#anyway. i wish they hadn't been scared of making all three of the boys more fucked up in later seasons.

[quietwingsinthesky]

it ever hit you out of nowhere that castiel is living in a dead guy's body and the show just does not care. it does not care. jimmy novak might as well not exist the moment he or claire is out of sight. cas stole a guy's body and his face and his life, and we can't ever talk about it or discuss it in detail because of how fucking horrifying it is that sam and dean's best friend just walks around in a dead guy suit. there's not even a human soul in there anymore. it's just a corpse. stone-cold body snatcher indeed.

[t3a-tan]

Giant James, tiny Tanner - 12&4 (angst??)

Word Count: 3,107

4. “I’m not scared of you, not really. You’re just… big.” 

12. “I know I must seem big and scary to you, but I don’t mean any harm, promise.”

James and Tanner may have bitten off more than they can chew, but they're trying their best!

From this!

-----

“Are you ready?”

Tanner nodded stiffly, though he kept his eyes focused down towards his brown boots. It had been months since Oliver found him again, and in that time he had been gjven new clothes and all the berries and food and water a borrower could ask for. It was a peaceful and calm life, especially in comparison to how his life had been for the years leading up to being found.

At first he had been so scared and touch-starved, constantly clinging onto his cousin and refusing to leave the burrow. Oliver had taken care of him the whole time; reading stories and singing little songs to help calm him down, making tea when he was cold, treating his wounds, tucking him in— Oliver would sit beside his bed and stroke his hair every night so that Tanner could fall asleep.

Tanner didn't think he would ever feel that kind of love and care again after being separated from his sister.

As time passed, Tanner noticed Oliver mentioning a name often; James. It was a friend of his cousin— but whenever he would ask about him Oliver seemed to avoid the subject… until recently when he confessed that James was a human.

At first the thought frightened Tanner deeply, but as weeks passed and the revelation wasn't as much of a shock, Tanner realised sadly that because Oliver was busy looking after him all the time, he hadn't been able to visit his friend at all. Feeling guilty, he suggested going to James's house— not to meet him himself, but so Oliver could see him. Oliver had agreed, albeit hesitantly.

For three weeks now Tanner had been to the human's house, once each week, and although he had only managed to skittishly introduce himself on the first week, he had interacted with James very minimally for the following two. This week it was different though, because Oliver wasn't going to be there.

He had a job to do; helping a nearby family of borrowers move safely to another residence. He suggested that Tanner could stay with James in the meantime since Tanner was scared of being alone, and although the thought of being alone with a human again was terrifying he had simply smiled and nodded.

So here he was, preparing to properly interact with Oliver's human friend. Alone. Tanner bit his lip nervously before following his cousin out of the wall to where the human was waiting.

“Hey Oliver. Hey Tanner.” James lowered himself down more as he noticed Oliver gesturing for him to do so, before focusing on the kid again. “You're gonna be fine, munchkin. I don't bite.” He assured with a soft smile, seeing how fidgety the boy was. He couldn't exactly blame them— Oliver hadn't gone too in depth about things, but James didn't need exact explanations to know the kid was traumatised.

Tanner nodded slowly and offered a meagre wave, though he held onto Oliver's arm and stayed behind him anyway. He wished he wasn't here doing this, but he didn't have the heart to tell Oliver— and it might hurt James’s feelings, which he didn't want either. He was his cousin's friend after all, no matter how large and scary.

“I expect you to be on your best behaviour James.” Oliver spoke sternly, before turning to face Tanner, patting his head in a comforting manner. He offered a smile and cupped his scarred and burned cheek with his calloused hand. “Remember, James is safe. There's not anyone in the world I would trust more with you, okay?”

Tanner leaned into the touch, placing his own smaller and shakier hand over Oliver's, his fingertips tinted black as if perpetually frostbitten. Oliver always felt sad seeing the difference, but happy at the same time to feel his cousin was alive. He pulled him in gently for a hug before taking a breath, mentally preparing himself to leave and desperately hoping this would go well.

“Alright. I'll be back in a day or two.” And with that, Tanner had been left alone with one of the worst and most horrific predators a borrower could face.

He couldn't bring himself to look at the man no matter how hard he tried; his hands clenched and his shoulders bunched up with discomfort as he shifted his weight from foot to foot on the counter. Say something. I shouldn't be rude… He's Oliver's friend..! Even if he's big and scary and huge and terrifying and— At least it's not as bad as the bad place.

“I know I must seem big and scary to you, but I don’t mean any harm, promise.” James assured, smiling lopsidedly in sympathy for the boy's obviously nervous demeanour. He expected this kind of interaction thanks to the small interactions he had already had with the boy so far. He would never make eye contact and always seemed on the verge of tears if James would get too close. But I'll gain your trust today, I guarantee it!

Tanner bristled slightly in surprise at those words, glancing up very briefly before quickly looking down again. Do humans read minds? I don't think so...

“U-um…” He began, clasping his hands together behind his back to try to stop them from shaking. Tanner managed to force himself to look up at James and smiled sheepishly. “I’m not scared of you, not really. You’re just… big.” He lied.

During his time in the bad place, he had learned that he needed to hide his fear from humans— but he had never been very good at it… Tanner had always struggled with anxiety more than other borrowers, and the trauma had only made it worse. He could lie and pretend he was fine, but it didn't work for very long. I have to be okay, or I'll be a burden to Oliver…

“That's good to hear. It's okay if you're nervous though, munchkin. We'll take things slow…” James stood up slowly to save his knees from the aching and creaking they were doing on the floor. He saw Tanner move back and offered another smile holding his hands in front of him placatingly.

“Sorry, sorry. My knees are getting old, so it's hard for me to stay kneeling for too long.” He hummed, glancing back towards the living room before looking down at the borrower again, pointing a thumb behind him. “How about we move somewhere more comfortable? I'll give you a lift there, don't worry.”

Tanner hesitated at the suggestion. He could talk but being near giant hands? Touching them? That would be difficult. He remembered how Oliver said that if he told James no the human would listen, but even so he couldn't bring himself to actually do it. Ryker had made sure to condition that out of him.

Tanner was crying, trying to fight off the invading giant fingers from touching him as he panicked and sobbed. He could faintly hear Sammy screaming his name from the other room, but she was nowhere to be seen. He was alone.

“You're making this more difficult than needed.” The frustrated scientist who was trying to get him to lie flat let out a huff, before finally managing to pin him down to the cold metal table. Tanner felt sick, his head spinning and chest huffing, trying desperately to sit up or move but not even being able to budge.

“Shhh…calm down…” He shut his eyes tightly and trembled as he felt a finger start to stroke his head. Tanner kept trying to fight back, squirming fruitlessly— no matter how much he wanted some form of comfort, he knew whose hands were on him and that only made his skin crawl.

The scientist tutted at his continued resistance, before pressing down on Tanner's chest ever so slightly, enough that his eyes opened wide as he started struggling to breathe.

“I’ll give you some advice…” Ryker began. “It would take me no effort to take your life. It would take you all of your effort to accomplish nothing…” As he spoke he continued to pet the boy's head, looking down at him with a mix of pity and disgust. Tanner shuddered under that cold unblinking gaze, unable to do anything but hope he'll be able to breathe again soon. Ryker hummed.

“Just be good and stop wasting your energy.” The finger soon released from his chest, allowing Tanner to breathe again as he desperately sucked in the air he had just been deprived of. He trembled, staring up at the scientist with a watery gaze.

“Would you rather be a good pet and get comfort from your owner, or a bad pet who gets hurt instead? Either way you're a pet now, so I'd suggest you take the more bearable option.” Tanner hesitated before giving up, no longer fighting and just crying softly to himself, listening to the still present but distant calling from his sister who was no doubt making her hands bloody trying to get out of the cage to reach him. He couldn't help it… he wasn't like her. He was so scared.

He would be a good pet.

Tanner smiled again and nodded, clasping his hands tighter and feeling his muscles aching from the tensity. His head was screaming at him to just say no, but he couldn't help it— the idea of refusing or fighting back now only reminded him of the crushing sensation he would receive back in the bad place, taking his breath away. No. He would rather be good and feeling uncomfortable rather than feel like that again.

He watched the human perk up at his agreement, and couldn't help but look away again, casting his blackened gaze towards the ground. Oliver said it was safe and he was trying hard to believe that; James hadn't done anything bad any of the times he came over, but being alone it felt different… Tanner didn't have much of a voice— depending on Oliver to point out when he was uncomfortable, otherwise he couldn't say a word.

“Alright. Hop on then, munchkin.” James was relieved that the kid was willing to trust him. Oliver had acted like this would be a lot more difficult than it was turning out to be, but he was already making physical contact! He placed his hand down palm up on the counter, laying his fingers flat and trying not to twitch or get too close.

He couldn't help but be in awe watching the tiny kid slowly climb onto his palm. He had held Oliver so many times but this felt different… This was a sign of trust, and even if this ended up being the only physical contact Tanner allowed he would be happy with that.

Carefully, he lifted his hand up to chest level before walking into the living room and sitting down on the sofa. He kept his movements slow and small to avoid jostling the boy around too much. After sitting he hummed, debating whether to ask or not…

“Is it okay if I keep holding you..? Just whilst we sit. It might help you get more used to me anyway.” He asked with a sheepish smile.

“I don't want anymore crying from you when I pick you up. You'll get used to it…”

Tanner jolted at the random flashback, and he couldn't help but feel sad that James even asked. He really wanted to be put down… he could feel the tension in his body and the fear in his chest— his veins buzzing with adrenaline. Despite himself, he nodded again, bringing his knees to his chest and trying to keep his trembling contained.

James frowned, bringing the boy up closer to eye level.

“Um… you don't look okay with it…” He bit his lip, unsure if he should trust that Tanner was just nervous and the nod was genuine, or if he should consider that the nod was not genuine for some reason… He's always said when he's uncomfortable before! Well… Oliver says, and then he agrees. But why would he lie? “I'll…put you down.” Just in case.

Tanner seemed alarmed by his words, looking up at him with wide eyes. James was struck again by his odd appearance— he had seen it before and Oliver had described it, but now that he was holding the borrower so close he couldn't help but find it…disturbing. But the more surprising fact was how the black tint in his fingers and under his eyes seemed to be spreading.

“I-I'm sorry… I didn't m-mean to look scared, I promise— I'm really fine here..!” He mistook James's reaction as disappointment, and though part of him was sure James wouldn't hurt him like Ryker, most of him was scared of the possibility. He had no one around to defend him after all— and he had to be good until Oliver got back.

“Hey hey, woah. It's okay if you are scared, alright? Chill…” James let out a small sigh, unsure what to do. He wasn't used to dealing with traumatised tiny people— so he didn't know whether to listen to the boy or insist. He paused briefly to consider his actions more carefully before lowering his hand to the blanketed arm of the sofa. “Here. Step off if you want, or stay on if you want. I'll just stay still, okay?”

Tanner's head felt like it was in a whirlpool, spinning and spiralling more and more at the decision. Is it a test? No, this is Oliver's friend…he seems nice. But Ryker said I'm naive too! If it is a test I can't risk it… Tanner could feel tears quickly gathering in his eyes the more overwhelmed he felt by the situation, and as much as he tried to keep it in, James took notice.

“H-hey, Tanner.. like I said, it's your choice. Am I doing something wrong..?” James was also starting to get nervous as he realised that he genuinely didn't understand what was happening or why it was happening, assuming he must have done something bad. Tanner shook his head again, burying his head in his knees and letting out a small whimper.

“I-it's really hard…being near a human…” He admitted softly; so quiet that James had to lean in to actually hear him properly. His brows furrowed in concern at those words, going to comfort the boy and assure him again that he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to, only for Tanner to continue.

“Y-you…you seem nice… I-I know you're friends with Oliver…and he's super super nice— b-but I um… I just…” Tanner’s fingers curled in to grab at the bottom of his shoes, feeling the stitching in an attempt to keep himself grounded. It was hard to explain his feelings and emotions over the situation, and even harder to explain why he was like this. He trailed off for a moment, trying to think of the words to say.

“I'm… I always have to..b-be a good pet… and I— I know that Oliver said you aren't like the bad humans, but I can't help it. I-I promise I'm trying, but it's hard…” Tanner hiccuped, feeling the black liquid starting to drip from his eyes and stain his cheeks. “I'm sorry… I'm trying to be good…”

James was taken aback by the sudden confession, not really understanding what Tanner meant but seeing that he was crying…and he heard the mention of being a pet? What? What does he mean he has to be a good pet? Does he think that's what I see him as..?

“Woah, munchkin. That's…no. You are not a pet. And you don't have to be good… I want you to genuinely trust me, not to force yourself to do stuff when I ask. If you're uncomfortable, you can say that to me.” James was quick to correct him, now suddenly finding the tiny weight in his palm made him feel very uneasy. He doesn't want to be there, so why is he still forcing it?

“I-I can't say that…” Tanner responded, and the confusion that gave James made him feel a little frustrated— but not with the boy himself.

“You can. I'm not gonna—”

“No, you don't understand, I can't…!” He insisted, now shaking so much that James could feel it. He could see the boy's skin was getting darker by the second, some of the black spreading through his hair too. The sight was concerning and James didn't know what to do about it, so he just listened for the time being, trying to understand.

“I hear his voice…a-and I feel his fingers pushing on me— and…and his eyes looking at me…and then I can't say no…I-I can't do it… I-I know he's not here but he's still hurting me…” Tanner didn't know the exact terminology of a flashback, so he tried to describe how he felt as best as he could, as frightening as it felt to confess this to a human.

That made things click for James, recognizing what Tanner was describing as a flashback and slowly but surely connecting the dots.

“Oh. Oh… Okay.” The concern was obvious in his expression, and he rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to process everything he had just learned. “Let's take some deep breaths, alright? I'm not gonna let the man hurt you. Ready? In…..and out…”

Tanner began to calm down as he followed James's instructions, and soon his body was returning to normal; the black only remained under his eyes, at the tips of his fingers, and on his actual eyes. James managed to get the boy to settle on a blanket instead of staying on his hand, and he hummed a tune he heard Oliver humming to himself all the time, hoping the familiarity would make the boy feel safer.

Soon enough the boy had fallen asleep, the exhaustion from his earlier panic catching up to him the moment the tension left his body. James stayed where he was, watching for a few more moments, content to see him actually relaxing now. As soon as Oliver returned he would have to let him know what he heard because of how concerning it was— and Oliver was definitely more qualified than him to deal with it…

But until he got back James was determined to make Tanner feel as comfortable as possible. And until he was sure that the trust was genuine he wouldn't touch the kid without being asked by Tanner himself. James smiled again at the sight of the child cuddling onto the folds of the giant blanket.

“Get some rest, munchkin…”

[echobx]

soulmates 2 - jj maybank x fem!reader

summary: y/n faces her new reality and makes a tough decision

warnings: smut (masturbation), hurt/comfort, yelling, emotional turbulences (?)

word count: 2.9k

author's note: I wish I knew what I was doing ¯\_(ఠ ͟�� ఠ)_/¯

masterlist part 1

Three flights of stairs up and through the door you walked past your mom and fell into your bed, crying.  “Did something happen?” she asked through the closed door. “Did he hurt you?”  “No, he didn't,” you cried and heard the door open and close, a few footsteps before she sat down by your side.  “Bean, what happened?” she asked sweetly and stroked over your hair as your face was still pressed into the pillows.  “I hate the universe, mom,” you mumbled and cried some more. The only thing that made it hurt less was that JJ didn't interrupt your thoughts.  “Oh baby,” she sighed and pulled you into a hug. You sniveled and she hugged you tighter. “Tell me.” 

You tried to collect your thoughts and focus on the words rather than your tears. “We were out for lunch and then- I don't know why now, why me, why him- I can't break his heart, mom, I just can't,” you cried.  “Oh, Bean, I'm so sorry,” she whispered and wiped your tears away. You were glad that she let you feel sad about it, although you knew she was probably internally screaming about how happy she was for you to find your person.  “How am I supposed to tell him?” you asked quietly, hoping for an easy answer.  “I never had to break up with someone, but I think being honest and gentle would be the best approach,” she suggested, and it hit you like a ton of bricks. She had never had to go through this heartbreak, this pain and feeling like you were betraying someone you thought you might love. For her, it had been a smooth slope from best friends to partners to the confirmation that she had always been meant for her dad.  “He wants to come over later,” you said sheepishly, unsure if it would actually be a good idea.  “Do you want him to?” she asked and brushed over your hair again.  “I don't know. My head is all over the place,” you admitted and she nodded.  “It's an adjustment, I know.”  “You already told Dad, didn't you,” you sighed, knowing well enough now that there was no way to conceal your thoughts from the other, especially when it was something this personal to either of you.  “Can't help it,” she admitted with a smile. 

“Tell me about him, not Kelce, I already know that one,” she chuckled. “I don't know that much. He's a waiter-” you wanted to keep talking, but JJ interrupted your thoughts. ‘And surfer, and most importantly a way better kisser than that Kook of yours.’ “Uhm, anyway,” you mumbled, and your mother couldn't help but smile as she saw how you were acting.  “You could invite him over, just to talk. I would like to get to know him,” she spoke quietly, as if she was scared that he would hear her, which was impossible.  “I don't know if that would be wise,” you whispered.  “You want to break up with Kelce first, I understand. I can only imagine how much that's going to hurt both of you,” she sighed and hugged you again.  ‘That feels weird. What's happening?’ JJ asked.  ‘I’m hugging my mom. Can you not spy on me right now?’ you snapped at him, maybe a bit too harsh, but he just chuckled.  ‘I’m trying very hard not to, but your emotional turbulence is making it difficult for me to remember the orders.’ “Sorry,” you said out loud, forgetting completely that he wasn't actually next to you.  “Why are you sorry? You don't have to be sorry for not being fond of breaking the boy's heart,” your mom said before realizing that you hadn't been talking to her. “Oh,” she exclaimed and smiled.  “I'm going to talk to him tonight, explain it all, and hopefully he won't hurt JJ,” you told your mom, making sure that JJ was aware too.  “I'm gonna be here for you, and your dad too. We won't let anything happen to you,” she assured you.  ‘Great, and I'll go break his ugly nose when he even tries to make you feel bad about this,’ JJ said and paired it with a memory of his fist connecting to Kelce’s jaw.  ‘Don’t show me shit like that, I still care about him,’ you told him as you watched your mom leave your room. ‘I don't want either of you getting hurt.’  ‘Fine.’ You could feel him rolling his eyes at you.  ‘Good,’ you hissed.  ‘Are you free tomorrow? We could go on a date,’ he suggested.  ‘First I have to deal with my boyfriend, then I can think of other things. Now shush, I have to think clearly,’ you shut him up, and he just laughed before leaving you to be by yourself. 

You texted Kelce to meet you for dinner at your place and then spent the remaining four hours in between figuring out how to explain it all without having to hurt him too much.  In the shower your mind slipped back to how JJ had looked at you, his comment about wanting to kiss you. You couldn't stop yourself from thinking about him, his physique, his eyes, his smile, his laugh, his voice that was even more attractive out loud than inside your head. You found yourself thrusting your own fingers into your pussy as he filled out your whole mind and being.  ‘Fuck princess, I'm trying to have a conversation with my friends. Can you stop thinking about how much you wanna fuck me?’ His daring laugh echoed in your mind as the hot water ran over your body.  Instead of stopping you decided to take a step further, picturing yourself in your favorite lingerie set, knowing well enough how much more difficult that would make it for him.  ‘Are you always this dirty?’ he asked, and you could feel him trying to control his thoughts, not wanting to let you see what he actually wanted to think of.  ‘No, but I'm very emotional,’ you replied and he chuckled.  ‘You really wanna fuck yourself while thinking about me before you break his heart? Do you even understand how hot that is?’ He sounded way needier than he had intended and a picture of his hands roaming your body, pressing you into the wall at the Country Club and kissing you appeared in your mind. But it wasn't your thought, no, and that made it even worse.  ‘I bet you taste even better than I can imagine,’ he growled, and you lost control over your own body. Your orgasm washed over you as you panted, your head leaning against the baby blue tiles.  ‘Did you just-’ He couldn't even finish his sentence as you cut him off.  ‘I trust you to never tell anyone about what just happened. No one! Ever!’ you urged.  ‘Why would I ever let anyone know?’  ‘I’ve never done that before, not like this,’ you admitted.  ‘I could make you feel even better, princess,” he mused, and you had to laugh.  ‘You can pick me up from school tomorrow, but only if tonight goes to plan. I hope it does,’ you thought to yourself and then a wave of warmth spread through your body. ‘Are we even now?’  ‘Yeah, next time you could warn me. I don't know how to explain that one to them,’ he said, and you could feel your heart beating a bit faster.  ‘You haven't told them yet?’ 

Instead of replying JJ just showed you a memory of his: He was sitting on a couch on a porch, looking out onto the march; a yard with hammocks hanging from an old tree, a hot tub and a pier with a small boat docked to it were in his eyesight before he turned his head to look at his friends.  “I never really believed in it anyway, are you sure?” JJ asked the curly haired boy.  “Am I sure?” the boy laughed, and a girl looked at him slightly disgusted.  “Yeah, are you, because I think it's bullshit. Sarah Cameron, the Kook Princess? Be for fucking real John B!” she snapped at him.  “Do I look like I have a choice? She's with Topper, you know how much that hurts?” You could hear the pain in John B's voice.  “You had a crush on her for years, it just seems too convenient to be true. It seems too perfect, and we all know the stats, okay?” Another boy, tall and dark skinned, spoke up.  “Pope is right, the odds are so low, you can't blame us for doubting it,” JJ said, and you could feel that he had wanted nothing more than to believe his best friend, but the other two brought up good arguments.  “You just don't get it, none of you will until you experience it yourself,” John B sounded angry as he got up and walked inside.  “Pretty slim chances,” JJ mumbled and the memory vanished. 

“Oh,” you sighed out loud and got the immense urge to hug him.  ‘Yeah, I don't want them to tear you to pieces,’ he admitted.  ‘But they don't know me,’ you thought, yet the unsettling feeling that they would hate you didn't leave you alone.  ‘I shouldn't have told you about that, not right now, not before- I'm sorry,’ he apologized. ‘Can you feel me hugging you?’ You had to laugh, because even though your connection with him got stronger with every single thought you shared, it was still not more than a cute phrase, yet it gave you hope.  ‘JJ?’ you asked after some time, and while trying to figure out what to wear.  ‘Yeah?’ he replied, while still only picturing himself holding you tightly.  ‘How does one break up with someone else?’ you asked and hoped he knew the answer.  ‘If it were me, I wouldn't want you to lie about it. I mean, it would be easier, but he's gonna find out anyway. You should tell him all, not just half of it,’ he was so calm about it that it made you not be as scared for what was to come.  ‘My mom wants to meet you,’ you let him know just to distract yourself while putting on your clothes; a pair of jeans and a hoodie.  ‘All right, but maybe not that quick. I think we should start slow,’ he told you, and you had to agree, it was all so very fast already. Just this morning you hadn't even thought about ever meeting your soulmate, and now you were about to break up with your boyfriend for said soulmate; it was all quite fast, actually.  ‘I will leave you to it, if you need me just call,’ he let you know before your mind went quiet again. 

