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beyondspaceandstars · 4 years ago

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While You Sleep

Chapter 5

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: angst, mention of violence Summary: Soulmate!AU - Throughout life, you’re given glimpses of your soulmate through dreams. As you sleep, memories flash in your mind showing you the life your soulmate has lived. Everyone around you raves about how their soulmate reads great books or volunteers in their spare time. But you can’t relate as your dreams end up being more like nightmares. Through initial images of death and violence, you come to learn your soulmate is the Winter Soldier.

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You smoothed out your skirt for what felt like the millionth time as you stood in front of your bedroom mirror, nervously staring at yourself. You felt fine in your knee-length dress and flats but did you...feel fine? That was still very much up for debate.

If anything, you were feeling overwhelmed. Few days after confronting Steve, he told you that he and some of the other team members would be getting together for a little dinner. He said Bucky had planned to join them and thought this would make for a good chance to introduce you two to one another.

At first, you eagerly agreed and Steve looked relieved as he shared with you the restaurant and time. But then as the days went by and you were now just minutes away from coming face-to-face with your soulmate, you were downright terrified.

Steve said Bucky knew a bit about you, including an idea of what you looked like, but what if he just... didn’t want any part of this. Steve never explicitly said Bucky wanted to meet you, just that he could arrange it, so why would you assume a man who had been weaponized and brainwashed wanted to waste time on you?

You shook your head, trying to actually shake the thoughts. You had invested too much here to back out. Those thoughts of love and hope were suddenly abandoning you the more you stood there so you knew you had to kick your own ass into gear.

Smoothing out your dress and putting the final touches on your lipstick, you slung your purse over your body and pulled up the restaurant directions on your phone. There was no more time to even consider another bad thought as you began walking to the place.

This was bold of you, sure, but you had to remind yourself you wanted this. You wanted to finally sit across from the man who felt you knew - or at least a part of him you knew. He wasn’t like that anymore, Steve had told you, and you believed him. There was nothing you could pinpoint saying this man was attacking anyone with knives recently. That eased some concerns but still didn’t tell you that he would want this.

When you finally made it to the restaurant, you stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the sign. It was a nice place. Not overly fancy but still pretty hip and the reviews sounded nice online.

So, yeah, you were at the right place, you could confirm from your phone, but the device only got you so far. No one could direct you to actually walk in.

You averted your eyes to the door and that's when you saw motion coming from inside the restaurant. Your eyes flicked over, seeing Steve waving at you from inside the lobby. You gave a small smile, forcing any more concerns down your throat, and took the steps to enter.

Steve greeted you with a big hello as you were putting your phone away and tugging at the end of your dress.

“Hi, Steve,” you smiled as he gave you a brief hug, probably practically feeling how you were shaking but he didn’t say anything about it and instead motioned towards the dining area.

“The table is just right around the corner from here,” Steve said, a hint of hope sparked in his eyes and that made you feel warm, but the anxiousness wasn’t fading. You nodded in acknowledgment and waited for him to lead you but he just stood there, staring at the doorway.

He wanted you to enter first. The realization made your heart plummet but you didn't want to say anything and instead, you just simply put one foot in front of the other. Like baby steps, cautiously and careful, you gripped your bag tightly as you made your way through the arched frame into the dining area.

Turning the corner, you were abruptly greeted by one James Buchanan Barnes sitting at a table… for two. Two? This wasn’t some group dinner, you quickly realized. Steve had set you up.

Bucky was staring at the menu intensely, as if nervous to even think about the items. His hair slightly covered his face but you could still make out the unsureness radiating from him.

He hadn’t seemed to notice you yet despite your blatant staring. You were frozen in your path, that slight confidence flying out the window as the emotions and worries came back to you. You were so close to him. It was so much stronger than that news program on the coffee shop televisions.

In your irrational panic, you went to turn around, wanting to make a beeline for the entrance. But you didn’t get anywhere. Steve stopped you, putting his hands on your shoulders. He looked down at you, concerned.

“I-I don’t think… I don’t think I can-,”

“Steve, is something wrong?” Bucky’s voice suddenly cut through the space. His voice was just as rough and warm as you had thought it’d be, filling your heart with some form of desire. But you couldn’t turn around. Not yet.

Steve just gave you a nod before looking over your shoulder. “Nope, everything’s fine, Buck,” Steve called back to his friend. “There’s just someone I want you to meet.”

“Steve!” you went to protest but he just grabbed your arm, and turned you to face Bucky. What came over the room when your eyes met was indescribable.

He felt so familiar yet so far away as his eyes bore into yours, jaw slightly slack in surprise. You two took each other in. You thought you’d be scared, fearful of him, but it was the complete opposite. You felt warmth and comfort. You didn’t see an assassin sitting in that chair. You saw Bucky: a man who had been through the wringer and fighting to regain something in this world. You wanted to engulf him, do something to express yourself, but you were still stuck.

“Steve, what…” Bucky began, still wide-eyed, practically gaping at the sight of you. The shock was something you could definitely relate to at the moment.

Steve stepped around you, still off to the side but now between you and Bucky. “Bucky, this is-,”

“It’s her.”

You didn’t think your heart could drop anymore but his words proved you wrong. Your ears were pounding in anticipation, worry, uncertainty… You couldn’t believe you were still standing there like a starstruck idiot.

Steve just nodded, glancing between your two stunned expressions. A bit of a smile played at his lips as if proud. You just hoped his celebration wasn’t too premature. “It is her,” he confirmed, turning to Bucky. “I invited her for dinner.”

Bucky cocked his head, unsure. “I thought we were having dinner.”

“Sorry, Buck,” Steve chuckled. “I thought maybe you two could take some time to meet and maybe chat for a bit.”

You didn’t know what to do. You were pretty much planning for the inevitable rejection. Of course, Bucky wouldn’t want that. He had thought he was getting dinner with Steve and now you were standing there, looking like a sad puppy. You wanted to run-

“I-I’m sorry,” Bucky’s voice broke you out of your daze. He had said something briefly to Steve, which you missed in your mental panic, but now his attention was solely on you. You thought the next words were going to be him asking you to leave but then Bucky continued, “I’m being rude. Gosh, the last person I should be rude to… Please, sit down.” He motioned towards the seat across from him. His tone had turned panicked and uncertain when speaking to you. He was nervous.

You gave a quick glance at Steve who just nodded, still looking quite prideful. You turned back to Bucky and gave a little smile. He hesitantly returned it as you took the seat at the table.

You don’t think your posture had even been so immaculate as you sat there, stiff and unsure of the situation. He was here. He was really here.

And he couldn’t take his eyes off you. Bucky watched your movements intensely as if analyzing you. You shifted under his gaze, turning your eyes to the menu in front of your seat. You weren’t registering any of the words, too consumed by Bucky’s fixation.

“Thank you,” you said, gently, referring to the seat offer but Bucky didn’t seem to register it as he gave no acknowledgment.

“Well, then,” Steve began, clapping his hands together, once again like a proud father. “I’ll let you two converse. I’ll be in the area and don’t worry about dinner, it’s on me.” His smile was so wide and hopeful, glancing between you two sitting at the table. All you could do was muster a small nod. Bucky just gave him a questioning side glance. But Steve didn’t say anymore, just abruptly left. Your heart stirred as everything really settled in. This was happening. This was your night.

“So,” Bucky broke the silence but his eyes were thankfully off of you and trained on the restaurant menu once more. “Do you know what’s good here?”

You stifled a laugh at his charming attempt to make somewhat of a light conversation. You touched the menu gently, finally actually reading the words of the page.

You shrugged, “I’ve never been here before.”

“Me either,” he responded. “But that was probably expected.”

His joke was ridiculous, but it did something for you to loosen up just a little bit. You didn’t know if he was the kind to just hide his emotions in banter but it ultimately didn’t totally matter right now. It was working on you.

You looked down at the list of entrees. “Well, you can’t go wrong with chicken fingers. I don’t think any restaurant can mess that up.”

