#but mine is the mall cop au | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

anonymous-dentist · 2 years ago

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Part two of a series of oneshots set in @discduo ‘s mall au! I heavily recommend reading part one first. (Linked here)

Okay so, first off, Quackity is not moping. He is not. That would be ridiculous, and also stupid, to assume. Quackity does not mope. He sure can sulk, but he doesn’t mope, and he definitely doesn’t mope over some dumbfuck from the Disney Store.

“You’re an idiot,” George astutely says, hitting the nail right on the head for once in his miserable life.

George is not at work. George is, in fact, skipping work to hang out with Quackity. That means that he’s at the Spencers leaning against the wall of shelves sipping on some Starbucks abomination with a metal straw while Quackity works. He’s wearing his sunglasses today, the really nice pair that his sugar daddy, Dream’s weirdo cousin, got for him for their five-month anniversary the other month. (George forgot the anniversary entirely until Sapnap reminded him, because Sapnap is just such a nice person. He’s just so wonderful.)

Quackity dutifully ignores him, instead focusing on doing his goddamn job. Unlike half of the people in this mall, he actually works. He does his job, and he sometimes even likes it. It’s easy to ignore your problems when you can just rot your brain by listening to shitty metal music and stock t-shirts plastered with Joe Biden’s face.

George slurps at his coffee as annoyingly as humanly possible. “He won’t stop talking about you, you know.”

“Who, Dream?” Quackity asks, only halfway caring. He sure hopes it isn’t Dream; every time Dream wants to talk to him, the cops end up getting called.

“No, Sapnap. He thinks you’re mad at him.”

“Why would I be mad at Sapnap for following his dick to work at the Disney Store instead of here like we agreed upon and leaving me behind just because some- some- some guy with nice hair pitied him?” Quackity lightly asks. His chest hurts.

He grips the shirt in his hands so hard that it wrinkles. Fuck you, Joe Biden, stupid white piece of shit. Hey, Joe Biden, what’s your policy on heartbreak and megacorporations? You gonna solve this crisis?

“So you are mad at him,” George surmises.

“No. I’m not. Why would I be mad at him? I’m glad that he got a new job, really. It’s a lot quieter without him showing up and pissing me off.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Get new insults, dude. Your shitty old man brain is melting.”

“Oh my God, shut up,” George groans, throwing his head back dramatically. “Just listen to me, God. He’s moping, Quackity, you have to fix him.”

“God, who cares?” Quackity snaps, maybe harsher than intended. Maybe. “I sure fucking don’t. He’s your friend, not mine. You…” He waggles his hand in George’s general direction. “You fix him. I don’t care.”

Because maybe Sapnap hasn’t come by for lunch since getting hired at that fucking Disney Store three months ago. Maybe Quackity hasn’t even seen him in three months. It’s almost like that Karl guy upstairs is keeping him captive. Maybe Sapnap has actually been locked inside of the fucking- the puppet theater, or whatever the fuck. He looks enough like a Muppet. So does Karl Jacobs. They’re practically meant for each other. World’s best assistant manager and world’s best Sapnap, prisoners and wardens of The Mouse.

They deserve each other. Disney is all about happiness and sunshine and whatever. How could Quackity compare with his weird emo store and his lackluster insurance benefits?

“Riiiiight,” George drawls. He swishes his coffee around judgmentally. “Well, you’re going to fix it. I don’t know what you did-”

“What I did?” Quackity asks. “I’m not the one that ghosted his lunch buddy out of fucking nowhere just because some pretty boy waggled a job interview at me. I’ve been stuck eating lunch with Wilbur. Wilbur.”

Wilbur isn’t the worst to eat lunch with, mostly because he and Quackity can both bond over annoying Tubbo at work, but he’s still Wilbur. Either he’s waxing poetic about his marine biologist girlfriend, or he’s waxing poetic about his dad, or he’s talking about how he wants to punt Dream into the sun (he and Quackity can both agree on that last part.)

But. But he’s no Sapnap. You don’t miss what you didn’t realize you had until it’s gone, Quackity supposes. All he can do is move on and try and find someone else to buy him milkshakes. Maybe they’ll actually get the flavors right.

“Whatever,” George sighs. “When’s your break? I heard from Puffy that the Panda Express is giving out free samples around noon to the first people in line. I bet we could steal the whole lot before the public even gets to them.”

Quackity checks his watch. 11:50.

“Now,” he decides. Fuck it, he’s the manager, he can say when his own breaks are. Who’s gonna stop him, Schlatt? Fucker’s dead! “Foolish! You’re in charge!”

He hears a vague “Yeah, ‘kay!” from The Back, but he doesn’t really register it. He’s too busy shoving the rest of the Biden shirts onto the shelves so he can get the fuck out of there and get some fresh air. You can only be in a Spencer’s for so long without reverting back to your emo phase.

Tubbo’s working at the Burger King today. He sees Quackity and George and waves, looking utterly dead inside in the best way possible.

Quackity waves back much more cheerfully. He even blows a kiss, which makes Tubbo’s entire body shudder in repulsion. One of the kids in line to order notices and laughs, making Tubbo shudder again, this time in embarrassment.

Quackity makes a mental note of which child to drop a free sample on. Not that he would willingly drop a plastic cup full of steaming-lukewarm rice onto a child, because that would be ridiculous. He would never. George would, though, and he would even kick a kid if it looked at him the wrong way.

There’s something in the air, Quackity thinks as he and George weave their ways through the crowd and to the Panda Express. It’s either salmonella, or it’s…

“George!”

Quackity’s face falls. It’s either salmonella, or it’s regret. It’s always one of the two with him. Half of the dinners Schlatt made him were uncooked, some kind of health food trend that he was trying because he saw it online. The other half were burned beyond all recognition, a pretty good metaphor for how their relationship was going at the time.

George stops and sends Quackity a smug little side eye before turning around and waving over a cheerful-looking Sapnap.

Sapnap looks… how to put it? He looks happy. His hair is pulled back and it’s shiny, his nails are painted, and his dimples are on full display. Quackity should stop looking at his face and should try and get the fuck away before he does something he might regret, like try and talk to him.

Sapnap alone is bad enough, but he’s accompanied by the living embodiment of sunshine and fucking lollipops. They’re standing awfully close together. Suspiciously close, even. Bad vibes.

Sapnap comes over. Quackity backs up and slips back into the crowd, more than happy for his relatively small size for the first time in his life.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” he hears Sapnap ask, like the idiot he is. Everybody knows that George doesn’t actually do his job. Why would he when he’s dating the guy that basically owns the mall?

By the time that Quackity makes it to the Panda Express, he’s left George, Sapnap, and Sapnap’s annoying boss behind.

Also by the time that Quackity makes it to the Panda Express, Tubbo has somehow managed to escape the Burger King and is standing by a small table wearing the Panda Express uniform holding a tray covered in samples. At least George wasn’t lying about the samples.

Quackity takes one with a fond eye roll.

“What’s this supposed to be?” he asks.

He doesn’t even bother with getting a fork as he picks the rice up with his fingers and shoves it into his mouth. It’s perfectly alright. Not bad, but not good, either. That’s mall food, for you.

Tubbo shrugs. “Dunno. I just work here, man, d’you think I actually know what we serve?”

“I thought you were working at the Subway today.”

“Nah, Susan called out sick earlier at the Burger King, right, and I stepped up to take her place because I’m an upstanding gentleman.”

Quackity snorts. Tubbo, ever-professional, tips the tray so that a couple of samples fall off and onto Quackity’s boots. He doesn’t bat an eye as Quackity swears and skitters backwards with all the grace of a limping spider.

“But then,” Tubbo continues, mindlessly adjusting the samples still on the tray. “Right, see, but then Terrance over here called out-”

“Not Terrance,” Quackity gasps.

Tubbo nods solemnly. “Yes, I’m afraid so. So I’m here handing out free samples while Lisa tries to find a replacement.” “So what’s going on at the Burger King?”

“Well, technically I’m still on the clock over there, but I figured they could wait. Anyone who actually wants Burger King is a braver and more patient man than I.”

“True!” Quackity agrees. Despite his better judgment, he takes another sample and shovels that one into his mouth as well. Sue him, he’s hungry. He still isn’t quite used to taking care of his own lunches yet.

“Besides, I figured you would need emotional support.” Tubbo gets up on his toes to look out over the crowd. Quackity turns around and follows his gaze. He can’t quite see over everybody, but he does make eye contact with some old guy throwing away his Auntie Anne’s containers on the other side of the court. “Y’know, it wasn’t supposed to be a free sample day. Technically, that’s against mall policy to avoid stampedes ‘n stuff. George just got his freaky boyfriend to sign off on it, and I figured that was sus as hell.”

“Please don’t say sus again,” Quackity says.

“Sus.”

“You’re grounded,” Quackity says, fully knowing that that threat never works on Tubbo. He turns back around and gives his brother a Look. “But thanks, anyway.”

Tubbo shrugs. “Consider it repayment for dealing with Dream the other week.”

Quackity winces. “Yeah, ‘kay.”

That was fun. Dream, a security guard in training, has this fun habit of using his cousin’s mall as his personal playground. He’s either bothering George or Sapnap at work, or he’s trying to bust Tommy for working underage ‘cause he’s a freak. A couple of weeks ago and bored out of his mind, he had tried getting Quackity to sell Tommy out, and Tubbo had swooped in with some story about a shoplifter at the Lids on the other side of the mall. What a hero.

“Y’know, I’ve been thinking-” Tubbo starts, probably about to start on some stupid little endearing little tangent.

And then there’s an interruption from over Quackity’s shoulder, a dreadfully-familiar voice gleefully exclaiming, “Oh, shoot, free samples!”

Quackity lets out a long, drawn-out sigh as Sapnap slides into place next to him (where he belongs) and yoinks a sample cup off of the tray.

Tubbo shoots Quackity a sympathetic look. They may not spend as much time together as they used to, but they still live together most days out of the week. Tubbo has seen more than his fair share of Quackity sulking, not moping, sulking on the couch over being ignored yet again by the man he didn’t even know he liked.

Quackity inches away, fully intending on bolting like an idiot, but then Sapnap, with a mouth full of rice, glances over at him and freezes like a deer in the headlights. Mid-chew, he stands there like a statue staring at Quackity like Quackity is a ghost. Quackity, much to his own embarrassment, probably looks much the same way.

Sapnap swallows and says, “Uh. Hi?”

“Yeah, hi,” Quackity flatly responds. He turns back to Tubbo. “Am I driving you home today?”

“Quackity,” says Sapnap.

Tubbo seems to think on the matter. “I think Ranboo said that he wanted to go out for dinner.”

“Fuck Ranboo,” Quackity scowls. He sighs, “Am I driving the both of you, then?”

“Quackity,” says Sapnap, slightly more insistent.

Tubbo nods eagerly, a bright smile on his stupid little face. “Yes, please! I’ll make him pay gas money.”

Oh, thank God. Ranboo is loaded, much to Tubbo’s indiscrete enjoyment. It makes Quackity wonder why he’s working in a mall if he can afford an entire house at, what, eighteen? But who knows? There are already so many weird people working at this mall, what’s one more?

“Quackity,” says Sapnap.

“I’m going to head back to work,” Quackity says. “Text me when you’re done.”

“Quackity!”

“Fucking- what!?” Quackity snaps, turning his full attention to the annoyed man next to him.

Sapnap’s mouth flaps for a full second before slamming shut. He takes a moment to compose himself, then says, with a small, bashful smile, “Hi.”

God, why is he so endearing? He used to be annoying! Quackity used to be annoyed by him! Why did it take him leaving for Quackity to get attached?

“What,” Quackity says. He doesn’t ask, no, because he doesn’t care. He doesn’t.

“I just… are you okay?” Sapnap asks. He frowns, genuinely looking concerned, how dare he. “You look kinda rough, dude.”

“I’m fine,” Quackity monotones. “How’s the Disney Store?”

He really doesn’t care. He doesn’t! It’s just making polite conversation, that’s it. He definitely hasn’t missed talking to Sapnap. At all. And he definitely didn’t spend the first two weeks after Sapnap’s ghosting daydreaming of getting a chance to talk to him again.

Dense as ever, Sapnap’s frown flips back around easily. “It’s great! I didn’t think I’d like working with kids this much, but it’s honestly really rewarding, y’know? Like they’re annoying little shits, but they’re sweet.”

“Cool.”

“And I know we were kinda worried about Disney bringing in a whole bunch of Karens and shit around, but it hasn’t been that bad. I actually had some punk girls come in the other day and ask if we had any Stitches.”

“Cool.”

God, Quackity can just about see the gross pink glow surrounding Sapnap. It’s like he’s a different person entirely. Well. It isn’t. He’s the exact same, actually, but it’s the vibes, man, the vibes are off. This isn’t Sapnap. It’s some kind of Sapnap clone. It’d make sense. The real Sapnap wouldn’t abandon Quackity to work in the fucking Disney Store.

“Karl’s nice, too,” Sapnap continues, not even noticing Quackity’s increasing displeasure and annoyance. “He’s… very nice.”

And now Sapnap is blushing. Great. Quackity wants to kick a child, now. (As if sensing this, Tubbo shuffles away.)

“Wonderful,” Quackity sarcastically says. “I’m glad you’re happy, really. Now, if you’ll excuse me-”

He tries to duck out of the conversation, planning on heading back to work to sulk in the supply closet until his actual lunch break starts, but he’s stopped by a broad hand weakly grabbing his shoulder. Holding his shoulder, more like, because Sapnap knows not to actually touch him too suddenly.

“Hey, no, where’re you going?” Sapnap asks, almost sounding hurt. The nerve. “I haven’t seen you in months! Let’s get lunch or something, on me.”

Quackity lets out a slow breath. He is calm.

“No,” he calmly says. “I’m good. I’m not hungry.”

“Yeah, I saw how empty that try was. But c’mon, dude, I missed you.”

That’s it.

“You missed me?” Quackity laughs. He looks Sapnap in the eyes and repeats, “You missed me? I haven’t seen you in months! What, just ‘cause you’re a Disney guy now means you can’t come and talk to me?”

Oh, and now Sapnap’s frowning again, great. “What?”

