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justimajin · 5 years ago

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One Bad Case of the Jeon Sniffles

⇢ Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

⇢ Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Angst

↳ Doctor/Surgeon AU, Sequel to the Doctor Blues Universe - read here first!

⇢ Words: 15.5k

⇢ Warnings: jungkook being a scared bunny & jimin actually needing to chill (as always)

⇢ Summary: Jeon Jungkook is a very capable individual; he’s spent years and years studying and training for his role as a doctor, noted to be one of youngest candidates to take on the job, as well as having an innate caring need inside him to see his patients well and healthy. Although there’s no underestimating his ability to work within a hospital, it goes without being said that the doctor isn’t as talented with some other area’s of his life - and it’s something that the young doctor can no longer run away from after one surprise encounter.

⇢ A/N: This story is going to feature two Y/N’s because it is a sequel, but to avoid any confusion both characters are referred to as separate people.

The dusty white hospital doors creak open once more, this time being pleasantly greeted with a different pathway. Long gone are days filled with resentment and outrage, hours consumed with electric tension between two sets of stern eyes and remains of faint bickering that once echoed through the familiar walls.

Instead, the hallway begins to gradually narrow down onto a fresh new road – one that has heavy stomps beating against the solid tiled ground, the young doctor pushing his falling bangs aside swiftly.

The knuckles of his hands are fisted, a plastic board becoming adorned with multiple markings when his signature meets every single one of the fluttering pages with a sharp swipe. He occasionally pauses his scribbling, focused eyes tracing along with the new patients being transferred into his wards.

His eyes fall onto one of them, particularly the way said patient was battling through a prickling chain of hoarse coughs.

The board is shifted underneath one of his arms, a stethoscope already being unlooped from his neck and by his side when he places a warm hand on the elderly woman’s shaking back. Although there’s a prominent crease lining between his brows and his hunched shoulders droop down, there’s a smile on his lips when he requests one of the nurses for a specific medication.

Taking a step back, he quietly observes the relief meeting the woman’s expression when the nurse hands her the medicine he has recommended, eyes already brimming with gratitude. The smile on his lips only seems to grow with every passing minute, only withering when he hears a thunderous clap behind him.

Eyes serious and shoulders tensing immediately, it dissolves away when his vision comes into contact with a familiar doctor.

“Well done, well done!” The man exclaims, walking over to him and circling an arm around his neck. Cries of hysteria begin to escape him as he clutches onto his chest, his shirt being crumpled in the process, “My Jungkookie has grown up so well!”

He shakes his head at the comment, but there’s a small smirk contained on his lips that he can’t seem to hide.

“I guess you can say it was because I was trained by the best.”

The man’s eyes instantly enlarge, practically bulging out of his eye sockets when he races over to another doctor, blonde locks falling onto his eyes when he adjusts an IV, “Yoongi! Yoongi! Did you hear that?!” His arms are outstretched, a giant ecstatic grin surfacing, “He said he was trained by the best.”

The other man chuckles, standing up straight as he watches his patient’s monitor, “By what? The best lunatic?” Offense crosses the man’s delicate features and Yoongi devilishly chuckles, “Oh right, he meant doctor. My bad.”

The black-haired doctor throws his hands up, seemingly letting out a tantrum while low chuckles escape the blonde doctor, completely ignoring him as he focuses back onto his work.

Jungkook can only softly smile at the display from afar, wondering how despite having this brand-new role assigned to him, there were some things that never changed within the hospital walls.

“Uh…e-excuse me?”

His head immediately snaps back, eyes lined with black circles on full alert until he realizes that the voice wasn’t coming near him, but actually below him.

His eyes widen and he’s instantly bending down, coming into eye level contact with the young girl that teeter tooters on her feet. A pained expression is on her features, contorted when she faintly touches her arm.

“Sit down on that chair and I’ll have a look at it.” He points over to the side and the girl gratefully nods, following his instructions.

Grabbing his clipboard, he quickly continues the rest of his reports before he’s soon striding over, examining the girl’s arm hastily when he can see her eyes knitted in discomfort.

He lets go of her arm, scribbling down on his board, “The bone is healing well but the muscle seems to be irritated as a result.” His voice changes, turning into a much more soothing tone compared to usual, “I can give you something to feel better though. Does that sound okay?”

The girl eagerly nods and Jungkook gives her a warm smile, assisting her up from the chair when he mumbles some quick instructions to another nurse.

However, the moment she leaves, Jungkook slumps down. A lengthy drawn out sigh escapes his lips and he shuts his dry eyes for a moment that have been kept wide awake for far too long. When he opens them again, they drift over to the two doctors also in the same ward as him.

He truly doesn’t know what’s worse – the fact that he was running on only two hours of sleep and still had more paperwork to file along with new patients to attend or the fact that the two doctors near him were getting the job done faster than he was and still had the energy to talk to one another.

Another sigh escapes him; this time even deeper as he rubs the sore lids of his eyes. He sinks back into the chair, almost melting into it as he savours the spare time he has for once.

In a way, he knows. He knows that this is what he wants, this is what he trained for, what he spent countless hours studying for and prepared endlessly day and night. There is no other place he rather be at and he just knows – knows that no matter how difficult, this is what his life is to become.

But why was it getting harder and harder to breathe as time went by?

He immediately retracts, as if slipping away from the whole idea itself. Head pushed back, he instead decides to drown his ears with the roaring banter coming from the corner of the room.

“Y/N and Taehyung still haven’t come back?”

“Nope! They left us all here Yoongi, I’m telling you, they jumped ship!”

“Well Daegu’s pretty far…and they needed some time off anyways…”

“Do you miss them~”

“No.”

“You miss them~ Yoongi you misssss them~”

“Yah Park Jimin! Get off of me!”

Dimples form when a small smile crosses his lips, knowing that if he had merely turned his head to the corner slightly he would get the perfect view of Jimin suffocating a protesting Yoongi into a hug.

Maybe this was how it was supposed to feel, maybe at the end of the day he knows he still has them.

Another sigh escapes him and he leans further back into his chair, the tiredness seeping into his bones when his shoulders begin to relax and his mind falls clear.

“DR. JEON!”

He jolts up as if he’s been electrocuted, blurry eyes hurriedly searching around for the source of distress only to be greeted with nothing. Suddenly two hands are on his arm, shaking him relentlessly when he scatters out of the chair.

“A patient!” Jisoo, his intern quickly says, words tumbling out of her lips as she persistently drags him over, “There’s an unconscious patient with a severe head injury!”

He blinks, his vision sluggishly descending into focus until it all snaps in and soon he’s tugging on his white coat, straightening himself up as he matches up with Jisoo’s rushed steps.

A metal stretcher greets his eyes and he takes his stethoscope out in a flash, measuring the breathing and heart rate of the collapsed man.

“I need an oxygen mask and an IV right now.” He sternly states and Jisoo nods, dashing over to grab him what he needs.

As she does so, he starts to examine the patients head, looking for any points of serious bone breakage or muscle rupture. Thankfully enough, he lets out an exhale when neither seems to have occurred and at most, his suspicions are that the injury must have just caused a minor concussion – in which the impending trauma to the brain must have knocked the man out of consciousness.

He’ll be okay and his symptoms can be managed, Jungkook mentally notes down to himself, his eyes searching around for hopefully his returning intern. Time seems to tick by at a snail’s speed when his gaze eventually falls down, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

He stares down at the man, a frown lining his lips when he takes in the shaggy brown hair and long lashes, a noticeable mole right beneath his eye. His frown only intensifies, brows creasing when the man’s features seem distinctly similar to ones he hasn’t seen for quite a while, but he shakes it off when this man is too lean and much taller for that to make any sense.

He’s seen a dozen of patients today and he’s barely gotten a decent minute of sleep, there was no way possible–

A loud groan breaks his thoughts and his shoulders instinctively flinch when the sound comes from the man currently lying down on the stretcher. Turning when he hears the sheets shuffle, he notices the man’s eyes are now wide open yet strange – as if they were stuck in a dazed, confused state.

“You’re in the hospital.” Jungkook blurts out, being too aware of a patient’s weary position after a going through a concussion, “You were brought here because of a head injury.”

The man blinks again, this time sitting up straight as Jungkook shoots out an arm, bringing it around his back so he doesn’t fall down. However, instead of trying to focus back onto his surroundings like many patients do, the man blatantly stares at him.

His eyes narrow, mouth falling agape when he whispers, “J-Jungkook?”

The young doctor freezes; eyes enlarging until they fall across on the man’s confused face, like he was beginning to connect the scattered dots.

Before Jungkook can even say anything, Jisoo comes hurriedly running along, an oxygen mask and IV in hand. “Dr. Jeon!”

“Thank you Jisoo, I don’t think we’ll need the oxygen mask anymore but I’ll take this.” He reaches out for the long IV, dragging the white monitor with it, “It’ll sting but I’ll be quick.”

Jungkook leans down, eyes focused yet his hands waver a bit when the man continues to stare at him, his surprised eyes soon sinking down into a warm tone.

“Dr. Jeon, huh?”

The words hold a layer of amusement within them and Jungkook can’t contain his smile, eyes looking up in confirmation when the IV is hooked up.

“To be honest, I’m still not used to the sound of it.”

“So it’s recent?” There’s a wide grin on the man’s face and from a distance, Jisoo watches the entire interaction with her own eyes. She can’t deny the change in the air, something that casually dips away from professionalism and into something else entirely.

“Do you two know each other?”

They both turn at the exact same time to stare at her, but the man next to Jungkook simply laughs.

“You’ve never talked about me before? I’m hurt Jungkook, really.”

“Well nothing stupid ever came up into conversation.” Jungkook mumbles and it earns him a pout from the man, to which Jungkook just chuckles at, “This is Kim Yugyeom, Jisoo. One of my old friends from college.”

“Back in our glory days.” Yugyeom raises his fist, but winces when he does.

“Don’t try to move too much.” Jungkook immediately says, gesturing to Jisoo to bring the necessary paperwork in to admit his friend. She obliges, understanding that leaving would also give the two some privacy. “What do you do to yourself this time?”

“Why do you always assume I did something?” Jungkook raises an eyebrow at him, “Okay maybe it really was me this time, but it wasn’t directly my faul–“

“What happened Yugyeom?”

“Bambam threw a ball at me and I couldn’t catch it in time.”

Jungkook doesn’t mean to, but soon his eyes are crinkling and the laughter is erupting out of him.

“Don’t laugh at that! It seriously hurt!” He rubs his head, scrunching up his features at the soreness.

Jungkook wipes away the water from his eyes, straightening himself up, “Glad to see you still suck at basketball.”

“I wouldn’t suck so much if someone wasn’t studying all the damn time and actually came out to practice with me.” Yugyeom furrows his brows, eyes latching onto the young doctor before they begin to roam around, “I can’t believe this is where you ended up…”

Jungkook hums, looking around and for a moment, he feels a sense of pride swell up deep inside him. Even though he had been only working in the hospital for a short period of time, the place already feels like a second home to him.

“It’s pretty nice.” Yugyeom smiles, “How’s it like working here?”

Jungkook pursues his lips, “Not bad, I usually work long hours so I’m here most of the time.”

“Long hours? How long?”

“If I’m lucky, not the whole day.”

Yugyeom pauses, gawking at Jungkook in disbelief, “Even through the night?”

“Even through the night.” Jungkook tiredly replies and for a split second, he can immediately recognize the look of pity his friend is shooting him. “Don’t worry, I chose this.”

“Yeah but is this all you ever do?” Yugyeom brings his arm to his head and pouts when Jungkook tugs it down, frowning as he makes sure the IV is still in place, “Geez Jungkook, you need to stop working so much all the time.”

“Well we’re currently understaffed so for now it’s an exceptio–“

“No dude.” He pushes his hands away, staring directly at the doe-eyed doctor, “It’s literally college all over again. You’re still stuck in those books and you won’t get out of them.”

“Back then it was the shit ton of studying you had to do and now it’s this.” He points to the coat resting on Jungkook’s shoulders, “You’ll keep working and never give yourself a break.”

Jungkook looks at his friend confused, feeling a tad offended, “I do give myself breaks.”

Yugyeom wasn’t having any of it though, “Really now? What have you done aside from constantly going to work?”

“Well I-…uh...”

“Any hobbies? Interests?” He gestures to himself, “Hanging out with friends? Dude, I literally haven’t seen you in decades.”

Jungkook grows quiet, mind pondering on every single thing the man was sprouting out. Yugyeom sighs, suddenly realizing that he was the one with the injury that needed to be treated, not Jungkook. Taking a pause, he attempts to recollect himself, “Listen, I’m not saying that working all the time is bad, just come out every once in a while, you know?”

“It’s a lot of work, I know, but you can’t spend all your time here and miss out on other stuff.”

Jungkook dryly laughs, although it’s obvious to Yugyeom how strained and weakened his laugh comes out as. He knows his point has probably drilled itself into the doctor’s mind at this point, so he quickly turns the conversation around to lighten the mood.

“And I bet after all this time, you still suck at talking to girls.”

It seems to work, because Jungkook snaps out of his self-loathing daze and glares at the man, “Hey I’ve gotten better!”

Yugyeom hums, a smirk on his face, “I think so too, you seem to be talking to that intern of yours a lot. Is she single?”

Jungkook’s mouth drops, scoffing, “You haven’t changed one bit.”

“And you still haven’t answered my question.” Yugyeom sighs, brushing some of his hair away, “By the way, do you have a girlfriend yet?”

“Me?” Yugyeom nods, “Definitely no.”

“Ah come on man, you were just talking to a girl! And what’s even better is that you didn’t pass out at the sight!”

The glare in Jungkook’s eyes just increases with the time being, but Yugyeom excitedly points to him, “That! That right there was the stare too! You even stared properly!”

Jungkook darts his pointing hand away from him with a scowl, “I work in a hospital full of woman Yugyeom.”

“So you notice them too! That’s great!” Yugyeom grins, “They probably notice you too if you look around every once in a while.”

“Really?” Jungkook whispers and he rolls his eyes, wondering how much more oblivious his friend could be.

He swings his arm that’s not attached to the machine around him, “You my friend, are one handsome looking dude.”

Yugyeom wishes to himself that he had a camera in his hand within that one second, because the sheer blush spreading across his friend’s cheeks is too much of a treasure to miss. He chuckles, finally being able to see his old young friend hidden away in that mature doctor’s coat.

“You were an ace in college too but you had your head stuck in those books instead.” The mention sparks something in his eyes, especially when the knowledge of what his dear friend had been up to is on clear alert to him, “Have you even stayed in contact with anyone else?”

“No.” Jungkook truthfully admits, “You’re the first person I’ve actually seen up till now.”

The knowledge falls onto Yugyeom like a brick and for a moment, he just stares, looking for any traces of humour from his friend.

He’s only greeted with a dead serious look and he just can’t take it anymore, “Not even Bambam?” Jungkook shakes his head, “Mingyu? Jaehyun?”

Jungkook keeps shaking his head and Yugyeom sighs, placing a finger on his chin, “So you really haven’t talked to any of the boys….” His eyes light up, instantly sparkling, “Oh! What about Y/N? Talked to her recently?”

Jungkook’s eyes immediately widen and Yugyeom places a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “I ran into her the other day and she mentioned you Jungkook!” His friend slowly starts to step back but Yugyeom doesn’t lift his iron grip off of him and quickly rambles on, “She’s exactly the same as before, you could try asking her ou– “

“My, my, what’s going on here~”

Yugyeom pauses, wondering when where the new voice was coming from until he’s greeted to a young man wearing a white dress shirt, his black hair sleeked and parted to the side. He adorns a giant mischievous grin, inching closer and closer to the duo by the minute.

He wonders what the situation perhaps looks like, Jungkook appearing to be stuck in a frenzy as Yugyeom is practically grabbing onto him and not letting him to slip away. It’s something the man undoubtedly stares at too, “How is it that you know my precious intern?”

“Precious intern?” Yugyeom questions with an inquiring brow, releasing Jungkook who straightens himself up.

“Of course.” The man immediately latches onto Jungkook, his eyes crinkling until you can no longer see them, “I raised him with my bare hands.”

“You raised him?” Another voice scoffs, strolling along until it heard the appalling obscure fact, “I don’t think so.”

Yugyeom turns to the second man, a white coat handing off his broad shoulders when he abruptly taps the side of his clipboard against the first man’s arm, causing him to yelp and let go of Jungkook.

“Jungkook’s a doctor now Jimin, be a little professional.”

“Jin hit meee!” Jimin exclaims, clutching onto Jungkook and fake sobbing into his shirt, causing the man to awkwardly pat his back despite the annoyance spreading on his face like usual.

“Good.” A blonde doctor soon joins them, hands behind his back as he exchanges a knowing look with Jin before his eyes narrow onto Yugyeom, “Who is this guy?”

Jungkook manages to push Jimin’s hair away from his chin enough to answer, “This is Yugyeom, one of my friends from college.”

“College?!” Jimin immediately shrieks, racing over to the man with magnified eyes, “You knew my precious intern during college?”

Yugyeom nods with an endearing laugh and Jimin’s grasps onto his hands, “What was he like?”

He goes silent, leaning down to whisper in Jimin’s ear.

“He used to look like a baby.”

Jimin squeals, a high-pitched deafening sound that hurts everyone’s ears, “I need to know more! I need to know more!”

Jungkook watches the two from a distance, wondering to himself if it was such a great idea letting his former doctor counterpart become close with one of his college friends, but then he hears something tumble out of the doctor’s mouth that makes him instantly regret it all.

“You have baby pictures of my Jungkookie in college?!”

Before he can say anything though, Jimin is soon pressing a hand against his chest in awe when Yugyeom flashes a picture of the two posing.

“You look so adorable!” Jimin latches onto him again, poking his cheek, “My precious intern!”

“Past intern.” Jungkook annoyingly corrects, disbelief crossing his features when he sees Jin slowly shuffle over in curiosity.

He eyes Yugyeom in approval, “Can you send me this?”

Yugyeom nods and they begin to hurriedly exchange numbers, much to the doctor’s resentment, “Hey! Don’t send him those!”

“Send me a copy too.” Yoongi mumbles underneath his breath, causing Jungkook to glance at all of them with more disbelief, his neck straining from the extra weight currently still attached onto his torso.

“What’s going on here?” A new, authoritative voice pokes out and Jungkook turns to see Namjoon watching them with a confused look, papers in hand that he was most likely reading over.

“Jungkook’s pictures from college Namjoon! His friend has tons of them!” Jimin exclaims, but Namjoon frowns, placing his papers underneath his arm as he strides over.

He plucks the loud doctor off of his old intern, to which Jungkook is extremely grateful for. “I don’t want to ruin the moment but you should all be getting back to work, there’s new patients that need to be filed in.” He warmly smiles, “Just because we’re short two doctors, it doesn’t mean we have no work to do.”

Namjoon’s words work like a spell, all the doctors realizing that they should listen to him when they return back to their places, although Jungkook isn’t the most enthusiastic when he sees Jin eagerly eyeing down a collection of his old pictures. He sighs, returning back as well when he’s painfully aware of the sheer amount of work awaiting his arrival.

***

Night draws into the brightly lit windows of the hospital, accompanying the footsteps of a young doctor as he scribbles away on perhaps the thousandth paper he’s seen today.

With one last swipe of his signature, Jungkook looks up, eyes barely adjusting to the light when he notices that the hospital has gone silent, patients beginning to prepare to rest for the night. He sighs, stretching his arms and legs out when he trudges back over to his office, grateful that the day was finally over and that he could do the same as the patients after being awake for more than twenty-four hours.

