the handsome boy who had rescued you. "Uhm, thanks...really...f-for w-what happened just now," you stammered out, ashamed. 

Youngmin adopted a more sincere tone and posture. "Hey, don't worry about it. Please take care of yourself, okay? Don't be too shaken by it, I know it's scary and traumatic but I'm right across the street. I'll come when you call me. Please do. Okay?" 

Giggling, you agreed, at least it helped you banish whatever had just happened from your mind for now. "How about I come over tomorrow?" You boldly suggested. 

Youngmin clapped. "Wow. A pretty girl wants to come over to my house. How can I say no?" He smiled at you. "Sure, I can introduce you to Donghyun. I think he'll love you....Well, goodnight Y/N....Oh! Let’s go to the police station tomorrow, I’m not going to let those bastards off.” He waved goodbye and blew a kiss. 

You pretended to catch it, "Goodnight, don't dream of me too much." 

You knew Youngmin was watching to make sure you entered your house safely. Tonight had been wild, it was scary and something you would never forget. At least Youngmin was there to help. You settled onto your bed, sighing, cheeks blushing bright pink. You could see from your window that Youngmin was opening the gate to his own house, he had got home safely too. 

That made you feel more assured that your new crush friend was safe.

[brimbrimbrimbrim]

Same anon here. Umm ever think Lucas would be hella awkward in cuddlin his ' girlfriend ', I mean I know his lonely and probably wouldn't mind some fluff action goin on in between both of them ? If you catch my drift sorry

This is just barely fluffy, Anon. But I hope you like it all the same. 

“Yeah? - well, he can go get fucked!” Lucas shouted, turning red in the face as Mr. Baker stood with a beer in his hand, half out of his chair with a hard snarl curling his peppered mustache. For a second the two men just stared at each other - one daring the other to make a move. Eventually, Alice watched the eldest Baker sink back in his chair as Marguerite placed a cautious hand on her husband’s forearm.

“You ough’ta treat that girl of yer’s better,” he finished; a minor slur of intoxication to his words.

Alice liked Jack Baker. He was a stern, loving presence but he preferred to talk about her as if she wasn’t there - as if she wasn’t sitting at the table beside his son, sharing cautious looks between them both.

Mr. Baker sneered, “Change yer ways, boy - otha’wise she gonna leave you for someone that don’t act like such ah’ punk.”

Lucas was quiet after that, but the air in the room went stale with his mood, and all eyes flickered between her and Lucas like the tick of a clock. Alice didn’t dare look over at her boyfriend, too worried he’d just get up and leave the table. It was incredibly awkward just getting through the rest of the meal with Mrs. Baker’s sad expression - it was a chore and Zoe, sat beside her father, hadn’t stopped scowling since the fight.

Alice would have spoken up - she would have told Mr. Baker that Lucas’ grandpappy would be proud of him. It wasn’t that Lucas treated her poorly, it’s just that he wasn’t the best at expressing affection in front of people, even if those people were part of his emotionally exhausted family. She wanted to tell them about how Lucas drove forty-five minutes across town for her, just to get her their favorite burgers when she had that sinus infection last month. Alice would have mentioned how he would spend hours at a time holding her on the couch, rubbing the shell of her ear as they watched French horror movies that only she liked - or about that time he forgot it was Valentine’s Day and made up for it by writing her a sappy letter saying he was to do any and everything she asked of him…for a whole week.

But…most of all, Alice wanted to tell them about the man Lucas killed for her - about how he’d taken a tire iron out of the trunk of his Camaro and bashed Timothy’s skull in until there was nothing left but red mush, speckled with white skull chips.

Lucas had looked at her in the light of his high beams that night, blood splattered over his thighs and stomach and smiled at her…and she’d smiled back and later that night she’d fucked him in his bed with the blood rubbing off him onto her skin…

Alice smiled sweetly when Mrs. Baker took her plate from her and followed after the kind woman to help with the dishes. They traded tense, friendly conversation as they scrubbed and dried each dish. Alice couldn’t hear anything coming from the kitchen…which hopefully meant Lucas, and his father had parted without bloodshed, but a worry ate away at her gut as she scrubbed a gumbo pot clean. The crushed tin foil backsplash glared at her, but Alice lowered her eyes and counted her breaths as they finished up cleaning. She itched to assuage Mrs. Baker’s fears; to reassure, but instead she bit her tongue and helped put the leftovers in the freezer.