Bucky gave a breathy chuckle. “Chicken fingers?” His eyes were suddenly back on you. You dove into the menu again.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “You know, the crispy strips of chicken, usually paired with-,”

“Fries,” Bucky finished your sentence. He gave a small smile. “Yeah, I know what chicken fingers are.”

“Oh, well,” you gulped, feeling your face getting warm under his attention. “I just wasn’t sure-,”

“If I had had them before?” He did it again, finishing your sentence. Was this going to always be a thing? Well, at least you were just glad he was talking. He really wasn’t like anything you had seen in the nightmares, minus the long hair. “Well, we didn’t have them back in the day but I have gotten a bit… acquainted with this world.”

Now it was your turn to return the small smile. You had finally gotten some courage to take some peeks at Bucky and still, you felt… comfortable. It felt right sitting like this, making light talk, hearing him talk about “back in the day” and all that so naturally. Were your visions correct? Was this actually the guy who did all those things that had tormented you? Or… It was exactly as Steve had said. That was all the past and this was the healing.

A waitress broke the silence between you two, asking what you would like to drink. You both opted for water, an uneasiness at the table of deciding what is actually appropriate to order on a date.

The silence returned as you two waited. Meals had been mentally decided on so now you were left to just let your eyes wander around the place. It was chic, as predicted. The seating area was nice with minimal decorations. There were little fake candles on the table.

“I’m sorry about Steve,” Bucky’s voice pulled you out of your gazing. Your eyes snapped back to him, confused.

“Why?” You frowned. “Is- Is something wrong?”

Bucky looked a bit panicked at that question. “No, no,” he shook his head. “He just sprung this on us and I’m sorry if you… if you don’t want to be here.”

You scoffed, a little smile playing at your lips. “I actually sort of asked him to help us meet.”

“Y-you did?”

Shrugging, you said, “Well, I didn’t think this was how he was going to do it,” you paused as the waitress set the glasses of ice water in front of you two. “But, yeah, I asked him to see what he could do.”

Bucky gave a little nod then looked away as if pondering your little revelation. Your heart sank as he went quiet again. Maybe you had said too much, came on too strong.

“How do you know Steve?”

Now that was a brow-raising question for you. You hadn’t thought about that when the confession slipped out. You were suddenly hit with the realization that Bucky wasn’t exactly aware of a certain super-soldier’s presence in the coffee shop. Steve had said he knew you worked in a shop and that really was all, it seemed. But you were going to play it a little dumb, unsure of how much Bucky needed to know about your correspondence with Steve.

“Steve’s a regular customer at the coffee shop I work at and we get to talking sometimes.”

Casual. You kept it nice and casual. But before you could give yourself a pat on the back, you noticed that Bucky’s expression still looked...confused.

“A regular?” He hummed. “He knew about you for a while then, didn’t he?”

Your heart dropped. Lies fumbled off your tongue. “I-I don’t know-,”

Bucky shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m making you uncomfortable. You certainly aren’t here to discuss Steve.”

You gave a weak smile, unsure of really how to respond. There was an interesting unspoken dialogue about how neither of you really knew what you were getting out of this. Thankfully, before you needed to come up with something to carry on the specific topic, the waitress stopped by to take your food orders. Bucky decided on a burger, completely avoiding your chicken finger suggestion (fair enough, you thought), while you just got a salad. Almost cliche, really.

The silence came back but you grabbed at it, taking it as a time to branch out into a new conversation.

“You know I didn’t even realize who you were until like a week ago?” You chuckled. “It feels like the silliest thing.”

Bucky shot you an interested smirk, suddenly making you aware of the attention on you as the distraction of the restaurant menu was absent. “How did you put it all together?” He asked. “Were the dreams not helpful?”

You could feel your heart rate pick up at the mention of the dreams. Your fingers started fiddling with one another. Your foot tapped lightly. The super-soldier across from you seemed to register your actions -- oh, of course, he did. The man had sense turned up to eleven. You tried collecting yourself quickly, avoiding raising any alarms.

You shook your head, maybe a bit furiously. “I saw a news report on you one day at work.”

Bucky sighed, sounding a bit annoyed. He chose to ignore your sudden tense state. “I’m sure they had a lot of great things to say.”

You frowned. “I don’t know, really. I didn’t pay much attention. I did my own research, actually.”

“Research? The dreams didn’t give you anything about me?”

There was that gosh darn word again. The dreams. It wasn’t dreams, it never fucking was. But you couldn’t tell him that. God knows how he would react. Thankfully, this time you could reign it in a little, not totally freaking out as the emotions and images came spitting back.

“Not really,” you said, softly. At least you weren’t totally lying. “They were kind of… blurry. A bit of a mess. But once I saw your picture on the television it all just clicked.”

He had the softest smile now playing at his lips. “That’s how it felt for me seeing you standing at the table earlier.” A beat. “But your beauty is what really knocked me over.”

Your heart practically melted into a giant pool within you. Warmth spread over as you took in his words, letting the soulmate attachment just encompass everything. You could feel his care for you suddenly. The moment was nearly a familiar overwhelming but for once, in the best way.

“I have to admit you’re not so bad yourself,” you smiled. “Look like you haven’t aged a day from the picture I saw of you in your uniform.”

Bucky chuckled -- a real, soft chuckle. You nearly missed it but it made you perk up a bit.

“Low blow, doll.”

“Too soon?” You didn’t know where this sassy, dry banter was coming from you but it felt right. Everything was starting to feel like this world was expecting this sort of conversation and you could be your whole self. Not the anxious, fumbling mess from earlier.

“I’ll allow it because you’re you.” His eyes were glimmering with tease, that little smirk still on his lovely lips. The humor came so naturally, you were surprised.

“Because I’m me?”

He nodded. “I can’t say the word. It doesn’t feel real. You don’t feel real.”

A light pause settled over the table. You took it in and a breath.

“Soulmate, Bucky.” The words rolled off your tongue softly. “I’m your soulmate and I’m very much real.”

***

The rest of the dinner had gone on with a breeze, amazingly. You two even opted for some dessert, extending the date just the tiniest bit. The conversation could be a little jagged at times as you danced around some questions about the “dreams” but really, Bucky was happy to just discuss you and your life.

Having overstayed your welcome at the restaurant, Bucky offered to walk you home which just filled your heart. The little acts of chivalry didn’t go unnoticed by you and they were all exactly what you wanted.

When you two arrived at your apartment building, you halted outside the entry door. You turned to Bucky but he spoke first.

“Thank you for staying for dinner tonight.”

You cocked your head, confused. “Well, of course.”

He shook his head. “No, I mean… I could tell you wanted to turn away and maybe you would’ve if Steve wasn’t there but you gave it a chance. You gave me a chance. Even if it was just one dinner, it was nice.”

You felt almost sad at his words. You didn’t mean to come off so hesitant but it was scary. You still couldn’t get over how the things you had seen were not adding up to the man you had just spent your evening with. You were glad the worries were eased slightly but the memories of the nightmares weren’t vanishing so quickly

Before you could think twice, you took Bucky’s hand in yours. He jumped a little at the action but didn’t pull away.

“I had the most wonderful time with you, Bucky.”

***

You made your way into your apartment after bidding Bucky a good night. Brief plans had been made to see each other again but nothing was concrete yet. You were actually anxious to get it down, though, hoping that seeing him would be a regular thing.

You let your thoughts lull you to sleep after you crawled into bed pretty, exhausted from the roller coast of a night. Shockingly, the nightmares were an afterthought as you closed your eyes.

The visions in your dream world started off intense. There were peaks of knives throwing and bombs going off in the distance. Panic had just begun filling you when out of nowhere, it all stopped. There was suddenly absolutely nothing. No feelings, no images. It was a blank slate.

And then Bucky came back into your mind -- except, it wasn’t that Bucky. It was the Bucky you had seen tonight. He was in what appeared to be his bedroom, looking fairly comfortable sitting on the bed, consumed by a book.