You sat at the dinner table and watched your parents cook. They always cooked together, not losing a single word as they were inside their own bubble.  You admired them, how easy everything always seemed. They rarely ever fought, and you finally understood why, you could finally understand why your parents acted the way they did. And you hoped that you could be like this too, one day, to have a complete understanding between JJ and you, to never have to question your love because you could be certain he felt the same.  The knocking on the door ripped you out of your thoughts, and you jumped up, your parents turning around and giving you a warm, encouraging smile. 

“Hey,” you sighed as you looked at Kelce. He had brought you flowers, and you felt your heart breaking a little.  “I didn't know what to bring,” he said nervously. You had never seen him this nervous. “Are you feeling better?”  You nodded and let him inside, taking the flowers and putting them in a vase as he greeted your parents.  “Thank you for letting me have dinner with you, Mr. and Mrs. y/l/n,” he thanked them politely before taking his usual seat at the table.  “It's always a pleasure,” your dad replied, and you could see your mum hit him in the side and wondered what he might have thought about to cause her to do it.  ‘I don't know how to do this,’ you cried out for help and hoped that JJ could help you.  ‘I could come over, you just have to tell me where you live,” he suggested, and you were so lost in him that you didn't notice the water overflowing the vase and running down the drain.  “Honey,” your mom ripped you out of it and started taking care of the flowers for you.  “Sorry,” you mumbled.  ‘If you were in his shoes, would you want to eat before or rather after someone trampled on your heart?’ JJ asked, but you didn't have an answer for him.  “Before,” you whispered to yourself, looking down at your feet and Kelce looked at you confused.  You walked over to him and looked at him, feeling your heart squeeze at how horribly it would hurt to have to tell him the truth.  ‘All right, that hurts,’ JJ sighed.  ‘Sorry,’ you let it slip while trying to find the words you wanted to tell Kelce. 

‘Kelce, I have to talk to you about something important,’ JJ helped you out, and you simply repeated the words out loud.  “Is everything okay? You've been acting weird all day, sugar,” Kelce noted.  “Maybe we should go to my room,” you mumbled and walked to the back of the small flat and into the small room that you called your own. He followed you and placed himself on the edge of your bed after you had sat down in your desk chair.  “I don't- You have to understand that I didn't mean for this to happen, it was a mistake really,” you started talking and JJ interrupted you.  ‘You’re making it sound like you cheated on him. Very bad idea, princess.” “I mean, I had no say in it and I want to tell you before anything happens, before-” Your throat felt like it was closing up as you looked into his confused face.  “Y/n, what are you trying to tell me?” he asked quietly.  ‘Don’t forget to breathe, love,’ JJ whispered in your head, and you had to close your eyes to focus on the words.  “We have to break up,” you pressed out before opening your eyes and looking at the confused boy in front of you.  “What?” he asked.  “I can't be with you anymore, I'm sorry,” you said with a monotonous voice.  “Why?” Kelce was completely caught off guard. “I don't understand-” “It wasn't my choice, you have to understand-” you tried to explain yourself.  It seemed to dawn on him what had happened, and he got up and started pacing. “Who?” he suddenly snapped at you, and you flinched at the anger he had in his voice. You didn't want to tell him, not after he had just reacted like this.  “It doesn't matter who,” you whispered.  ‘I’m gonna kill him if he hurts you,’ JJ hissed because he could feel that the fear you were now experiencing was a different one than before. “I think it matters a lot,” Kelce barked at you and you flinched again.  “It's no one's fault. If I could change it I would, please believe me,” you told him but the way he was acting made you question what had ever made you feel drawn to him at all. 

“Who!” he demanded and got closer to you, your heart racing as your father ripped the door open.  “Step away, Kelce,” he told him calmly and the boy did as he was told.  “I deserve to know who it is, that's the least you could do,” he said in a broken voice.  “You will hurt him,” you whispered, and a tear ran down your cheek.  ‘Tell him. I can take care of myself. He won't let you go unless you tell him, and you can't lie either,’ JJ told you and your heart felt even heavier thinking about how much could go wrong.  “Promise me to not hurt him, please Kelce,” you begged and he nodded.  “Fine, I promise,” he rushed out the words.  “JJ-” You had barely managed to say his name as Kelce's fist found the wall and punched a hole into it.  “Out!” Your dad barked at him and pulled him away.  “JJ fucking Maybank? Are you kidding me? He's a fucking thief, y/n! He's nothing but a dirty Pogue!” he yelled back at you as your dad kicked him out.  “I'm sorry,” you cried out before falling into your mother's arms. “I'm so sorry.”  ‘Are you okay?’ JJ’s words melted into the ones of your mom.  “No,” you replied, and she hugged you tighter.  “Never liked him anyway,” your dad huffed.  “George!” your mom admonished him, but you had to laugh about it.  “What? Am I not allowed to be honest anymore,” he chuckled and joined into the hug. “I'm sorry, Bean. That wasn't as smooth as you had hoped.”  “No, it wasn't,” you mumbled, but your tears had already stopped flowing.  “I only made enough pasta for three anyway,” your mom whispered and the three of you started laughing.  ‘All right, what's happening? This is confusing me,’ JJ asked and instead of replying you just pictured yourself kissing his cheek.  ‘I guess I'll see you tomorrow after school, cupcake,’ he chuckled, and then he left you alone to have dinner with your parents and try to reconcile with all the feelings that you had had to deal with that day. 

please don't copy and/or post my work onto other platforms! ~e©ho

part 3

[fluffyprettykitty]

first love

Pairing: college! Sam Wilson x g/n reader (no other specifications!)

Word Count: 700 words

Outline: You and Sam had been friends for a while when you overhear Steve encouraging Sam to ask you out, you decide to take matters into your own hands.

Warnings: none.

Author’s Note: thanks to the loves at writer's cafe for helping me with this fic <3 ily all!!! <3 three months later it's here <3

PS: dividers & banners by @saradika

Main Masterlist ・❥・ Sam Wilson Masterlist

He's nervous, his palms are sweaty as he walks towards you, looking intensely at your reading figure, hunched over your book.

"Hey." He says clearly yet he still clears his throat. "Hey, Y/N"

You look up from your book with a smile at the sound of a familiar voice. "Hey, Sam."

"Wanna..." He begins just to trail off, his throat getting really dry now.

"Yes, Sam. Tell me." You try to encourage him a little. He had already hinted at what he wanted to tell you anyway. You had overheard him at the classroom today, telling Steve that he wanted to ask you out, so you made sure you'd stayed at visible spots all through the day.

"Wanna...." He's nervous, more nervous than he thought he'd be and then he blurts out the first thing that comes out of his mouth.

"I have to go get some groceries, can you help me?" You smile widely and nod your head positively. "Of course, of course, Sam."

That's not how he wanted it to go, but he figured it'd be a good opportunity to spend time with you. The following morning at the farmer's market was ideal though. You had worn your favorite dress, Sam bought you beautiful flowers and then he invited you to his dorm room as the guys would still be on their training teams.

You helped him put the groceries away, washed the vegetables together, and all in all it felt like you both fell into a routine. Sam seemed less nervous when he constantly had something to do and every silence would be buried by a suggestion of you.

Still, he hasn't asked you out officially and you wanted to try your best. Together you made a meal, making some for the boys as well, and in the end, he escorted you to your own dorm room.

Hanging outside of your door, you hoped he'd ask but he nervously bid you goodnight.

Thankfully for you, your friend came to your avail looking at your sad expression. Natasha had you call Sam the next day to tell him that she had left you some cinema tickets for tonight and that she couldn't make it. Sam agreed and by the afternoon you were both on your way to the cinema.

He bought you popcorn and soda and you almost wished he hadn't because you'd wished you'd share them together. When he didn't try to reach for your hand inside the theatre, it almost made you feel like you were losing this game.

You began to prepare yourself for another fruitless night and as you were both returning to the campus, Sam surprised you by asking you if you wanted to hit the arcade. Excitedly you said yes and off you went.

A couple of games later, you were both laughing and having fun, switching between different games. Yet soon enough they announced that they were closing and your heart sank again.

"I don't wanna go home." You blurted out looking at the night sky.

Sam looked at you, he looked at you for several seconds as you were both standing outside the facility, other students walking by.

"Yeah, we had so much fun together." You nodded and smiled at him, "I don't think I ever had so much fun in my life." You laughed.

"We can go by the lake." Sam blurted out nervously, wondering is his suggestion was too bold.

"Oh, I've never been there when it's this dark."

"Oh, I'm sorry if you're scared we can go tomorrow morning. "

"Tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah. Like a date." He nodded his head and looked at you, waiting for your reaction.

"Sam." You shook your head. "I honestly thought you'd never ask."

"Well." He laughed quietly. "I'm just giving you a reason to want to go home."

Oh, he's cocky now apparently.

"Alright, alright, that's good. That's good. See you tomorrow, Sam."

Sam kissed you goodnight on the cheek and for once you knew your romantic life was about to begin.

If you want to be notified about my future stories please follow my library blog @fluffyprettykittylibrary and turn on notifications!

[lnfours]

yess blurb night so excited! if ur not too busy with other asks is it possible for u to pls make a blurb in which tom holland and the reader are best friends and tom always flirts with her because he’s been in love with her for years but the reader keeps rejecting him (even tho she or they is clearly blushing) because she is scared of love because like insecurity and what if one day he leaves her for someone better or they don’t work out and she loses him as a friend? but tom is patient with her and eventually they end up together?

okay anon. it's FINE. just break my heart :,)

send me tom asks !

things between you and tom have always been... complicated.

it was never easy figuring out what the both of you wanted and when, and the fact that you were too nervous to give you heart to another person always made things difficult. but, that didn't stop tom from trying. he'd always go out of his way to make sure you were special to him, always find a way to make sure just how pretty you really were.

you were the love of his life. and he was yours, but you were just too scared to admit it.

"oh come on, y/n! when are you finally going to admit to him that you love him." your best friend and roommate, maddy, sighed. she meant well, she just wanted what was best for you. she saw the way you lit up when he texted you, the way you blushed whenever he complimented you. she knew everything, and she would die on this hill.

"never," you sighed, "liz said she saw him with brooke stone the other night."

"oh, please. as if brooke has something you don't." maddy rolled her eyes. little did you know she had already confronted tom about it. they hadn't worked out at all, apparently she was doing the same thing with a bunch of other guys behind his back.

it hurt like a bitch, even more knowing that you were too late. someone else had taken their chance. what hurt the worst was that tom hadn't talked to you since brooke waltzed her way into his life and took over.

everything. sucked.

"i don't know, she was all over him."

"and was he all over her?" she asked you and you huffed, pulling the blanket over your head. you had been sulking on the couch watching shitty rom-coms for the past three days, knowing now that the one boy you truly wanted was off the table.

or so you thought, anyway.

"i love that this happened to me right before valentine's day. just my luck, eh?"

maddy looked down at her phone as it buzzed on the counter in the kitchen. she smiled, seeing tom's text to her light up her screen.

tom holland hey, by any chance is y/n home? i was going to ask her to be my valentine and sort of kinda confess my feelings, as vulnerable as that sounds lol

she typed back a response

she's home. just for the love of GOD holland please get y/n to stop watching '13 going on 13' and snotting all over the couch

lol, be there in 15 no promises about the '13 going on 30', though. that's a classic

"i love jennifer garner," you said from the couch, "i want to look like her when i'm older."

maddy let out a laugh, "yesterday it was blake lively, now it's jennifer garner?"

you were silent for a moment, "both. both would be good."

she shook her head and sat down on the couch, lifting your legs up for a place for her to sit.

"can we please watch something other than movies that are going to make you cry?"

"no."

"why? do you wish to be dehydrated?"

"yeah."

she rolled her eyes again, "okay then, don't ask me to pick up pedialite tomorrow."

"i wont."

"alright, sure."

after a while there was a knock on the door. maddy tapped your legs.

"answer the door."

"no," you whined, "this is the best part!"

"y/n, they're literally just sharing razzles as 30 year olds."

"but it's sentimental!" you groaned. she gave you a glare and you groaned as you wrapped yourself in the blanket more, walking towards the front door.

"listen, whatever you're selling i'm not interested in. i'm watching a really great movie and it's at the best part and-"

you cut yourself off as tom stood there smiling with a bouquet of your favorite flowers, "i know, maddy told me to save you from getting swallowed by the couch."

you sniffled, walking out onto the porch and closing the front door behind you, "what are these for?"

"well, they have three meanings," he started, "one for not telling you how i felt sooner, another as an apology and another reason i'll get to in a minute."

"telling me how you felt?" you questioned.

he took a deep breath, "i know how scared you've been about loving someone again, trust me, from experience, i know how scary it is. it swallows you whole and you can't think about anything else. but i just can't stop myself from thinking about you day and night. you're the only thing that's ever on my mind. it's like you're embedded in it and i can't get you out. y/n, i love you. i'm head over heels, if that's what they call it."

you looked at him confused, "but you and brooke...?"

"didn't work out," he sighed, "don't worry about it though, i'm actually kind of glad it didn't."

you smiled softly, "you got me sunflowers."

"your favorite," he smiled, "fresh from the farmers market in town."

"you remembered." you took them gently from his hands.

"'course, couldn't forget it even if i tried."

"and the last meaning for these flowers?" you asked.

"oh, yeah," he cleared his throat, "was wondering, would you be my valentine?"

you smiled, "of course."

he smiled back at you and you pulled him into your body by the strings of his hoodie, "and i love you too, head over heels, as they say."

he smiled, leaning down as his nose bumped yours, "i know."

you smiled, "i like to think i can hold up a front."

"maybe when you're not blushing so hard you look like a tomato."

you smacked his arm playfully, "hush."

"make me."

you rolled your eyes and smiled, leaning in to kiss his lips as he held your waist in his arms. just like you've always been wanting him to do.

"thank fuck! it's about time!" maddy yelled from the doorway. you turned around, smiling as you shot her the middle finger and tom laughed behind you.

"yep, love you too!"

[degloved]

i don't think some people, heterosexual or otherwise (depending on upbringing) are able to comprehend the hellworld that is internalized homophobia if they haven't personally experienced it, especially at a young age.

i'm not trying to create some kind of cool kids 'you don't get it' club, in fact i'm very happy for the percentage of us who aren't straight and have somehow managed to avoid this, be it thanks to loving/supportive parents or the positive reception of non-het orientations online or an unwavering conviction that there is nothing wrong with them (and there isn't!). however, i do find that the lack of this experience can result in a lack of understanding, and that lack of understanding can lead to… callousness at best, disrespect at worst.

it's a difficult thing to talk about, and i think i've retyped this sentence alone like fifty times, but i really think this is a discussion worth having, so here i go. i don't think there are words in any dictionary of any language in the world that i could string together and accurately portray the dread that settles over you, like the world's most fucked up weighed blanket, when you first start entertaining the thought you might be gay. following this, i don't think i could adequately describe the bone-deep, soul-crushing horror of finally admitting defeat—finally admitting that despite your best efforts, despite your sincerest wishes, you are gay. thinking about it now is surprisingly hard, even though it's been just about a decade for me (wow). i guess that sort of feeling—an amalgamation of fear, hatred, disgust, more fear, panic, anxiety, anger—never does leave you, only recedes. okay, what a curious thing to find out just now. but, right, back to the point. it is truly one of the worst things anyone could go through, i think, let alone a child, let alone for at least four-five years before reaching some degree of self-acceptance, let alone alone.

there is this specific memory i have, and i really wanted to talk about it. i was fourteen years old, just having come to terms with being a homosexual (for the three years prior, i'd clung to the bisexual label like a lifeline.) by that i don't mean i'd accepted it at all, i only mean that i'd realized i could no longer kid myself. and the realization had come to me during a run-of-the-mill school day, apropos of nothing. it might've hit me and clicked during math class for all i know. but what i do know, what i remember, is being driven home from school hours later, deep in thought in the back of my grandpa's car, staring out the window and giving myself a very particular mental pep talk: 'love isn't something you will get to experience in life, and that's okay. you need to come to terms with this. there's more to life than love & if you don't start seeing this, you'll be miserable for a long time. what do you need love for anyway? learn to live knowing it'll not come and you'll be fine.' paraphrased, but you get the gist of it. looking back to it, it makes me so… so sad. when i'd called myself bisexual, those three years, even in the fog of intense internalized homophobia, i hadn't given up on love. i'd had this thought in my head, i remember telling this to myself very clearly before tehnički class one october: 'you can still hide this part of you and fall in love with a boy.' yes, i was a dirty freak and an abomination of nature for being into girls, but at least there was the silver-lining of a possible heterosexual relationship. but at fourteen, with that pipe-dream gone, i was forced to face the inevitability of my loveless, miserable, lesbian life. about a month after this, i would try to take my life for the first time. thinking about this chain of events makes me feel feral with anger, for that scared little kid that was me, and for every other scared, suicidal gay little kid in the world.

a little over half a year later, i met my first girlfriend, and though that relationship crashed and burned and left me irrevocably changed as a person after its four-year lifespan, at the time it had shown me that i could be loved (because here i was, being loved) and that i wasn't a lost cause. and only when i felt that sort of love from another person had i been able to start unpacking the absolute mountains of self-hatred and internalized homophobia i had acquired over the years. at sixteen i'd started running a semi-popular lesbian positivity account, and through it i'd developed connections to other lesbians, which also strengthened this newfound belief that maybe i wasn't Something Bad—because, look, there are others like me. i'd also been in therapy for some time, and though my therapist wasn't the best in many ways, and was also a kinda tone-deaf straight woman, she did make me feel more normal when no other adult did.

and i guess what i'm getting at i'd only really started feeling comfortable in my own skin, in my lesbian identity/orientation, around seventeen. at least comfortable enough to say it with my full chest to my real life friends (although i could still only say gay, not lesbian.) so, from figuring out i liked girls at eleven, it took me six-ish years to be okay with it. six years of various degrees of utter inner agony about something i could not change. i don't think some people understand what that does to a person, a kid, a teen. i don't think some people can even begin to understand what it's like. you could listen to us, people like me, talk about this sort of thing for a hundred hours straight, and i don't think you could wrap your head around it even a little. a lot of people have it worse than me, too. a lot of people remain in agony for many more years than just six, well into adulthood. some people die like this. not a month ago, i found myself feeling intensely ashamed of my desires, apropos of nothing. brushing twenty-one years old, thinking i'd overcome this particular burden, it hit me like a train. still here, still lurking. a degree of self-hatred i apparently cannot unlearn. it's devastating. i wonder how long i'll keep carrying this, and i wonder if the answer is 'forever'. you know? i get the feeling, sometimes, that internalized homophobia is trivialized. or at least not at all taken half as seriously as it should be, reduced to being uncomfy with your gayness a little bit. it's so much more than that. i don't know. i feel like i went on several tangents here, on this absolute monster of a post, but i just wanted to get this off my chest. sorry for getting serious do you still think i'm hot

[leviathanverse]

Chapter 18: Chaos

The tunnels had pipes in which some gas shot out every once in a while. Not toxic gas or anything. Just... gas.

And it was very hot in these tunnels. Not to mention how the metal creaked from the pressure it had to endure from the gas that burst out of it.

And boy were you scared when the pipes cried out in pain. Metaphorically. Not that Zika was to blame when she jumped on them to scan the area.

She was a good girl. Just very sneaky and silent when running past you. Just like the T-rex from day one of your first task.

That incident was still fresh in your memory. A bit too fresh. You didn't want to remember the incidents that followed after that one.

It made you feel on edge. Not to mention make your chest clench and make it impossible for you to breathe.

It was like you were going to have a panic attack. Except that you felt like it was going to be three times worse from a normal one.

Maybe it was going to be a heart attack rather than a panic attack. Not to mention that one of your family members died to one.

" Where are we? This doesn't look like the control centre..."

You and Zika came across a map three turns ago. It gave away all the details, locations and even emergency bunkers on the entire island.

Ironic, because you and Zika were literally underground. You thought you two were underground anyways.

If the flights of stairs in the tunnels were anything to go by. They were horrible to go down.

Not to mention that you had injured your ankle while going down those stairs. And speaking of that body part.

" This ankle is killing me."

You hissed in pain. Zika stopped and turned her head to look at you. As if she was curious about why you hissed.

" I need to sit down. I can't walk any further.*

Zika, as if understanding every word and action, walked to you and curled up right next to you. How sweet of her.

To be honest, she must have been the sweetest dinosaur you have ever met since your arrival in the park.

" Thanks, Zika. You really are a sweetheart."

You couldn't help but start to pet her. Like she was a dog, even if you knew she wasn't. Her much smaller and agile figure differed from dogs.

You were about to speak, but heard a faint beeping sound. Zika must've heard it too, if her lifting her head meant anything.

How hadn't you both heard it before? Were you both more focused on finding a way to the control centre?

Many questions with no answers swarmed your mind. Maybe Zika's too. You really didnt know, but made guesses.

Maybe it had always been there, and you both were focused on finding a way to the control centre?

" Please tell me we are nearing the control room."

You hoped so. The pain in your ankle, which you assumed you had twisted, was excruciating. For you anyways.

If it were anyone else, then they would have brushed it off. Not mention that they would have probably said that it was nothing.

It was silent for a moment before you actually got up, hissing and grunting in pain whenever you instinctively used your twisted ankle to help get up.

Zika just turned to look at you, making a worried coo. You looked at her and gave her a soft smile.

" It's okay, Zika. I'm okay."

If you thought your voice was reassuring then you were wrong. Zika made angry yapping sounds. Not convinced whatsoever.

" I'm fine, really!"

She didn't buy it, but stood up nonetheless.

And then you limped to where you heard the faint beeping sound. Maybe it was one of the many control centres!

You would be so happy! Maybe Zika would be happy too? You didn't know how to tell what emotion she was feeling.

She wasn't human after all. Not that you were against that fact! You just wished that you could read her properly.

And it wasn't long before you finally found the door that lead to the room. And when you peaked inside? Well, you were filled with relief and confusion.

" Tanjiro? What are you doing here?"

The boy in the checkerboard haori flinched and turned around to face you properly. His beautiful eyes locked with yours.

" Ah! Y/n? I am so relieved to see you again."

Just as he said that, two other males appeared out of nowhere. And a Microraptor too.

You were... uncomfortable with how the one with yellow hair looked at you. And you were even more surprised when he hugged you.

He acted like a young boy instead of an adolescent male. He had tears in his eyes, and had a runny nose.

To say that you were uncomfortable was an understatement. You were SUPER uncomfortable.

Your scale from one to ten of being uncomfortable was infinite out of ten.

" Aaaah! Please marry me!"

" Sir, get off of me!"

" Zinetsu! Get off of her!"

And that was when all hell broke loose. You tried to get out of his grip, but ultimately failed. What a creep.

" Please marry me! I don't want to die alone!"

Was that the ONLY reason he wanted to marry someone?! To not die alone?! What was wrong with him?!

Did he need to go to a psychologist? Or was an asylum a more fitting option? Or was it beating the heck out of him an option?