Lucas was still sitting at the table, all alone, when she stepped back into the dining room, drying off her clammy hands. He spared her a quick; hollowed out expression before kicking his chair out and grabbing his car keys, “Move it, Alice. I can’t stand this shit hole another second!”

“Lucas! Don’t you dare walk out of this-” his mother tried, but Alice forced a reassuring smile and hugged her goodbye.

“He’s just tired,” Alice told his mother, “I’ll make sure he gets some sleep. Promise.” Mrs. Baker stared back at her with thankful eyes. Alice’s tongue slid into the back of her teeth, wanting to say more, but it was pointless. They’d never understand anyway.

She and Lucas slipped out by way of the garage without bumping into anyone else. Crossing paths with his sister or Mr. Baker would only make the drive home more uncomfortable than it surely was going to be. It crossed her mind to prepare for a bumpy ride as well…frustration for Lucas spelled erratic, and her road trip back to her apartment would surely be eventful unless she found a way to calm him down.

Outside of the car passenger seat, Alice saw the worried face of his mother looking back at them from the garage; her arms were crossed against the cold, and since Lucas wasn’t going to, Alice waved goodbye with a broad smile. It made her stomach feel a little lighter as Mrs. Baker’s lips curled upwards in return.

They did their best, Alice knew…

The car ride was dead silent for the first fifteen minutes. The roads were dead, and every light they hit was green. It was easy going, despite the cold coming from the busted backseat window… and from Lucas as well. Alice thought it wouldn’t be so bad after all, that is until out of nowhere Lucas took a right before the interstate. She blinked, gripping the bucket seat as he took another hard right and drove them off down a dirt road into darkness. A hot sinking stone sank into her belly as the street lights became nothing but a mere memory as the cutback brush went dense. The muted sounds of CCW rose up from the speakers, but it couldn’t distract her from her mounting dread.

She twisted her head towards him as the Camaro bounced over the uneven terrain. Lucas was hunched over the steering wheel, teeth glowing against the dashboard lights in a maniacal snarl.

Alice saw the glassy ripples coming off the dead-still swamp as it appeared under the car beams. Cypress trees stretched out for miles into gator infested waters, breaching the muddy waters.

She had the unbidden, nightmarish thought that Lucas might slit her throat and dump her in the bayou, but as soon as he killed the lights and she felt his warm, frenzied hands around her shoulders, dragging her into a desperate hug…the fear melted, and nothing but guilt remained. How could she have been so afraid of him? Lucas…

“Lucas,” she sighed, unbuckling her seatbelt in a short second and then in the next she was warm and safe inside the heat of his arms. Lucas whined in the back of his throat; fingers clinging mercilessly to her flannel jacket. Though his lap was hard and slim, Alice moaned at the sensation it offered. Despite it all, he was warm and comfortable and yes, his embrace was too tight, but there was nowhere else she’d have rather been.

His fingers curled and bruised around her spine. Every breath he inhaled rattled against her chest and with a ragged sigh he deflated; forehead sliding down against her throat. Even in the cold, he felt sweaty with residual rage.

Alice flushed, feeling his breath leak down against the tops of her breasts. She could feel his lips as they parted against the soft flesh there and how, with each moist breath, he dampened her skin further until the cold winter air couldn’t do a thing to freeze the sweat growing on her skin.

Alice didn’t ask what was wrong, nor did she offer him any hushed words of comfort. He would have hated them anyway, and they’d have done no good because whatever it was Lucas was thinking was too complex for her to try and dissect, let alone put back together. So, she ran her fingers through the thin hair on the back of his scalp and rested her chin on his head; holding him.

The first time he’d clung to her was after he’d killed Timothy. The reek of blood and rot had made her want to puke, but Lucas had murdered for her - had come to her rescue when no one else had bothered, and since then she’d never allow herself to pull away from his clingy hugs and manic touches. Let him yell at her in front of his parents during dinner and let him shirk her touch when people were looking. Lucas could do whatever he wanted, and she’d let it wash over her like old rain…

“You make me feel normal,” he said against her breasts after a while, stuck in the miasma of darkness and the hard cold. His arms twitched, squeezing the breath out of her lungs.

Alice swallowed and wrapped her arms around his head, pushing her lips to the short, soft hair on his scalp and whispered hauntingly, “…you make me feel insane.”

His lips curled into a grin against her flesh…and without warning his tongue slid out between her cleavage, tasting the glowing skin with a muffled groan, “Prove it.”