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p3ndeja6 · 6 months ago

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°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

stray kids x reader

bangchan! and hyunjin! edition (separate)

Content Tags: smut! cheating! toxicity! piv! riding! slight mommy usage! dom bangchan! sub hyunjin! creampie! squirting! jealous reader and jealous chan and jin! non established relationship! fwb type shit!

word count: 2.5k

NOT PROOF-READ (just lazy)

a/n: this is probably ooc since im not educated on skz fandom so please don't execute me for any inaccuracy. Also creating this bc we saw them at lollapalooza and started brainstorming after leaving the festival LMAO (they were all so fine)

Inspired by: (my favorite) song B.A.S by Megan Thee Stallion..

☆ dedicated to my best friend @lilmeowneow ☆

Bangchan

Ever since you’ve been sleeping around with chan and found out that you werent the only one who also has been fucking him; you wanted to be sad about it but you knew better… way better. So if he can sleep around with other girls, you can too and sleep with the other guys in your DMs. They were all great really, made sure to let them who really was in charge, but deep down you loved the way chan fucked you senseless everytime. He was the only one you would obey to when he told you to turn around and take it. The way he would make you feel, it was like no other guy has made you feel before, the way he would be gripping your thighs as he pounded into you tight, wet, cunt.

But you had to keep the charade going.

One night you were in your apartment waiting for a guy that slide into your DMs for a quick fuck, he was cute and tall, might as well. You were getting ready and preparing the drinks into your room when you got a phone call, you looked at the caller ID and it was no other than chan, you chuckled debating to answer. But the guy was about to arrive soon. Fuck it

“Hello?” “ hey girl” “hi chan what brings this phone call?” “well nothing really wanted to know how you were doing and was wondering if you were free tonight?” you smiled, you knew what that meant, but you had to stay strong. “Ooh yeahh, no i'm actually busy at the moment-”

At the exact time the doorbell rang, “what do you mean?” you walked towards the door and opened it to see him holding flowers, you smiled and let him in. “thank you so much for the flowers r/n!” you said into the phone to make sure you heard.

On the other line he grew suspicious and was taken aback to have heard a male on the other side of the line. “Y/n? Do you have company over? Hello??” Y/n?” “If you want, just start heading towards my room and we can get started.” You saw him walk into your room and as he walked in you turned around and resumed the phone call.

“ so yeah chan i can really hang tonight im a bit busy” you slyly said. “Who are you with right now?” “nun” “nun who?” “nunya” you heard him groan on the other side of the phone. “Okay bye chan!” “no wait y/n-” you ended the call and blocked him.

“She fucking blocked me..”

Days have passed and you were lying around your apartment watching tv, just letting time pass by and watching the sunset go down. Looking at the beautiful ombre of red and orange colors filling your living room. Then you heard the doorbell ring. It caught you by surprise because you weren't expecting anyone today. You get up and peek through the peephole and see no other than chan waiting for the door to open. You giggle and open the door, he looks up and scans you up and down,salivating at the way you look in your “i don't care” outfit. Booty shorts and a big t-shirt that was cut from the top that slips down your shoulders.

“What a surprise to see you around here” you told him. “Yeah well i was just passing by and wanted to come and see you” “oh yeah? You wanted to see me?” “yeah of course” you let him in, not breaking eye contact with him. You eyed him up and down, wearing his black jeans and his leather jacket, seeing he was wearing his white wife beater. Feeling the wetness pool in your cunt. You look away to close and lock the door and once you turned back you felt a full body pressure on your lips, pushing you up against the wall. Kissing you harshly, gripping on your ass, “jump” chan says in between your lips.

He kisses you so passionately and roughly, he goes down your neck and sucks on your sensitive skin, he stops and looks at you for a second. “ I see he left his mark on you” you gave him a blank stare, “so?” still holding you, with his hands underneath your ass. “Can't believe you had another guy over” “oh yeah? Well i know you be fucking other bitches when you aint with me” he looks at you surprised that you knew that. You laughed in his face, “well I was just saying!, i dont give a fuck who you have over, but you have no need to lie to me, might as well tell me” “seems like you” “no i dont, he’s definitely not hotter than me so i could care less”

you rolled your eyes and grabbed his face and continued to kiss him, falling back down to the ground, you led him into your room and pushed him on the bed. He looked at you in lust, just waiting to be able to tear your tight pussy up. You take your shirt off, revealing that you weren't wearing a bra underneath. “Fuck baby” you push off his jacket as well and his beater. You were getting desperate, you needed him. It's been weeks since you had chan in you, the other guys couldn't compare to what chan made you feel. You took your shorts and your panties off and helped him get his off as well.

You pushed him down the bed, ready to center you cunt on his big, thick, cock. “Ughh just sit on it already” chan said as he pulled you down. You let out a loud whiny moan as you were stretched open. You wasted no time in bouncing on him, you grabbed onto his strong shoulders and bounced. You and chan were a moaning mess, your tits bouncing at the rhythm of his pace. You looked at him, smiling with your lustful eyes, he looked up and smiled at you and chuckled. “What's so funny?” you asked and at that moment he flipped both of you over and now he was on top.

He caught you by surprise, but you werent gonna deny his dominance. You could let him dominate you whenever and wherever he pleased. He grabbed onto your leg and threw it over his shoulder and leaned in. making him go deeper into you. “Fuck.. just like that daddy, m’need you so bad” “atta girl.. You.. take .. me .. s’so good”

he grunted going feral at the nickname you just called him. “Y-yeah? Daddy? When it comes from you it sounds better ""oh? Others called you daddy too?” you panted out and rolled your eyes. You tried to be mad but the way he was having his way with your sensitive wet cunt, you couldn't bear to start an argument. Hearing the pornographic noises of both your slicks being pumped in and out of you, and the sound of his balls hitting onto your ass. He leaned forward pushing your leg so far up, hitting you in that one spot that did it for you.

You soon start to feel that tightening feeling in the pit of your stomach starting to fuel up. You were about to cum. “F-fuck chan, im gon’ cum” he grunted and deeply moaned “s-shit hold on baby, just hold it, i’ll tell you when” chan kept pounding into you so relentlessly. Gripping onto your thighs so tight, leaving bruises on them, you couldn't hold it in anymore, the pressure building up was getting too strong, too strong for you.

“please! c-chan i can't-""one..more..second” tears started to form as you were fighting the urge from coming, you crossed your other leg behind his ass, pushing him slightly closer to you as if he wasn't close enough. “Y’yeah baby, you are such a good girl for me, no other guy can.. Fuck you like this.. You’re mine.. Only mine” you were looking away trying your hardest to keep in your orgasm that was so desperate to come out. Chan noticed and grabbed your face to make you look at him. “Hey look at me when im talking to you, no one..can fuck you this good like me, do you hear me?” “ y-yes! Yes daddy! You make me feel so good.. Only you!” “good..now cum for me pretty girl” the second he gave permission, you let out your loudest orgasm yet. The same time Chan came and pulled out to shoot it on your cunt.

Mixing both your messes, he then shoved it back in with his dick. Making you whiny-moan. He stayed like that, inside of you. Both of you are trying to catch each other's breaths, sweaty and hot. You hold onto him as you look up at your ceiling seeing white. You both stayed like that until he pulled out of you slowly, watching both your cum spilling out of you. “Only for me” he said in triumph. You let out a laugh and looked up at him. He was confused by you laughing.

You start to get up and get back into your clothes that were spread around your room, “nah christopher, i got some other guy taking me out for lobster and pasta later tonight” you walk past him, and he grabs onto your arm to make sure to get a good look at you. “What do you mean you got someone taking you out tonight?”

He almost looks hurt that after a night of passion, you are going to spend the other half of the night with some random guy. “Yeah well I've been hanging out with him some time already and I enjoy spending time with him, plus he takes me out on dates and buys my clothes” you told him nonchalantly. He looked exasperated, how could you!

“Yeah well I can too!” “oh yeah?” “yeah!” “Then why don't you do it?”

guess we both aint shit

Hyunjin

“You like that dont you?” you panted out. A moaning mess you were as you were on top of hyunjin. He was sprawled out on your king size bed. He was handcuffed to the bed frame, he wasn't allowed to touch you while you rode him. You were punishing him

You had found out that he was having sex with the sweet girl that lived next door to you. She was sweet and all but you hated her. No need to give an explanation why. He doesn't know why he’s being punished, you do though.

“Ple-please y/nnn” he whined. God you loved the whiny noises he made underneath you, you yourself tried not to cum by the sounds he was making, begging to release.

“C’mon jinnie, think why would mommy want to punish you this bad?” you said condescendingly. He looked away trying not to cum by your dominant persona.

You grab his face, squeezing his cheeks, holding him steady making sure he was looking at you. “No no no, i didn't say look away, did I?” he shook his head no, tugging on the handcuffs trying to break free, he just wanted to touch you hot, sweaty, skin. Grab on to your beautiful squishy thighs.

“N-no! I have n-no i-idea why!” he was practically crying at this point.

You stop your motion, making him open his eyes in a whiny confused look. “W-why did you stop?” “You seriously don't know why I'm punishing you?” still confused, he had no idea.

“ I saw you go to my annoying neighbor's house the other night. You got out of her apartment REALLY late; care to explain what you’ve been doing in her apartment for that long?”

He froze… he knew what he did. He had sex with her. Why? Because he knew that you hated her. You knew everything she did annoyed you. If you could do anything in your power to abolish her, you would. He knew what would have happened if you found out he’s been having sex with r/n. He wanted to push you.

In reality he was doing this to get back at you for sleeping around with guys that weren't him. He hated that you were spread open for guys that weren't him. He saw you hope out that guy’s black Challenger, pulling your skirt down. He knew, what other way to get back at you? Sleep with your annoying neighbor you hated with your dear life.

Still panting, “why do you hate her so much? She’s so sweet and she bakes cookies”

you guys weren't together but you were together, and you hoped nobody catched onto you guys

you groaned in annoyance, began to bounce on his dick. He moaned at the sudden friction, he was literally on the verge of cumming. “Oh yeah? You wanna know why I hate her sooo much?” you were panting at the rhythm of you bouncing on hyunjin’s big cock. “Because ever since you’ve been coming around, she has been trying so hard to get into your pants, shes not sweet, she's evil, and she knows that.”

you were angry, bouncing so aggressively on his dick, he couldn't keep up anymore, you’ve been teasing the shit out of his cock for almost two hours, he can't do this anymore.

“you’re mine!”

“y-y/n im gonna cum!” he whined-moaned. You were so into the anger you built that you didn't hear his pleas. “Fuck! Y/N! Please please!” he was being so loud you were pretty sure your neighbor heard. “Yes! Yes! Just like that please!”

You finally realized he was about to cum, you made sure he got louder for your neighbor to hear.

“Yeah baby? You wanna cum? Get loud for me then, don't hold back baby” you demanded.

This set of hyunjin off, he let out the most stomach-twisting, pussy-gripping, toe-curling,yummiest orgasm yet. You kept riding him until you were getting close to yours. “p-please n-no more!’ m’too much, c-cant” “yes im not done yet baby”

You were so close to your climax, just a bit more. You bend back putting your hands on his knees, holding onto something as you fucked yourself on his dick. Mouth gaping open, eyes rolled back, moaning mess, you were fucking yourself to him reaching for your high.

‘Mmh yes!, so so close baby” “fuck! m-me too!”

You leaned back forward to kiss him and moan into his mouth, you let go and cried-moaned out loud, cumming all over his cock and the sheets, squirting all over. He came as well just by seeing the mess you made on him, his cum filling you up to the brim once again. You rode your high, falling down onto him panting, feeling light-headed.

You both stayed quiet, trying to catch your guy’s breath. Once you finally relaxed you slowly slid out of him, both of you moaning and the loss of warmth. You plop down next to him, “hope this teaches you to not go fucking around with that girl” you said to him. “Oh yeah? Well i guess if you werent fucking that guy in his car, i wouldnt have” he spat back. You leaned up and gave him a shocked look. “H-how did you know that?” “i saw you y/n”

“guess we both aint shit”

The next day, you walked out of your apartment and ran into your neighbor, she gave you a scared and awkward look, avoiding eye-contact. You smiled at her

“I know you couldn't make him feel that way the way i make him feel, you wished you were me, you wish your camera rolled looked like an onlyfans of him”

“Fuck you”

“He already does and it feels great”

#x reader #smut #skz x reader #stray kids x reader #stray kids smut #bang chan x reader #bangchan #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin #hyunjin x reader #megan thee stallion #skz smut #stray kids #changbin #i.n skz #han jisung #lee know #lee felix

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pray4saint · 2 years ago

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Daughter!reader meeting Sirius in Azkaban for the first time ever. Bonus points if Remus tags along because as her godfather he’s protective.

seeing dad!sirius in azkaban for the first time

masterlist & descrip. pg-13. 13+. angst. comfort. semi-implied wolfstar. caretaker!remus. uncle/dad figure!remus.

”you know we don't have to go sunshine, he'll be alright.” you twiddled your thumbs, taking a deep breath as remus tried for the fourth time in twenty minutes to reassure you.

it'd been almost a year since you'd seen your father and you'd been in remus' care, and despite how unsure you were that remus had forgiven him for what happened, he'd insisted that anytime you wanted to see your dad you could.

”i want to see him.” remus raised a brow at you. ”i need to see him, please rem.” it was more than you wanted to say but the entire time sirius black had been locked up you had never mentioned missing your father. of course remus knew better, anyone who had a dad like sirius would miss him, which is why it was so hard to believe what he'd done.

remus turned away from you, hand on your shoulder, nodding to the gaurd. the gaurd opened the door and you walked through, remus trailing closely behind you.

the room you entered was dark, a couple of gaurds around, a few dimly lit candles here and there, the strong stench of people rotting, and standing up at a table about fifteen feet from you, sirius black. he looked like he had lost some weight, that much was obvious. as you got closer though, you could see the bags under his eyes, the new wrinkles that had appeared around his eyes and forehead, now his smile was weak and he looked unwell.

from across the table, despite how horrible weak he looked, his eyes still glimmered when he looked at you, full of love. ”hi sunshine.” even his voice was different, more hoarse, drier. ”hi dad.” you both sat down and remus pulled up a chair close to you. ”hi remus.” your father gave the man beside you a crooked grin however he wasn't met with a verbal response, only a nod and low grunt of recognition.

in a matter of minutes, talking about how school was going, watching your father listen with such intent and interest, it took everything in you not to cry. he genuinely looked so happy to see you and a little part of you wished you'd come to see him sooner, but then again it felt like a huge favour to ask of remus.

”is anything else going on?” sirius smiled at you, his hand nervously playing with the rest of his fingers. ”no, not really. but i do miss you dad.” you slowly reached your hand out, palm up, looking around at the gaurds. sirius' hand was shaky as it reached for yours. once his hand was in yours, you squeezed, and you could feel tears pricking at your eyes when he squeezed back. ”i miss you more sunshine.” his smile looks more genuine, bigger, as if he's finally been set free.

remus taps your shoulder. ”y/n we've gotta get goin' pumpkin.” he whispers the words, and you turn to him. he can see how the tears threaten to leave your eyes, your cheeks already pink. you don't even get a chance to respond before he speaks again. ”i can give you a few more minutes, but really, we've got to get home. marls is bringing soup for dinner, remember?” you nod and he smiles at you.

”five minutes.” one of the gaurds behind you gives the warning and all of a sudden you're aware of the time. you wipe at your eyes, ”fuck, dad i need more time.” he kisses your hand, ”i know princess.”

”can i have a hug dad?” the words, almost breathless, cause your father's eyes to brighten and all of a sudden he's up and walking around the table to you, kneeling down so he can wrap his arms around you. with your head in his neck, you finally let the tears fall, as does he. ”i love you so much sunshine.” you only sob harder against his hair and he squeezes you closer to his chest. ”you've gotta go now.” he pulls away, wiping away at your tears while you wipe at his.

hesitantly, you let go, trying to pull your remaining tears back into your eyes. ”i love you dad.” he nods at you with a smile, the same weak smile he had at the start of the visit. you turn around in your seat and nod to remus.

on your way out of the room, remus stopped you and turned back to your father. ”you know,” sirius' head snaps up to remus and you give him a confused look. ”it was good to see you pads.”

”you too moons.” you smile, although the origin of the nicknames is just as lost on you as it always has been.

pray4saint© do not copy, translate or repost my work without my express permission.

#pray4saint #marauders x reader #marauders era #marauders #the marauders #sirius black #sirius black x reader #sirius in azkaban #sirius black in azkaban #dad!sirius #azkaban!sirius #wolfstar #uncle!remus #remus lupin #daughter!reader #₊ପ sirius #₊ପ remus #saint's inbox !!#favs !!

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deezbignutz · 2 months ago

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REDACTED TUMBLR AWARDS INFO AAAGHHHHHHHH

okay, since majority chose to start from the top again (again, I am sorry for those who didn't want that), I'm gonna restate the rules, prize, category stuff and all that shit here in this post.

Da Rulez (literally just the same rules plaqii had):

you can nominate yourself for as many categories as you like

don't vote for yourself in the polls, play fair

only nominate yourself for categories you feel you fit, for example, if you don’t create Redacted art, don’t nominate yourself for the artist category

if you feel like someone should be nominated for a category, tag them! you cannot nominate anyone other than yourself

if you are tagged, you need to reply to confirm being nominated!

please try and put your nominations in replies and not reblogs!

if a character doesn’t get any nominations, then their will be no award, but if one person nominates themself for a character they will win the award, so make sure to nominate yourself!

if someone wins 2 or more polls, i’ll get them to choose and give the title to the runner up of the poll of the character they didn’t chose the title, cuz if the original winner didn’t pick that character then they ain’t that characters no1 can after all!

have fun with it! if you don’t win, don’t get too upset! this is just a load of silly fun!

Ze Prize (again, still the same prize plaqii had offered):

winners will get personalised userboxes! they’ll look something like this

(this was made by plaqii, not me. all the credit for this (and honestly the whole awards event) goes to them!!)

you can choose the colours (they’ll probably look better than this) (hopefully)

Le Categories:

these are the categories that are currently in place, but if there is a character or extra category you would like added, please reply what you would like added!

Creatives -

best artist

best fic writer

best hc writer

best ocs (not listener designs)

best listener designs (this is for listener designs :))) )

coolest listener/oc cassettes/icons

best canon roleplay blog (idk if this is the category to put it in, but oh welp)

best oc roleplay blog

‘THE’ fans (note - if a character doesn’t get any nominations, then their will be no award, but if one person nominates themselves for a character they will win the award, so make sure to nominate yourself!)-

Aaron

Anton

Asher

Avior

Azmidi

Blake

Brachium

Caelum

Cam

Christian

Damien

David

Elliot

Gavin

Geordi

Guy

Hush

Huxley

Ivan

James

Kody

Lasko

Milo

Ollie

Porter

Regulus

Sam

Vega

Vincent

Xavier

misc -

the most 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂

As stated in Da Rulez, please reply to this post to nominate yourself or tag others if you feel like they should nominate themselves!

You do NOT have to make a whole new nomination post for this, you can just use the one you made before. But if you really want to make another one or if you are in a new category you weren't in before, then feel free to make a new other one or just add more info into your old one.

this even might take a while for me to actually flesh out and stuff, so I'm sorry in advanced if there'll be any bumps along the way

I am only a mere man, and I also have a life outside of this (sadly), so pls understand if I end up making a few mistakes or run into any problems

NOMINATIONS WILL BE OPENED UNTIL DECEMBER 30TH (yes, i know then it would technically not be the '2024 Redacted Tumblr Awards', but that's okay we can discus that later)

0 MORE DAYS TILL NOMINATIONS END

NOMINATIONS HAVE ENDED YALL!!!!