He arrives at his office but pauses for a moment, hearing the faint sound of giggles coming nearby. Intrigued, he looks up to be greeted by his former doctor counterpart, also locking up for the day as he chatters away with one of the hospital’s old interns.

The sight almost makes Jungkook falter, a warm smile on the doctor’s face when he speaks to his girlfriend, eyes twinkling when she laughs at some bizarre joke he’s managed to come up with. Although they’re speaking to each other in public, Jungkook’s notices, the moment seems intimate at the same time, as if their eyes were only able to see no one else except for each other.

It should be described as being beautiful, even sweet, but all Jungkook can feel is his heart sinking further and further down when the voice of his friend rings loudly away inside his mind. He can only think about how much he’s done to progress his career, to move forward and climb the escalating demanding ladder when others have done the exact same, but also managed to grow other parts of themselves that Jungkook hasn’t even imagined to, despite being the youngest doctor among all of them.

When’s the last time he did something else other than work? When’s the last time he’s had some fun? Gone out with friends?

His eyes lock onto the couple again.

Actually…thought about being with someone?

The crease in between his brows increases and although the day had just ended, Jungkook’s shoulders are hitched up as if the day had just begun. It seems like his heavy gaze was noticed though, because soon the doctor is excitedly waving over at him.

“Jungkookie~” Jimin says, brightly smiling. Chaeyoung turns around too, eyes lighting up instantly when she notices Jungkook and offering him a friendly smile.

However, Jungkook can’t find it in him to do the same, not when the two seem to be practically glowing as a twisted stormy cloud brews over his mind. He simply chooses to sharply nod, opening his office door in a hurry and locking himself inside.

Jimin’s bright smile falters, eyes immediately sinking down into concern when he exchanges a silent look with Chaeyoung, who reflects the same look he holds.

***

Jungkook’s barely gotten a single second of sleep.

He’s attempted to do so many times, rolling over and flopping onto different sides of the bed, squeezing his eyes shut and feeling relieved when he feels himself being pulled away.

Until the thoughts enter his mind.

At first, he does what he’s used to doing – ignoring them – but the thoughts continue to creep on him, not letting his pink tinged eyes get even a second of peace.

He doesn’t regret meeting his friend, if anything the encounter brought up warm memories Jungkook had long forgotten about, pieces of the past he didn’t realize he missed until he saw his friend’s face again. However, just like a recorder, his friend’s words drag him back to instances in college, instances that Jungkook wants to say he tried his hardest, actually putting in the effort instead of hiding away in his books.

Unfortunately, he can’t say any of that.

Which is why when Jungkook trudges through the hospital halls at the spike of dawn, he looks like a hollow empty shell. He wonders if he had perhaps underestimated how well he was at keeping his feelings at bay, because soon a certain someone is eyeing him down with troubled eyes.

He deeply sighs and suddenly his arm is being yanked, a loud yelp to escaping him.

“That’s the seventh one I’ve heard today.” The black-haired doctor mumbles, dragging him over to his office before shutting the door behind him. Jungkook remains bewildered when Jin plants him down onto a chair, standing in front of him with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Jungkook immediately blurts, but Jin frowns more when he takes in the heavy dark circles lining the young doctor’s eyes.

He isn’t having any of it.

“Are you being overworked? Should I talk to Namjoon?” Jungkook bring his hands up instantly, shaking his head.

“N-No, it isn’t that…” Jungkook lowers his gaze, staring at the ground as he keeps his hand clasped together. It’s a little difficult for him to look Jin directly in the eyes, for the former was watching him carefully to catch any sign of what was causing him the distress.

Jungkook clears his throat, hesitantly bringing his eyes up, “Do you regret becoming a doctor?”

Jin blinks, not expecting the question, “No, why?”

Jungkook sighs, “I mean…more like being a doctor at this age.” He looks up, “Do you regret not doing it sooner?”

Jin’s arms fall to his sides and the confusion begins to dissolve away from his expression bit by bit, “It took me a while to figure out that this was what I wanted to do, but I think I would have regretted doing it sooner.” There’s a small smile on Jin’s lips when he slides into a chair across from Jungkook, “It’s harder to figure out when you’re at a younger age.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen a bit and Jin sends him a knowing smile, “Did seeing your friend bring up this question?”

“Yeah…” Jungkook lets out a heavy exhale, reaching into his pocket to grab his phone. He unlocks it, staring at the picture of a familiar young man smiling alongside other familiar faces, before slipping the phone over to Jin across the table.

“He’s kept in touch with every one of them since college…” Jungkook says quietly, causing Jin to raise an eyebrow as he keeps swiping across the pictures. “One of them even left to work abroad a while ago, so he isn’t in the picture but Yugyeom still talks to him…”

Jin pauses at one picture, frowning, “Who’s this?”

“Oh that’s Mingyu– “ Jungkook stares at the picture, wondering how even though his friend retained his signature cheeky smile, he looked so much older in the picture as he poses next to a girl, “He got married a couple of months ago…”

“Ah.” Jin simply says, putting the phone down slowly as he watches Jungkook sinks farther into his chair with worried eyes. There’s an uncomfortable silence residing in the room and it becomes far too apparent to the older doctor that its something he needs to break.

“They’ve gotten too far ahead.” Jin says, “But you’re still here. In this hospital.”

Jungkook nods, not really wanting to confirm anything with spoken words.

“You’ve fallen really behind in comparison.”

The thought stings Jungkook, but it sounds even worse when Jin directly states it. “We’re the exact same age, but they were able to keep in contact with each other, they’ve been up to other things, they’ve even found someone–“ Jungkook weakly laughs, “While I was just worried about becoming a doctor as soon as possible.”

“Do you regret it?” Jin questions, tossing the same notion right back at Jungkook.

“No–“ He cuts himself off, wincing, “Maybe? I…I just don’t know anymore.”

“You still have time JK.“ Jin reaches over to pat Jungkook’s back, nodding understandably, “And you’ve basically knocked it out the park with becoming a doctor. That too, at the same time as me.”

A small smile surfaces on Jungkook’s lips and Jin takes the opportunity right away, “You told me you were going to become a doctor in one year and now look at you, sitting here wearing the same coat as me!”

Jungkook falters, “But I just hope this coat isn’t the only thing I’ll ever have at the end of the day.”

“It’ll all work out, trust me. You just need to give it time.” Jin says in a comforting tone before he lets out a loud sigh, “You young people are always rushing into things too soon.”

Jungkook scoffs, getting up from his chair, “At least we didn’t take a century to become doctors.”

“Yah medical school is hard okay!” Jin points an accusing finger at him.

“I know, I went to one to become a doctor.” Jungkook beams, smiling fully for the first time in Jin’s office, “Right at the same time as you.”

Jin playfully frowns at that, pushing at Jungkook’s shoulders, “Yeah, yeah, now get out of my office you show-off. I have work to do.”

Jungkook abruptly stops in his tracks, watching Jin struggle for a minute trying to push his heavy form until he grows frustrated, “Yah JK!”

Jungkook laughs loudly, walking out of the office with a huge grin.

***

It’s cold and dreary, causing Jungkook to tug his hood closer when an icy breeze passes by. The sky is completely dark, a handful of stars scattered across the horizon and a few fluctuating lamp posts being his only source of light when he threads through the gap between two of them.

Talking to Jin actually helped him more than he had expected, not realizing how much seeing his old friend affected him until he was forced to confront the feelings and put them into words. In a way he was grateful, for he was now better able to pinpoint why he felt absolutely torn since he encountered Yugyeom, but unfortunately understanding what was wrong was only the first step in completely figuring things out.

Which is why he’s here, out in the bleary inky sky and sparkling stars, dressed in a comfortable black hoodie and jeans as he walks down the empty sidewalk. It’s a little unnerving to be wearing something other than his white doctor coat, something that Jungkook thinks has completely become apart of him at this point and to be simply walking outside, eyes not latched onto impending reports or arms not quickly fluctuating around to attend to all his patients.

It’s borderline strange, Jungkook has to be admit, but its oddly similar to what he was like before he had even taken his first step within the hospital walls. He laughs, breath coming out as mist, wondering how long it had been since he had even left those walls since his first steps.

He looks up when he hears footsteps coming from near him and instantly he sidelines to the left side, letting the two individuals glued to each other pass by without him being in their way. The shared glowing smiles and sparks of warmth emitting from them despite the chilling cold makes Jungkook wince, leaving him thoughts filled with encountering his former doctor and his girlfriend.

He recalls the situation again, but then his thoughts go even more astray when he remembers a pair of doctors that used to be at the hospital when he was initially hired as an intern. Although he does certainly miss them, there was a fine layer of shock imbedded into him when they had declared the status of their relationship and Jungkook had no clue as to how two polar opposites – two people that had always been known to argue with one another, managed to end up changing that feeling into something else entirely.

He doesn’t want to call it envy, because he’s admired these two people for so long and the last thing he could ever feel was that word. But it was like his admiration along with expectations had only spiked up, continuing to increase rapidly when he had even encountered another certain blonde and orange duo that had his hopes hitting the ceiling at that point.

He lets out a loud sigh, hands burying themselves further into his pockets when he keeps walking through the icy chill.

Yugyeom was right. Jin was right.

He was too busy pursuing something no one at his age would even dare, that he’s completely forgotten everything else.

Shaking his head, his dry eyes blink against the cold when a brightly lit store greets Jungkook’s vision and his eyes perk up.

The cold is beginning to get to him, he notices, so he makes a turn, heading into the store and pleasantly meeting relief when the warmth is already beginning to thaw out his freezing hands and face.

It’s not too bad. Jungkook thinks, looking around to see shelves of food and fridges filled. He eyes down a certain aisle, one stocked with some of his favourite snacks and he grins, knowing exactly what he needed in that moment.

Pacing around, he starts inspecting the ones he likes, tossing them carelessly into his arms before he heads over to the fridge, doe eyes eagerly searching around for small cases of his favourite milk.

In an instant he finds it, a giant bunny smile emerging on his lips when he teeter-tooters on his heels, taking it out excitedly.

Even though his entire day practically sucked, he’s glad that he can at least end it off nicely as he stares down at the cartons.

“Jungkook?”

His arm freezes in place, the breezy chill still emitting out from the fridge and submerging his torso when he hears soft footsteps closing in on him. He doesn’t turn around right away though, only slightly flinching when he feels a hand lightly tap his arm.

That’s when he slowly turns, blown up eyes immediately locking onto yours, “Jungkook, right?”

He can only seem to nod in that one moment and you smile, causing Jungkook to stagger and drop all his snacks onto the ground. It snaps him back in, the door to the fridge shutting close when he kneels down, putting his banana milk to the side and attempting to hastily pick up the spilled snacks.

Two other hands assist him and it’s when they accidentally knock into his own when he looks up, the hue on his cheeks dipping into a threatening red.

You place the snacks into his arms, not quite noticing the arising colour when you point, “Do you need a basket for those?”

Again, he just nods, letting out a breath that was caught deep in his throat when you walk away. Before he even has a moment to collect himself though, you’re soon returning back, reaching out with the basket and gesturing for him to drop his snacks into.

He places the basket against his arm, occasionally glancing up at you from the ground, “Its really been a while, hasn’t it?”

He tries to formulate some words in his mind, but there’s a very brief pang of dejection dwelling in your eyes when you say the words, something that almost reminds him of the time he had spoken to Yugyeom, “I-It has…I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

The words are spoken softly and Jungkook knows it must have worked when there’s a smile tugging on your lips, “I actually started working nearby here.” Your eyes instantly light up, “I also ran into Yugyeom just the other day.”

Jungkook lightly laughs, “I did too, but probably not in the same way you did.”

You frown at that, but then a thought immediately occurs to you, “D-Did you become one…? A doctor, I mean.”

Jungkook nods, “I did.”

“That’s nice…” You smile, although it doesn’t quite meet your eyes, Jungkook notices. “Well, I leave you to your shopping then.”

You gesture to his basket and offer him a kind smile before turning to get back to your own cart. Jungkook continues to stand there, a basket overflowing with snacks and hands now cold from grasping onto cooled milk when your back completely disappears. He blinks, attempting to process what exactly happened just moments ago and why he felt so bad seeing you here, in front of him when he should have been the opposite, filled from head to toe in pure joy instead.

It was almost like…he didn’t want to see you…

The thought alone makes Jungkook grimace, because none of that has anything to do with you. You were just being yourself around him, like how you always were back in college, tender and kind, being so close to the rest of the guys and him, wanting to be closer to him even though he barely tried to talk to you, let alone get to know you more. It was something he had regretted, but it was easily tossed away to the side of his mind when he got accepted into medical school, leaving you and the rest behind so quickly that seeing you again…like this.

It’s making him remember everything all over again.

And it’s re-opened a link he had thought had been long closed off.

So why was he still standing there, staring into space when he can hear the cashier checking your items out one by one?

What was he even waiting for anymore?

A large hand slams against the glass door and you jolt back with wide, confused eyes, shifting between the sight of the shining door and Jungkook standing quite awkwardly in front of you. At the view of your terrified expression, he quickly clears his throat, knowing the last thing he wanted to accomplish was to scare you off somehow.

And that too, again.

“H-Hey…” He says, voice raising up into an unflattering tone when he’s already cursing at himself on the inside.

Real smooth there Jungkook, realll smooth.

“Uh…Hi?” You chuckle, now noticing the pink dust beginning to creep on his cheeks when he clears his throat again.

“Y-You-…” Calm down Jungkook, he warns to himself, “Y-You said you worked nearby.”

You nod, expectant eyes latching onto him and for a moment, he considers if perhaps he wasn’t the only one that actually wanted to stay in contact, “I-I was just thinking, that if y-you’d like, we could meet up some time, you know just like friends hanging out, o-or like….”

He can’t manage to even finish off that sentence, cheeks now completely red when he just bites his lip and stares down at the ground like it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever seen. Before he can even mumble out a string of apologies, there’s a piece of paper being flashed between the ground and his eyes, causing his head to snap up immediately.

A warm smile lines your lips and when you gesture for him to take the paper, he automatically refreshes and grasps it, realizing there was a collection of numbers scribbled down on it.

“I have to get going but…” Your eyes trace over the paper and he instinctively blushes, but you send him another smile before turning to leave.

When the door comes to a close, Jungkook remains standing there. He stares down at the piece of paper, looking at it like he had just discovered a piece of gold.

After one long heavy silence, he suddenly sparks up, a giant grin on his features as his eyes crinkle when he fists the paper in his hands.

He’s ecstatic – so incredibly happy and bursting with joy when he rushes out of the store, not even realizing that he needs to go back in to pay for his things when the cashier shoots him a dirty glare, but all he can see in that single moment is something he‘s managed to do with his own effort, actually trying for once.

He can’t wait to tell Yugyeom that he can talk to girls properly.

***

He’s legitimately freaking out.

It’s as if someone took a bucket of water and splashed it all over his fiery determination, dousing it within seconds when he comes to realize what exactly you had told him.

A date.

You had asked him – Jeon Jungkook – out on a date.

Not to hang out as friends, not to catch up on the old reminiscent days of college, but a date.

The thing two people do if they’re interested in each other romantically.

The very thing Jungkook has avoided being asked of constantly, whether it was disappearing away from impending eyes within the hospitals walls or ducking away from any advances towards him.

He’s freaking out.

And he has no clue on how he was supposed to handle something of this sort.

But he does know someone who can.

The door rattles when his fist comes into contact with it, nervous feet walking back and forth before the apartment as he tries to steady down his breathing. When there’s no response from the other side of the door, he knocks again, this time with more force as the door swings wide open, leaving Jungkook speechless as he stares at the man before him.

“Jungkook?”

“Dr.–“

He pauses, wondering if he had gotten the correct address.

“Dr. Park?”

The use of his professional name causes the doctor’s eyes to widen, hurriedly crossing his arms over the short white bathrobe he adorns. It barely covers his chest and legs, a slimy green mixture smeared all over his face.

“What? I just showered and my skin has been super dehydrated lately, okay?” Jimin exasperatedly sighs, “But what are you doing here Jungkook?”

“I needed to talk to you but you didn’t come into work today so I thought you would be home and I–“ Jimin opens the door fully, pushing Jungkook inside.

“My mask is supposed to come off in two minutes and you’re out here babbling!” Jimin protests, closing the door with a huff. “Chaeyoung, we have company!”

A familiar head pops out when Jungkook enters the living room, his eyes widening when he sees a movie on the tv paused as the intern perks up seeing him, “Jungkook! What brings you over?”

“Well I–“

“You two chat, I have one-minute left and I am definitely not spending date night with dry skin!” Jimin quickly rambles, rushing into the bathroom as Chaeyoung laughs.

She moves to the side of the couch and pats down on it, “Have a seat Jungkook.”

He nods, shifting to sit down next to her, but his shoulders are hiked up as he interlaces his hands, gaze staring at the paused tv. In comparison, Chaeyoung is spread out on the couch, lazily leaning against the edge.

“Is everything okay?”

Snapping out of his daze, he turns to see her staring at him with concerned eyes.

“Well…I actually have a date.”

Her eyes immediately beam, “A date?”

He timidly nods, not realizing there was a speck of pink spreading across his skin. Chaeyoung notices right away, smiling until a loud voice breaks through the comfortable atmosphere, a clean Park Jimin still dressed in a bathrobe emerging.

“My skin looks beautiful and my intern has a date?! What an amazing day it is today~” He immediately pounces onto Jungkook with a huge grin.

“Wait, wait!” Jungkook hurriedly protests, trying to wrench the man off of him, “That’s why I came over today! I need help!”

Jimin freezes, looking at Jungkook as if he had just sprouted some holy words to him, “You…you need my help?”

Jungkook sighs, the doctor now clinging onto him like a child with wide, cooing eyes but Chaeyoung leans over, placing a hand on Jimin’s shoulder, “I think this is his first date Jimin.”

Jimin instantly stops with a frown, “First date?” When Jungkook exhales deeply again, Jimin latches off of him completely, eyes now filling up with concern, “Jungkookie?”

Jungkook goes silent for a moment and Chaeyoung shifts her eyes over to Jimin, who takes a couple of steps back at seeing his precious intern suddenly look so distraught.

He eventually speaks up, “I…I need help, I’ve never gone on a date before and she’s someone I do like, but I–“ Jungkook stops and Chaeyoung pats his shoulder, giving him time to speak to which he greatly appreciates, “This isn’t something I find the answer in books, or get experience through working. This is so real and I-I just don’t know how to prepare…”

Jungkook buries his head within his hands and its silent again, causing Jimin to gesture something to Chaeyoung, who quietly leaves as he steps up.

“Jungkook.” He looks up and the doctor smiles at him, “We’re going to figure this out, okay? You’ve come to the right person and I am here to educate you…my precious intern.”

Jungkook actually smiles at that and Jimin instantly beams, Chaeyoung returning back with a giant whiteboard and marker in hand.

“Alright then!” Jimin grabs the marker, perching up one bare leg onto the couch, “What do you know about dates?”

“Uh…” Jungkook looks like he’s just been asked a question on an exam he didn’t study for, “They’re romantic and stuff? Like you spend time together and do cute things?” He quickly glances at Chaeyoung who gives him an encouraging nod and a thumbs up, to which Jimin grins.