“I have been waiting for you to come and see me every goddamn day since you got hired,” Quackity growls. “Every. Day. Where were you?”

Something flashes in Sapnap’s eyes, but Quackity can’t tell what. He doesn't know if he wants to.

“But you’re always gone when I show up,” Sapnap says, like a goddamn liar. Why does he sound so upset? “I know when your lunch breaks are. That’s why I was so surprised to see you here now. Dude, you aren’t there.”

“Yes! I am! I am always there! I have my lunches in the goddamn hallway half the time! But I never see you,” Quackity spits. “Actually, fuck this. Fuck this, actually, goodbye.”

His therapist always tells him to step away from a situation if it’s stressing him out. If he’s paying her 500 bucks a session, she’d better be right.

He easily pulls himself out of Sapnap’s grasp and storms off, not listening as Sapnap calls after him. What was George thinking? Bastard. They’re all bastards, all of them. Fuck having friends, actually, all they do is disappoint you.

Quackity bumps into someone by the Burger King and almost apologizes before realizing who it is.

“Whoah, dude, sorry,” Karl apologizes, looking as apologetic as a real life villain can. Because of course it’s him, because God hates Quackity and wishes him harm.

To avoid causing a scene, all Quackity does is flip him off. His therapist would be very proud of him.

But then Quackity very calmly says, “I’m gonna sneak so many dildos into your store that you get shut down, and there is nothing that you can do to stop me.”

Karl blinks at him, mouth curled into a neat ‘O’ shape. He’s seemingly shocked into silence. Good.

And with that, Quackity continues his escape, and he continues his escape until he’s pushing Foolish away from the register so he can duck beneath it and break open one of the emergency packs of chewing gum. Stress relief.

“That bad, huh?” Foolish asks, lovely, lovely Foolish.

“From this point forward, Sapnap is banned,” Quackity says. “If you see him, get him out. If I have to see him, somebody’s getting fired.”

He sniffs and scrubs at his stinging eyes. His chest hurts so fucking bad, and it’s not from the Panda Express.

“Uuuuh, okay? What about his boss? The weird one?” Foolish asks, not even questioning it. Lovely, lovely Foolish.

“Don’t bother,” Quackity sighs. “He won’t come down here, anyway. He wouldn’t dare.”

It’s painful, Quackity has slowly begun to realize over the past few months, being in love. It’s even more painful when you’re too slow to act on it.

#karlnapity #c!karlnapity #mall au #a.d.'s fics i suppose #a.d.'s fics i suppose.#ah miscommunication my old friend #anyway i wrote this entire thing in the past hour whoops #the mall au just makes me so happy

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theharrowing · 3 years ago

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The Hooksborough Demon 🤍 3: From smiling to...something else

You and two friends ventured into the location of an urban legend with the intention of exploring an abandoned building and having a laugh at small town lore for clout.

But after a series of mysterious events, you have turned to a forum a year later to try to piece everything together, and to find out what the fuck happened to Yoongi & Jimin.

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🤍 Yoongi x Female Reader 🤍 word count: 2k + comments 🤍 paranormal au, urban legend au, found footage horror, gore, poly, smut, nsfw, 21+ 🤍 warnings: general spookiness 🤍 beta read by @neoneunnajimin 🤍 posted jan. 2022 | read on ao3

Home / Local Legends / The Hooksborough Demon / The Hooksborough Three

14:58 - 27:32 (posted by TH3 on 01/03/2021)

Sorry for the delayed post. I hope you all had an alright New Year. Mine was pretty uneventful but I have been feeling this unshakable fatigue. Hopefully, it passes.

Timestamp 14:58. In the car again. The camera is on Yoongi, who is driving, discussing the plan.

"If we can get in through the window we saw earlier, the one that isn't completely boarded up, that should put us near the food court," he says.

He had been looking at an old floorplan of the mall before we left.

"The escalators should still be intact, but I have a rope ladder just in case. I don't really want to go that route, however, if the building is really dilapidated. Maybe we will see if there is anything of note on the main level first, or if we can see down into the lower level instead. If it comes down to that."

"Do we have to go down to see the lower level?" Jimin asks.

Yoongi sighs and shrugs. "I mean, that's what the legend says, but I don't think it is tied to the mall, so much as the area as a whole, you know? Like the demon—” Yoongi lifts one hand from the steering wheel to make a quotation mark with his fingers, “—was supposedly buried on the grounds near where the escalators go both up and down, but people think that maybe when the grave was disturbed, it drove him deeper into the building? Realistically he would have been scooped out since that is how fucking digging works, but you know how these middle-of-nowhere bumpins are, no logical thoughts in their stupid fucking heads."

I can be seen placing a hand on Yoongi's shoulder to calm him down. He tends to get worked up and go into a rant quickly.

"I couldn't find much information on the actual demon from before the mall was built," I can be heard saying while looking ahead, presumably—it is hard to tell from this angle, as you can not see my face, and I am not turned toward Yoongi. "There is a lot of speculation that entity was a witch who was hanged or burnt for doing a number of nefarious activities, but I have not found anything that seems concrete. Nothing anyone can agree on, anyway."

Everyone in the car was already aware of all of this, so I am not sure if, at the moment, I was saying that for whoever I thought would watch the video later on, or if I was rambling because I was nervous. I do not recall being nervous, but, at this point, it is hard to say.

There is a little silence as the camera holds on the road ahead, and you see The Hooksberry Mall property come into view—first the fence and then the building. Although the mall is quite large, from here, it still looks small and unassuming. Harmless.

It is hard not to feel anxiety build, watching this now.

The sun is just about past the horizon at this point, which is what we hoped for, wanting to get into the mall undetected. We did not notice any cameras the first time we came here, nor did we see any cars, so at this point, all of us seemed pretty confident. Our goal was to have just enough light to see us in before we were shrouded in darkness, since the cops in this town were probably scarier at this point than the prospect of a demon taking us to his dimension.

To give some context about the location, the mall went up in an area pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. The small city of Hooksborough was going to develop the area with condos, a movie theater, and a bunch of other shit in the hope of making them a stop on the map, something cute for locals and outsiders to visit, hence the more friendly name "Hooksberry."

About six months after construction, the mall was abandoned entirely. The construction crew had not reported seeing anything weird, but the security cameras would allegedly pick up cloaked figures and things moving on their own, mostly at night.

At first, nobody believed the building manager, accusing him of trying to stir up ghost stories for publicity, but then he disappeared, and his wife struggled to find anyone to take over his position. A couple heads of security disappeared before someone decided everything was linked to seeing whatever the men saw on the security footage, and the cameras were disabled. Small-town folks love a ghost story and sensationalized it to death until finally, after enough bad press and looting, the doors closed for good.

There was also the issue of things disappearing. It was small things at first, like a misplaced set of keys or an abandoned cup of coffee. Things people seemingly left behind that would just vanish in thin air after some time.

A team of students somehow got ahold of the footage and tried to piece together something to prove that the place was, in fact, haunted, but one by one, they either vanished or ended up admitted for psychiatric evaluation.

All of this, of course, can be found on various forums that have discussed the phenomenon.

Timestamp 18:06. We arrive at the mall, nobody says much when we pull up. We park in the same spot as earlier, when we came to scope the building, and then Yoongi gets out and walks to the trunk where he has a pack full of items such as, if I recall correctly, a first aid kit, a rope ladder, several flashlights, pocket knives, walkie-talkies, and other things. I believe Jimin's pack contains batteries for the flashlights and walkie-talkies, and a few for the camera, as well as snacks, NASA blankets, and another first aid kit. I have a backpack that carries a large water bottle, a third first aid kit, and a polaroid camera.

Yoongi pulls out three pocket knives and hands one to each of us before putting the third into his jacket pocket. We are all wearing light parkas, being that it is summer. We do not expect to get too cold, but we are also not sure what to expect inside the building, and it is good to not have skin exposed when going on these kinds of missions. All three of us put on a black KN94 mask, and Yoongi uses a wire snipper to cut a hole into the fence. At first, he almost leaves the tool in the trunk but elects to stick it in his pack just in case he will need it later.

Jimin puts the camera on the car and gathers us in front of it for a pre-spelunking sendoff. We stand in front of the hole in the fence, clad head-to-toe in black, arms around each other, with Jimin on the left, myself in the middle, and Yoongi on the right. We hold the pose for a moment as if we expect a freeze frame will be printed later, and then we all wave.

Hmm. This is strange.

At about 20 minutes, as we are waving to the camera, some lines appear for just a moment, horizontal in the center of the scene, traveling up over our faces and distorting the image before they disappear. I wonder if the card was handled poorly by the bureau. Most likely. Fucking cops.

Anyway, Jimin walks back to the car and picks up the camera while Yoongi opens the hole in the fence just enough for us to shimmy through, at about hip-height. Once we are all in, we walk to the mall. Trash litters the parking lot, and many miscellaneous items are strewn about, like shirts, shoes, and a portable radio. I remember feeling a little uncomfortable, wondering if these were left by outsiders or if these were items that got brought out from inside the mall. The only sounds are our feet trudging over asphalt, Yoongi trying to sound out the letters in some graffiti tags, and Jimin humming.

It takes about a minute to walk from the fence to the building. Yoongi approaches the window and uses the butt of his flashlight to push in some cardboard that is partially over the hole. We are all a bit surprised that it is just cardboard and not wood, and we take this as a sign that someone may be living inside the mall, so Yoongi calls out a, "Hello?" while shining his flashlight around.

After we get no response, Yoongi hoists himself up, swinging his leg into the hole and shimmying through the rest of the way. Jimin hands the camera to Yoongi, who puts it on the floor, and for a while, the frame shows nothing but blackness while the mic picks up the grunting sounds of Jimin helping me get into the window and Yoongi helping me onto the floor. Yoongi picks up the camera and catches Jimin's ass as he drops feet first into the room, and for the rest of the exploration, Yoongi holds onto the camera, as far as I remember.

Night mode is switched on, and the room is flooded with light, everything in frame shrouded in artificial green. The floor is covered in debris, some of the panels in the ceiling have fallen to the floor, and above those, there are holes where the roof has corroded. I remember looking up at one point and seeing stars.

Otherwise, the room is pretty clean, like everyone up and left, and hardly anyone has ever come back. There is some graffiti here and there, but nothing seems smashed up or pulled apart in this area. Tables and chairs litter the room. Yoongi was right; we did come in near the cafeteria. In the footage, Jimin and Yoongi are heard trying to pronounce the names on the abandoned, pristine neon signs.

"The fuck is sub-sp-Sss-bar...ro? Sbarro???" Yoongi grumbles.

"Alright," I can be heard saying from the right before Yoongi turns the camera to me. "Looks like we've entered on the northeast side, right next to the cafeteria, as you can see. The time is 8:26 PM."

"Time to locate the escalators," Jimin chimes in.

Yoongi pans the camera in the direction we had been walking, "Should be right over here."

The crunching of ceiling panels and loose concrete under our feet can be heard as we walk. After about 20 seconds, the room opens up into a massive circular central point. The escalators, which appear intact, are seen.

"Bingo," Yoongi announces.

Ending at timestamp 27:32.

I am going to stop here for today, as this post is getting rather wordy. I don't remember when things start to get weird, and I don't think there is anything in today's viewing that may have cursed me or whatever. Still, I should try to get this wrapped up within the next week to be safe.

I probably sound crazy, giving in to the myth, huh? Anyway, stay safe and stay the fuck away from The Hooksberry Mall! 🤍

Comments:

kira_kurosaki on 01/03 yeah, you're super cursed lol careful. you might die in seven days lmao. damn cops glitching videos to freak people out.

hiromi_20 on 08/21/2022 i'm more amazed there were no junkies squatting or like used needles or anything. also yeah fuck the popo

// You keep going back to when the lines distort the video, to where you, Yoongi, and Jimin are posing in front of the fence. Watching it frame by frame by frame. In one shot, it almost appears as if everyone goes from smiling to…something else. It is hard to pinpoint. The smiles are gone, and there is this look in everyone's eyes, like none of you are yourselves. It is so slight that if it were anyone else looking, they would miss it. But you see it. You can't take your eyes off of it. What is it?

Your first instinct is to wonder if it could be the work of the legend—the mark of the demon. Then you think perhaps the cops did it to mess with you. Are any of them clever enough? No, you don’t think so.

If it is the demon, is this its way of saying hi? Has everything already begun; is it time to count the days until you’re next?

A shiver runs down your spine, and you turn the monitor off. You have seen enough for today. //

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#yoongi x reader #yoongi smut #jimin x reader #jimin smut #yoonmin x reader #bts smut #paranormal fanfic #found footage fanfic #fic: the hooksborough demon

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clanwarrior-tumbly · 3 years ago

Note

AirLock Anon:

Animatronic Egos AU

Y/n is most definitely a moody collage student, who lives on eating peeps and StarBucks.

“Why don’t you come party anymore!” Your friend whined as you both got ready. “Because I need money for StarBucks.” You huffed as she grabbed her bag and you grabbed yours and slung the black bag over your shoulder.

“Check your bag.” You hummed and rummaged through the bag seeing your snacks and your supplies. “Got mine! Byeeeee!” She cheered tossing her lipstick in her bag and ran off. You sighed and walked out, getting in your car.

You arrived at the mall and walked in sighing. You walked into the first room checking in on the animatronic, you walked around the stage and all the hide holes. You hated looking at this one but you sucked it up, it was your job to protect them. And that is what you [hardly] got paid for.

His dull gray skin gave you the goosebumps. You turned him on so they don’t rust up the joints. [I dunno robot stuff.] he looked at you and rolled his eyes and walked off the stage. You walked out after and walked into Space Cove seeing the Head Engineer Mark.

He turned on almost as soon as you walked in. “Hello Captain!” “Mark I tell you over and over again. Call me Guard or Y/n.” You hummed and checked the room and turned on the side bots that made the “Crew.” You nodded to Mark and walked out working on all the bots and turning them on.

Chica the Mall’s dog walked up and barked happily as you ruffled her fur. “What’s the point of a guard if they have 1000 pound animatronics?” You got up and walked into the kitchen until Chica Barked and grabbed your fingerless gloved hand and you heard sobbing.