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk :))))

#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redactedverse #redacted fandom #redacted awards 2024 #shit bro #this is gonna take some time #and some bran space #I'm prepared to make that sacrifice #/ref #:D)))))))))

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minkyungseokie · 10 months ago

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第二章 | Moving and Meeting the Boss

warnings; age gap love(R: 23, S:39, T: 50), gxg, throuple, controversial age gaps, random German and Scottish pet names, topics of eating that aren't ED related, but might be triggering to some, DeepL translated languages. Untranslated Chinese, French, and other languages

note; okay! second chapter is now ready. I might start another series based on driver x reader x wag. I sort of rushed through this. I also changed a couple of things

She now contracted meningitis during her F2 days and that was the reason for her leaving, but she told people it was the lack of funds

There has something to do with eating, but it's not an ED

The eating thing is based off of a very adorable mukbang YouTuber named Tzuyang. I also never been to Monaco, so Idk how everything works

Realized she should have a last name since she's Felix's sister

note2; please give me requests for moodboards, blurbs, smaus, or anything else you want for this series. Or just request anything as long as you read my rules and how to request thing

fc; imleslie(Y/n), xavier serrano(Aaron Antognelli), blanca soler(Chiara Lorenzi)

Come Talk to Me

Driven by Destiny Masterlist | Previous | Next

Autosports Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Toto Masterlist |

I do not give anyone permission to change, copy, or put my work on any other platform. It will only be on top, so if you see it, please report it. Or let me know.

DO NOT ask me to update this story. I'll update when I can.

Anyway, only accepting 10 more people to be tagged

Buckle up! This is a long one!!!!!!!!

(My god, Susie is so fucking pretty that I might actually cry)

In the now packed-up house, Y/n gazed around. "Are you all packed up?" Her brother asked as he crossed his arms next to her. Chan sighed, "I'm going to miss coming over to your house and hanging out," he said, looking around the house. With a soft smile that showed off her sharp teeth, Y/n looked at her brother, "He'll miss popping by my house during random times when the homeless orphans don't have work to do and mooching off me until he needs to go home to Korea." Y/n teased, pinching his freckled cheeks.

Chan giggled at Felix's expression and looked away, clearing his throat when Felix's glare turned to him. The long-haired male slapped his sister's hand away gently and tried to keep his scowl before giving up and breaking out into smiles as laughs filled the room. "For real though, I am going to miss you." Felix said, opening his arms for Y/n to enter, "Aw, I'm going to miss you too, but you can come visit me anytime you want in Monaco." Y/n offered, pulling back.

"You too, Channie. You and the rest of the derelict unparented are free to come visit me in Monaco when you want." Y/n said, opening her arms up to the shorter male. "Why does this feel like I'm sending my little sister off?" Chan asked, gladly accepting the hug that was offered, "You are basically family, mate." Felix assured, wrapping his arms around both his sister and his best friend. The group continued to hug until there was a loud honk heard in front of the house, "Well, I guess we should get this stuff into the truck." Y/n said, letting go of the two singers to grab one of the nearest boxes.

Y/n lugged the box to the truck where a mover stood, ready to grab the box from her hands and put it in the truck, "I'll take that, sir." The worker offered. Y/n froze and stared at the mover, "Excuse me?" Y/n asked, "Oh? Did I say something wrong?" The worker questioned, looking at Y/n with a raised eyebrow, "I am not a man. Please don't assume because I have masculine features." Y/n said, steeling her nerves. Y/n wasn't a confrontational person, but over the years, resentment had built up enough for her to tell someone off when they called her a man.

Her boobs were prominent enough for people to know that she wasn't a man and she was wearing a sports bra with flannel, how the hell did the man assume she was one as well? "I'm sorry, I didn't know--" "I think you did know, but it's whatever. Don't do it again." Y/n huffed, turning around and walking away.

Y/n entered the home again and grabbed a box aggressively, huffing dramatically. Felix and Chan shared looks before putting the boxes they had in their possession down, "Hey, what's wrong?" Chan questioned.

Y/n shook her head, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She sometimes felt like it was irrational of her to get so upset by someone assuming she was a man, but at the same time, anyone would get upset by being called the wrong gender.

Y/n squared her shoulders and picked up another box before turning to look at the two with a smile, "It's nothing, mate. Just a bit of an annoyance." Y/n then turned and walked out with the box in her hands.

The trio made their way back and forth until all the boxes were in the truck. Now, they stood on the lawn watching as the movers grabbed the furniture and loaded it onto the truck, "Y'know, we're actually going to miss you." Chan spoke up, continuing to watch the movers work. "I know. That's why I said you're free to visit me in Monaco. I'll also try to visit you and in Seoul whenever I can." Y/n assured, throwing her arms around each of the boy's shoulders and giving them an awkward side hug.

"We know. We'll try to visit when we can too." Felix said, laying his head on her arm with Changbin following suit, "We're done, ma'am. We'll be taking this to the sea freight now unless there is something else you need." The mover looked at the tall half-Asian with a pointed look, asking if there was anything she needed or if were they good.

"You're good to go. Thank you." Y/n said, nodding at the mover. The trio watched as the movers packed up and drove away, "What time do you leave?" Felix asked after a few moments of silence, "Three o'clock in the morning. Seeing as my insomnia is so bad that I can't fall asleep, I'll probably be up and out by two. Do you mind dropping my keys off at the realtor office safe drop box? I won't be able to do it since I leave at three." Y/n said.

"Yeah, we can do that. We'll be dropping you off anyway." Chan nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.

⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙

"Yah, wake up. It's two." Felix hissed as if there were others in the house.

Y/n groaned and swatted Felix's hands away before turning onto her side and snuggling into the blankets, "Y/n, it's time to wake up." Chan said, joining Felix at the side of the hotel bed Y/n was sleeping in. The two put their hands on her and looked at each other, nodding before violently shaking Y/n back and forth.

"搞什么鬼?!" Y/n yelled in Chinese after being woken up so violently, turning to stare at her brothers with wide eyes, "Sorry, you wouldn't wake up, so we decided to shake you until you woke up." Chan snickered, signing as he spoke, looking away as Y/n glared at him and Felix.

Y/n sighed and threw the blankets off of her body, "Jesus, dude. You could've kept trying to wake me up gently." The dark-haired woman scowled, reaching over to grab the external part of her cochlear implant and the hearing aid for her other ear. Felix grabbed the hearing aid and helped her put it into her ear, "When are you getting your other cochlear?" Felix questioned, making sure the volume was on the level Y/n always kept it on.

"I get the second implant after I start my new job. I'll have to tell the boss about it as soon I do the interview. Especially since I forgot to tell her about my lack of hearing." Y/n mumbled, looking at Chan and Felix from the side since she knew that they would be giving her judgy looks.

Y/n turned to see that they were indeed giving her disappointed looks as if she wasn't taller than Chan, older than Felix, and more intimidating than the both of them combined. "Stop looking at me like that! I was trying to get the application in as fast as I could. I simply just...forgot to put it on my application." Y/n explained, looking down and scratching her cheek. When she looked back up, they were still looking at her with disappointment, "Stop looking at me like you're my parents and I just got caught smoking a fat one....or something cause I wouldn't know how they would look at me." Y/n quickly added the second part and gave the two boys a awkward smile.

Felix and Chan sighed in unison, "Okay, well, I guess we can't really be that upset with you since you'll be telling her face-to-face. Get up and get ready. Felix picked out some clothes for you to wear." Chan said, pointing to the end of the bed where some clothes were laid out for her, Y/n sighed, running a hand through her thick hair, "Okay, whatever. Please move out of the way."

Chan stepped back as Y/n swung her long legs over the side of the bed and planted her feet onto the floor, grabbing the clothes and studying them before going to the bathroom to get changed while Felix and Chan checked to make sure that everything was properly packed. Y/n exited the bathroom wearing a pair of high waisted brown trousers, a white collared button down with a brown, beige and white sweater vest one top.

Y/n sat down on the bed and picked up the socks that were sitting on the bed, putting them on while Felix and Chan continued to talk, "Y/n, do you want to get some McDonald's on the way or something?" Felix asked.

"I just want a coffee and a bagel honestly. We can get something from the bagel shop nearby. I heard they have some good bagels and coffee." Y/n suggested, putting on her boots and grabbing the glasses that were on the nightstand next to the bed. "I'm down." Chan said, looking to Felix, "I'm okay with that." The blonde shrugged, grabbing Y/n's suitcase and pulling it out into the hallway.

Y/n stood up and looked around, making sure that she had left nothing on the ground

⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙

Y/n turned and looked at her brother as she got ready to board the plane, "Okay, so you'll call when you've landed in Monaco, right?" Felix inquired, holding her wrists lightly. Y/n rolled her eyes and chuckled, "I promise that I'll call you as soon as I get to my new home in Monaco. Don't worry about me. Just make sure that you take care of yourself. All of you." Y/n gave a pointed look at Chan.

"What? Why'd you look at me like that?" Chan chuckled nervously, "I'm telling you to take care of yourself. You tend not to do that." Y/n joked, looking him in the side. Chan jumped away as if he was shocked and held his side, "No promises, but I'll try."

"Flight 35 A is now boarding."

Y/n looked over at where people were beginning to line up, "Alright, it seems I've got to go." The girl pointed behind her with a thumb. Felix pulled his sister into a hug and laid his head on her shoulder, "You better call me when you land. I'll fly to Monaco myself if you don't." He said voice muffled into her sweater vest.

"Okay, let go. I have to board." Y/n groaned, pushing the blonde away from her playfully, "See you, Y/n." Chan said, giving the girl a quick hug. Y/n grabbed her carry-on and boarded the plane, "Make sure the other Stray Animals are around when I call. I want to talk to all of you." Y/n spoke.

After a long flight, of which she slept through most, she hopped off the flight feeling groggy and completely disoriented. To be quite honest, she just wanted to go to sleep in a bed with thick blankets and the fan blasting on her face so she didn't overheat while sleeping. The thing was, she wouldn't be able to meet up with the person who sold her the house until the next day because the offices were closed and her stuff wouldn't arrive until the next day either, so she had to get a hotel for the night.

Y/n groaned as she rolled her neck, attempting to massage the stiffness out of her shoulder and neck as she entered the Uber, "Uh, Hôtel Fairmont Monte Carlo, s'il vous plaît." Y/n spoke in a tired and dull tone.

The driver nodded and pulled off. Y/n pulled out her phone and pressed on the contact of the one person she knew would be up. It was 9:41 PM in Monaco, which meant it was 4:41 AM in Seoul currently and there was one person she could guarantee would be up at that time.

Chan.

Y/n pulled out a pair of headphones with a large-diameter ear cup that completely encloses her ear and audio processor and put them on. Y/n looked out the window while the phone rang, "Hey! You're in Monaco, I'm guessing." Chan said as his face popped up on the screen. "Yeah, I'm in an Uber right now. I'm heading to the hotel." Y/n mumbled, mouth stretching into a little yawn.

"Oh, yeah. Your stuff isn't there yet, is it?" Chan asked, looking at something off to the side, "No, it'll be arriving tomorrow afternoon. I'll be contacting Mrs. Wolff tomorrow as well to schedule the interview. The jet lag was going to be a bitch." Y/n sighed, leaning against the window. "Yeah, it is. What time is it there?" Chan questioned, "It's, uh, 9:43 PM." Y/n answered, dragging her eyes away from the fogged-up window to the face on her phone.

"Have you eaten?" Chan questioned, "No, not yet. Have you?" Y/n raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I ate some ramen earlier. I'm just snacking on some honey butter chips right now." Chan responded, lifting the yellow bag to the screen.

Y/n opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by the driver, "Madame, nous sommes arrivés à votre destination."

Y/n looked out the window and saw they were indeed in front of the luxury hotel, "D'accord, merci, monsieur. Je vous souhaite une excellente soirée. Sorry, Chan. I have to go. Tell Lixie and the others to text me when they can." Y/n said, exiting the car.

"Okay, I will. Have a good night." Chan said, "Have a good day, mate." Y/n said before hanging up. Y/n pocketed her phone and grabbed her items from the trunk. She waved at the driver in thanks and made her way into the hotel. It was a random one that she picked out and it was probably way too luxurious for a one-night stay, but it was the closest to where her new home would be and she was way too tired to find an even cheaper hotel.

She checked in and paid for the room, trudging up the stairs in a slumped-over position. As soon as she found her room, she stood up and unlocked it as if she was being followed by someone and had to enter quickly. Y/n threw the door open and closed, dropping her bags where she stood before making her way to the bed and getting in

Y/n woke up the next day and immediately ordered an Uber. Her items would be arriving today and she already slept in pretty late. Y/n's dark brown eyes swept the room until they landed on the digital clock on the dresser. It was 2:52 PM. The truck with her stuff would be there around four and the realtor would be there around 3:00, so she had to get going pretty quickly. Luckily, her Uber was on its way and she would be at her new address in no time.

Honk!

Y/n's head snapped up once she had heard the honking of the horn. She could only assume that they were there for her and the chime from her phone telling her that her ride has arrived only confirmed her suspicion. Y/n quickly gathered her items and sped and walked out of the front of the building with her hand up in a wave to show that it was her who had ordered the Uber. Y/n pulled up the trunk after the driver had opened it from the inside of the car.

Y/n put her suitcase and carry-on bag into the trunk and closed it, rushing to get to the backseat and get into the car. "Bonjour, Monsieur. Monaco, La Condamine, 98000 Monaco, s'il vous plaît." Y/n said breathily, pulling her phone out of the bag she had and opening the notes app. Seeing as she would have to move all of her stuff in, of course with the help of the moving pros, and there were some other things she needed to do through the day, she decided that it would be a good idea to make a to-do list.

To do for today and tomorrow

Move my stuff into the house

Rearrange everything to my liking

Unpack everything

Go grocery shopping

Call Mrs. Wolff back

Y/n reread the list over and over to see if anything else came to mind, but when nothing did, she pocketed her phone again and stared out the window. Monaco was a truly gorgeous place and she could see herself living out the rest of her life in this beautiful country.

She could definitely see herself finding a man or woman, who would most definitely be an F1 fan seeing as the country basically lived and breathed F1, finding a much better home, settling down, and having a family.

It wasn't something she wanted anytime soon since she was still pretty young, but it was something she could see happening when she was ready.

Actually, now that Y/n thought about it, and as the car passed by the water, she doesn't think any house, which was actually one of those apartments where you have a whole floor to yourself, would be better than the one she got. It cost an arm and a leg to get and she would be able to afford it after she finally started the PA position.

The flat included three bedrooms, one bathroom, two shower rooms, one separate toilet and a kitchen. In total, it has four rooms. Two underground parking spaces provide space for any vehicles and a balcony that overlooked the water. It that high street, city center, bus station, and shopping center all within 500 m, so it was well situated.

Y/n sighed and closed her eyes. This was the start of her new life. While she was is Monaco, she was going to be a different person then what she was in Australia. Gone is the shy, antisocial, introverted girl that lived in Sydney and in is the girl who is still the same thing, but trying to be more confident.

"Pardonnez-moi, madame. Nous sommes arrivés." The driver announced, "Hm? Oh, merci beaucoup." Y/n thanked as she exited the car. She waited until the driver popped the trunk and then grabbed her things, "Merci encore, madame. J'espère que vous passerez une excellente soirée."

The driver gave Y/n a smile, "C'est très gentil de votre part. J'espère que vous passerez également une excellente soirée." She responded before driving off, giving Y/n a wave as she drove off.

"Miss Lee?" A voice with a thick accent called out from behind her. Y/n whirled around to face a tall man with dark, curly hair, a chisled jaw, and broad shoulders. It was the realtor, "Ah, Mr. Tomatis. How are you doing today?" Y/n greeted, looking to the side so she didn't make eye contact. "I am well. Listen, I would love to stay and talk with you, but I have an important showing to do, so here's your keys. Enjoy your new home." Mr. Tomatis gently place the keys into her hands before walking off.

"Oh-kay. Guess it's time to check out the new place in person." Y/n took a deep breath, trilling as she exhaled. The girl made her way into the building until she reached her floor. Y/n put the key into the door and unlocked it, "Home sweet home, I guess. Once I step through this door, my new life officially starts." Y/n mumbled, resting her forehead against the cool wood. Y/n opened the door and wheeled her suitcase in behind her, "Woah, this is sick!" Y/n awed, looking around her home.

She left the suitcase and carry-on near the entrance and walked around, looking through each room and mentally mapping what went into each room and how she would lay everything out.

Once she was done with her mental mapping, her hands fell to her sides and she looked around with a flat face and eyes dulled due to boredom.

She didn't know what to do now.

The truck wouldn't be there until four and it was only... Y/n looked down at the screen of her phone, which displayed the time in a large blue font...3:12.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Y/n's head. She had to schedule the interview and was advised to do so once she was settled down enough, but since she had time to waste, why not do it now? Y/n opened her contacts and pressed on Susie's, making sure it was on speaker, "Hello?" The sweet Irish voice that Y/n had heard last time, answered the phone.

"Uh, yes. It's Y/n Lee. I'm calling to set up my interview for the PA position." Y/n stammered, "Oh, Ms. Lee! I've been expecting your call back. I assume that means you're in Monaco?" Susie asked, "Yeah, uh, yes...ma'am." Y/n confirmed, nodding as of the woman on the other line could see her.

"Great, I know that you're going to need some time to settle down completely, so the interview will not be taking place any time this week. How about the next week around 10:00 AM? What day works for you?" Susie questioned, "I can do next week. How about Wednesday?" Y/n pulled out a pen and pad of paper to write down the date and time. "Wednesday works perfectly. Alright, I will e you then." Susie said.

"See you then." Y/n confirmed before pressing the 'end call' button. Just as Y/n put her phone on the counter, she got another call but this time from the company that had her stuff, telling her that they had arrived early and were ready to move her stuff in.

Y/n ran out the front door and down the stairs to see that they had indeed arrived earlier than planned and were already beginning to unload the lighter stuff, "Hey, I didn't expect you to be so early. Please, follow me and I'll show you where my apartment is." Y/n said, grabbing a box and leading the way to her floor.

After showing the movers where she was, Y/n went back down to grab another, but before she could make it too far, someone stopped her. "Hey, I couldn't help but notice you're moving in. Do you want some help?" A tall slender man with dark hair and dark eyes. The man in front of her was the very definition of tall, dark, and handsome and Y/n was the definition of awkward around pretty people.

Y/n opened her mouth to decline, probably stutter through the sentence before falling too embarrassed to continue speaking, when another voice spoke up. "Babe, what are you doing? Who's this?" A woman who absolutely gorgeous saddeled herself next to the man, looking up at Y/n with a raised, perfectly sculpted, eyebrow. "I-uh..." Y/n's eyes darted around frantically, trying to find any way out of the situation.

She knew she said she was going to be a totally different person than she was in Australia, but she had the worst night of sleep where her body got too hot with the blankets, too cold with the fan, and still too hot with both. She also kept waking up randomly during the night, feeling dizzy and disoriented. She also may be up and doing things, but she was severely jet lagged and wanted to do nothing, but drop dead on the floor and sleep until she could physically no longer sleep.

Y/n was going to be quite honest, she could use the help and it would make things go a lot faster, but how was she, a socially awkward person, to talk to two very pretty people?

Answer; she didn't.