“Correct!” Jimin scribbles it down onto the board, “See Jungkook! You do know about dates!”

“Not enough though.” Jungkook whines but Jimin raises a hand.

“Fear not! We have you covered!” He gestures to Chaeyoung again who leaves onto to rush in with an assortment of suits. Jungkook helplessly watches as Jimin dashes away too, returning with a bunch of his own collection of hair supplies and accessories.

“What’s all this for?”

Jimin chuckles when he notices Jungkook’s eyes widening, colour draining completely from his skin at the new material. There’s a mysterious glint residing deep within the doctor’s eyes, a look that Jungkook truthfully is terrified of.

Jimin wraps an arm around him, “Oh Jungkookie, there is so much you have yet to learn~”

***

The room is brightly lit, a hue of warm orange splashed across the walls and a layer of vibrant pink flowers streamed along the front counter, right next to a bowl filled with round cherry candies. From a distance, there’s a violin playing, elegant music surrounding the folks that chatter behind the walls as greetings and pleasantries are exchanged.

One of the cherry candies is plucked from the bowl, a gold shine wrapped around the delicacy before its entirely ripped away and tossed carelessly to the side. The wrapper barely meets the trash can when the candy is furiously being spit out, Jungkook hurriedly wiping his sleeve when he’s left with a bitter sour taste in his mouth.

He immediately adjusts his sleeve, not wanting any sticky cherry residue clinging onto the expensive suit that he’s somehow managed to fit in. With a sigh, he rests his hand against his cheek as he leans against the counter, trying his best not to ruin his gelled hair that took hours to put together.

“Hold still!” Jimin hisses, hands covered with a musky gel that had Jungkook squirming away.

“It smells bad!” The younger man protests, but Jimin frowns when there’s barely any ounce of gel in Jungkook’s hair despite the two of them being at it for two hours.

“Jungkookie, you said you would trust me! Who is the mentor here?!”

Jungkook slumps down into the chair, pouting at Jimin, “You are…”

“Exactly!” Jimin snaps his fingers, causing some of the gel to flick onto Jungkook’s cheek as he winces, “Oh! Sorry!”

Jimin continues to coat his hair with the gel until its covered majority of Jungkook’s hair and with one rough push, his hair is slicked back to reveal his forehead. “There! Have a look for yourself Jungkook!”

He gets up and walks over to the bathroom mirror as Jimin washes his hands. To his own astonishment and disbelief, the gel serves to not only keep his hair styled, but drastically ages him into a better, more mature image.

“Wow…” He can only stand there and gape at his reflection as Jimin grins, taking the suit Chaeyoung brings him from her hands and turning to face his young intern.

“Now, try this on!”

Jungkook warily takes the suit away from Jimin’s hands, eyeing it oddly.

“Aren’t you shorter than me though?”

Jimin scoffs, “I’m not that short! Besides I usually buy suits with longer pants because its easier to tailor them afterwards!”

“Suree.” Jungkook teases, causing Jimin to pout as he chuckles, “Alright I’m putting it on!”

The suit – just as Jimin said – miraculously fits Jungkook better than he had expected. It doesn’t hang off his form nor does it render him the ability to not breathe, but fits well enough that Jimin dare say it looks better on Jungkook then it does on himself.

After a couple moments of turning and rotating, Jungkook seems satisfied but can’t help the one thought that occurs to him.

“Isn’t this a little fancy?”

Jimin smirks, “Not for where you’re going tonight.” He flips out a brochure, one that has Jungkook widening his eyes.

“A restaurant? But why?”

“It’ll be romantic! Candle lights, music, dinner!” Jimin claps his hands together, “You’ll both love it!”

“I don’t know…” Jungkook whispers, still staring at the brochure. “I don’t really go to restaurants, I don’t know how to speak or what to do, I-I…” Jimin holds up a hand, reassuring the young intern right away.

“That’s why we’re here!” Chaeyoung brings out the giant whiteboard again and Jimin smirks.

“By the time you get there, you’ll be ace gentlemen quality~”

Jungkook sighs again, eyes latching onto the image he reflects against the glass doors in the front. Although it was truly a hassle getting ready this time around, Jungkook can find it in himself to understand that Jimin was right – his gelled hair, paired with the sleek black suit and a set of silver hoops in his ears (which Jimin thankfully gave him) actually does to a lot of service to him, his features not appearing to be so boyish anymore.

He wonders if this is how he should dress for work instead.

The thought is shaken away, because today wasn’t so much about how he looked or where he was as much as it was about the two of you. Jungkook begins to contemplate if he should give you a call, but before he even has a chance to pull his cellphone out, he spots someone in a bright blue dress dashing into the restaurant.

You don’t even seem to recognize him when you get into the restaurant, too occupied with holding onto your knees as you gasp for air. When you finally do look up, Jungkook can see it in your eyes far too quickly and he silently thanks Jimin for all his troubles.

“Woah.” You blink, narrowing your eyes until you’re squinting, “J-Jungkook?”

With a timid smile, he nods, reaching out for you to hold his hand as he gestures into the hall. “Shall we?”

Your cheeks brighten up when you take his hand and Jungkook doesn’t know if the colour appearing on you is because of the fact that you had been running just so you can make it on time, or perhaps because…of him.

Both thoughts either way bring a small quip to his smile, guiding you inside when he can feel small butterflies dancing around in the pit of his stomach.

Your mouth drops wide open when you enter the hall, string of decorative pink and purple flowers in between white lights hanging from the ceiling. You don’t realize you’ve reached your table until Jungkook lets go of you, causing you immediately to be flustered when you been gaping at the place with wide eyes.

Jungkook seems to be unaffected by this however, pulling your chair out with a sweet smile, “Thank you.”

You sit down as he nods, settling down into the seat in front of you. Picking up the menu’s, your eyes begin to scan through all the dishes when Jungkook watches you from the corner of his, a relieved smile on his lips when everything seems to be falling into place and dare he even say, Jimin’s help actually did do more wonders then he would have imagined.

Part of it has to do with you as well too, Jungkook notes. He was extremely reluctant on asking to even come to a place like this, wondering to himself continuously if he was crossing the line too much, or even worse, practically jumping over that line in a rush. After listening to Jimin plead with him over and over again, he finally gave in, asking you to come to the specific restaurant and to dress formally for the occasion.

You don’t seem to have barely missed a beat just like him, adorned in a sleeveless soft blue dress that frills out at your knees, paired with your hair in an updo, light curls dropping down to the side of your cheeks. In a way, it makes Jungkook smile, being seated next to each other in such a luxurious place and dressed so lavishly, yet you still look so faintly similar to how you did in college.

“You look very nice.” Jungkook blurts it out without even realizing and his eyes immediately widen – but then you give him a kind smile in return and he recalls Jimin telling him that complimenting what you were wearing was a must for an date.

You tuck a stand of hair away, his eyes following along with the gesture, “Thanks, so do you.”

He sends you a similar smile, the atmosphere morphing into a warm and comfortable one. Truthfully, Jungkook is completely shocked at the moment. He had conjured up much more atrocious scenario’s in his mind prior to the date, things that could have gone wrong, things that could have messed things up for the far worse. It caused him to constantly pester Jimin and Chaeyoung with worries, questioning everything they did and everything he should do on the day of.

It was extremely exhaustive, but sitting with you here, seeing how you look at him, it makes him feel as if things will be alright, like there wasn’t anything he should be worried about.

You frown for a moment, enlarging your eyes as you concentrate on the menu and the act makes Jungkook smile amusedly, noticing that your expression come off as rather cute when you’re serious.

“Everything alright?”

Looking up, you nod, “I think so? Just having trouble with some of the food names.”

He slides his eyes back to the menu, suddenly realizing he had been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he hadn’t taken a proper moment to look at it. “Let me see if I can help.”

As Jungkook begins to point out things Jimin had explained to him on the menu, you tentatively listen along and follow his direction. Both of you are greatly busy with the process though, failing to realize the other people present at the restaurant, namely one table that seems to be a tad bit crowded and louder in comparison.

“Look, look he’s talking to her!”

There’s a loud wail suddenly, sobbing sounds coming from the table when a collective reign of voices interject immediately. One of the waiters raises a brow at the commotion, simply thinking that the guests were getting agitated from not being served.

“Are you ready to order?” He questions, notepad in hand.

“Of course, can I have one of everything on the menu?” A man with parted pink hair speaks, eyes attentively on the waiter who seems to only blink on the request. The man picks up the menu again, pointing to it, “The price doesn’t matter, even better if it can come with a bottle of win-“

A hand knocks the menu out of his hands, long curly blonde hair tied back into a ponytail as he bursts out dramatically laughing, “You’re so funny!! HAHAHAHA~”

The blue-haired girl sitting next to him smiles to the waiter, “We’ll just take water for now.”

He nods, eyebrow still raising at the particular table, but shrugging off as he walks. The blonde man instantly leans over, glaring at the pink haired individual with a hiss.

“Are you trying to make me go broke?!”

“What?? You said you were paying tonight!”

“Yeah so order something that’s not going to make my wallet cry!”

The pink haired man frowns, staring at the menu with a sigh, “You’re no fun Park.”

“He really isn’t.”

Before Jimin can even protest, a group of three people sits down next to them, all three of them having the same long black hair. Jimin tries to stifle back a laugh when they sit down, but it comes bursting out after he restrains himself for too long.

“You can keep laughing, at least I don’t look like someone dunked a bowl of ramen on my head.” Yoongi mumbles, eyes latching onto two very specific people as he turns to Chaeyoung, “Everything going alright?”

She nods, “They seem to be comfortable with each other.”

“Good.” Yoongi sighs, smiling gratefully when Hoseok hands him a napkin. “Out of all of Jimin’s bright ideas, I’d have to say this is possibly the worst one.”

“It’s brilliant!” Jimin exclaims, protesting right away, “And he’s our baby! We have to protect him!”

“He’s an adult.” Yoongi retorts, causing Jimin to pout but Chaeyoung leans forward.

“I know it seems a little invasive but Jimin’s just been worried, that’s all.” Jimin smiles at her yet Namjoon sighs.

“I don’t know, I’m with Yoongi on this one.” Namjoon gestures over to you two, “They seem to be doing fine without us as well.”

“Then we can all just hang out today! Plus I’m paying~” Jimin giggles, although the words bring a sparkle to Jin’s eyes that he really doesn’t want to see, “But no making me broke!”

Jin mumbles something underneath his breath that sounds like “invites us all over here but doesn’t even give us the full treatment” but Jimin lets it slide, eyes constantly darting over to you and Jungkook.

You two on the other hand, have already ordered and talk as you wait, seemingly answering a list of questions Jungkook had been given prior to meeting you.

“Did you write all of this down or something?” You lightly laugh, not expecting him to compliment you so many times nor to be so curious about your job, which truthfully you find to be incredibly boring. “I just do taxes and bookkeeping, it’s really not that great.”

From the opposite side, Jungkook seems to be flustered, losing bits of his confidence when he lowers his long-sleeved wrist underneath the table, “I’m sure it’s great and that you work hard! Did I mention your hair looks great tonight?”

“Yes, many times.” You chuckle, not quite understanding what was going on but shrugging it off as simple nervousness. After all you felt the same way, being in front of him like this, after so many years had soared away at the speed of light.

You wonder if Jungkook sees the fall in your expression, because his eyes are instantly tracing all over your features before you speak, “You bumped into Yugyeom, right? At your hospital?”

Jungkook nods, “He had fainted from a concussion.”

“Oh.”

He shakes his head, “It wasn’t too serious, but I don’t think Bambam’s going to survive to tell the tale.”

Your eyes light up, “You met Bambam?”

“Ah no– Yugyeom told me about him and the others.”

“I see…” You grow silent and Jungkook shifts in his seat, his hands starting to become clammy by the minute.

He doesn’t understand; he was prepared, listening to every word that Jimin’s slipped out prior to meeting you and so far everything that doctor had told him has seemed to work, until now, especially when he notices your gaze fixated on the table.

“I-I heard Mingyu got married.” He quickly blurts out, watching your eyes sparkle for a split second, “And that Jaehyun’s moved recently for work.”

You smile, although it doesn’t quite meet your eyes, “The last time I saw Jaehyun, he stopped by my apartment to stay goodbye. I was also at Mingyu’s wedding.”

“You went?”

“Of course.” Your smile falters, “He got married to my sister.”

“O-Oh.” Now Jungkook turns quiet, mind suddenly wracking around for the memory of you telling him you had a sister. “I…I didn’t know.”

“We sent you an invitation.” Your gaze is not even on him anymore, staring at your fidgeting hands instead, “I wanted to introduce her to everyone…including you.”

Jungkook is at a loss of words, staring at you hopelessly with wide eyes. In the spur of the moment, he tries to fathom up an answer, not even taking a single glance at his sleeve when he does so, “Y/N I-“

“Your meal is here~” A voice immediately injects him and before he knows it, plates and plates of food are soon flourishing onto the table. Jungkook raises an eyebrow, being fully aware that the two of you did not order this much food, but when he turns to the waiter with questions tumbling on his lips, he go silent completely.

The waiter has long curly blonde hair, pulled back into a ponytail as he smirks at Jungkook. He tugs himself closer to Jungkook, wrapping an arm around the younger individual.

“My oh my! What a dashing young man!” Jimin stares at your surprised eyes and loudly cries out, “They don’t make such men anymore, do they?!”

He begins to sob onto Jungkook’s shirt, leaving him in an uncomfortable situation when the man’s weight is beginning to crease his suit, as well as spur more confusion in your eyes. Luckily for Jungkook though, a set of four arms are plucking the pouty doctor off of him, giving the former a dirty glare before one of them taps his arm.

“I hope you are alright Sir.” Jungkook nods and Namjoon smiles at him, long black hair swishing when he turns to you. “I hope you can excuse my colleague’s outburst, he seems to be having a hard time at work today.”

You politely smile, “No, no, it’s okay. I hope he’s alright though.”

“He’ll be fine. If he isn’t, I’ll make sure he’ll pay for all the damages he’s causing by working overtime for two people’s shifts instead of one.” The second man eyes Jungkook with a smug grin, before Namjoon turns and seeks his arm.

“We’ll be leaving now, please enjoy the rest of your night.” You nod and when you look away, Namjoon and Yoongi shoot him a thumbs up, hurriedly walking away with a protesting Jimin.

Jungkook smiles, but then his thoughts re-focus and he realizes that prior to the intrusion, you had been discussing something that had his stomach churning, his heart suddenly feeling heavy. Though the thoughts die out once again when he notices you fully concentrating on the food, barely meeting his gaze with only occasional polite glances.

He loses all of his appetite suddenly, plucking at the food with his fork and sighing when the clock’s handles seem to have silenced down. In comparison to the commotion just occurring moments ago, its dead silent and he doesn’t know how much of it he can take.

You raise your head, a cluster of coughs leaving you as Jungkook’s eyes widen.

“Are you okay?”

You nod, circling around your throat for a moment, “This is really spicy.”

“Let me get you some water.” He instantly stands up, walking over to one of the waiters when you’re just about to tell him it was okay. Your hand drops, deeply exhaling as you shrink back into your seat.

From a distance away, there’s a pair of giant binoculars glued to your every move, a voice already beginning to whine, “She doesn’t like the food!” He passes them to the blue-haired girl sitting next to him, “He needs help, I’m going to go back and–“

An arm keeps him firmly in place, “You are going to sit here and do nothing. If there’s a problem, then Jungkook can take of it.”

“That’s so unfair though!!”

“Listen to Yoongi, Jimin. You’ve caused enough trouble already.” The man with the pink hair remarks, cheek stuffed with an abundance of food he’s thankfully not paying for.

Namjoon hums, crossing his arms as he sits down, “I agree, for now let’s just trust that Jungkook can handle this one on his own.”

“Um guys….” A voice peeks out from the heated conversation, all heads turning towards her, “We might have another situation here.”

“What is it?” Hoseok hurriedly asks, putting on Jimin’s giant binoculars, “Oh no…”

“What?” Jimin’s head whips back and forth, “What is it? What is it?”

“Jungkook just tripped and split a jug of water on her.”

A unison of multiple voices break out, “WHAT?!?”

“This is bad.” Jin repeats, forgetting the plate of food in front of him entirely, “This is really really bad.”

Jimin slips away before anyone even notices, dashing over to the pair swiftly. He notices a piece of cloth tucked away on your lap as your eyes dart around frantically, but to his own dismay, his young intern is no where to be found.

“The kind gentleman that was here, where is he now?” Jimin questions, quickly acting like a waiter. When you point to the men’s room, Jimin frowns, but he simply nods and sprints over, leg kicking the door open as he barges in.

“JUNGKOOK!” He doesn’t even need to look around much when his eyes land on the man’s features, currently staring down at the sink. Jimin wonders why he was even there, having split all that water on you and now making you wait by doing nothing in the bathroom.

“Jungkook, what–“ The words are immediately swallowed away when Jimin notices Jungkook’s tightened grip on the counter. He brings a hand to the man’s tense back, patting down on it, “What happened Jungkookie?”

Jimin’s voice is quiet and soft, drastically different to what he sounded like just moments ago, but Jungkook shakes his head, appearing as if he was ready to hurl at any second. “I-I can’t do this…”

“Jungkook she’s still out there waiting for you, it’s okay.”

He shakes his head harshly, “Nothing’s okay anymore and to top it all off, I had to spill water on her!”

“Go back Jungkook.” Jimin urges, Jungkook turning to him like he was merely sprouting out nonsense at this point, “I don’t know what exactly happened, but the intern I so know doesn’t give up no matter what the challenge. He’s a fighter and I’ll even admit he looks a lot better in my own suit that I ever did.”

Jungkook quips a small smile at that and Jimin grins, “Now get out there, will you?”

He takes a deep exhale and Jimin reaches out to adjust his intern’s tousled collar.

“Alright.” He takes a step back and Jimin nods satisfied.

But when Jungkook eventually does come out, he immediately turns to Jimin with frightened eyes.

“She’s gone.”

“What?!” Jimin scans around, seeing indeed you were – the table the two of you once occupied left empty and now being vacated for new customers.

Jungkook groans, fisting his hair that he doesn’t care about ruining anymore, “I’ve ruined everything!” He sinks down onto his knees, burying his head into his hands, “Tonight was supposed to be perfect, but I’ve ruined it!”

Jimin is at a loss of words, looking down at his intern with sympathetic eyes when he doesn’t know what to say anymore. He was incredibly hopeful – Jungkook appeared dashing within his suit and the evening had been going so well whenever he checked in.

He had enough faith about you too, having a good feeling of you staying despite the chaotic waterfall that had ensured, but it seems like he was unfortunately wrong this time.

Not left with many options when he sees his intern so distraught, he signals the crowd of concerned and confused eyes latching onto him to call a cab. Placing a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder, they leave the restaurant immediately and Jimin sighs when he wishes that things could have gotten better than this.

***

The day is filled with taxing amounts of papers that need to be filed, Jungkook marking each one with patient details as he swipes his signature on other documents. Aside from the lengthy procedure he does, the doctor hasn’t stepped out of his office for a split second through the day – something the three doctors huddled quietly outside notice.

“I’ve never seen him like this.” Jimin whispers and Jin hums, sharing the same look as him.

“Should I ask him to help me with my wards? It’ll get him out of there for a while.”

Chaeyoung shakes her head at the thought, “I don’t think what he needs right now is more work.”

“Then what does he need?” Jimin says, racking a hand through his hair roughly as he darts his eyes between the two.