“Chica stay.” You mumbled and looked and noticed a kid under the well clothed tables. “Guard y/n.” A monotone voice rang out as you banged your head on the table. “Ow- Yes Dark?” You hissed holding your head. “I hope you remember protocol, any and all intruders under 18 must be kept with the guard.” You mumbled curses and helped the kid out.

“Yes sir.” He looked satisfied and walked off. “C’mon kid I’m calling authorities so your parents can find you.” The kid nodded slowly as you groaned seeing bright pink and yellow cross your vision.

“Hello Wilford.” “Awwwww! Did you bring your kid?” He started opening his faceplates and you covered the kid’s eyes. “Wilford. No. And this isn’t my kid.” You pushed the leaned down robot away as the endoskeleton showed and the terrifying scene vanished. “Your a bully! You never get scared anymoreeeeee!”

You sighed and slid past and got to the phone. “Hello 911? I’ve found a lost child in the Ego Mall. Yes I’m the guard tonight. Me and Dark found the child thanks to the Mall’s Dog Chica. No sir this is not my child.” You groaned the last part and hung up as you waited at the entry for the police.

“Are you mad?” The kid almost sobbed. “No no! I promise! Tonight’s been rough and I’m absolutely not mad at anyone!” They sniffles and held out their pinky. “Pinky promise?” You hooked your finger around theirs and hummed. “Pinky promise! I bet your mommy and daddy can’t wait to see you! I’m sure their worried where their kid ran off to at. . midnight!”

You laughed as the cops arrived and picked the kid up. You nodded as they took the kid. You sighed and turned back bumping into Google. “My sensors detect your gonna miss that kid. And by a scan their parents should return shortly tomorrow to try and find you. Do you want me to send you a call for their arrival?”

You jumped and sighed. “Yeah yeah. Sure if I don’t wake up just come into my dorms.” You laughed and walked off grabbing some snacks and sat down and ate while walking around and making your rounds around the mall.

-> ~~~~~~~~~~~~ <-

FELLOW ANONS!! Whoever you guys choose I’ll do a whole mini on them 😏😏😏😏😏

OMG the STAFF bots being Animatronic!Space's crew that's amazing.

And Chica as a giant mall dog is good

#clanask #airlock anon #fnaf sb au

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river--glass · 4 years ago

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🎄❄️Reylo Fic Recs: Holiday/Snowed In❄️🎄

For the Nonny who asked for holiday and snowed in fics! Thanks for the ask, enjoy!

A Royal Mix-Up by AttackoftheDarkCurses. (E, Modern, 68K)

Rey swipes left on the man standing beside her while waiting in the airport, and after hooking up with him on the airport agrees to be his fake date over the holidays. He conveniently forgets to mention he’s a prince. Attack has an entire collection of tropey rom-com fics and they’re all treasures. This is funny and touching and the ending is perfect.

A Place To Go by delia-pavorum. (E, Modern, 52K)

A secluded cabin, snowstorm, strangers… and there was only one bed.

No Snow by LoveThemFiercely & QueenOfCarrotFlowers @leofgyth. (M, White Christmas, 41K)

Ben Solo wasn’t looking for any excitement at Christmas. He just wanted to hang out at his family’s resort with his best friend, drink whiskey by the fire, maybe do a little skiing. He wasn’t counting on one of the most popular singing duos in the country to show up and throw a wrench in it, and he certainly wasn’t expecting no snow. I have not read this, but I’ve never been disappointed by anything Queen has written! Plus, a White Christmas AU!!!

The Smash Before the Splash by HarpiaHarpyja @thisgarbagepicker. (E, Modern, 27K)

Rey has been doing her damnedest to acclimate to expectations at her new office—including participation in some less-conventional holiday celebrations. When she learns that one particular coworker stubbornly refuses to take part in the company-wide Polar Bear Plunge, she makes it her personal mission to convince him to change his tune.

Silver Linings by Ria84. (E, Modern, 27K)

Rey is an up-and-coming country star. Ben is a small town cop who meets her when she passes through his town and her bus breaks down. A classic Hallmark movie fic featuring stranded a stranded Rey, misunderstandings, and Christmas tree farm in trouble.

Flight 815 to Colorado Springs: Canceled. by SpaceWaffleHouseTM @sand-its-everywhere. (E, Modern, 25K)

“Listen, I know we’ve only known each other for five minutes, but do you trust me?”- In which Ben and Rey are strangers who have to share a rental car to make it home for Christmas because their flight got cancelled. This one is funny and sweet and super enjoyable. Waffle is one of my favorite Reylo writers.

Blame it on the Mistletoe by deedreamer & HopelesslyReylo. (E, Modern, 24K)

Rey Wilson doesn’t necessarily hate Christmas, it’s just that she’s never really enjoyed it. So when her new boss —and secret crush— Ben Solo catches her singing in her office, she lies to avoid looking like a grinch. Now she’s agreed to spend the holiday with him and his over-the-top Christmas fanatic family. I really loved this one. I laughed out loud several times, and you can feel so clearly rey’s longing to belong and her joy at slipping in so well with Ben’s family. Plus, good smut.

Someone to Watch Over Me by AttackoftheDarkCurses. (E, Modern, 21K)

When Rey is gifted a state-of-the-art all-house AI to beta-test, she never expected "Kylo" to become her best friend, and she never expected him do anything within his power to give her the winter holiday she's always wanted. This is ridiculous and hilarious and a wild, awesome ride.Go check it out!

your name (twine it with mine) by lachesisgrimm. (E, Modern A/B/O, 14K)

In which Rey needs a fake boyfriend to bring to her boss/pseudo mother figures house for christmas. I’ll give you one guess who the boss is, and one guess whose ad she chooses. Soft Ben! Explicit hand holding! Love at first sniff! No angst, just an instant connection and good feelings all around.

From Christmas to New Year’s Eve, I’m Yours by MaryMonster. (E, Modern, 10K)

When Rey’s landlords leave town for the holidays, their mysterious son, Ben Solo, comes for a visit. Smutty hijinks ensue.

So Long, My Adversary by like_a_dove. (E, Modern, 9K)

Rey is snowed in at the bookstore she works at with Ben Solo, her very grumpy manager who she's been crushing on for a year. Too bad he hates her. I love this, a classic misunderstanding-to-heated fuck fic.

I Want Ben Solo for Christmas by 3todream3. (E, Modern, 9K)

Mall worker Ben has a secret crush on his lunch buddy Rey. Things get interesting when he secretly takes another job as the Mall Santa, and Rey pays a visit. This is sweet and funny and Ben is so, so smitten.

(I’ll probably release a new/updated list closer to the holidays, once I’ve read more fics of this theme. I (almost) never recommend fics I haven’t personally read and enjoyed)

#holiday reylo #reylo fic rec #reylo fic recs #reylo fanfiction #christmas reylo #snowed in reylo #ask

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the-weeping-author · 5 years ago

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Can’t lose you.

This was a request from @phoebethepheebs

Request: Can you do Steve Harrington x Reader. Where it’s the battle of Star Court Mall and the reader almost dies and Steve is a panicky boi.(The drugs are worn off at this point)

Warnings: cussing, blood, broken bones, death, season 3 spoilers.

A/N: hey guys this will be my first AU so not everything will be spot on with what happened in the show so sorry, my request are open so feel free.

Word count: 1,510

Also thanks ahoy-stevieboy and thehair-harrington for the help with this request!! ❤️❤️

Tag list: @ahoy-stevieboy @thehair-ington @galactic-kitten-nonsense @linkispink1995 @theworldisugly-22 @harringtown @spiritsent

@ahoy-stevieboy helped me with this so thank youuu so much!! ❤️❤️

(Please don’t copy my fics and use them as your own please.)

Please enjoy 😌

I was currently in the Starcourt mall with the party along with Robin and my best friend. I have no idea how or when I ended up here but I was here.

The splitting headache made it almost unbearable to keep focus, the left side of my side hurt, my ears ringing like a bomb went off right near me.

I had to worry about that later right now El’s life depended on us, I refuse to let her or anyone else down.

We were currently throwing fireworks at the Mind Flayer El was currently on the main floor of the mall with Billy along with the mind flayer.

I noticed that we were running low on fireworks and soon our idea was going to flop, Steve was across the way with Johnathan and Nancy while I was throwing with Robin.

I looked at robin then grabbed her wrist.

“Hey Robin we are running low on fireworks.”

She looked at me when she tossed the one in her hand.

“Yeah Y/N I know they need to hurry up or we are all fucked.”

She had a point, my attention looking towards the mind flayer then flashing to everyone. I knew exactly what I had to do.

“Robin take care of Steve for me please.”

Before she could respond I stood up running towards the stairs. I bolted down there with a firework in my hand.

There was a small voice telling me to turn back, I tuned that voice out seeing billy, El and the mind flayer’s legs come into view.

I continued walking until I was about 15 feet away I pulled out my lighter holding it near the wick lighting it. then I got closer so I could get a clear shot at it, I pulled my arm back getting ready to throw it then I looked at El then at the mind flayer.

“Eat this mother fucker.”

I quickly tossed the firework near it, instantly it exploded. The Mind Flayer let out a shriek taking a few steps back, everything immediately went black.

*Steves pov*

There were only a few fireworks left in the bin, panic set into everyone. I was worried about everyone, how could I keep them safe if this didn’t work?

Most importantly how can I keep Y/N safe? When I looked across the way towards Robin I noticed Y/N wasn’t with her, on the spot relief washed over me.

“Good she got out of here.”

I thought to myself as I lit another firework tossing it over the ledge. As Lucas threw the last firework at the Mind Flayer I felt nauseous.

We all ran to the railing on the ledge looking as Billy stood up standing in place, the mind flayer's mouth opened slowly.

Mike and Max ran stopping as soon as they saw Billy, shock showed on their face I think we were all shocked honestly.

As the mind flayer’s little tentacle thing shot out of its mouth Billy stopped it, fighting back everyone was frozen, even El.

Six more tentacles came from the sides of the mind flayer shooting into billy, Dustin coming loud and clear over the walkie talkie.

“CLOSE IT NOW, CLOSE IT.”

Billy let out a yell then the tentacle from the mind flayer’s mouth went into Billy’s chest, then out letting his body fall to the ground covered in blood.

“BILLY!” Max yelled tears filled her eyes.

Then the mind flayer let out a noise while stumbling around, running into the railing Johnathan, Nancy and I were then just dropped to the floor.

I felt relaxed now robin walking over to us.

“Robin it’s done we beat it.”

She smiled sympathetically at me.

“Y-yeah we did.”

I felt uneasy she was keeping something from me.

“Robin, why do you look like that you should be happy.”

“W-well Steve it’s about Y/N.”

I looked at her.

“Yeah I’m glad she got out of here she could have ended up hurt.”

Her gaze left mine falling to the floor, that nauseous feeling came back.

“Robin what happened? What happened to Y/N?”

She wouldn’t say anything, I felt tears prickling at the corner of my eyes. I grabbed both her shoulders.

“Robin where’s Y/N? What happened to her?”

“S-She went down there to distract that thing last I saw was it hit her, then I didn’t see her anymore.”

My heart dropped to the floor, Worry settling into my body. I let my hands fall off her shoulder then she looked up at me.

“She told me to take care of you for her.”

The more she talked the more I felt a sob coming along.

I turned away from her then I rushed down the stairs.

“Y/N!! Y/N please answer me.”

When I reached the bottom mike pointed.

“She’s over there Steve.”

My head snapped toward him then followed where he was pointing. My gaze followed where he was pointing, then my eyes went wide. There you were laying there not moving it didn’t look like you were breathing either.

*No ones pov*

Steve ran over to You, lifting your head on his lap he shook you by your shoulders.

“Y/N come on please.”

Nothing

He let tears stream down his face.

“Y/N please come back to me you’re okay, you’re gonna be okay we just gotta get help.”

Again nothing.

He put his forehead against yours and started sobbing as best as he could with an eye swollen shut.

“God damn it Y/N you’re the only girl I have in my life, you’re the only one who I can depend on, the only one who makes me feel like a million bucks, the girl I’m in love you can’t just leave me.”

Again nothing.

The party, Johnathan, Robin and Nancy walked over to Steve and you.

“Steve come on we have to get outside.”

He smacked Mike's hand off his shoulder.

“Get off me, I’m not leaving her here.”

“Steve come on she’s gone we have to go.”

He sniffled letting more tears fall.

“She c-can’t be I love her, she can’t leave me.”

Nancy started crying at Steve’s desperation he sounded so broken. Johnathan, Mike and robin grabbed his arms pulling him up.

He thrashed against their hold.

“G-Get the fuck off me, I’m not leaving her I can’t leave her.”

They tightened their grip on him slowly turning him around. Him struggling against their grip. As they started walking away a noise stopped them.

*Your pov*

When I came too I started coughing and gasping for air. My lungs felt like they were on fire, if I thought my headache was bad before nothing has ever compared to the headache I had now.

When I opened my eyes I saw Steve’s face I smiled softly.

“Hi.”

He wrapped his arms around my neck and cried into me.

“Y-Y/N I thought I lost you.”

I wrapped my arm around him while my fingers found his hair.

“As much as I love feeling you body heat can we please get out of here?”

He pulled away and nodded as fast as his head would let him.

“Y-yes of course.”

He picked me up so softly I knew it was because he thought he was going to break me. Then he looked at me.

“When I bend down jump on my back only if you can.”

I nodded as he turned around and bent his knees, I jumped on his back no matter how bad my side was hurting.

He carried me all the way outside, when we went out to the parking lot there were helicopters, ambulances, cop cars and fire trucks. The medics immediately took everyone to different vehicles.

Steve’s eyes wouldn’t leave me as they checked me out. I had a concussion and a broken ribs. They told Steve he had a concussion along with some bruised ribs.

After they finished they went to check others out, Steve grabbed my hand.

“Hey Y/N when we were in there I was so scared-“

“Sh sh sh Steve I’m okay don't worry about me going anywhere. I won’t leave you.”

He let out a light chuckle.

“How can I not worry about you when I’m in love with you?”

My breath hitches and my eyes widened.