She walked past them with a quick 'excuse me' pretending like she didn't hear them. If they got upset with her, she'll just say her hearing aids weren't on or turned up enough for her to hear that they were speaking to her. "Wait! Ma'am, hold on." The man called out, following Y/n outside and grabbing her wrist gently, stopping her in her tracks. Y/n steeled herself and whirled around with a fake smile, "Oh, sorry. Can I, uh, can I help you?" Y/n asked, eyes darting between the man, who was giving her a smile, and the woman, who was scowling at her with her arms crossed.

"Yes, you can help us. My boyfriend asked you a question and you just walked past us as if you didn't hear. Are you deaf or something?" The girl sneered.

"Yes."

"Pa-pardon?" The girl asked, dropping her arms, Y/n turned her head to the side, showing the couple her cochlear and the the hearing aid, "I-I am in fact...deaf." Y/n muttered, turning to go get more boxes. Behind her she could hear the flustered man scolding his girlfriend while she stammered out flustered responses,

"How could you-?!"

"I..I didn't know, okay? Hop off my balls."

"Woman, what balls would I be hopping off of?"

"I... You... Just shut up! We should be helping anyway."

The two stopped their flustered play fighting as Y/n walked past. They both grabbed boxes and followed her, "Hey, we are so sorry." The man spoke up, speed walking so he was next to Y/n, "Especially me. I didn't know you were actually deaf and even if you weren't, I wasn't being the nicest. It's just, and this isn't an excuse, there have been some... how do I say this?" The girl asked, looking up.

"Issues." The man supplied, the woman snapped her fingers and pointed at her boyfriend before quickly putting her hand back under the box as it began to tip over in her hands, "Issues. We have had some issues with our last neighbours and it made me sort of defensive. Sorry about that. My name Chiara Lorenzi and this is my boyfriend..." Chiara trailed off so that he could speak for himself.

"Aaron Antognelli. And you are?" Aaron asked, depositing the box on the floor of Y/n's apartment, "Y/n Lee." Y/n answered. "It's nice to meet you, Y/n. I hope we get to become very good friends in the near future." Chiara said, nudging the taller girl as she and Aaron walked out to grab more boxes.

With the extra two sets of hands, Y/n and the movers were able to get everything inside quickly and it was a good thing too since the sky began to dark with thick rain clouds. "Um, thank you for your help." Y/n muttered, going into her house and beginning to close the door when a hand appeared between the door and the frame, keeping her from closing it fully, "Hold on there, kangaroo. Don't you want help unpacking?" Aaron asked.

"Oh, no. I couldn't ask for that. You have done quite a bit a-and I don't know you well enough." Y/n frantically shook her head. The couple shared a look before turning back to Y/n, "Please, we... I insist. We want to make up for the rocky way we greeted you. Of course, we won't force you to and if you don't want us to help you, we'll leave." Chiara said.

Y/n sighed and nodded, opening the door fully to let the couple in. She didn't know them or trust them, but she also needed all the help she could get. That, and she was shit at decorating, so it would be nice to enlist the help of someone else.

Chiara and Aaron looked around, "Why does your apartment look so much better than ours?" Aaron asked, "I thought they were all the same." Y/n said, looking at her spacious place. "Nah, yours has much more space, but it could be the fact that you're living alone that makes it seem that way." Aaron shrugged.

Chiara whirled around and clapped her hands together, "Alright, let's get this done."

With a yelp, Y/n fell out of her bed as the alarm she had set on her phone blared in her ear that contained the hearing aid. She had so much fun with Aaron and Chiara the previous night that she ended up going to be later than she usually liked to whenever she had something important to do the next day. After the day they helped her unpack, the two quickly became friends Y/n and they had been hanging out with each other ever since.

Y/n groaned and hobbled over to a cabinet near her bed where she kept her medicine, "Shit, getting drunk the day before my interview was not smart." Y/n grumbled, opening a bottle of pills and a bottle of water from her mini fridge.

Y/n gathered her clothing and put it on the end of the bed then went and took a scalding hot shower that helped her sober up. Y/n gave a quiet groan as she messaged her shoulders, "Man, my shoulders are stiff." She complained.

Stepping out of the shower, Y/n put on her outfit, which consisted of wool wide-leg pants, a skims t-shirt bodysuit, a nocturne cropped jacket, and a pair of heeled patchwork boots. Looking in the mirror, Y/n narrowed her eyes, "Hmm, wait." Y/n looked around to the clothes she had thrown everywhere when looking for a good outfit.

Her room was covered in an explosion of beige, brown, white, and black. There was not a lick of color in any of her wardrobe, save for her shoes, which were still not brightly colored, so they still fit her aesthetic. "I need to add some color to my wardrobe." Y/n muttered, before grabbing her things and making her way down to where the Uber was waiting for her.

She gave the driver the address of a café that Susie had suggested, Café de Paris, and off they went. Y/n's heart thudded so hard in her chest that she was pretty sure that the beat was coming from her stomach rather than her chest. Y/n ran a hand through her long, messy hair and tried to calm the nervous feeling in her stomach.

The driver looked at Y/n through the rear mirror and cleared his throat, "Nerveux? Vous avez un rendez-vous ou une raison de vous énerver?" He asked, causing Y/n to jump from the sudden addressing. "Euh, oui. J'ai un entretien très important. J'ai déjà obtenu le poste, mais je suis encore nerveux." Y/n answered shakily, wringing her hands together nervously.

The driver studied Y/n through the mirror before turning his eyes back to the road, "Eh, don't be nervous. It must be just a 'get to know you' interview." The driver said, switching to English and waving a hand to the side as if he was brushing Y/n's nervousness away.

"You're right. Merci, Monsieur." Y/n sighed, leaning back against the headrest. The rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎... ⋙

Susie sat at a table in Café de Paris, occasionally looking at her watch as she waited for Y/n to arrive. Admittedly, she had arrived a bit too early, but she was excited. She had been looking forward to finally starting the F1 academy and with Y/n working by her side, she'd make these girls into Formula One champions.

Susie continued looking out the window for Y/n, even though she has no idea what Y/n looked like at all. Y/n walked through the door and approached Susie from behind, "Mrs. Wolff?" Y/n spoke up, causing the blonde woman to jump up. As soon as they were face-to-face, both women froze.

Now, Y/n was open about her sexuality and what she liked, but Susie wasn't. Susie had never been interested in women and she wasn't one who would ever fall in love when she already had a husband and a beautiful son, but Susie's heart raced looking at the younger woman and she couldn't understand why. Susie had no problem admitting when another woman is beautiful and the one in front of her? Well, she was drop dead gorgeous in Susie's eyes.

"Ah, Ms. Lee. You startled me." Susie chuckled, putting a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart. Whether it was racing because of Y/n's beauty or because she genuinely got startled, she didn't know. Either way, the woman in front of her made her heart race. "My apologies, Mrs. Wolff. I didn't mean to scare you." Y/n apologized, giving the older woman a shallow bow instinctively.

"Shall we sit and begin?" Susie asked, gesturing to the chair. Y/n nodded and sat down across from the older woman. "Okay, remember that you already have the job. This is just to get to know you a bit more. Do you want to order something or do you just want to start?" Susie questioned.

"I would like to order something." Y/n muttered, Susie gestured to someone and a waiter came over, "Are you ladies ready to order?" The waiter asked politely. "Yes, I would like a chocolate chaud and panna cotta parfumeé au citron." Susie told the waiter who wrote it down before turning to Y/n, "I would like Le Chou Profiterole and the Irish coffee. Please." Y/n said.

Once the waiter finished writing down their orders and left, Susie turned back to Y/n with a smile that made Y/n want to throw herself off a cliff. She was so pretty and Y/n didn't think Susie knew just how gorgeous she was.

"Okay, let's start while we're waiting for our orders. Can you tell me about yourself?" Susie questioned, "Oh okay, um... I'm Y/n Lee, I am half Chinese and Half Australian, I am 23 years old, I want to do modeling in my spare time, I like surfing and skiing, and I used to be a Formula Two driver before I contracted meningitis and had to stop." Y/n replied.

"You contracted meningitis?" Susie asked, "I did. I lost hearing in my right ear," Y/n turned her head and moved her hair, showing her cochlear, "I had to get a cochlear for my right ear and I have a hearing aid in my left because I'm losing my hearing in that ear. After I got my surgery, I just decided not to continue driving even though I would love to continue." Y/n shrugged.

Susie nodded, "If you had the chance, would you try and continue to drive in F2?" Susie questioned. Y/n sighed and looked around the café, "I honestly never thought about it. I wanted to but I didn't have enough money to continue, so I thought that my chances were over. If I had the chance to do it again, I don't know if I would take it. I'm turning 23 soon and I fell like I'm getting too old." Y/n said, looking up as the waiter arrived with their stuff.

"Thank you/Merci." Susie and Y/n said simultaneously. Y/n brought the glass mug up to her lips and took a sip of the drink. Y/n put the mug down and looked at Susie again, "What are your goals for the next five years?" Susie asked.

"Hmm, I think I still see myself working in the motorsports world or perhaps attempting to further my modeling career. Or both." Y/n answered, picking up one of the cream puff and taking a bite, refraining from making any sort of noise.

"Do you consider yourself a passionate person when it comes to this sport?" Susie inquired, Y/n nodded as she swallowed the pastry in her mouth, "I was..am...Before I got meningitis, I was obsessed with being a Formula One driver. I was about as passionate about it like most of the guys on the grid. It was my passion." Y/n explained.

Susie nodded and sat back in her chair, "That'll be all." She said, picking up her spoon and eating some of her panna cotta parfumeé au citron. Y/n paused halfway from the plate where she was reaching for another mini creampuff, "That's all?" She asked, "That's all." Susie reiterated

"Okay." Y/n nodded. She was honestly so unsure as to why she needed to do the interview when she was only going to be asked about four questions, "Now, let's get to know each other since we're going to be working closely together. My name is Suzanne Wolff, but you can call me Susie. I am Scottish, 39 years old, I have a wonderful husband who is the team principal of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team, and I have a gorgeous fiver-year-old son named Jack." Susie introduced herself.

The woman held out a hand for Y/n to shake, "It's wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Wolff. I look forward to working with you." Y/n said, grabbing the older woman's hand and shaking it firmly. Susie waved off her formalities, "Oh, please. Call me Susie. We'll be working close together, so we might as well drop the formalities." She chuckled.

The two women continued to talk about random topics, getting to know each other more and more. The two became quick friends and even made plans to hang outside of work sometime in the future and even talked about Y/n meeting her son and husband since she would have to meet them eventually.

By the time Y/n was in her Uber and on her way home, it was well into the afternoon and Y/n had a small permanent smile on her face as she thought about the older woman.

Y/n hated to admit it, but she tended to catch feelings for people quite easily. She didn't and never would believe in love at first sight, but she did believe that one can get to know someone well enough to gain some sort of feelings for someone.

And Y/n could tell that the bubbling feeling in her stomach was her feeling giddy and anxious. She was beginning to feel something for the older married woman, but she brushed it off. It was just a small puppy crush, and even if it wasn't, nothing would ever come of it. Susie was a heterosexual married woman with a family and if there was one thing Y/n could never be, it was a homewrecker.

Susie entered her home happily. Her husband and son greeting her at the entrance, "Hello, liebling. How was the interview? I can assume it went well since you're smiling from ear to ear." Toto said, kissing his wife on the forehead. "She's perfect, Toto. She is everything I wanted and more in a personal assistant. Not to mention she's absolutely gorgeous. If she were to go to a GP, people would assume she is some sort of supermodel WAG." Susie said absentmindedly.

Toto gave his wife an odd look as she bent down to greet their five-year-old. His wife was what some people would call a girl's girl and she definitely has complimented other women before, but the way she had talked about the woman she had met with made him feel curious. She had never sounded so infatuated with anyone other than him and Jack.

Of course, Toto knew that his wife was not going to cheat on him and especially not with another woman, but there was just a feeling in his gut that said there was something more than just a regular excitement to be getting the F1 Academy project off the ground.

"Yeah? Is that right?" Toto asked, "Yes. She used to be a F2 driver too, so she is the most perfect candidate for the job. I think you and Jackie would lover her." Susie said, kissing the top of Jack's head and carrying him into the kitchen.

Toto shook his head as he chuckled. He didn't know what the woman was like, but she must have been super amazing because she left such an impression on his wife that she was positively gushing about the new PA.

By the time Susie stopped talking about the new PA, Toto himself couldn't wait to meet her and he was now sharing the excitement that she was practically projecting off her in waves.

This was the start of something new and both Wolff's could tell.

↳ ❝ [Taglist] ¡!❞

@exotic-iris13 @alliwantisadonut @evie-119 @xoscar03 @cheyxfu @laur2608 @sunnylikesfrogs @goldenmoonbeam @victorharrington @only-nope

Unable to tag all of you

This one was over 6k words. I felt like I needed to give you guys this since I had been away for so long.

DO NOT ask me to update this story. I'll update when I can.

Anyway, only accepting 9 more people to be tagged

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lunamadhatter99 · 1 year ago

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All for the cameras

chapter 2

Finnick Odair x fem!reader

Here we go, part 2! Thank you, thank you, thank you all for the support with the first chapter!! I'm so glad that everyone liked it.

I hope you're going to like this second chapter too🤞 again if you're new and want to be tagged in the next chapter, comment here❤️❤️❤️

Chapter summary: It's time for the big event. And better keep our eyes open.

Chapter warning: none, except the usual mention of prostitution and usual Hunger Games stuff. Nothing too wild. We still won't see Finnick in this chapter, but I promise it's going to be worth it❤️

Tag list

@guacam011y

@justtrying2getby

@idontevenknow1359

@alexandra-001

@bambikitten

@maggiecc

@redh00dsbf

@haneybunny

@1-800-styles

@sisiking99

"Snow is watching us." Haymitch says, we're almost at the Capitol for the final interview and the big celebration.

"Of course, he is. He needs to watch everything. Especially the inconveniences," I scoff.

"Yeah. And if he wants you to pacify the districts, I promise you, he's not happy." Haymitch continues, "instead of being in love, you two sounds like you're reading from a drilling manual."

"You try reading that stuff that Effie writes us," Peeta mutters.

"Snow doesn't care." I tell him. "That's not how you want to convince him."

"I'm open to suggestions," he says back, tired.

"We could get married," Katniss quietly suggests, not looking up at anyone.

"That's not helping," Haymitch comments.

"I'm serious. If, like you said we're on this train forever, it's gonna happen eventually. Why not now?"

"It does make a statement. I'll give you that." Haymitch then looks at Peeta who agrees, but quickly stands up and leave. Katniss looks at me.

"It's something we can try, you're right... they would want it to happen eventually." I shrug.

"It's settle, then." Haymitch drinks to that and Katniss looks at me with hope.

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

"Are you sure you don't want to come to the party?" I ask Haymitch before I have to leave for Snow's residence. "Lots of free alcohol."

"I don't need free alcohol." He chuckles amused, "I'm a victor. I already got that."

"Don't you want to save a damsel in distress?" I try again.

"Our president seems very well guarded on his own," Haymitch jokes, "he's safe."

I genuinely laugh at that shaking my head.

"See? I need that! Please?" I try to beg just one more time.

"Don't send me that look, Princess." He turns his head away ready to walk away.

"Fine, fine... I tried." I raise my hands up in surrender. "Wish me luck, at least. "

"Maybe they'll leave you alone tonight, too interested in the two lovers," he sadly smiles at me, hoping, rather than believing, his own words to be true.

"Yeah, maybe," I take a deep breath, "well... have a goodnight, Haymitch."

"You too, princess." He winks, "and eyes open."

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

The party is just as exaggerated as ever. Lots of people, lots of food and drinks and lots of lights.

I make my way through the crowd, towards the tables full of food and drinks, hoping to find something to make this evening more tolerable. I take a glass and take a sip, breathing deeply.

Some people come to talk to me, about the victors, thankfully.

"Two victors, exciting, uh?" One of the them says cheerfully.

"Very," I say with my usual forced smile.

"You must be proud, two victors on your turn on 12," a woman with very voluminous hair nudges me, "you were the talk of the town these past few days, you know?"

"Me?" I ask, surprised by that, usually everyone forgets about me during the victory tour.

"Oh yes, well beside the lovebirds." A green haired man chimes in.

"Why?" I start to get anxious, the necklaces feel a lot tighter than before.

"I heard a rumour... someone wants to put a ring on your finger," she whisper-exclaims with a wink.

"W-what?... I don't think... uh..." I stutter.

"C'mon, everyone knows you're Cal Kingslay's favourite." She teases, with a devilish smirk, "and it's rumored that he wants you all to himself."

"Isn't that wonderful?" The man cheers. "We could probably get two well awaited weddings this year!"

"I hope I didn't ruin the surprise." The woman adds, with, what I'm sure is, a fake apologetic smile.

"Of course not. Now would you excuse me, gotta wait for my Victors." I say turning around to walk as far as possible from them, I finish my drink in one go and soon take another glass. Thankfully it's announced the arrival of Katniss and Peeta.

I spot them walking through the crowd following Effie and heading to Flavius and Octavia so I quickly join them.

As they see me arrive they immediately smile, relieved.

"There you are," I say holding my hands out for them to hold, "I've missed you,"

All for the cameras.

"It's only been 30 minutes," Peeta plays along.

"And you can stay that long away from me?" I fake offence, "You wound me,"

Everyone around us laugh so I just decide to stick with them as long as I can.

Helping them play along is much easier than expected, especially with Peeta, Katniss is still a little uncertain, but I get her, it got me years and years to get used to the cameras.

After I unfortunately finish my fourth glass, I need another one, in order to survive this evening.

"Excuse me a second," I whisper at them and head to the other side of the room where I can get another glass of Whiskey.

I turn around to go back to Katniss and Peeta when I'm met with a firm chest.

Unfortunately I already know who this might be.

"Found you" Cal teases.

I look up at him, the blue in his hair is even stronger than I remembered, and a little longer too, he got bigger, more muscles for sure, eyes just as devilish.

"That you did," I try to mask my fear with a chuckle.

"I've missed you, you know, been looking everywhere for you since I got here," he says with a sweet tone, that only makes my skin crawl. He grabs my hand to play with my fingers.

"I've been here the whole time, chatting with the Victors you know," I take my hand back, "I should get back to them, exc-"

"They got you all this time," he stops me from walking away, "it's not the same without you."

"I..." I want to say something, but nothing comes out.

"I mean, it's fun and all with Finnick, but with you..." he lets out a big dreamy sigh, "with you it's so much better"

He says the last part leaning in, close enough to suffocate me.

"Excuse me?"

We both turn and see Peeta standing there.

"Peeta!" I say, both surprised and relieved, "Peeta, uh.. this is Cal Kingslay, his father was once the general himself"

"Nice to meet you, sir," Peeta extends his hand and Cal grabs it and shakes it.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr Mellark," Cal greets him, he's tense though, he doesn't like being interrupted.

"Uh... Peeta, where's Katniss?" I ask to change the subject.

"She's dancing with the new Head Gamemaker," he explains simply, "but I still wanted to dance so I thought to ask you, if you're free."

"Oh, but of course," I say holding out my hand for him.

"But..." Cal starts.

"Oh, c'mon, he's our new victor, we can't say no to him, now can we?"

"Of course not," Cal says with a very evident forced smile.

That being said, me and Peeta go dance with the other people, I even spot Katniss with said New head Gamemaker.

"Thank you," I breathlessly say as we start dancing.

"You're welcome, you looked like you needed saving," he says with his kind smile, "who is he?"

"A fan" I simply say, "a very... uh... insisting one"

"I see," he nods.

"Thanks again, really."

"Don't worry about it." He laugh, "I mean, you helped saving me in that arena, this is nothing."

It's actually a lot more than he thinks.

I smile at him, grateful.

I then feel a slight tap on my shoulder, I turn around seeing Katnis and the Gamemaker.