You took in parts of the scene. From his pajama pants to the way he had no problem cracking the spine of a book. Something new was coming over you now and, for the first time, it was the feeling of happiness.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Bucky Barnes Series Taglist:

@reichelhache @bella-bear03 @rvgrsbrns @thebadassbitchqueen @libraries-and-coffee @adoringanakin @heartbeats-wildly @japzalileo @aayaissaa @takemedancingmaine @bahama-mama-llama

p.s. sorry about the taglist right now - haven’t had time to update it but will get on it in a bit!

#bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes angst #marvel fanfiction #marvel #mcu #mcu fic #fanfic #fanfiction #the winter soldier #soulmate au #writing*#fluff #slow burn #angst

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monaownsmyass · 4 years ago

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New Perspective

If you have any fic ideas or requests you'd like me to write, you can leave me an ask!

Book: My Two First Loves, Chapter 51

Pairing: Ava Lawrence x MC (Emma Price)

Genre : Fluff

Rating: PG13

Word Count: 4,511

A/N: What would’ve happened if MC went college touring with Ava in Ava’s PoV. A certain couple also makes an appearance and gives Ava some advice 😉

Tag list: @ineedskyecrandall @kamilahsayeet2063 @avalawrencefl @lovekamilahsayeed @thequeenkamilahsayeed @heygmicheelle @djtjsmith14 @jjlover01 @soft-for-drake (lmk if anyone would like to be included or removed in my next fics.)

I stopped outside Emma's house by her driveway and honked. I knew she saw me 'cuz she was sitting on her porch steps but I still did it anyway.

"Get in, loser! We're going college hunting!"

She looked down and shook her head as she made her way to my car but I saw that smile on her lips.

She opened the passenger's side door and got in. She closed it before she looked at me and said, "For the record, that was highly unnecessary."

"For the record, where's the fun in not doing it?"

She rolled her eyes but I knew she was the complete opposite of annoyed.

When I first asked her if she wanted to go college touring with me, I was hesitant. It took me the whole day to decide whether or not I should've sent that message. Eventually, I thought 'Screw it!' and hit the send button. Instant regret flooded me as soon as I did and I left my phone unattended for the next few hours, dreading to see what her reply was.

It normally wouldn't have been such a big deal. She was my best friend after all. However, after that day when Mackenzie asked us to model for her, things became... awkward. It wasn't a bad awkward but we became kinda nervous around each other. I thought back to the day where I figured out that maybe, the girl I was crushing on, my best friend, had a crush on me too.

"I wanna capture the real you," I remember Mack saying vividly. You two have been friends forever! You gotta be able to come up with something!"

"Well, in that case..." Emma glanced at Mack and then at me. Just being under her gaze was enough to make me lose my train of thought. "Ava, come sit on my lap!"

My eyes widened but I caught myself, not wanting to be obvious. I cleared my throat and decided to tease her back. I smirked and placed my hand on my hip.

"Should I give you a lap dance while I'm at it?"

I did not expect the next words to come out of Emma's mouth.

"I mean, if you think it'll look good for the cameras..." she flirted back, speaking low in an enticing voice.

My breath hitched. It's not as if we haven't flirted before, we definitely have. Platonically flirting with each other was something we've always done. But this wasn't it. It felt more than that, it wasn't friendly at all. I could feel the tension between us as she looked me straight in the eye. Her eyes burnt into mine and I could see the want in them.

Any longer and I would've passed out.

I shook myself out of my daze and I sauntered up to her. The show must go on anyway. I wrapped my arms around her neck and painstakingly slowly slid myself down onto her lap, my entire body brushing against hers. The friction between us felt electric on my skin.

I was breathless at the close contact but I managed to ask, "How's this?"

"Great!" Emma squeaked out in a high-pitched voice.

Oh?

Just a few seconds ago she was making come-hither eyes at me and was acting all confident. Now she was a blushing, stuttering mess. This wasn't just two friends playing around, was it? The excitement I felt and the way she squirmed in her seat told me otherwise.

"So feisty, I dig it!" Mackenzie called from behind the camera. I almost totally forgot that Emma's little sister was photographing us. But I wasn't done yet.

My heart was pounding so hard in my chest but I had to know if I made Emma nervous the same way she did me, butterflies in stomach and all that.

I brushed my fingers lightly against the side of her face, stroking her soft skin before placing a gentle kiss. I brushed my lips against her cheek and saw her eyes widen and mouth opened, agape.

I felt her tense under me and hesitantly let her hand rest around my waist.

I could feel the heat radiating off her body and I was sure she could feel the same coming from me.

I leaned in close to her ear, my breath skimming her earlobe and whispered, "Relax." I felt her shudder and saw goosebumps appear on her skin.

Interesting.

"Perfect! I got it!" Mackenzie announced, causing me to spring apart from Emma.

"Oh!" Emma said, flustered. "Good, good."

After that situation, we kinda avoided each other a little. Don't get me wrong, we didn't go out of our way to not talk or see each other, but we didn't make the effort to do reach out either which is very unlike us.

A week later was when I decided to invite her to join me in college touring. I missed her and I knew ignoring whatever that was going on between us wasn't gonna help the situation either. I admit that part of me had asked her to follow me in the hopes that we could finally talk about it. Which explains why I was so nervous went I sent her that text.

To my great relief, she responded with a very enthusiastic, 'I'd love to!' when I checked my phone much later that day.

And here we are now, me in the driver's seat and her in the passenger's of my sedan, blasting music and on the way to some college. I glanced at her to find her already looking at me. Instinctively, she averted her gaze but just as quickly, she looked back at me. I guess she figured there was no point hiding.

"What?" I questioned with a smile, eyes back on the road.

"Nothing," she paused. "I just feel like I haven't seen you in a while."

"We see each other everyday."

"I know, smartass," she responded, laughing. "I mean, I feel like I haven't actually seen you for a while. How are you?"

The statement brought heat to my cheeks and I didn't need to look at her to know her eyes were piercing through my soul, wanting to know if there was truth behind the words that would pass my lips.

"I'm good." And it was true. Now that she was here, I've never felt better.

We made it to the first place on our list, Hartfeld University, which was also the school Emma was aiming for. We looked around together and I noticed that she was particularly interested in a cinematography course that was definitely perfect for her.

As we explore the campus, I could see her eyes light up and I knew she was exactly where she was suppose to be. I was happy for her but I couldn't help but feel a little jealous and insecure about my own future. I was so unsure and uncertain about what I wanted to do it made me anxious.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Emma asked me quietly as we walked through the courtyard.

"Hm?"

"You seem kinda spaced out. What's up?"

"Ugh," I sighed. "It's gonna sound stupid but I just realised how in over my head I am about this whole college thing!"

"It's not stupid, it's normal."

"Maybe, but god, I'm already uncertain about the present, how am I suppose to know what I wanna do in the future?"

Opening up to Emma had always been easy. She was a calming presence and whenever she was around me, I felt at ease.

She slowed down beside me and gazed at me. Once again, I felt nervous. "Uncertain about the present?" My palms sweated up as she spoke her next words. "What do you mean?" she asked even though I knew she knew exactly what I meant.

This was the moment I was waiting for, right? To finally confront my feelings about her and confirm hers. To finally have a talk about us. But I didn't. It was the main reason I asked her to tag along but yet, I wasn't ready. And to be honest, I'm not sure if I ever was gonna be ready.

"It's okay," I said. "If you're done here let's head on to the next uni."

"Okay," she uttered. I could sense the disappointment, as if she wanted me to share more. As if she was hoping I was gonna bring it up.

I ignored it and drove to the next place on out list.

After a few more stops, we finally made it the uni of my top pick; Belvoire University.

We made our way around the campus and looking at all the students there made me feel intimidated but having Emma by my side grounded me. I found myself wondering how on earth I could've ever felt awkward around her over the past week. She was my calm in the storm and I definitely would've been having a panic attack without her.