“Still glued to your old intern, Dr. Park?”

Jimin pauses, a new voice suddenly entering the confines of the hospital, paired with a familiar set of footsteps he swears he hasn’t heard in an eternity. The last thing he expects when he turns, is to see you standing next to Yoongi dressed in a white coat and holding a clipboard, smirking with crossed arms.

It’s only when Yoongi chuckles at his surprised expression that everything hits like a slap, and suddenly there’s three doctors flinging themselves onto you.

“Y/N!!”

The clipboard is completely knocked out of your hands by the tsunami of people, but simply retort with a light laugh.

“You guys missed me that much?”

No one responds, clinging onto you as you dart a look to Yoongi, who just smiles amusedly at your expression.

“They really did miss you,” He pats your shoulder, voice lowering, “and so did I. Welcome back Dr. L/N.”

Once everyone separates, you hand Chaeyoung a tissue when tears begin to stream down her eyes and she gratefully accepts. Jin meanwhile is in awe, having not encountered his former doctor counterpart in far too long.

You smile fondly, “So it’s the new Dr. Kim now?”

Jin, despite the sheer amount of confidence he usually radiates, nods shyly, “Nothing like the past Dr. Kim though.”

You snort at that and turn to the last doctor, who’s looking at you with such puppy like eyes that has you quirking an eyebrow. With a sigh, you open up your arms again and he’s tackling you into another hug once more.

“What took you so long?!” Jimin wails and Yoongi mumbles for him to be quiet for nearby patients.

“I was on vacation with my fiancée, it wasn’t going to just take me a day.” You mumble, but the words cause everyone’s attention to spike up.

“Fiancée?!”

“Is it true Dr. L/N?” Chaeyoung hurriedly questions, eyes bright with excitement, “You and Dr. Kim…?”

You flash her the diamond ring sitting on your third finger and she immediately squeals, clapping her hands. Jimin’s interest is peaked as well when he lets you go and examines the jewelry sitting delicately on your hand.

“Does that mean you and Taehyung made it to fourth bas-“

You glare at him, “Park Jimin, I swear if you even finish that sentence.”

Jimin pouts and you heavily sigh, eyes darting around, “Where’s Jungkook?”

Everyone goes immediately silent, causing you to raise an eyebrow.

“W-Well you see…” Chaeyoung begins, recognizing the guilty expression Jimin holds right away, “Things haven’t going so great for him lately a-and…”

You raise your hand instantly for her to stop, “I know, I came early because someone informed me about what was going on.”

Jimin’s eyes widen and that’s when Namjoon steps forward, softly smiling.

“Everything is a lot more balanced when you have extra hands helping out.” He says and you share a look with him, causing Jimin to look back and forth abruptly.

“But about J-Jungkook, Y/N I-“

“Don’t worry about it,” You smile knowingly, “I’ve already sent someone over to check on him.”

***

There’s a small knock against the door of Jungkook’s office and he exhales, letting his pen roll onto his papers when he glances around.

It looks bad – mugs of banana milk scattered all over the place, something Jungkook doesn’t even drink at work if he doesn’t really need it. There are papers lying around astray and there’s barely any light seeping in, all his windows firmly shut.

He supposes it could be worse and then glances back at the door, thinking that perhaps his fellow doctors were getting concerned about him and that he should reassure them.

“Come in.” He says with a heavy sigh, eyes blinking against the strain of using such poor lighting conditions.

However his eyes blow up completely when the door quietly closes, a familiar man wearing a pair of glasses and a doctor’s coat, taking long strides into the room before he sits down on the chair in the corner, facing Jungkook. He grins, eyes taking in the man’s features after not seeing him when he acquired his new title.

“Nice to see you could make some time for me, Dr. Jeon.”

“D-Dr. Kim?” Jungkook immediately stutters, papers long forgotten when he can’t believe the sight before him, “How…?”

“Namjoon.” Taehyung states, leaning back in his chair as he crosses his legs, “Y/N and I were called back when he felt things were getting too hectic around here. Luckily the two of us were planning on coming back soon anyways.”

“Oh…I see…”

“Enough about me though.” Taehyung cuts to the chase right away, “What’s been going on with you lately?”

Jungkook’s skin instantly flushes, not realizing that the doctor had to come to his office with a whole other intent instead, “I-It’s just personal stuff, I saw one of my old college friends which lead to me running into another college friend and then I was asked out on a date…”

Jungkook doesn’t realize he’s rambling until Taehyung hums, a finger pressed to his lips as he attentively listens. It only occurs to Jungkook at the point too, that so much had happened within the time the two doctors had been gone and he really doesn’t want to rewind so far back when he knows what the accumulation of events had lead up to.

“So this girl…” Taehyung starts off, “Why do you suddenly want to reconnect with her?”

“Because I’ve been out of touch from a lot things since college…” Jungkook sighs, “Since I became this…”

“It isn’t easy. I hope you know that.”

“I do but…before I didn’t want to do anything, I just wanted to focus on becoming a doctor, but now,” Jungkook shakes his head.

“It’s all I have left…”

“You pushed yourself too hard to get here and now you regret doing it.”

Jungkook hums, “And this girl? Is there something you regret with her too?”

“A-Ah yeah…” Jungkook becomes flustered again, scratching his neck, “I regret not getting to know her more, even when I knew she wanted to get to know me.”

He sighs, like he was recalling a handful of bad memories, “I just don’t know if she’s willing to give me another chance after everything…”

“Explain it all to her.” Taehyung says, causing Jungkook to look up in surprise, “If there’s something that’s gone wrong or you regret something you’ve done in the past, then the best way to just explain to the person what happened.”

“B-But I can’t, after what happened at the d-date, I-“

“Jungkook.” Taehyung stops him, “Didn’t you just explain to me what you think went wrong? So why is it so hard to explain the same thing to her, who I can assume would really appreciate hearing the answer more compared to someone like me.”

Jungkook frowns at the words, but it seems to make sense of the catastrophic scramble of thoughts he was having. When he makes eye contact, Taehyung smiles at him, saying something Jungkook would had never expected the stern Dr. Kim to ever say to anyone.

“The past is a hard indicator to get over, but it’s something you need to confront before you can even think of a brighter future.”

Jungkook nods, appreciating that the doctor was able to help make sense of what was ensuring inside his head so calmly, something Jungkook had barely managed to do in the past at all.

“Thank you, Dr. Kim.”

Taehyung approvingly nods, straightening up his glasses as he gets up from the chair, “Anytime.”

But the simple action causes Jungkook’s brow to furrow, a particular sparkle flashing by when the doctor touches his frame.

“Is that a ring on your finger?” He blurts it out and widens his eyes, wondering if that came off as being rude or invasive, but suddenly the doctor’s gaze is glued to the ground, a tint of red beginning to emerge on his skin.

Jungkook smiles, wondering to himself if he’d ever thought he would see the day he’d catch the Dr. Kim flustered by the mere mention of a ring.

***

Just explain everything to her, just like you did with Dr. Kim.

Jungkook quickly locks up his office door, play backing the words in his mind so they don’t escape him in the moment. As he leaves, he notices the faint pitter patter of rain outside and he sighs when he doesn’t have anything but his doctor’s coat to cover himself.

The white cloth covers his head when he slips out of the hospital, rain beginning to fall down at the speed of bullets against the ground. He frowns when his coat is instantly drenched, rain making its way down to his hair before he even knows.

Bright yellow clouds his vision immediately, away from the hazardous rain now pouring down. He whips his head around in confusion, only to see you standing underneath the umbrella with him.

“Hi.” You say softly, but Jungkook can even hear even against the splintering rain. He notices you’re only wearing a thin rose cardigan, the top of it thoroughly soaked.

Following his line of sight, you quickly mumble, “I-I didn’t know when you finished work…”

As if on instinct, Jungkook reaches out and faintly touches your cheek with the back of his hand, an alarming icy temperature greeting him back. He drops his hand right away when he notices the surprise on your expression, realizing that the innate doctor reflexes kicked in too soon for him.

“S-Sorry…”

“No, no, it’s fine.” You shake your head, staring at the ground as you bite down on your lip. It’s still pouring around you at a rapid speed, but it’s the only thing being acknowledged when the two of you stay quiet.

Before you know it, the umbrella loosens from your grip, being raised up higher, “Do you want to come inside? It’s getting even colder out here.”

“Oh I–….“ You trail off immediately, words dying down.

But Jungkook wasn’t going to let you stay quiet, “What is it?”

“I was j-just thinking…we could go somewhere else? Away from the hospital?”

Jungkook’s eyes widen, noticing that you hadn’t entered not only because you didn’t want to intrude, but you felt like it wasn’t even your place to do so.

“Of course.” He starts walking, hand against your back and words gentle, “Away from the hospital.”

You end up walking for quite a while and after Jungkook constantly insisting, you eventually give in and let him drape his now semi-dry coat over your shoulders. It’s incredibly warm in comparison to your skin and you’re grateful after he gives it to you, knowing that the coat held much more significance to him than it does to you.

When Jungkook finds a nearby shop to take refugee under, you quickly follow after him. Although the shop itself is closed due to the late hours, there’s heat coming out from nearby vents that you definitely indulge in.

“At the restaurant–“ Jungkook stops, pausing to correct himself, “On our date, why…why did you leave?”

He wanted to ask you directly but there’s a slip of sadness by him that he couldn’t hold back and he knows you can hear it when you look at him startled.

“I left to dry myself off.” You quickly say, “But then you didn’t come back for so long and the waiters asked me if they could clear the table so I let them. I–…”

A low sigh escapes out from you.

“I-I actually wasn’t expecting you to come back.”

You stare down at the ground as all Jungkook can do is just stare at you, wondering how it had gotten so bad to the point that you didn’t even think he would come back.

Just explain it to her.

“I shouldn’t have left like that.” He turns to you fully, staring at you with the same serious eyes he takes with his work. “And I’m not just talking about the date.”

You look up and blink, eyes widening but Jungkook continues, “I’d like to say that I didn’t know, but I did and I was just…scared.”

“Of what?” You instinctively ask and for a moment, everything disappears. You’re not in the middle of nowhere outside as it pours down like crazy, talking to a doctor after his shift at the hospital. Instead, you’re back in the large expanse of a field, a younger Jungkook staring out at one of the college buildings as you fidget around with the palms of your hands.

Jungkook sighs and you wonder if he’s thought about this before coming here with you today. It leaves you with a spark of hope, something that blossoms in you after far too long.

“I knew what my job was going to be like and what I had ended up choosing wasn’t going to leave me with any time to see you guys again. In a way, I knew I had to leave all of you…”

Jungkook leans forward, eyes more sincere than ever, “So I packed my bags and headed off to Seoul…without saying goodbye…”

Despite being covered by the shop, drops of water fall on ground in the space between the two of you. “I should have been there, at Mingyu’s wedding, when Jaehyun was leaving, when–“

He’s nearly breathless at this point, chest heaving, “When you said you liked me.”

Your breath hitches at the mere mention and for a moment you could have sworn that your heart rate dropped. Suddenly you’re being enveloped by two warm arms and the gesture only causes more water to spill out from your eyes.

“Don’t cry…”

“You can’t expect me to not cry after you say all that.” You chuckle, sniffling a bit as you swipe away some of the tears with your fingertips, “I just wasn’t expecting you to be so upfront with me.”

Jungkook smiles, relieved on the inside that he was able to tell you exactly what he wanted to, “Well you could say a wise man told me that if you’ve felt like you’ve done something wrong and regret it, then it’s best to just be upfront with the person and let them know too.”

You separate from him, “Sounds like a really wise man.”

“He is.”

You share a smile and from a distance away, the rain has finally slowly down, no longer hitting the ground viciously but instead, calmly pooling down. The bright yellow umbrella is held over your head as you walk away from the shop, but it isn’t the only thing that keeps you next to each other’s side.

His fingers are looped within your own the entire way.

***

There are faint sounds in the background, orders being taken swiftly to decrease the growing line that heads outside of the building. A delectable frozen treat sits in front of you, paired off with drizzling chocolate and sprinkles that only has your mouth watering. When you take your spoon and have a mouthful, you can only smile at how it instantly melts and isn’t too sweet or overbearing, but just the right taste.

However, as you take small bites of your treat, the man sitting across from you seems to be having his own struggles.

“Do you need some help with that?”

“Huh?” Jungkook blinks, dressed in a black shirt that’s now splattered with specks of white as he leans over the table, attempting to saw the giant sundae he ordered in half with the back of a spoon.

You laugh, small giggles continuing erupting from you as you walk over with your own spoon, “Here.”

With one huff, both of you plunge your spoons in and there’s a burst of ice cream everywhere, now coating your similar coloured shirt in the process as well.

“Why is this so hard?” Jungkook asks, repeating stabbing the ice cream that refuses to be broken down with barely a splash of liquid reappearing. He slumps down into the booth, crossing his arms as he pouts.

You smile when he looks so similar to a child, but then you slide over the half-eaten ice cream you were just having seconds ago. “Take some of mine.”

His eyes immediately widen and you realize you’ve just implied for the two of you to share ice cream together, so you quickly retract, “I-If you don’t want to, it’s okay!”

He shakes his head, taking his spoon and scooping some out right away. You laugh when you see him eagerly eat it, knowing he’s been watching you eat your own ice cream for an hour as he tossed around with his.

Glancing around, you take in the bright decorations of the shop, multiple people enjoying their ice cream as you and Jungkook sit across from each other. There’s no fancy violin playing in the background, there’s no extravagance to the food or the waiters and most importantly, there seems to be no concrete wall settled in between you.

“This was a good place to pick.” You remark, smiling when you turn to a Jungkook staring at you with a load of ice cream in his mouth, “For a ‘do over’ date.”

He quickly swallows, humming, “I wanted to go somewhere that I picked and without all the interruptions.”

“What do you mean?” You ask, taking a scoop of ice cream yourself.

“Uhh so…” Jungkook bites down on his lip, “I was so nervous for our date that I asked my mentor at my hospital for help, so he dressed me up and picked the restaurant and later in the evening disguised himself and the rest of our staff with horrible looking wigs. He also gave me a script to work around with that I wrote down on my wrist.”

You pound a hand against your chest when a chain of coughs leaves you and Jungkook instantly hands you a napkin. Blinking abruptly, Jungkook doesn’t know if he’s ever seen you look so surprised, “You– wait what?!”

You shake your head, confusion still apparent on your features until you frown, “It makes sense.”

“Really?”

Coming more to terms, you nod, “You seemed off that day, almost like you weren’t yourself. I thought it was because I didn’t see you in so long, so it does make sense.”

Jungkook looks surprised, “I didn’t think it was that obvious.”

“It was.” You hum, “You’re definitely a lot more than what you were showing off to be, but I’m just glad you’re willing to try now.”

“O-Oh…”

You glance up from the ice cream to see him completely taken off guard by your words and suddenly there’s a scatter of red on his cheeks which causes you to giggle.

“You still get shy too?” You tease, laughing when he tries to hide himself underneath the table, not wanting you to see him be so flustered.

Your laughter echoes when Jungkook attempts to steal the ice cream away from you, covering his face so you don’t look at him. The camera begins to pan out and outside the shop, unknown to the two individuals sitting comfortably with each other, there’s a young man caught up in hysteria and blowing his nose.

“H-He’s all grown up!” He cries out, “My Jungkookie is all grown up!”

“He was grown up since day one.” Another low voice mumbles, sighing when the man starts to create a mess of his tears.

“Maybe it’s time his mentor grew up too.”

You stifle a laugh against the bush when the man looks completely offended, placing a hand on his chest as if he’s just been betrayed.

“Tae Tae how could say such a thing?!”

The man with the framed glasses snorts, occupying himself with blowing a dandelion instead when you smirk at him.

“Tae Tae?” You playfully whisper and he groans.

“Don’t even ask.” He gets up, stretching his legs out as he reaches for your hand and pulls you up.

“What? Not going to even help me up?” The blonde man scoffs and you roll your eyes, reaching out so that he can hold onto your hand. “Now that’s all settled, anyone want to grab lunch?”

You hum, but notice that there’s a certain someone still glued to the floor, watching eagerly with his giant binoculars.

“Jimin, come on.” You tug him up with Yoongi’s help, “Let’s give them some privacy.”

“B-But…”

“If you come with us, drinks will be on me.” Taehyung says, catching you all with surprise when the younger man instantly lights up, racing forward.

“What are we waiting for then?!”

You chuckle, glancing at Taehyung, “Nice one.”

He smiles knowingly at you and before leaving, spares a gaze at the once young intern. Before you can follow after Jimin and Yoongi, who are bantering as Jimin clings onto the blonde doctor, a hand stops you.

Taehyung tilts his head, eyes serious, “Those two, what do you think?”

“What do I think?” He nods and you watch them with him, seeing you letting out giggles as Jungkook keeps trying to hide his face, “I think they’ll be alright, they’ve put the past behind them and are starting to walk towards a brighter future.”

You smile and Taehyung reaches out for your hand, the sun’s rays causing a similar sparkle on your both of your hands. Resting your head on his shoulder, you slowly walk behind the excited black-haired doctor and his content blonde-haired friend.

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ri-translates · 5 years ago

Text

Translation: Itaru Chigasaki SSR [MANKAI Encore] - Encore: Lancelot Part 3

The Spring Troupe have come a long way since their first performance of the Knights of the Round IV THE STAGE. The winner of Chikage and Itaru’s contest is...

Part 1 || Part 2

Lancelot = Itaru Gawain = Chikage Gareth = Masumi Mordred = Sakuya Merlin = Tsuzuru King Arthur = Citron

Izumi: (The stage is set in medieval Brittania. The story begins with a conversion between Lancelot and the fairy Gwen.)

Lancelot: “Are you interested, Gwen?”

Izumi: (Itaru-san is alone on stage. Although Gwen doesn’t exist in reality, she’s expressed only by the lighting and Itaru-san’s acting…)

Lancelot: “I know. I won’t talk to you when we’re in front of people. I’ll just be treated as a weirdo.”

Audience A: Wow….

Izumi: (By facing Gwen with a soft expression, the guests become captivated as well. With that, it puts everyone in the world of KniRoun without feeling out of place.)

~~~

Izumi: (During his journey, Lancelot, who’s aiming for King Arthur’s castle, sees Gawain being attacked by a demon.)

Lancelot: “I’ll assist you!”

Gawain: “I don’t know where you’ve come from, but I’m in your debt….!”

Izumi: (Chikage-san’s athletic skill is high, and his sword fighting is better than before--)

Gawain: “Haaa!”

*fire slash*

Izumi: (There’s charm suited for the stage in his movements, more than ever before. The quality of the slashes stand out, and has a nice feeling looking at it.)

Izumi: (The two of them go on a journey together. Lancelot opens up his heart to Gawain, who is able to accept Gwen’s existence without any worriesーー)

Gawain: “Can you see something?”

Lancelot: “.......” “I can see something… If I said that, it’d feel unpleasant, right?”

Gawain: “Haha, you’re the same as my pet cat. Now that I think about it, you kind of resemble it a little.”

Lancelot: “A cat?”

Izumi: (The process of the two of them reaching out to each other little by little has to be shown in a short amount of time on stage, butーー)

Gawain: “Well, there’s many things I’m unable to see. I don’t really mind.”

Lancelot: “You’re strange.”

Izumi: (With their movements and the atmosphere, the changes in the sense of distance between the two of them is steadily conveyed.)