"Mind changing partners?" He asks politely.

"Sure."

Me and Katniss exchange spots.

"It's an honour," he says once we're dancing.

"That honour would be the same if I knew your name sir," I tease.

"Oh, my bad, I apologise." He chuckles, amused, "I'm Plutarch Heavensbee,"

"Now the honour is mine," I say, "new head Gamemaker... when did they choose you?"

"Oh, I volunteer," he simply explains.

"Oh..." I let out a surprised laugh, "I see Katniss is already dictating fashion."

"Yeah, she's an inspiration, don't you think?" He says it almost as a challenge.

"I do," I answer seriously. "There must be more then... why volunteer?"

"I think it's time for the game to mean something," he shrugs and smiles.

"Mean something?" I wonder, "that's pretentious,"

"A little," he chuckles again, "so I'd keep those eyes open, if I were you."

My eyes snap back at his face, he's smiling, proud of himself.

Why? Does he know something? Does Haymitch know something?

Before I get the chance to ask him anything, the Capitol anthem starts and the crowd cheers.

"I'm sure we'll meet again," he says before following the rest of the people out for President Snow's speech.

I'm a little stunned, it's Effie's call that snaps me out of it. I quickly join her, Katniss and Peeta out.

We all gather in front of the residence, waiting for the President Snow to come out. I turn around looking for Cal, only to make sure he doesn't sneak up on me again. I see him looking around, for me probably, so I quickly turn around getting closer to Katniss.

At last the President comes out on his balcony.

"Tonight, on this, the last day of their tour, I want to welcome our two Victors." He starts with his usual charming persona, two young people who embody our idealsof strength and valor. And I, personally, want to congratulate them on the announcement of their engagement."

Everyone cheers. Peeta and Katniss smile at the crowd around them.

"Your love has inspired us. And I know it will go on inspiring us every day for as long as you may live." He holds up his glass and the fireworks start and I turn around to look at them like everyone.

I sense Katniss holding my hand and turning around. I want to look at Snow too, but the way she starts to squeeze my hand tells me all I need to know...

He doesn't believe them.

It didn't work.

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

I'm sitting in an armchair staring at nothing in particular. My mind can't help but think about whatever we can do to make their story more believable, but nothing, absolutely nothing comes up.

The riots in the districts surely won't make him happy, which means it will be worse for everyone else.

Fuck.

My head snaps back as I hear footsteps coming, I let out a sigh when I notice it's just Katniss.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she apologises.

"Don't worry about it," I wave her off, "can't sleep either?"

She shakes her head, I motion for her to sit with me.

"Do you think we ever had any chance?" She then asks me.

"I guess, the positive side of me really hoped... but the realistic side knew." I sigh, looking down at my own hands, "I'm afraid it was too late from the beginning. And I don't mean from what happen in 11... I mean from the moment you took out the berries, that made the districts feel something, these riots all over the place won't be pacify by a love story. Snow knows that."

"He asked me to convince him," she explains, "to convince him ours is true love."

"He never believed you." I directly say, "not for a second."

"Why ask me that then?"

"Control." I simply answer looking up at her with a serious expression. "Show you he has control."

"How did you end up living like this?" She asks, she seems genuinely interested, but I'm not ready to share that part of my life with her just yet.

I smile at her, a smile that doesn't reach my eye.

"Aw... Katniss, I thought you knew the difference between living" I turn serious again, looking her dead in the eyes," and surviving."

With that I stand up, grab a bottle of what I think is rum, and head to my room.

-----------

I stand by the doors waiting for Peeta, Katniss and Haymitch to get off the train. The thought of going back to normal is dreadful enough, going back alone is even worse, I don't want to think about it.

"Home sweet home," Haymitch declares as he nears.

"Don't be so eager to leave me," I joke, holding my hand out for him to shake, he takes and kiss the back of it.

"You know, it pains me deeply," he teases back and I chuckle.

"Take care of them, will you?" I ask quietly.

"You take care of yourself, will you?" He lets go of my hand and leans down to whisper into my ear, "and eyes open" He smiles one more time before getting of the train.

"You'll have to explain that to me properly one of these days," I tell him as I watch him go.

"Isn't his whole character just... cryptic?" I turn around seeing Peeta and Katniss.

"Or just constantly drunk." Katniss chimes in.

"He's cryptically drunk all the time," I smile, "so... you got everything?"

"Yeah, we're ready to get home." Peeta smile back at me.

"Good... Good." I let out a deep sigh, "it's been a pleasure assisting you two. I guess I'll see you at the next Hunger Games, mentors."

"Thank you for everything, Y/n." Peeta pulls me in for a quick hug before walking away.

"Bye," I wave then turn to Katniss, "you okay?"

"Yeah... I think so." She forces a small smile.

"I wish I could do more," I tell her honestly.

"Thanks,"

"Say hi to your family for me, alright?" I smile again and she nods.

Once Katniss is out of sight a Peacekeeper comes up to me.

"Yes?" I ask.

"Your presence has been requested back in the Capitol. We'll be leaving soon." He tells me.

"May I know who requested it?" I ask, tired. I already imagine who-

"President Snow."

Uh?

"Did he say why?"

The peacekeeper doesn't answer and walks away. I stand here dumbfounded, wondering what he might want from me.

Is it because of Katniss and Peeta?

Is it because of the riots in the districts?

Is it because of the Quartel Quell? Does he wants me to be more participant or?

Then a terrifying thought comes to mind...

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

"You asked for me, sir?" I stand in front of his desk as he write something down.

"It came to my attention a rumour's veen going around regarding you, miss L/n." He starts, still not looking directly at me, "a merry one."

"Sir?" I ask, my throat instantly dry.

"Cal Kingslay apparently wants to marry you," he finally puts down the pen and looks at me with, what might seem, a genuinely happy expression, "That's a wonderful news."

"Is it?" I don't know what he wants from me.

"Oh yes, the people can't help but be thrilled about. the idea. I, myself, think it's great news. After the contributions the Kingslays gave to the games in these last years, it will show, not only to the Capitol, but the districts as well, that you are an active part of this system." He explains, the hint of a challenge in his eyes. Challenge me to say no, to refuse.

I really want to, I want to scream at him and just run away. Being sold to all rich people in the Capitol is not the life I want, but being tied to him... permanently, it's more terrifying.

But I have no choice.

All I can do is swallow my pride and take a deep shaky breath.

"I... how... how will it happen, sir?" I ask.

"You two will get engaged once I announce the Third Quarter Quell and get properly married after the crowing of the Victor. He will ask, you will happily say yes." He explains, satisfied with my compliance, then he goes back at the papers in front of him, "That's all."

I don't need him to tell me twice, I immediately walk out of his office, ready to go home and just let everything out.

"Oh, before you go," Snow's voice freezes me on the spot, "Plutarch Heavensbee asked for your company, you will be escorted to his house immediately." He informs me.

I shakily nod and walk out of his office where two guards make way.

-----------

"Do you want some tea?" Plutarch motion for me to sit at a big wooden table, "perhaps something stronger?"

I nervously nod as I sit.

He walks away, I hear him talking to someone before walking back into the room I'm in with two drinks in hand. He offers one to me and sits by the opposite side of the table.

"I told the guards to come back in an hour, we should have enough time" he smiles and I nod again, still not sure of what to expect.

Suddenly the lights go off and the room falls into deep darkness. I can still make out his face due to the lights coming from outside.

"What...?" I ask.

"You can never feel safer," he tells me.

"What's going on, Mr Heavensbee?" I ask, anxiety growing at every passing second.

"Tell me, miss L/n," he starts, voice a little quieter than before, "what do you know about district 13?"

#the hunger games fic #the hunger games x reader #hunger games fic #the hunger games imagine #the hunger games #finnick odair x reader #finnick odair imagine #finnick odair #finnick imagine #finnick x reader #finnick odair x y/n

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gortash-week · 6 months ago

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hello gortash nation. it is i, host of this week @sankttealeaf here! gortash week may "officially" be over but that means nothing when the archduke wants more! (he will not stop until he has more, please i miss my family he's keeping me locked away in wyrms rock prison and is making me dance for his amusement! i cant dance! help please!!)

anyway - despite the event ending, i will be leaving the AO3 collection open until the end of august / early september for those who found the event a little later and want to make something for these prompts. time is a weird soup after all, we don't follow rules here!!

if you've made something and have thought "oh no! its not the day of the prompt anymore - i cant post it" PLEASE share it!! i'm still accepting submissions and i'll still reshare any gortash week work here & tag whichever day its for! i know some people found out about the event as it was happening and if the prompts have inspired you - please share!!! i'd love to see it!!

thank you from the bottom of my heart if you've participated in this event - whether that's making things or simply engaging with the content shared. it means the world to me that people found the prompts interesting enough to take time out of their day to make something for it. i had no idea this event would be as big as it's become and i'm so so so impressed with the wide variety of work made and shared!! everyone is so talented and i cant wait to see what other things you all make and write <3

as for the future? well, i'd love to run more events like this! i've mentioned before about a hypothetical "gort month" that would include two prompts per week, 8(ish) prompts in total. that way there's a loooot more time to work on things & if people wish to join halfway through it's a lot less pressure to do so! my aim for running events is to keep them as stress & pressure free as possible because theyre here to be fun! i'm also open to comments & ideas & feedback on how you (yes, you!) found this event so if i do end up running something else in the future it can be better and better! pls feel free to shoot me as ask (anon or not it's fine! be respectful though, that's all i ask<3) if you have any post-event comments you want to air and i'll respond!!

again, if i've missed any of your work you've posted, please send it my way! no message required, just drop me the link & i'll share it asap!! thank you to those who have done that already!! i easily miss things and i dont want anyone to feel like im purposefully leaving them out!!

thank you again for making this week so enjoyable! ive had such a blast hosting it and if i see any other events i'll be sure to reblog them here (for those interested: i've seen a wyllmancer week, a galemancer week (both on twitter), and a lae'zel week on here that i can't seem to find the post for to link to :( )

again - super open to comments and feedback or even if you just want to say hi! i'm way more active on my main blog if you're interested in hanging out there :3

thank u so much for this week, it's been so much fun <3 <3

#gortash week #gortashweek #enver gortash #lord gortash #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #thank u all again!!!!#this has been so much fun!#im so happy to be part of this community!!

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allthesmutl0vers · 4 months ago

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The Weight of Blood: Tom/Theo/Draco/Regulus/Fem!Reader (Part Eleven)

MDNI, 18+

Masterlist

Pairing: Tom Riddle x Theo Nott x Draco Malfoy x Regulus Black x Fem!Reader

TW: Depression, Heartbreak, Self-Harm (Punching Walls/Drinking), Multi-POV, Crying, Reuniting.

A/N: This chapter includes music for each person's POV. I highly suggest listening to the correlating songs for each person's POV as you read them to give you a better sense of their headspace. (Click on the song title)

Tag List: @yosoy-laprincesaa @helendeath @buttercup-baby

Please don't forget to reblog and comment 🫶 Comment below to be tagged in any other story updates!

Overall Vibe Song: Have Faith In Me - A Day To Remember

Chapter Eleven

Y/n

(All Too Well - Taylor Swift)

One Month Later

*Knock, knock, knock.* “Y/n?” I hear Cedric call out softly from the other side of my bedroom door. I look up at the door from my bed, my head on the pillow. He knocks again. “Can I come in?”

I can’t bring myself to answer him, unable to do anything besides lay here where I have been since the night I sent them away. It’s nothing short of a miracle that I’ve been able to get up to use the bathroom or eat just enough of the food that Cedric brings to keep me breathing.

I pull the covers over my head as I hear the door open and close. “Y/n?” Cedric sits on the side of my bed by my legs. “Can you just give me the sign you're alive under there?” He tries to joke. I put my hand outside of the blanket above my head, giving him a thumbs up. I rarely speak more than two words anymore and never to anyone besides Cedric.

I hear him sigh softly. “Alright, I can work with that,” I can almost hear the small smile in his voice. He clears his throat and puts a hand gently on my knee over the covers. “Professor McGonagall asked about you in class today.”

I don’t answer, feeling the depression and guilt from not showing up creep into my stomach, making me nauseous. “So did they in potions,” I feel the tears sting my eyes as they come again, and the ball in my throat forms yet again. “I don’t know what to tell anyone,” he mutters softly. “You don’t talk about what happened, or anything at all, for that matter.”

I sniffle and clear my throat, wishing the ball in my throat would just go away already. Cedric gets up from my bed, and I hate myself for not being able to say anything. Just as I assume he’s leaving, the covers lift off of my head and Cedric gets under them, pulling me to his chest as he sits back against my headboard. “Come here,” he says softly as he wraps his arms around me. A cracked sob breaks free from my scratchy throat as I bury my face in his chest, unable to help wishing it was one of theirs and hating myself for it.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Cedric tries to soothe me, rubbing my back. “I got you.”

The dam I’ve been building and shoving my emotions behind cracks. “I can’t do this,” my voice comes out hoarse and hurts my scratchy throat.

“Can’t do what?” Cedric rubs my back gently.

“An— anything,” I let out a choked sob. Tears stream down my face. “I can’t,” I try to speak, but I can’t between the sobs that wrack through my body and I sniffle.

Cedric pulls my body up to a seated position next to him and grabs a tissue from my nightstand. “Can you blow your nose? That’d be something,” he hands me a tissue.

I take it from him, shifting to sit next to him. I lean over and blow my nose, clearing it as I sob. “See, you can do something,” he chuckles softly, trying to make me feel better as he pushes my messy and dirty hair over my shoulder. “Just not a lot, and that’s okay.”

Cedric rubs my back as I lean over, resting my face on my knees next to him. “I’m sorry,” I mutter between sobs. I’ve been such a shitty friend. I haven’t gone to a single one of his quidditch matches when I never missed one before. Even the rare times we fought.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” he soothes, leaning over and rubbing circles on my back.

“I’m so goddamn broken ,” I let out a shaky breath. I blink away the tears as they run dry from my tear ducts again, leaving my eyes sore.

Cedric softly kisses the top of my head, resting the side of his head on mine. “You’re not broken. I can promise you that,” he pulls back and cups my face in his hands. “You know what will make you feel better?”

“Death,” I mutter softly.

Cedric tsks with a smirk. “I was thinking something a little less depressing,” he smiles softly. “A shower.”

“Are you saying I stink?” I grumble, already knowing I do. I haven’t showered in almost a week.

Cedric shrugs. “Maybe a little,” he quips, tilting his head to the side.

“You’re such a dick,” I shove him, a sliver of a smile pulling at my lips. “What good will that do?”

“Get you ready to meet with the Headmaster.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “Why?”

Cedric sighs and rests his arms on his knees. “Something about missing classes too much. He’s about to write to your mom, but he wanted to speak with you first,” he shrugs. “See if it can be resolved without getting her involved, I suppose.”

I clench my jaw and look at my bedroom door. “I haven’t left in weeks. I don’t know if I can.”

“Thirty-two days, to be exact,” Cedric smirks. “I’ll come with you if you want. But I don’t think you want your mom to come here. We both know she has a bit of a flair for the dramatic.”

I huff a laugh and shake my head, picking at the fibers of my blanket. “When she pretends to actually care.”

Cedric stands up and offers his hand. “Come on. I’ll help you.”

I arch a brow. “Help me shower ?”

“Not like it’s anything I haven’t seen before,” he chuckles. “I swear on my life I will be a complete gentleman. I don’t really see you like that anyway, no offense,” he purses his lips.

I sigh and take his hand, letting him lift me out of bed and stand me up on weak legs. “Fine, but my bra and underwear are staying on .”

“Whatever gets you in the shower,” Cedric chuckles.

Cedric didn’t really get in the shower with me. More so, he stood outside of it to make sure I did. He’s my best friend, but the thought of another guy seeing me naked after… I just couldn’t handle that. Ever. But he does brush my hair for me after I get dressed in leggings and a long-sleeve shirt that used to be form-fitting but now it hangs loosely on my body.

I put on socks and my slippers and take a deep breath as Cedric opens my dorm room door and leads me out with a hand on my shoulders, his body blocking anyone from looking at me.

Theo

(If It Means A Lot To You - A Day To Remember)

I hate this. I hate this so fucking much. This constant ache in my chest is like a weight that just won’t budge no matter what I do. Nothing fucking helps. I clench my jaw as I blow the smoke from my cigarette out through gritted teeth. Why didn’t we just fucking tell her? Why did I even think what we were doing was right in the first goddamn place?

My parents have reached out almost every day. Sending stupid fucking letters saying that they want me to go back to Italy. They’ve offered brooms, watches, money, any and everything to get me to answer them. But the one thing, the only thing I want, is something they can never give me because they ripped it away.

“Dio, per favore, sciopero me a morte. Non posso più vivere così. Non posso vivere senza di lei,” I choke out, leaning against the corridor to the courtyard, looking up to the cloudy sky. The sun hasn’t shown itself since the last time we saw her. ( God, please strike me dead. I can't live like this anymore. I can't live without her .)

I sniffle and wipe away my tears. I take a deep drag from my smoke before tossing it to the ground and smothering it under my foot. I let out a sigh as I make my way through the halls aimlessly. What I wouldn’t give to see her just one more time.

I turn a corner, stopping in my tracks. Like the answer to a prayer, there she is, walking right toward me with Diggory.

My heart breaks even more when I take her in. She’s so thin. Way too thin. She slowly looks up at me, sucking in a breath as her eyes meet mine. They’re so red, she’s been crying. Her cheeks are puffy and swollen, her eyes sunken, and… Sad doesn’t even begin to describe the look in them.

I clench my jaw as Cedric holds her closer with his arm around her shoulders. “Nott,” he looks me up and down.

I refuse to look at him as I take a step closer to her. “Cara mia,” I try to get her attention as she looks to the ground. “Amore mio, eccoti qui. Where have you been?” I ask softly as I take another step closer to her. ( My dear, ) ( My love, there you are. )

“We’re going,” Diggory clears his throat and starts to pull her past me.

In desperation, I grab her arm as they pass me. “Y/n, please. Just talk to me. Just let me hear your voice.”

I hear her sigh, and she bows her head, refusing to turn back and look at me. “Leave me alone, Nott.”

Nott.

Not Theodore. Not Theo. Not Teddy. Fucking Nott.

I have never hated my last name until right now. The way she says it like I’m nothing but a stranger to her. A man she’d never met. The man I was before I met her.

“Baby… Please,” my voice comes out choked and pleading as I hold onto her arm. Her arm I can actually wrap my full hand around now. It makes me sick. I turn to Diggory. The person who we trusted to look after her when Reggie told us how close he is to her. He let this fucking happen.

“Let her go,” Diggory warns me, making my nostrils flare.

I open my mouth to retort when y/n speaks so softly and vulnerably that I immediately turn all of my attention to her. “If you really ever cared for me, you’ll let me go.”

My hand immediately retracts and lets her go. If I ever cared for her? Fucking Merlin, it’s almost an insult. I never just cared for her. I fucking love her. I just never got a chance to tell her before shit went to hell.

I watch as she walks away with Diggory at her side, and I hear the faintest cry come from her lips. My lips part to call after her, but if the only way I can show her I care is to let her walk away, I have to let her, even if it tears me apart.

Draco

(I Miss You - Blink 182)

Everything has lost meaning. What’s the point of being in school if I don’t get to see her in class? What’s the point of feeling if it’s not her looking up into my eyes as I hold her close? What’s the point of anything if not for her?

To say ‘I miss her’ is perhaps the biggest understatement in the world. It all fell apart after she told us to get out of her dorm that night. Tom doesn’t come out of his room except for classes. Reggie barely says a word unless you practically force it out of him. Theo stopped smiling. I stopped feeling, well, anything.