But then I felt her hand graze against mine as we walked and I suddenly remembered why. As much as she calmed my thoughts, she was also the cause of it to go into overdrive.

My initial instinct was to move away and brush it off as an accident but with everything that had happened between us lately, could it have been intentional? My mind raced. I may not have been ready to talk about it but that didn't mean I couldn’t act on it and test the waters.

Steeling myself, I decided to take the leap of faith. I sucked in a breath and let my hand brush against hers, as light as a feather. I felt her hand stiffen and for a moment, I thought I misread the entire situation and made a mistake. Our friendship has been put through the wringer and I don't think I could take it if anything else happened.

But something did happen. Something that would change our relationship as we knew.

She reached out and held my hand.

This action may seem small but it was the hugest thing to me. We've never held hands before and it felt strangely intimate. Maybe it was because I've never held hands with a girl, let alone a girl I liked, but the contact sent a jolt up my arm and through the rest of my body.

I turned my head to Emma's direction to find a small grin playing on her lips. I glanced down at our intertwined hands. My heart fluttered and I felt myself smiling at the sight.

So this is what it feels like.

We continued to walk down the pathway in comfortable silence, arms swinging slightly by our sides with our hands still in each other's. The soft hand in mine felt nothing like the rough ones I was used to. It was different. A good different. A better different.

Eventually, we came to a point where we decided to part ways to explore on our own since we wanted to check out different things. Emma's hand slipped out of mine and I ached to grab it and never let her go. But I stopped myself and watched her leave my side, waving me a goodbye.

"We'll meet back here when we're done, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded, trying to mask the disappointment and anxiety I felt without her by my side in a foreign place despite finally feeling like I could be myself here.

Gripping the pamphlet in my hand, I strode to one of the buildings but almost immediately realised I had no clue where I was going. I looked around, trying to decide who I should ask for help. I saw a bunch of rowdy frats boys and snobbish sorority girls and made the subconscious decision to steer clear of them.

I peered around more and my eyes landed on two girls sitting by a picnic table by themselves. They were giggling with their arms around each other. They looked like they were in a world of their own even though there were plenty of people around them. Something about them drew me towards them. Before I could think about it, my feet led me to their direction.

"Uh, hi!" I interrupted, announcing my presence to the,. Both heads turned to look at me. "Sorry to intrude, but I was wondering if you could help me?"

"Sure thing! What can we do for ya?" replied one of the girls with a slight country twang.

"Well, I'm touring the university and I think I'm a little lost," I chuckled nervously.

"Oh, babe," the other girl in a pineapple jacket said to me sympathetically.

'Babe?' I thought, feeling myself blush. I knew it was friendly but being called that by someone pretty was bound to have that effect on anyone.

"Forget the touring, if you want to survive Belvoire, you gotta know how things are run here."

That piqued my interest.

"What do you mean?"

Both girls just looked at each other.

"You might want to take a seat for this one."

I did and they explained all the essentials I needed to know. By the time they were done, I was pretty sure I was staring at them in disbelief.

"Oh," was all I could say in response.

"Yeah, Belvoire isn't for the faint of heart," explained the girl with the accent. "I swear the only reason I'm still here is 'cuz of this amazing woman right here." She nudged the girl beside her and smiled.

"You give me too much credit, darling."

They leaned in and kissed each other. When they pulled back, they stared into each other's eyes, smiling softly at the other. They looked so in love. I wondered if I could ever have that. Not only being crazy in love with someone who felt the same way towards me but being comfortable and confident enough to show that love off to the world.

I may have been staring too long and hard at them even though I was lost in my thoughts 'cuz one of them asked, "what's wrong?", breaking my reverie.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "You guys are just cute together."

"Tell us something we don't know," joked the girl in pineapples and I laughed along but then she added, "So who's the girl?"

I froze. "Wh-what?"

"I was once where you are at one point in time. I know that look. And I know that you're dying to talk to someone about it so c'mon, you can tell us."

I sighed. There was no point denying it.

"My best friend," I muttered and hid my face behind my hands. "Who also likes these two other guys."

"Oh, babe," she said again.

"I know. I know, but I can't help it, she just feels... right. Like we were made for each other." I slapped my palm against my forehead at my words. "That sounded pretty cheesy, huh?"

"A little," the other girl giggled. "But trust me, if it's true, it's true." She took her girlfriend's hand and kissed it.

"Okay, cheeseballs, let's get back on topic." Pineapple Girl said but she was grinning. "Do you know if she likes you back?"

I scrunched my brows. "I think so? I mean, I can’t say for sure but I do have a strong feeling she might."

"Here's my advice. Just go for it. Even if ya think you have the slimmest chance, just go ahead and try your luck," said Country Girl. "And that goes for anything in life."

"But we've been friends for years, and I don't want to screw it up if things go south."

"But could you live with yourself if you never tried?" asked Pineapple Girl. "Could you settle for good if you knew you had the chance to make it better? Every stroke a painter does could risk their masterpiece but it's also another step closer to creating something beautiful, so go create something beautiful.

"Okay, Plato, when did you become so philosophical and wise," her girlfriend teased.

"You still have a lot to learn about me, love."

"Looking forward to it."

They continued their flirty banter but their words stuck with me and struck something within me, which made me ponder. Would I risk our friendship for something greater? Could I?

"I may have another problem," I interrupted. "I'm not exactly out. To anyone."

"Not the most progressive place you live in?" asked Country Girl.

I snorted. "You could say that."

"All I have to say is people will surprise ya."

"I'm just scared people will start treating me differently and stop talking to me."

"They aren't worth your time anyway, then. But I grew up in the Midwest and maybe I was lucky, but I definitely didn't have it as bad as I thought I would. I'm not saying you should come out if ya don't want to, but if you're ready, I suggest giving people a chance."

"Hey, worse come to worst, you're leaving for college soon anyway, so it would be the perfect place to start over," Pineapple Girl joked. "Belvoire might be a hellhole at times but our sexuality isn't a grievance here."

Listening to them made me see things in a new light. Maybe I was ready to deal with the feelings between Emma and I. I looked around and saw all the college students minding their own business and realised I had no reason to be intimidated. They didn't bother that I was some high school kid. They just didn't care.

And usually, I'd be extremely cautious about my every action, not wanting to give away the fact that I was not as straight as everyone back home thought. That I was gay, a lesbian. But being here, with Emma, when I was holding her hand, that wariness faded and I felt like I could finally breathe easy again.

Just then, I spotted a familiar figure making her way towards us. Even in a place full of eccentric people with unique personalities like Belvoire, she still shined the brightest. Like a diamond in the rough, a rose among thorns. And I was proud that I got to call her my best friend. My first love.

"Hi!" she greeted me with a smile. "I was wondering where you went."

"Hey, how was touring?" I asked, gesturing her to sit beside me.

"So boring without you." She pouted and grabbed onto my arm. My skin under her palm tingled. "But the people here are definitely... interesting though."

"You can say that again," Country Girl said with a laugh.

"Oh, right," I said, forgetting that we were in company. "Emma, these are-" I paused and turned my attention towards them. "Sorry, I don't think I caught your names."

They laughed and Pineapple Girl introduced her and her girlfriend.

"I'm Zoey and this lovely woman right here, is Bea."

"I'm Ava, by the way."

Emma also gave them a little wave and a smile to be polite.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Ava, Emma." She checked her phone and looked up to address me again. "As much fun as it was talking to you, Bea and I have somewhere we need to be soon."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to take up that much of your time."

"It's fine, babe." At the mention of the pet name, I felt Emma beside me tighten her grip that was on my arm. I raised a brow. Was she jealous? "It was nice talking to you."

Emma and I moved to get up and Emma was a few paces in front of me when Zoey called out to me.

"Ava, hold on just a moment."

I turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"She likes you too, I can tell."

Bea butted in, teasing. "Zoey would know, right, bestie?"