Finally, the male with black hair thaf faded into a dark blue-ish colour pulled him off of you.

What a gentleman.

" Stop this behaviour, Monichi! Gonpachiro is not happy, and my mom wouldn't be proud!"

" My name is actually Tanjiro, Inosuke."

" That's what I said. Gonpachiro."

This... trio was quite interesting, to say the least. And then, you saw what had made that faint beeping sound.

It was a computer. One for security to be more specifically. And you could see everything from the footage from the cameras.

And it showed how each of the enclosures were empty. The main enclosures, to be more specific.

And that is how you knew that there was chaos outside of these tunnels. Outside of the bunkers, in the park.

Fate and her sisters really were in control of your life, your every word, choice and action. You were their puppet, and they were your puppeteer. Something you didn't know about. Yet.

Previous <-•-> Next

[blue-thief]

note: don't mind this im just testing stuff with communities and drafts

edit: wow that's crazy. anyway. ignore this. 😭😭

pre-round three interviews ✨✨

BEN: and then there were eight! round two saw some close results, but thankfully, we don't need another round of tie breakers. we're now in the quarter finals! good luck to all your girlfriends.

---

[SENDOU COULD NOT MAKE IT TO THE PRE-ROUND THREE INTERVIEWS]

---

BEN: turns out you won't be able to avenge your brother after all.

RIN: i’m not trying to avenge my brother. besides, if i kill sendou, that means i will have killed kunigami, meaning i killed sae.

BEN: is that so?

RIN: yes.

BEN: well good luck with that.

RIN: you seriously don't think that half-baked NPC will have a shot a defeating me, do you?

BEN: you're a superior striker, but performer? i don't know… you've a got a great voice, rin-rin, but i think overall stage presence would have to go to sendou.

RIN: oh, so now you're calling me rin?

BEN: that's right, rin-rin.

RIN: once i’m done with everyone here, you're next, you shitty interviewer.

BEN: shittynterviewer.

RIN: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

---

BEN: congratulations on making it this far, kurona. i’m sure everyone here can agree that you're quite the underdog in this competition.

KURONA: hm.

BEN: are you good?

KURONA: yeah, yeah.

BEN: you don't have to be scared. you've made it this far.

KURONA: it's because i’ve made it this far i’m scared-scared.

BEN: you scared of aryu? fair enough. he's a tough competitor.

KURONA: i’m scared of you-you.

BEN: ha… well, that's all the time we have. may the odds be ever in your favour, kurona.

---

BEN: have you rested well, aryu?

ARYU: correct. now, i feel glammier than ever. i’ll defeat the competition with no problem.

BEN: wow. you sure are confident that you'll beat kurona.

ARYU: i respect kurona as a player and as a singer since he's made it so far in both blue lock and girlfriend fc stage. but he doesn't have the right amount of glam to be a winner, you know?

BEN: the song you two will be performing isn't very glam though, is it?

ARYU: it's not glam in the traditional sense, but i’m sure i’ll be able to pull it off better than anyone else here.

BEN: i see. well, may the odds be ever in your favour, aryu.

---

BEN: that was a close one, huh, shidou?

SHIDOU: i know, right? i can't believe most people don't see me as much of a romantic type.

BEN: haha, i think i can come up with a few reasons for why that might be…

SHIDOU: whatever. i’ll crush that little german boy with this next song.

BEN: do you think this one suits you more than him?

SHIDOU: duhh. man, did you see little nessie backstage? he was foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog a while ago.

BEN: haha, is that so…?

SHIDOU: yup. better be careful pulling him out here once we're done here. may the odds be ever in YOUR favour or whatever it is you say.

---

[NESS REFUSED TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE AT THIS EVENING’S INTERVIEWS]

---

BEN: [with a bruise forming on his cheek] consecutive landslide victories. congratulations, chigiri!

CHIGIRI: thanks.

BEN: so, you and kaiser went through with it after all?

CHIGIRI: oh my- it was a dying man’s wish, okay?

BEN: you were that certain you were going to win?

CHIGIRI: well, no. but if i had lost, kaiser would have been granting one too.

BEN: ohoho?

CHIGIRI: oh, shut it. if it hadn't been now, it would have been never.

BEN: seriously?

CHIGIRI: what?

BEN: you haven't kissed anyone until now?

CHIGIRI: i haven't.

BEN: that's crazy… you should fix that if you get out of here. may the odds be ever in your favour.

---

Lune: Well I guess I'm the one doing your interview this time.

Akechi: What, because you're the only one who "knows" me? Hmph. Let's see what you've got, then.

Lune: So! Chigiri, huh? Think you can win?

Akechi: He's the fan favourite, it doesn't matter what I think. The votes will speak for themselves. And besides, the only person I care about defeating is Joker, anyway.

Lune: [cough] Gay as ever [cough] Alright, and what if you lose?

Akechi: ...You die if you lose, right?

Lune: ...Yeah. You do. Though I suppose you're no stranger to death. Akechi: No, I don't suppose I am. It doesn't matter. I don't have anyone who'd mourn me anyway.

Lune: ... Akira would mourn you.

Akechi: He *would* be a sentimental fool about it. He's done it once before.

Lune: A good thing you won't be dying here then, yeah? Wouldn't want Joker to raise havoc in your name.

Akechi: ... I suppose I'll have to try to win, then.

[Note: Akira and Joker are the same person. Joker is his codename for when he's being a Phantom Thief.]

[onlymexsarah]

Promise pt. 5 || Kaz Brekker

Summary: When the life of Kaz is threated by her presence, she had to make a crucial decision that will bring misunderstanding among the two of them. Now that he has his Fire Girl, will he be able to keep her, or Dirtyhand will mess everything up?

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x grisha!Reader

Warning: angst, Kaz being Dirtyhands for ten minutes straigh, spoiler of Six of Crows, my english.

A/N: Thank all of you for the comments, the likes and the shares. I didn't expected that this little idea would have captured your attention, really you made my writing more enjoyable and easy. I'm so sorry if I'm late but I've been sick these days and I couldn't finish the chapter :( there are a lot of things that I want to tell you, see you at the end of the chapter ;)

PT. 1 - PT. 2 - PT. 3 - PT. 4

MAIN MASTERLIST

Few days passed with the girl lying on her bed recovering from the wound that the fight gave her.

When she opened her eyes after have fainted in Kaz's arms, fear had been the first to come to visit her. Fear of being already tied at some bed on a ship, sold at the Shu that would have been more than happy to make experiment on her. She was scared that the temptation must have been too much for Kaz Brekker to have such a value grisha in his hands, but then she noticed she was in her room at the Slat and a rush of tiredness hit her making her sleep again.

The other times she opened her eyes someone among Jesper, Inej and Wylan was always at her side, changing the bandage and bringing her food.

Inej told her that her father, Jan Van Eck, was now aware that she was part of the Dregs, and she was under Kaz Brekker's protection. Everyone was aware she was a grisha, but neither Jesper and Inej seemed to mind her lie, maybe because they had secrets too, she though.

A morning a letter came for Kaz, a letter from her father.

Mister Brekker

we never had the occasion to meet, and you'll agree with me when I say that I wish to keep things like this. Voice is spread that you have my beloved daughter with you. I hope you understand that she is a danger for this city. I've sent her away many years ago with the only interest of protecting Kerch from her, but I see that I could have done things in a better way.

It is as a father that I ask you to bring her to me so that I can repair my mistakes. She is a danger for all of us if not under control, Mister Brekker, and I am sure you saw it yourself last night. She has to face a trial for her crimes and be sent where she can't be a danger for anyone anymore. If she doesn't come back in seven days, I should consider you and your Dregs as her accomplices, planning to attack Ketterdam and all Kerch using her power.

Surely a smart men as yourself doesn't want those kind of problems.

Hope to see my city safe again,

Jan Van Eck.

Inej had brough the letter at her in the afternoon, and in the evening the grisha girl was already planning her escaping from Ketterdam for the third time in her life.

She didn't want to leave Wylan, hell she had promised him they wouldn't split up ever again, but if her plan worked then he would have been able to follow her after few months. If the Van Eck siblings moved together they would have caught too much attention, and they had to do everything in secrets.

Wylan tried to convince her to stay. He was sure that Kaz would have helped her, Wylan was sure that Kaz Brekker would have sealed all Ketterdam to keep her save, and even if as her brother he didn't like her closeness with the Bastard of the Barrel, he couldn't deny that it was useful.

"I'm putting all of you in danger just staying here. If I go away father will have nothing to threat you with." she said putting her clothes in her bags. Seven days, she couldn't give her father the time to close all the harbours in Kerch. If she wanted to go she had to do it as soon as possible.

"Talk to Kaz! Let see what he says, please." begged Wylan grabbing her hands in his to stop her.

She looked in his beautiful blue eyes and saw hope. "You really think Kaz has the power to keep me here?"

Her brother smirked. "I think Kaz would tear apart this city to keep you save. Talk to him, keep your options open."

Dirtyhands would never fight a battle where he couldn't win money, but Y/n was willing to try. That night after dinner she decided she would speak with Kaz and see if he was willing to keep her.

"Let see what the great Kaz Brekker think about it." she sighed putting her arm around Wylan's shoulder and walking downstair where their dinner waited them.

Kaz Brekker sat in his office, in his gloved hands the red handkerchief and Jan Van Eck's letter. Before that morning the death of Van Eck had been one of the many he wanted to deal with for what he had done to his Fire Girl, but now his death had taken a shape, colours and many details that Kaz's was adding one by one.

Brick by brick, Kaz would take all his enemies down, and Y/n was more than welcome to take her revenger with him.

He went downstair at the second floor walking toward Y/n's room. He wanted to check how she was, and speak with her about how she wanted to deal with her father. He didn't know if she wanted his actual death, but he was just fine with torture.

When he reached the door and looked inside his blood froze. All her things were packed in three bags, all her clothes were gone from her wardrobe and none of her objects were around the room. Neither the little portrait of she and baby Wylan that she kept on her bedside table before falling asleep.

She is leaving you.

These words felt like a stab in his chest, like someone had taken the oxigen from his lungs. Would she, leave him? Yes. Y/n would find a better life everywhere out Kerch, it was reasonable that she was already packing. When she wanted to leave? Where she wanted to go?

He knew nothing about it and Kaz Brekker always knew everything. Especially of what happened in his Slat. But this time the girl was leaving him, again, and she hadn't had talked with him about it. She hadn't advised him. Did you really think she was going to live this life just for you? For a man who can't even hold her hands without hyperventilate? A man who can't give her the love she deserve?

The fear he saw in her eyes when she saved his life with her power wasn't because she was feared of his rejection; she feared that he would have send her out of the Dregs, without protection and away from her brother.

He stormed back in his office, anger filled his boody and what else? Disappointment? Sadness? He was angry with himself because he had been a fool again. He had let someone playing with him again, that's what Y/n had been doing. She had been toying with him. She had made sure to have a safe place where live, a job and her brother beside her. Every little nice things she did for him was just to keep him close, to keep Dirtyhands at bay.

Like a fury he threw everything that was on his desk on the floor with his arms. Documents, the handkerchief, the letters, were all on the floor but he couldn't care less. She wanted to leave? Fine. Dirtyhands didn't care.

A known shiver crossed his spine before he heard a knock at his door.

"What?" he didn't look up when the girl entered, too focus on something in the drawers of his desk.

"Wow, and I though to be the one who had a bad day." she joked looking the mess at his feet.

He didn't smile, or smirked. He kept his eyes on something she coudn't see. "What bussiness?"

What bussiness. Those words were the greeting in Ketterdam when two bussiness men met, but the grisha girl though that she and Kaz had passed that step. He must had really a bad day, and it could have been because of the letter...she though sadly.

Who knew what other problems her father had caused around Ketterdam to earn the attention of Kaz, to push him to hand her in his hands.

"My father...I don't want any of you to be in danger because of me." she said carefully walking closer to his desk. A glimp of red captured her eyes but the pain at her waist made her close her eyes for a second.

"I'd say it's too late for it, isn't it?" he asked coldly. She took a step behind, taken back by his coldness toward her. "You seemed to enoy keeping secrets, didn't you? Do you know how easier it would have been knowing about your being grisha months ago?"

That wasn't the boy who had brough her in his arms out from the gala. He wasn't the boy who fought beside her, spied beside her and saved her a couple of time.

"I am sorry, I truly am Kaz. But I know what is the price of being a grisha here...it wouldn't have been easy for me walking with a target on my back. I have done it my whole life."

He refused to look her in the eyes, and it was driving her crazy. Was he really that mad at her that he couldn't bare even the sight of her?

"You decided for yourself, a thing you tend to do often I see." she was sure he had never spoken to her like that, neither in his bad days, and Kaz Brekker had a lot of bad days. "You swore loyalty to the Dregs, to the Crows. If you can't trust us then you shouldn't stay here."

He had said the crucial words, and there was no going back. She wanted to leave, then he would make sure to let her believe that he didn't care. That he didn't care about not finding his hot coffee on his desk again, or that from that day on he wouldn't feel the shivers in his spine anymore. He pretended to not care about not seeing her anymore. She had left him once, he could survive it a second time.

"That's it? That's what you want?" she felt her voice dying in her throat. Was her mistake that big? You knew that once Kaz knew what you were he would have pushed you away like everyone else. 'No one will understand you as the other of your kind', Baghra once told her, but when she met Kaz she believed that her old teacher was wrong. Kaz Brekker had been her safe harbour when no one else would care about her, was she so easily replaceable for him?

"You would have leave anyway at some point, you said it yourself the first time we met at the Club. Today, tomorrow, in five years...I don't see the difference." he shrugged like he didn't care.

He doesn't, her mind reminded her.

"Alright then...I don't want to be of any trouble to you anymore..." she whispered with her hands behind her back. She hated how little she felt, but he was sendind her away. Kaz Brekker, the boy she'd die for. The boy who had let her felt hope again after years, the boy who made her laugh even when he surely didn't mean it. The boy in who she was willing to put the most important years of her long life, that boy was sending her away without looking back.

"Then go." he said fixing his eyes in hers. She could feel the sharpness of his eyes cutting her chest.

"Fine, then I'll just-" she stopped talking when her eyes landed on the red thing she had seen before. A red handkerchief. Her feet moved on their own will. Before she could register what was happening she had the red handkerchief in her hands, her eyes fixed on the three letters on it. W. V. E.

"Y/n don't-" Kaz stood up trying to stop her but it was too late.

"Why do you have my brother's hand-" she was confused, but then her eyes raised to the boy in front of her. His brown eyes, his dark hair and pale skin, and in a second her mind brough her a memory.

The little boy smiled standing before her. He was at the same height of her belly, but his eyes seemed older.

"I have still things to do, and people I need to find. " the last words said with rage.

"Take care of yourself, boy. Don't let the bad days winning your good ones, there is always light at the end of a tunnel; you only have to walk a little more."

And then another.

"What is you name little boy?"

"K-..." he stopped for a long moment thinking about it. He looked the girl beside him and even if he wanted to trust her he just couldn't after what happened. "Jordie..."

"J-Jordie?" she asked, her voice trembling. "I-...You are not him, aren't you?" he stayed silent, looking her like a statue. "You would have told me if you were him...Kaz you are not the little boy I met eight years ago, right?!"

Her voice raised squeezing the handkerchief in her right fit.

She saw him gulped before answering slowly. "Yes, I am."

She took two huge steps back breathing eavily. He had known me all along. "Why you've never said anything? That day when you approached me, you knew who I was and you offered me a...job..."

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked touching his shoulder with her own. The boy, whose name wasn't obviously Jordie, nodded looking her curiously. She smirked bringin her left hand on her right one and rotating them slowly. A flame came out from her right palm, little but still powerful; red and orange like the handkerchief she had given him before.

The boy's eyes shone marveled looking the flame on her palm. "You are a grisha!"

The truth hit her hard. She raised her eyes in his letting him see the betrayal. "You had always knew what I was. That's why you gave me the job...you didn't care that I was new, you didn't care that I was the girl you met when you was a child. You wanted an Inferni to work for you!"

Every words, every attention, every talk they shared were all lies. Nothing of what he said was true, Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason, he didn't need a reason to give a job to a girl new in town, but it was clear that Kaz Brekker always had a reason. She had been only too foolish to not understand everything before.

She thought she was good to keep a secret, but something like her power couldn't pass unnoticed to Kaz Brekker. She had been a fool to believe he didn't know about her power. It was the only reason he kept her in the Dregs since the beginning.

"An inferni would have been very useful, but you have proved to know how to do your job perfectly without your power. Now, if you want to go you are free to do so. Nothing bind you here." he said, his voice cold as death.

You bound me here, she wanted to shout. But it had been Kaz's plan all along. Making her believe she was different, making her believe he saw her.

"Nothing." she repeated before walking away from his office, leaving the boy alone with the loudly silent that filled the room, staring at the handkerchief that she let fall on the ground, the only thing that had always bound them.

***

The next morning Kaz woke up and knew immediately that something was wrong. He took his cane and walked downstairs to the kitchen where he heard people talking out loud.

"I swear Jesper, when I see him I-" Wylan stop talking in the exact moment Kaz stepped in the room. The red haired boy fixed his eyes on him and before he could understand what was happening Wylan was yelling at him with all the rage he felt. "How dare you coming here like nothing happened!?"

Jesper had to put his arms around Wylan's torso to keep him from throwing himself on Kaz. "Last time I checked this was my Slat."

"And you find amusing sending people away, don't you?" Wylan spoke spitting venom from his mouth. "She needed help and you turned your back at her!"

Now Kaz needed few minutes to make his brain, still sleepy, working to connect the dots. It was clear that Wylan was talking about his sister, who seemed to have played the victim with her own brother.

"If you want to know, merchling, she decided her will herself. She came to me to let me know she was leaving." Kaz shrugged walking toward coffee machine. He didn't have the strengh to face an angry boy if he wasn't properly awake.

"As hell she did. She came to ask you what to do and you sent her away." Kaz let his words running in his head for a while, studying them one by one.

He didn't..."When she came in my office she had already decided." he refused to tell them he had seen her bags ready in her room, he refused to let someone know he cared.

"No Kaz, she didn't." This time Inej spoke, he hadn't even noticed she was there. "She wanted to leave to protect you from her father, but Wylan convinced her to slow down and come to you to ask what to do."

No, no, it was not possible. "When she came in your office she hadn't decided yet. You gave her the answer, Kaz." Jesper spoke keeping his hands on Wylan's shoulders, who now was sat on a chair with his face in his hands.

I would have noticed if she was asking me what to do. She had her bags ready...she came to me to tell me...his thoughs were running wild inside his head.

"That's it? That's what you want?"

Kaz tried to put his thoughs together. He tried to find a logic of what had happened the night before.

"You had always knew what I was. That's why you gave me the job...you didn't care that I was new, you didn't care that I was the girl you met when you was a child. You wanted an Inferni to work for you!"

No, no, no. Everything was so wrong again. He though she was going to leave him and he had let her believe that he had used her all this time. He though she was leaving him...that was the only thing he had needed to loose his mind.

"You didn't know..." whispered Inej surprised.

Kaz couldn't trust his voice enough to not break in front of everyone so he just shoke his head slowly looking the Suli girl in the eyes.

"What have you done..."murmured Jesper rubbing his eyes with his hand. "Alright, if you hurry you should arrive before the schooner leaves."

"Fifth harbour?" Kaz asked with raspy voice.

"Yes! Go!" said the Zemeni boy excited. "I love a dramatic romance."

He didn't let him repeated twice, ready to run if he had to he walked toward the door when Wylan's voice stopped him.

"Brekker, bring her back." Please, was the word the boy let unspoken.

He nodded before running toward the harbour. He took just his cloat at the door, leaving his hat behind. He couldn't let her leave again. He had to arrive in time, and if he didn't he would have swim until he'd found himself on the schooner and ask sorry to her for his infinity dullness.

"Alright then...I don't want to be of any trouble to you anymore..."

She wasn't a trouble, he wanted to shout in the air. She had never been a trouble, he was the wrong one. He was the twisted, crooked, problematic who couldn't stop himself from hurt her everytime.

"My father...I don't want any of you to be in danger because of me."

Even when she was the one in danger, she would think about him first. He didn't see it last night, too focused on accusing her of betrayal. Betrayal of what? She hadn't broken any vows she made. She wasn't bind to him, she own him nothing and surely Ketterdam did nothing to earn her protection.

Since the first day she had stayed on her own will, she had stayed beside him even when he pushed everyone away. That's what got under his skin, her perseverence. She kept fighting for him, she kept seeing good in him and the only thing he had been capable of was making her feel used and unwanted.

He saw the harbour and he barely noticed that he hadn't used his cane. It would have just slowed me, he thought already searching his girl with the eyes.

He owed her an explanation, he owed her a lot of apologies, and then she would decide if she wanted to stay. Kaz swore to everyone who was listening that if Y/n chose to stay in Ketterdam with him, he would have made sure to be worth her choice. He would fight everyday to go trought his boundaries for her, with her. He would be the man she deserved.

"The schooner for Os Kervo." Kaz asked urgently to a man. He knew Y/n, she would find a safe home in Ravka at the Little Palace where the grisha were safe and strong.

"The first one left this morning at four bells, the next it's at the berth twenty-four, leaves in half bell." the man answered.

Kaz didn't think twice and ran toward the schooner with his heart in his throat. Please, saints if you exist make sure she hadn't already left.

He felt pathetic. Never in his life he had ever prayed, but he though that if it gave him a chance to see her again that it was worth a try.

He arrived at the schooner, but looking around he didn't see her. She must be already on board, he though and without difficulty he went on the ship.

There wasn't many people, but from what Kaz knew the grisha girl could have been already in her room and there was no way to find her before that schooner left.

He felt a shiver in his spine, telling him that she was close, but he didn't know where to look. Right, left, he looked everywhere. People around him looked him worried.

She can't be gone, he kept reapeting in his head like a mantra.

"Came here to bring me back to my father?" a voice said from above him. "How much did he offer to you? Must be a lot to affront a grisha alone."

His heart missed a beat and when he looked over his head he though he might start to believe in saints.

She was there, perched on one of the boom. Her hood was up hiding her face like she always did when she was out of their zone. She was a wanted grisha now, and he felt a grip on his heart at the though that she was used to that life of a runner.

You are not alone anymore, Fire Girl, he though vividly.

"I thought you had decided to leave..." he said. It didn't sound like an apologize at all...Damn Saints, there were a bilions things he wanted to say her, and yet his throat felt dry when he could talk.

"I did." her voice was sharped as a blade and cold as ice.

He gulped, I deserve this. "I know..." He had a flashback of their first conversation at the Crows Club, and cold shivers ran in his blood. I will not make the same mistake twice. "I should have told you who I was since the beginning."

"Maybe if I knew I didn't have to hide my power you could have had your personal inferni sooner." it was his fault. He had let her believe that he wanted her just for her power, but it wasn't true. Kaz Brekker kept her with the Dregs because he couldn't bare the though of her being hurt or threated.