I don’t see her around anymore, not in classes, the great hall, the corridors, nowhere. It’s like she was never here in the first place. The only proof she ever was is the deep, chest-hollowing pain that comes from missing her so much that I can barely breathe.

I have half a mind to just say fuck it and leave altogether, but I know she’s here, somewhere. But I can’t bear to be anywhere she isn’t, even if she refuses to see me.

The door opens as I lay back on my bed, and Theo walks in and sits on my bed. We haven’t done anything since she broke it off, almost like she took that with her too. “I saw her,” he mutters, pulling out a cigarette.

“What?” I sit up to look at him. “When? What did she say?”

Theo sighs heavily as he lights his smoke. “With Diggory in the hall by the courtyard. I don’t know where they were going.”

I swallow hard as he passes the smoke to me. “How did she look?” I look down at the cigarette in my fingers before pulling it to my lips.

Theo shakes his head sadly. “She’s so thin. It’s almost like she’s hollow, a shell.”

I fight the lump that forms in my throat. “I miss her.”

Theo looks at me with pink eyes, either from crying or smoking some weed, I’m not sure. “Me too. I tried to talk to her and,” he takes the smoke back as I pass it to him. “She said that if I ever cared about her, I’d leave her alone,” his jaw ticks, and he shakes his head.

“We should’ve told her,” I mutter.

“I know.”

Y/n

“I can make it back on my own,” I turn to look at Cedric before entering the Headmaster’s office.

Cedric looks down at me with a worried expression. “I don’t mind walking you.”

I nod and swallow. “I know. But I want to walk back alone. I need to think.”

Cedric sighs and pulls me into a hug. “Alright, I understand. Just know my dorm is always open. You remember the password to my common room, right?”

I nod against his chest before pulling back. “I do,” I turn away from him and knock on Headmaster Dumbledore’s door.

“Come in,” I hear his calm voice on the other side. I take a breath and open his door, stepping inside and closing the door behind me. “Ah, Ms. Hunt,” he says, seated behind his desk, clearing his papers calmly. “Sit,” he motions to a chair on the opposite side of his desk.

I take careful steps up to the chair and sit down, folding my hands in my lap without saying a word or looking up. “You’ve missed quite a bit of class,” Dumbledore says calmly. He doesn’t sound angry, but his voice is firm.

“I know,” I bite the inside of my cheek.

“Ms. Hunt?” I take a breath and look up into his ice-blue eyes under his glasses. “Would you care to explain why?”

I don’t know what to say. Sure, he excused me for a few days before, but that was when I tried to kill myself, and only for a few days. Something tells me a breakup is not going to be enough of an excuse. Depression, maybe. I could tell him about what I went through, but I swore to myself never to breathe a word about what happened. It could get them all sent to Azkaban. And as much as they broke my heart, I still love them, and I can’t do that to them.

“Have you been struggling again?” He asks calmly, without judgment. I nod, feeling the damned lump form in my throat again. Struggling doesn’t even begin to touch how I feel. But it’s a good enough answer, regardless. “I see,” I watch as he leans back in his chair. “I know you’ve had a good talk with Professor McGonagall. Is she unable to help?”

“It feels like nobody can,” I mutter, picking at my nails in my lap.

Dumbledore nods once. “Nobody? Well, that seems to be quite the predicament. I will ask, however, if I can be of any assistance?”

I shake my head. “No, sir. It’s,” I shake my head. “Something bad happened,” I meet his eyes again. “And I can’t get past it. I can’t talk to who it involves about it. And I can’t to anyone else without them being left with the fallout.”

Dumbledore tilts his head to the side. “Would this have anything to do with what happened at Malfoy Manor a month ago?”

I blink a few times, unsure if I heard him right. “I’m sorry?”

Dumbledore softly chuckles and smiles. “I know all about it,” he leans forward on his desk. “I was made aware by an informant that runs in pureblood circles. I know Bellatrix was behind it and had you kidnapped from the grounds. I know she’s dead, killed by Cormac McClaggen,” he tilts his head down to look at me over his glasses. “And I know Tom Riddle killed him.”

I feel like ice water has replaced the blood in my veins. I open my mouth to jump to Tom’s defense when Dumbledore raises a hand. “There is no need to defend Tom, y/n.”

“Is he…” I can’t bring myself to finish the question, digging my nails into the palms of my hands.

“In Azkaban?” I nod. “No, he is not. He is still here unless,” Dumbledore looks at me curiously. “He didn’t kill Cormac to protect you.”

Did he? Why doesn’t it feel like that’s why he did it?

“I believe he did,” I decide to answer with a half-truth.

“I see. Well, in that case, he will remain here,” Dumbledore says with a small smile. “Which brings me back to my original reason for calling you to my office this evening. You need to start attending classes again, or I’m afraid you won’t graduate this year.”

I feel my stomach sink again as I sit back in my chair. “I know,” my voice comes out meek and ashamed.

“Perhaps,” Dumbledore grabs my attention again. “I could arrange for you to study on your own and just pick up and turn in your assignments on your own. Only attending class for exams. Though I do believe that learning with your peers provides a good support system.”

“I don’t want to see anyone,” I mutter.

“I understand. Then maybe it’d be best to go with my suggestion. Simply pick up and turn in your assignments and study on your own. For the time being, at least.”

I nod my head slightly. “I can do that,” I hate how my response comes out as disbelieving of it as I feel.

“Very well. Should we need to adjust or rearrange anything, you let me know by owl. Or, you may come to my office. I will send a notice to your professors. You are excused unless you have anything else you wish to discuss?”

I bite the inside of my cheek as I meet his eyes again. “I do, but I’m not sure how to word the question.”

Dumbledore chuckles silently. “Well, I can’t guarantee I will have the right answer or any answer. Let’s both just try our best.”

“How do you know if someone was going to tell you the truth before someone else told you?”

“Am I correct in assuming this has to do with the four Slytherin boys and the plans that they were made to carry out?” I nod, and Dumbledore seems to ponder my question for a few moments before he answers. “I suppose it would boil down to trust. Did they mention anything before it happened?”

“Not exactly,” I shrug. “The only thing I can think of is that right before, they told me to pack a bag and that they would explain later.”

“I see. And had they been honest with you about everything not involving the situation beforehand?”

“I’m not sure I understand, headmaster?” I ask, confused.

“For instance, before this happened, were they honest with you about their feelings? Or simply any other question that had nothing to with Bellatrix or her intended plans?”

I think for a few moments, trying to think back to everything I had asked them before. “Honestly, headmaster, it seems that way. But I don’t know how to tell if it wasn’t all just a trick.”

“Well, I believe actions speak a lot louder than words. I know Tom and Regulus built you an ice rink. Is that correct?” I nod. “And when Cormac attempted to harm you, as much as the actions taken went against the school rules, did Regulus defend you?” I nod again. “And when you attempted to take your own life before any feelings were made known, they all came to your aid, regardless of the potential consequences from their parents or even Bellatrix?”

“Yes,” I answer as the pieces start to come together.

“Then I think you have answered your own question, Ms. Hunt,” Dumbledore smiles and leans forward again. “Those who truly care about us and our well-being help us regardless of the outside consequences. Nobody is perfect or without blame. Nobody ,” he repeats intensely. “It’s human nature to make mistakes and even sometimes hurt the ones we love,” he holds up a finger. “But, it is also human nature to try to remedy the hurt we cause. Have they attempted to do that?”

I feel guilt wash over me as I nod my head. “Yes. But I turned them away,” I wipe away a tear that falls down my cheek. “They begged me to listen to them, and I ignored them. I was hurt.”

“So you hurt them back, even if that wasn’t your main intention.” I nod and wipe my tears with a tissue that Dumbledore gives me. “I’m not saying you have to go back to them. I’m not saying that they or you are without blame. But I have been alive for a long time, Ms. Hunt. And I can assure you that you can’t even begin to make such a choice as staying or walking away until you hear their side. There are always three sides to a story, or in this case, maybe six,” I look at him with a confused expression.

“Yours, each of theirs, and the truth. The truth will be somewhere in the middle of all of your stories.”

“How can I face them after I’ve pushed them away?” I sniffle.

Dumbledore ponders my question for a few moments before he smiles and responds. “You just do. You’ll never know until you try.”

Regulus

(Far Away - Nickelback)

It’s crazy to me how someone can be so close yet so far out of reach. Every day since she threw us out after demanding the keys we held to her collar, I have wanted nothing more than to go to her and beg for another chance. A chance I know none of us deserve.

I could blame Tom for not wanting us to tell her. I could blame Bellatrix for telling her before we got the chance to explain. I could sit here and say that we were going to tell her anyway, so I don’t know why she’s so upset. But those would be lies. I knew in my gut that we should’ve told her from the start. I had the opportunity to tell her sitting by the fire, and I was going to. But when she turned to look at me and opened her mouth to start to say the three words I would die to hear from her lips, I chickened out.

The truth is, I fucked up. I should’ve told her regardless of the consequences. What bad thing would have really happened if I did? Tom would get mad? I scoff at the idea. He hardly ever comes out of his room anymore and doesn’t talk to anyone anyway. He’ll sit there and listen to me bitch and complain, sure. But I think he only does that because Draco and Theo have hardly even looked at him since that night.

I asked Cedric if he’d seen her at all today. I could tell he was pissed that I was asking, but I had to know. I had to know that someone was looking out for her when we couldn’t because she doesn’t want us around. All he could tell me was that she hasn’t left her room. He also mentioned that she hasn’t been eating. I’m worried fucking sick about her.

Is she hurting herself again? She promised she wouldn’t do it anymore. But at the same time, we promised to always be honest with her, so who knows? I hear glass smash on the other side of the wall. Tom must be drinking. Again . These days there’s not a day that goes by that he isn’t half wasted. Class, flying, doesn’t matter. He’s drunk. The music on the other side of the wall stops the same song that’s been in heavy rotation every day. A younger Slytherin was stupid enough to tell him to shut it off, and well, let’s just say he’ll be spending Halloween in the infirmary.

Halloween . Her favorite holiday is right around the corner. We joked around about matching costumes. Actually, every else joked around. My Ghostface mask is still hanging in my closet. Call me fucking crazy, but this girl might just have a mask kink. The way she shivered when I put it on and surprised her, the breathy little pant she tried to hide, fuck.

I stand from my bed and open my bedroom door, knocking on Tom’s next to mine when I remember the glass smashing against the wall. There’s no answer, so I knock a little louder. Still no answer. I peek into his room and find it trashed and empty. Tom is usually extremely neat, so the fact his room is in ruins, only makes me more worried. I step further into the room and look around the corner to his bathroom, letting out a small breath of relief when I find him there alive.

“Your room is a mess,” I try to joke. Without looking up at me, he sends a hard punch to his bathroom mirror, the splintered glass digging and cutting into his knuckles as they fall to the sink and floor around him.

“Leave.”

Oh, so he hasn’t gone mute.

I clench my jaw and move closer to him. “You’re bleeding. Let me clean it,” I reach for him.

“Fuck off. Get out,” he snaps, pulling his hand back.

“I’m only trying to help.”

“I don’t want your help,” he grits out.

I know he doesn’t want my help. He wants y/n’s. But she can’t help, and apparently, neither can I. “Fine. Have it your way then,” I snap as I turn around and leave his room, slamming the door behind me for good measure.

I turn to walk back to my dorm but stop in my tracks. I don’t want to go back to my dorm. If I go to my dorm, the only thing I’ll be able to do is sleep. It’s tempting because now, that’s the only time I ever get to see her. But I can’t just see her in my dreams anymore. I need to see her in the flesh. I need to beg her for another chance, even though I don’t fucking deserve it.

I need to look her in the eyes and tell her how much I love her. Just once. I just need her to hear me say it one time, and if she tells me to leave again, I’ll leave her alone forever if that’s really what she wants.

I look toward my dorm before turning around and fucking running . Running through the common room, up the stairs, through the halls, up the moving staircase, and through more halls before I finally reach her common room. Fuck curfew. Fuck every Gryffindor who dares to stand in between me and her. I reach her door, my chest heaving as I fight to catch my breath.

I close my fist and prepare myself to knock. Prepare myself to be told to get the fuck away and stay away. Prepare to have the door slammed in my face. But none of those fears even come close to the fear of never being able to tell her how much I love her.

I bring my knuckles down to the door just as it opens and I see her standing in front of me. For the first time since that night, I can finally fucking breathe.

Her eyes look up at mine. The top half of her hair is tied back with a black ribbon, and an oversized black knit sweater hangs gently off of one of her shoulders, exposing her collarbones, which are entirely too visible, only testifying to how much weight she’s lost. Her legs are only covered by a black and white plaid skirt and black dolly shoes.

“Reggie?” She asks, confused and surprised when she looks into my eyes. My name on her lips is the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.

“Hi, little lamb,” I lift the corner of my mouth in a small smile. “Can I come in? Please?” She swallows and nods once, stepping away from the door to let me in hesitantly. I look down at her as she shifts on her feet. “Y/n,” I say her name to get her to look up at me again. When she does, I take a step closer to her. “I need to tell you something, just once. And if you tell me to get lost I swear on my life I will never bother you again.”

She bites the bottom of her lip and nods. I take another step closer to her and she doesn’t move away. I reach out my hand for hers, and to my surprise, she places her small hand in mine, her thin fingers grazing the palm of my hand as I take another step and brush my fingers along her jaw.

“Y/n, I know I have no business being here. I know you hate me. You have every right to,” I swallow, my nerves lighting up as I brace myself to tell her. “But as much as you hate me, as much as you may never want to see my face again,” I clear my throat, which suddenly goes dry as she looks up at me with little doe eyes. “I love you. I love you so fucking much. You are everything to me, and I am so sorry I kept you in the dark. You deserve better than that. Baby, I will never forgive myself for hurting you, and—”

She cuts me off by standing on her tiptoes and smashing her lips to mine, her small hand holding onto the back of my neck. I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling and holding her close, wondering if this is all just another dream.

Y/n breaks the kiss, pulling back just enough to look in my eyes as her free hand brushes through my hair. “I love you too, Reggie.”

My heart swells with relief and happiness, so much so that a tear falls down my cheek as I smile. “I swear to you that I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you,” I look down in her eyes as her fingers move from my hair to brush the tear from my cheek.

“I know you will, Reggie. I know you all will,” she smiles and sniffles a laugh.

“Does this mean…?”

She smiles and kisses me again, softer this time. “Well, you’re not getting off the hook that easy ,” she giggles and bites her bottom lip. “But yes. I forgive you. I forgive all of you.”

“You have no idea how happy that makes me,” I smile down at her.

She raises a brow and smirks. “Be a gentleman and escort me to your common room. I want to surprise them.”

I kiss her forehead and pull back, offering her my hand, which she immediately takes, interlocking her fingers with mine. “It would be my highest honor.”

Y/n

The Slytherin common room isn’t at all what I expected. I imagined it would be dark, cold, and gloomy, but it’s not. A fire roars in the fireplace, and shelves of books line the walls. I half expect everyone to be staring and judging me as Reggie leads me through. But instead, people mind their own business. The few people who do look up at me just nod before carrying on with their own conversations. Maybe I was put in the wrong house.

“This is mine, Draco, and Theo’s room,” Reggie tells me as we come to a stop at the door. “Be prepared, they might be in shock,” he chuckles as he opens the door, walking in with me behind him.

Draco and Theo don’t look up until I speak. “Hi,” I curse myself for sounding more nervous than I wanted to.

Their eyes snap in my direction, landing on me. They both blink a few times like they can’t believe I’m actually standing in their room. Theo is the first one to stand, he doesn’t say anything until he reaches me, as if he needs to touch me to make sure I’m really here.

“Potrebbe essere? Mia cara, sei davvero qui?” He asks softly, as his fingers brush my cheek. ( Could it be? My dear, are you really here? )

I don’t know exactly what he says, but I get the feeling he’s asking something along the lines of it’s really me or if I’m really standing in front of him, but I answer in the little Italian that I’ve learned so far. “Sono proprio io, Teddy. It’s really me, Teddy . “

Theo wraps a strong arm around my waist and lifts me off the ground; his free hand grips the nape of my neck and pulls me in to smash a kiss to my lips. “Non ti mentirò mai più. Lo giuro su Dio, per favore perdonami, amore mio,” he mutters against my lips.

“Teddy, Teddy,” I giggle, cupping his face in my hands. “English, I beg you ,” I chuckle.

“I will never lie to you again. I swear to God, please forgive me, my love.”

I press my lips to Theo’s again as he sets me back on my feet. “I believe you. Ti amo, Theodore.” ( I love you, Theodore. )

“Dio, ti amo pure, y/n.” ( God, I love you too, y/n. )

I smile up at him before turning to Draco. “You gonna make me walk the whole way over?” I tease with a smile as I take a step closer to him.

“Darling, I may never let you walk again,” he chuckles, meeting me halfway and taking me into his arms before he dips me and presses his lips to mine. “Lest you try to walk away from us again,” he whispers against my lips before putting me back on my feet.

“Never again, Draco,” I say like a promise.

“Never again. I love you so much,” he smiles as his grey eyes shine in the light above our heads.

“I love you too.”��

Draco kisses me again before I break the kiss with a smile and look around. There are only three beds in here, so where does Tom sleep? “Where is Tommy?” I ask none of them in particular, but Reggie answers.

“His room is next door, want me to get him?”

I nod my head. “I’ll come with you,” I take Theo and Draco’s hands as we exit their dorm and walk next door.

Reggie knocks on Tom’s door but gets no answer. “Tom?” He knocks a little louder and opens the door a crack. “Tom, are you here?” He asks as he opens the door wider for all of us to step inside.

The room is a mess. Empty alcohol bottles litter the floor, and his bed is unmade and messy, with the blankets all twisted up and part of them hanging off of the side of the bed. Shattered glass is scattered all over the bathroom counter and floor.

Moving over to his desk, I find his journal. I hesitate when I pick it up. I’m sure he wouldn’t want me to read it, but if it can help us find him, I have to. I flip to the last entry dated for today, careful not to read anything prior.

"October 27th,

I can’t live without her. I know it’s all my fault. I ruin everything I touch, even her.

There is nobody else I can trust with the darkest parts of myself, and I haven’t even gotten the chance to show her that side of me. Maybe that’s for the best. I don’t deserve her.

I don’t deserve to breathe. But maybe I can see one last beautiful place, even if it’s not as beautiful as her. Nothing is."

My heart pounds and sinks low in my belly as I look at my other boys. Reggie gently takes the journal from my hands and mutters. “ Fuck .”

I scour my brain for where he could be as Reggie, Draco, and Theo discuss where he could be. Then it hits me. “I think I know where he is.”

Tom

(All Fucked Up - The Amity Affliction)

I listen as Reggie slams my door, leaving me alone. Good. I deserve nothing better. God, why am I like this? Why can’t I just be fucking normal ? I slam my fist into the wall where the mirror shattered around me. Again. And again. And Again.

It’s all my fucking fault.

I was so worried that she would run away when we told her the truth, and just when I decided we should, she was ripped away and told in the worst possible fucking way.

I wish I could say I’m sorry for murdering someone right in front of her, but I’m fucking not. Why hasn’t she told anyone about it? Why am I not sitting in Azkaban right now? It’s what I fucking deserve. I’d turn myself in and get myself sent there if I didn’t know what is waiting there if I do.

Dementors. There to suck away and feed off of any and all happy memories a person has until they’re left with nothing but the worst parts of themselves. Sure, I have good memories with my friends, but all of my happiest ones? The ones where I felt like I could actually be someone besides the monster I know I am are all with her.