Zoey rolled her eyes but pulled her girlfriend in closer to her to give her a side hug.

I caught up to Emma and we made our way back to my sedan.

So I wasn't just imagining thing.

It was gonna be sundown soon but I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Emma just yet. It's been hours but I still have yet to do the thing I mainly invited her for. And as if she read my mind, she spoke up.

"Where to next?"

I looked at her, confused. "Um, home?"

"Oh," she said softly.

"Unless," I quickly interjected. "You want to do something else? Before I send you back?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw her bite her lip and give a tiny nod. "I don't want to say good bye to you yet."

My heart did a flip at her words and at the tone of her shy voice.

"Me too," I admitted and saw smile. "Alright, I know exactly where to take you."

I drove us to an open field that was seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I parked alongside a few other cars and Emma glanced around. She took in the sight of the other cars and then noticed the big screen in front of us.

"We're at a drive-in theatre?!" She asked, shouting.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to check this place out ever since I heard about it. And since it's on the way and I know you've always wanted to go to one so I thought why not."

She stared at me, speechless.

"Unless this was a complete mistake and you want to go somewhere else then it's-"

"No! No, nothing like that!" She cut me of as she lunged towards me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Thank you!"

"Oh!" I returned her hug, resting my arms around her waist while chuckling. "You're welcome."

She squeezed me tighter before pulling back to her side again. I could feel myself blush furiously even minutes later. We talked for a bit before the movie started playing.

It was hard to focus on the film playing on the giant screen in front of us when beside me was the most gorgeous girl I knew. Her hand rested beside mine in between us.

My eyes may have been directed straight ahead but I was hyperaware of the tiny gap separating our fingers. Any closer and it would touch.

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long to see what would happen next. Emma's pinky brushed against mine and I averted my gaze down towards our hands. That simple gesture was a dare, a taunt. 'Come on, do it'. Ironically, it was also all the encouragement I needed.

I hooked my pinky around hers, waiting for her to pull back but she didn't. Slowly, I placed my hand on top of hers and gently squeezed. She took the next initiative to finally turn her hand so her palm met mine as our fingers interlaced.

I sighed, letting out a shaky breath which caught her attention. Her eyes shot in my direction and that action caused me to do the same to her. Her gaze glanced down at our interlocked hands and immediately back up to my eyes. She stared at me as I stared at her, the movie long forgotten. I could see the flame in her eyes as they bore into mine.

And in that moment, there was nothing in the entire universe I wanted more than to just kiss her.

I found myself leaning forward and maybe it was too dark to tell, but I was certain I saw her do the same.

I stopped myself before moving any further. My brows furrowed even as my eyes searched her pretty brown ones. Was I willing to risk our friendship? What we had was good. I thought back to Zoey's words. It was good. But it could be better. And I sure as hell would rather try than remain wondering what could've been.

"Ava," she drew out just above a whisper.

Maybe I wasn't ready to talk about it, I don't know when I'll ever be. But action speaks louder than words and I wanted to be as loud as possible. I was tired of pretending and hiding and I didn't want to wait any longer.

I held the back of her neck and crashed our lips together. The instant our lips met, I melted into a sigh. If I thought feeling her body pressed against mine was electric, the way her lips felt on mine was explosive.

I was invigorated from the way her lips moved on mine, exhilarated from the way her hands grasped onto my shirt, intoxicated from the way the scent of her perfume fogged my sense. Energy surged through my body and chills ran up my spine.

If this is what kissing was supposed to feel like I never wanted it to end.

Her hands left my shirt to travel down my arms and then to the small of my back. Her touch even through my clothes was making me heady. She bit my lip and that's when I lost it.

"Oh, Em!" I moaned into the kiss, unable to help myself.

The sound seemed to push her further. Never breaking the kiss, she got up from her seat to cross over to mine. She straddled my lap and locked her arms around my neck. My hands gripped her hips in response.

My body burnt as we kept kissing. She was driving me crazy.

"God, Ava," she groaned softly which ignited a fire within me. "You're amazing."

"Mm," I hummed in acknowledgement as my hands trailed to her thighs, giving them a squeeze.

The kiss was slow and intense. It was emotional and personal. I could sense that she was as eager as I was but we kept our pace, taking our time and enjoying the feel of the other against our own until we finally broke apart.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for that," I panted, my arms encircling her waist to pull her closer into me.

She giggled and gave me a kiss on the forehead. She still had her arms around my neck as she brought my head to her chest and rested hers on top of mine. I could feel her heart beat going a mile a minute. "I have some idea."

She pulled away to look at me.

"What?" I questioned, laughing.

"Earlier I told you I feel like I haven't actually seen you in a while. What I meant to say was that you are absolutely breathtaking and beautiful and awe-inspiring and I can't believe I'm lucky enough to be here with you."

I let out a huge grin at her confession.

"I feel the same way about you," I whispered before pulling her back into another kiss.

As we kissed, the only space that existed was us in my car. The movie playing, the other people, everything outside, it was all distant. It was all in the background. The only thing that mattered then was Emma and I in that moment and with every brush of our lips, we were creating something beautiful.

Together.

(More fics!)

~*~*~

Bonus scene!

“Zo!” I felt my girlfriend nudge me.

“Yeah, babe?” My eyes that were trained on the screen averted to look at her.

“Is that Ava over there?”

“The girl we met earlier?” I squinted in the direction she was pointing at. Despite it being dark, I could still recognise the face and figure shifting in the car parked a few spaces away from ours. “Oh! It is!”

“And she’s with Emma?”

We watched as they leaned in towards each other. After a short while, Ava grabbed the back of Emma’s neck and their lips connected!

“And now they’re kissing?”

I laughed and said, “She wasted no time with that. I’m proud of her.”

“They’re so cute,” Bea said with a smile, looking back to me.

“They are,” I agreed. “But so are we!”

She giggle and nodded. “Of course we are.”

I gave her a peck on the cheek before resting my head on her shoulder and enjoying the rest of the movie.

149 notes · View notes

fiction-in-my-blood · 4 years ago

Text

Switching Sides: Part 15 (HLITF)

if anyone possibly wants to get on a tag list I’d be happy to make one

👉@theshove 👈

👉@kamyru 👈

If you wanna catch up, Part 14 is right here! Happy reading :)

And I just want to thank everyone that’s been consistently reading this fic, I know it’s a slow burn but I think it’ll be worth it :D

Premise: Growing up in a life of crime in a Japanese mafia, Atsuko Motomori has seen enough injustice to last her a lifetime. To try and give back to the universe her family has taken so much from, she dreams of being a detective from a young age. Her twin, sharing her disgust for her father and many uncles, just wants an ordinary life away from the crime, paing and suffering. Instead, she wants to be in the spotlight with the soft notes she makes with her cello. In their escape of 2015, on their coming of age birthday, they must split ways, never to be together ever again. If one was found, they didn’t want the other dragged down with them. Atsuko, having changed her name and appearance as best she can without a scalpel, sets off to start her life of car chases and arrests.

Four years in a seemingly dead-end police station in the middle of nowhere, being passed over time after time for promotion, Atsuko finally gets a shot at her dream, having been sent to an academy for the best candidates in the country by her boss who had always kept an eye out for her. After discovering her boss may have made her bite off more than she could chew, Atsuko must become the slave of a dominating instructor!? Who so just happens to be the captain of the most famous police unit in Japan? Not to mention a total knockout! Will Atsuko finally achieve her dream? Or will her new instructor put her through the wringer?