~~~

Izumi: (In order to cure the king’s illness, Lancelot and Gawain go on a journey to look for the “Holy Chalice.) (During their journey, they meet a young man, Gareth, and learn he is Gawain’s long-lost brother.)

Gawain: “That crest on your sword, are youーー”

Gareth: “T-This is… Apparently the household crest of my father, who left when I was a child. My mother entrusted this sword to me when I left….”

Gawain: “That’s my household’s crest.”

Gareth: “Huh!?”

Lancelot: “What do you mean by that?”

Gareth: “Then, my father is…”

Gawain: “To think I’d encounter my half-sibling in a place like this.” “You have my thanks, Lancelot. I’m constantly being helped by you.”

~~~

Arthur: “It’s said that with Merlin’s magic, Gwen can become a human. If that’s true, then there’s the possibility that she’ll also become my wife.”

Lancelot: “Gwen becoming the king’s wife….!?”

“If you go against Gwen’s wishes, you’ll anger her mother, the Lady of the Lake.”

Arthur: “It has already been decided.”

Lancelot: “Your Majesty….!”

Izumi: (His dignity as the king is incredible. Thanks to that, Lancelot’s anguish deepens when he turns his back on the king whom he swore an oath to, increasing the depth of the story.)

~~~

Izumi: (When Gwen proposes running away to Lancelot, Gawain, loyal to the king, is confronted by the other knights.) When Gwen is half-transformed into a human, a fight breaks out at the ritual site, and amidst the confusion, Gareth loses his life at Lancelot’s side.)

Gareth: “I-I’m fine! P-Please, hurry and take Gwen… I’m fine!”

Lancelot: “.....gh, I’m sorry. You’re a true knight.”

*Itaruns off screen*

Gareth: “T-Thank you…”

Gawain: “Gareth! Gareth, hang on!”

Gareth: “Brother… I’m glad I was able to become a knight….”

Audience B: *sobbing*

Izumi: (Gareth dies without holding a grudge against Lancelot and Gwen. He smiles in his last moments, gripping the hearts of the audience.) (This Gareth has an ephemeral expression, a different vibe from Masumi’s usual Gareth, as if he were Gareth himself.)

Arthur: “What is the meaning of this, Mordred?”

Mordred: “Uncle, I’ve been aiming to dispose of you for a long time.”

Gawain: “How did you accomplish a rebellion so quickly….?”

Merlin: “With my magic, this much isn’t difficult at all.”

Arthur: “Merlin!” [1]

Gawain: “No way, even you’ve become a traitorー”

Merlin: “I thought I could use this one better than Arthur.”

Izumi: (Both Sakuya-kun and Tsuzuru-kun had difficulty performing villainous roles well in the previous performance, but this time, it looks like they’re enjoying themselves with ease. It’s quite solid.) (Peace returns to the castle and Gawain slashes at Lancelot. In their last scene together….)

Gawain: “ーーHaa!”

*slashes*

Lancelot: “ーーgh.”

Arthur: “What are you doing, Gawain.”

Gawain: “I told you I still haven’t forgiven you, didn’t I?”

Lancelot: “.....”

Gawain: “But, that doesn’t change the fact that you are my friend.”

Lancelot: “Gawain….”

Gawain: “I’ll take you to see Gareth. I’m sure he’ll be happy.”

Lancelot: “.....”