They’re in the chilly nights reading by the fire. They’re in the Hogsmeade trips where we would share a butterbeer, and I would drink it even though I hate how sweet they are. But she loves them, so I drank them because I love her.

Now, I only drink hard liquor, trying to numb the pain of her not being around anymore. Reggie helps or tries to. He comes in all the time, talking to me about her and how much he misses her. I don’t think he can really talk about it with Draco and Theo. Or maybe he just wants to talk around someone who never responds to him.

I’m fed up. I’ve had enough. Every second I’m not around her, I feel like I’m going to fall over and die. She’s never going to forgive me, so what’s the point?

I fucked up. I’m fucked up. I regret every second that I didn’t tell her the truth. I regret every time I didn’t hold onto her for a second longer. I’m a liar. A manipulator. I lie all the time. I can’t help it. For fuck’s sake, I lie to myself every day when I tell myself I don’t think of just ending it all. Lying to myself when I tell myself I don’t think of death and the release it would bring from the rage, the regret, the depression.

But I don’t want to lie anymore.

I scribble a quick message to whoever might find my journal. Maybe Regulus, maybe Draco, or maybe even Theo. I don’t know anyone else who would give a shit. I don’t have a family. I may have wealth and a few close friends who I might have considered family in the future. But that was before y/n came into our lives. Now? There is no family I want that doesn’t involve her.

I put my journal down on my desk and grab my wand before heading out of my room, moving past the other Slytherins without a word. I leave the castle and walk into the forbidden forest, making my way to the one place on this god-forsaken Earth where I have some chance of feeling close to her before I end it all.

When I get there, I fall to my knees. Finally, letting go of all of the pain and regret. A tear falls slowly down my cheek, and instead of sucking it up, I let it fall. And another. And another. And another, until I let myself completely fall apart under the rainbow gems. Under color . Everything was shades of grey before she came into my life, then suddenly, it was full of bright colors, and now it’s just black.

Just like me.

Just like my end.

Y/n

( Rescue - Lauren Daigle )

(Hold On - Extreme Music)

I run through the castle with Reggie, Theo, and Draco hot on my heels. Please wait. Please don’t do it. God, please, don’t let me be too late . The thoughts and fear rush through my veins, spurring me forward and making my legs run harder, faster.

I choose not to see his message as a goodbye. I can’t. I see it as an SOS. Save Our Souls . And I will, I will save him. If Tom isn’t where I think he is, I will send out an army to find him. If I do find him, I will never let him go again, and I’ll never send him away again. I will vow to be anything he needs. His shelter, his armor, his everything.

Hold on, Tom. I’m coming. Hold on, please. I love you .

We get to the edge of the forest, and even though my legs are screaming for a break, I won’t let them. Not until I find him. Not until I know he’s alive.

I shove branches out of my way, jump over stumps, and tear through the forest on the trail. “Tom?!” I call out for him with screaming lungs. “Tommy!” I scream for him as loud as I can as we get closer to the cave. I hear the boys call out for him, too, somewhere behind me.

A branch smacks me in the face, and my cheek burns, but I keep pushing forward, hardly feeling the droplet of blood fall down my cheek. “Tom?!” I call out hoarsely as I push through the last bit of brush, and the cave finally comes into view.

I slow down to a jog as I enter the cave, and I let out a huge sigh of relief when I see him sitting on his knees under the shining gems. “Tommy?” his body tenses at my soft call for him. I move to his front and kneel in front of him, forcing him to look at me. “Tommy, I’m here. I’m right here,” I plead for him to look at me as tears fall down my face.

I can see the lines of dried tears and smell the alcohol on his clothes. When he finally opens his eyes, I can see how red and sad they are. “Y/n?” He looks at me like he’s in a dream.

I nod and sniffle. “I’m here, Tommy.”

His hands find my wrists as I cup his face. “I’m so sorry,” he mutters. “It’s all my fault. I can’t…”

I shake my head and swallow the lump in my throat. “You are not dying on me. Do you hear me, Tom Marvolo Riddle?” I press my lips to his and pull back to look into his eyes again. “I won’t allow it,” I make my voice as firm as I can. “Did you hurt yourself?” I notice the cuts on his knuckles and start looking over his face, neck, and wrists.

“No, not yet,” he swallows hard. “But I deserve it. I hurt you. I betrayed you.”

“ You saved my fucking life ,” I keep my voice firm. “The only reason I’m still here is because of you . So you are not going to fucking leave me. Do you know why?”

Tom looks up at me with a pleading look.

“Because I love you. I love you so much it hurts, and if you leave, I’m going with you. So unless you want me to die—”

Tom cuts me off by pulling me into a bruising kiss, his arms wrapping around me so tightly that I can hardly draw in a breath. “No,” he breaks the kiss to speak against my lips. “Don’t you ever try to kill yourself again,” the sternness of his voice returns as he pulls back a little more to look into my eyes. “I love you too, little one.”

I let out a breath of relief. And I just know that when we all stitch up our frayed edges, we’ll be forever entwined.

#slytherin smut #tom riddle #theo nott #draco malfoy #regulus black #slytherin boys #slytherin boys x reader

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aritsukemo · 7 months ago

Text

Paradise | Chapter One - Cruelty | KNY

Summary: All is well in the Kamado Home until tragedy strikes..

Warnings: Descriptions of blood ahead. One of the main characters ( Y/n ) has a panic attack. First scene involves needles and scalpels and the character gets their skin ripped open! With all that said, read with caution!

A/N: Thanks to all the love and support I've been getting recently, I've gotten the courage to post this! This story is a very special piece to me as it's been stuck in my head for around..four, maybe five years now? ( I started the thought process of it sometime around the time the demon slayer anime came out ) This story is actually the reason I started writing, but I haven't posted it until now because of..perfectionism reason.. It's not much right now, but if you like it, please support it over on Wattpad! ..Or not and simply support it over here! ( Or don't! You simply taking the time to read this means a lot to me! )

Tagging: @overluvsick, @nursedflowers, @jspidey5 + anyone who wants to be tagged! <3

Next Chapter

First Person, ???'s Pov

"Father, please! Stop! It hurts!" A needle invades my flesh as my protests contort into a sharp scream. It booms off the dank walls after leaving my mouth and bounces back to echo into my ears as if to mock me. The man that towers over me, my father, his breath is ragged and hot as his grip on my arm tightens.

"Stop resisting!" He shouts. Although, I'm more focused on my arm that's slowly numbing over from the lack of circulation. I yell at him, pleading for him to let me go but he doesn't listen and instead grabs his scalpel. The steel gleams ominously in the light but I barely have the time to process the sight before it digs into the flesh of my arm and tears my skin open.

White, searing pain radiates through my arm as crimson drips onto the floor. Tears blur my vision and flows down my cheeks like a waterfall, snot drips from my nose and mixes with the blood on the floor. A brief, high-pitched scream leaves my lips followed by a choked sob. My father doesn't take much mind to my reaction.

"Still not the right color.." I hear him mumble. There's some commotion from him as he uses his free hand to search for something on the shelf closest to him. After a few moments, I feel smooth glass touch my lip and before I even realize it, I violently flinch away.

"Drink it!" He yanks me forward and in the process, accidentally spills a small chunk of the substance on my lips. I gag at the smell but in the process I subconsciously dart my tongue out and run the wet muscle over my lips. I nearly vomit at the taste. My father doesn't seem to care.

"Open your mouth!" He shouts, "Just drink it and get it over with!"

"No!" I yell back, "It tastes digusting!"

"The taste doesn't matter! Just swallow this as fast as you can and--!"

"No!" I swing my arms and twist my body, trying my hardest to escape his grasp, "No, I won't! You can't make me no matter what-!" My words get cut off by my own gags as my father wraps his calloused hands around my throat and gives it a threatening squeeze.

"Drink it damnit!" He brings his thumb up to force my mouth open, "If you'd just get it over with you wouldn't be suffering so much right now!"

My hand comes up to grab his wrist as my head moves away as best it can while it's still in his almost suffocating grip, "Why are you doing this to us? We didn't do anything wrong!"

"I never said you did!" He clenches his teeth, "Just drink it already!"

"No! I told you already, I'm not drinking that!"

Suddenly a tired, almost sorrowful sigh leaves his lips as he pulls away from me completely. I look at him with wide eyes but he looks back with one that's indescribable to me.

"You leave me with no choice then.." He reaches for something just out of my eyesight as my trembling figure backs away from him, "Remember that you brought this upon yourself."

"Dad.. What are you.. No. No! Get away from me with that-! Stop! Please!"

"Stop!" My body jolts up and my hands shoot outwards, pushing the person in front of me with an unnecessary amount of force. There's a tumble that I just barely hear over my erractic breathing.

A few moments pass. The tightness in my chest becomes less constricting, allowing me to breathe a little better and amidst this, the warmth of someone's touch envelopes my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.." A gentle voices reaches my ears and as if a drug was injected in my veins, my muscles instantly relaxes. That suffocating feeling in my chest ceases to exist and I'm able to breathe comfortably again.

"You were thrashing around so much it made me worry," The warmth moves along my clothed skin and up to my naked cheeks where soft fingrtips brush away stray tears that had escaped from me without my knowing.

Kie's asks, "Are you alright, Y/n?"

As my vision clears and I can finally see her clearly, sitting on her knees and brows knitted from worry, I mumble out, "Yeah.. Yeah. I'm fine, Kie. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?" Her question comes out almost immediately and each word that left her lips were filled with nothing but worry, "If there's anything I can do.." As she trails off, I bring my hand up, softly peeling her hands off my face before wiping away the excess tears clumped along the waterline of my eyes.

"I promise, I'm okay. You just startled me.. No need to fret over it."

Kie's lips thin into a line. It's clear that she doesn't believe me but to my luck she silently decides to drop the conversation and gets up.

"If you say so," She says, her eyes keenly watching my every little move, "Tanjiro is waiting for you outside."

"Alright," I run my hand through my hair, letting out a sharp wince when it gets caught in one of many tangles, "..I'll be out in a few minutes."

Third Person Pov

"Morning," Y/n says as she walks out of the hut, successfully catching the attention of a certain black and burgundy-haired boy. He looks back at her, his ponytail swaying a little as his red eyes meet hers.

"Good morning, Y/n!" Tanjiro greets with a smile, causing the girl in question to mirror his expression, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, Let's.." Y/n's smile drops as she nears him and notices the smaller girl that stands behind him, her expression blank, "What is she doing out here."

Tanjiro's smile falters for a moment as his brows knit together to form a nervous expression, "Well—"

"Tanjiro," Both Y/n and Tanjiro look back at the call of his name. Kie walks out of the hut, a dirty cloth in hand as she walks past Y/n and up to her son, "Your face is covered in soot. Let me help you with that."

She gets down on her knees and puts the cloth to Tanjiro's cheek, "Are you sure you want to go down the mountain today? It'll be dangerous with all of this snow."

Tanjiro nods, his left eye closing as his mother rubs his cheek with the cloth, "I want us to have a good New Year's where everyone can eat as much as they want without worry."

Kie smiles, her eyes softening, "How thoughtful of you.."

"I'm still waiting on your explanation on why she's not inside," Y/n says, interrupting the moment that was shared between Tanjiro and his mother. She crosses her arms and rest them against her chest, looking at him with expectant, irritated eyes.

"Well.." Tanjiro begins, scratching the back of his head as he flashes her a closed-eyed smile, "Sumiko will be going down the mountain with us."

"Like hell she will," Y/n retorts almost immediately. Tanjiro half expected the answer but even so, her instant rejection to the idea still makes him frown.

"No need to be so angry with him, Y/n," His mother steps in, standing up and turning to face her with a carefree smile, "After all, it wasn't his idea. It was mine," She confesses.

Y/n's eyes snap over to Kie, her vexation faltering, "..Why?"

"Sumiko needs some fresh air," She replies simply, "She hasn't struck a fever in a few weeks so now is the best time for her to go out and experience the world."

"She doesn't need to 'experience the world', what she needs is to get back in bed and rest. I mean, look at her!" She points at her sister who's droopy, absent eyes stare at a nearby tree, "Does she look the least bit better?"

"Yes," Kie replies. Not sparing the girl a glance nor seeing a reason to, "To me, she looks miles better than she did before. She's practically glowing."

"You didn't even look at her," Y/n deadpans. Pinching the bridge of her nose as she shakes her head and groans. Kie doesn't seem fazed, still smiling sweetly at her.

"I know you're worried about your little sister, but it's not fair to keep her cooped up in the house when she's clearly getting better."

"She has a tendency of being inconsistent with her health," Y/n reminds, "Plus it's freezing. Her condition could worsen if she tags along."

"That's a likely possibility, but I think it's for the best if she went with you," Kie's eyes trail over to stare at the blue-eyed child with a loving gaze, "It'll help her both physically..and mentally. I can feel it."

Y/n's eyes trail back and forth, staring at Sumiko, then at Kie, then back at Sumiko, her eyes flashing with confusion before she finally gives in and lets out an exasperated sigh.

"I guess I can humor this for a bit," She grumbles something incoherent under her breath before muttering, "If her health gets worse because of this, just know I told you so.." Kie's smile widens.

"Thank you," She says, and just as that breath of thanks leaves her lips, the sound of children's laughter grows louder as it nears the hut. The noise catches everyone's attention immediately and as they turn their heads to look back at the hut, they manage to catch Shigeru and Hanako running out of it.

"Tanjiro!" Shigeru yells as he runs up to his elder brother with his sister in tow, "Are you and Y/n going down the mountain together today?"

Hanako runs up to Sumiko and scans her up and down with curious, perplexed eyes and after a moment, the realization hits and Hanako lets out a loud gasp.

"Is Sumiko going too?" She asks in which Tanjiro nods his head. Hanako frowns at this.

"Hey, no fair!" She whines, "I wanna come too!"

"I'm sorry sweetie, but you can't." Kie butts in, "You know you won't be able to keep up."

"Awh, come on mom!" Shigeru pleads. Backing up his sister as his bottom lip juts out in a small pout. Eyes drooping and creating a look akin to a sad, pleading puppy dog. Alas, it does little to sway his mother and she shakes her head.

"Tanjiro won't be able to use the cart today so he won't be able to give you a ride when you're tired. And, it would be too much on them to have to watch you two, Sumiko, sell charcoal, and do whatever else they may have to do," She explains. Shigeru groans. His face scrunching up in disdain as his sister appears crestfallen beside him.

"Hey!" Tanjiro softly exclaims, catching both of their attention, "Don't be sad guys," He smiles, "We'll bring back some yummy snacks for you."

At the mere mention of delicious treats, both Hanako and Shigeru's expressions brighten. Their previous looks of disappointment erased from their faces as if they were never there to begin with.

"Do you really mean it?" Hanako asks, grinning from ear to ear, "Don't eat them all on the way back, alright?" Shigeru adds, his face mimicking his sister's.

Still smiling, Tanjiro straightens his posture. His hand coming up to rest over his heart as he closes his eyes and says, "I promise to eat not one snack, no matter how hungry I get on the way back home."

Shigeru laughs, both amused by his brother's sudden serious stance and happy about the promise of treats in a few hours. Hanako lets out a giggle as well but her laughter quickly dies down as she looks over at Y/n and Sumiko.

"You two gotta promise as well!" She says, "Those snacks are for us only!"

"Eh, Sumiko's not one for sweets anyway," Y/n mumbles under her breath before saying in a slightly louder voice, "We both swear not to touch your snacks no matter how good they smell or how hungry we are."

Satisfied, Hanako lets out a gleeful 'Yay!', her hands clapping as she bounces up and down, "Don't break your promises, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Y/n replies. Kie doesn't say it aloud but she notices the girl's eyes softening as she said that. It makes her smile. Yes, Y/n can be a stickler about certain things but when it came to her family, she was a big softie. Whether she was aware of that fact or not remains partially unknown.

"Hey, Takeo!" Tanjiro exclaims after spotting his spiky-haired sibling walk out from the side of the hut, "Do me a favor and chop as much wood as you can for me, okay?"

His younger sibling huffs, pulling his hatchet back to rest on his shoulder, "Yeah, I was already plannin' on doing that. But.." He pauses, his eyes darting away from Tanjiro and looking off at nothing in particular, "I was kinda hoping we'd chop wood together this time.."

Sensing Takeo's disappointment, Tanjiro walks over to him with a gentle smile displayed on his face. He pats his head, "There, there," He says, ruffling his hair. Takeo's frown deepens and he groans loudly.

"Hands off," He grumbles, swatting his hand away. Tanjiro retaliates by attempting to ruffle his hair again but Takeo quickly stops him by grabbing his wrist. Takeo asks, "Seriously, what's with you all of a sudden?"

"You're blushing, Take'!" Shigeru blurts out, pointing his finger at him. Takeo snaps his head in his direction, looking at him with wide eyes filled with embarrassment.

"Huh..?!" He drawls loudily, "Shut up, you brat! You're seeing things!" Tanjiro plants his hands in Takeo's hair once more, his smile even more lax as he messes with his hair again, "There, there," He repeats.

"Cut it out!" Takeo shouts only to be followed up by everyone else's laughter which makes him groan again. Y/n watches the sight with an unreadable expression on her face. Sumiko stares, but the absent look in her eyes give her away; she wasn't there and was most likely trapped in her own tangle of thoughts.

"We should get going now if we want to be back before nightfall," Y/n reminds. Tanjiro looks over, finally retracting his hands from his brother's head, "Yeah, you're right." He looks over at his family, "We should go."

As Hanako and Shigeru nods their heads and Takeo responds with a small 'Yeah,' Tanjiro walks past Y/n and up to her little sister. He looks down at her and grabs her hand but she doesn't react at all to it, allowing him to trudge her along as he walks up to Y/n, "Let's go,"

"Wait," Kie says and, of course, both Tanjiro and Y/n halt. As she walks up to them, she shoots them a brief, apologetic glance before focusing her attention on little Sumiko. She crouches down, her covered knees sinking into the thick snow beneath her as she adjusts the large scarf around the girl's neck so that it covers the bottom half of her face better.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you," She cups her face, her skin serving as a pale contrast to Sumiko's cold, pink cheeks, "And in such weather as well. To make you tred down this mountain even though you've only been better for a few weeks.. It's selfish of me." She pulls her forward, encasing her in a warm embrace as she leans in close to her ear, whispering as she continues, "But for some reason.. All of my thoughts are screaming at me to go against my better judgement. So please..stay safe."

To Kie's surprise, when she pulls away, Sumiko's staring at her. Her eyes are surprisingly attentive which catches her off guard, "What's wrong?" Y/n asks after seeing Kie's shock on her face, but Kie quickly stands to her feet and replies with, "Oh, it's nothing. Have a safe trip, you three."

Y/n raises an eyebrow at this but decides not to question the interaction between the two and turns on her heel. Tanjiro walks up to Sumiko and grabs her hand again, quickly following after Y/n as his family shouts their goodbyes and waves until they're no longer in sight.

"Tanjiro!" Not too long after beginning their journey down the mountain, the trio runs into Nezuko. Tanjiro smiles upon noticing his sister and Y/n's face bears a small grin. Sumiko remains unfazed.

"Hey, Nezuko," Tanjiro greets as he walks up to his sister, tugging Sumiko along with him which she quickly notices. Her smile drops and her face now holds one of perplexment.

"Are you going down the mountain to sell charcoal with Sumiko today?" She questions. Tanjiro nods, "Yeah, and I even convinced Y/n to come with me today." He says as Y/n finally walks up to them.

Nezuko looks over at Y/n, her smile returning, "I see. Well, I'm definitely surprised. Usually you prefer to go down the mountain super early in the morning before anyone else wakes up. Did you agree to tag along when you found out Sumiko was going?"