Warnings: Language, Reference to sexual activity, Forceful nature, Abuse, Kidnapping, Torture.

~~~~~~

Early the next morning, I dressed in my loungewear to go to Juna's apartment. She had an outfit of her's waiting for me; I didn't own anything pink like the dress code she wanted. Grabbing a quick bite from the canteen and a coffee, as I have now remembered the difference between tea, I get the train to her apartment.

"Katsumi! You're here!" Juna bounced towards me, or as best she could under the weight of her almost grown baby, and stole the cake box I was balancing in one hand, holding my bag to my side with the other.

"Sorry I'm late, the metro was hectic." I sighed, kicking off my shoes as she shuffled back to the kitchen counter. There, I saw Kanto hurriedly putting up bunting. When he saw me, he directed his gaze to the space under the stairs where a set of drawers sat. Curiously, I stepped towards it, opening the top draw while Juna was distracted and found the ring I wanted. Pulling it out, I slipped it into a pocket in my bag.

"Your dress is in the bathroom if you wanna change!" Juna called over her shoulder as she pulled a box of strawberries out of the fridge, planning to chop them up.

"Sure thing!" I called back, knowing my way around the apartment since I lived here for months.

The dress in question was somewhat short and pastel pink. There was an upside-down triangle cut out of the back, the top half was tight and anything below the top of my hips was flowing. It was surprisingly comfortable, even if I felt like walking cotton candy.

"Told ya you'd like it!" Juna squealed in joy when she saw me emerge with a light blush on my face.

"It's not horrific." I pouted and went to help decorate the small balcony outside to escape her complimentary pestering.

~~~~~~

Once the arrival time for the party came around, more and more people started showing up. I didn't even think to ask my sister how many people were coming, but I sure as hell didn't think it would be this many people. There were so many, I was getting a little warm and the number of times I had to dart out of the way, getting my earring caught in my hair in the mad rush, I decided to put it up. I was bestowed with the job of answering the door so, when it rang again, I jumped up with a sigh. Because I was so used to seeing faces I didn't know, having everyone comment on how alike my twin and I looked, I was shocked when all the instructors showed up on the other side.

"In-Instructors, you made it?" I blushed when I saw them all in their casual clothes, instantly anxious when I remembered the outfit I was wearing. They all obeyed Juna's wish of them wearing pink or blue, all of varying degrees of severity, except for one. Can you guess who it was?

"Com... Come in. You can leave your shoes here." When I realised I had been staring, I jumped out the way to let them in. ‘God, Katsumi. Keep your cool!’ I internally screamed as I watched them filter in. Then, I directed them to the food when Juna finally approached us.

"Detectives, I'm so glad you could make it! I hope you enjoy yourselves. There's beer in the fridge, so have at it. There's plenty to go around!" Seemingly much more used to the instructors than I am, or she's just more sociable, Juna had a bright smile on her face. "Detective Kaga, you're not wearing blue." She frowned at the one person in the room not giving in her wishes.

"Juna, please." I begged her not to embarrass me as Kaga 'tsk'ed to himself. Then, he extended his hand to her, which held a paper bag. She took it and looked in to find a gift.

"Kaga, this is so cute! Look at it, Katsu." She squealed at the small bear with beady black eyes. It was kinda adorable and I blushed at the fact my sternly faced mentor had gifted it. The tag still attached to it said it was a nanny cam. My embarrassed and confused gaze fell to him and he sneered.

"My niece liked it."

‘Is he... pouting?’ It was almost too strange to tell with the faint blush on his face. ‘Is he already drunk? Wait! He has a niece?’ My blush deepened as I imagine how Kaga might act with a child to know her so much to know her favourite toy.

“Did none of your friends come?” Soma interjected my thoughts from beside me, seeing as Juna had gone to Kanto in the kitchen. I almost jumped out of my skin, but only because I was scared he could read my mind.

“Oh, no. No they… They were busy.” I quickly made up a pathetic lie, not wanting to throw Naruko under the for being afraid of the instructors. “Anyway, can I get you guys any drinks? Like Juna said, we’ve got beer, soda, water?” I listed off a few options so I could just escape this cluster of men, and even more people started to swarm us at their appearance.

“How does Juna know such good looking, young men?” A very forward older woman instantly clutched Instructor Goto’s arm, either drunk or that was just her rich nature. I instantly started panicking again.

“U-Um, Miss, they’re my bosses. Please… Please let go of him.” I was frantic as the instructor looked increasingly uncomfortable because of her flirtations. Almost everyone here was Juna’s work friends or spouses of, so they were all high standing members of society, not anyone I ever expected to mingle with.

When the woman just wouldn’t let go of him, I decided it was time to amp it up a gear. “Actually, I think your husband was talking to the composer’s daughter by the bathroom.” I gestured to an older man and a girl around my age talking up a storm on the other side of the spacious room, and the woman almost simultaneously stormed over.

After profusely apologising to Goto for what he already had to go through after just arriving, with the instructors still around us, Shinonone expressed how shocked he was that I could diffuse the situation somewhat quickly.

“I used to work in a club downtown. It was part of my job to get a feel for relationships in the room. O-Of course, you saw me working.” I was almost sweating with how nervous I was, remembering how rude I was to the instructor when he didn’t even know it was me at the time. Ayumu smirked at the memory of the interaction, and probably what I was wearing then too.

Luckily, Juna called me away to help her with something before I could be teased further.

~~~~~~

Later on in the party, I felt the need to step outside and take a breather, so I headed to the balcony and was surprised to find no one there. It was spring, the weather; surprisingly warm, and the flowers Kanto had been growing for Juna were in full bloom.

With my elbows resting on the railing, I suddenly realised what Kaga being here means. "I passed." I gasped, my heart filling with pride and doing a little dance to try and expel my joy. A rush of relief flooded over me and I don't think I've been happier than that moment. Not just relieved, but happy.

"It's been a while since I've seen that dance." A man's voice spoke up behind me and I turned in curiosity. For a moment, I truly believed it was one of my captors, but my vision quickly corrected it to Noburu. My heart raced as I saw him standing in the doorway, eyes wide. I hadn't seen him in a month. I was never told of him visiting. I was a little angry, he hadn't even texted me. But, above all else, I was scared. He sent alarm bells ringing in my head as if he really was the captor that fed me. That stood by and watched as I deteriorated into a heap of weeping bruises.

"No...Noburu. What are you doing here?" I panicked, stepping back and finding the railing block me from going over the edge. In an instant he was in front of me, holding my face as tears grew in my eyes.

"I missed you so much. I went to visit but you freaked out. I was so worried." His face was so close all I could see was him as he held my cheeks, his fingers extending into my hair, which I had let down again. I struggled, the image of that man seared in my brain.

When he saw me trying to get away, he crashed his lips on mine, taking my breath and any words I wanted to say to reject him. I tried to tug on the hands that kept me in place, but he wouldn't let go. His grip was vice-like. When he parted his lips to breath, I was able to whimper out "stop".

After I said that, he went to kiss me again, but he was pulled off me by someone yanking on his collar. There, holding the bewildered Noburu, was Kaga, rage painting his face. Embarrassed and afraid, I covered my mouth to hide my tears and sobs, darting by them, careful not to fall in my short heels as my legs shook.

~~~~~~

Bored out of my mind with all the aristocratic assholes Katsumi's sister was friends with, I decided to find the servant I found so fun to tease. My gaze flew around the room to find women surrounding most of the men from the PSD, except Goto who looked as bored as I was. Then, my gaze found the glass balcony doors and the woman I'm looking for. She was talking to a man, someone who looked dishevelled and not belonging to this group of people. Then, I noticed the tremble in her lip and her wide, astonished eyes watering out of... fear? I decided to head over and check if everything was alright.

When I opened the door, the man pounced on Katsumi, holding her face as he kissed her. A feeling in my stomach lit up my jealousy and anger as I watched them, but Katsumi seemed to be responding. I couldn't really tell when his hands were covering most of her face and his body was covering the rest of her.

As I turned to leave, I heard a low, high-pitched sound.

"Stop."

I spun around in a second, storming forward and gripping the back of the man's collar before yanking him off, possibly choking him in the process. I glared at him before checking to see if Katsumi was okay. Tears were falling down her face and the lipgloss she had on was smudged. Her hair was a mess and her knees were cowering a little. When she noticed what happened, her hand flew to her face and she ran back inside.