“Steve-“

“I know it’s okay that you don’t feel the same way I just wanted you to know.”

I grabbed his hand then kissed his cheek.

“I’m in love with you too dork.”

He smiled brightly at me then put his head on my shoulder, I followed his action just letting the past 24 hours sink in.

“Hey Y/N?”

I pulled my head away and looked at him.

“Yes Steve?”

“May I kiss you?”

He asked, waiting for my answer. I leaned close to him connecting our lips. I didn’t know if this was completed over but all I knew was that as long as Steve and I were together nothing could stop us.

A/N: hey guys thanks for reading I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did, Mores coming in posting one more one shot soon then chapter three will be out so keep an eye out thank you guys for supporting me and liking my stuff. ❤️

#stranger things x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington x imagine #steve harrington x reader

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dreamingwithbts · 5 years ago

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Not everything is what it seems - Chapter 4

Genre: Poly!Au; Hybrid! Au; Fluff; Angst

Pairing: Hybrid! BTS x Female!Reader; Human!Reader; Wolf!Namjoon; Peacock!Seokjin; Siamese Cat!Yoongi; Golden Retriever Dog!Hoseok; Munchkin Cat!Jimin; Fox!Taehyung; Bunny!Jungkook

Summary: Y/N is the youngest CEO from a big company, and she has to adopt a hybrid in order to make her figure good between others companies since her cold attitude makes everyone away for her, but when she adopts seven hybrids is it for the good of the company or it's something else?

**********************❤**********************

Doing has I said, the eight of us enter the hybrid shop to get their collars, and they quickly went to the ones who catch their eyes, some of them were quick while the other took their time, I see the stupid hybrids whispering to each other and looking at me and I pretend to not notice.

"Are you all done? Have everything you want?" I ask them when the seven come to me. "Well....I....." The dumb fox tries and I cross my arms looking at him, waiting emotionless, then the stupid bunny pokes him, and he finally asks without looking at me. "Which one should I take?" He shows me two collars, one red velvet really classy while the other is a baby blue regular collar with some drawings. " You can take both." I say and the hybrid look at me shocked and then a big box smile appears. "Thank you!" He says and the oldest hybrids look at me smiling while the young ones talks to the fox hybrid.

We leave the store while I paid for everything. "Let's make the groups now." I say. They all look at each other and nod, the two cat hybrids come to my side being joined by the fox leaving the bunny, the peacock, the wolf and the dog in the other. "Ok, this is your credit card you can buy what ever you want, you don't need to care about the money." I say giving the card to the peacock hybrid who seems the more responsible. He takes the card and every group goes to different directions.

"Where you want to go first?" I ask the three hybrids. "Gucci please!" The fox hybrids says with a smile and I nod to him starting to go to the direction of the store, on our way there the cute cat hybrid links his arm in mine and I stiff on the contact but I don't say anything or look at him or the others, missing their smiles on the action.

We went to every store in the mall, I saw the three hybrids were very happy and excited, I start getting tired for following them everywhere but I try not to show them until the cute cat says. "Are you tired Y/N?" I look at him almost smirking for him using my name so freely but I look emotionless. "No, I'm fine." And the cute cat giggles while the angry cat laughs silently of me and I glare to him angry and the fox looks at us with his head tilted confused. "Let's go, time to find the others and go." I say angry and leave quickly being followed by them.

On the way to where we started the hybrids suddenly stopped. "What?" I asked. "Something is happening..." The cute hybrid says. "It's the others!" The other cat says angry and very worried and starts running making all of us run and then I saw it, the motive why he run.

I see a lot a people reunited in circle and in the middle there was couple where the man was holding tight the hybrid dog, my hybrid dog, I look to the other hybrids with him and I see the wolf hybrid holding the bunny while the peacock was trying to talk to the cops.

Angry I run to the man and I take his hand on the hybrid and put the hybrid behind me being taken by the cats. "What do you think you are doing to MY hybrid." I say dangerously slow and seeing my deadly glare the man takes a step back in fear but recover quickly. "That thing and his friends shouldn't be allowed in here." He says. "That things are human beings. The only thing here that shouldn't exist is you but unlucky for us and for the world your dad condom broke and you came." I say making the crowd and my hybrids to laugh. "BITCH!" Angry the man raises his hand in a fit and try to punch me, but I was pushed behind the wolf and the angry cat who hissed and growl to the man. "Love just let it go, let's go home." His girlfriend I presume says trying to make him leave. "Listen to your girlfriend and just disappear, believe me you don't want to know what I can do to when I'm pissed off and I'm almost there and if you ever hurt my hybrids again you are going to wish to disappear." I say tired and angry.

The man still insulting us leaves with his girlfriend follow him. "What are you looking at! Show is over, thank you so much for your help." I say sarcastically to the coward crow that was still watching us and they left in shame or not caring.

"Are you okay?" I ask the dog hybrid. " I'm okay now, thank you." He says now smiling to me. "Did he do anything?" I ask the wolf. "No, he just started insulting us, and ask if we had owner then he takes Hobi arm to makes us leave." He says and I nod. "Let's go home now." I say and I call Mochu, and we left towards home with a very silent ride.

Arriving home I went straight to my office leaving the hybrids at the entrance, so I didn't see their smiles, happy even after what happen to them.

The Boys Pov:

When we arrive home, Y/N went to her office angry and close the door in a loud bang, but we were there looking at the door happy. "Did you hear her! She called us her hybrids!" Hobi says hyper. "And she said this where our home!" Jin says. "And the way she treated him so calmly was scary! But her insults are amazing" Taehyung says making everyone agrees and shiver remembering her dangerous aura.

"Don't get to happy, she can still return us at any time." Yoongi says. "Don't be so pessimist Hyung!" Jimin says hugging Yoongi arm. "I think she is great!" He continues. "That's because you are her favourite!" Jungkook says accusing Jimin. "It's not my fault!" Jimin blushes hiding his face making us all laugh.

Tag list:@beach-bitch-bitch-beach @ky-is-the-name @kokomaesadie @classybouquetsworld @daydreamindollie @xanny91 @hopefuloperaangelnerd @fivesecondsofsarang @hannahdinse8 @xsmilebitesx @cisila @drunkzseok @rjsmochii @justmethehero @celineann91

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xiubaek-13 · 5 years ago

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Case File 99

Prompt: You meet Minseok in a bar and swear that you know him from SOMEWHERE but have no idea where, but now you have to do something about it

Pairing: Minseok x Reader

A/N: ��This was for a one shot challenge done on tumblr with friends but I’m leaving it open to further one shots in the future. If you like this AU please let me know who and what you want to see and I will make a small list to work on. There are 3 pieces of dialogue in here that are not mine. I have borrowed them from Scott Lynch and his amazing Gentlemen’s Bastards series. I recently reread the 3 books and couldn’t word the dialogue in these 3 spots any better

Rain pelted the windows of your corner office, only adding to the dreary day you were having. You said corner office but you could hardly call it that. It’s not like you worked in some big office building for a massive corporation. No, you worked out of a rundown apartment in the shadier part of town. Still, it had a big glass window that wrapped around the corner of the building and rain was pelting against it. The only people that ever sought you out were in desperate need of your skills. Photographic memory, ability to sneak or talk your way into almost anywhere (except for that one demon club downtown), an unhealthy amount of supernatural knowledge and a general fuck it attitude were among some of your more specific skills that seemed to bring in the clients. If a person went missing and couldn’t be found, you got a call. If one of the supernatural got a little too public with its existence, you got a call. If something was just plain weird, you got a call.

After one too many run ins with the law, and one extremely close call, Detective Markham had worked out exactly what you had been doing every time they found traces of you at a crime scene. Since that day you’d been given a small amount of trust to sort out the less human problems in the city and once you’d been given the freedom to emerge from the shadows without fear of being arrested and thrown in a psychiatric ward, you’d realised just how fucked up your city was.

It would actually be fair to say that humans thought they controlled a lot more of their city than they actually did. You had worked out that the city was divided into 6 very uneven sections. The largest parts went to the vampires, the demons and the fae, then the werewolves, other beings and lastly the humans. The humans bled into all the sectors, unbeknownst to them the danger they put themselves in or the nature of those they worked for. They had no idea that the coexisted with non humans and you couldn't help but laugh at how enterprising the supernatural were. Minhyuk the incubus ran the local sex shop (and business was booming), Heechul the changeling and his mix bag of supes ran one of the malls and Hyojong the ghoul was the local mortician to name a few.

You worked right near the border of the demons territory which meant the streets were always littered with addicts, working women…sometimes men, the odd counsellor trying to help, and travellers for hire. The travellers were chameleons in this city. They could change at will to blend in to the sector they wandered in to so if you needed someone to scout an area or find names for you, you sought out a traveller. They were an information only service though. If you actually wanted to get anything done you either had to do it yourself or pay through the teeth to get it.

In these quiet periods you occasionally wished for the ignorance you once had when you would never have believed in anything other than humans. But, life was rough growing up and you had seen some shit that defied explanation. Then when a friend of yours went missing at the ripe age of 16, a traveller sat you down and explained everything to you. At first you called him crazy but he dragged you all over the city and pointed out the things that were ‘other’ about the residents. Things you ignored if you weren’t looking. Like how some of the ‘people’ moved too fast, how all of their eyes changed, the differences in emotions, how they held themselves, their walks, the agelessness and the sheer cunning in all of them. It had shaken your world view and altered it for the rest of your days.

Sure the humans had their fair share of bad eggs but after seeing the supernatural for the first time you started to notice all of the ways people were manipulated for them. The vampires dealt mainly in brothels and hospitals. It was a good cover for bruised glassy eyed people and blood supplies as well as a good means of disposing of bodies. The demons dealt in contracts, so their sector had the lawyers, the high rollers and gamblers. The werewolves dealt in drugs and weapons since it allowed them to give in to the carnage they desired. The fae were the smugglers. They were who you looked to if a person just disappeared. The vamps at least had the decency to take adults and toss them back after they were done. The fae took children. they took anyone who might interest them for a few hours. Then you never saw them again.

They were the jobs you hated the most. You knew you’d hardly ever find the people you were looking for, and from the few encounters with the high fae over the years, any conversations you had with the fae required all of your wits. They were more cunning than the demons with how they could talk you round in circles without ever helping you. Entering their territory had its own set of dangers and it was ultimately never worth your time.

A sharp knock at the door broke your reverie. You spun in your chair and waited. Like hell you were getting up, the last three times someone had knocked it was for deliveries to the wrong apartment, salespeople or charity. So this time you decided to wait in your chair and see if they came in. They knocked a second time and still you waited. If whoever was on the other side of that door was seeking you out and they’d ventured through the city to your apartment block, through the gang territories, drug addicts and drunkards, then they weren’t leaving until they saw you. The handle turned and the door opened slowly, creaking loudly. You’d fix it but it was a good makeshift security system. No one came in through the door without you knowing about it.

“Hello?” A voice broke the silence. “Um, is anyone here?”

“If you aren’t here to try and sell me a product, a religion or a donation then come in. Otherwise fuck off.”

A young woman entered the apartment, closing the door behind her. If you had to guess you’d say she came from uptown, the section controlled by the demons, she looked too put together to be from any other area of town. Her eyes were wary but determined as she approached your desk. “Det. Markham gave me this address. Said you might be able to help me.” She took a seat opposite you and waited.

“I might be able to. It’ll cost you but I’m sure Markham told you that already.” The woman nodded. “Alright, what seems to be the problem?” You leant back in your chair. If Markham had sent her then it was probably an actual case, now you just had to determine if it was worth the risk.

“My sister went missing a week ago. She’s a nursing student and had been having night classes at the hospital. We live in uptown so she had a bit of a journey home each night. She’d always let me know when she was leaving and how she was getting home. That night I got a text saying she was catching the 2.45am bus but she never turned up. I reported her missing and the cops looked for any trace of her for the past week but came up with nothing. Markham gave me your card and told me you might be able to find something they missed. Please help me, my sister is all I’ve got and someone took her from me.” As she spoke, the desperation and loss ebbed into her voice. She was genuinely upset about her sister. You were going to have to call Markham to make sure there weren’t any details you should know about this case but it sounded like the vampires were involved. Your guess was she’d either been attacked or turned. It could also be the fae but you were hoping that since she went missing in vamp territory that the fae weren't involved.

“I’ll have a look into it and see if I can find anything for you. It’s a $200 upfront fee for services and then more as the investigation progresses based off the risk involved. I should know by tomorrow if there is anything to go off but I’ll get you to give me all the information about your sisters movements that week that you have.” The woman nodded and pulled out a binder and handed it to you.

“That has basic info on Juliet, that’s her name by the way, her hobbies, class schedule, travel routes, what she wore that week and more. Anything you need should be in there.” She handed you a wad of money and turned to leave.

“I assume that there is a number to contact you on in here too?” She nodded. “Alright, leave it with me. I’ll do what I can.”

“So what you’re telling me is that you found nothing?”

“Yes. It was weird, if I didn’t know better I’d say someone was trying to make it look like she never existed. When we first looked she still had insurance and bank accounts and a mailing address. Now all of that is gone. Medical history, gone. That’s why I gave her sister your card.” Markham’s voice crackled through the receiver as you leafed through the binder you’d been left.

“I’m guessing vamps. It’s their territory and they have a tendency to delete records when they need to.”

“And if it was them?”

You sighed. “Then Juliet is either dead, a plaything or a baby vamp. I can only get her back if she’s the second option but that won’t be pleasant.”

---

The club was in full swing by the time you arrived. The music hit you, the dirty bass jerking your pulse to its beat. You wove through the throng of bodies writhing on the dance floor, seeking out one person. You scanned the bar and the booths tucked in the far corner of the club. Out of the light and obstructed by shadows, you spotted him. The lime green hair was a dead giveaway, pun intended. You observed from a distance, taking in his features. His skin was unmarred, save for the tattoos you could spot on any of his exposed skin. He looked up and stared straight at you before pointing a finger at you and beckoning you over. His brows were significantly darker than his hair and his eyes, dark and mesmerising.