"No," Y/n shakes her head, "Actually, I agreed to go with Tanjiro because he wouldn't stop asking me yesterday. I only found out Sumiko was coming this morning and the only reason she's coming with us is because Tanjiro and Kie managed to talk me out of making her stay."

"Really?" Nezuko tilts her head a little to the side, "Why is that, Tanjiro?"

Tanjiro uses his free hand to scratch the back of his head, his brows knitted together and a crinkled smile displayed on his face as he responds, "Well, mom thought she could use a break from home and since her health has been improving lately, I agreed to take her with us."

"Hm.." A look of worry appears on Nezuko's face for a brief moment, "I guess that's fair.. Make sure to look after her well," Tanjiro nods his head, "Don't worry, we will."

"Rokuta's fast asleep. Did he manage to wear himself out on your walk?" Y/n points out, cutting away from the previous topic as she stares at the little boy laying on Nezuko's back. His small body covered in the thick, white cloth ( Onbuhimo ) that's wrapped around the both of them.

"Not exactly, but I had to put him down for a nap regardless," Nezuko says, "After dad passed, he's been glued to Tanjiro's side. If he realizes he left, he'd throw a fit," She explains, Tanjiro's eyes noticeably soften.

Y/n comes closer to Nezuko, her hand reaching behind her to pet Rokuta's head. He fidgets ever so slightly and nuzzles into Nezuko's back some more, still asleep. Y/n's small smile returns, disappearing soon after she retracts her hand.

"We should get going. Make sure to be careful on your way back up the mountain," She says, "It was nice seeing you, Nezuko," Tanjiro adds. Nezuko's smile widens.

"It was nice seeing you guys too," She says as the three of them began to walk away, "Be safe and make sure not to overdo it, especially you, Sumiko!"

"Ah, Y/n! Good morning!" An elderly woman who was sweeping snow from her porch greets the girl after noticing her arrival to the village, "For a second, I started to think you were finally going to take a day off since the weather has gotten so bad."

"Not a chance," Y/n replies, "A little snow would never stop me," The woman chuckles, "I see that now.. Oh!" Finally noticing Tanjiro, the woman's expression changes to one of surprise, "Tanjiro's here too? I can't believe you came down the mountain on a day like this. You and Y/n are such hard workers!"

The woman's brows furrow, "Why is Sumiko here? Shouldn't she be resting in bed?" Y/n shoots Tanjiro a dirty look, crossing her arms as she waits for him to explain the situation. Tanjiro doesn't seem to mind.

"Sumiko's health has been taking a turn for the better recently so we thought it would be good for her if she got out for a little," He explains, but the woman doesn't seem pleased with his answer. If the frown on her face wasn't obvious of that fact.

"Isn't it a bit too soon? And letting her out of the house today of all days, what was Kie thinking?" She says, mumbling the last part more to herself than to them.

"I know you're worried, but it's going to be alright. Me and Y/n are going to keep a good eye on her," Tanjiro says. And, although the woman's expression doesn't change much at all, she says, "Well as long as you two are watching her, I suppose I don't have much to worry about.. Make sure she doesn't get hurt while she's here."

"We won't, I promise," Tanjiro says.

"Hey, Y/n!" A man calls, catching her attention, "Are you selling charcoal today? I'll have some!" Another man pokes his head out of his window, "Ah, Tanjiro! Good to see ya'! Thanks for fixing my sliding door the other day!"

"Y/n! I'm glad you came down today!" A dark-haired women says, a smile on her face as she asks, "Can you look after my children while I run an errand?"

"Can you sweep my porch?" A younger, short-haired lady asks, smiling sweetly.

"I'll take some charcoal!" A young man shouts.

"I'll pass, but could you two help me move this furniture into my house?" An old man asks and just then, a boy comes bursting out of a nearby home. He runs but doesn't make it far before he's roughly snatched up by the shopkeeper who comes chasing after him.

"Tanjiro!" The boy yells upon spotting him, "Thank goodness you're here!" Despite the resistance from the shopkeeper, the boy manages to wiggle his way out of her grasp, fumbling up to Tanjiro with blood dripping from his nose.

"What's wrong?" Tanjiro asks, turning his attention to the boy on his knees before him, "I've been accused of breaking this plate! Can you help me out and sniff it?" The boy replies desperately.

Complying to his wishes, Tanjiro bends over and gives the plate a good sniff. He then straightens his posture, both brows raised as he says in a simple tone, "I smell a cat."

The laugh the village boy lets out after Tanjiro says that is one filled with joy and relief and as he turns to look back at the shopkeeper, his grin is wide and toothy, "See? I told you!"

The shopkeeper in question brings her hand up to her chin, muttering, "So it really was a cat.."

"I told you I didn't do it!"

"Now that that's done.." Tanjiro mumbled, his eyes panning over to Sumiko. Y/n had long left them to help out some of the villagers, leaving him alone with the eleven year old.

"Hm, what should I do.." He thinks, "I know I used the excuse that she could help me out with selling charcoal, but will she really be able to..?"

"Tanjiro!" Someone calls, snapping the boy from his thoughts, he looks over to see an older male calling out to him, "Can I get some charcoal?"

"Sure," Tanjiro says. But just as he begins walking over, he stops, glancing back at Sumiko before looking down at the charcoal and then walking back up to her. He puts the charcoal in her smaller hands which, although her reaction was delayed, catches her attention.

"Come on," He urges softly, being as gentle as ever as he nudges her in the direction of the man's home, "Let's sell our charcoal together."

"It's already so late.. How did the day fly by so fast?" Tanjiro asks as the three walked the snowy trail back up the mountain.

"I told you we should've left sooner," Y/n says in which Tanjiro looks at her and smiles, nodding his head in agreement.

"Well next time, we'll definitely listen to you."

"You say 'we' as if this is going to be a common occurrence."

"Is that bad? I was able to sell a lot more charcoal thanks to you and Sumiko's help," Tanjiro says. Y/n rolls her eyes.

"Sumiko didn't sell anything. All she did was follow you around and stare at nothing."

"That's not true. She sold a few pieces," Tanjiro defended, but Y/n didn't seem impressed. In fact, she didn't look like she believed him and although her reaction was understandable, it was still disheartening to Tanjiro how little Y/n seemed to believe in her little sister..

"Hey Tanjiro, Y/n, Sumiko!" They all stop. Turning his head, Tanjiro is met with the sight of Saburo, one of the villagers that lived on the outskirts of the village.

"Oh hey, Mister. Saburo," Tanjiro greets, "What're you—"

"It's too late for you three to be traveling up the mountain. Come inside, you can sleep here for the night," He offers. Tanjiro opens his mouth to politely refuse the offer but Saburo quickly cuts him off, shouting, "Don't argue! Just get in here..before the demons show up.."

Despite everything, Tanjiro still wants to refuse him. Although he really appreciates the offer there was really no point in staying the night here when they were almost home..

"Tanjiro," Tanjiro turns to look at Y/n as she rests a hand on his shoulder, eyes widening at both the serious expression on her face and the heavy scent of fear that surrounds her being.

"I'm..pretty tired from everything I did in the village, let's rest here for the night," She begins walking down the small hill, along the pebbled stone pathway that led to his front door. Murmuring something about explaining the situation to his mom when they get home in the morning.

As he watches her disappear into the small home, Tanjiro looks over at snowy path that led up to his home. It was quite the venture, but if they were really determined, he's sure they could make it home within the same hour..

But at the same time, it's not often that Y/n admits to being at her limit so maybe he should—

"Hey!" Tanjiro jumps a little, sharply and quickly turning his head to look back at the hut where Saburo is once again peeking his head out the window, scowling, "You two get in here already!"

Guess he has no choice..

"Alright, we're coming," Gently tugging her along, Tanjiro and Sumiko walk down the pebbled path that leads to Saburo's home.

Hopefully his family won't be too concerned about them arriving home later than intended..

"Thank you for the meal!" Tanjiro says as he sets his chopsticks down on top of his bowl. He then takes a sip of his tea, holding it in his hands afterwards and harboring a distant look in his eyes as he stares down at the green liquid inside.

After barely touching her food, Y/n had quickly made herself a makeshift bed out of pillows and blankets and had long went to sleep. Sumiko, who finished her food before everyone else, had ended up falling asleep against the wall near her sister, leaving Tanjiro alone to pester Old Man Saburo.

"Hey, Mister Saburo, what are demons like?" In all honesty, Tanjiro didn't really believe this talk of demons. It was far-fetched, fantastical, and just hard to believe. Even so, the mere mention of it managed to completely capture his interest.

Without much to any hesitation, Saburo begins, "Demons are man-eating creatures that prowl around at night. That's why you shouldn't walk around when it gets late," He pulls out a futon, walking over to Y/n's sleeping form and laying it out besides her. After setting a pillow out he walks over to Sumiko, bringing the small girl into his arms and carrying her over to the futon where he tucks her in.

"If you're done eating, go to bed. You can set off as soon as day breaks," Saburo says taking one last glance over at Sumiko before getting up. Tanjiro gets up and slides into the futon on the opposite side of Y/n, eyes wide open and showing no sign of sleepiness.

"These demons.. They can't come inside, can they?" He asks, staring up at the ceiling as he awaits for an answer to his question. Saburo grabs his smoking pipe ( Kiseru ) and holds it in his hand, replying in a simple tone, "Yes, they could come in."

"Then what's stopping them from coming in and eating everyone?" Tanjiro asks. Saburo doesn't respond immediately. Deciding to bring his pipe to his lips, inhaling the fumes before letting it slip from him in one, long exhale.

"Demon hunters protect us at night by slaying as many demons as they can. Always have, even way back when," Saburo finally answers only to then tap his smoking pipe against the edge of a large, stony bowl, emptying it's contents into it.

"Go to sleep," He suddenly repeats, but this time he follows it up by cutting the lights off. Tanjiro complies to his wishes and closes his eyes, thinking to himself, "Mister Saburo is all alone after losing his whole family. He must be so lonely.. I'll bring my brothers and sisters next time and say, 'You don't have to be scared. There are no demons. You're safe.'"

"..But come to think of it, my grandma used to say the same thing when she was still alive.."

The wind seems to have picked up a little since last night. As they walk, the chilly breeze sticks to their skin, stinging their faces like a slap in the face and leaving redness in their wake. Despite this, none of them seemed fazed by it. With Y/n leading the charge, the three hiked the treacherous mountain in tranquil silence. The icy wind blowing being the only sound heard between them.

"Hey, Y/n," Tanjiro suddenly speaks up, "Can I ask you something?"

Y/n hums, a little surprised albeit she didn't show it, "Sure, what is it?"

The wind seems to blow just a tad bit stronger, as if trying to warn Tanjiro of the mistake he's about to make. Alas, the warning falls upon deaf ears and without much hesitation, Tanjiro asks, "What was your life like before my father found you and Sumiko?"

The silence that Tanjiro is met with intially is a bit disheartening, but it doesn't last long before Y/n answers, "Nothing interesting. We lived with our parents and when they passed suddenly, I fled home with Sumiko in my arms and.." She trails off as if the wheels were still turning in her head, as if she was struggling to remember the events that happened to her, "..Well you know how the rest goes.."

But is that really the truth, he wonders. He's not very certain of anything, but this smell that clings to her. The unusual amount of anger, sadness, and guilt that has mixed and meshed together into this heavy, uncomfortable scent that makes Tanjiro's heart sink.. A smell like this wouldn't- shouldn't exist if one lived a simple life like Y/n claims..

But for some reason, she feels the need to hide what really happened to her from him. Does she think he wouldn't be able to handle it? Is it something that she fears he would judge her for? If that's the case then he needs to change that view she has of him because it's just not true! No matter what it is, no matter what has happened in the past, nothing she says could ever make him think differently of her!

"Y/n—!" Tanjiro halts. A grotesque scent hitting him like a truck, rust overwhelming him to the point it burns his nose and throat. The sickening scent that's like no other. The smell of..

"Blood!" Y/n stops in her tracks, looking back at Tanjiro with knitted brows.

"What are you talking about?" Y/n asks only for her eyes to widen at the fear-stricken face she's met with. Tanjiro lets go of Sumiko's hand, which catches her attention, and without another word begins running up the snowy mountain trail.

"Tanjiro, wait!" Y/n calls after him, but it's too late. He was already too far away to hear her voice. Or maybe, he purposely ignored her. Maybe the scent was so strong that he panicked and tuned her out, primarily focused on finding out its source.

Either way, she knows she needs to catch up with him. Fast.

With sharp movements, she turns her head and runs up to her sister, "Why are you still standing there?" She yells, roughly grabbing her thin wrist before yanking her along, "Move your ass!"

There's this familiar feeling swelling in her chest. Was it fear of the unknown? Sadness for what she knows is to come? Maybe the dread of uncertainty? Whatever it is it's strong. So strong that as she sprints up the mountain, her stomach twists and curls, giving off this strong sense of nausea. Thank the heavens she barely ate last night, otherwise she would've puked by now..

She hopes- no, prays that everything's alright. That everything was the same as they left it and that Tanjiro was just overreacting. It has to be. There's no way one of her worst fears have manifested into reality. There's just no way..

They have to be fine. No way something happened to them.

How could this have happened?

As if a nightmare had forced itself into reality, the first sight Y/n got when she finally made it up the mountain was a pool of blood staining the snow in front of the hut the Kamado's called home with the familiar bodies of Rokuta and Nezuko lying in the middle..

Tanjiro was on his knees, shouting their names and throwing out questions while frantically nudging the corpses of his siblings. Y/n stood there, motionless and in shock even when her sister slowly moved forward, looking as if she was watching the scariest movie of her life.

Still shaking his sister's shoulder and yelling her name, Tanjiro turns his head and freezes. As the sight slowly burned itself into his memory, it felt as if the world, that had already began crumbling, came crashing down onto him. It felt as if someone squeezed his heart and made it stop beating for a moment or two..

There inside the hut, which was painted from the roof to the floor in crimson and smelled like battered flesh and rusted, decaying iron, was the rest of his family. His mother Kie, his younger brothers Takeo and Shigeru, and his younger sister Hanako all laid lifeless on the ground, their faces and body splattered in their own blood and their blank, pupil-less eyes burning holes into him.

At some point, Y/n and Sumiko had walked over. Tanjiro didn't care enough to look up and gaze at the expression on their faces. Most likely it was similar to his own distressed one.

And just then, he felt something. A slow, weak drum, thrumming against the skin of his sister's neck. A pulse. A faint one but a beating pulse nonetheless.

Wasting not another second, he hauled Nezuko's limp, bleeding body onto his back and got up, "What are you doing," It was meant to be a question, but Y/n's words came out more as an angry demand. Tanjiro didn't care, answering her in a hurried breath as he began running.

"Nezuko has a pulse..! I- I can still save her!" Y/n's eyes grow wider. She was still alive? Soon after Tanjiro began his descent down the mountain, Y/n followed after him and then Sumiko followed her.

"Tanjiro, wait!" Y/n called after the boy when she finally caught sight of him. She sped up as best she could with the slippery snow beneath her feet, "There's no point in doing this! She's lost too much blood!"

"Don't say that! I can still help her!" He shouts back, but his mind was elsewhere. How could this have happened? Did a bear attack them? They should be hibernating at this time of the year, but anything is possible at this point!

As he stumbled over a fallen tree, it gives Y/n the perfect opportunity to catch up to him. She hops over the wood, planting her sandals deeply into the snow so that she doesn't slip, taking large steps so that she now runs beside him. As if she was simply going through the motions, Sumiko hopped onto the log and took a huge leap forward, only stumbling a little when she landed a little ways behind the both of them.

Tanjiro was heaving at this point. The air was icy and when he inhaled, it felt as if the air transformed into little needles. The pain in his lungs only added onto the tears that were already bubbling in his eyes.

"Tanjiro! Listen to me!" As Tanjiro's pace begun to slow, so did Y/n's, "She's beyond saving! I know this is hard to accept, but you need to snap out of it and face reality!"

"No!" I won't let her die, he thinks, "I'm not giving up on her!" I refuse to sit and do nothing and let Nezuko die! I'm going to save her no matter what! "How can you give up on her so easily?"

"I'm not!" She snaps, neither of them noticing Nezuko's hand twitch and tense with life, "You're trying to run away from the inevitable! It's going to take you forever to get to the village in this weather! Hell, you'll probably pass out before you even make it halfway there!"

Slowly, Nezuko's head lifts which goes completely unnoticed, "There's still a chance! Even if it's a small one, it's better than nothing! Why are you trying so hard to—" And in that moment, Tanjiro's words are cut short as Nezuko throws her head back and starts letting out throaty growls. She grips Tanjiro by the shoulders and began rocking wildly which is all it takes for Tanjiro to slip on the snow and right off the edge of the side of the mountain.

Oh no, Tanjiro thinks before a series of screams come tumbling out of his mouth. Y/n's eyes grow wide and her hand flies out to grab at Tanjiro. She slips on the snow at the same time Sumiko jumps to Tanjiro's rescue which causes their bodies to collide roughly..

As Sumiko's body was forced in another direction, Y/n throws her arms up and over her face. Her eyes clamp shut as she fell at high speeds, and when she finally hit the snowy ground, a rush of pain shoots through her. The breath she sucks in is sharp, almost painfully so.

She lifts herself with one arm slowly, the snow that had latched itself on her clothes silently sliding off and back onto the ground which is barely noticed by Y/n as she's more focused on her other arm, specifically her throbbing wrist.

"Nezuko!" She blinks and quickly looks up, her eyes darting around until she finally spots Tanjiro and Nezuko standing a handful of steps away from her. Both seemed to have recovered from the fall quicker than she did.

"Nezuko! Are you alright?" Tanjiro calls to his sister once more. Y/n watches, but her eyes stayed trained on Nezuko. As her tattered haori slipped off her shoulders, revealing the dried blood sticking to her kimono, the girl remained motionless. Tanjiro didn't seem to care, but it bothered Y/n, especially after what just happened.

"You don't have to walk!" Tanjiro take one small step forward as he continued, "Let me carry you.." He trails off as a firm grip on his shoulder catches his attention. He look back and Y/n's standing there, looking at him with scrunched brows.

"Don't get any closer," As her eyes trail over to Nezuko, Tanjiro notices a new scent surfacing that leaves him puzzled; a scent of fear dressed in sadness, "Let's..go find Sumiko. I lost sight of her when I fell."

What? What is she saying? "But what about—"

"Forget about her!" Her voice raises with urgency and force that has Tanjiro jumping as a result. Y/n notices and takes a breath to calm down, but in doing so, it makes her trembling more apparent, both in her limbs and tone..

"Now's not the time to fight, we need to get out of here," Is all she tells him. But all it does is makes Tanjiro more and more confused. Nezuko was standing right there! She was still breathing and even standing! They have the chance to save her! Why is she acting so cold towards the situation? And..why does she seem so scared of Nezuko?

Furrowing his brows, Tanjiro's face bares a look of pained disbelief, "How can you act like Nezuko's nothing to you? To me? I.. How can you act like she isn't your sister too!" As those words echoed in her ears, Y/n loosens her grip and Tanjiro shoves it off his shoulders. He turns, running towards his sister before Y/n can grab him again.

As he naively approaches her, Y/n calls out for him once again. The last warning he got. Before he could even call her name again, Nezuko looked up, angry veins protruding from her skin, eyes gleaming with hunger, and sharp fangs baring for all to see. He could barely process the sight and before he knew it, Tanjiro was laid against the snowy ground and his hatchet was in between his sister's teeth as she forced all her strength onto him.