"Dude, what the hell?" The man who assaulted her frowned and my enraged glare returned to him. That was when I noticed it was the guy Katsumi used to work with at that club. I remembered watching her bend over the bar to talk to him, noticing how high her dress rode up her thighs, just shy of flashing everyone there. I growedl, remembering how much trust she must have had to talk to him the way Ayumu said she did.

"Get out or I concave your face." I threatened, dropping his collar. He was angry at first but when he saw how likely it was for me to do it, he ran to the front door.

~~~~~~

Stepping out of the bathroom, having cleaned myself up and calmed myself down enough to stop crying, I got to work; cleaning up the bottles and cans surrounding the room- mainly to distract myself. The party was still in full swing and I didn't want to ruin my sister's special moment. I could suck it up for now. All I wanted was for Noburu to be gone.

"Hey, idiot." A quiet voice erupted from behind me as I grabbed a few glass bottles from the counter in the kitchen, which was pretty vacant. I quickly recognised it at Kaga.

"I don't want to talk about it," I grumbled, not caring who he was in that moment.

"I kicked him out." He announced.

‘At least that's a relief.’ I sighed, feeling my tears return as I remembered how he had touched me. I trusted him. If he knew I had a breakdown the last time I had seen him, why would he still do that?

"Okay. I still don't want to talk about it." I complained, moving back and forth from the bin and the sink with trash and dishes to clean up later.

"Katsumi," Kaga said, but I ignored him, no matter how much him saying my name made my heart flutter. "Hey, moron." He grabbed my wrist as I dropped a few wooden skewers into the trash and spun me to see him.

"I'm not going to talk about it because I’ll cry. I'm not going to cry at my sister's baby shower." I gritted my teeth, returning his stern glare to try and make myself feel tougher.

"Why are you crying then?" He smirked and I sneered, noticing the wet drop roll down my cheek. I rushed to catch it with my unclaimed hand.

"He looks like one of them. Or he reminds me, anyway." I pouted, looking away from my instructor as he continued to hold my wrist. I'm sure he could feel my pulse race as my fear returned, mixed with the excitement of how close he was. I struggled to control my emotions when his grip tightened. I wasn’t intimidated. It was almost comforting, encouraging me to spill my guts right there in my sister's kitchen.

Suddenly, I was pulled towards him and enveloped in warmth and his scent. Slightly smokey, although whatever cologne he used did a good job of covering it up. I tried to look up from the chest I was being pushed against, but his hand settling on my head forced my gaze forward. My heart was pumping blood to my cheeks at an alarming rate and it was so loud I couldn't hear his. The pent up frustration I felt towards Noburu broke free from the weak dams I put up and my tears fell fast. My fist clenched on Kaga’s chest, angry that I had let someone I hardly knew so close. Before, I would have never gone out 'dates' with someone I enjoyed the company of- although I didn't really think of them in that way. I would have closed myself in my home, trying to keep to myself, not wanting to grow connections in case my father found me and I would have to leave everyone I had grown to love. It made it harder to justify how much safer I and those people would be if I left. I was mad at myself for letting go.

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat in the doorway of the kitchen. I darted back, making sure to turn my back to wipe my eyes before turning back to cleaning, pretending like nothing had happened. "Juna wants to cut the cake." It was Ayumu who spoke up, walking over to the fridge, between me and Kaga. Too afraid to talk in case my voice wavered, I nodded and walked out the room, heading to the table everyone was surrounding.

~~~~~~

The party pretty much drew to a close after the gender reveal. It's a girl, but no one's surprised. Juna had been going on about it for weeks. Even before they could tell what the gender was.

"I'm gonna have a little Katsu of my own!" Juna cried with joy as she sat in front of the pile of gifts in front of her.

"At least give her a similar name. It'll be confusing if you give her the same as mine." I complained, picking up the wrapping paper she threw around the room. Thanks to my silent moment with Kaga, I was able to calm down enough to act normal for the rest of the party. All the instructors had gone home and it was just us and Kanto.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kanto asked as I walked into the kitchen with a trash bag in hand. He was cleaning the dishes while Juna enjoyed herself to her heart's content. I nodded, hoping I wasn't giving any signals that said otherwise.

"Well... I, um... I saw Noburu earlier." His voice was low, scared that if he told me he'd set me off again. I froze mid-way picking up the trash and recovered as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, he... He kissed me." My own voice was also low, afraid that if I said it aloud it would cement the end of our friendship. Kanto spun around to look at me and I tried to stop frowning. "It's fine... Kaga got him off me before I could spiral." I bit my lip, continuing my cleaning to distract myself.

"I'm sorry." Is all I hear Kanto mumble as I escape the room.

~~~~~~

That night, I returned to the dorm but found that I didn't want to sleep yet. My mind was racing, the ring my mother left for us in my fingertips as I sat on my couch. I looked for an engraving in the inside of the band. Nothing. The clear crystal, which I'm sure was a diamond; too small for me to tell if there was anything odd going on. There were several smaller ones dotted around it.

"Could it be to do with the make? Well, it's not like I can tell." I sighed. I hardly wore jewellery anyway. I was hopeless trying to find clues. "Maybe the detectives on the case discovered something?" I got up and made my way to one of the common rooms to use a computer.

It was the dead of night, so silent I thought I might have gone deaf. Luckily, the hallway lights were always on. Pulling out a chair, I brought the file up before I even sit down. The notes say that they found wording embedded in the jewels. Nano-sized. But they couldn't make any sense of it.

"Juno charges towards Juna, aiming for Katsu."

‘Well, that's not cryptic all.’ I sighed, slightly stunned to find both my and my sister's names. I decided my best bet would be to look up the meaning behind our names.

‘As a boy's name, Katsu means victory. Juna means woods and south. Could there be a battle in the woods or something?’ I frowned my brows, feeling wildly out of my depths and kind of silly for looking such things up on a school computer. Looking up the address of the murder, I looked at Google Maps because I knew I wouldn't be able to travel anywhere anytime soon. I dragged the picture south as far as I could, but nothing caught my eye.

The woman murdered, my mother's friend, it seemed, was found in a lake just outside Tokyo. Surrounded by woods.

"Oh?" I gasped when I s awthat there were cabins for sale in those same woods. They had been around for years, it seemed, and a community had been made there. With a small supermarket and diners, it looked like a 20 person village.

"Could she..?" I led off, wondering if my mother could have moved there to hide. "No, she'd be too close." But the fact irked me in a way that I wanted to check. There was a link to the real estate agents website. There, I found a phone number. Without thinking much, I called it, not considering how late after office hours it was.

"Thank you for calling Juna Estate Agents. We are always happy to answer your questions, but you've caught us after office hours. We open at 8 am every day, so please don't hesitate to ca-!" I hang up before the woman's voice on the voicemail can finish.

‘I shouldn't be doing this.’ I think. I know. I shouldn't be tempting myself with the idea. It would only get my hopes up and I'd only come crashing down when I exhausted all the leads I might find.

"She's dead." I reminded myself, pushing my father's questions to the back of my head, and turned off the computer.

~~~~~~~~~~

Monday came around and I was particularly exhausted. The last two nights had been the worst I had had in a while and I almost fell asleep cutting my own hair.

Heading to the cafeteria, notebook in hand, looking down at the floor, I was almost sleepwalking. Thankfully, I was pulled out of my dream-like state by a certain excitable morning person.

"Katsumi, you look so cute!" Naruko squealed upon seeing my now short hair. It was cut just shy of my shoulder, hugging the ear I pulled it behind. My hair was still white, too scared to dye it again in case I messed something up. Juna was always the one that did it for me and I didn't want to bother her.

"Thanks. It's easier to maintain this way." I laughed uneasily, hiding the true reason I prefered it short. My 'uncles' liked pulling on my hair. It’s hard to grab when it's like this. With a skip in her step, Naruko pulled me into the cafeteria.