You’d heard a lot about the head of the vamp clan, Kwon Jiyong, but you had never spoken to him before. Tonight was a first. You’d requested a sit down with one of the clans higher ups but you had expected your usual contact, Seungri. You approached the booth and tried to get a feel for the leader of the vamps. You had questions and no plans to overstep your boundaries while you were in their territory.

You took a seat opposite him. He leant back and settled into a more comfortable position in the booth, never breaking eye contact. All vampires had a special quality to their eyes but his were enthralling. He smirked and you got a hint of the mischievous side you’d been warned about.

“Thanks for meeting me. I have to say I honestly didn’t expect you to turn up. Usually it’s Seungri.”

“He was otherwise engaged tonight. You requested a meeting with someone high up so I figured since I was free why not send you the highest up in my clan.”

“I won’t beat around the bush. This isn’t a social call after all. Since we haven’t met before I’ll introduce myself. I’m a P.I. I’ve been hired by someone who is trying to find her sister.”

"Does this P.I. have a name?"

"You can call me Sophrosyne. Syn for short." you replied.

He chuckled, giving you and indignant look. "Greek gods? Really now."

"Names are currency in these parts. This is the name I go by. My true name is not up for discussion." He raised his hands, not in surrender but more as a show that he was willing to move on.

His gaze lingered on you. Vampires were unsettling in that they stared. A lot. “And you think it’s got something to do with us?” You nod. “Why?”

“The girl in question was taking night classes at the hospital and her records have been scrubbed.” A small frown ghosted across his face. If you hadn’t been watching him for any signs of reaction you would have missed it.

“Mmm I see why you came to ask questions. It makes sense. I can tell you this much though. It wasn’t us.”

“Forgive me if I sound rude but I’m gonna need more than that if you actually want me to believe you.”

Jiyong sighed, an action that was completely unnecessary for him. “We have not made any new vampires in the past fortnight and we have not disposed of any bodies that would fit her description. If she was taken by us, she’ll be in one of the brothels. We wouldn’t scrub her records for that though so it’s unlikely that we have her. You are welcome to check, I’ll send word to answer your questions if you should turn up at any of our fine establishments.” He smirked as he finished his last sentence, amused at the thought of you visiting every brothel in his section of town.

He leant forward, all signs of mischief gone from his face. “We aren’t the only ones to scrub records darling. If I were you I’d check uptown then the west. If she was taken downtown then you might as well tell whoever is looking for that she’s dead because if the fae have her, she’s never coming home.”

You nodded. You had the same plans. Vamps were the most likely suspects but if it wasn’t them then you were off to see the demons next. They were sly but civil. The wolves were tenacious so you had to pick your moments with them. The fae… well you were hoping to avoid setting up a meeting with them. “I planned on leaving them til last. I have connections with the other 3 factions but not the fae. I’d need all my wits about me before questioning them.”

Jiyong raised an eyebrow. “And you don’t need your wits about you with the rest of us?”

“I understand how each of you work. I’ve had dealings with each of you in the past. I’m not saying that makes you predictable or safe because lord knows you’re all dangerous but the fae are a whole other monster.”

You settled into a conversation with the head of the vampires. You could see the cogs turning in his brain every time you answered one of his questions. He was gracious, offering you a tidbit of his or his clans life whenever you answered him. There was no doubt in your mind that this man was also cunning and ruthless, one doesn’t remain the head of a clan for so long by simply being nice.

You noticed a man standing at the bar, his body turned towards your booth. He was swirling a glass of whiskey in his hand. His lilac hair stood out amongst the crowd of darkly clothed club goers. He was staring down at his glass as if it was the most interesting thing in the room. Something kept dragging your focus from him and no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t keep your eyes on him for more than a few seconds. It was like something was willing you to not notice him. You turned back to Jiyong to mention him but when he asked you what this man looked like you couldn’t pull a single feature from your mind to share with him.

Jiyong tried to pull details from your mind for the next twenty minutes before giving up. He called a guard over and had him search the club for fae. The guard didn’t find anything which didn’t surprise either of you. After an hour the two of you parted ways. He wished you luck on your investigation but told you not to hold out much hope. What you didn’t tell him is with any client, you presumed them dead until a piece of evidence told you otherwise.

The next day you headed uptown into the middle of demon territory. You made your way through the tent city on the outskirts, the alleys full of passed out addicts and hovels with working girls. The derelict buildings only represented the edges of the district. The edges were where you went if you’d run out of luck but didn’t want to leave the district. It was where you found yourself if you still thought you could win it all back. No one ever won it all back, beating the demons was unheard of. As you continued on the buildings became nicer, sleeker and colder. There was no warmth in this district. Courts, legal offices and casinos were big business here. Not to mention all of the stores catering to the high rollers. Car dealerships, designer fashion, award winning restaurants and more were places around the central business district.

At the epicentre stood The Cardinal, a luxurious, exclusive and extremely well guarded casino. It was where the demons had based themselves and it was fitting really, each sin was well represented inside those walls. To gain entry you were required to prove your wealth and you had to look the part. It was like most casinos in that you rarely ever beat the house but the similarities stopped there. If you ran out of cash other bargains could be struck with one of the 7 owners if you were dumb enough to make a deal with them.

You had heard stories about con artists who had tried to scam the place and the tales you had heard were not pretty. It would be very, very unfortunate if one of the 7 were to realize that and patron to the establishment were counting on what one con artist had liked to call ‘discreetly unorthodox methods’ to win the game – hell, it would be preferable to simply lose the old-fashioned way, or to be caught cheating by the normal attendants. They, at least, would probably be quick and efficient executioners. They had a very busy establishment to run. If, however, one of the 7 caught you, you would wish you were dead.

You had earned yourself free entry into The Cardinal after you had been tricked into catching one such con artist. At the time you hadn’t known you were hired by a demon, they were cunning like that. Avarice, or Yoongi as he had requested you refer to him, was cutthroat when it came to losing what he saw as rightfully his. The way he saw it, someone was out to take his money, and he saw that as a personal attack. You never asked what became of the con artist and frankly you didn’t want to know.

Over the years you had used the demons for their knowledge. Very little happened in the entire city without their knowing. Not surprising when you were dealing with demons. Even less surprising after you realised that the district was run by the seven deadly sins. In hindsight, Avarice was a little on the nose but demons always had weird latin names and you weren’t always bothered with translating them.

You had learned quickly that in order to deal with the demons and not end up as one of their victims you had to be extremely adept at double speak, specifics and manipulation. They were masters at the art of talking unsuspecting humans around in circles, promising them the world all the while tricking them into selling their souls, eternal servitude or death.

You made your way up the stone steps and spotted one of the bouncers sidestep to block you from entering the building. You turned your head towards one of the security cameras and blinked, waiting. A moment later the bouncer moved out of your way. You inclined your head at the camera before continuing up the steps to the entrance of the building. You paused in front of the doors that would lead you inside. Once you crossed that threshold it was a sensory overload and if you weren’t careful you’d never leave. Normal casinos were designed to fully immerse the gamblers into a world where time doesn’t exist, money is constantly won and where they directly influence the odds. The Cardinal did all of that and more. The windows were actually black reflective glass so if you looked at them you would never see the outside, only the interior of the casino. The layout was deceptively simple but if you strayed from the main aisle you could lose yourself for days. There were no clocks so that gamblers lost track of time, servers provided free food and booze to gamblers and if you weren’t gambling they’d tell you which machines were the good ones and which tables you’d win at in order to coerce you into gambling. Each of the three floors had different music, noises, lighting and scents. The kicker was that each room might just have one of the seven deadly sins in it, influencing the gamblers every move.

You bypassed the ground floor and headed straight up the stairwell to the main bar. You didn’t have a meeting set aside with Yoongi because you refused to give him any advantage when you needed to get information out of him. The less time he had to prepare, the better. You didn’t expect to find him in the bar area but you needed one of the others in order to gain access to whichever high stakes room he was more than likely in.

As you sat and waited for your drink the youngest of the seven dropped into the seat next to you. “I see you are taking your sin literally tonight Jungkook.” He smirked back at you.

“Well when you look this good…” He chuckled. He knew he was attractive, his body and charms were a weapon. Tall, dark haired, well built, strong but not imposing, thighs to die for, killer smile and that way of talking to you like you were the only person in the universe. Jungkook was dangerous to anyone he went after. Lust was definitely in his element in the casino and tonight he was not going for subtlety. Every other time you’d been here he’d been in a perfectly tailored suit that accentuated every feature that he wanted to highlight. Tonight he was in black skinny jeans, a collared shirt that was being held together with two buttons and a leather jacket. He exuded sex appeal and you needed him to leave the room. You couldn’t afford to waste any of your mental fortitude on anyone other than Yoongi tonight.

You reminded yourself why you were here and spoke. “I need access to whichever private game he’s running tonight.”

Jungkook shrugged. “He’s not running one tonight.”

You raised an eyebrow at him, not believing the statement. “I’m not kidding, I have information to swap with him and some questions.”

Jungkook leaned forward and ran a hand through your hair. “And I told you, he isn’t running any of the private games tonight. V & Jin are. A bunch of foreign businessmen arrived earlier so those two get the honours for the night.”

You refused to break eye contact or allow yourself to notice how he had moved closer to you or all of the little touches he’d given you since sitting down. You did not come here to be seduced by Lust. No, you came here for a far more idiotic reason, to try and get Greed to give up information for free. “In that case where is he?”

Jungkook spun your body around on your seat so that he could stand right behind you. He extended his arm over your shoulder and pointed toward the other end of the floor before speaking in a sensual tone in your ear.. “He’s down near the roulette and blackjack tables. You could always just stay with me though. Surely we could work out a deal.”

You shook your head and removed yourself from his clutches. “You’d stand a chance if I didn’t know what you are. Unfortunately for you, I know better than to get involved with Luxuria.”

He grinned as you got up to leave. “Ah but that’s what makes it fun for me. When I finally do win you, you will beg for me.”

You waved as you walked off. “Keep dreaming on that. Never gonna happen.”

You scanned the area as you reached the blackjack tables. So far you hadn’t spotted him at any of the tables or walking the floor. You were getting ready to go back and chew Jungkook out for wasting your time when you finally spotted him. The mess of white blonde hair, the dark eyes observing the room hungrily from a recess in the room was unmistakably Yoongi. He glanced at you and raised an eyebrow. You approached him and took a seat in the recess next to him.

His low rasp startled you. “It’s fascinating to watch them revel in their greed. They hardly even need my influence on this floor, it’s almost like they think they could win.” He chuckled. “They know deep down that they cannot win, that no one beats the house, but still they try.”

“If they don’t need your influence then why bother making an appearance on this floor?”

“To recharge. I don’t need to influence them but I can feed off their greed.” His dark eyes gleamed. “And there is so much to feed off.” He waved a hand in your direction. “You aren’t here for a social visit so what do you want?”

“I have some questions for you about a case I’m working.”

You would have missed the gleam that flitted across his eyes if you hadn’t been looking at him to gauge his response. The vices were always easy to pander to, the difficult part was getting what you wanted unscathed. “What are you offering in exchange for my answers? You know nothing is free inside these walls.”

“Between 40 – 100% of the physical assets, gold, property, valuables etc will go to you. The percentage depends on the state that I find my client in.”

“80 – 100%”

“55 – 100%. No more. All I require from you is information, you don’t even have to move from this spot.”

He thought about your offer as he watched the humans throw their money down at the roulette tables, as if they stood a chance at winning. Their greed was palpable. “Fine. I will answer 3 questions. If you require more than that then we renegotiate the terms of our deal.” Clever. It was a smart move. This way he would gain some knowledge about what your case was and then he could figure out just how badly you wanted to solve it. He was trying to use your need for answers against you. It was not likely that he would budge from the initial offer of three questions so you got to work on the phrasing, you could not afford to leave any cracks for him to evade answering you.

“Agreed.” He shifted in his seat to face you, providing you with his full attention. “A girl went missing on her way home from night classes at the hospital. She lives in this territory. Every night she would call or text her sister to let her know she was on her way home and which bus she was on. The night she went missing she texted her sister to say she was leaving the hospital but she never arrived home. I initially thought vamps because by the time I was hired all of her records had been wiped. It’s as though she never existed. I met with Jiyong and questioned him about the circumstances. After talking it out I can safely say I’ve eliminated the vamps from suspicion. That now leaves demons, wolves and the fae.”

“Not even considering humans for this?”

“The police sent the sister to me after they came up with nothing. They’ve had similar cases over the past few months and have never found a body or a suspect. Humans just aren’t as adept at making multiple people disappear without a trace.”

“Careful now Syn, that almost sounds like a compliment.”

“Question 1: In the past 10 days have any deals/bargains or agreements been made that resulted in the disappearance of a girl named Juliet on her way home from class at the hospital?”

“No.”

“Question 2: Where was she taken?”

“It’s flattering that you think I know the whereabouts of everyone in this city.”

“You have eyes on every person who lives in your sector and she lives here. Answer the question Yoongi.”

He smirked at you. “Away from her home.”

You mentally kicked yourself for not making the second question more specific. That was a rookie mistake, something you were not. “Question 3: Specifically, what building in which section was she taken to?”

Yoongi glared at you as he pondered how to respond. He eventually sighed. “This particular inhabitant of this sector was abducted before she reached the border. She was taken downtown so you might as well forget about ever finding her. I don’t know a specific building because fae territory doesn’t abide by the normal laws of physics.”

You slumped back into the recess. Fae territory meant bad news. You weren’t even sure if the case was worth pursuing at this point. When the fae took you, you never returned. The travellers had many stories about what happened if you got taken by the fae but that’s all it was, stories. None had ever met anyone who had been taken and returned.

You stared out at the blackjack table and tried to work out what you were going to do. To proceed would mean putting your life in danger but you hated the idea of throwing in the towel and giving up. You were pulled from your thoughts as Yoongi nudged your leg with his. “So, my payment…”

“Are you trying to be annoying or does it just come naturally?

“It comes naturally. But really, what percentage?”

You scowled at him. “I’m not sure yet.”

“Wait. You aren’t seriously going to pursue this are you?”

You shrugged. “I’m not sure yet.”