"Could you get off from that boom? Please..." the last word burned in Kaz's throat like fire. It wasn't easy for him to say out loud his feelings, but he knew it would have been the only thing to make her stay. He owed her the truth.

She scoffed and jumped, landing in front of him with the lightness of a feather. Crossing her arms over her chest she studyed him from under her hood, waiting for him to speak first.

You want me sto stay, you have to say it, her posture told him.

"I saw your bags in your room, I though you wanted to leave me, the Dregs. I would understand if it what you wish, but you have to know that I was angry. Angry because I though you didn't trust me. You had just packed all your things without talking to me first, I though...I though you..." said those words Kaz brekker, a voice said in his mind. "I though you used me as a protection, nothing else. And when you showed up in my office I though you were going to say me you were leaving. No question, no mouners."

She stayed silent for a bit, surely surprised by his words. He couldn't see her whole face from his height, and he needed to use all his self control to not take it and push it down.

"The only reason I decided to leave was because my father knew about you. I knew he would have used you against me if I stayed, and I couldn't put you in danger just because I wanted to be selfish." her voice had softened a bit, but it was still sharp as she was ready for any attack from him. "Wylan convinced me that you would have helped me, that you would have been willing to fight for me. But when I come to you, I find Dirtyhands planning my departure. And what I find out? That you kept me under your roof just because you knew I was a grisha."

"It's not true." he stopped her firmly. "I knew you were a grisha, but never in my head I though about using you for your power."

"Then what other reason to keep the truth about our first meeting from me?"

Now it's the moment. Don't let your shame eat you alive, put yourself together and take your Fire Girl back.

"Because I was ashamed of the man I became. Because if you knew who I was you would have seen that the little boy you met eight years ago doesn't exist anymore. You would have seen that I failed you..." saying finally those words after a year left him lighter.

She gasped softly. It's not true, I can still see that little boy right in front me... "No, I failed you. You were a child Kaz, you had no faults. I should've stayed with you."

She could see the surprise on Kaz's face when she spoke those words. She had time to think that morning, at the little boy she left alone in the streets of Ketterdam. The boy who had kept her secrets all those years and never blackmailed her.

"I don't think something would have changed. I chose my path." he said with his raspy voice. How many nights he had dreamt about that moment? When he would finally speak with her, when the little boy and the Fire Girl would meet again.

"Becasue no one was there for you. Beccause you were alone. But if someone would have taken care of you, if someone would have showed you another way, maybe everything would have been different." maybe you would have been different.

She wasn't disappointed in what Kaz had became, she knew that everything he did it was to survive at the Barrel. She was proud that he had found the strengh to fight and live; Y/n would change nothing of the man she had in front of her.

The captain of the schooner announced that they were ready to leave and Y/n took a deep breath. "You should go..."

"Come with me." his mind, his rational part stopped working. There were nothing to brake his tongue. "Eight years ago you asked me if I wanted you to stay with me, and I said no. Today I'm asking you to stay in Ketterdam, with me, with the Crows. We cant-...I can't loose you. Not again."

Her heart started to beat faster like a roller coaster. Was Kaz Brekker the one who was talking in front of her? The Bastard of the Barrel was asking her to stay with him. You are going to put him in danger, a voice in her mind reminded her.

She looked Ketterdam behind him, as she could see her father's house.

Kaz saw the shift in her face's direction, and immediately understood what was thinking that mind of her. He rose a gloved hand in front of him taking her by surprise.

"If you wish to go to Ravka I will not stop you, but if you give me a chance I'll try everyday to be the man worth to stay by your side. And I promise you..." he took a step forward making her gasp. "I promise you we will take down everyone who threat us and we'll make them know the real meaning of the word suffer."

That's the Dirtyhands I fell for, she though smiling brightly. She took his hand firmly feeling his fingers closing around hers. "Just one condition." He raised an eyebrow to say 'continue please'. "Jan Van Eck is mine, and he's not going to die until I say so."

She knew that Kaz wasn't the only one who had changed in those years, and there were no reasons to hide it. The grisha girl who lived in the shadows and the little boy who was scared would never meet again, both had died when the world had turned its back to them. Both had raised like phoenix and became stronger.

"The deal is the deal, Fire Girl." he smirked walking with her toward the berth. The schooner was already leaving and there was a little void between the berth and the schooner, so Kaz squeezed her hand and they both jumped. When their feet touched the berth he didn't notice he was laughing with her. Her hood was over her forehead and he couldn't hold it anymore, he stood in front of her with the steady hands of a magician and gently lowered it, feeling the hurge to see her smile again. "No secrets anymore."

"No secrets anymore." she replied keeping her eyes in his.

It was their promise to start from the beginning. Their past was a beautiful story to remember, but they would fight for their future side by side, and little did she know that for all the time she hadn't spoken with Kaz Brekker, Bastard of the Barrel. But the boy in front of her, with the light of hope in his dark eyes was the normal, simple Kaz Rietveld.

A/N:OH MY GOODNESS WE ARE HERE! This is the end of the story of our lovely, brave Fire Girl and our little, cute Kaz. I think I can cry... This is the chapter that most I love of the series and I think you can see why! Writing it was so emotional and still so easy, I knew from the first moment how I wanted their story to end and how I wanted to write it. I have many ideas for a future book with those two idiots, but in the mean time...would you like a bonus chapter where we are gonna see how they're managing they're "relationship"? Maybe where he tells her his real name...👀 but now tell me, what was the part that you most liked? Would have you made the same decisions as them? MY CHAT AND REQUESTS ARE OPEN SOO I'm gonna wait you there ;)

p.s. : who recognize the scene from an old tv series for young I took ispiration for the fight and the departure? 👀

[charliedawn]

Imagine you have been kidnapped and your favorite slashers decide to come to the rescue

It has been a few days now that none of the slashers have seen or heard from you. They are growing more and more worried and nervous by the day. Finally, thanks to his connections, Five succeeds in finding out that you have been kidnapped by your "old friends".

" I feel weird..Why do I feel weird ?"

Five asks himself and takes a glass of whiskey to calm his nerves. He then looks at his wall and stares at it for a while, hesitantly.

" Am I crazy ?"

He looks back at his drink and, after a moment at looking at his reflection in the amber liquid, swallows all of it in one go.

" You know what ? F*ck it all ! I am crazy !"

He then walks towards the wall and starts tearing it apart with his bare hands to get out the object he had hidden in it. An axe.

" It was supposed to be for a special occasion..but oh well !"

He then walks outside to his neighbor's door : Brahms.

He smashes the door to pieces and Brahms immediately gets up. When he sees that it is Five, he almost groans in annoyance, but stops when he starts thinking as to why he would come to him in the middle of the night.

" Y..Y/N ?"

He asks in a hopeful tone, wondering if the short man had finally found something about her whereabouts. Five finally enters his bedroom and whisper shouts.

" Yes, you idiot ! We're going to search for them ! As the police is obviously too dumb to find them themselves !"

Brahms smiles widely behind his mask and quickly grabs his doll before following Five. However, they are walking in the corridor when they spot two very distinctive orange and red head getting out by the window. The two clowns look up to see the two others. They stay still for a moment before smirking at each other knowingly. There is always a moment where crazy people just have this connection, this moment where they don't even need words to communicate.

" Ah ! Guess what ?! One of my escape plans actually works ! Just thought we would go and save Y/N, but looks like we're not the only ones. So..How about we go search for Freddy and Myers and you go find Jason and Sir Sh*tty the clown ?"

Five nods in agreement before running towards the mute's room, while the Clown Brothers run towards Freddy's room. Once all reunited, they get out by Pennywise's exit that was, in fact, a tunnel in the garden of Freddy. (Freddy being of course aware and even helping Pennywise by pretending to garden when he digs) Five, as well as all of the killers find themselves revigorated as soon as they are out, their powers coming back to them. Penny takes a step forward and starts sniffing the air for your scent. He quickly finds and turns his head towards the rest with a wicked smile.

" Let's go find them."

A few hours later :

" Come on Sam ! I don't want to work for you anymore ! I can't keep pretending that what you're doing is right !"

You yell, wishing to reason with him, even though you were already beaten bloody. But, he doesn't listen to you and only slaps you so hard that you see stars.

" Doesn't mean that you are free, Y/N ! Me and the boys will always track you down, wherever you go ! You are a part of our team. You really thought that just by moving away, you could get away from your family ?!"

You glare up at him before spatting angrily.

" You are not my family.."

However, before he could slap you again, kids' creepy laughs fill the room. Sam gnashes his teeths and looks around with nervousness. You can't help but feel a bit apprehensive yourself.

" Well hello.."

Sam almost lets out a scream when he see one of the clowns get out of the dark. He takes a step back and nearly tumbles over a grave from which, another clown appears.

" So, what was the plan, bad boy ? Were you going to hit them hit them hit them until they forgive you before finally bashing their brains out ?!"

Pennywise asks while accompanying his words with demonstrative gestures. Sam's eyes widen and he quickly gets out a gun and starts shooting in every direction. You close your eyes, wishing for him not to shoot you in the process. He almost feels relieved when he opens one eye and sees them gone. However, when he turns towards you, he sees Jason standing protectively in front of you, a bullet that was destined to you lodged in his chest.

" Not a very wise move, my friend. Should have gone for the head. Would have taken him longer to recover.."

Sam quivers in fear as he sees a third clown get out from around a corner. He then yells with tears in his eyes and snort coming out of his nose pathetically.

" Do all your friends wear f*cking clown costumes ?! Is it your new trick to get rid of me, Y/N ?!"

He doesn't see it, but from behind Jason, you smile and reply.

" You never asked what was my job, a**h*le. I am a nurse at St Louis, and looks like my patients are hungry.."

Suddenly, Sam is turned around by Freddy that gives him a nasty grin.

" You're right about that. I'm f*ching starving."

" B..Boys !"

Sam calls for his gang that his supposed to stay on watch, but then, Freddy gets out their heads. He then show them to Sam with mocking concern.

" You're looking for these fellows ? Sorry, the clowns were a little bit hungry on our way here. Thought we would grab a takeaway first."

Freddy starts laughing histerically at his own joke, which makes Sam fall to the floor, white as a sheet.

" Come on..Come to Papa !"

Sam screams so loud that it makes you wince in pain. He then starts crawling backwards, away from Freddy that is still walking forward while laughing maniacally. However, Freddy suddenly disappears and Sam is left with his heart beating a thousand times a minute. He gets up and sprints towards the exit. He opens the door and falls face to face with Michael. Michael stands in the doorway and tilts his head a bit to side while observing the shaking man.

Sam walks backwards, away from the giant. He doesn't even have any voice to scream with anymore. He is scared beyond anything and starts running the other way. He ends up in the same room as you again and sees Five, trying to untie you. He smirks, thinking to have finally found an escape..He takes Five and puts the head of his gun against his head.

" Stay back or I'll kill the kid !"

The group stops abruptly and Sam smiles widely, thinking he won. But then, Five glares up as him and stomps on his foot with such force that Sam screams in pain again.

" Who are you calling "the kid", idiot ?"

Five gets out of his grip and all of the slashers surround him. Suddenly, Michael and Jason raise some knives they had managed to get their hands on in the kitchen and you watch before whispering :

" They always say to watch out for the quiet ones.."

And with that, the die is cast. You can only watch with a morbid fascination as each one of the slashers seem to attack Sam with such coordination. You're impressed. They seem to work so well together. Even the clowns seem to have fun along each other, whereas normally they would be at each other's throats.

When they're finished and Sam is, indeed, very dead..They all turn their heads towards you, blood splattered all over their faces. They are waiting..For what ? You wonder. Suddenly, you stand up and they all seem to try to guess your next move. But, you don't let any emotion take a hold of you and only sigh before taking out a napkin from your pocket. You look at it for a moment before kneeling in front of Brahms and starting to get the blood out of his face gently. He seems to melt into the kind gesture and closes his eyes appreciatively.

" You can't come back to St Louis in this state..It would not be good for you or for me. You need to take a bath. If you want to escape, I won't stop you. Not that I have the power to anyway.."

Of all the reactions you could have had, this one was the least the slashers had expected. They had expected fear, screams..even disgust. But here you were, washing their faces as if they hadn't just killed someone in front of you. Before anyone could stop him, Penny jumps on you and licks your face happily while you start laughing at his impulsive gesture. However, Pennywise appears behind him and drags him away from you by the collar.

" Jeez kid ! You're happy ! We get it ! That doesn't mean you have to drool all over them !"

Suddenly, Jason, Brahms and Michael look at each other in silent agreement before using their massive size to wrap their arms around all of you.

" Hey ! I never agreed to this hugging bullsh*t !"

Freddy yells in disapproval while trying to wiggle his way out. To everyone's surprise, it's Pennywise that answers him.

" Oh, stop complaining, you old dog ! You're enjoying this as much as the rest of us !"

You can hear Freddy grumbling and can imagine him crossing his arms sulkily. But, he doesn't try to deny. You bite you lip in order not to laugh. No matter how much you should hate/be scared/horrified by what they had done, you couldn't bring yourself to do so.

" Let's go home.."

They all nod in agreement and the three mutes free you. You all start walking towards St Louis. Who knows ? Maybe you are crazy too..

[hyunnows]

love, [Y/N] | jjk

► PAIRING: Jungkook x reader

► CONTENT/WARNINGS: angst, mentions of fluffy memories, mc death, lots of Jungkook tears, best friends!au, mentions of unrequited love

► WORD COUNT: 2k+

► RATING: pg13

► SUMMARY: "It’s not fair that he was holding the last of you in his hands, unable to focus on anything other than the last words he’ll ever receive from you."

↳ A/N: I got this idea at 2:36 am and I don't know where it came from but oh well. This was meant to be a 300-word blurb and we ended up at 2k lol. I haven't written anything for Jungkook compared to Tae, and honestly, this maknae has been climbing my bias list so here's a semi-self-indulgent fic filled with angst and crying! I hope you enjoy it, please feel free to leave feedback and reblog! Also, STREAM BUTTER!

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Shaking with fear, Jungkook gripped your hand tightly, tears pouring out his red eyes as your patient monitor fluctuated slightly. With a quivering lip, he croaks, “C'mon [Y/N], wake up. For me? Please…”

He feels your small fingers squeeze his own gently, weakly, and hope beams across his face. But just as soon as the hope had come, it vanished, your paling fingers going stiff in his palm. The once steady beeping now a quickly accelerating sequence, the sound ringing in the brunet boy's ears as his eyes go wide and breath cuts short.

He feels the nurses pull at him, trying to drag him out the room and he thrashes against them, his nails digging into your hospital bed with all their might until his knuckles turn white and his vision blurs. Loud sobs rack through his body as he slumps in the nurses’ arms, pressing the balls of his palms into his eyes, trying to stop the tears and the burning. His cries almost choke him, the occasional cough jerking his body harshly.

When he sees the familiar face of the doctor, he prays that the downcast gaze and frown don't mean what he thinks.

“[L/N] [Y/N],” Seokjin takes a breath, his own eyes beginning to water at the words he's about to utter, “time of death: 2 am… I'm sorry Jungkook. I did everything, I-I tried every voltage and pumped her with liquids a-and everything I could d-do—I couldn't save her. I'm so—so sorry.”

It's like his entire world has crumbled in a second. His arms and chest are suddenly heavy, his lips, throat, and face feel dry and dehydrated, and his eyes can't decide if they want to be open or closed because of the stinging sensation they feel when he tries either. Sitting on the floor in front of your room, he takes the hand Jin outstretched and wobbles inside, only to fall back down the moment he sees your dull figure.

He doesn't care that a small crowd can see him babbling incoherently as he tries to apologize to you through his sniffles and whimper, crawling to your hand and lacing his fingers through yours.

Eventually, Taehyung and Jimin pick him up and drag him out of the building you took your last breath in. Jungkook didn't try to resist, knowing he was in no shape to put up a fight or drive himself home. He needed to get out of there anyway, the smell of death only he could detect suffocating him slowly.

On his way upstairs, Taehyung holds him back, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a short stack of envelopes—maybe two or three—rubber-banded together and hands them to the younger. “Her first day in the ER, she m-made me promise to give you these if she—if she… You know…”

Hearing they were yours, he takes them gently and swiftly, immediately holding them close as if they were his lifeline. He gives Taehyung a silent, stiff nod before turning and dragging himself to his room.

He doesn't open them right away, taking his time to admire your adorable calligraphy and observing every smudge or erased pencil mark you'd left on their light material.

He's not surprised to find every letter addressed to him, because it wouldn't be the first time you two had given each other messages the old-fashioned way, and he smiled softly at the “before you read” attached to the first envelope.

If you're not Jeon Jungkook, please don't read these. If you are, know that I'm still with you, in these letters, in your heart, our memories and that I will always be here, even though I'm sorry I can't physically be here with you right now. These are letters I've written to you, but never sent. They're from the bottom of my heart and they say everything I've ever wanted to tell you.

—[Y/N]

His heart beats harder as he opens the first letter, doing his best not to tear the envelope and keep it perfectly intact for him to save.

There are two Polaroids safety-pinned to the letter, both with his face and yours smiling brightly at each other. He gently unclips them, tucking them safely into the [Y/N]-specially decorated sleeve. He breathes in deeply and unfolds the letter, immediately tearing up at your handwriting on the wilting paper.

Dear Jungkook,

I know you don't think it's cool or modern to send letters, so I won't send this.

Anyway, I want to thank you for always being there for me, my big, strong, human-shoulder-tissue. I couldn't be luckier than I am to have you as my best friend.

And I know this is going to sound cheesy, but I love you more than anyone or anything in this world. You're the diamond to my sky, the sun to my earth, and the person I would choose to spend the rest of my life with.

In other words, I'm in love with you, Jeon. I wish you were in love with me, but I'm already the happiest girl in the world being by your side every day.

Your Best Freind,

[Y/N]

His heart pounds against his ribs, because you had been in love with him. You had wanted him to be the last face you'd ever see. You were right in front of him, your heart on your sleeve for who knows how long, and he hadn't known until you were dead. His face contorted into one of pain at the reality, and he squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears, taking long, shaky breaths before opening the second letter.

This note is considerably newer than the first, its edges still white and crisp, but the deepness of the creases tells him it's at least a few months old.

Dear Jungkookie,

Lately, I've been sick—which you know because I've told you. I haven't told you about my feelings yet because I don't want to scare you or pressure you, but I'm probably going to die before I ever get to tell you these things.

Since I told you how I felt in the last letter, I'm going to try and describe why in this letter. Reason number one, your presence. You always manage to just enter a dark, tense room and make it so much brighter and more comfortable. I don't know if it’s your smile or your laugh or the way you don't care if you're embarrassed or not, but you just manage to make everyone feel comfortable in themselves.

Reason number two, your kindness. I had never seen someone run back inside, get an entire table's worth of food, and give it away before. You're always so willing to give, despite the cost. I hope you never change.

Reason number three, it's kind of odd but I fell in love with your voice. Not just the way it sounds pretty when you sing, but the way it has the power to comfort whoever you’re singing to. I’ve always been able to come to you for support and comfort.

Reason number four is you know how to turn a bad day into a good one. You can talk to anyone who’s down for five minutes and you’ll turn them into a giggling, grinning mess.

Reason number five, you’ve always made me feel loved. Even though our entire relationship has been platonic—at least on your side—you’ve always checked up on me, held me, and made sure I knew I was enough and I can’t thank you enough for that.

Number six is your passion. You always put your all into everything you do. Be it making breakfast for the boys or helping me with a project I put off until the last minute, you make sure it’s all or nothing.

Seven is that you taught me how to love unconditionally. I always believed in falling in love and finding the one, but I never knew how intense it felt to be able to give your all to someone and not expect a single thing in return—until I met you. From the way your nose scrunches when you smile, to how you tilt your head when you’re confused, I love it all. From the best thing about you to the worst, it’s all you, and I wouldn’t want you to ever change. Every scar and blemish, each pore and lash, I’ve fallen in love with all of them because they make you, you.

I know you don’t feel the same, and in complete honesty, I love you so much I don’t even care. As long as you’re happy and I’m able to spend as much of my time by your side I’m happy.

He chokes on a sob when he finishes the second letter, tears dampening the card stock as he shivers. His heart clenches harder as he folds it back up, giving both pictures a once over before pinning them back on the letter.

Opening up the last envelope, a cry racks through his body, and he’s ugly crying now. The necklace he’d given you perfectly washi-taped against the letter. He pulls it off, tucking it tightly into his palm, and holds his breath. This time, the letter is a small, short piece of paper folded in half once.

He almost can’t read your small, dainty handwriting through his bubbling tears, but manages.

Hi Jungkook. Did you see the necklace?

It’s the one you bought me for my fifteenth birthday, that I told you I had lost. For a while, I had, and I remember I was too scared to tell you, but you noticed before I could anyway. I was so relieved you weren’t mad at me because I didn’t know what I would do if you were. I still don’t.

Anyway, the point of this short, last letter is to tell you how I want you to remember me. I don’t want you guys to think of me as your sickly friend who died when you were in your twenties… but I want you to remember the good memories we made together. I want you to remember the day we met, when I accidentally broke your bike and when we were both grounded for four months for sneaking out of our houses for our first party. I want you to remember how we got sick together because you couldn’t let me walk home alone in the rain, but you couldn’t drive and we both forgot jackets and umbrellas. I want you to remember the day you forgave me for losing the most precious thing anyone has ever given me, because that’s the day I fell in love with you.

This paper’s running out of space so I’m going to wrap this up. I want you to remember everything good about our time together, and not what ended it. Don’t think about how I’m gone, because I’m still with you, after death. These letters, the photos, and this necklace are what I’m leaving behind for you to keep. Don’t cry when you think of me, don’t think of the fact that we’ve been making our last memories, just don’t forget me.

Jungkook clutches the necklace tighter, afraid to drop it. Not only had he lost you, but he’d also missed out on the opportunity to be with you because he’d been too scared to ask you out while you were alive. He’d been in love with you since you two were eleven, tried to confess to you when you were fifteen, and lost you at twenty-three.

It’s not fair, he decides, it’s not fair that your love never got a real chance and it never would. It’s not fair that all these years you thought your feelings were one-sided when he reciprocated them ten-fold. It’s not fair that he was holding the last of you in his hands, unable to focus on anything other than the last words he’ll ever receive from you.

He sucks in a deep breath, barely croaking out your sign-off, “Love, [Y/N].”

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[by-lers]

Okay so first, this probably suck-ass and if so I'm so sorry, it's 5:43 in the morning right now and I just wrote this in one go so I don't expect it to be good anyway but whatever lol.

Mike & El/Jane - Hopper's cabin, Post S-4.

He knocks on the door three times, waits before a fourth and comes in upon hearing her voice, Mike hair is unkempt, wild curls flying in all directions almost as if he had spent the whole night with his hands harshly tugging at them.

He looks at her, fondness and sadness both seemingly battling in the midst of his dark brown eyes, she silently waves for him to come closer.

He sits besides her on the bed and takes a breath, then two and three, his head falls forward into his hands, a frustrated groan filling the air.

Jane frown and lean towards him, concern hitched over her soft features.