Izumi: (Up until here, the exchanges, sword fighting, everything was in sync. Because of their every day relationship, it’s gotten even better than before!)

~~~

Tonooka: Nice work. Because Hoshii was very busy, he went home early, but he was in a very pleasant mood. “Thank you for making me interested in theatre, as well as making me feel like I was on a journey together with you,” is what he said.

Sakuya: You did it, Itaru-san!

Itaru: ーーHell yeah, I feel like something good might come out if I pull the gacha right now.

Tsuzuru: Eh, you’re gonna pull the gacha looking like Lancelot?

Masumi: He’s a hopeless game freak.

Citron: Speaking of which, you still haven’t pulled, Itaru?

Itaru: Not excessively. ーーNow then. Enter the stage, SSR.....! [2]

Itaru: Hell yeah! Got it! SSR Lancelot!

Sakuya: That’s great, Itaru-san!

Itaru: And with that, the winner of the gacha contest is me, Senpai.

Chikage: Oh, I didn’t tell you, huh. ーーLook.

Itaru: Eh, Gawainーーand Lancelot!?

Chikage: When I tried doing one 10 pull, I got both of them. [3] It’s my victory.

Citron: Ohh Itaru, a bright yet short-lived joy!

Tsuzuru: So it’s Itaru-san’s loss after all.

Itaru: Even though I accumulated good karma….I don’t understand.

Tl notes and comments:

[1] easiest line in the play thus far HAHAHA

[2] Itaru says SSR演出入った……！which I translated as a kind of play on 演出 is like “stage production” and 入る is to enter. Therefore, “enter the stage!”

[3] DISGUSTING

Thanks for reading my translation up to this point! I hope it was easy to follow along! If you spot any mistakes in grammar or the translation, please don’t hesitate to let me know! I know Eng A3! will eventually catch up, but until then, if anyone has any other stories (preferably Spring Troupe) they’d like translated, feel free to message me! I may be translating something from Yume100 soon, but we’ll see...

Part 1 || Part 2

#a3!#a3! translation #chigasaki itaru #itaru chigasaki #chikage utsuki #utsuki chikage #masumi usui #usui masumi #citron #sakuya sakuma #sakuma sakuya #tsuzuru minagi #minagi tsuzuru #spring troupe #ri translates #itaru: mankai encore

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thegirlwholied · 4 years ago

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SW anon - So I have tried to watch the whole thing before but I could never really get past the start. I watched ep IV a few years back (and in 2018 I watched it while it playing with a live orchestra which really enhanced the experience) and ofc I’ve known most of what happens bc my mom and brother have been fans of it (and ofc all the references to it in shows and it being everywhere) but the thing about the original trilogy that I found difficult to watch was very much the acting being off

Gov SW anon continued - but I think I’m gonna watch the clone wars show next as I feel like the general universe and people speak to me more than the skywalker and co. story speaks to me. But I’ll probably try and get back to the prequels afterwards (at least just to have seen them) but also bc I’ve been on tumblr for so long and I’ve encountered so much about the new movies with Finn, Poe and rey (I already know I don’t like kylo) that I’m interested to see what comes before that

Seeing Ep IV with a live orchestra sounds fantastic as the music is incredible. <3

I must admit I haven’t gotten properly into the Clone Wars show! I’ve tried, & did jump in to (and enjoy) the finale ~ and certain Mandalorian episodes strongly remind me of the show’s tone ~ but it has yet to hit me right in the place where I care. What I appreciate about it & what it’s brought into the Star Wars universe is still on a more distant level, not visceral.

I most love that The Mandalorian is truly exploring & taking advantage of the wider Star Wars universe beyond Skywalker & co. (but boy do I also love Skywalker & co.) There is an exciting amount of potential in the newly-announced projects too I love characters outside of a universe’s main chosen-one story. In 6th grade, I was obsessed with the X-Wing book series, which were definitely really marketed toward adult guys but whoops, I had found the deep Star Wars section of the library! And the first line of that series, introducing the main character, is “You’re good, but you’re no Luke Skywalker.” And in a way, that’s the Mandalorian too, to the audience if not himself ~ good, but no Luke Skywalker. Not a Jedi, not meant to bring balance to the Force, a sidestory in the main universe’s struggle. I (from what I’ve seen/know of) get the impression that’s how Ahsoka sees herself ~ ‘you’re good, but you’re no Anakin Skywalker’.

Of course, for that contrast to work, first you need a Luke Skywalker.

it’s interesting you mention OT acting feeling off as I would use that exact word to describe how I feel about the acting in some episodes of The Mandalorian. In some I love it! Other times... I hesitate to say ‘like a video game’ as I mean no insult to the well-developed video game characters out there but yeah, it hits me like the actor’s aware they’re essentially in a live-action video game cut scene.

But. I truly love the acting in the original trilogy! ...but also as I type this I’m watching a movie from 1944 and acting style certainly varies by decade, & mileage varies as to personal taste... but also I will never be objective about Star Wars which I have loved since I was six... but also I studied film history in college and firmly believe Star Wars, the original trilogy is just objectively good if not quite everybody’s cup of tea (...okay maybe Return of the Jedi is not quite as objectively good, but I still love it so much and given the work it had to do wrapping up the original trilogy, hey, it did its job successfully and with Ewoks).

I love the twinkling, wry humor & also gravitas of Alec Guinness. There’s that sense of amusement as he talks to Han, as he waves off the storm troopers, and even in the “let go, Luke”... but always the right weight in the right moments imho

Luke & Han particularly can both be petulant in different ways, & they’re all quippy & brash & even cavalier at times in what in context ~ especially when you rewatch A New Hope right after Rogue One ~ in Very Serious Situations! and I love them for it.

Carrie Fisher’s accent does shift in the one scene (which I have never minded and definitely went around as a kid trying to say ‘Governor Tarkin’ exactly the way she does), and young Mark Hamill’s Luke can be Dramatic & the Most Petulant but understandably (& prettily) so, and... yeah I probably could muster a criticism for Harrison Ford but also I *can’t*! There are some ridiculous Han Solo moments in Return of the Jedi especially, but also I love him/them/just about every choice these movies made. They just hit on magic.

The magic’s there for me from the music swelling as Luke looks yearningly into the twin suns (the cinematography!), but where it really hits is the up-and-running chemistry between all three of the main actors starting the “Luke, we’re gonna have company” scene, and then, boom, it’s the garbage chute, it’s the you’re-braver-than-I-thought/he-certainly-has-courage, for-luck, here-they-come of it all and the movie is flying.

...and I will never forgive the sequels for, avoiding spoilers as it sounds like you’re familiar but haven’t seen them, not giving us any true interaction scenes between Rey & Finn & Poe all together until the 3rd movie. While I still so appreciated finally getting that & what we got, for me it was just not just too little but too late. I love the casting & acting for all 3 of those characters, but while fandom’s taken and run with the combination, and they had plenty of chemistry... it should have been up-and-running so much sooner.

And the prequels just... well, even seeing them in theaters at a susceptible age, the Lord of the Rings movies were coming out at the same time and that did them no favors in comparison. As someone who judges movies above all on dialogue, that... also did them no favors. (Beyond the OT I may have a Nontraditional ranking of Star Wars movies).

The short version of my prequels & sequels take is that both missed that cinematic magic for me, outside of certain scenes, though I still enjoy them as part of The Whole Thing That Is Star Wars Which I Love. Rogue One had that magic; I know and see the criticism of the early editing & introduction-of-Jyn’s-background-and-Krennic-and-Galen scene, but, to me, that movie is perfect. Solo was solid - maybe not magic, but reliably enjoyable, and I’ve been meaning to rewatch. The prequels & sequels... the lows are very low and the highs are very high, in terms of how they hit me.

I feel like I’d probably sum them up as Prequels: Good Star Wars, Bad Movies, and Sequels: Good Movies, Bad Star Wars, which may seem a little harsh or too kind on one side or another but gets at my take at the worldbuilding vs. just the cinema of it all. The bread scene in Force Awakens, the salt planet in Last Jedi, the dyad-duel-in-dual-locations in Rise of Skywalker? Gorgeous. Individual scenes’ acting & dialogue is sound for me. And yet. All three sequels’ choices in respect to the entire Star Wars universe and existing characters AND its new characters? ...Tonally inconsistent with each other *and* ultimately with the themes of the OT. Whereas the prequels did so much worldbuilding, and its politics, and I’ll see gifs and think ‘yes actually, is it better than I remember?’... and then I’ll catch one on TV & it’s the Padme & Anakin romance or even Anakin & Obi-Wan’s buddy scene dialogue at the beginning of Rise of Skywalker and the answer will come, clearly: “noooooooooooooooo.”

(...this got long. Which I tend to do when I care, about fiction in any form, and with the prequels/sequels: the ingredients were there to be magic. And just-misses are more frustrating than swing-and-misses. A la, you won’t find me complaining about the Star Wars Holiday Special!)

(...OK so I haven’t seen all of the Star Wars Holiday Special, and I’m sort of aiming to watch it through this holiday season, since what other year than 2020 seems more appropriate? So I won’t promise not to complain about the Holiday Special but I mostly expect to laugh at it.)

(That said I found the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special an absolute, surprising, laugh-out-loud delight; 9/10 would recommend & yes, 1 point deduction as I will nitpick character consistency even when they are Legos.)

#answers!#star wars #star wars ot

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starkrogerrs · 5 years ago

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(in one universe);

i. in one universe there is just us, i love you and you love me, we never hurt each other, we never let go of each other, it is only us.

circa 1925.

the only thing to guide steve through the dark forest was the starlight glinting off of the damp leaves. he found his way through it nonetheless; the path had been etched into his memory after having traversed it so often. two strong years, to be precise- the whole seven hundred and thirty one days of it.

he emerged on the other side, onto the moonlit grass that stretched for a few feet and stopped at the banks of a local river.

there, a few feet to his left, he spotted the short silhouette of a man and a smile tugged at his lips.

"there you are, it's been forever," the man called as steve approached and promptly sat down next to him.

tony was dressed in a rather fancy suit, perhaps only one of the many best he had. he was, after all, tony stark.

"happy birthday and congratulations captain rogers" tony said, as he shuffled closer to steve, grinning in his usual way— the kind that made his eyes crinkle.

"how was your day?" steve asked, reaching for the tiny wine glass that tony had brought down with him.

"it was good..but it just got infinitely better," tony murmured, smiling, and took a sip of the liquid.

"oh," steve flushed.

tony threw his head back, laughing.

"you're so adorable, rogers."

steve pulled him close then and captured his lips with his. he had spent the entire day looking forward to this very moment, this very second. this was when steve felt the most vulnerable but also the most happy. he felt exposed, kissing tony under the light of a billion stars like this and yet he was content.

he was with the love of his life; away from prying eyes, judgemental looks and a whole world of people who stood against their union. he was a captain now and tony was well, tony stark and... a man. their love couldn't be all sunshine and flowers.

but, here, it was just them always— them, the rhythmic trickling of the river and the radiant moonlight. here, their love was what they wanted it to be. profound, open and endless.

"i love you," steve breathed when they finally broke apart and this was the first time he had admitted it out loud, to tony. tony's eyes widened for a split second and steve wondered if he had ruined it all but then— tony kissed him again, eyes shining and steve forgot what worrying was.

"i don't ever want to let you go," he murmured against tony's lips, and everything was suddenly all too quiet except for the blood roaring in steve's ears. tears made their way to the corner of his eyes; he felt truly overwhelmed. he loved him, truly loved him and the realisation was all too much but he revelled in the warm feeling that blossomed over his being.

tony reached up to cup his face gently, his eyes big and brown, doe-like and in that moment steve decided he would lay down his life for him if he had to.

"then don't," tony whispered, before kissing him once more and the world fell into oblivion.

ii. in one universe i meet you, briefly but i never really knew you, maybe I didn't need to. i am okay, you are okay we turn out fine, it wasn't really important for me to meet you.

tony should've known that rushing down a crowded street wasn't, perhaps, the smartest thing to do. he collided head first into something solid and spilled hot coffee all over himself. a string of curses tumbled out of his lips as the liquid burned through his t-shirt.

"god, i'm sorry," the person he had stumbled into said and only then did tony look up— into stunning blue eyes.

"i didn't see where i was going and-," the stranger began but tony cut him off.

"no no, it was totally my fault," he said shaking his head and looking down at the coffee dripping down his front.

"here," the stranger said, handing him about three tissues he had removed from his pocket.

his blue eyes were full of unspoken concern.

"say, do you always carry a box of tissues in your back pocket?" tony mused, gratefully accepting the tissue and wiping his t-shirt.

the stranger chuckled at that; a deep, warm laugh that made tony smile.

"you always gotta be ready, ya know?" the stranger answered, a thick brooklyn accent gripping his words.

"indeed you do."

and they stood like that for a couple of seconds in silence, while tony wiped his t-shirt.

"sorry again," the stranger mumbled, when tony tossed the last tissue into the nearby bin.

"hey, don't. we'll keep going in circles."

the stranger smiled at that, nodding.

"good to meet you, sir."

"you too," tony murmured, before they walked down their opposite paths, the encounter already fading from both their minds.

iii. in one universe something goes wrong, we aren't together. we know each other but we don't find each other, you find someone else while i have no one and i only want you.

tony woke up to the sound of a swarm of birds chirping outside. it took him a moment to remember where he was— rhodey's apartment. the soft, blue hue of the morning sky was visible through the drawn curtains of his living room. tony glanced at his watch; 5:55, it told him.

he sat up from his position on the soft cushioned mattress, which had been laid out on the floor. he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes but could barely hold them open. they had been up until two, talking about nothing and everything, he recalled.

it was strangely quiet; the silence only perturbed by the merry chirp of a wild bird and rhodey's soft snores.

rhodey, who was asleep beside him, was sprawled next to the grey couch on which carol lay, sleeping as well. her left arm curled to the floor, fingers inches from rhodey's. tony wondered if they had been holding hands; the thought made him feel dreadfully lonely.

he looked to his right, and almost stopped breathing for a moment. steve lay on their shared mattress, but on the very edges of it, an ocean of distance between them. his golden hair was tousled and his lips puckered in a way that made tony's heart leap. one arm lay outstretched before him, across the open space, fingers curling open.

tony wanted to reach out and lace his fingers through his but alas, he couldn't.

steve was in a pretty committed relationship with sharon, and often talked about marrying her as most young adults do. but the seriousness with which he always said this, the gentle smile that played at his lips when he looked at sharon, never went unnoticed by tony.

perhaps in another universe, steve could be his but right here, right now, he could not. to love him was to let him go and tony was fine with that.

or so he told himself.

iv. in one universe we fall in love, we exchange our vows, we find a home, we are tangled up together in the sheets every night and open our eyes to each other because...

steve closed his eyes gently, as tony whispered his name in a soft prayer. his breath was shaky and slow and it only aroused steve further. one last, strong push sent them both over the edge, as stars burst behind his shut eyes in a myriad of colors. for a moment his body felt suspended in limbo before making it's way back to the ground. he placed a tender kiss on a spot behind tony's ear and another on his shoulders as they rode out their highs together.

tony felt warm under him as he tucked his face into the crook of his neck; the gentle rise and fall of tony's chest lulling him to sleep.

tony shifted a bit under him. undoubtedly, the pressure of steve's body had gotten too much. steve lid off, turning tony to his side so that he was now spooning the brunet.

he pulled tony close, throwing the blanket over their bare selves. steve sighed, trailing his fingers down the length of tony's arm before entwining their fingers together.

steve wanted to say so much, but words caught in his throat because of how overwhelmed he was. instead, he only brought their laced hands up to his lips and pressed a chaste kiss to the ring on tony's finger.

they had exchanged their vows and rings— made out of the alloy of vibranium from steve's shield and pieces of tony's armor— under the stars of this beautiful july night.

a night that would mark the union of two heroes who had saved the world and each other. of two heroes who were each other's salvation, each other's north star.

of two heroes who were soulmates across universes.

they were sure of it.

.. because we made it in this universe, we made it.

#this has been lying in my drafts since forever so here #stevetony #stony #steve x tony #steve rogers x tony stark #stevetony fluff #stevetony au #mywriting

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astromechs · 5 years ago

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anything that’s worth my love (is worth the fight)

idk, oneshot, character/relationship study thing, who knows. also i didn’t reread the bendis issues about the cancerverse before i wrote this, so i took some liberties and fuck bendis canon anyway

also on ao3!

Peter Quill is a strange guy.

It’s not the most profound assessment, but it’s about the best that Rich has, even after almost three months of working with him. Just by looking at him, you’d think that he’d be one of those painfully serious guys out of an old movie, dark, brooding, and mysterious. But over time, it becomes clear that, in a lot of ways, he’s the opposite; he seems to come to life more and more by the day, a ghost of a smile here, something like a bad joke there, a lot of offhand comments that seemingly come out of nowhere but somehow prove to be completely relevant.

Rich finds that his eyes have developed a tendency to linger on Peter for probably longer than they should, as if just staring will somehow get him closer to figuring the guy out.

That’s it. Nothing more to it than that.

There’s no real reason that he’s continuing to watch as Peter walks away, and—

“Richard.” He’s still not used to the voice that’s now a part of him, yet he can't imagine life without it, either, somehow. (It’s not entirely a bad thing; he’ll take his comforts where he can get them, even if said comforts have an annoying habit of always waking him up in the middle of a few precious hours of sleep.) “I have found that your heart rate increases by an average of twelve percent whenever you are in the proximity of Peter Quill. I am analyzing — ”

“Shut up, Worldmind,” he cuts in flatly, but the words don’t leave his mind for weeks afterward.

ii.

Worldmind had calculated this plan’s probability of success to sit somewhere at approximately four percent, but Rich had thought that had been generous.

Direct assault has pretty much never been an option against the Annihilation Wave up to this point; this whole thing has been a game of finding the best time to evacuate civilians, and then retreat. He’d like for that to not be true, sure, because, well, maybe he hadn’t paid as much attention as he should have in his high school history classes, but he’s pretty sure no one has ever won a war purely through retreats. Even so, though, the fact is that even in the best case scenario of the United Front not running on basically a skeleton crew of troops, they’d still be massively overpowered, outgunned, and everything else.

But Peter had been right; something had to change to turn the tide, and this had been their best opportunity to strike. The crazy son of a schlag had just decided to do it himself before anyone else could argue.

That’s the long and short of how Rich had gotten here, crouched on the ground next to a second-in-command who had also just given them the biggest advantage they’ve had in months by putting himself in the blast radius of a well-placed bomb. And said second-in-command is still in one piece, somehow; a little worse for the wear, judging by the way he favors his right side as he tries to lift his body into a sitting position, but nothing that won’t see a full recovery.

There are about a million things on Rich’s mind, but each one gets away at light speed before he can grab on, and all he’s left with is a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that hasn’t managed to disappear. He swallows down the dryness in his throat, and when he opens his mouth to speak, all that comes out is:

“You’re crazy.”

“Maybe.” Peter shrugs in response, and after a moment, he actually smirks through the blood trickling from his bottom lip. “But it worked, didn’t it?”

There’s a part of Rich that’s definitely pissed, but the rest of him can’t help the smile that pulls at the corners of his mouth.

(And, okay, he can’t lie; he probably would’ve done the same thing.)

Peter Quill may, truly, be the craziest man he’s ever met in his life, but there’s a possibility that they could win this whole damn war because of him.

iii.

They’ve managed to gain some ground, but Krelar still falls.

It’s a brutal loss, probably the most brutal in a whole war full of them; a hidden horde of the Wave had decimated thousands of civilians before they could even retreat, and those who’d been left of the United Front had barely made it off the planet themselves. They’re all shaken, deeply, and Rich had ordered everyone to tend to their wounds and get some sleep before reconvening at the end of the night cycle.

An order he knows he won’t follow himself.

He tries, though, for a time, tries to lie back on his pillow in his quarters and shut his eyes; he can go without rest longer than most, but even with the entire Nova Force inside him, he’s still pushing his limits. But when he does, he sees Kree falling on all sides, hears their screams as they do. He sees Xandar dying around him, just as he has in his mind’s eye. Death, just death, and even with all this power, he’s always helpless to do nothing but watch it happen….

His feet hit the floor, wander the corridors aimlessly, until they end up at the door of Peter’s quarters.

It opens before he can even knock.

They stand there for a time in silence, Peter looking as lost and haunted as he feels. There’s nothing to say, anyway; no platitudes will bring the planet back, gallows humor can only go so far, and with both of those options gone, well. That’s it.

Except —

Peter leans in and presses his mouth to Rich’s, and Rich doesn’t take the time to think about what’s happening, instead pulling Peter’s body as close to his as possible. They stumble through the doorway like this, a tangle of lips and hands searching for some kind of solid reassurance.

It doesn’t make anything better, because there’s nothing that can, but by the time Rich wakes up after managing a couple of hours of sleep, head resting on Peter’s bare chest and the rhythmic thud of a heartbeat in his ear, he thinks he can stand on solid enough ground to take a next step.

iv.

“Let me buy you a beer” had turned into three over the past hour, with a fourth probably soon to come, and while Rich feels guilty about it on some level, Peter continues to insist. It’s returning the favor, he says, for the tip about Knowhere, which has proven to be a pretty good base for his team, some hiccups aside. And:

“You look like you need it more than I do.”

After the — week, month, six months, year? — he’s had, he can’t really find it in him to argue.

Starlin’s has most of its usual clientele this evening, the loud, violent crowd that sees at least three bar fights broken up before it’s forced to disperse. A few broken bottles fly past their table at various points through this, but they’re otherwise left alone; being a war hero commands some respect in certain ways.

“I went back,” Rich finds himself saying a time after the bar quiets down, swirling the mug in his hand absently. “To Earth, I mean. First time since everything went down.”

Peter turns in his seat, attention fully focused on him, something like concern in his eyes (both human, no cybernetics anywhere, which is still taking some getting used to). He doesn’t say anything, and Rich takes that as his cue to continue.

“It was like…” He trails off, and it takes him a moment to commit to a train of thought. “No one even cared. The universe as we know it was almost gone, and all anyone could think about was fighting among themselves. This whole damn galactic war happening right above their heads, and nothing even changed for them.”

It all has a bitter taste coming out of his mouth, more than he’d actually intended it to, but he can’t deny that now that it’s out there, he feels like a massive weight has been taken off of his chest. He feels — better, somehow.

“But.” Rich drains the rest of the contents his mug after a beat. “Home is home, you know.”

“Yeah,” Peter says, and Rich thinks it sounds a little distant. “Home is home.” He reaches a hand toward one of Rich’s, gives it a brief squeeze before letting go.

Maybe it’s the fourth beer he’s now starting, but Rich has a wild thought that right here, right now, he could feel more at home than he has anywhere in a long time.

It’s so quiet that the sound of Rich’s own breathing pounds in his ears. For a reality where life has supposedly won, it seems awfully dead; visibility stretches for miles on end, and as far as he can tell, there isn’t a single sign of movement anywhere. Worldmind’s report from his helmet’s scanners chime in at the thought, but confirm what he already knew.

He peels off his helmet, because everything’s getting too stuffy. He thinks it shouldn’t surprise him that that doesn’t provide any kind of relief.

Next to him, Peter kicks the Cosmic Cube on the ground, and it clinks against an outcropping of rock.

“Thing’s dead,” he says, voice still breathless from their last seemingly never-ending encounter with the Revengers, from dying and being resurrected repeatedly. (Turns out, that kind of thing can take a toll. Who knew.) “Next time they come back, we’re gonna get our asses kicked even worse.”

Rich’s eyes drop to the ground, drift over to the Cube and stay there as something starts to occur to him. It’d had one shot, sure, and they’d already blown it, but what if a source of massive power could charge it again? What if — “Maybe not.”

He’s trapped here, probably forever; it doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out. He accepts it, too, because he’d known his choices when he’d followed Peter in here, and if he could do everything all over again, he wouldn’t change any of them. Robbie, his mom and dad, every single being on countless worlds are safe. That’s what matters.

But before that door is shut for good, he can open another. One he himself can’t walk through, because someone has to hold it; it’s the only way.

Peter deserves so much more than being stuck here in a barren wasteland, fighting and dying and coming back to life again, and again, and again. He deserves a chance to live in the universe that he’d helped to save. And Rich can give him that; it’s the least he owes him. For everything.

He bends down to gently lift the Cosmic Cube with the tips of his fingers.

“Rich — ?” It seems to dawn on Peter before he can even finish the question, and out of the corner of his eye, Rich can see Peter’s widen in horror. “Rich, wait.”

He closes his eyes and concentrates, tuning out the screams and everything else around him.

“Rich!”

Nova Force rips through his cells, and it feels almost warm.

#richard rider #peter quill #riderquill #* fic #my stuff #throws canon out the window #yeet #also here's to me singlehandedly repping the rich rider fandom on ao3 right now #why does that guy have like no fics about him smh!!#also after a point i stopped proofreading this and just decided to yeet it so please tell me if there are issues thank u

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end-o-the-line · 6 years ago

Text

Trying to track the Winter Soldier through both canon and history....god help me....

As a follow up to the First Avenger timeline, insomnia brought us here.