He scratched the back of his head and stared back out at the casino floor. You resumed watching the blackjack table. A man grabbed your attention. He was good enough of a cheat to not get noticed by the staff or guards but you were sure that he was cheating. The most common thing people tried to do was count cards but it was extremely obvious unless you were a master at it. This man wasn’t counting cards. He was a good player but he was drugging the other players. It was subtle but you spotted the slight touches and the residue that the players couldn’t see. Their betting became more extravagant and their actions less logical so he was naturally cleaning up at the table as a result of their bad bets. “Table 12, red hair and black suit.”

Yoongi quickly looked to the table you mentioned and watched as the game progressed. “That fucker thinks he can steal from me does he? Well. We’ll see about that.” He stood and turned to you. “I can provide extraction from the fae sector for you.”

Your head snapped up to look at him. There was no way he would ever offer something for nothing. “At what cost?” you asked.

He shrugged, a cold smile growing on his face. “If you die I get everything you own.”

You tried not to laugh. What exactly did Yoongi think you owned? Your shitty apartment was full of second hand furniture and you had lived a minimalist life , not by choice, so your version of everything was a lot less than he must have thought. “Deal.” You responded. “Try not to kill the guy before questioning him this time.”

He grinned at you, his gummy smile completely changing his face. “Got to mind the delicate social nuances when you inform some poor fellow that he’s a dumb motherfucker.” Yoongi turned and disappeared in the crowds.

You returned to the bar, thankfully Jungkook was busy and was leaving you alone. You drank your whiskey in peace and watched the crowds. You’d always been fascinated by people and observed their behaviours whenever you could. You could tell a lot from watching a person who had no idea they were being watched. The Cardinal was full of liars, deceivers, criminals and the selfish tonight. Everyone you observed was trying to swindle their opponent and get rich. Observing that grew boring rather quickly.

A tuft of lavender hair across the room stole your attention. Piercing feline eyes stared back at you, cutting through the crowds like a laser. As soon as you stared into them they seemed to disappear. If it wasn’t for the fact that you could still see the lavender hair you would have believed you’d imagined it. You had no idea why you were so drawn to the man with lavender hair but you couldn’t shake the feeling that you’d seen him before.

---

You stood at the threshold between the fae sector and the human sector. You had spent the remainder of last night organising how you were going to ensure yourself safe passage in and out. You’d called Juliet’s sister to update her on the case, she’d quickly agreed to your higher fee in the hopes that you could return Juliet to her. Zico, head of the werewolf clans, had given you directions to the main bar in the fae sector. He’d told you that it was the main hub for getting information and that you might be able to get some of your questions answered there. He had told you not to hold out much hope though. The fae were very private and getting direct answers out of them was like drawing blood from a stone. Yoongi had struck a deal with you that promised he could get you out of the fae sector and demons never failed to deliver when a deal was struck so that made you feel a little safer.

You’d talked with sprites that had moved to the mixed sector and they’d given you rules to follow. Don’t eat or drink anything while in the fae sector or you’ll never leave and if you were to run into one of the princes, bow and leave. According to the sprites, the emissaries to the fae sector were the ones who did all of the dirty work like kidnapping girls but the princes were a different matter entirely. The princes could alter your mind and make it so that you’d never want to leave. They could bring you untold pleasure or unbearable pain.

Lastly, you’d called Detective Markham and told her what you could about the abduction and what she was to do if you disappeared. She wished you luck on your rescue operation but reminded you not to sacrifice your own safety just to close a case. That was a little hypocritical coming from her but you had promised her you’d try. Anything more would have been a lie.

So you stood at the threshold trying to talk yourself into crossing the invisible border. You stood at the threshold convincing yourself that you weren’t an idiot to try and find this girl. That you could enter this sector and come back out unscathed. That you wouldn’t need to call in any of your contingency plans to get you the fuck out of there if everything went sideways. You trusted in your abilities. You weren’t just any human, you were skilled in areas that others weren’t and you trusted that you could either get the job done or confirm that Juliet was a lost cause. Either way you would walk back out across the border in a few hours. You squared your shoulders and took a deep breath and then stepped into the fae part of town.

The bar was not like you had expected. You weren’t sure what you’d expected but a tiki themed bar had definitely NOT crossed your mind. It was weird. Surely it was a joke of some sort, or an illusion. Zico had told you about some of the powers the fae had and the drugs they used. He’d given you a dose of something that he said would remove glamour and allow you to really see what was happening but standing in the middle of the tiki bar… you weren’t sure that it had worked. Barmaids were dressed in coconut bras and grass skirts, tropical looking drinks and fruits were being served and there was weird rainbow coloured candy in bowls all over the bar. You felt like you were at a frat party not in a fae bar. They were supposed to be scary… this was the opposite of that.

You watched as another girl wandered around the bar, clearly enthralled by the theme. She eventually made it to the bar and ordered some weird blue drink and the bartender dropped a piece of the rainbow candy in it. He was speaking to her as he stirred her drink and she was giggling at the attention. Part of you wanted to go and stop her from consuming a drop of it but you needed to see what happened when she drank it. She lifted the drink to her lips and took a sip through her straw. Nothing happened. How anti-climactic. She took her drink and moved to a table in the far corner to continue enjoying her drink and staring around the bar. Seriously how could a tiki theme be this engrossing for a person? You were actually starting to wish for something to happen to her so that she’d stop staring at the tiki torches like they were the most exotic thing she’d ever seen in her life.

As soon as she sat down an orange haired man appeared. The way he held himself made you think he was potentially one of these princes Zico had warned you about. There was a cunning gleam in his eyes as he made a beeline for the girl and sat opposite her. You cursed under your breath. You could only see her face as he spoke to her and you watched the flirty smile and body language that she was offering up. As you continued to watch you notice the desire in her eyes build but you also saw something else. Fear. As he continued to speak to her you watched that fear and apprehension grow. She shook her head in response to something he said and he shrugged, moving to get up and leave. She grabbed his hand and begged him not to leave her. It was surreal. Here was this woman in front of you who was clearly terrified but begging to go with the very person who terrified her. She nodded at something he’d said and then they both left.

“It’s rude to stare you know.” A light voice pulled you out of your tunnel vision of the recently vacated table. You nearly jumped out of your seat when he’d spoken.

“You might need to tell yourself that if you were watching me long enough to decide that I was staring.” You turned around in your seat to see who was speaking to you. When you turned you were met with an empty seat.

“You were hardly subtle about it. Sitting at a table alone, no food, no drink, not blinking…” This time you did jump as the voice now sounded from opposite you on the table. You turned back around and staring back at you was a fae man. You knew he was fae because no human looked that good. It simply wasn’t possible. The man staring back at you had the most mesmerising eyes, feline in shape. You felt like you had looked into these eyes before but you couldn’t remember when. He watched with a smirk on his face as you took in his appearance. The lavender hair, that stood out. You were certain you’d seen him before.

“It’s also rude to invade a person’s space without introducing yourself.” You bit back. This guy clearly thought a lot of himself because he scoffed at your words and leant forward on the table, placing his head on top of his hands and raising an eyebrow at you. You hated how good he looked while doing that.

“I like doing things I shouldn’t. I don’t feel guilty. I don’t feel remorse. Why should I tell you who I am?”

You sat back in your chair, wishing you had a whiskey right now. “Well, simply put, it would be rude of you not to introduce yourself now.” There was something about this guy. If any other being irked you like this you wouldn’t have tolerated it but something about him made you keep your cool. You mind was trying to work out when you’d seen or spoken to him before but it was coming up foggy. You had a niggling feeling that he had been keeping an eye on you over the past few days but you had no proof. You weren’t stupid though, you knew someone had wiped part of your memory. The foggy emptiness that a memory wipe left behind was something you’d seen in clients over the years but it had never happened to you.

He chuckled at you. “Is this how you treat everyone you meet?”

“Stop evading the question.”

“What, and ruin the air of mystery I have working for me? No I don't think I'll give you a name yet.”

You leaned forward, closing the gap between the two of you. “Why won't you tell me your name?”

”Because that would be telling.” He took a sip of his whisky and licked his lips “Since when do you need a name to enjoy someone's company?”

It might have been his eyes, the way he just licked his lips or it might have just been the strange feeling of familiarity he gave you that caused you to respond with “I can think of at least one good reason.”

That caught his attention, earning you another smirk. He placed his glass on the table in front of him and used his free hand to push your hair behind your ear, slowly trailing his hand along your jaw until he reached your chin, which he lightly grasped. “I do wonder what that reason could be. You make it sound so very enticing. Did you notice that I never asked for your name?”

You smirked. “Names are dangerous to throw around, especially with the fae.”

He sighed. “You ruin the fun so quickly. Fine. Why are you here kitten?” You glared at the pet name he gave you. “What? You don’t want to give me a name. I have to come up with one myself.”

You centred yourself and reminded yourself not to get into an argument with the fae. This guy seemed playful enough now but if you pissed him off you could tell you’d regret it. “I came to ask some questions about a missing girl.”

He sat silently, waiting for you to continue. “She went missing a week ago from the hospital. It wasn’t humans, vamps or demons that took her. Her records were scrubbed so now it appears like she never existed. The last sighting of her was 5 days ago as she was taken across the border into this territory.”

He raised an eyebrow at you. “And?”

It took all of your will not to snap at him. Why would he give two shits about the life of a human? You described her to him and handed him a photo of Juliet. “So my first question is; have you seen her?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Who took her?”

He sat back in his chair, swirling his whiskey. “How much do you know about our kind kitten?”

“Enough to know that you are clever and dangerous.”

He laughed, actually laughed at you. “I meant our history but it’s good to know you aren’t stupid like that girl you were staring at earlier.”

You scrunched your nose as you thought. “Not much. No one is really all that forthcoming with fae history lessons.”

He set his glass on the table and sat up straight. “There are 9 fae princes. 4 belong to the seasonal courts, summer, spring, autumn and winter and 3 belong to the solar courts, dawn, day and night. There are 2 emissaries, one to the seasonal courts and one to the solar courts. The emissaries are the ones who frequent the human world. The other princes are supposed to remain in their lands and not venture out into the human world but they are easily bored so sometimes they visit to observe and to choose new playthings. If they find a plaything, the emissaries collect said plaything for them and transport it to the fae lands. These 9 princes are said to be devastatingly handsome and dangerous. They each have a power that helps their court flourish and grow... Why are you laughing?”

“Sorry but if you could see your face when you said devastatingly handsome. Ego much? So, is the point of this history lesson to tell me that Juliet was taken by one of the two emissaries and is now a plaything in one of the courts?”

He narrowed his eyes at you. “Be careful how to address me now. I ignored your earlier rudeness since you did not know my status. Now that you do, I won’t ignore your lack of manners or tact any more. It is true, Juliet now resides in one of the courts.”

Your shoulders dropped. If she was in one of the courts and not somewhere in the city there you had no hope of getting her back. You hated cases with bad outcomes but no one ever entered the far realm and came back. Once you entered, you were as good as dead in the real world. The man across from you noticed the shift in your mood and pouted slightly. “You could get her back. For a price.”

You shook your head. “Deals with demons are iffy enough, striking deals with the fae? That’s a whole different problem. The price is always too high, and 90% of the time the deal is worded in such a way that it only benefits the fae.”

He smirked at you. “You might find that you enjoy this one.”

“I can’t make a deal with anyone if I don’t know their name.”

“I thought you specialised in dishonest finesse?”

“I also do a brisk trade in putting knives to peoples’ throats and shouting at them”

He narrowed his eyes at you. “Something is different, you weren’t able to focus on me before. Why is it that you can now?”

“A little wolf helped me get past your glamour.” You paused. “Answer one more question for me. Have we met before?”

“Oh my dear, if you remembered you would blush.” He bit his lip and stared at you brazenly. “I will make an addition to my terms. I will secure passage for Juliet, the girl from that picture who went missing from the hospital last week, to be returned to her sister unscathed, not remembering anything about her time in the fae lands if you agree to tell me your name, allow me to remove the glamour on your mind and live in my court for one month. After the month is over I will offer to wipe your memory and return you or let you keep your memories and return you.” He took a swig from his glass and chuckled at the look on your face as you tried to process the fact that you had met him before and apparently had some sort of history with him as well as how specific he had been in wording the deal. “See, fae can make detailed deals when we want to.”

“How do I know you or anyone else won’t harm me?”

“No harm shall come to you whilst under my protection, which will last from the moment you enter the fae lands until you leave a month later.”

You mulled the proposed deal over in your head. It seemed fine, your only concern was that you would have to go to the fae realm for a month. “I will agree to your terms with a few additions. 1. The normal fae rules for food and drink consumption will not apply to me whilst under your protection. 2. You will tell me your name during this month. 3. You will allow me one phone call before I go with you and 4. Juliet and her sister will remain safe.” He agreed, his lip curling upwards as you sealed the deal with a handshake. A small brand appeared on your forearm in the shape of a snowflake. “Winter court I assume?” He nodded.

You dialled and waited for your call to be answered. He picked up after 3 rings. “What?”

“Yoongi, the extraction plan we made a deal on, if I am not back in The Cardinal in one month send someone to my office. If I’m not there, extract me from the winter court.”

Yoongi’s low rasp sounded “Are you really this dumb Syn?”

“Your missing citizen will be returned tomorrow. I’ve struck a deal and I’d like to think after all these years hanging around you lot I’ve picked up on a thing or two.”

“Just remember what happens if you die.” With that he hung up.

The prince of the winter court had a devilish smirk on his face as he approached you which unsettled you. “I’m going to show you a memory that was wiped before we leave.” He raised his hand to your face and cupped it. Memories of your night at The Cardinal came flooding back to you. How you’d followed the lavender haired fae to the bar and tried to flirt in order to work out who he was. He’d played along, toying with you. He’d moved you into a small private booth in the bar and allowed you to push him down into the booth and straddle him as you drunkenly tried to get answers out of him, the lust and desire clouding your mind. You should have left the casino earlier, the effects of the sins, namely Lust, were starting to get to you.

“Yes, I think I'm starting to see why you might want my name.” He rolled his hips against yours causing you to cry out. “Do you want to know my name?”

“Yes!” You panted. He was giving you pleasure but holding back, yet to touch you where you craved it the most.