Y/n hadn't moved a muscle. She simply stared, wide eyed as her breathing labored. As Tanjiro and Nezuko struggled in the snow, Y/n remained unmoving. Memories flashed. Imaginary blood filled her vision until they were replaced by her very real tears. Her chest tightens and her nails dig into the skin of her other arm. The lifeless faces that were burned into her memory stared into her soul before they were replaced by the image of blood painting the snow and Tanjiro laying in the crimson art; lifeless, decaying, and staring into her with those dark, cold eyes. Her lungs begun to feel heavy in her chest and her mouth falls open. Small, quiet wheezes are sucked in along with the freezing air around her. It does little to fill the sudden emptiness in her lungs..

Meanwhile, Tanjiro stares up at his younger sister, sweating bullets despite the below-zero temperature and his eyes wide, fully showing off the fear in horrid surprised that covered his deep red pupils.

"Hey, Mister Saburo, what are demons like?"

"Demons are man-eating creatures that prowl around at night," He pulls out a futon, walking over to Y/n's sleeping form and laying it out besides her. After setting a pillow out he walks over to Sumiko, bringing the small girl into his arms and carrying her over to the futon where he tucks her in, "That's why you shouldn't walk around when it gets late."

Tanjiro's heart stills in his chest, "Nezuko's a man-eating demon? Impossible! She's been a human ever since she was born! But..she no longer has Nezuko's scent."

"But Nezuko couldn't have done this! When we found her, she was laying as if she was protecting Rokuta, and there was no blood on her mouth or hands," Nezuko's newly sharpened nails dig into Tanjiro's shoulders, feeling like knives against his skin. He grits his teeth, "There was another one.. There was one more scent!"

A small gasp slips unsuspected from Tanjiro as he watched in horror as Nezuko slowly tensed and grew in size. As she became double his size, Tanjiro's arms buckled under the newfound weight and strength. Nezuko's fangs grew an inch closer to him.

Y/n's body trembled and her tears began to build and crumble and fall in clumps down her tingling cheeks where they inevitably drop from her chin and splash on her clothes. The only thing she felt in the moment was her swallowing anxiety and the the slight stinging in the wrist she landed on earlier; one being much more intense than the other. The breath she hastily inhales grow thinner, quicker, and dries in her throat as soon as it enters..

"While I was sleeping peacefully.. You were being brutally murdered with the rest of our family. It must've hurt really badly.. You suffered greatly, didn't you?" Tanjiro's guilt knits his brows together as it strangled his chest with an iron chain. Little tears began to form along the waterline of his eyes, "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you.. I'm sorry I couldn't save any of you.."

"At the very least, I wish I could save you, but you're too strong for me to push back..!" As his arms started to numb over, his now thick tears slid down his cheeks and Tanjiro screamed as loud as he could muster with his burning lungs..

"Nezuko! Hang in there, Nezuko!" His voice cracked. He shakes his head as he keeps eye contact as best he can through his blurred vision, "Don't give in! You gotta hang in there!"

Soft, quick feet plant their steps into the snow, crunching it in a fast succession and nearing the dire situation completely unsuspected.

"Don't turn into a demon! Please, stay strong! Hang in there!" An aching pain seeps into his poor bones. His arms'll give out soon, "Please! You gotta hang in there, Nezuko!"

A big tear drops onto Tanjiro's cheek. He gasps once again and more tears drop onto him and slide down his cheek. Nezuko, with humane confliction soften her once slitted gaze, stared down at her older brother with big, gleaming wet tears dropping from her pretty pink eyes like a leaking faucet.

A figure slowly appears in the distance. Despite his fast approach towards them, no one seems to notice him. In a blink of eye, a gust of wind blows through Y/n's hair as he passes by her and leaps into the air.

Nezuko looks back, finally noticing the new presence from above, but she's not able to react before her older brother grabs her by the throat and pushes her over. He rolls over and seconds before he rolls again, gleaming blue metal slices away a portion of his hair in an instant.

The blade collides with the ground with an intense force despite the snow cushioning it. It blows a gust of wind and snow towards the siblings and the two go tumbling together until Tanjiro's back hits a tree with a harsh thud. Y/n's heart stills in her chest as her hair blows in the wind behind her, every part of her body tingling intensely from both the cold and the overwhelming feeling that clouded every inch of her being until a few moments ago.

Tanjiro can feel Nezuko's body shrinking back to it's normal size, but he's more focused on other things. As he opens his eyes, his attacker is revealed. There, standing tall with piercing blue eyes darkened like the deepest depths of the ocean, was a man with raven black hair.

"..Who's that?"

As the man locks eyes with Tanjiro, Tanjiro immediately breaks it. His eyes drifting down to the katana in the man's hands; the words 'DESTROY DEMONS' engraved on the side of the shining blade. Is he some kind of swordsman?

"Why are you protecting it?" The blue eyed swordsman asked in a blank tone of voice. Tanjiro sits up as he asks this, holding his sister close to his chest.

"She's my sister!" He yells, "My younger sister!" As those words leave his lips, Nezuko seems to awaken from her temporary unconsciousness. And as soon as she does, she immediately attempts to flee, growling up a storm as her brother held onto to her shoulders for dear life and called her name. The swordsman's eyes narrow at the sight.

"You call that thing your sister?" He asks simply with not a hint of emotion on his face to give away how he's feeling. Tanjiro looks at him pitifully before looking away to focus on his sister once again. A mistake on his part.

The swordsman suddenly lunges forward. Tanjiro gasps, closes his eyes, and immediately drops down to cover his sister with his body. Alas, as his eyes opens, she's gone from his grasp. He looks around in a panic. His eyes finally settle on the sight of the swordsman standing a couple feet away from him, holding his growling sister's wrist behind her back with one hand.

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro calls as he stands to his feet, "Don't move!" The swordsman orders, his voice loud but even. Tanjiro has no choice but to comply.

"My job is to slay demons. Needless to say, I'm going to decapitate your sister," He speaks plainly. Tanjiro's heart feels as if it'll beat right out of his chest at this point.

"Hold on!" Tanjiro hurriedly shouts, "Nezuko hasn't killed anyone!" As he speaks, Nezuko thrashes around, her hair swaying wildly, "Back at my house, there was another scent that I've never smelled before! Whoever that smell belonged to is probably the one who killed my family! It wasn't Nezuko!"

His voice dips, "..I don't know why she's turned into something like this, but.." He takes a step forward, his voice raising again, "..But still!"

"It's quite simple. Her wounds were exposed to a demon's blood. That's why she turned into one. That's how man-eating demons multiply." The swordsman states.

"Nezuko would never eat humans!" Tanjiro blurts out, "You've gotta be joking. Just now, she was about to devour you."

"You're wrong! I'm sure she knows who I am!"

"I won't let her hurt anyone!"

"I'm going to turn Nezuko back into a human! I swear, I'll heal her!"

Word after word spews from Tanjiro's mouth in succession. Promise after promise slipping from his lips only to be shot down by the swordsman's finishing voice as he says, "She can't be healed. Once you become a demon, you can never go back to being human."

"I'll find a way no matter what! So please, don't kill her!"

"I'll hunt down the one who slaughtered my family!" As Tanjiro shouts and the wind picks up, the swordsman raises his sword, "I'll make everything right! Please!" The swordsman tilts it downwards, the tip of his blade nearing Nezuko's neck with a threatening glow to it's tip, "Don't do it!"

Y/n's eyes keep trailing from the swordsman to Nezuko to Tanjiro then back to the swordsman. At last, she can feel the air entering her lungs. She breathes in and out slowly. That insufferable suffocating feeling has just about disappeared. She bites down on her tongue and her face scrunches, her eyes narrowing with frustration. She wants to run, just like she did last time, she wants to flee from the situation.

No, at the very least, she should get Tanjiro out of here. Yeah, that's the least she could.. Huh?

As her eyes drift over to Tanjiro once again, she watches as he drops to his knees, hands planted in the snow as he bowed his head to the ground and speaks in a loud, choked up voice, "I'm begging you! Please..! Don't kill my little sister!" He practically sobs out, "Please, don't do it! I'm begging you.."

A moment of silence passes. Y/n's eyes look over at the swordsman. He hasn't moved, completely frozen in place with his blade pointed at Nezuko. Another moment passes. Y/n notices the swordsman drop his head, his unruly bangs falling over his eyes like a sliced up curtain. His jaw locks and forces his teeth together as they grind and create a low, uncomfortable cracking sound. His body begins to tremble and for just a moment, Y/n mistook it for sorrow until he suddenly looked back up, the dark coloring of his irises lighting up with fury as he starts shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Never leave yourself so defenseless in front of an enemy!" Both Tanjiro and Y/n's bodies jump a little from the sheer power of his voice, the pure rage that coated it, "Stop that pathetic groveling! If it were even the least bit effective, your family wouldn't be dead!"

"How can a weakling like you, who bows down when it's time to fight, who can't take initiative.. How can somebody like yourself cure his little sister or even find the enemy?"

"The demons might know a way to cure your sister!" He swings Nezuko forward with force, still holding onto her with one hand tightly, "But don't you think for even a second that a demon will respect your whining or begging or your will or wishes! Naturally, I have no respect for you, either! That's reality! "

"Why did you throw yourself over your sister earlier? Was that supposed to protect her? Why didn't you swing that hatchet? Why did you show your back to me?" At this point, Tanjiro's sitting up on his knees, staring with surprise reflected in his teary eyes. The swordsman redirects his blade at last only to aggressively point it at Tanjiro.

"All those blunders led to your sister's capture!" Nezuko's growls become all the more hostile and persistent as she begins kicking her feet around which causes the snow under her feet to fly every which way, "I could've skewered her and you along with that girl over there and been done with all three of you!"

"Don't cry. Don't despair. Those things will do you no good. Your family is dead and your sister has become a demon. Your heart is crushed. I know your pain, how you must want to cry out.. If I'd come half a day sooner, your family might have survived. ..But there's no way to turn back time.."

"Fill your heart with anger. Strong, pure anger that cannot be quelled. Anger that becomes the unwavering force that will drive your limbs," The swordsman's sword raises into position again, "With such fragile resolve like yours, you can't protect your sister or heal her.." He slowly pulls his arm back, "..And weakness and empty promises certainly cannot avenge your family!"

"No!" With one final yell from Tanjiro, the swordsman forces Nezuko back and stabs the chilling steel of his blade into the soft flesh of her shoulder. She lets out a painful cry and that seems to be the last straw for her older brother.

"Stop!" He yells before throwing a pebble. The swordsman retracts his sword and deflects it with a simple flick of his wrist. Immediately, Tanjiro gets up and as the wind picks up and blocks his view of the swordsman with the thick, scattering snow, he makes a run for his hatchet. Y/n stays sat, rooted in place.

Running around, bypassing the countless trees around him, Tanjiro chucks another pebble before disappearing by a tree. The swordsman sidesteps and the pebble hits the tree behind him. With a loud battle cry, Tanjiro charges at the swordsman, his hands at his side, ready to swing. Y/n simply watches, dumbfounded, frozen in place in the snow.

"A simple, head-on attack driven solely by emotion.. What a fool!" Clenching his teeth, the swordsman raises his sword and swings down. His hilt hits Tanjiro's back with excruciating force. Tanjiro bites his tongue to hold back a scream as his vision blurs. Y/n merely watches as he hits the ground, his body limp, unconscious. Nezuko stares at her brother laid out in the snow, mouth agape.

The swordsman straightens his posture, his arm falling to his side, "Where's his hatchet?" He thought to himself and as if to answer his question, a whirring sound makes him look up. His heart skips a beat and he moves his head just in time for the hatchet to hurl into the tree behind him with a thud. A moment of silence passes. Both Y/n and the swordsman share a similar expression of surprise as their eyes both lock onto the hatchet that's stuck into the tree, a literal inch away from the swordsman's head..

"Just before he hid behind the tree, he hurled the rock towards me and, at the same time, tossed the hatchet into the air," The swordsman's eyes pan over to the boy laid out before him, "He hid his hands as he pretended to attack so I wouldn't realize he was unarmed."

"He knew he couldn't beat him, so his plan was to bring him down after he struck him. But.." Y/n's uninjured hand balls into a fist, paying no mind to the freezing chunk of snow in her hand, "He failed.."

At that moment, Nezuko lets out a particularly violent growl. Having completely thrown off his guard, the swordsman lets go and Nezuko immediately kicks him away. The swordsman quickly recovers. Nezuko lunges for her brother.

"Damn it.." The swordsman thinks, "No, Tanjiro!" Y/n cries out, "She'll devour him!" They both think.

"Nezuko.."

Sliding on the snow, Nezuko moves in front of her brother, crouching down. Flashing her fangs and growling threateningly. Arms up and protecting him from the swordsman.

"It wasn't Nezuko! She'd never eat humans!"

Nezuko launches herself off the snow and sprints towards the blank-faced swordsman, He jumps back, "Long ago, someone once said the same thing, only to be devoured soon after.."

"When a demon is starving, it will even eat its parents and siblings because they need the energy. I've seen it countless times," The swordsman's eyes train on Nezuko's kimono, which is stained by her own drying blood, while he dodges her sharp nails that claw at him, "She's wounded. It costs her energy to heal those wounds. Not to mention the strength it took to transform into a demon.." Nezuko swipes at the swordsman's face only to miss as he spins and elbows her in the stomach. He then forcibly palms her in the chest causing her to stumble back, "She must be severely starved at this moment and wants to eat human flesh as soon as possible.."

"Yet, she protected him, turned her anger to me, and even intimidated me."

Jumping high into the air and flipping into the tree behind the swordsman, Nezuko pushes herself off the wood using her feet. She hurls downwards, nails ready to claw open whatever part of the swordsman she can get her hands on. The swordsman steps back and slides his sword into the sheath on his hips, "These siblings might be different from others.."

And with that, the swordsman lands a firm chop on the side of Nezuko's neck. Her body twitches before falling limp and right into the snow. Y/n's heart drops at the sight of both siblings laid out on the ground. A second or two passes and the swordsman's gaze falls on her. She sucks in an icy breath and blinks; the swordsman has disappeared from her sight.

In a panic, she whips her head in every direction. Before she can look back though, a pain shoots through her neck and her entire body goes numb. As her vision blurs, her eyes look up to gaze at her perpetrator. The last sight she sees before everything goes black is the strange mismatched design of the swordsman's haori..

A loud gasp slips from Y/n's lips as her body jolts up. The sound of her uneven, quickened breathing is the only noise that she can hear. Slowly, she opens her eyes. It's blurry at first, but it fades in no time and the familiar sight before her leaves her puzzled.

She looks around. There are futons of varying colors laid out on the floor, specifically six aside from the one she's in. They're striking patterns catch her attention. They remind her of Tanjiro and his siblings. Speaking of which..

There's no sign of anyone anywhere. Not the swordsman or Tanjiro or Nezuko. She seems to be in the hut of the Kamado Residence but..everything seems fine. There's no blood, nothing's destroyed, no bodies to be found..

She finally notices. Her wrist feels..fine. She looks down. It doesn't seem to be swelling or irritated anymore. She's sure she sprained it or worse when she fell on it earlier. Earlier.. Did earlier even happen? Was it all a nightmare?

She breathes in slowly and closes her eyes once again. Images flash one by one. Everyone falling from the cliff, Tanjiro being attacked by the newly transformed Nezuko, the swordsman, the corpses— Y/n sucks in a particularly sharp breath. Best not think about that..

"Even here, you still run away."

Y/n's eyes shoot open. She sees herself staring her down, scrutinizing her, judging her.

"When will you realize that you can't escape fate? That simply running away does nothing for you?" The person speaks in her voice, but the strong tone they're using breaks away the illusion. This isn't her. That much was obvious, but it feels..odd. It was as if this wasn't just some weird hallucination of herself..

"Tell me, are you content with how everything has turned out? The innocent having been tortured and slaughtered and the lone survivor being forced into a world he was never supposed to be apart of in the first place? Surely it eats away at you."

"Who are you?"

"Earlier, when that boy was attacked by his sister, why did you sit there and watch? Why didn't you jump to his rescue? Were you hoping that his sister would kill and eat him?"

"No, I—"

"When that swordsman attacked the siblings and threatened to kill them both, why didn't you intervene? Why didn't you immediately jump to the boy's aid? Why did you allow him, a mere civilian, to risk his life to protect a demon? Why did you let your guard down? Why did you let that swordsman knock you out?"

"That's not my fault! Tanjiro was the one—!"

"When will you stop blaming your own shortcomings on everyone else? When will you realize that being a coward will only present you with the same, devastating result? How can you feel okay going on with your life when you have the potential to save thousands from this cruel fate?"

"I can feel your anger. Thatpure, boiling resentment that stems from your own sorrow and hatred of being so helpless in your current situation. You've felt this way in the past but decided to do nothing with it. Now that the chance has risen again, embrace it. Never let this feeling fade. Let it grow into this insatiable fury and let it drive you from this point forward. Use it to fight."

"Because in the end, when you're fighting for the sake of everything you have left to hold dear, this growing rage is going to be the only thing you will be able to rely on."

"And that's what he told me," Tanjiro said, his hand intertwined with Nezuko, who now seemed much calmer and has a bamboo muzzle wrapped around her mouth.

Y/n's skeptical gaze and scrunched brows gives away her thoughts before she's able to speak them, "So a random guy with a sword tells you to go to some random mountain and meet this stranger you know nothing about and you're just going to do as he says?" Her tone of voice speaks every insult she doesn't say. Nevertheless, Tanjiro's mind doesn't waver for a second.

"I know how it sounds, but I want to trust him," He says, "Even if we got off on the wrong foot, he seems like a nice guy."

"He almost killed you."

"And I'm sure he had his reason behind why he did what he did," Tanjiro raises his free arm and puts his soft, cool hand on Y/n's equally freezing shoulder. He decides to ignore how she slightly tenses under his touch, "I understand that you're worried about us, but I need to do this.. For Nezuko's sake..I need to take this risk."

"I promise I'll stay as safe as I can and as soon as I get there, I'll find a way to send you letters—"

"I'm going with you."

"Huh?" Tanjiro pauses. Y/n places her hand atop of Tanjiro's and removes it from her shoulder, giving it a squeeze of affirmation as her eyes drift away. Her sights landing on the graves of their late family lined up in a neat row.

"I said, I'm going with you," She repeats, "After everything that happened, it would bother me to let you go on alone. Especially with that reckless intuition guiding you.." She mutters. Tanjiro seems shocked at first, but it's soon replaced by a wide smile.

"If that's what you truly want, then I won't stop you," He says, his hand squeezing hers back. His eyes sliding to look behind her, where their eleven year old sister lays against the hut, unconscious.

"What are we going to do with Sumiko? It'd be wrong to make her go with us.." As Tanjiro says this, Y/n walks over to her, "She'll travel with us for now until I can find a place to drop her off," She responds. Her hand grabbing Sumiko's arm and throws it over her shoulder before doing the same to her other arm, pulling the girl onto her back and getting up with ease. Tanjiro waits for Y/n to walk back up to him before turning towards the slope of the snowy mountain..

"Hey, Y/n.." Tanjiro calls.

"What is it now?"

"I'm sorry for what I said before, about you not caring about Nezuko. You noticed before I did, right? You were trying to protect me and I.." As he trails off, his expression grow somber. Y/n takes the expression in before looking back towards the slope.

"I already forgot about it. You should focus on the journey ahead," She says, but Tanjiro doesn't seem satisfied. Noticing this, Y/n takes the first steps down the mountain, cutting the conversation short and leaving him no choice but to follow after her with Nezuko in silence..

Dividers were made by me, pictures used are from Pinterest, post formatting is inspired by @xxsabitoxx

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