February 1945 - Bucky falls from a goddamn train in the Alps. We've gone over this.

Okay, we know Bucky was in Russian/Hydra hands by early '45. The first thing to look into is Operation Paperclip. You may recognize this from TWS, but it was not made up by the MCU, it was a real thing. In May of 1945, a U.S. Army Major Robert B. Staver sent a telegram to the Pentagon, pushing the idea of capturing and using German scientists toward the war effort in the Pacific. They proceeded to do just that, housing captured scientists in southern Bavaria. So smart, keeping the Nazis in Germany and stuff. By November, the project had been renamed Operation Paperclip. For secrecy?

Most of the early objectives of this operation were to keep the German scientists from emigrating to non-’murica friendly countries and continuing their work. Eventually, the US realized it was just fine for them to continue their work, as long as it was for them. By the end of the war, Germans with 'marketable' knowledge were being 'recruited' through ‘orders’ for their families and such to report to Allied bases; the important ones were then moved to ‘secret’ locations (one was code-named DUSTBIN and it was proooobably in the desert near Los Alamos idk) and ‘questioned’; detained for months at a time.

Some of these scientists were later removed and charged for their war-time actions. Since we know Zola was still part of SHIELD when he built the nightmare computer in the 70's, he obviously wasn't one of those charged with the atrocities he committed. None of the scientists were free to roam until at least '47. That leads us to believe that Zola couldn't have gotten his hands back on Bucky for at least 2 years, likely more. It's possible Zola never got his hands on Bucky again, if you take Bucky's memories as more like amalgams and assume he just uses Zola as the face for any and all faceless scientists he encountered. It's not out of the question.

Moving on. Bucky is found by Russians, and since we've been over that too, needless to say it's highly unlikely that many Russians were deserting the Red Army to go be buddies with a mostly Nazi-associated Hydra operation at the end of WW2. The Russians and the Nazis were not friends, mmkay, Russia lost nearly 40 million people during WW2, and only 9 million of those were in combat. But, by the time the first traces of the Cold War come around, Russians in Hydra would definitely be a thing, just like Americans in Hydra would be a thing. Again, the date 1947 comes into play, as that's a pretty accepted start date of the Cold War tensions. But.

But.

Bucky was found by some very lost Russians and brought in, where they took him fuck knows where to pimp his ride. There's not much we can take from the MCU with the meager flashbacks, but there is a very clear timeline from Captain America: Winter Soldier Vol. 2. I'll fill in what I can from the MCU, since that's what this is focusing on, and rely on the comics for what I can’t.

March 23, 1945 - Bucky's KGB file is created by the KGB branch in Dnepropetrovsk Region, USSR, which in 2016 became known as Dnipro Raion, Ukraine. (**Thanks to Morrighan on AO3 for this translation!) Of note is the giant Dnipropetrovsk Automobile Factory, built by German POWs starting in December of 1945, which was planned by the Russians as a secret military machining plant. It wasn't under way at this particular date, but the supplies for such large industry were, and it stands to reason the future Fist of Hydra would have been brought to a place that was intended to become the center of the Soviet secret weapons think tank.

May 7, 1945 - Bucky dies. Like, literally. The comics are clear on this, that when the Russians found him he was frozen solid, and dead. One of them had been on a mission with the Commandos, though, and after seeing Bucky in action, suspected he had the serum just like Steve (he didn't, he was just a badass), so they thaw him like a Thanksgiving turkey to try to get tissue and fluid samples. When he's thawed, he's dead as a doornail. They revive him, though, and even the scientists are kind of shocked it worked, since he did not, in fact, have the serum. What he did have was the memory of how to kick ass, which they learn the hard way haha, so they sedate his ass until they can get all their samples from him. Having said that, MCU canon directly controverts this. MCU Bucky DOES have the serum, that's been made very clear from several of his feats of strength that did not include the metal arm, and he was obviously not flash frozen in the Alps because he remembers shit. So. Do with that dichotomy what you will, just thought I'd share.

May 21, 1945 - After determining that they can't recreate the serum from him, and that he's gonna kick their asses if they let him stay conscious, Bucky is put into cryo-freeze. Even the scientist making the notes is all IDFK about the order when it's given by Karpov, he's like birch is crazy.

In the flashback scene from TWS where Bucky's metal arm is being attached, the doctor uses a handheld electric bone saw.

The patent for the first hand held reciprocating saw was filed on June 27, 1952. Trust me. You do not want to try Googling that, okay, let me take the hit on those visuals. I spontaneously became a vegetarian. Anyway, it's safe to assume the flashback scene of Bucky getting what remained of his arm cut off was at the least 7 years of captivity later. Since Bucky hasn't aged any more than the Capsicle did, it's safe to assume, and mentioned in those pieces of comics canon, that the Russians essentially said *shrug* and stuffed the half-dead American soldier they found in the fridge for a decade like my grandmother used to do to the stuff she canned every summer.

Since the cryo containment they stuff him back into after he has the metal arm was actually in the operating theater, hence already tested and in use (and mobile, apparently? what did they do push him around on a handcart?? that would be the worst job) it's a pretty safe assumption to make that even MCU Bucky was almost immediately put on ice after being captured because he kept trying to kill folks, and kept that way until at least mid to late 1952, if not later.

Personal tangent? If the Russians/Hydra already had a Cryo tank to conveniently throw Bucky into, one can assume they had a use for it, right? My personal theory is that it was for Super Soldiers, meaning someone had at least theorized that a Super Soldier could be frozen. How many fucking Cold War resources do you think were put toward hunting for that fucking Valkyrie in the Arctic?

June 1954 - The date comes from Captain America: Winter Soldier Vol. 2 again, and it gels with the info above about the arm-attachment so I'm going with it. Bucky becomes the 'Fist of Hydra' and is then put back on ice because the Fist of Hydra tries to strangle his doctor. It would be super easy to split his time and say he was with the Russians until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, then was transferred to Hydra's control, but this Fist of Hydra line makes that impossible. So even though the Russians in the form of the KGB had him, they were obviously still working under or with the Hydrapus. Bucky worked for Department X in the Comics, but that's not an MCU thing, so. That's where the MCU and the comics diverge wildly, and make this a migraine-inducing task. Right after they let him out of Cryo, Bucky escapes, but since he's in the middle of the goddamn Soviet wilderness, he doesn't get far.

1959 - The first page of the file Steve receives from Natasha about the Winter Soldier is probably dated 1959, from the KGB branch in Lvovsky Region, USSR, which is the Lviv Region in Ukraine. The area is super varied in landscape and population, which could have served as a proving ground of sorts for a weapon like the Winter Soldier. This can probably be taken as a pretty clear date for when the Winter Soldier officially became 'active' under the direction of the KGB. That's five years from the metal arm being attached to becoming the Asset, during which you can only assume they were working on the base programming for what would later become the wipes.

1964 - This is technically when the Winter Soldier's kills start being counted, if you take Natasha's 'the last 50 years' literally. So I'm going to ignore pre-64 history, pretty much, and assume that the 5-10 years after June 1954 were spent turning Bucky into The Winter Soldier with mindfucking, training, languages, ect. It's important to note that in the comics, Bucky was never tortured, per se. Not physically, I guess, though the defining line of ‘torture’ here is thin. He was already an amnesiac, so they used a combination of sensory deprivation and 'Mental Implantation' experiments to make him loyal to them. You don't make someone loyal by beating the shit out of them, you know? There's also evidence in the movies in the way Bucky reacts to people; he is clearly in charge of the STRIKE team, not taking their orders; he doesn't flinch when Steve touches him, nor does he mind one bit the Wakandan doctors who are hooking him up to IVs, ect. He does not outwardly behave like a man who was subjected to decades of beatings or what have you.

Look at that cupcake, Jesus.

Since MCU canon is sparse with language info, I'll go with Comics canon on this; Bucky has stated that before Hydra, he spoke six languages. Hydra's own notes state that he spoke four. We'll go with Bucky on this one, since he would know amirite. I can't figure out what all 6 were for sure, but there is solid evidence that he spoke fluent English, German, and Russian. The other educated guesses would add Japanese, French, and Italian to that tally. It's also possible his sixth language was cursing, because even Deadpool is shocked at Bucky's language when he goes back in time and meets him during the War. Those are the most likely, simply because they were the relevant ones to the War effort and where he was deployed. There's a panel with War-dressed Bucky speaking Chinese, but wtf dude I mean....he was too young to be sent to China at any point before the War broke out, and there's no reason the War Department would have taught him fucking Chinese in the 40's when he was up to his ass in the European Theater, so that panel might be an alternate reality thing, idk.

After Hydra, he was additionally fluent in Chinese (probably post-Hydra, fuck that panel), Spanish, Polish, Romanian (MCU canon), and he became passable in Kree. At one point when he is Bucky!Cap, Steve seems to be under the impression that Bucky can also understand a dog barking. I don't know if that's a Bucky thing or a Steve thing, but it's apparently canon that Bucky talks to animals like a crazy cat lady enough that Steve thinks he's understanding them. Idfk dude.

Sooo, TL;DR:

WW2-era: English, German, Russian, Japanese, French, Italian (probably), and foul language.

Winter Soldier-era: Chinese, Spanish, Polish, Romanian, Kree, and dog? Probably a lot more, probably ALL the Soviet Bloc languages, tbh, I just don't have hard evidence of them. Ehhhh.....

.....while I at first assumed he was talking about the other Soldiers collectively in this scene, we could also assume that Bucky is telling Steve and Sam all that info about the other Soldiers because he's listing his own stats. So it's possible Bucky himself speaks upwards of 30 languages by the time he breaks free from Hydra. In addition to the Soviet Bloc, if he also spent a lot of time in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, all those different dialects could easily add up to 30+ languages.

Most of the 'training' he was given during that proving ground period would basically have been the Russians field-testing him and being all WOO he already knows this, because Bucky was already a Grade A Badass. They would have updated him on new technology as soon as it was available to him, because he can obviously fly SHIELD fighter jets without blinking an eye and is rather fond of commandeering random flying machines . . . I imagine he’d only be able to steal one of those and then realize he doesn’t know how to work it once.

1959-1964 - I got sidetracked. Anyway. There is some chatter in the fandom that Bucky killed Kennedy. If we take the 50 years thing literally and go with the 1964 date, he probably didn't. If we take it almost literally and infer the 1959 date on his file was from his first field test or mission, he . . . really could have killed Kennedy. I do like to mix my movies, though, and imagine that Bucky was sent to Dallas, met up with Magneto trying to stop him, hai there metal arm, and got wrapped up like a burrito in a chain link fence before he could fire a shot.....

Anyway....despite how well-armed the Winter Soldier is . . . jesus I just re-read this and realized I made a horrible pun but I'm not changing it because it made me laugh, most political assassinations are not usually by gun or knife. You can't have plausible deniability if you shoot someone in the face. That's why the Winter Soldier's reputation is as both assassin AND spy.

So I’m going to highlight some real-world events that you could ascribe to the Winter Soldier through the years, if you are so inclined to write these things in stories. Dates and locations are between the spades, for ease of tracking this sneaky bastard's possible real historical movements. Bold dates are confirmed by MCU canon.

♠ September 11, 1973 - Santiago, Chile ♠ The apparent suicide of Chile’s president, Salvador Allende - with an assault rifle – during the Pinochet coup. Being honest, this was probably the CIA, but still.

♠ early December 1977 - Cairo, Egypt ♠ David Holden - a writer, journalist, broadcaster, and possible CIA agent - was the Chief Foreign Correspondent of the Sunday Times, and is shot in still unexplained circumstances just before the peace talks between Egypt and Israel. With his connections, and possible CIA ties, there is no telling what this guy was up to, or who would have wanted him to stop doing it.

♠ April 17, 1978 - Kabul, Afghanistan ♠ Mir Akbar Khyber, an Afghan intellectual and a leader of the Parcham faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), was killed outside his home. I don't know how. His death led to the overthrow of the republic, and to the advent of a socialist regime in Afghanistan.

♠ December 23, 1978 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia ♠ Malcolm Caldwell, a British lecturer in southeast Asian studies and a Marxist writer who was a vocal supporter of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, was killed for no apparent reason other than being a douche. This one's interesting because there was a witness: About 11:00 p.m. that night [Elizabeth] Becker was awakened by the sound of gunfire. She stepped out of her bedroom and saw a heavily armed Cambodian man who pointed a pistol at her. (Sounds familiar right??) She ran back into her room and heard people moving and more gunshots. An hour later a Cambodian came to her bedroom door and told her that Caldwell was dead. . . He had been shot in the chest and the body of a Cambodian man was also in the room, possibly the same man who had pointed the pistol at Becker. Three days later, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and ended Khmer Rouge.

In comics canon, the Winter Soldier goes rogue some time in the 70's - I think, I cannot find it - on a job in NYC after seeing his little sister Rebecca on the street. Hydra tracks him down and pets him on the head and takes him back because he doesn't know why he bolted. After it becomes obvious that he's having issues, he shadows the head of the program (Lukin, the dude from Civil War) for two years as his personal bodyguard, then is put back into cryo. It isn't until after this stretch that the mind wipes start, because his behavior is degrading more and more and he becomes harder to handle. There is a ten year stretch here in the late 70′s to mid 80′s, basically, that this could have gone down.

♠ August 17, 1988 - Bahawalpur, Pakistan ♠ President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan dies in a plane crash, along with 31 others, including a shitload of important politicians I don't want to bother listing. Witnesses report the plane flying erratically, then nosediving and exploding on impact. An investigation concluded it was a 'criminal act of sabotage'. Zia-ul-Haq's most enduring legacy was his indirect involvement and military strategies against the USSR's war in Afghanistan.

♠ November 24, 1989 - Peshawar, Pakistan ♠ Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian Islamist leader - who Wikipedia claims is also known as the Father of Global Jihad - was killed with his two adult sons by a car bomb. In a narrow street across from a gas station, a bomb that had a 50-metre detonation cord led to the sewerage system where the assailant presumably waited. He literally laid in the sewers waiting, that's hardcore. Anyway, Azzam both controlled the jihadi forces who had fought against the USSR in Afghanistan and opposed the extension of the Islamist war to targets in the non-Islamic world. His protégé was a man named Osama bin Laden.

♠ December 16, 1991 - Upstate New York like a goddamn hipster ♠ Yeah, Mission Report and stuff. Howard and Maria Stark are murrrrrderrrrred in a car. (I have actual real meta that circles around this but that’s for a different bout of insomnia I guess).

♠ December 25, 1991 - Siberia, probably, jesus is anyone still reading this? ♠ The USSR is dissolved. It's likely they moved all their Hydra assets into Pierce's control shortly after this, meaning the Soldier became 'the Asset' and moved to DC like a politician. The scenes from Civil War with the other Soldiers going all Mutiny on the Bounty had to have happened somewhere in December of 1991.

♠ 6 April 1994 - Kigali, Rwanda ♠ The plane carrying Rwanda’s and Burundi’s presidents, Juvenal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, is shot down as it prepares to land, precipitating the Rwandan Genocide and the First Congo War. That's one hell of a precision strike, if you want chaos.

♠ November 11, 2004 - Gaza Strip, probably? ♠ Yasser Arafat dies in a Paris, France hospital, for reasons that are still not clear but apparently began to develop on October 25, 2004. Many believe he was poisoned by polonium laced into his clothing and belongings, which is why this one is sort of hard to place for a Winter Soldier location. I'm assuming he would have at least accessed the home in Gaza City, Palestine?

♠ July 30, 2005 - a mountain range in southern Sudan near New Kush ♠ John Garang, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and Sudan’s new vice-president, dies in a helicopter crash after the January 2005 peace agreement, which leads to rioting in Khartoum.

♠ 2009 - Odessa, Ukraine ♠ The Winter Soldier visits Odessa so he can shoot Natasha Romanov in her bikini line, plus an engineer dude or something I'm too lazy to go looking for the story tbh, we've all seen the movie.

♠ May 4, 2012 - just outside nuke range of Manhattan, New York ♠ The Battle of New York. If I was Hydra, I'd have my greatest weapon poised and ready to go kick some alien ass if all else failed, kwim, but not so close as to be exploded. You can't rule the world if someone else has already conquered that shit.

♠ within a week of Monday, Memorial Day, May 26, 2014 - Washington, DC ♠ (brilliant date analysis from Katie_P on AO3!) Nick Fury is almost killed, twice. It's apparent that the Asset's home has moved from Siberia in the 90's to a bank vault in DC at some point in the last . . . IDK, 23 years. . We all saw the chase in the street, but the Soldier takes his shot through one of Steve's walls using thermal imaging on his scope, then plays ultimate frisbee with Captain America for a minute before saying fuck it and going back to the bank where they keep him.

Then some moron doesn't read his instruction manuals thoroughly and sends Captain America's dead best friend to kill him without anticipating the inevitable joint Cap/Asset system error.

Anyway. The Soldier saves Steve's dumb ass one more time, then bolts and heads back to the bank to utterly fuck that shit up, but he doesn't kill anyone there. He specifically says he has enough blood on his hands, and lets them all live. Then he ghosts and doesn't resurface until he smells plums two years later. As settled as he was in Romania, he probably spent at least half a year of those two years there.

That's all I got.

Okay Jesus, so that was a lot of work. Comics mentions that I didn't include? Steve and Bucky knew Wolverine during WW2. They fought together several times. And later, the Winter Soldier helps Wolverine escape from the Weapons X Facility, which Wolverine doesn't find out until much later. I don't know when that is and . . . God help me, I kind of don't care at this point? Also, one panel has Bucky claiming that he killed Hitler. If so, good.

#bucky barnes #the winter soldier #history nerd rants #research #fic reference #history sorta #timeline #meta maybe?#captain america #MCU detail references

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theultimateegghead-blog · 6 years ago

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100 FOLLOWER MEGA SPECIAL AWESOME 10 PART EVENT TOP 100 ENEMIES PART 5.

Hello everyone! Happy new year, we are half way done with this special! Sorry for the gaps, this is harder than I thought to write. That and the whole tumblr’s change in content has gotten some of my artist friends down so ive been spending time with them to help cheer them up.

Gentlemen - Tales of Series

Enemy Status – Bizarre well mannered creature.

Before you say it, yes, it is slenderman. However, I should mention this creature was introduced years before Slenderman. So, who is copying who? The gentleman is an odd creature encountered in the Tales series. These foes are large people in black suits and elongated limbs. Their faces have little to no features and they attack in strange ways. They are some of the more dangerous creatures in the series, and precaution should be put into consideration before engaging one. They give a good amount of EXP though. They win the list for just being so eerie.

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Shaydas - Super Smash Bros Brawl

Enemy Status – Sentient swarms of darkness.

The Shaydas is a dark creature that comes from subspace. More dangerous than the standard primid footsoldier, these creatures are armed with dual blades. They can warp around and can deliver devastating attacks with their swords. They seem to prefer dark areas such as mines and such. They can string combos, levitate and counterattack as well, making them a skilled opponent. While they are not the hardest to take down, they can serve a decent challenge. They win a spot because of their cool design and fighting style.

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Enforcer - Duke Nukem 3D

Enemy Status – High Ranking alien soldier.

The Enforcer is an enemy I both love and hate. These mobile aliens are cool looking. They are among the elite in the enemy forces and appear more frequently in later levels. They are infamous for their hitscan chain guns that can tear away at Duke’s health. They are also very mobile and can easily ambush or escape Duke. They may be a nuisance, but they are still very cool foes, and taking down a group of them unscathed feels amazing.

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Gazing Globin - The Binding of Isaac

Enemy status – Regenerating monster.

Its not the most intimidating or disgusting creature in the Binding of Isaac. These creatures simply run after the poor crying child, often in groups. Their sing massive staring eye and their low growls make them spooky. They can regenerate unless their remains are destroyed, and this can be tough if four of them are barreling down on you. They are easily the most memorable enemies in that game for me, and that is with some heavy competition. They are creepy ghouls that win a spot on the list.

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Shambler – Quake

Enemy Status – Incredibly dangerous blind monster.

The shamble is among one of the deadliest foes in FPS history. These monsters are large and blind, and very lethal. They can deal massive damage with melee and can shoot lightning at a distance. They are relentless predators and are often best avoided. Even on the easiest settings these guys are a tough challenge to overcome and are easily the most memorable enemies from the original Quake game. These deadly foes win a spot on the list.

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Stranger - Cry of Fear

Enemy Status – Strange mind manipulating monster.

Facebook, corrupting the minds and driving people in ruin….no not that facebook, this guy. The stranger is one of the creepiest foes in cry of Fear. They don’t rely on jump scares or loud noises. They are soft and quiet monsters that linger in the darkness. They can attack with weird psychic powers while they shuffle around. Slaying them causes them to spasm and flicker out of existence. What is this creature? This ghostly monster wins a spot on the list for sure, it may look goofy as just a photo, but in game it’s a whole different story.

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Dodongos - Zelda Series

Enemy Status – Large fire breathing reptiles.

A classic foe, and one of Link’s oldest enemies. The Dodongo’s are large dinosaur like creatures that seem to prefer places of extreme heat, or in Majora’s mask case, extreme cold. These beasts can breathe fire and can sometimes attack with their tail. In most cases their tail is their weak spot. They can vary in size to that of a small horse to that of a full building. They are not very smart and will eat anything put in front of them, including bombs. These classic foes win a spot on the list.

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Assassin Nobody - Kingdom Hearts Series

Enemy Status – High ranking nobodies.

Every member of Organization XIII has a nobody that represents them and their powers. The assassin nobody is a representation of Axel and is the first high class nobody encountered. These foes loom about and attack with their sleeves. They can defy space and time and merge into the ground to avoid taking damage. It is almost as if they can swim through the air as well. They drift about, waiting to strike and are often accompanied by other nobodies, waiting for Sora or Roxas to be distracted. While they are not the hardest to dispatch, they are easily the coolest for me, and thus they can represent the nobodies on this list.

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FROGS - Metal Gear Solid 4

Enemy Status – Elite female soldiers.

These elite units serve directly under Ocelot and are the pinnacle members of his army. Nanomachine fueled ladies. These ladies are armed to the teeth, armored, acrobatic and cannot feel things such as fear or distress. They are incredibly skilled warriors that will give snake a run for his money. These elite members sometimes serve as sub-bosses when they ambush Snake, but become normal enemies towards the end of the game. These are some super soldiers you don’t want to mess with.

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Allonne Knight - Dark Souls 2

Enemy Status – Loyal guards of the old Iron King.

The Aloone knights are the royal guards of the old Iron king. They wear sturdy armor and guard the old keep even after it falls to ruin. They wield bows and katanas, and often attack in groups. Their armor is pretty cool, but it isn’t the best there is to offer. Aesthetically they fit their given role well and are fun to fight against. They also give a good chunk of experience, making them optimal for souls grinding. They are a bit annoying in the DLC though, as their numbers are great, and those pesky archers can see you from a mile away. These guys are easily my favorite enemies from Dark souls II.

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And that concludes part 5, lets keep on going, this glass is still half full! See you next time.

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shibuemiyuu · 6 years ago

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Desires - Hakuoki Fanfiction - Chapter 9

Here’s another chapter! I want to thank for all the reader for giving a chance to read my story. I forgot to say that start from the previous chapter (chapter 8), the story will roll into the angst one. And in this chapter something important will be revealed that will be the main key of Hijikata and Chizuru’s s situation.

Even if we know that Chizuru is in love with Hijikata, but I don't think that the need to be near and the weird tension in the Shinsengumi is something just from their unsolved situation. For me it's a little bit weird if there is no some solid explanation behind that.

And also thanks to @impracticaldemon for the editing on this chapter (no matter when, thank you for the help Oni-chan!)

Let’s get on with the story. May you enjoyed then :3

Chapter of the stories:

Prequel - Prologue - I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII

@hijichiweek @kirakirachiizuru

-IX-

"Phew~!"

That was the first word Sen spoke after she sat inside Chizuru's room. The owner of the room sat next to the princess. And her bodyguard was waiting outside the room.

"The tension inside that room is suffocating. I can hardly breathe inside." Sen inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it out in relief. "Their reaction was not the one I expected. I thought that they would agree to the offer. They kind of give off an aura that they don't want to get involved with an oni matter. I guess, your bond with the Shinsengumi is not something I put into the equation."

Sen was less formal now that they were not in the same room with the captains. Chizuru smiled when she remembered the captains' reaction. "Yeah. I guess you are right. And, um… I'm sorry. You know, they said some pretty mean things to you earlier."

"It's okay. Like I said, I didn't know that your bonds with the Shinsengumi were pretty deep. Don't sweat it." Sen gave an easy smile to Chizuru. "So… Enough about them. We are here to talk about you. How about you Chizuru-chan? Have you given any thought to my offer? Do you want to leave with me or not?"