“Hmm, I think you're going to have to earn the privilege. Think you can earn it Syn?” You responded by kissing and nibbling at his neck whilst removing his tie and unbuttoning his dress shirt. Then you started to kiss your way down his chest and slid yourself down off his lap until you were knelt in-between his legs. You ran your hands up the inside of his thighs and bit your lip. The memory then faded.

He whispered into your ear. “For the record, I know your name. You are still working on getting mine.” You were blushing as the memories remained with you, embarrassed at what you’d seen. He took your hand. “Ok, time to go. A deal is a deal. As soon as you enter the fae realm you are under my protection and Juliet will be sent back home.” He tugged your hand and started to walk towards the back of the bar. The wall shimmered and he waited for you to step through.

The last words you heard before stepping across the threshold were. “You have a month to earn my name.”

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floatingpetals · 6 years ago

Text

Boys in Blue || Pt. 5

Pairings: cop!Stucky x F!Reader

Warnings: none, maybe language

Word Count: 2500+

Summary: (Cop AU) There was just one crappy thing after enough that happened to her. It possibly couldn’t get any worse, or so she thought until she saw the dreaded flashes of red and blue behind her. Could things get any worse?

A/N: I’ve rewritten this part so many times. I had a whole thing I wanted to do come to me in the shower, an idea that I never wrote down before I went to bed, woke the next day and it was GONE. Moral of the story, always write down your ideas lol. I think this is as close as I could get it to the original idea. Enjooy!

The gifs are not mine, credit to the owner.

Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Series Masterlist

Since the night Y/N went out for their dinner, or as Maddie loved to correct her, the date with Steve and Bucky, their friendship grew quicker than she ever imagined. It made her stomach flip and a giddy smile growing on her lips with each text and phone call she got from them. Which was frequently.

Bucky seemed to have a never-ending supply of memes that he loved sending to Y/N, while Steve would send her pictures of the animals they’d run across during their shifts. At some point, Bucky set up a group chat between the three of them, where they’d all plan the dinners or the occasional lunches during their breaks. Mostly the conversations were the two men bickering about they wanted to eat, while Y/N would be the mediator between them. It was funny how the two acted like an old married couple, she could virtually hear them grumbling through the phone to the other.

While they aimed to spend most of the time together, there were days when Y/N would find herself swept away for her lunch break by one at least one of them, occasionally the both.

They’d walk into her office, dressed up in their slightly too tight uniforms and she swore all of the women, in her office melted into puddles at their desks. She did too, but it was nice to know she wasn’t the only one affected by their charms and dimple-cheeked smiles. Bucky never failed to come in with his megawatt smile and silky-smooth words, fully aware he had all the women drooling. Steve was more reserved, almost as if he couldn’t believe all eyes were on him. She could tell he wasn’t completely comfortable in his own skin, let alone comfortable with people staring. He knew they ogled though; Y/N could tell how flustered he was by how bright pink his ear tips were during his visit. Despite which ever came in, they only ever had eyes on Y/N. Not that she noticed.

“Oh please.” Y/N’s co-workers would roll their eyes when she’d deny their teasing. “Of course, you don’t realize it. You’re giving them the same heart eye look back. Just kiss already. And invite me to the wedding.”

Y/N didn’t want to believe it, she really couldn’t. However, after hearing the same thing over and over again, it didn’t take her long to finally come to terms with the fact that she had it bad. Real bad. Not with one or the other. But with both. She knew there was no way she could ever choose if they ever decided to ask. Not only would it be unconventional, but Y/N had also pieced it together that they were most likely a couple themselves. She thought it might be true at first, but the more time she spent with them, the more she realized that was the only other answer.

Steve and Bucky hadn’t admitted it, or even hinted at the fact they were. However, it was easy to figure it out. There were the subtle things, like the time she caught Steve watching Bucky with a look of admiration out of the corner of her eye or how Bucky would tilt his head to the side to watch Steve’s backside as he walked to get a refill on his drink.

Then there were the not so subtle things. Almost unconsciously, Steve would brush a stray hair from Bucky’s face. His face would turn a bright pink, his eyes darting over to Y/N as if he’d messed up. Y/N would pretend she hadn’t seen it, turning away with a hidden grin. It was sweet really. Bucky faired no better.

There was one time that came to her mind when they stood in line to place their orders for lunch one afternoon. Y/N was standing beside Steve and caught Bucky leaning up against Steve’s side, his hand resting on Steve’s lower back while looking over the menu. It was so adorable to see them loosen up around her, that they felt comfortable enough to lower their guard. Y/N had to turn her face to hide her smile. When she turned back, Bucky had put a step between them, both acting completely oblivious to his slip up.

There were plenty of other times they slipped up, nearly exposing their relationship. She had yet to bring attention to it, it wasn’t in her place to ask. Until they brought it up themselves, Y/N would pretend she didn’t see the soft touches and sweet shared looks.

What she thought was strange was how open to affection they were with her. Bucky would always greet her with a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze to her hip. Steve would let her decide how the greeting went, to which obviously she would go in for a hug that Steve would hold as long as necessary.

It didn’t stop there either. From day one, Bucky always needed to be pressed up against if she was close, either his hip attached to hers or an arm around her shoulder. He was the touchier one of the two as if he needed a constant reminder she was there.

Steve was a little more subtle, just needing her hand linked with his to make him happy. He’d gently tug at her fingers, grinning widely when she’d squeeze back. Y/N thought it peculiar, but she didn’t mind. She’d was gonna soak in all the attention they gave her and push aside the fluttering that grew in her stomach.

The dinners continued on but then also grew into weekly trips to the movies, to the park or even the days Y/N wanted to wander through the mall. Both men were eager to see her and didn’t care what they did. They just wanted to spend time with her. Today, however, was the first day Bucky and Steve invited her over to their home.

(B.B. Gunn)- hey, Steve and I wanted to know if you just wanted to eat in tonight?

When she got the text halfway through her workday Friday night, Y/N could only stare in surprise at the phone. They had known each other for three months now, and not once have the men invited her over. That surprise went right out the window when the next text came.

(B.B. Gunn)-Steve had a rough day and doesn’t feel like going out.

Without a second thought, Y/N shot him back a text.

(Y/N)- Of course! Is there anything I can do?

(B.B. Gunn)- Nah. Just your pretty self. ❤️

Giggling softly to herself, Y/N went back to work, eager to get the day done and over with. Stopping at the store on her way home, Y/N grabbed a bottle of wine and a box of brownies. Steve didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but he admitted he had a thing for extra fudge and caramel brownies. Bucky had sent their address earlier and said for her to head over whenever anytime.

(Y/N)- Is it good for me to come over now? I just need to head home to change really quick.

(B.B. Gunn)- Ofc! Steve’s asleep on the couch, but you’re free to come over.

(Y/N)- Kay! Be there in half an hour!

When she pulled up into their apartment complex, she let out a shaky breath. Jittery nerves made her fingers shake as she stuffed her key in her purse. Why the hell am I so nervous, she questioned herself. This isn’t the first time she’s spent the evening with them. Shaking her head, Y/N climbed out of the car with the bags in hand and head up the flight of stairs to their apartment. Bucky answered the door on the second knock, grinning widely when he opened the door.

“Hey!” He greeted, pulling her in to press a kiss to her cheek. Y/N giggled and wrapped her free arm around his waist, soaking in his warmth. She could smell something heavenly in the air over the top of the smell of Bucky. She relaxed in his arms, the bag rustling loudly. He frowned at the sound, eyeing the bag. “I told you, you didn’t have to bring anything.”

Y/N let him take the grocery bag from her hand, shrugging innocently.

“Cause I’ve ever listened to you.” She smirked, nudging his side with her hip. “How’s Steve?”

Bucky ushered her down the hall, letting out a deep sigh. He stopped at the entrance of the living room, staring sadly at the slumbering Steve. He was snoring softly against the cushions, his face serene still in his uniform from work.

“He’s asleep but better than earlier.” Bucky exhaled. He ran a hand through his hair, mussing his slicked back hair. Y/N rubbed his arm, hoping to help calm his nerves. He sent her a grateful smile and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat when he pulled her against his chest. He drew her close, burying his nose against her neck and took in a deep breath. Hesitantly, Y/N wrapped her arms around his back, gently rubbing her hands up and down his tense back. Whatever happened to Steve was bad. She’d never seen Bucky this shaken up before. Y/N let go of her reluctance and held him tighter, understanding this was what he needed. Bucky squeezed softly, and slowly stepped back.

“Thanks.” He whispered and pressed his forehead against hers. His lashes fluttered shut, inhaling deeply. Y/N watched him carefully, taking the chance to memorize each line and freckled on his face.

When his eyes slowly opened, her breath caught in her throat at the intensity behind his blues. His gaze darted down to her lips for a split second before shooting back up to hers. She had no idea what was going on. Her heart hammered in her chest, her breath picking up. He tenderly cupped her cheeks, his thumbs caressing her cheeks. Slowly, Bucky brushed his nose against hers as he began to lean forward. Just as she felt his lips brush against hers, there was a sound from the sofa.

It was like someone splashed water on her, Y/N jerked back out of Bucky’s hold and put a foot between them. She nervously glanced over to Steve, completely missing the hurt flash across Bucky’s face. Steve groaned softly, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. Bucky cleared his throat and faced Steve.

“Hey pal,” He murmured. “Y/N’s here.”

Steve tilted his head, blinking groggily over to where Y/N stood awkwardly. A slow lazy smile spread on his face, his eyes crinkling around the corners. Bucky nudged her towards the couch before stepping away to the kitchen to put away the wine and brownies.

“Hey, Y/N,” Steve greeted, his voice husky from sleep. He sat up and reached a hand out for her, making adorable grabby hands. Y/N giggled and stepped forward, letting him pull her to his lap. Her breath hitched, stunned at how smoothly he situated her across his lap and how he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her securely against his front. He didn’t catch her tense, too busy burying his face in her neck much like Bucky had to notice.

Bucky walked back in the room, crossing his arms against his chest and leaned against the to watch the two on the couch. Y/N cast him an anxious look, afraid she was overstepping some sort of boundary. But he didn’t seem one bit fazed. Instead, he had a satisfied grin on his face, his eyes soft. It helped her relax, for whatever reason.

Subsequently, she melted in Steve’s arm, wrapping an arm around his neck. Steve hummed softly, beaming into the skin of her neck and collapsed back against the chair of the sofa, bringing her back with him. Bucky crossed the room and lifted her legs, nestling close to Steve’s side with her legs across his lap. He let out a heavy breath, letting his eyes fall closed, gently smoothing his hands up and down her legs.

Once again, Y/N found herself completely uncertain as to what the hell was going on. So far, she gathered that Steve had a bad day, which consequently effected Bucky and now they both were clinging to her like a lifeline. The occasional hand-holding, and the hugs were one thing, this was uncharted territory. She wasn’t uncomfortable exactly. She was fully aware they’d never do something to her that she wasn’t comfortable with. It was more the fact that she was sitting in the lap of two men that she was 95% were in a relationship.

It obviously wasn’t that big of a deal to either of them, Bucky literally pushed her towards Steve and then lifted her legs to sit next to them on the sofa. Steve held her far too intimately for a friend, one of his hand tracing circles on the back of her arm, almost tenderly with the way he dragged his fingers along her skin. This was all just really, really strange.

“I made us chicken and dumplings. It’s simmering right now.” Bucky said quietly. Y/N raised her head, grinning widely and took the opportunity to possibly change the subject.

“Is that what smells so good?” She asked. Buck nodded, rolling his head to the side to look over to Y/N and Steve.

“Yeah. It just needs about ten more minutes and it should be ready.”

Y/N opened her mouth and before she could reply, her stomach let out a deafening growl. Her mouth snapped shut, instantly her face began heating up when the two threw their heads back and howled with laughter.

“Oh man, I felt that!” Steve laughed, his chest rumbling against her side.

“It’s not funny!” She whined and smacked him on the chest. Steve snorted, his eyes crinkling as he tried to contain his laughter. She grumbled and made a move to get off him, batting at his arm around his waist. Steve tightened his grip, grinning widely through his struggle to stop.

“Aw, wait. I’m sorry.” He stifled a giggle. “It was just cute, that’s all.”

“It was right on cue too,” Bucky chuckled, gently holding on to her legs to keep her in place. Y/N pouted, crossing her arms against her chest and jutted her lower lip out.

“It was not.”

“It totally was and so are you,” Steve said, swiftly leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek. Y/N breath hitched, her eyes going wide and slowly turned to Steve. His eyes watched her carefully, a guarded expression on his face as he took her features in. Bucky grew silent as well, his fingers still on Y/N’s legs and waited with bated breath.

Unhurriedly, Steve’s right hand slid up Y/N’s neck, his fingers curling around behind her ear. His hand was warm against her skin, comforting and yet so out of place. She shivered as her skin flushed, and her heart hammered in her throat. Y/N could only watch flabbergasted while Steve leaned forward, his lips a breath length away before she snapped back to reality. Jerking her head back sharply, Y/N made a pained noise in the back of her throat.

“Steve.” She whispered. “What are you doing?”

Swallowing his hurt, Steve pulled back enough to gaze at her with furrowed brows.

“I-I was going to kiss my girlfriend. But I’m sensing Bucky’s not the only one who's going to strike out too.”

Y/N blinked. She had to have miss heard him, right? Like a club to the back of the head, the realization that she hadn’t hit her. And she couldn’t stop the strangled squeak that fell from her lips.

“Wait-What?!”