"Mike? What's wrong?" She ask, her lips pressed thinly together, a voice, reflection of her own, telling her that she knows exactly what's wrong resounding at the back of her head.

"El, I,...you know I do love you El, right?" He turns towards her with determination, his hands are closed into fists, they are trembling and mike try as hard as he can to not notice just how scared he is right now, because for all that both him and El needs to have this conversation he does not want to lose her.

Jane eyes narrow slightly and her whole body tenses, much like when one holds their breath for too long, though in a matter of second it becomes a sight long gone as the girl exhales and unconsciously tips her head to the right.

"yes, mike I know, you have told me during the piggyback" she sounds tired, somewhat resigned, the way a person is when they're speaking of something they don't particularly want to talk about.

Mike, for his part, feels as if he's on the edge of a cliff and about to throw himself over,...he think that this might be what he needs, after so long fighting over himself, to just...trust things would turn out fine for once and make the jump, to make a leap of faith.

"yes! yes I have, but El the thing is... The thing is that, what I said at the time, it, I don't think it was entirely true, I... I know most of it isn't."

Now Jane's frowning intensely and mike can see it coming from a mile away, her famous "friends don't lie!" and it's true, they don't lie or at least they shouldn't do so conscientiously

"Not that I was lying lying because I wasn't, I just, at that moment I hadn't realized that what I said wasn't true, i didn't know, I swear I didn't!" Mike blurts out earnestly, so earnestly that Jane find herself believing him.

" okay!" She respond softly and nod at him to continue

"I, what I said back then in a way it was both true and not true because, I was saying it while responding to something I thought you felt or was thinking, but it wasn't actually your feelings I was going off on, but someone else's and when I figured that part out and thought it through,...that's when I figured it all out!!"

El is confused, she is very confused, that sentiment is probably showing on her face, she thinks, because mike starts telling her of many things, starting with a painting she had apparently commissioned but actually hadn't and for a second she's even more confused before figuring out multiple things at once, as the boy monologue kept progressing:

Firstly, the famous painting she had told Mike about in one of her letters, the one will wouldn't let her see, had actually been for mike, and will had lied saying the painting had been from her and mike had apparently believed him at first, despite said letter, -but Jane knew that it was more due to the Mike instinctively believing will would never lie to him, than anything else-.

Secondly, she is pretty sure will has feeling for mike, because it would explain many, many things and she's also pretty sure her brother has a tendency to sacrifice himself, which, she really wished he didn't have and has a grand need to rid him of.

3) Mike's eyes are looking very shiny and enamored when talking about will.

In fact his voice seem to have gone really soft too, and he's not even just talking about the painting anymore, he's talking about meeting will on a swing set, about how meeting will was still the best thing he's ever done, that meeting El was great and he was really glad he did, but he doesn't think his life actually started the day he met her and he shouldn't have told her that back during the piggyback because it was really shitty not just to her but also to Will and he had apologized about it to him already but he thought he should do it again because Mike was pretty sure his life started the first time Will smiled at him as if he was someone precious to him, someone that made him feel safe.

Jane can see that Mike is starting to slightly panic -or a lot- because he can't seem to be able to stop talking about Will right now, except that's not quite true because mike has always been incapable of shutting up about Will, El doesn't think she would have enough hands to demonstrate just how many times she has seen this precise event occur when around mike, because he has a real talent in turning absolutely any and all conversation about trivial things into a "will conversation " as Lucas would say, often Dustin would answer that Will is exactly the same if only dialed down to about a 70% instead of Mike 200% and after having lived for 6 month with her brother she can and will say that it's entirely true.

Even more so, El would said that Will and Mike have always been different towards each other, as if the moment they lock eyes, they are the only being to exist in the world, even with how mike seemed to try really hard to concentrate all of himself on her when she was around so as to avoid the mere thought of will, which never really worked and perhaps mike had simply gave up on fighting himself and what he truly want and this is why they are even having this conversation and really how did she not realize this before, it is baffling to her to not have seen it before,....

Facing her, mike is standing very still, his thought are milling about in much the same fashion as the girl facing him and yes, maybe he is panicking or having a breakdown because he has stopped talking and El isn't answering at all and it's been five minutes, going on six not to add that he's fairly certain he's about to cry or scream or both.

"El?...El say something?" The long haired boy say shakily, his voice breaking on her name

"You're in love with my brother!....you want to date my brother?" Jane says looking him straight in the eyes.

Mike is choking, all concrete thought have left his brain, only rocks remain, one could even hear the wind sing inside of his brain if they were to strain they ears just a little more.

He clears his throat once, twice, his mouth as dry as a California summer, his ears keeps ringing and...if he's honest with himself which he really tries to be lately for a change, mike doesn't want to lie to El, because yes this is a break up conversation and in spite of everything and anything el is and always will be one of his best friends.

So, with his chocolate eyes shining even more, brimmed full with tears , he tells her

" yeah, yeah I do, I really want to El"

She looks at him, she smiles and she doesn't fully know why herself but... Jane is so proud, she's so proud of this boy, tall and gangly, somewhat awkward in his own skin much like many other teenagers out there, as she's found out in Lenora, this boy who's been hiding for so long and made so many mistake and is, despite the gut wretching fear, here, trying!

Mike is trying to make things right for her, for himself and she knows this, for will too possibly.

But Jane doesn't know how to express all of this yet, maybe she will one day but not yet and she doesn't want to say something wrong, doesn't want to hurt mike, who is the first friend she made -after that kind man who died because of her-, the first to have told her that she wasn't the monster and tried to give her an actual home and family and succeeded for the latter.

Mike looks at his ex-girlfriend, softly smiling at him, upon feeling a touch on his hands he lower his gaze to find her hands curling around his kindly and something unclench itself in his chest, it's exploding and freeing itself all at once with relief and such a deep sense of safety and love that he falls forward as if he had been chained his whole life and finally, finally he was free.

Quietly, as if afraid of disrupting the peace gently wafting around them, Mike burrows himself in her arms and slowly sways them from right to left, and this is quiet and beautiful, such a sweet moment between them that they start laughing and crying as they realize that a tension they weren't even aware was there fully left them, El push back from the hug and with a subtle smile on her face look back to Mike and says with a voice full of humor

"i dump your ass!" At those words mike let out a snort which kick-start him into a giggling fit that quickly spread to Jane.

And for a moment, Vecna doesn't exist anymore, the giant cross shaped gate or something which destroyed half of Hawkins and apparently started another apocalypse doesn't exist anymore, just them, two person who finally were honest with each other and themselves.

[maysbanks]

are you bored yet. (jj maybank)

hey everyone ! basically this is my first time writing for jj, or anyone from obx in general. this is a side acc from my main acc that i made purely bc this fic idea came to me when watching obx and after listening to the wallows on repeat for weeks. idk i just thought the song was kinda fitting for jj, and im a sucker for soft ! jj with a friends to lovers arc, so here this is. it's quite a long one btw, the words just kept flowing so i apologise in advance. also i have a few more fic ideas based off some songs so if you like this and are interested in more pls let me know ! im probably gonna be writing a lot more for this boy bc i adore him. anyways i hope u enjoy !

warnings: features swearing, mention of sex, underage drinking, drug use and violence.

summary: based lightly off the song 'are you bored yet?' by the wallows ft clairo, reader and jj delve deeper into their relationship, taking the steps further into becoming something more than best friends. however worries and doubts begin to plague their minds, as they fear their relationship of becoming just a memory.

( gif isn't mine! please let me know if it's yours so i can credit you. )

"What are you doing later?" You looked towards Kie who'd directed the question towards you, her eyes squinting from the sun that was grinning down at your forms from where you were both seated on the sand.

"Dunno," you shrugged your shoulders. "Probably hanging out with J or something."

Kiara scoffed, a mocking look taking over the features of her face as her head turned towards yours, your eyebrows raising at the sly smirk on her lips. "What?" You questioned, narrowing your eyes when all she did was laugh. You shifted in your place, body moving from laying on your back to on your stomach, figuring it was about time to switch positions for your tan anyway. "Seriously Kie, what're you laughing about?"

She shifted along with you, only laying on her right side so she could face you head on, her hand propping her head up from the ground. She was still grinning. "JJ," she said simply. You raised your eyebrows at her once more, seemingly not understanding what she was trying to get at. "What's going on with you two?" Kie pushed on when you didn't respond, her own eyebrows inching further up her forehead.

In the distance you could hear the boys' screams, their commotion coming from the water you had passed on entering. You could hear JJ taunting John B from where you lay, Pope laughing along, and the splashes that you could only assume were also coming from them. You never spared them a glance, though from the corner of your eye could see their figures and indeed the loud splashes of water were coming from them, and you were certain JJ was holding John B underneath the water.

"Nothing's going on," you said in response to Kie's question, rolling your eyes playfully at her exclaim of 'oh c'mon!'. "What? It's the truth. Nothing is going on, not really."

Kie furrowed her brows. "What do you mean by 'not really'? Did something happen between you two?" She prodded.

You shrugged, because in all honesty you couldn't say much of anything about your relationship with JJ. You were just as unsure about it all as Kie and more than likely the rest of the gang were (because if Kie had picked up on it than surely Pope and John B had too, and you were kind of freaking about it.) and had no idea what to say in her line of questioning. Of course you wanted to talk about it, you and the Pogues never kept secrets from each other - but was it really a secret when they technically knew about it anyway, and was it really a secret when you and JJ hadn't even spoken about keeping it a secret too? Your mind raced, and you figured it was easier to just shrug it off for the time being. Kie would no doubt ask again, and you hoped you had the answers by the next time she (or someone else) would.

"He's my best friend," you'd decided on saying. From the corner of your eye, you could see the guys approaching. "We've been close since we were like, ten. We've always been the same."

Except now the two of you held hands under the table and kissed in the safety of your rooms, among other things. That part of your relationship was fairly new though, and so you decided against saying anything until you could work out exactly what was going on between you and JJ - because you had no clue, and weren't even sure that JJ knew himself. It just sort of happened, the line being crossed over from friends to lovers in the blink of an eye. One minute you'd never dare to give in to the temptation of JJ Maybank's heavenly sinful lips, and the next the pair of you were sharing a bed almost every night.

Nothing much had changed though, in regards to your friendship. JJ and you had always been close, always intimate in your touches. Always beside each other, rarely without the other. You were an unstoppable duo from the minute you met. Just somehow, along the line, over the years, your friendship had turned into more. Each touch became longer, each glance would linger, and something had shifted. It was inevitable, you supposed. Nobody was ever really that close with someone without feelings getting involved at some point.

The guys were a lot closer now, and Kie spared them a glance before looking back towards you. "Friends don't look at each other the way you two do." Was all she said before the sun that was earlier shining down on you was blocked by the trio of tall guys that smiled at the pair of you. Kie sat up, smiling as Pope took a seat beside her on her towel. "Have fun out there?"

"Oh, tons," came the voice that belonged to the person you were talking about not a minute ago. JJ smirked down at you, blonde hair dripping wet on his forehead and golden tanned chest on full show. You admired the view behind your sunglasses and sent a grin in his direction when he seemed to notice. "You checking me out there, babe?"

You laughed as he did a little shimmy, rolling your eyes as you looked at him over the rim of your glasses. "What would you do if I was, Maybank?" You played along, smirking when you heard John B let out a gag from somewhere beside you. JJ smiled back, and squatting down in front of your form he'd grabbed hold of your feet, laughing when you squealed. Tugging so that you were laying on your back rather than your front, his sea blue eyes gazed down your body, unknowingly leaving a trail of fire in its wake. The feeling you shared with JJ was unlike any other, nothing or nobody could come close to topping it. It was unexplainable, the feeling of absolute longing for him to just be there forever. You couldn't ever imagine a life without him in it, and that thought both scared and excited you.

JJ stared down at you, tongue peeking from his mouth to wet his pink lips as he looked. You felt hot all over and you knew it wasn't because of the sun. "Things only you could imagine sweetheart," he taunted from above you, knowing fine well that what you could imagine he'd probably already done to you. You smirked back, feeling a thrill shoot through you because the pair of you knew this and the remaining three of your group had no idea, or so you believed. This new relationship, this unspoken thing between the two of you was simply yours, and somewhere in the future you feared you'd both come to regret it, whatever it was, but in the moments of the present you knew neither of you could find it in yourselves to actually care.

And so you both smiled at each other like the world around you didn't exist, and for a couple of seconds you could pretend it didn't, JJ moving so he was seated behind you with your body seated between his legs and your back against his chest. Sat there, surrounded by your friends though almost oblivious to their presence as JJ's hands rested on your skin, his breath on your neck. You leaned into him, and smiled when he placed a discreet kiss to your shoulder.

Locking eyes with him, you grinned. The burst of happiness and content when he grinned back was almost unbearable, and in that moment you knew you never wanted whatever it was that you two shared to end.

It was a few days later when JJ showed up at your window, his face bloody and bruised, his form weak as he pulled himself into your bedroom. You didn't need to ask twice about who'd caused the damage, your body and mind going into autopilot as you hurried from your bed and grabbed hold of him, JJ grunting as he fell into you, his hand clutching desperately at his side.

"Shit, JJ," you'd cursed as you helped him land on your bed, hands instantly grabbing at his face and assessing the damage that had been left by his father. There was cuts along his brow line, his eye was bruised and already swollen shut, his bottom lip bust open and oozing blood. Your thumbs swiped along his cheeks, being careful of the injuries, and you felt tears pricking at your eyes at the sight of him. You blinked them away as quickly as you could, he didn't need to see you being so upset in that moment. And besides, you had bigger issues like getting him cleaned up like you had done too many times before. "Stay here, okay. I'm gonna go get the first aid kit."

JJ only grunted, and you pressed a kiss to his forehead before leaving the room to get the kit, your mind reeling. It was no secret about JJ's father and his years of abuse towards his own son, and you'd seen him beaten so badly so many times before, but it never got any easier. Each time it happened JJ would wound up at your house, and each time you would clean him up, making sure his wounds were tended to and making him as comfortable as possible as he slept next to you, most nights with his head resting on your chest as you soothed him to sleep with whispers of reassurance that you were there and that you loved him. He would fall asleep with tears staining his cheeks and you would cry yourself to sleep afterwards too, wishing that could just take away all his pain, wishing that you could do more, wishing that JJ had a better life than what he was given, because there was no-one that deserved it more.

You sniffed and forced your tears away, trying to focus on the task at hand. It didn't take long to locate the first aid kit and within a minute you were back in your bedroom, where JJ lay, staring up at your ceiling with his chest moving up and down in a motion that proved he was trying to hold his own tears in. Your heart broke at the sight, and you bit down on your wobbling lip as you moved towards him. His eyes met yours when you were close enough, stood in front of him on your bed. You smiled softly.

"Hey, honey," you soothed as he slowly sat up, grimacing at the obvious pain from his side as he did so. Despite his pain, he smirked back at you.

"Hi, baby."

Stepping closer, effectively between his legs, you smiled as his hands wound around and grabbed at your legs, almost as if he was grounding himself, focusing all his attention onto you. You took a moment to take him in as you pressed the wet rag you'd also grabbed on his face, beginning to clean the cut on his eyebrow. It wasn't too deep, thank god, you thought. You feared for the day where one cut might be too deep and one blow too strong, and the thought of JJ, strong and hot headed and impulsive and passionate, might not being able to drag himself out of the house of hell and getting to anyone for help, to you, to John B, to Pope or Kie, scared the shit out of you to put it simply. JJ was so strong, but there was only so much he could take, and you dreaded the day when that would come. You could only hope it never, and in the meantime do your best to prevent it. You let out a shaky breath as you continued to clean the blood from his face, gently dabbing at his torn lip as he hissed. "I'm sorry hon," you murmured, feeling your gut twist at the sight of him in pain.

"I'm okay," he breathed out, only it was shaky and you both knew it to be a lie. You said nothing though, not wanting to start an argument that night. You'd had countless in situations like these, where you'd tell him he needs to get away from his dad and he'd tell you its not that easy and that nothing fucking is on this island, and you'd try and tell him you understand that but you hate seeing him like that, beaten to a pulp, sometimes barely even able to move, and that you were scared to lose him. He'd tell you that you were too good for him, you deserved better, you deserved more, and you'd cry and tell him to shut up, that he was your best friend and all you ever needed and you'd always be there for him, and he would shake his head and deny it all with tears streaming down both your faces until you collapsed into each other and fell asleep with your limbs intertwined whatever mood you'd gone to sleep in. There was something about that night that told you not to argue, not to push him, just clean him up and hold him and let him know that he wasn't alone in this world. His eyes met yours once more. "I'm okay." He repeated, as if you hadn't heard him the first time.

All you could do was nod, and wiping the last bit of blood from his face, you quickly went over the cuts with disinfectant, JJ's grip tightening on the backs of your legs as you continued to tend to every last bit of him. Finishing on his face, you placed a kiss on each and every cut, bruise or scrape that was etched into his skin. He let out a shaky breath, one hand moving up and landing on your back, rubbing up and down as his forehead rested on your shoulder. Running your own hands through his blonde locks, you pressed your nose to the top of his head as you held him close to you. It wasn't long before you felt the tears soak through the material of your shirt (which was technically JJ's shirt, but that didn't matter much.) and his body started to shake against your own, chest heaving and hands shaking.

"I hate him," you heard him mutter. You closed your eyes, wrapping your arms around him tighter, one hand clutching the back of his neck as the other rubbed soothing patterns onto his back. JJ shook against you, hands clutching onto the sides of your shirt as his lips brushed against the side of your neck as he let out a sob. "I just - I fucking hate him! Why does he do this, why does he -? Why, why, why?"

He was muttering the word over and over again, all sense of himself lost as he sobbed into your neck. In that moment, you felt so useless, so powerless, and you knew that JJ did too. You wished you could take away all his pain, make him see that he was so loved, that you loved him entirely and surely, but all you could do in that moment was hold him tight and screw your eyes shut as you cried along with him.

"He doesn't deserve you, J," you whispered into his hair. "He doesn't deserve you one bit. You're the best son, okay. You're the best friend, the best goddamned person on this island, on this planet! You're so loved, you hear me? You're so loved, babyboy. We all love you, I love you okay. I love you more than anything."

You'd said the words a million times before, but somehow in that moment, wrapped up in each other, JJ sobbing into your chest and you holding him like a person would a child, his ear resting against your heart where he could hear every little beat, his own matching the rhythm soon after - in that moment, _you both knew it meant more. That the friendly shared 'love you's' from so many times before were different to the ones now, and yet still neither of you spoke about it. You focused on JJ, giving him the comfort he so desperately needed. And JJ focused on you, focused on your heartbeat and the sound of your breathing and the soothing words you were whispering to him, and you had no clue as to what he was thinking; that he loved you, so fucking much. JJ Maybank didn't know what to do with that, to love someone so completely and honestly like he loved you, beyond the point of friendship and into the unknown territory of _in-love _absolutely _terrified him. But he knew it to be true, he was in love with you.

And as you forced him to take his shirt off so you could inspect the bruises surrounding his stomach and chest, laying a gentle kiss onto each and every one of them as he started at you with pure adoration in his eyes, he thought about your relationship - fears of you getting bored of him, wanting more than the island life and more than him, fears of you leaving him for something or someone simply more. Realising that he was no good like he'd always said, always suspected. But then you gazed at him with a certain glint in your eyes that he knew was reflecting in his own, and you were pressing your lips to his in a soft caress that dimmed all thoughts from his head and the question of 'are you bored yet?' fell flat on his lips as you ate them, chewed it up and spat it straight back out.

That conversation could come later, he supposed.

JJ's jaw clenched as he took in the sight of you, skin glowing in the late night sun that was slowly fading in the moons advance. The kegger had begun only an hour or so before, and yet the beach was filled with people already - varying of Pogues, Tourons and Kooks.

Among them all was you, red cup placed in your hands as you laughed at something the guy in front of you was saying, a small smile on the boys lips as he watched you. JJ felt something twist in his gut, suddenly feeling nauseous as he was stood a bit away from you, taking in the sight with malice in his blue eyes. He didn't know the guy that much was for sure, which could only mean one thing; he was definitely a Touron. That also probably meant that he was one of the few people at the party that didn't know JJ or anything of his reputation for being a bit too hot headed. JJ couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.

"Dude," John B slapped a hand on his shoulder, effectively snapping his trance at the pair across the beach. JJ turned towards his best friend, a smirk on John B's lips as their eyes met. "You're gonna poke holes into that guys head the way you're glaring at him man."

JJ rolled his eyes, his head once again moving to look back towards your figure. You didn't look mad at the attention the guy was giving you, and that sent a trail of fury in JJ's veins. "Who is that guy, man?" He asked instead of replying to John B's playful taunts. John B seemed to take note of that and simply shook his head. Fucking clueless, he thought.

"Dunno," John B replied as he took a swig of the beer in his hands. "Some Touron, probably." He glanced at his best friends face and noticed the glare darken in JJ's eyes. He suddenly shifted, blocking his view of you and the guy, ignoring JJ's grunt of displeasure at his move. "Don't start anything, J. Alright?"

JJ scoffed. "Me?" He chuckled darkly. "Nah man, you know I'd never start anything," he patted John B's chest twice. "I'm not the fighting type." JJ knew that John B could make out the sarcastic drawl to his words, and looking away from the brunette's eyes JJ was glancing back at you. His features shifted dramatically as he saw the guy take a step closer to your body, and despite the somewhat uncomfortable smile on your face you never seemed to object to the move. JJ felt the anger in his veins grow. "Fuck this!"

John B stopped him before he could take another step, shoving his chest so that he stumbled backwards. "Don't even think about it," JB warned. From afar, Pope seemed to take notice of the two and began to walk towards the seething blonde and his brunette best friend. "Pope, man tell him," John B practically pleaded as the most level headed of the group arrived at their side. It didn't take long for Pope to realise what the source of JJ's anger was, spotting you and the guy, completely oblivious to what was going on. "What are you planning on doing, huh?"

"He's all over her," JJ simply said - as if that was enough of an excuse for his anger. Pope and John B shared a glance. "I'm just gonna go over there and see if she's alright, alright?"

"Why do you care if he's all over her?" Pope raised his eyebrows. "You're not her boyfriend."

That faltered JJ's stance, and for a split second he looked away from you - still laughing, both hands gripping the cup in your hands, bikini clad top on full show for unwelcome eyes to wander. He clenched his jaw tighter, teeth clashing in his mouth, as he thought about Pope's words. Was it technically true; wasn't he your boyfriend? He didn't know - neither of you did. You hadn't spoken about anything, the changes in your relationship coming almost naturally so that neither of you cared to at first.

First, there was the no Pogue-on-Pogue macking rule. Second, there was something so deliciously thrilling about keeping your relationship from everyone else - no room for drama or prying eyes, or so he thought. But the unknown was beginning to scare him, and all he wanted was answers.

It was as if putting a label on what you both were would potentially put an end to everything, all the kissing, cuddling, secret touches, lingering looks, whispered endearments. The pair of you were too young for this shit, JJ thought. Thinking so hard about what you are or weren't. And god forbid you'd both come to regret it all; JJ couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.