Chizuru indeed had a thought about the offer. The problem was she didn't know what she should do regarding the matter. If the princess had come to ask her when she had first arrived in Kyoto, she would have gladly taken the offer and gone with her, leaving the Shinsengumi. If only she had met the princess much earlier before the things in the past months had happened… No, if only Sen had met her before she bonded with the Shinsengumi members, before she fell for the oni fukuchou…

Chizuru went into silent mode and Sen looked at her face with concern. "Chizuru-chan?"

Chizuru snapped from her thoughts when she heard Sen call her name, "U-um… Osen-chan. About your offer…. Honestly, I don't know." She cast her eyes to the ground and muttered her confusion softly.

Sen took one of Chizuru's hands and gave a light squeeze to her confused friend. "Chizuru-chan, the Shinsengumi seems to believe that they can protect you from Kazama. I acknowledge their dedication, but like I have said before, I doubt their ability against an oni strength. I'm not sugarcoating it, but the oni power is not something humans should underestimate. The reason why the Yukimura clan was murdered was because the humans that knew about them were afraid of them. We can overpower them easily. And knowing of Kazama's character, they can get killed when they are defending you from him. I know you will feel devastated if that happens."

Chizuru lifted her eyes and looked at Sen. What Sen had said was true, she had acknowledged it. The right thing that she had to do was leave the Shinsengumi. From several encounters with Kazama, she knew that Kazama was indeed extraordinary. And after the confirmation that he was oni, she wasn't surprised. Maybe because she and Kazama were both oni, she could feel his big power and strength emanating from him. Even before she knew that they were oni. If Kazama became serious and attacked the Shinsengumi… she didn't want to imagine it.

She knew it, she realized it. Still…

"Chizuru-chan!" Sen called her name and shook her a little, pulled her from her deep thought. "Why are you looking so, I don't know, like you want to cry. You're so drawn into your thoughts that you didn't realize I have called your name a few times…. Why are you finding it so hard to decide?" Sen looked at Chizuru with a meaningful gaze. "Is there something that you want to tell me?" Sen said in a solemn tone.

"I-I…" Chizuru tried to speak, but in the end, she just stayed silent. She averted her gaze from Sen and pulled her hands back to her lap. Sen didn't question why Chizuru pulled back her hands from her. She didn't want to force Chizuru to speak. She could feel that there was something that made Chizuru so reluctant form leaving the Shinsengumi. And whatever it was, it was not an easy matter to talk about. She waited in patience.

Chizuru was struggling with her thoughts, whether she should tell Sen about her and Hijikata's situation or not. It was obvious that the thing that made her so reluctant to leave the Shinsengumi was the infamous oni fukuchou. Their situation wasn't solved yet. And to leave from the compound with their situation like this, it would leave a bitter taste in her mouth. Not to mention that for some reason she just couldn't, didn't want to be far from the vice commander. She bit her bottom lip.

'Osen-chan has given me an offer to protect me from Kazama. I know… I can feel that her offer is an honest one. She really cares about me. Of course, she will be confused about why I am so reluctant to leave the Shinsengumi.' She turned her head to look again at the demon princess. Her eyes were serious, but she could feel that Sen was really concerned and worried about her being. Her eyes, while they were serious, were also honest and warm. 'I guess I should tell her about it. And honestly, I need to talk to someone about this matter.' Without Chizuru realizing it yet, her situation with Hijikata had nearly made her suffocated. She didn't have anyone to talk to about her situation. She had pushed the matter deep inside her and unconsciously it had eaten her from inside more than she had realized. It had bottled up inside her. A ticking time bomb that was near its time to explode.

She would tell Sen about her situation and hoped that Sen could help her about the matter. But when she opened her mouth and was ready to tell her story, suddenly the door of her room was opened and Kimigiku poked her head inside the room.

"Pardon for my intrusion, but the two of you have been silent for quite some time. May I ask if everything is okay?" The kunoichi, a term for a ninja woman, had been listening to their conversation from the outside. She stood a few meters from the door, not exactly in front of the door. She wanted to give privacy to the two girls.

"There's nothing for you to worry about." Sen answered her bodyguard without turning her head to the woman. While Sen seemed calm, Chizuru was surprised with the sudden intrusion. She forgot that Kimigiku was also stood outside her room. She just intended for Sen to be the one that would hear what she wanted to talk about. She thanked whoever had given the opportunity for the sudden interruption.

"In fact, Okiku please go to the common room and stay with the other men of the Shinsengumi. We will go to that room if we finish our talk later."

"Hime-sama-"

Sen turned her head and looked at Kimigiku with authority in her eyes. "I need to talk to Chizuru about something and I really need the privacy. Please leave and wait for us there."

The kunoichi knelt to her mistress and closed the door before disappearing without another word.

"Now Okiku has gone. You can continue whatever you wanted to tell me before she came Chizuru-chan!" Sen encouraged Chizuru to continue from where she left before.

"But, isn't there something that you want to tell me Osen-chan? You told Kimigiku-san that you wanted to tell me something?"

"That was just an excuse for her to leave both of us alone. I saw your expression when she entered the room before. And I would bet that whatever that you wanted to tell me earlier was not something that you want another to hear and know. It's not me that has something to tell about. Chizuru-chan, you can trust me on this one. I will never tell anyone of your secret." Sen gave Chizuru a reassuring smile. Chizuru that never had any girl-friend that she could share with and talk to, felt touched by Sen's intention. She nodded to her friend.

"There's some reason that makes me not want to leave the Shinsengumi," she started slowly. "And it started about half a year ago. The matter has not been resolved since then. Many things have happened in the Shinsengumi that make the matter remain unsolved."

"Is it something so big and complicated that it already takes about 6 months and it hasn't been solved?" Sen was curious about whatever problem Chizuru had.

"Well…. rather than something, it is more of like…. Someone." Chizuru whispered the last part.

"So the problem is this someone…. AH!" Sen exclaimed suddenly. She looked at Chizuru with narrowed eyes and for some reason had a mischievous glint in it. "Correct me if I'm wrong. That someone that makes you not want to leave this place is someone that you like, isn't it?"

Chizuru blinked her eyes, flabbergasted with Sen's sudden change of mood. Once the princess' question had gotten into her mind her cheeks started turning red. And she gave a small nod to answer her friend's question.

"Really?!" Sen said excited. "Who?! OH! Would that be one of the men in the common room?" She teased her tomato-face friend.

"...Yes."

Once again Sen grabbed Chizuru's hands and gave a little squeeze to them. Chizuru looked straight at Sen while the latter gave a warm smile to the former. "So, you don't want to leave this place because you can't leave behind this man." Chizuru nodded again. "But Chizuru-chan, if you stay and Kazama comes, you would also risk this man's life. Losing someone that you loved is not a thing that I want you to regret later." Sen emphasized the situation that they were in with her serious tone. "It is not that you two can't meet later in the future. I will arrange it so that you and he can meet frequently without the two of you having to risk your lives by meeting and countering Kazama. Believe me, he's not someone that you want to get mess with."

Her mind was processing Sen's words.

"Osen-chan..." Sen gave another squeeze. "If the only problem is like what you've said, that we couldn't meet each other, I wouldn't be so reluctant to leave this place. The thing between me and him is much more complex and complicated than what you've said."

The princess silently listened to Chizuru. It was Chizuru's time to speak and she's afraid if she cuts into her story, it would take some other time for her to be brave enough to tell her story.

"Something happened between me and him about 6 months ago. Something that only myself is aware of."

Sen tilted her head, confused with Chizuru's words. "Eh?"

Chizuru gulped and clenched her hands, bracing herself for the upcoming revelations. "Osen-chan…. I have slept with him."

"…" Blink. "Sorry?"

"I'm no longer… virgin."

"….." Blink. Blink. "What?"

"And the worst part is he was drunk when we slept together and he didn't realize that he had slept with me. He also doesn't remember or have any recollection about this."

"….." Blink. Blink. Blink. "W-WHAT?!" Sen pulled her hands from atop Chizuru's hand and placed them on her cheeks, while exclaiming her horrified shock. Sen felt her body go limp. She felt that her energy had gone somewhere far away. The revelation of Chizuru's confession was too shocking for her. She didn't prepare for anything this… this shocking! It looked like her outburst wasn't so loud that it would alert the occupants in the common room to burst into the room. She felt relief for that. But still!

Women in the Bakumatsu era, the era that the Shinsengumi existed, didn't have any significant value other than to bear the man a child and to be a good wife. Any woman that was found that to have lost her virginity outside marriage would be looked down on by others. Not to mention that she would be a shame to her family. If men that didn't have a wife were looking for some pleasure without attachment, there was a red light district for that purpose. That's why virginity was so valuable for a woman in that era. Losing virginity was like losing your value as a woman already.

Chizuru was a girl that had been raised with such knowledge since she was little. She wasn't afraid of what her family would think about her. The only family that she had was gone missing. The matter would be addressed properly after she had found her father. And no one knew about her condition except herself. But to let another person be aware of her condition would be another matter. She still felt ashamed of what she had done. To share her condition with another would be embarrassment on another different level. That's why she was so horrified when she knew that Kimigiku almost heard about her condition.

Sen widened her eyes and they nearly fell from their sockets. She was speechless. Never in her wildest dreams would she dare to imagine that Chizuru would be in this big trouble. She didn't give any vibe of being such a character that would be daring enough to do that thing. Her head was spinning. She took a deep breath and heaved it loudly before setting her eyes again on the other occupant. "May I know, who is it?"

That was the question that Chizuru had expected to be ask since she told her story. But still to speak out loud the name of the man, it made her insides churn and honestly she didn't want to tell it.

"It's…. It was…" She darted her eyes to anywhere but Sen. 'You have told it so far Chizuru. It would be weird if you don't put a name to the man that you just informed your friend you had slept with. And after you told her that only you that were aware of the situation.' She opened her mouth but was frozen by the next words Sen spoke, which cut all the words from her.

"It's Hijikata isn't it?" Looking at her still friend confirmed her suspicions. She had pondered why Hijikata's reaction was kind of… odd before, when she was assessing the captains' reactions. Looks like she didn't read into his reaction too much like she had thought earlier. Because indeed there was something between Hijikata and Chizuru. She just didn't realize that this something would be this… big.

Plus, Chizuru nodded her head a little to confirm Sen's conclusion. Her bangs were covering her eyes.

"Osen-chan…. I'm sorry."

"Chizuru-chan…."

"I know that what I've done is not something that I should do. Even right until now I feel so ashamed of myself. That one spur of a moment, blinded by my desire, I've crossed a line that I should not cross. But one thing that you must know," she lifted her head to look straight at Sen with a firm gaze, "I did not regret it. And if you ask me how I feel about it right now, my answer would be same: I don't regret what I've done." Her voice didn't waver. She hoped that her friend could be convinced of what she had felt.

Sen looked back at Chizuru with a knowing expression. "You love him, don't you?"

Such a short question. A question that was not a question, rather than more like a statement that needed to be confirmed. A question that for the first time someone other than herself had asked her to answer. A question that when she had realized it for the first time, she had felt dread and denied the answer with all her might. Because there was no way she could fall to a person that would kill someone without a second thought, someone that showed nothing but cold and stiff expression, someone that would not hesitate to kill her if just in a slightest he thought that she threatened the existence of the Shinsengumi…. Someone that didn't care or like or love her at all!

But also, a question that for the first time made her look beyond the man that he showed and what other people believed him to be. Beyond that cold and stiff exterior. Beyond that oni demeanor. Beyond the vice commander of the Shinsengumi…. In which she found the very man that she had fallen in love with. Behind the persona that he always exuded for the exterior, the other side of him, his inside persona had made her heart flutter like no other man had. A question that she could answer in only one way to the demon princess.

"Yes."

Sen knew that look. Even if she hadn't had the luxury to feel that way toward a man, she had seen it on some other people. A look of someone in love. Chizuru gave that look without any hesitation. And for that she felt sorry for her friend. Looks liked Chizuru had no idea at all, of what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into.

"When did this thing happen?"

Chizuru thought back to that night. For some reason, her body was getting a little bit hot. "It was at the same night when we met in Shimabara."

"Oh my…" Sen was lost for words.

"There was a man that pushed me to a room beside our room after I parted from you. And in that room, I found him drunk alone. Things happened and it escalated to something that led us to have a sexual intercourse." Her blushing face got redder. "Osen-chan…. I did that on my own decision. Even though I feel ashamed of what I've done, I would never forget that night. He made me…. a woman. It was as if he knew what he was doing and with whom he did that. My body never reacted like that night before. Only him that could make me feel that way. And because of that, I could accept my feeling that I love him.…

"I could feel it, that night was not just a night to satiate a need. We… We made love. I know that sounds absurd, with him not aware of the situation and who he had slept with. But…. When he gazed at me, in his drunken stupor, I could see that it wasn't only lust that reflected in his eyes. Even though I couldn't describe what I had seen, I could feel it. His caresses, his kisses…." Chizuru hugged herself to prevent herself from moaning at the memory of that night. "Osen-chan… I was loved that night. And I gave my love back to him with the same intention that I felt he gave to me." Tears had sprung to her eyes, overwhelmed by the feeling that slowly was too much for her to suppress. She looked hopelessly at Sen. "I...I…."

Sen hugged Chizuru. "I'm sorry. But I guess you could use a hug right now. Calm down Chizuru. Just pour out your feelings slowly. You must have bottled up this feeling without someone to talk to. I won't go anywhere until we finish this."

Chizuru placed her forehead on Sen's shoulder. "There's this feeling." Chizuru spoke again, slowly. She clutched her kimono in front of her chest. "I don't know why, but since that night I always want to be near him. The need to be near him and to be with him was almost too much to bear. A desire to be quenched. For the first month after that night, there was this weird and high tension in the compound that had made kind of a suffocating atmosphere. I knew that some of the captains felt that tension. And it didn't go away until sometime later." Chizuru lifted her head from the princess' shoulder. "And I knew that tension must be from the unquenched desire from my body. Each second it called for it to be satiated. I could suppress it for the most time. And maybe the tension had gone because somehow I could control my feelings.

"I barely can make it in this state. I don't know how I would cope if I have to separate from him. I know how dire the situation is and how it's imperative for me to leave. It's not I don't want to. But I can't." A lone tear escaped from her eyes. It had been a long time since she could pour out her heart, to share her feelings with someone else. Sen had offered to listen to her, and she used it to her heart's content. After all she really needed this talk.

Sen hugged Chizuru again and rubbed her back. Chizuru was confused about why she was feeling what she felt right now. Her friend was clueless of what situation she was in at the moment. Well, she was a kid when she got separated from her family. Her supposed father didn't give her what she needed to know regarding this situation. And if he was kind of hiding her heritage of being an oni, it was to be expected she guessed. Because no human had this kind of thing like what the oni had. She was the one that had to explain it to her friend. She heaved a sigh and pushed Chizuru to arm's length.

"Chizuru-chan. I have something to tell that would explain your situation and why you felt the feeling that you felt toward Hijikata." Sen spoke solemnly. "It's kind of a long explanation, so I need your focus in here. But first you need to calm yourself."

Chizuru nodded. She was regaining her composure. She breathed in and out, and after a few moments her breath was calm. "I'm all ears."

"Have you heard anything about Oni no Kizuna (Demon's Bond)?"

Chizuru dug in her memory and shook her head in the end.

"Oh, sorry, I forget that you don't remember any memory of you being a demon. Because Chizuru the cause that have make you feel that strong to be inclined toward Hijikata is this bond that you have unconsciously formed with Hijikata."

"I don't understand. What bond?" She looked confused and did not understand one bit of Sen's words.

"Chizuru-chan, you have created this bond when you slept with Hijikata." said Sen bluntly.

Chizuru blinked her eyes rapidly, still didn't understand what Sen told her meant. "Osen-chan, what kind of bond?"

"The bond that you have created is a bond that tied your soul. In this case, yours and Hijikata's. As an oni finding our partner is like a matter of life and death, because once you have bonded with your partner you can never annul or break this bond. And we perform that bond by having sexual intercourse; in other words you bond if you have sex with or, if you are fortunate enough, make love with your partner. We, the oni, can only bond once in our life. Even though our partner is dead, we can't make another bond because our soul has merged and will be together with our partner's forever.” explained Sen. “The weird atmosphere you told me before that lingered around this place previously was most likely because of the bond. Maybe it happened because the bond is incomplete, that it unconsciously made you and Hijikata called toward each other. You must feel like there's some strong urge to always be near him."

Chizuru remembered ‘the urge’ that Sen had mentioned. She absentmindedly nodded. Of course, she remembered what Sen referred to as the urge. How many times she almost lost to that urge and just went to Hijikata and threw herself toward him? The first time she felt that urge, she almost did what her body told her to. But being her clumsy self, she tripped herself and instead of Hijikata, she met with the hard, cold floor and got a nasty bump on her head. Fortunately, no one noticed her action. But she swore she had felt Hijikata gaze toward her before she plunged to the darkness, unconscious from the bump she got. Inoue told her later that Hijikata was the one that brought her to her room and until he arrived, Hijikata was the one that tended her injury. That was just one of the many urges that she had felt during the past months. It wasn't that she had been getting used to it, because the urge was as strong now as the first time she had felt it. She had learnt to control it, even though it would slip from time to time if she didn't focus enough.

"That urge won't go away unless you complete the bond. From what you told me of your story I can tell that you haven't completed the bond." Sen continued with her explanation.

"….What should I do for completing the bond, Osen-chan?"

"Don't worry. It isn't a hard thing to do. You just have to drink each other's blood while saying a vow to each other that you are bonded to each other."

"But… if we have to complete the bond, that means that I have to tell him that we are bonded to each other, and I have to tell him what happened that makes us bonded to each other." Chizuru bit her bottom lip hard and said her next sentence in a heavy tone. "I CAN’T do that,” said Chizuru adamantly. "….Osen-chan, I don't want his pity." She said in defeated tone. "I knew him, know him enough that he would try to take responsibility for what happened if he knows. That is one of his characteristics that has made me fall for him. His sense of justice is so strong. But in this case, it is also his flaw. Rather than tell him so that he will be forced to be together with me unwillingly, out of duty, it would be better that he doesn't know our situation at all."

Even though Chizuru said her confession in her defeated tone, Sen could hear there was some conviction behind her tone. Chizuru might look soft and weak. But she was one of the most stubborn people she had met. Within the short time that they had met and spent together, she could see that Chizuru had this stubborn streak. Not to mention that she also had the pride of an oni, that wouldn't like to be look down to and would rather die than someone took pity at her.

She was proud that Chizuru didn't lose her pride and dignity as an oni, but as a woman she was frustrated with Chizuru's decision.

"But Chizuru-chan. You would suffer for unknown time." Sen had heard stories of some oni that didn't complete their bond with their partner because of some dire or special situation. The agony and longing that Chizuru would feel was something that Sen didn't want her friend to feel later. It could push you to insanity because of the intense pressure of the incomplete bond. "I don't want to scare you, but this is not something that you should decide so easily. As I told you before, this is a matter of life and death. It can kill you if it isn't done in a right and complete way."

A pregnant silence stretched in the room. Neither of the two occupants had any idea of what they should do regarding the matter. It was Chizuru that broke the silence first.

"Osen-chan, I want to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

"Can you know if someone, an oni has bonded with another without that said oni telling you that they have bonded?"

Sen shook her head. "No. I would not know at first glance at you that somehow you have bonded with whoever, Chizuru-chan."

"Then Kazama will not know that I have bonded with someone else."

"No. The bond is a sacred thing that only the ones that have created it can feel."

Chizuru nodded and went silent again. For a moment, she was afraid that the other oni (Kazama) could know that she had bonded with Hijikata. Kazama was coming for her because of his intention of making her his bride. If he found out that she was no longer available to be his bride and it was because of someone that was his enemy… The scene would not be pretty, surely. A relief spread through her body after Sen told her that there was no way the other could know, oni or not, of the bond beside the two persons that had created it.

"Chizuru-chan, even though you could hold the urge and desire inside of you all this time, but you won't be able to hold it for much longer. You have to complete the bond as soon as possible."

"…No."

"Chizuru-chan!"

"No, I can't. At least for now, I can't. Give me time."

They were exchanging stares. One with determination, one observing. In the end, for the umpteenth time that night Sen heaved a sigh. "I hope that time won't be too long."

Chizuru gave a grateful smile to her friend.

"I guess asking you to leave from this place is out of the question now."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. It's your decision. And it can't be helped." Sen gave her a rueful smile while she shrugged her shoulders.

"Thank you, Osen-chan."

"No. Don't thank me. You just don't know what misery you have signed yourself into." Sen sounded defeated.

"No, I mean it. Thank you for listening to my situation."

The demon princess could feel the sincerity and gratitude from Chizuru's smile. While she still felt frustrated with Chizuru, she was happy that she somehow could help her.

"You're welcome, Chizuru-chan."

---

When the two female demons entered the common room again, all the captains greeted them with an anxious look. Discreetly, Sen gazed at Hijikata and analyzed his reaction when Chizuru told them that she would not be leaving the compound.

She could only sum up in one word what she saw reflected in his eyes.

Desire.

She didn't know if she should smile or feel sorry because the man himself was oblivious to the situation he had gotten himself into.

For Hijikata himself, relief beyond anything spread through his body when he heard that Chizuru would be still with them. With him. And he knew that the demon princess had stared at him when she had entered the room. Frankly he didn't want anything to do with her. And he didn't detect any bloodlust from the princess, so he just let the princess do whatever she wanted to do. It didn't do him any harm.

The other captains were happy that Chizuru would stay with the Shinsengumi. They were rushing to her side and promising to keep her safe.

"The Shinsengumi accepts responsibility for your well-being, Yukimura-kun," Kondou said in his warm tone.

"Just relax and leave it all to me!" said Nagakura while grinning.

"Glad to have you around," Harada said while patting her head.

"But I have to wonder, what kind of girl would want to stay with the Shinsengumi, huh?" Okita snide remark wasn't as mean as before. It just his way to show his concern.

And last, when she looked at him, the soft smile that she had seen a few times only, greeted her sight. "This doesn't make you some kind of special guest. You get the same treatment that you always have."

What Hijikata didn't say to Chizuru was that the treatment that she would get would be the same from anyone other than him. He swore to himself that Chizuru would be treated in his own special way from now on.

Chizuru bowed her body and said her thanks: "Thank you for letting me stay!"

Before Sen departed from the Shinsengumi's compound, she took Chizuru's hands in hers and let her eyes rest on Chizuru. "Do be careful. And remember, I am on your side. If there's anything that you would like for me to help with, you know what you should do. And Chizuru-chan, don't ever hesitate to seek for my help. After all we're friends, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are. Thank you, Osen-chan." Sen gave Chizuru one last warm smile, and then she and Kimigiku, the kunoichi, were gone.

---

After they had walked for some distance, the demon princess and her bodyguard stopped and turned their head to look back. Sen silently looked back at the place that they had just walked out from.

"Hime-sama?" Kimigiku could sense the unease from Sen.

Sen didn't acknowledge Kimigiku's call. She stared back for several minutes before facing the front and beginning to walk again.

"Let's go, Okiku."

And the kunoichi followed her mistress back to their village without another word.

'Ganbatte, Chizuru-chan.'

---

Three figures blanketed in dark shadow strode toward the Shinsengumi later that night, not long after Sen and Kimigiku left the compound. Two of them only accompanied the third figure to accomplish the goal that one figure had.

And no one could stop him from what he wanted. He always got what he wanted.

"Found you."

To be continued

Note: Okay, you get a glimpse that a figure will come and make some havoc inside the Shinsengumi. You DO know who is he and at how the story would turn into. But... This won't be a fanfic if I don't do something of what will happen for the next event.

For some reasons, this chapter was harder for me to write. Chizuru's feeling has been bottle up for so long that it's not easy to tell someone of her feelings. That's why she was beating the bush and go round about before telling Sen her story.

Hijikata has got his turned to share his thought with someone (Kondou) and that helped him with his feelings. I guess it's unfair that Chizuru didn't get to talk and share her bottle up feelings, isn't it? So here comes Sen, to the rescue! I always like the friendship between these two.

Stay tuned for the next update and see u on next chapter.

Jaa ne~

#hakuoki #fanfiction #angst #romance #yukimura chizuru #sen-hime #hijikata toshizo #shinsengumi's captain #chapter 9 #disclaimer: hakuoki is not mine #writing

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