Perma Tag: (CLOSED)

@dolphinpink310 / @breezy1415 / @hymnofthevalkyrie / @sebbyismyking / @vivideley / @cherrynat / @heelsandfaces / @lovely-geek / @libbymouse / @the-crime-fighting-spider / @dkpink123 / @moderapoppins / @chuckennuggets1213 / @jack4xx / @witchymarvelspacecase / @xxxunluvablexxx / @mannatgalhotra / @kingslaxerpark / @xxashy999xx / @silver-starburst / @cartersbarnes / @thinkwritexpress-official / @feelmyroarrrr/ @m-a-t-91 / @pizzarollpatrol / @sea040561 / @thefridgeismybestie / @sergeantjbuckybarnes / @jasura / @palaiasaurus64 / @teller258316 / @disagreetoagree / @lazinessisalliknow / @palaiasaurus64 / @bfuckjames / @sxdapxpcutis / @doraola / @kkaos15 / @tylerrose931617 / @mummy-woves-you / @claraoswinns / @buckybarneshairpullingkink / @delicatelyherdreams / @thisismysecrethappyplace / @dsakita / @look-to-the-stars-and-wish / @tomhollandtrashtm / @delicatelyherdreams / @cuddle-me-muke / @joyfulzipperpersoneclipse / @lisadickenson / @revenqers / @dannydelay / @musicgirl234 / @iamwarrenspeace / @breathlesspeter / @thebunkerofatlas / @geeksareunique / @ravennightingaleandavatempus / @mcdesij / @unlikelygalaxygiver / @tranquility-or-chaos / @bandbooktvaddict / @mywinterwolf / @piensa-bonito / @nevernotfangirling / @cutie1365 / @harryngtonewithyourshit / @slytherinqueenie / @famouslastlove / @riseandshibe / @blizzbx / @electra-hxart / @lianadelphius / @steebrogurz / @foundthezucchini / @bi-bi-bi-bisexualz / @whileinparis / @for-the-love-of-the-fandom / @delva-stardust / @awkwardfangirl2014 /

(Let me know if I missed you, the strike means I can’t tag you for some reason.)

Boys in Blue Taglist: (CLOSED!!!)

@debgreenleaf / @thorins-queen-of-erebor / @merigoldcaroline / @urbanrights/ @taliarosej00 / @stuckysheart / @thenightkillers / @desertrose-saku / @weyheycraicey / @apocalypse-zombiie / @inspiration2001 / @impalaimages/ @reading-stan / @angelicdisgrace / @nastybuckybarnes / @mazarinqueen / @neverforget-whereyoubelong / @hayliz20 / @jessieray98 / @cs-please / @forsaken-letters / @anything–marvel / @all-fandomthings / @jbug491 / @marvelobsessedteen / @monikawhatthefuck / @myrabbitholetoneverland / @wingardiumlevidonewithlife / @darkblueeyedperson / @supernaturallover2002/ @savemesteeb / @juliet12345678 / @virtualsheepeat / @flyawaybay / @marvelous-capsicle / @fandom-addict-aesthetics / @chelzwwefan / @babygirlizz / @superhero2552 / @hermionesalvatore84 / @kianya-loves / @literalangels /

936 notes · View notes

unfortunate-stranger-losers · 5 years ago

Photo

Right-Side Up AU, Part Three: It’s the End of the World {AO3} {tumblr} {Part One} {Part Two}

Chapter Four → The Silver Cat Feeds

“Hey, Steve.” Dustin leaned over the counter. “Do you know Russian?”

Steve gave him a look that clearly communicated he was not happy about having this conversation. “Why the hell would I know Russian?”

“We were hoping you would, because Mike’s too busy being El’s boyfriend to help us.” Will said.

“I repeat,” Steve said, glancing over their shoulders; thankfully, there weren’t many customers at the moment, “Why the hell would I know Russian?”

Dustin sighed. “We have a secret Russian message we need to translate, but all we can recognize is ‘cat’, ‘trip’ and ‘meets.’”

“At least, that’s what we think it is.” Will said.

Steve gave them a look. “You have a what?”

“Secret Russian Message.” Dustin said. He held up the tape recorder. “On this. Wanna hear?”

“No! I mean…” Steve glanced around. “Not in front of everyone! In case you’ve forgotten, people aren’t too fond of Russians at the moment.”

“We got a dictionary from the library, but it’s hard.” Will said.

“And why aren’t you going to the cops, then?”

Will and Dustin exchanged a nervous look. “We, um…” Dustin bit his lip, and then whispered, “You know how we were supposed to… to spy on the russians? When we were… were-”

“We wanna make sure it’s not something that’ll be… bad for us.” Will looked at Steve, pleading with his eyes. “Can you help?”

Steve sighed. “Sure. It’s Robin’s shift anyway. Come in the back with me.”

Will beamed. “Do we get free ice cream?”

“No. Come on.”

“Nancy, the magnets probably just broke.” Jonathan said again.

Nancy gave him a look, shutting the car door and shouldering their library books. “I don’t think magnets break.”

“Pretty sure they can.”

“We don’t have time to argue about this. If we can’t investigate Ms Driscoll’s rats-”

“Yeah, because you sent my Mom to talk to her!”

“And Hopper.” Nancy said. “But my point is, if there’s something going on with the magnets…” She made it up to the door, knocking loudly. “If there’s something going on, we have to make sure it doesn’t… it’s not from the Upside Down.”

Jonathan froze a second. “Do you… think it could be?”

Nancy took a deep breath, then glanced at him and grabbed his hand. “I don’t know. El said the Gate affected the magnets the first year it was open- remember? We followed that compass to the lab.”

“Course I remember. My Mom was kidnapped, my brother was living in my playpen in the woods, and El stole a car.”

“I just… I want to make sure Mike and the other boys… that they’re safe. And Max-”

“I know.” Jonathan nodded. “I know, and… if you think this thing could be after Will- is Mr Clarke even home?”

Nancy impatiently knocked again, then rang the doorbell about six times.

“Nancy.”

“This is important.”

Jonathan sighed. “If it’s not, and you dragged me out here and scared me for nothing-”

“It’s important, I just…”

Beside them, they heard a loud metal clanging. They jumped, and turned to see the garage door opening. Nancy and Jonathan stepped out, to see Scott Clarke standing behind the door, smiling.

“Nancy and Jonathan!” he said brightly. “What brings you here?”

Nancy paused a moment, so Jonathan quickly said, “We’re having some problems with magnets.”

“Why is Russian so flipping hard?” Dustin groaned, flopping over onto Will’s shoulder. Will stiffened a little.

“Because it’s an entire shitty-ass new alphabet.” Steve groaned.

“Play it again.” Will said quietly, and Dustin sat up and rewound the tape. “What did that word sound like?”

“I don’t know.” Steve sat down, looking at the recording. “But the music playing in the background sounded familiar.”

“Is that important?” Will asked.

“It might be!” Steve said.

At that moment, the door slammed open, and Robin said, “Alright, babysitting time is over, you need to get in there! Holly Wheeler’s here and while her Mom flirts with whoever the hell is outside the kid won’t stop asking me to talk to Cool Stevie and I’m about to lose it.”

She stopped, turning angrily to the whiteboard, where Will had drawn- very nicely, he might add- the Russian alphabet, with translations under it.

“My board!” Robin shouted. “That was important data, shitbirds!”

“You were just keeping track of how many girls Steve’s failed to flirt with.” Dustin said. Will shrunk back slightly, staring at the table; he would rather not be noticed or yelled at at the moment. “This is more important.”

“Yeah? Your dumbass Russian code you recorded?” Robin huffed. The boys jumped. “Yeah, you all are extremely loud. How do you even know these Russians are up to no good?”

They all stayed silent, so Robin started forwards reaching for the tape. Steve jumped grabbing it back. “Whoa, what are you doing?”

“I wanna hear it.” Robin said.

Steve stared at her. “Why?”

“Cause maybe I can help.” Robin said. “I’m fluent in four languages, you know.”

“Russian?” Dustin asked, glancing over at Will as he curled up a bit more.

“Ou-yay, are-yay, umb-day.” Robin said.

“Ooh.” Steve and Dustin said, looking impressed.

“That was pig latin, dinguses.” Robin said. Will smiled a little. “But I can speak Spanish and French and Italian and I’ve been in band for twelve years. My ears are little geniuses, trust me.”

Steve still hesitated, so Robin groaned, sitting on the chair beside Will, not noticing him shrink back. “Come on. You deliver ice cream, my turn to translate. I don’t even want credit, I’m bored.” she paused, and said, “Though I guess you could pay me in telling me why the hell you’ve adopted these kids.”

“First of all, Will’s not mine.” Steve said. “Second, I legally can’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“But, if you think you can translate,” Steve sighed, and then he slowly passed over the tape. “You make sure these two don’t get into any trouble. Which happens a lot.”

“Will ran away last year.” Dustin said.

“So did you!”

Robin blinked. “Every new thing you say just makes me more and more convinced this is some elaborate prank.”

“God, I wish.” Steve sighed.

“Max! Max, hey!”

Max was kicking her skateboard as fast as he could, but Lucas wouldn’t take a freaking hint. She guessed that made sense… she shouldn’t be mad at him, he missed so much, she needed to… to…

“Max!”

Max turned slightly, and missed a bump in the concrete. She gasped as the board flipped, and she toppled to the ground. She heard Lucas gasp, as she quickly sat up, her hands and knees sparking in pain.

Lucas caught up, kneeling in front of her. “Max! Are you okay? Are you hurt-?”

“Leave me alone!” Max snapped, whipping around to glare at him, her hair flying in her face. She immediately felt horrible; his face fell in shock and sadness, and he scooted back from her, stung.

“Max…” he began. She sat up, wiping tears out of her eyes, and grabbing her board.

“Piss off.”

“Max-”

“Just go. I need to be alone.”

“Who was that?”

“Don’t go near him!” Max shouted, glaring at him again. “Don’t let him near you, okay?”

“That was your step-brother? Billy?”

“Yes, and don’t let him near you! He’ll hurt you!”

Lucas narrowed his eyes. “I can hurt him.”

“No!” Her heart quickened. As much as she hated Billy right now, as much pain as she knew he’d caused her… she’d lived with him for so long. He was her brother, as much as she hated to admit it, as much as he denied it and yelled at her and threatened her and…

“Just leave.” she said. “I wanna go home.”

“No. No, let’s go to the arcade.”

“Change of plans. I want to go.”

“Max, what did he do to you? What was he saying- he can’t take you away, can he?”

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Max shouted, her face red, tears streaming from her eyes no matter how much she tried to stop them. “Just piss off!”

Lucas froze a moment, and Max curled up over her knees, burying her head in her legs. He’d go. He’d go and she could go home and…

She heard him sit beside her. “Let’s go to the arcade still.” he said. “You can forget about this. Save Daphne.”

She felt another pang in her chest.

“Or I could… beat you at Dig Dug.”

She stayed silent for a long, long moment. Then, she said, “There’s no way you’re beating me.”

“I will.”

She finally sat up, and gave him a small, pained smile. “I could beat you with my eyes closed.”

“Dare you to do it.”

“Alright.” she glanced down at the ground. “Alright, okay. But… no talking about him. To me, or anyone. Leave this alone. Okay?”

“No talking about anything.” Lucas promised, and he stood up, holding out his hand for her. “Just fighting.”

She laughed a little, and took his hand. “I can live with that.”

Steve, Robin, Dustin and Will stared at the board, and repeated what they’d managed to translate over the entire workday. The mall had completely cleared out, and now it was just them.

“The week is long.” they read. “The silver cat feeds. When blue meets yellow in the west.”

They left soon after that, and as Steve closed up the store he said, “Are we sure this is right?”

“Oh, it’s right.” Robin said.

“It’s nonsense!” Steve said.

“It’s not nonsense.” Dustin said, reaching to grab Will’s hand as they walked; Will flinched a little at the sudden contact. “It’s too specific. It’s gotta be a code.”

“Dustin?” Will muttered.

“That’s a stretch.” Steve said.

“Not really.” Robin said. “If the Russians are sending a code, what do you think they’re gonna say? ‘Fire the rocket at noon’?”

“Dustin.” Will whispered again.

“Why would anyone say ‘the silver cat feeds’ unless they were trying to mask their message?”

“Exactly.” Dustin said.

“And why would anyone want to mask the true meaning of their message unless it was somehow sensitive?”

Dustin finally noticed Will tugging on his hand, and turned to him just as Robin continued, “We need to translate the rest and see if there’s a pattern.”

“Maybe Silver Cat’s a meeting place.” Dustin said, as Will tugged again.

“Or a person.” Robin said. “It’s probably gonna take a super genius to crack it, but- where’s Steve?”

She turned, to see Steve had stopped at one of the toy horses that kids put a quarter in to ride. She groaned and ran back, saying, “Aren’t you a little old for that?”

As she left, Will whispered, “What if… Dustin…”

“What?” Dustin turned to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Slow down, Will. Breathe.”

Will bit his lip, breathing slow. “Silver cat. Silver cat feeds… what if… Dustin, wasn’t that…”

“Slow down.”

“Wasn’t that what…” he blinked back tears. “What they wanted Mike to kill?”

Dustin froze. A memory flashed in his mind; Mike, sobbing, telling them that he couldn’t kill the kitty, he just couldn’t, but he could kill the guards, he could kill them if they tried to lock him away… and Will shaking, refusing to look Mike in the eye, mumbling something about seeing it happen…

“Do you think it could be about us?” Dustin said.

“The week is long… seven days. Maybe there’s a Seven here?” Will whimpered. “And… blue meets yellow- I don’t know what that could mean, but-”

“If it’s about us, should we tell the others?”

“Mike and Lucas will just burst in and fight everything.” Will shook his head. “You know how they get when we think something might be… scary. And Mom will never let me out of her sight again. Let’s… let’s figure out what it- it might not be about us-”

At that moment, they heard a familiar music.

They turned, seeing Steve kneeling by the toy horse, Robin standing nearby. Slowly, the boys walked over. “What’s this?” Dustin asked, as Will grabbed his arm.

“Shh!” Steve said. “Shh, listen!’

They listened, and then Dustin paled. “Holy shit.” he said. “The music.”

“It’s the same on the tape.” Steve said. “I knew it, I knew I recognized it from somewhere…”

Robin looked skeptical. “Maybe they have the same horses in Russia.”

Steve gestured to the logo. “Indiana Flyer? I don’t think so. This code… didn’t come from Russia.” He turned to look at them, a serious look on his face. “It came from here.”

Will gripped tighter onto Dustin.

“Well,” Dustin said, sharing a meaningful look with his fellow experiment, “That doesn’t bode well.”

#stranger things #stranger things 3 #stranger things au #rightside up au #rsu3 #mine #my fanfic #st fanfic

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