"I'm not gonna do anything," he said simply, and shoved his way past his friends before they could do anything else. He approached you, your eyes immediately catching his and a large grin overtaking the features of your face as he came closer. The guy seemed to notice your shift in attention and he turned too, eyes widening a bit at the sight of the blonde stood in front of him. JJ tried to smile naturally, his too sharp teeth secretly grinding together. "Hey," he chirped as if he was talking to an old friend. "How're you doing, man? I'm JJ."

You hid a laugh behind your hand, having no clue as to what JJ was trying to achieve but finding the obviously fake enthusiasm rather hilarious in that moment. Over his shoulder, you noticed John B and Pope watching with careful eyes, and everything seemed to click in your mind. _JJ was obviously planning on starting something. _You decided to get yourself and your somewhat boyfriend slash best friend out of the situation before anything could happen, the poor Touron didn't have a clue that you were kinda taken, to a fist throwing first ask questions later, tall blonde named JJ Maybank after all.

"It was nice talking to you, dude," you told the guy, his face dropping at the word dude. God, had he seriously wasted all that time flirting with you? You grabbed JJ's hand, only for him to tug it out of yours and place it around your shoulders, blue eyes sending daggers to the nervous boy on front of you. "We're gonna go now, I think."

And with that, you led the way away from him, not missing the way JJ's eyes swooped over the guy in an almost warning manner before smirking at him. Your hand reached up and fingers intertwined with those of JJ's that were sat rather comfortably near your breast. JJ's fingers squeezed yours in response, his arm tugging you closer before he leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to the top of your head.

Once you were a good distance away from the party and its occupants on the beach, you turned in his arm, hand letting go of his to wrap both your arms around his waist. He kept the same arm around your shoulder and placed his other on your bare back between the high waist line of your shorts and the knot of your bikini, long fingers spacing out and rubbing soothing patterns into the skin.

You sighed as you looked at him. "What was that about?" You questioned, a small smile tugging on your lips regardless of the seriousness in your question as you demanded answers.

"That guy was all over you," JJ grunted, his eyes leaving yours to glare at the space where you stood a minute before talking to the said guy. "He was practically drooling all over you. I saved you, y'know. You should be thanking me, babe."

You laughed, and rolling your eyes you reached up to touch his face, thumb smoothing over the still darkened skin under his eye from the confrontation of his dad earlier that week. Leaning up on your toes, aware that nobody could see the action from the distance you and JJ were stood from the kegger, you pressed a kiss to the bruised skin, JJ's eyes closing at the feel of your lips against his skin, a soft exhale leaving his chest.

"Were you jealous, baby?" You teased gently, chuckling at his scoff in response to your accusation. "Relax, J. You don't have to be. I've only got eyes for you."

That seemed to catch his attention. JJ pulled away from you a bit, blue eyes suddenly serious and pink lips forming a tight line. For a second you worried you'd said something wrong, suddenly afraid that he would pull back completely and distance himself from you like you feared one day he would - it was only a matter of time before he realised what you had was a mistake, you worried. That he'd get bored of you and realise there was so many other people he could have. The thought alone made you sick, and you forced the intruding thoughts to the back of your head as JJ's eyes trailed over your face.

"What's wrong?" You couldn't take it anymore. The silence was deafening, even with the music and chatter of the teenagers behind you lingering in the night air. JJ seemed to get hold of his bearings at that moment, shaking his head and leaving a hand from your body to run through his hair. You watched him all the while, lip between your teeth. "J, what's wrong baby?"

JJ wished he had an answer, but he simply didn't. He had no idea what was wrong, no way of telling you the thoughts that were running through his mind. JJ had never been good with words, or emotions, or anything much like that at all. And so he just shook his head, sighing deeply as his hands caressed your face. You welcomed the touch, head leaning into his hold as he smiled down at you. You knew there was something he wanted to say to you; you had known him for so long, felt like all your life, and you could see right through his lies. However you never said a thing, once again. In that moment, it felt enough to just be by his side.

"Can we go?" He muttered quietly, despite no-one being around you. You smiled softly, eyes staring into each others there on the beach. "Just wanna go to sleep with you," he murmured that time, leaning down and kissing the side of your lips, not completely which had you grumbling quietly.

"Course, baby," you whispered as you looked at him, feeling nothing but adoration and love for the boy in front of you. "Let's go."

And so after kissing him under the moonlight, feet sunken in the damp sand as the sea splashed around you, the kegger still going strong in the distance, JJ took your hands and led the way back to the Chateau, where despite both your similar thoughts you crawled into bed in the spare bedroom and fell asleep together, your head resting on his chest with his cheek pressed against your head, arms wrapped around forms and legs intertwined.

It was hot, blistering heat panning down on your form as you lay on the hammock outside the Chateau, eyes closed with one arm resting over them in a fleeting attempt to block the sun out. Despite the unbearable temperature of the day, JJ lay in between your legs, perfectly muscular arms wrapped around your waist as his head rested on your stomach that was covered only by one of his infamous cut-off sleeve shirts, only a bikini underneath it keeping you modest.

One of your hands played with the hair on the back of his neck, twirling the strands in between your fingers and repeating the process over and over again, JJ letting out a low him as you did so.

It was just the two of you, the quiet and peacefulness welcome on the hot day as you cuddled as close as you could and as much as you wanted, nothing off limits away from the prying eyes of your best friends. Both Kie and Pope were working, John B having traded your company for that of Sarah Cameron's for the day, and so that only left the pair of you to do anything and everything you pleased. JJ had let out a joyous whoop when you'd discovered the fact, and you'd only managed to get out of bed half an hour before as he took full advantage of having the Chateau to yourselves for the morning. The original plan was to go surfing, but as soon as you'd stepped out of the house the both of you seemed to come to a silent mutual agreement that lounging around in the sun on the porch was a much more welcoming idea instead.

And so that's what the pair of you had done; there was barely a word uttered between you both as you lay there, JJ's skin slightly sticky and damp on your own due to the heat, but neither of you seemed to mind as you simply closed your eyes and basked in the quiet, content with doing nothing with your favourite person.

JJ's hands had moved so that he was caressing your side, your skin revealed with the low cut of his shirt as his thumb rubbed patterns into your skin. In its wake it left goosebumps, JJ's touch never failing to make you shiver even in all the years you had known him. He knew what effect he had on you too, he smirked as you shivered, his other hand squeezing the flesh of your hip.

You trailed your own hands down from his hair and onto the exposed flesh of his back as he lay shirtless, and you could feel the muscles under your palms clench as you let out a small giggle. JJ chuckled along, although he'd had no idea as to what it was you were laughing at in the first place. The sound of your laugh just made him happy, he supposed.

"What're you laughing at?" He murmured quietly, chin propping on your stomach and his eyes squinting up at you. He'd moved a hand down to your thigh, now kneading the flesh there as his other remained on your side and wrote unknown words into the skin there. You grinned down at him lazily, the sun and his charming aura making you feel high. Then again, you probably were high; the blunt you'd both shared a couple of minutes earlier taking its toll.

"Nothing," you hummed. "Just really, really fucking happy right now s'all."

JJ laughed, laying a kiss onto your stomach and loving the way you giggled at the action. He pressed more there, letting out dramatic sounds of various 'mwah's' as he trailed them up further until his lips were on the skin on your collarbone, continuing his assault onto your neck. JJ's tongue darted out, and your giggles had soon turned into breathy moans of approval as he sucked on the skin, his sharpened teeth sinking into the flesh not long after. You gripped the back of his neck, fingernails digging into his hairline as your sounds of pleasure rippled through the air surrounding you without a care in the world. In that moment you couldn't care less if anyone had caught you - all that mattered was JJ, all that ever mattered was JJ. He sucked gently on your flesh, adding to the bruises that already littered your chest, stomach, thighs, anywhere he could get his mouth earlier. You both knew questions would be asked from the others, in the high temperatures of the Outer Banks your skin was almost always revealed. But again, neither of you cared.

Not when JJ's mouth left your skin with a satisfying pop, his eyes taking in the sight of the freshly bruised flesh, a content smile on his lips. He leaned down and peppered a kiss to the lovebite, soothing his tongue over it afterwards. You let out a sigh, suddenly breathless under his heated gaze.

JJ shuffled his body up and closer, one leg in between yours as his right hand came up and held your face tenderly in his palm, the rough skin of his thumb swiping along your brow as he grinned cheekily down at you. "You're fucking beautiful y'know that?"

Your cheeks blazed, an almost embarrassed laugh leaving your mouth and you shook your head at his words. JJ looked offended suddenly, his brows furrowing as he nodded furiously. "Um, yes you are. Don't you dare say that you're not because you're, fucking, beautiful, okay," between each word he left lingering kisses to your lips with his own, and you knew it was probably the weed in his system that had spurred him to such a romantic confrontation, but you welcomed it regardless, giggling against his lips as one leg hooked around his waist. "Fucking god, you keep doing that and we won't be moving from this hammock all day."

"I'm not complaining about that," you replied and pressed your lips harder to his. JJ let out a groan, his body impulsively pushing down further onto yours, his hips directly on yours, chests pressed close together, his arm holding him up enough near your head so he didn't suffocate you completely, his other kneading the soft flesh of your bikini bottom clad ass. Your own hands caressed the skin of his abdomen, fingers sprawled and feeling his abs tense underneath the tips. You pulled away only slightly, taking in the sight of his flushed face, his eyes bright and yearning, flashing with something you couldn't quite place and his lips swollen and so very red. "Thank you, by the way." You whispered as you reached up and pushed the hair from his face. "You're pretty beautiful yourself, hon."

JJ seemed to understand what you were getting at then, his chest heaving with a chuckle as he shook his head at you. He leaned down and placed a kiss to your nose, returning his head to snuggle into your neck as you were once again wrapped around each other. "Thanks, I know," he joked (possibly) as his hands resumed their pattern of soothing shapes on your ribs. You hummed a random tune, the calming atmosphere returning around the pair of you on the porch. It was quiet for a few more minutes, your eyes closing involuntarily and almost falling asleep right then and there before JJ spoke up again. "You're my best friend, y'know."

The words were so quiet you almost missed them, but with the silence surrounding you, you'd heard them loud and clear. Your eyes opened and you glanced down at the boy laying atop of you, his face hidden in the skin of your neck.

"I would hope so," you laughed slightly, having no clue as to where JJ was planning on going with the fact. "You're my best friend too. I'd be lost without you and the guys."

"No," JJ shook his head. He shifted in his place, eyes connecting with yours as you sent him a questioning look, quirking your eyebrow. JJ sighed deeply, sucking his lower chapped lip into his mouth for a second before releasing it and allowing your finger to trace the outline of it. "You don't get it. You're like, my best friend. I know it sounds stupid and I'm probably a selfish fucker for saying it, but I'd put you above everyone else. You are above everyone else. And like, I don't know how else to explain it but you mean the fucking world to me. Without you, I'd be nothing. If I lost you, I'd fucking die."

His voice broke at the end, and it damn near broke your heart as you hushed him gently, arms circling around his head and holding it close to your chest. You kissed his forehead, hearing him sniffle before he raised his head and met your eyes, the sea blue crystallised by unshed tears.

"I feel like I've known you my whole life, and I just - I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm scared honestly, shit fucking feared of losing you, or you realising that I'm just a no good low life and you could do better, and honestly you could and I don't even know what the fuck you're doing with me," JJ chuckled darkly and you shook your head, feeling tears prick at your own eyes at his words. "And I don't even know if you want to be with me, or if what we're doing is some mistake you're gonna regret, but you're my best friend."

The earnest in his voice made your heart clench in your chest. You'd seen JJ cry numerous times, seen his facade break and his world around him to crash, seen the emotions pour out of him with so much force whether they be happy, sad, fucking hysterical or ecstatic; and you'd loved him through it all. The realisation of just how much you loved him, that went beyond friendship and into pure, earnest and genuine love for the boy in front of you, made your head swirl and butterflies in your stomach to clash heavily against your ribcage. Something warm spread throughout you, and you welcomed the feeling with open arms. You loved JJ Maybank, purely and honestly, with every fibre in your being.

"J," you murmured carefully, gripping his damp cheeks and forcing him to look at you. His face was unreadable, but you could see in his eyes what he was feeling in that moment. "You're fucking crazy, alright? Everything about you is so damned chaotic and I love every bit of it. I love every bit of you, so much. Do you know how scared I was that you would take all this back? Regret it all, leave me for someone better. I was scared shitless, because I cannot lose you. You're my best friend, and all I wanna do is spend all my time with you."

"I've never felt like this before," you whispered as JJ's gaze softened, hands gripping your hips and squeezing gently. You traced the worry in his brows, easing it away, traced the bottoms of his eyes, the slope of his nose and the outline of his lips. He breathed against your fingertips, the soft exhale making the hairs on your arms raise. "I love you, J. And if you think you're ever gonna get rid of me, you're terribly fucking mistaken."

JJ chuckled at that, blonde head falling on your chest as he breathed in and out, seemingly catching his breath at your confession. "Thank god," he breathed, cheeky gaze raising to catch yours as he grinned, suddenly surging forward and catching your lips with his own in a deep and passionate embrace that had you feeling dizzy at the pure feel of it all. "I was scared you were gonna tell me to fuck off, thought you were using me for my body for a minute there, babe."

You full on laughed, breaking away from his eager lips to let it out, your hands clutching his cheeks and your legs squashing his body atop yours from where they were wrapped around his waist. "You're such a fucker, J." He kissed along your jaw in response, biting down softly. "God, that weed must have been some new level shit."

"Nah," JJ shook his head and grinned. "You just drive me crazy, babygirl." His hands wandered from your ribs higher till his fingertips just slipped under the material of your bikini top. He pressed a further series of tender kisses to your chest, trailing them down and then back up to meet your lips once more. He gazed lovingly at you, looking golden in the sunlight. "I love you too, by the way. Just so y'know."

You grinned softly, catching his bottom lip with your teeth when he began to pull away, pulling a delicious groan from him. "I know," you echoed back to him, lips raising on their own accord to match JJ's almost shy smile at your declaration. "Hey, can we stay home today? Wanna watch the sunset with you later."

JJ snorted, laying one last lingering kiss to your lips before snuggling back into your neck, his eyelashes brushing against your delicate skin. "Whatever you want baby," he chuckled, breath warm. "Whatever you want."

Yours and JJ's (now established, thankfully) relationship only progessed from there; it was in the little things, spending every moment you could get with each other, always touching in some kind of way whether it to be hands curled around one another's, fingers dancing on skin, shoulders and arms brushing, legs squished beside each other. It was all new, and it was all so exciting, and any worries that the two of you may had shared earlier vanished and in their wake came new thoughts of the future, of which you'd spend together.

If the gang had noticed the change, they hadn't mentioned it. Though you already knew Kie suspected something a long time ago, and probably Pope and John B too, due to JJ's little episode at the kegger that time. But you and JJ rejoiced in the unknown, relationship growing stronger each day all the while. You weren't trying to hide it - god forbid, you'd both been waiting so long for it, but you hadn't officially announced you were boyfriend and girlfriend either. There wasn't anything to say, you thought. The relationship came naturally, years of close friendship gradually turning into something more for the pair of you, and you'd both agreed it would be way funnier for the gang to come to their own conclusions and confront you about it themselves. However long that would take them.

The Pogues had driven the HMS Pogue out to the marsh, planning on drinking, swimming and simply hanging out for the day. Sarah had joined you on that particular day, body pressed close to John B's as the group lounged around on the boat, you and JJ wrapped around each other as usual.

His muscular arm was wrapped around your shoulders as you sprawled out close together, your legs thrown over his as your body angled towards his own, head resting on his shoulder. Your hands held the one thrown over you, absentmindedly playing with his ring adorned fingers. His other gripped your knee laying over his, thumb rubbing gentle patterns into the tanned skin there.

Nobody had mentioned your closeness - it was nothing new, the pair of you had always been so close, always touching even before becoming a couple. But Sarah wasn't as close with you as the others, and though she was aware of how close you and JJ were, she wasn't as up to date with everything like everyone else. You'd had no idea that she always just assumed the pair of you were dating, until that day.

"So, you guys are like, a couple right?" She'd asked out of the blue, eyes directed onto you and JJ. Kie suddenly sat up straight, sunglasses raising to rest atop her head rather than on her nose, Pope beside her seemingly taking as much interest, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he listened.

From beside Sarah, John B laughed and shook his head. "Everyone thinks that," he grinned, looking to you and JJ who shared a knowing glance. Sarah looked at him in confusion. "They can't help it though, their sexual tension is through the roof."

Sarah looked even more confused. "Wait, so you guys aren't together?"

JJ cleared his throat, arm tightening around your shoulders. You squeezed his hand as you stared up at him, smiling softly at his uncertain gaze. Once he'd met your eyes, the uncertainty faded away and in its place came a cheeky kind of look, mischievous and so attractive that you had to hold yourself back from kissing him right then and there. You knew it was time to come clean; and you thought it would scare you, your relationship suddenly becoming so real, but the thought only made your insides twist and churn with nothing but excitement.

You looked back at Sarah, who's gaze was still on the pair of you, as well as everyone elses. You noted the almost giddy expression on Kie's face, the barely suppressed curiosity on Pope's, and the suddenly confused one of John B's. You almost laughed, but held it in to say, "Actually, yeah. JJ and I are together."

JJ squeezed you gently as the reactions from your friends began. Kie grinned smugly, Sarah smiled at the two of you, John B raised his eyebrows so high they almost got lost beneath his hat, and Pope slapped his knees before he lurched backwards with his arms raised above his head.

"I knew it, man," Pope shook his head, though a smile was growing on his handsome features. "I knew something's been up with you two."

You laughed as Kie scoffed, "You knew? I had it figured out from the very beginning, I could tell something had changed." She eyed you. "And I was specifically told that nothing was going on, you big fat liar!"

"I'm sorry," you chuckled. "In my defence, when you asked me about it then I actually didn't know if we were like, together together. We hadn't spoken about it yet."

JJ grinned and pulled your body closer, leaning down and pressing a sloppy kiss to the top of your head as your face was mushed into his bare chest. "Yeah, and who can blame her for wanting to keep my Sex God body all to herself?" He asked rhetorically, laughing when you slapped him on the chest with a playful eye roll.

"Wait, so are you a couple now?" John B questioned, puzzled. He looked between the pair of you, your arms wrapped around his waist, one of his still around your shoulder and hand resting between your boobs. The other brushed hair from your face, JJ's gaze loving and soft as he looked down at you before looking back towards his best friend. John B scrunched his face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't tell anyone man," JJ shrugged carelessly. His fingers had began to play with your hair. "Figured it would be funnier for you guys to find out yourselves," he grinned. "So congratulations, you guys now know. Your reward is the knowledge that we fuck now!"

The gang groaned at his ludicrous words, and you slapped his chest with more force than you had before, just slightly as you scoffed and attempted to raise your head and move position to get a good look at him, but all JJ did was grab your hand and pull it upwards to his lips, kissing each of your knuckles instead.

You rolled as your eyes as you turned back to your friends. "We're sorry about not telling you," you said almost sheepishly. "We only really figured out what this was between us a few days ago, and by that time we just kinda forgot to mention it. This whole thing just kinda happened, we didn't know if it would last or become serious."

"And it has become serious now?" Pope voiced everyone's thoughts, glancing between the two of you. "Like, you're together as a couple. You love each other?"

You and JJ shared a look, the pair of you smiling softly as your hand raised and brushed the blonde strands of hair that fell over his brow, his own reaching up and holding the side of your jaw, his thumb swiping along your cheek lovingly. The others shared glances, unknown to you and JJ as you seemed to be lost inside your own little world for a moment.

When you came to again, you never turned from his eyes, watching the sea blue irises light up at your words; "Yeah, I love him, the fucker."

You heard a collective round of replies, but the feel of JJ's lips on yours for a second forced your attention on him and only him, your hands on his cheeks as you held him there for a full minute before pulling away, leaving a couple more little pecks on his lips. He whispered, "I love you." before he turned his attention to your friends, your smile so bright.

"I thought she'd get bored of me," he revealed unexpectedly. The Pogues (plus Sarah) all looked to him with various expressions of confusion, your own face matching theirs for a moment. JJ felt a smile tug on his lips as your hands massaged his scalp, nails scraping gently against the skin beneath. "But of course she couldn't, I mean I'm the fucking best am I not?"

The gang rolled their eyes as his normal cheeky expression returned, though they all smiled at the pair of you cuddled close together on the seats of the HMS Pogue, realising it was the happiest they'd ever seen the both of you. John B let out a sigh, shaking his head in disbelief. "Well, it's about time anyway."

And just like that, everything went back to normal. You knew they'd have more questions in the future, prepared to answer any and every one of them when they came. But your little group swayed their attention elsewhere sat out on their little boat, laughing and joking at the next topic of conversation, bright eyes and giddy smiles on every face as you drank, swam and sunbathed out there on the marsh. JJ was only looking at you though, skin golden and blue eyes shining. You loved him, you thought. How could he ever think you'd get bored of him, with his charm and quick witted words, sarcastic drawl and tendency to get into trouble, his obsession with weed and putting others before himself always, his beautiful mind and ridiculously good looks to match. He was yours, all yours. And you loved him. JJ grinned. "Are you bored yet?" He asked, just once, loving the sound of your giggle as you shook your head at his antics. "No? Good, because I'm never gonna get bored of you."

[hellothere-generalangsty]

It's OCs' time!!

Have the boys (again) but this time I did their armour and also I give you a few facts about them because I can.

Picrew is from briikase

Cw/tw: mention of broken bones, nightmares, anxiety, fear of drowning; but also some fluffy funny stuff because yes

KEED

Arc Trooper, serves under the orders of General Tash'ni

Has a huge crush on his General

Like. Huge.

He saved his life during a very hard mission, which is also the reason he got promoted as an ARC

Quite introverted and shy at first, but it's easy to make him relax

Very humble, sometimes struggles with all the responsibilities he has to deal with as an ARC

Lost count of all the moments he had to go to Gift or Bones to ask for advices and/or support

He's the youngest of the three; technically speaking it's a matter of hours or days at best, but Bones and Gift always insist on this (in a playful way ofc)

He's a good sniper

Again, he has a face tattoo that I have yet to design it should take up at least 1/3 of his face (think of Dogma's or Jesse's tattoos)

Looks like a cinnamon roll, could kill you

No really, he's a sweetheart, but you don't want him as an enemy in the heat of a battle

He's scared of drowning, and always feels a bit sick when he looks outside on Kamino or flies above watery areas

He likes flowers and thinks that if he hadn't been a soldier, he would have been a gardener or anything where he can work outside

BONES

Aims to be Captain of his own squad

Was the leader of his squad on Kamini when they were still cadets

Kaf. Adrenaline. And no f**ks to give.

He thinks kaf is disgusting, but drinks it anyway because it keeps him going

Really doesn't like sleeping, most of the time he wakes up sweating, breath shallow and heart beating too hard

He always thinks he doesn't do enough, that he can and should do more, better.

He's hard on himself

Sometimes it affects Keed and Gift, but he's quick to correct his attitude with them

Very protective of his brothers but struggles to express it; he's more actions than words

Really close to Gift, though he has no preferences between him and Keed, their relationships are just different

Loves getting tattooed, as each tattoo represent a victory, something meaningful to him

His very first tattoo he tells everyone is the one on his spine, because that's the first campaign tattoo he got

But his very real first tattoo (much more personal) is the one right next to his sternum, a bit on the left

The letters K, in blue; the letter B, in purple; the letter G, in pink. All in aurebesh.

He would absolutely commit treason and run into hiding on a deserted planet at the galaxy's border for his brothers.

He knows how to knit and uses it as a way to calm down when he wakes up in the middle of the night

He knitted gloves and scarfs for a good chunk of the 501St and is delighted to know it keeps them warm and comfy when the nights get cold

GIFT

C h a o s

He's the oldest and the one who gives the more importance to their age gap (obv he's joking.... Unless... 👀)

Very fun, loves to tell jokes and be light-hearted

He's very smart and tactical, but can be clumsy when it comes to expressing his ideas (think Sokka from ATLA)

Doesn't really tell his brothers about it, but sometimes he wish they would be less... Important? And he can't tell if it'd because he is terrified of losing them or if it's because he feels useless next to them

Will always bottle everything up until it's too much to deal with

Absolutely extroverted and very willing to listen to people, but also very prudish when it comes to his own struggles

Absolutely NOT prudish when it comes to loving his brothers and letting them know

He will literally hug them and squeeze their cheeks until they push him away

At least it always makes them smile and they feel a bit less lonely when he does that

Talks louder since he became hard of hearing after the bomb incident; tries to learn BaSL whenever he has some free time

He can spell his name, say "I have two brothers" and for now, one of his favorite sign is "laughing"

He breaks. So many bones. I promise you it's ridiculous.

And you'd think he breaks them because of a terrible fight or something bUT NO! One time he broke his hand because he let himself fall on his bed and miscalculated where his hand would end up.

He IS a gift to this galaxy and deserves all the love and appreciation

So yeah, here are they! I really love their trio, and I can't wait to dig into their relationship, and how they find ways to deal with the war and everything that comes with it.

Clones shippers DNI/ don't tag as ship or I will block you

_____

Tags: @m-o-o-n-s-g-o-o-n-s @chaoticvampirejedi @twinkofthedink

[theamberwriter]

Ficmas Day 1: One More Sleep [Tenya Iida]

Pairing: ProHero!Tenya Iida x Fem!Reader

Song: One More Sleep by Leona Lewis

Word Count: 5.4k

A/N: I tried to get this done a few days ago, but I was just so tired 😭 Anyway, I hope that you guys like it!

~

Tenya rubbed his eyes groggily, staring at the ceiling. He rolled over to look at the clock on the nightstand. 3:43 AM. How frustrated he was by this. He should've been asleep hours ago. He sat up, deciding it was no good. Sleep wouldn't come, not until you were here by his side.

    He checked his phone for the date. December 21th. Four. More. Days. Five more grueling, restless nights. Tenya figured he should've been used to this. Spending time apart. Your relationship had been that way since the beginning. You traveled for work while he stayed put. Doing the hero gig he'd always dreamed of.

    But now - so close to Christmas - it was impossible to think of anything else but you. Here. In the bed you'd spend nearly a year deciding on because he insisted you had to look at all the options first. Your side was barely worn. It made his heart ache in ways he was too stubborn to admit.

    Tenya wondered if it's be too cruel to ask you to stop. To stop traveling. To stay put, just for a little while. No more calling at wild hours. No more flickering signals or long distance fees. Just you and him. Together in the home that you'd bought. The place you made love and fought and kissed endlessly to make up for lost time.

    But when was enough, enough?

    He swung his feet out of bed, put on his glasses, and slid on his slippers. A blue bathrobe hung from the best post. It was one you'd bought him last year from somewhere over seas. You had said it reminded you of his eyes. Apparently you'd worn it considerably before gifting it. It was drenched in your scent by the time it reached his hands. The collar smelled like your shampoo, the rest of smelling of your favourite spray. You'd bashfully admitted you wore it because you missed him. And this one little thing made you feel closer.

    Your smell had been washed from it by now. But he silently wished it was still there as he put it on. He only flicked on a few lights as he made his way to the kitchen. A warm cup of tea on a cold, snowy night sounded wonderful. Tenya looked out at the piling snow as he waited for the water to boil.

    He worried your flight would get delayed. Or worse – it'd be put off until after the storm passed. Sure, he'd video chatted you early that evening. But he felt like he'd die if he had to wait even a single day more than he already had to. He ran a hand through his hair. What a funny thing love was.

    Tenya had never expected you to come into his life. He never really expected to share love with anyone. It was just another thing his brother talked sweetly of. Telling him, “Tenya, you'll know when she's the one.” Tenya breathed his brother's every word like gospel.

    Except for that one.

    What had Tensei meant by you'll know – it wasn't very informative. It didn't help too much. It only kept him guessing as he passed attractive women. Until Tenya found you. It wasn't love at first sight. Not entirely. But the first words he thought when he saw your face? I just found my wife.

    It had been such a nauseating, powerful experience. One little glance as you said 'hello' from your new spot at a desk in his agency. Tenya had rushed away, and left out the back so he wouldn't have to pass you again.

    It was the single most powerful moment in his life.

    Many things had changed over the years. You were one of those earth shattering experiences for him. Breaking open the egg that was the world. Showing him more than he would've thought possible. Four years ago, that thought that he'd fall in love with a stranger and get married to them just two years after would've seemed ridiculous. But here you two were.

    You worked as a travel writer. Going to exotic places. Trying new things. Meeting new people. While Tenya was living his dream. Fulfilling his brother's legacy as Ingenium. He never thought being alone could feel so hollow and bitter and cold. He'd never really felt lonely when he was alone, until you two made a home together. Tenya worried that home was too boring for you. Surely it had to be after seeing so much of the world. It gnawed at him. No matter how much reassurance you gave him that coming back home to him was always the best part of the trip.

    Tenya contemplated his tea as he poured in the water. Watching as a deep red color soaked out from the leaves. Only four more days, he kept reminding himself. Five more nights, and she'll be with you. But the mantra didn't help at all.

    Tenya went to his reading chair by the window. Yours was next to his, a table separating them. Your side was stacked with books. Even your chair had a few on it. Bookmarks spouted from a few. Tenya was sure you'd never finish them. But watching you try was endearing nonetheless. Your wedding picture sat on the table, along with a vase of your favourite flowers. He went every day to get one while you were away.

    He counted twenty three. Twenty three flowers. Twenty three days apart. But only four more until you were back in his arms. Until he could kiss you and hold you. Feel your warm skin against his own. They'd made you stay longer, so you'd have writing material through the first of the year. Didn't they know you had a husband and a dog to get back home to?

    That picture encapsulated the best day of his life. A face splitting grin on his own. You wore a goofy smile because he'd made you laugh. Tenya cried when he saw you come down the aisle. Though he desperately tried to hide them. You teased him later about that. He simply covered you with kisses.

    A small lump formed in Tenya's throat as he watched your dog slump sadly down onto the floor in front of your chair. He rolled his eyes up at Tenya and whined, his tail wagging only once. Things just weren't the same with you away. Tenya blew on his tea with a sigh.

    “I know boy, I miss her, too,” he said softly. Then took a sip. The hot tea did nothing to warm the cold that settled in him.

    Only four. More. Days.

    Tenya didn't sleep much after that. Dozing on the couch until the morning light woke him up. He was very stiff and chilled to the bone. Like someone had left a window open. Tenya searched the house, simply pushing the heater up when he found no cause for alarm.

    Tenya was very surprised as he let the dog out. The snow was ludicrously high. Five feet, give or take. He was willing to say give. Your poor pooch could barely get down to use the bathroom. Tenya just knew he was going to have to shovel a path for him.

    Was his ideal morning bundled up and shoveling snow? He was fairly sure that no body's was. But he diligently donned his his coat, hat, scarves, gloves, and snow boots. Being a good dog father and shoveling a path down into the yard.

    Tenya chuckled at the thought of you out here last year in the snow. A hair dry plugged into the side of the house. He yelled at you about the hazard, trying to argue that a hair dryer was not the most efficient way the clear snow. You started a snow ball fight after that. You'd both gone in drenched, and took a nice, hot, steamy shower together. His body tingled warmly at the thought, his face (and quite a few other places) feeling hot.

    After shoveling, it was shower time. Then he made himself and the dog breakfast (yes, he makes the dog's food because he is a very good doggy daddy). After was time to tend to all the chores he'd been putting off in the wake of his depression. This included wrapping your gifts. Tenya knew you'd be home for Christmas, but it'd been too painful to wrap them before. Between his loneliness and the excitement that bubbled in him at the thought of you coming home in a few days, he felt numb but jittery. One canceling the other out.

    And there was still so much to do.

    Ochaco and Izuku had accidentally, inadvertently invited themselves over for Christmas. They wanted to throw a party. And somehow Tenya had gotten wrapped up in it all. He hadn't been able to get a hold of you to try and talk them down. So he did the responsible thing and said he'd take care of it all. They gushed about what to bring and who to invite, he just had to take care of the house and making sure everything was perfect. He supposed this was a sort of coming home celebration for you, so it didn't annoy him quite as much.

    Tenya measured the dimensions each and every package he wrapped. Then he measured the wrapping paper. The process was tedious, but it ensured every piece of paper was used to the fullest. He pulled off the smallest pieces of tape that he possibly could, so he didn't waste the roll. Honestly, Tenya thought of how you might react as you opened them all. The excitement, the embarrassment, the sheer happiness that he wanted so much to bring you. He'd gone overboard, sure. But you were worth every penny. And all the burnt fingers. The thing he'd tried to make you did not go as well as he wanted. But Tenya just knew you were going to love it.

    After wrapping, he figured having a nice tree to put them under would help. He'd only gone out and bought one. Nothing was decorated. That was something you two usually did together. There wasn't a tinkle of a light anywhere to be seen. Though he knew Ochaco and Izuku expected the place to look as warm and cozy as it always did this time of year.

    The decorations were stored in a closet under the stairs. You had made it a giant Janga tower. Honestly, Tenya was a little scared to pull everything out. If he was crushed to death by decorations, no body would know for days. He studied your tower for a while. Thinking about when you'd put them in. You had struggled tremendously. He'd just chuckled. Tenya always thought everything you did was endearing. In it's own sort of way. In the love touched way.

    When Tenya was sure nothing was going to fall, he started to pull things out and organize them into piles. Garland, ornaments, outside lights, indoor lights, the tree angel, upstairs decorations, table runners, stockings – he sprinted through the house as he sorted. He planned to start upstairs, then work his way down.

    By the time he finished the upstairs it was early evening. He'd missed lunch, stopping only briefly to feed the dog. Now it was dinner time. He had no gumption to cook, though. So he heated up leftovers and sat at the table. Tenya stared at your empty chair as he ate. It was made up with a place mat, and a book, and your favourite mug.

    Three more days.

    It surprised him in the morning when there was a ring at the doorbell. Tenya had been up, working slowly at things around the house. He wasn't planning on company. Nor for Ochaco and Izuku to be standing behind the door. They had their own bags and piles of things in their arms. They grinned widely at him.

    “What a surprise,” Tenya said, then moved aside. “Come in out of the snow. I hope the roads weren't too bad.”

    They nodded and ducked in. “Thanks!”

    “Most of the snow is melted already,” Ochaco pouted. “Izuku and I built a snowman yesterday, but he was just a pile of mush things morning!”

    Izuku looked around, clearly surprised by the bare walls and shelves and tree. “Tenya, you haven't started decorating yet?”

    Tenya looked away ashamedly. Eyes wandering on their own to a picture of you. His guests' eyes followed. Ochaco's grin dropped.

    “Oh,” she said, putting her stuff down. “You're probably waiting for [Name], right?”

    “Tenya, if you didn't want to have the party, you could've said something,” Izuku insisted.

    Tenya had tried to tell them he didn't want to throw the party. Not at his house anyway. But they were so excited that they didn't listen. “It's fine. [Name] is coming home on Christmas. It'll be nice to have everyone here to welcome her back. I've just been putting it off. I didn't want to decorate alone.”

    Ochaco hugged him tightly. “I'm sorry, Tenya. We're here to help!”

    “Yeah!” Izuku looked disproportionately determined for the task. But Tenya was glad that his friend was as enthusiastic as ever. He needed the energy boost. “We're going to make it amazing for when [Name] comes home! You have nothing to worry about.”

    The pair ran off, doing what, Tenya didn't know. But he sure was glad to have friends like them. They helped him finish decorating downstairs. And he made them lunch. Soon everything was dripping with sparkling lights and garlands and glitter. Three stockings hung on hooks that suctioned to the wall, one for you, one for Tenya, and one for the dog. He hoped to add more stockings in the near future. But how was that going to happen when you were barely home together long enough?

    Ochaco and Izuku treated Iida to dinner that evening. Taking him to a restaurant down the way. They chatted quietly, mostly going over holiday plans.

    “We're going to my parents' on Christmas Eve,” Ochaco noted, looking over the menu. “Then Deku's mom and All Might are coming with us to the party Christmas day. I hope you don't mind.”

    Tenya shook his head. “No, it'll be nice to see them.”

    “Are you doing anything Christmas Eve? You could always come with us,” offered Izuku.

    “I'm going to my parents house. Tensei and his wife will be there.”

    Ochaco's eyes lit up. “I didn't know he got married!”

    “Not too long before I did. She's a lovely woman, and takes very good care of my brother. We're all very grateful to her.” Tensei smiled lightly, thinking about his brother's wedding. It'd been a very beautiful ceremony with many tears. He was best man, and dreaming about the day he was going to propose to you.

    They ate and talked and laughed. For just a little while, Tenya felt like himself. Izuku and Ochaco walked him back home. It was dark now, and cold bit through their coats.

    “Oh, before we go – I have invites for you to pass out at your agency.” Ochaco produced a stack of envelopes from her pocket. “Could you give them out next time you go in?”

    “I managed to get a few days off to prepare for [Name]'s arrival, but I can run them in tomorrow,” Tenya said, taking the stack.

    “Let us know when you're back,” said Izuku. “We'll help you decorate the outside.”

    Tenya shook his head. “You've already done so much, I couldn't ask for more.”

    “It's really no problem. We don't mind helping.”

    “Very well, then.” Tenya nodded. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

    As Tenya shut himself in for the night he sighed, leaning his head back against the door.

    Just two more days.

    Tenya set off bright and early the next morning. The air was still frosty and the sky looked like it wanted to flood the ground with more white. He was going to try and make this trip quick. He'd been getting increasingly pitying looks. He didn't want to hang around long, to see their eyes boring holes in him.

    He hesitated at the doors, watching as his breath floated up to the sky. Even with gloves on, it felt like the cold seeped through from the door handle. Tenya didn't bother going to his office. He stopped at the front desk. The woman there smiled up at him.

    “Good morning, Mr. Ingenium,” she greeted. “How can I help you?”

    “I need you to distribute these to all of the staff and heroes,” he said, pulling a large stack of envelopes from his coat. He'd spent the entire night trying to remember all of the staff at his agency.

    “Can do.” She took the envelopes. But she didn't shift her gaze. “You look tired, sir. Are you doing okay?”

    “There's a lot to do, is all. My wife will be home in a few days.” Tenya cleaned his glasses, looking for an excuse to break eye contact.

    “Right,” she bit curtly. “Your wife.”

    Tenya leaned on the counter, hoping to charm her with a smile. He was far too tired for this today. He was going to have to hire a new secretary sometime soon. “Izumi, it would mean a lot if you could pass these out to everyone. I'd be very grateful.”

    The woman softened. “Anything you want, sir.”

    He nodded. “Thank you.”

    Tenya left swiftly, before he had to endure anymore one sided flirting. The distaste his secretary expressed for his wife got tiresome. Along with her not-so-subtle hints for him to have an affair with her. He had more important things to worry about. Like making sure you came home to a magical display.

    “Izuku,” he started, phone to his ear as he walked down the road. “I just left I should be home....soon....”

    “Okay Tenya!” Izuku cheered from the other side. Then there was a long pause. “Tenya?”

    But the man was distracted by the window he was passing. “I'll call you back when I get to the house.”

    “Wait, is something wro –”

    Tenya hung up, staring at the window display. It was perfect. It was just what he was looking for to top off the season. You were going to love it. He rushed in, demanding the display in the window. He wasn't usually the type. But he was just too excited. The clerks gently packaged it, tying neat bows around the box. Tenya had to stop himself from sprinting full force down the road.

    He rushed a message to Izuku when he got home. But there was no hope of sitting still for him. By the time Ochaco and Izuku got there, he'd already had half the outside decorated. He was on the roof, hooking up the lights. He waved down at them.

    Ochaco floated up the rest of the boxes for the roof. Izuku nearly floated away as he tried to help finish the lights. Tenya caught him and hauled him down. It felt like they were back in UA as students with the ensuing chaos.

    Tenya treated the pair to a home made dinner. They had a few drinks and some laughs. But honestly, he just wanted to chug through the next few days. Today was the twenty third. Two more days to Christmas. Two more days to you coming home.

    The trio examined their handy work when the sun went down. The house glowed and twinkled. It really did look like a winter wonderland. Tenya just knew you were going to love it. He was looking forward to seeing your face as you watched the display they made.

    Just a few more days.

    The morning of the twenty fourth was a lazy one. He didn't want to get out of bed. Tenya wanted to lay there until the following night. When you'd be there with him. To finally warm the thorough chill that hadn't left him in days.

    But eventually he pulled himself up, going to the vase in the living room.

    “Twenty five,” he muttered, slipping a flower in. “Twenty six....you'll have a very big bouquet this time, [Name].”

    Tenya set to breakfast. He'd lost all his fire from yesterday. He was a tired shell now. He was so sure you were going to love what he found for you. But now one, long agonizing day laid ahead of him. The house was decorated, inside and out. Presents were wrapped. The tree was ready. Filled to the brim with perfectly packaged gifts, awaiting your arrival.

    Tomorrow would be the party. You'd arrive after dark, hopefully with people still around to greet you. You wouldn't have to worry about a thing. Ochaco and Izuku were going to take care of all the other little details. All of the invites read a potluck and BYOB. In the meantime, he had to wait the day out. The only thing he had to look forward to distract him was seeing his family later that evening.

    Christmas morning was to be lonely. Then, by three, the house would start filling up. By eight, you should be walking up the front entrance. By 8:01, you'd be in his arms and smothered in kisses. With any luck, you'd be making love by midnight.

    Tenya went out and shoveled snow again. More than two feet had fallen in the night. The more snow that fell, the more he worried the weather was going to be too rough for your plane. He needed you, sooner rather than later preferably.

    The day seemed to crawl away. Only a few minutes had passed every time he glanced at the clock. Had it always been so difficult to entertain himself? He'd already showered, made lunch, brushed snow meticulously from the front porch and back deck. He uncovered all of the decorations he'd put up the day before.

    He was impatient by the time he had to leave to see his family. Even the ride there drove him crazy. The road seemed to stretch. The cars squeezing from every side. Would the tedium ever cease?

    As the evening with his family began, he discovered it would not. Even as he laughed with his parents and brother, as he listened to stories and shared a few. His eyes never left his watch for long. It didn't go unnoticed, but it was left unmentioned. Just a look exchanged around him.

    They knew, of course. That he counted down every second until he'd see you again. The light and fire you brought into his life was wonderful to see. But how they wished you didn't leave so much.

    Tenya went to bed when he got home. But sleep didn't come. Not for a very long time. He tried to force himself asleep, just a single thought leaping in his head.

    One. More. Night.

    A new tickle of joy danced in his chest as he realized the day. Christmas. You were going to be home. He was going to be counting down the hours until he saw you.

    Tenya zipped through his morning. Shoveling the fresh few inches of snow. Hand making the dog's food for the next week. Making breakfast for himself, showering, and pulling out the outfit you'd picked over video call a week ago. Just a red sweater with stripes and snowflakes and charcoal grey slacks. He spent time cleaning, making sure every inch was dusted.

    He had his fire back – until he checked his phone just after lunch.

[NAME] (Wife)

My plane is being delayed. I won't be home until tomorrow. I'm so sorry, my love, I wanted to be home for Christmas. So, very much....

    Tenya felt a little bit of himself break. He slumped in his reading chair, phone discarded on the table. He stared blankly ahead of him. His worst fear had come true. One more day had turned into two. And with this snow, two could easily turn into three or four.

    Ochaco and Izuku came not too long after. They knocked on the door, rang the door bell. The dog barked. Eventually they tried the handle, letting themselves in. They exchanged a worried look as they spied their friend. They could see the hollowness of his eyes.

    “Tenya...?” Ochaco whispered.

    “She's not coming,” he muttered numbly.

    Izuku put a hand on Tenya's shoulder. “What do you mean?”

    “[Name]'s flight – it's been delayed. She won't be home until tomorrow....” Tenya could barely scrap his eyes to his phone. He didn't want to look at it. To see anything else that might ruin him.

    “But she'll be home, at least.”

    “You don't understand. You two have each other. Tensei will be spending the holiday with his wife. And I have her. If [Name] isn't here....”

    Izuku and Ochaco glanced at each other again.

    “We'll still have a good time, Tenya,” Ochaco said, trying to cheer him up.

    “Yeah, people will start to be here soon! You won't even know she's missing!” Then Izuku began to panic. “Not that we don't want her here. But maybe getting your mind off of her will help. Not that you shouldn't miss your wife on a holiday but –”

    Tenya chuckled. At least something was normal. Izuku eased some at the sound. He and Ochaco set up the kitchen, while Tenya put away anything he didn't want broken. You never knew if someone was going to get rowdy.

    As the first people showed up, the booze flooded in. Tenya had only meant to have one. But he was having a self-pity streak. One became two, two became three. Different Christmas mixes that people brought, some made right in his kitchen; homemade egg nogs, and Christmas cocktails, holiday ciders. He claimed they were just to try. Normally, he'd be following people around. Putting down coasters, ensuring that they didn't slosh on the couch, making sure no one was scuffing up the floors. But Izuku was already doing a pretty good job of that. Probably to make sure Tenya didn't have to worry. But it left him too idle.

    Tenya chatted with his co-workers as they came. They complimented his house, saying they wouldn't have expected anything else from an Iida. He went around, greeting everyone. Thanking each person for coming. Each drink numbing just slightly more. He spent a good deal of time talking to Izuku's mom and All Might.

    He was caught in the middle of an inescapable conversation with his insufferable secretary when Izuku came to tap him on the shoulder. His friend pointed towards the entrance to your house. Tenya's eyes followed his arm, going wide at what they found. They swept to the clock on the wall – it only read 5:23. In alarm, he triple checked what he was reading, to be sure he was right. With a puff from his quirk, Tenya launched himself.

    You screamed as he tackled you. He kept you upright, making you didn't fall. Tenya smooshed your face with too many kisses to keep up with. He squeezed you tightly in his arms. You could smell the liquor on him. Since when did he drink? You hoped this wasn't the start of a bad habit.

    “[Name]! You're here!” he exclaimed in disbelief. He held you at arm's length, looking you up and down just to be sure you were real.

    You laughed, nodding. “Yeah!”

    “But your plane –”

    “I – uh – I lied.” You glanced away from him, your face hot. “My flight was actually bumped up. I wanted to surprise you. I wasn't expecting you to get stupid drunk.”

    Tenya sunk to the floor, and pulled you into his lap. He was so cute with his goofy grin and the pink dusting on his cheeks. He rubbed his cheek against yours. Your guests chuckled at the sight. You pulled him in for a long, hard kiss. So glad to finally have him in your arms. You could feel every bit of his body against yours. You had to calm his hands as they roamed freely over your body. They were dipping into places that shouldn't be caressed in public.

    Finally – no more counting the days.

    No more nights between you.

    No more hours to wait.

    You two were together. And it was the sweetest feeling in the world.

    “Why wouldn't I have been upset by the delay?” he rambled. “I've missed you, and I didn't want to think of another day without you here. I needed a little boost. Drinking was perhaps not the best choice.”

    Tenya clung to you all night, never letting you out of his sight. Seeing everyone was lovely. You really couldn't have asked for a better homecoming. The lights he'd put up outside were spectacular. And the warm cozy air your home had taken on was supernatural. Or maybe it was just because you were glad to be home.

    It was nearly midnight when everybody finally left. Ochaco and Izuku had stayed to help you clean. Tenya wouldn't let you go long enough to do anything. You were about to force him upstairs when he stumbled over to the tree.

    “No, no, no – you have to open this. While it's still Christmas. Please,” Tenya pouted, and forced a little black box with a shimmering silver lid into your hand. The childish pout on his face was adorable, but he really should've been getting to bed.

    “Tenya –”

    “Open it.”

    You eyed him suspiciously, but planted yourself on the couch. He adhered himself to your side. He held you closely, head on your shoulder. A red ribbon was tied lovingly around the box. It was always too beautiful to unwrap. You had a suspicion Tenya hadn't done this himself. He packaged things neatly, but aesthetics weren't his forte.

    You pulled the ribbon, then peered into the box. You looked at him, then in the box, then back again.

    “You did not go out and spend a fortune,” you scolded.

    Tenya shrugged. “You deserve the world.”

    “Tenya!” But you couldn't deny it was beautiful.

    It was simple, with a thin silver chain. Hanging from the end was a pendant. It had your birth stone in set on the part where the chain went through. And there was immaculate scroll work around the edges. Tenya took it briefly from your hands, the pressed the sides.

    The front popped open. A lump pressed in your throat. A miniature of your wedding photo was nestled inside the frame. Tenya turned it over, revealing both of your initials along with your wedding date on the back.

    “I left the other half open, for when we have a family of our own,” he muttered drowsily. “I love you more than the world. I'm very happy you're finally home. I'd be very happy if you didn't have to leave again.”

    “I love this. I love you,” you murmured in reply, then turned your head to kiss him.

    You put the locket back in the box, then helped him stand. You hauled Tenya upstairs, and got him changed. He insisted on brushing his teeth, even though he coud barely stand up right. The necklace took up a home on your night stand. You were going to wear this every day that you could. It was your new favourite piece of jewelry.

    Once you were settled into bed, he immediately took you in him arms. He hummed in content.

    “How would you feel about being a secretary?” Tenya slurred, nuzzling his nose into the back of your neck. “I'm going to need a new one soon. Mine is gonna get fired.”

    You sighed. “I actually wanted to talk to about that. I wanted to wait until you were sober. But – I'm going to quit my job. That way I can be home with you. If we want a family....I'm also tired of spending so much time away from you. You can't imagine how lonely the world is without you with me to see it.”

    Tenya sighed. “I want your....baabbeeezzz...”

    You chuckled. “Tenya? - Love?”

    A light snoring told you he was out cold. You smiled to yourself as he snuggled closer to you. You relaxed into him. You'd been waiting for this for ages. Or, it felt like ages anyway. You didn't want to be away from him anymore. Coming home to the one you love? It was amazing. But getting to stay home with them? That was the best Christmas gift you could ask for.

~

[sweetestlamb]

Wake Me Up Inside(Chapter 2)

Summary: Hope is a flickering light, coming and going as it sees fit. 

Author's note: Y'all like this? Color me surprised I thought everyone had cast Sujin aside based on tumblr post honestly, expected maybe 3 people to read this. I'm happy so many are enjoying, thanks for coming along for the ride. If any talented individuals want to make me a header that would be great, anyway enjoy the teen angst. More awful parenting, beware. it hurts me to write this but random immediate romance doesn’t make sense to me so here we goooo. 

The world seems larger, everyone towers over her as they squeeze by jostling her tiny body, she twists and turns desperately searching for a familiar face and faltering when there is none. Just blurred faces with stretched out smiles that are horrifying grotesque, almost as if they were painted on by a deranged circus clown. She begins to run frantically racing away from the figures, who are now reaching out for her grabbing her arm and tugging at her pigtails. She opens her mouth but nothing comes out, bringing a trembling hand to her lips she finds them sewn shut, silencing her petrified screams.

Then a hand clutches at her elbow and she's spun around, suddenly staring into the face of evil.

"Where have you been you brat? Everyone was waiting for you."

She tries to tug free of his punishing grip but his fingers tighten on her tender flesh, marking the delicate skin. Ignoring her evident trepidation he forcefully pushes her towards a table, with a large looming birthday cake.

"Hurry up and blow out these candles, you're almost old enough to be useful to me."

Screaming no in her mind, she breaks free of his hold running as fast as her compact legs will take her but she miscalculates and trips over a stray toy, tumbling over the edge of a pool she hadn't noticed there earlier. The cold splash of the chlorine scented water on her skin shocks her in a panicked daze and when she pries her eyes open the menacing face of her father greets her looking nonplussed by her hectic drowning.

"Good riddance." He smirks sipping from his cup as he stalks away, no longer bothered with her. 

Water constructs her airway and she continues to sink to the bottom. Forgotten and discarded.

With a flash she bursts from her nightmare silent scream on her tongue, it's his presence that silences her cry. Wide feline eyes regard her from his crouched position, it takes a moment to realize that the rapid puffs of air filling the room are coming from her lips. She grips at the mattress beneath her, hopelessly pleading with her heart and lungs as her body quivers from the intensity of her dream.

"Are you okay? You looked like you were having a bad dream, I called your name a few times."

She's decidedly not any semblance of okay and has no concept of what that would entail for her but she finds herself nodding, lying as easily as she always does.

"I'm fine." Clipped and brisk despite the cold sweat on her skin, she's probably soaked through his shirt the collar almost plastered to red collar bones.

He doesn't reply further than pursing his lips and walking over to a dresser she'd hadn't noticed earlier.

"That lie would probably be more believable if you didn't look as if you were going to pass out at any second." She can hear his eyes rolling at her and it raises her heckles, she doesn't need anyone looking after her, she is fine on her own.

"I should go." She says curtly, forcing herself out of the dangerously warm bed to walk across the room and test her previously soaked pajamas. Damp, but they'll do.

"I thought you had nowhere to go." He challenges finally standing to his full height, subconsciously she flinches at the sudden movement and immediately he takes a step back pressing himself almost flush with the wall. Lowering his head until they are almost eye level. Shame washes over her do strongly she has to turn away, so pathetic.

Speaking to his bedpost she answers, "That was last night. I can go home now."

Her father will be at work until late into the evening, she just needs to lock herself in her room and she should be safe until school tomorrow.

He hums at her sounding closer than he did earlier, "You don't have to go. I'll find an excuse to give my mom, you can stay here."

No she can't. She knows what's going through his mind, probably the same thing that went through Suho's when he saw the blood on her lip for the first time, you poor little thing. Pity was always the first reaction but it never lasted, eventually pity shifted to annoyance nobody wanted to be friends with someone getting beaten. It was depressing, and uncomfortable to discuss and there was nothing anyone could do to help her. It was her penance for being born a girl and not being the best at least to make up for that disappointment.

"I'm not a stray puppy, you can't just pick me up off the street and expect me to stay. I told you, I'm fine." This time she says it harder, sharper with a bite that screams don't push me.

Unsurprisingly enough Han Seojun doesn't seem intimidated by her.

This time she gets to witness the eye roll as he approaches her but still keeps his head lowered as if deferring to her. "I already told you that I don't pity you, you need help stop pretending you don't."

But she's not pretending, that would imply that she wants others to help secretly. That just isn't accurate, she wants nothing- expects nothing. Her father pound any inkling of hope she had out a long time ago.

Stepping into his space, her eyes narrow as she bites out, "I don't need anything certainly not help from you. You're not a nice person, what am I your one good deed? Just mind your business."

She pointedly glances away at the flash of hurt that scatters across his expressive face.

She expects him to lash out, stretch to his full form and berate her, reprimand her ungrateful behavior and an even darker side of her almost expects him to slap her. I see why your father does that, you deserve it.

"Suit yourself."

That's all he says solemnly with a shrug before tossing more dry clothes at the bed and silently exiting the room.

She feels worse than she did before. Guilt gnawing at her, she ignores the offered clothes she doesn't deserve his hospitality or warmth. She disrobes and puts back on the damp chilled pajamas, that matches her better.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

That's what he gets for trying to help someone, his act of kindness thrown back in his face. Angrily he pours the boiling water into the waiting cup, starting his mother's mandatory morning tea. He's so lost in the routine that he doesn't notice her presence until she clears her throat. His pride stops him from turning around, her words were as painful as a dagger.

"Your clothes are on the bed. I called a cab."

He nods without looking back, "Get home saf--" He cuts himself off, maybe he's overstepping again. So he just hums and stirs the now perfect cup of tea with a splash of milk. His sister's will get three sugars, she has such a sweet tooth.

The soft snap of the front door closing is loud in the silence of the morning, the sun has barely risen. His mother will be out in an hour, he was worried for nothing. Nobody will even know she was here. He can pretend this was all a fever dream and listen to her advice, he's never minded anyone else's business why did he decide to start now?

Lesson learned.

He spends the remainder of his weekend not thinking about the bruises on her face and instead plays video games, bullying Suho into playing Call of Duty with him online until the stupid genius starts to win too often and it's no longer stress reducing.

"Sore loser." He scoffs at the staticky insult through his headphones, draining the can of soda he took from the fridge. He should start dinner soon, his mom and sister will be back from shopping any minute.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." He can't help but roll his eyes at the lame response but he pushes on ignoring his brain shouting at him that this is the opposite of minding his business. He hardly listens to his brain, his gut is much stronger.

"Does Sujin have any siblings? Or does she like to box or anything like that? " He tries to make sense of the night, maybe it wasn't what he thought initially. From his memory Sujin comes from a very affluent respectable family, there's no way right?

"What? What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer me." He quips impatiently, ready to let go of this unwarranted worry that's been weighing on his heart.

After a long pause where he checks if his Wi-Fi disconnected he finally hears a response, "No. She lives with her mother and father, she's an only child. And I’ve never known her to do anything physical like that."

His chest tightens, not what he wanted to hear. Her flinch this morning flashes brightly in his memory. He wasn't mistaken. He's sure of it, she'd been scared. 

"Why?"

He can barely hear through the ringing in his ear, "Nothing. I have to go."

He signs off before the other boy can reply, walking autopilot to the kitchen to get started on dinner. Chopping vegetables does nothing to stop the nausea bubbling in his stomach.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Taking the bus the next day is out of the question, he has spent the entire weekend wishing he had the nerve to get the girl's number but anyone he asked would misunderstand why and he didn't need anymore rumors circulating, he would just have to get it from her himself. If she wanted him to mind his business she shouldn't have collapsed where he could see.

The engine rumbles between his legs as he brings his motorcycle to a stop, swinging off effortlessly before tugging the helmet off and shaking his hair free. He doesn't notice the various lecherous female and male eyes watching his very moment, too focused on walking into the school and finding her.

Turning a corner he sees her instantly, sandwiched between her two best friends, they look like a high school brochure giggling as they walk down the hallway garnering the attention of most of the male population. The purple bruise on her cheek is missing, nothing but smooth blemish free skin. He almost does a double take. As all three of them pass him, he locks eyes with Sujin for a moment, the mask slides off for a second but the moment he blinks the façade snaps back into place, nothing left but a pretty empty smile.

He follows them into class, sliding into his seat and promptly going to sleep. He has to catch her alone.

Doing so proves to be a near impossible feat, she's always surrounded by her two bestie shadows and Chorong and the gang are never far from him either. He sighs forlornly even time he sees her only for someone to interrupt before he can approach her. All too frustrated.

He's sitting dejected on the staircase when he hears the bustle of students in the hallway, their voices carrying down the long space and he rolls his eyes imagining what ridiculous situation they've deemed as drama now. Last time it was Ju-Kyung having pimples, a topic that was completely groundbreaking and worthy of weeks of discussion. So it's with the smallest shred of curiosity that he stands up wandering over to the commotion.

"What's going on?" He directs to the closest person, some mousy looking girl who stutters out an indecipherable answer. He looks at her confused before stalking away to find someone who has a better grasp of communication. He poses the question again, to a boy this time.

"I heard one of the girls started freaking out in the bathroom. Screaming not to be touched."

He stands frozen before the words register in his brain and his feet are moving without his brain's permission. Shoving past gossiping bystanders, he easily gets to the front only to see Ju-Kyung covering someone with her sweater as they walk down the hallway. Immediately the crowd comes alive and they surge forward like a wave all calling questions out at once, "What's wrong with you?", "Why did you freak out?", "Who do you think you are? Are you too rich to be touched or something?"

He twists his head around ferociously at the last question, everyone in front of him gulps while taking a step back. The hallway is a cacophony of voices and shouts and he can feel his anger boiling, slamming his fist into the nearest surface-a wall- he gets everyone's attention.

"Go back to your classes. Now."

Some of the male students look as if they are going to challenge his authority but another step forward is all it takes to get the student body scampering to their classrooms.

Inhaling deeply he stomps off to find the source of his unease.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It had been hard to disregard, how lacking of warmth her house was. Seojun's apartment had been brimming with warmth and love, the fridge bursting with papers and drawings documenting that someone cared enough to show them off. Her home was a large empty prison in comparison.

But she'd been right, it was dark and quiet proof that her parents were not home. With her heart in her throat she ran to her room, locking the door behind her. Sleep captured her before she knew she was in its grasps, waking up groggy hours later and forgetting where she was. Fierce pounds on her door reminded her instantly.

"Open this door now."

His voice is a low growl, even more terrifying than when he's screaming his lungs out. She grabs her vanity chair pressing it under the door knob for more protection.

She jumps when the door bulges, the loud crashing making it clear that he's slamming bodily into the door now determined to get to her.

"Please....stop." She pleads, tears already cascading down her bruised cheeks.

"Open this fucking door!!"

She's sobbing now, body folded as she cries her eyes out shaking viciously as her father continues to ran into the door, dread filling her stomach as he's never fought this hard before.

Then everything is quiet.

The pounding is gone as suddenly as it arrived. She doesn't let go her panic just yet, still too raw. Butt seconds crawl to minutes and she hears nothing so she finally exhales, sliding to the floor in relief.

She weakly crawls to her bathroom, turning the dial to the hottest temperature possible wanting to burn off his brand on her skin. After her shower she brushes her wet hair, staring at the bruise, it's turning yellow now with tinges of purple. Good thing she let Su-ah and Ju-Kyung convince her to buy foundation the last time they were in the beauty store. She will have to layer it on tomorrow.

She's starving but the thought of leaving her room with him in the house is enough to eliminate her appetite. Instead she puts on a warm sweater and sweat pants and wraps herself in a thick blanket, still too cold ice running through her veins.

She had never felt as warm as she did at his house.

A quiet knock thankfully pulls her away from such unnecessary thoughts. She simply listens.

"Su-jin, it's mom. I brought you food."

She sits up, crawling out of bed to stand in front of the bed. Her mother has never brought her food, even when she was nine and hadn't gotten a perfect score on her spelling test and her father locked her in the closet for two days with only a dictionary. She'd contemplated eating the pages before she was finally set free. Her mother had simply looked away, avoiding eye contact until she was safely back in her room.

But her stomach grumbles at the mention of sustenance and despite her best judgement she opens the door.

It's a mistake.

Immediately she notes that her mother has nothing in her hands, trembling herself and before she can slam the door shut a foot blocks her escape.

He uses the belt that time whipping her in places that others will never see, her back, thighs, and shoulders. Her mother's weakly calls out, "Don't hit her face she has to meet that boy you wanted this week."

It goes on for what seems like hours, he leaves her crumpled on the ground her body stinging as she refused to cry, blinking her tears away not wanting to give him what he wants. When her mother meekly walks over and extends a hand to her, she looks at her with listless eyes. Her mother has a fresh bruise on her cheek, her father hardly hits her anymore using Sujin has his punching bag instead but at times of high frustration he would regress.

She wonders if her mother knew that one day this would be her faith. If this was the purpose of her birth.

She doesn't take the hand. It seems there was still some hope left, it is extinguished now.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The school day had been easy she's been hiding her abuse for years, no teacher had ever suspected a thing and she didn't even blame them. It would just be bothersome, her father was a powerful man there wouldn't be much they could do.

She slaps on a smile, allowing herself to be dragged around by Su-ah and Ju-Kyung, listening as they giggle about their boyfriends chiming in the appropriate moments to not seem disinterested or jealous. She is jealous though, of their freedom and innocent problems, she'd lost her innocence a long time ago.

She knows Seojun is trying to talk to her but she can't handle seeing him right now, having to face someone who knows what she's going through sounds worst than being beat right now. So she jolts at every sight of the tall lanky figure, thankful for his fan club who seems to announce his every arrival. She's on her way to having a successful day when everything goes to hell.

She's in the bathroom drying her hands when a classmate comes in, responding to the small talk she answers the girl's question before nodding her head in goodbye.

"Oh your tag is sticking out."

That's all she hears before a hand is brushing across her sore beaten neck and her reaction is instantaneous, she turns around catching the offending hand and twisting it.

Her throat wheezes out, "Don't touch me."

The girl stares at her wide-eyed before tugging her hand away, then other girls begin to come of the stalls to see what's happening and before she knows it she's hyperventilating on the ground, nonsensical words dripping off her tongue. Everything is too loud and her head is splitting in half just when her vision is graying out, she smells a familiar perfume.

"Su-jin ah, you're going to be okay. Just breathe with me, follow me."

Ju-Kyung's voice is calming and sure, not touching her but covering them both in her sweater as she models how to breathe, she follows until her lungs are no longer burning.

"Good. You're doing so good, is it okay if I touch you? I'm going to help you up."

She grabs at the bathroom wall yanking herself until she's upright, trying to show her friend that she's not that weak but a look of hurt is displayed on her face and Sujin doesn't comprehend why.

The other girl shakes it off though, now covering her fully with her cornflower yellow sweater.

She's suddenly reminded of her nightmare this morning as she has to pass all the students in the hallway, all pointing and laughing as she falls apart some of them even have their phone out recording her and she sways uneasily before catching herself, trembling the whole way she walks down the hallway until a loud bang and a voice she recognizes all too well silences the uproar.

Resisting the desire to look back she allows Ju-Kyung to pull her up the stairs until they're on the roof. Air pumps into her lungs as she's finally free of all the judgmental eyes.

She expects the other girl to start interrogating her the moment the door closes but it never comes, instead Ju-Kyung places her sweater around her trembling body.

"You're okay. Just keep breathing."

She does her best to follow the uncomplicated directions.

After a few minutes, Ju-Kyung's phone suddenly rings disturbing the quietude. She barely hears blood rushing in her ears like the waves at the beach.

"Okay we're on the roof."

She stills at that utterance, turning in alarm.

"Who was that? Who did you tell where we are?"

Ju-Kyung looks guilty, as if she wasn't meant to hear that conversation. She doesn't want to see anyone right now, can barely stand to be with herself.

"Call them back and tell them not to come. I want to be alone."

Ju-Kyung holds her phone in her hands gingerly staring at the screen, clearly contemplating what is the right decision. She almost lunges for the phone to see who is the most recent call, but it's not needed as the roof door slams open.

"Why are you here?" She shouts, walking away now furious that tears are already filling her eyes now just at the sight of him.

"Nice to see you too princess." He drawls back, following her further onto to roof.

"Will you two be okay? I have to go back to class."

She spins to glare at her friend, why would she leave her alone with Seojun? They have had any interaction at school that hasn't been antagonistic.

"Yes, we need to talk." He answers for them and that's enough to make Ju-Kyung nod before walking off with a smile in her direction. The door shuts loudly behind her retreating back, Sujin wants to chase after her. Instead she turns back to him spitting fire and poison. 

"I told you to mind your business."

"Are you okay?" He counters, eying her like a wild animal who can bolt at any minute, he isn’t wrong.

"That's none of your business!"

His expression remains the same, those beguiling feline eyes that scream at her.

"How hurt are you?"

Her emotions come crashing down again. He just keeps pushing and picking at her, no matter how much she shouts and shoves him away he just won’t go away like everyone else did. What is wrong with him? Couldn’t he see that she was more trouble than she was worth?

"What do you want to hear, huh? That everything hurts, that he used a belt this time! Do you want to hear about how he beat me until I bleed! Why do you care what happens me, why won't you leave me the fuck alone!"

Sobs ravage her body, she keeps brushing the fiery tears away fighting with her emotions but they won't stop and her palms are wet from covering her face, her breath is hitching until she starts hiccupping uncontrollably and she starts to feel light-headed.

"Hey! Su-jin! Breathe!"

But she can't, she doesn't remember how. Her body only knows how to hurt.

"Breathe, damnit!" Despite his shout, she hears the slight quiver in his voice but she can't discern why it's there but it desperately makes her want to obey.

When he cups her head, staring her head on she feels the vine wrapped around her lungs shrivel up and air starts gushing in until she feels dizzy, she sways back and forth gravity now also working against her and then she's being reeled in, her head placed on his chest. The thumping of his heart lulls her into a meditative state, she starts to count the beats and before she knows it the cobwebs in her head subside. Embarrassed by their sudden closeness, his arms are still by his side now almost immediately retracting from her head but she can feel his warmth radiating onto the skin of her thighs, she begins to draw back.

"Just stay. It's helping."

She blisters at his words, preparing to push him away.

"It's helping me, seeing you like that....it scared me. I helped you the other night, you should return the favor."

She puffs up before deflating, she'll never admit it but this is helping having something else to focus on, his scent, his heartbeat, the way his chest expands and constricts with every breath. The buzz of their skin nearly touching, his deep voice rumbling through his chest and into her ears, all placating and soothing her worries away. 

"Fine."

She's never known Seojun to stay still for this long after years of attending the same school, always bursting with kinetic energy so she's pleasantly surprised by how long he simply stands and lets her rest on his chest, neither of them saying a word.

She stiffens when he suddenly starts moving disturbing their stillness, she sees his hands balled into tight fists by his side and wonders what's going through his mind.

"You can't go back there."

This again, she starts to remind him that she has nowhere to g--

"Stay with me."