"What's got you in a good mood?" I asked as we sat down, putting my heavy eyelids to the back of my mind.

"Chiba bought me a gift just because. It was so cute." She squealed, holding her cheeks as if her smile hurt. I cocked my head.

"Why’s he buying you gifts?" I asked before taking a spoonful of cereal.

"Oh shit, I didn't tell you?" She gasped and I shook my head, still chewing. "We're dating."

Instantly, I started choking at the gasp of air I took in when she told me. She asked me if I was okay and I put up a singular finger to tell her I'd just need a minute to recover.

"Si-Since when?" Taking the napkin she held out for me, I quickly wiped the milk covering the sides of my lips. I tried to ignore the fascinated stares of the male population around us.

"Hmm, a couple of months, I think? You'd have to ask him, he's the one that keeps track of it all." She waved of her unbothered-ness and continued eating as if I hadn't almost just died. "That reminds me, how was the party?"

Blushing, I tried to push the memory of Kaga holding me to the side as I reported how utterly bored I was for the rest of the event. "Her friends are all musicians, so they were mainly talking about their next concerts. Someone asked Juna if she was returning to the orchestra and she started balling." I forced a chuckle, really feeling sorry for my sister who couldn't accomplish the dream she wanted. She would have to settle to play for us and her daughter when she's old enough to play herself. I was sure Juna would push the joys of playing an instrument on her, or any future children she intended on having.

"What about the instructors?" Her wiggling eyebrows were enough to tell me she thought something kinky happened. I blushed but said I didn't notice because I was so busy. "You sure?" She dragged out her question, sliding into the seat next to mine, peering into my face. I stuffed my mouth with the rest of my cereal and jumped up, pointing to the door like I was in a rush to get to class. "You can't hide from me, Katsumi! I'm trained for this!"

~~~~~~

At the end of the day, I was sitting in the Instructor's Staff Room as usual, but couldn’t concentrate on my work. In the silence, my mind kept trailing to that clue my mother supposedly left for me. ‘Should I go looking for her? What if I end up leading someone to her? Could she be alive?’

As I thought, I didn't notice Kaga talking. Suddenly, I feel a blow on the back of my head and I jumped. "What're you spacing out for?" He glared down at me and I blushed an apology. When I tried to go back to work, he grabbed the arm of my spinning chair and directed it towards him, pinning me down by grabbing the other side.

"Are you still hung up on that kiss?" He whispered, his face incredibly close, gaze so strong I felt like I couldn't look away. "I can give you one if it helps you forget." The smirk on his face told me he was teasing, but I couldn't help my imagination run wild.

‘He's your instructor, Katsumi” That's not appropriate.’ I told myself off and shook my head 'no'.

"What're you spacing out for then?" He kept interrogating me, making no move to back down.

"I... I didn't get much sleep last night." I muttered, scared if I talked too loud I would stutter over every word.

"You have your pills. Take them." He demanded and I looked away, embarrassed I needed help to even sleep. I felt pathetic. When I didn't respond, Kaga stood up straight and returned to his office. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and returned to work, completely forgetting about any possibility of finding my mother.

~~~~~~

Working away at my desk, trying to distract myself from any thought about the woman sitting just outside my office, Ayumu stormed in with a stern look on his face.

"Someone keeps accessing a case file on the database." He dropped the papers on my desk after making sure the door was closed behind him. I looked down and found a solved case from over a decade ago. "I looked at the security cameras pointing at the computer used and guess who I found." He slapped another sheet down with a dishevelled and tired-looking Katsumi pictured on it. My brows furrowed at this suspicious behaviour.

"I'll deal with it." Wanting to be the first one to hear her explanation, I slid the files into my desk. Ayumu's brows flickered together before he realised what I said. I glared up at him, daring him to argue, but instead, he excused himself, walking right back out the door as fast as he came in.

~~~~~~

"I can't believe we were caught making out on security cameras!" Naruko, almost giddily, cries out after telling me an instructor had confronted both her and Chiba about inappropriate behaviour in the common rooms. Apparently, they were getting hot 'n' heavy before escaping to her room and they got caught. Although, that's not the part of the story I was fretting over.

‘I would have been caught sneaking on the computers in the middle of the night. Are there rules against that?’ I have to stop myself from pulling at my hair as I freaked out. Kaga or Ayumu would have gladly said something if I was doing anything wrong. ‘Should I come clean before they need to? No, that's a horrible idea. I'd be admitting my own guilt.’ I shook my head at my internal conversation, Naruko too self-absorbed to realise. She was walking to me the Instructor's Staff Room before lunch because I was tasked with delivering some papers to Kaga. ‘Oh god, what if this is an excuse to get me here?’

~~~~~~~~

At lunch, Katsumi knocked on the door of my office. Her head peeked in first, her short bob only leaning slightly. I found that style on her so sexy. Her white hair against her fair skin. Her neck on display for every man to see. I had to stop myself from staring her into the ground as she approached my desk with light steps, scared for some reason. That's when I remembered the case file she was caught staring at.

"Instructor Akiyame asked me-."

"What were you doing looking at these?" I cut her off, pulling the papers out and dropping them in front of me as she put the stack she had down. She froze, staring at the first page like it had just threatened her life. I watched her gulp, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear, giving herself time to think. She couldn't look at the glare I had on my face and I couldn't say I wasn’t amused. She'd been caught and she knew it, thinking she could just magic her way out of here by not answering me? No way.

Standing up, I walked around the desk to meet her gaze. She stumbled back, but I could tell she wasn’t terrified. Not like that guy at the party. Her eyes were wide, but not with fright. It was almost curiosity that pulled her in. She gulped again as I cornered her into the desk.

Just as I was about to ask again, she announced her reasonings. "My... My mother was a witness in that case." She bit her lip, turning away and her hair fell, blocking my view of that innocent guilty expression. I was almost annoyed that I got to miss it. I knew she had more to say, the absence in the movement of her chest told me she's holding her breath, waiting for me to push her further.

"She left me a ring before she ran away. It was a piece of evidence." She continued to report as I dropped a hand either side of her on my desk. She leaned so far back she might as well have been sitting on the surface. I looked down and her thigh in the tight trousers of the academy uniform widened as she pressured backwards.

"I thought she was dead... But my... My father kept asking me where she was... So I got curious." Her voice was trembling now, so I knew she was remembering her time in that underground torture chamber. My eyes narrowed, heart-stopping when I heard her frail noises. It angered me that she had to go through that. For her whole life. And it angered me that I didn't try looking for her when she didn't show up in the hotel. I had an inkling that something was up. A body can't be incinerated like that, no matter how much of the building went up in flames. I should have followed my instincts, but I let Ishigami's facts get the better of me. Our Chief even had to talk me down. I was so angry at her for running in. It was such a stupid move. Even still, I remembered her saving me. Even if some people told me it could have been a hallucination caused by the lack of oxygen I was getting because of all the smoke I had inhaled. I never let Ishigami change my actions. So, why did I then?

It was even harder when we found the woman at the club who looked just like her. The only thing that was different was her hair colour and the way she acted when we were far from her. She was comfortable, completely in her element as she pushed that guy into the bar. She almost seemed bored by the constant string of criminal activities in that club. I almost believed it wasn't her when she stood on the foothold of the stool and bent over the bar to get close and personal with the bartender, her dress just covering her most discreet place.

Yet, I saw the fluster on her cheeks when she turned to confront the suspicious man in the club she was meant to protect. I’ll be honest, I didn't think she had it in her to entice a man like that. On purpose. Not like the way she's intrigued me. Her unconscious movements and reactions to the way I treated her was a force that I hadn't enjoyed before. I always found myself wondering how far I could push her before she got mad and stormed away, not afraid to take the work I had given her before I even finished my demands.

I backed up when I heard her sniff. Her arm darted in front of her eyes so I couldn't see and I started to feel guilty that I was the cause of it.

"I keep telling myself that she's dead, but I can't help thinking that she's out there. I even called this estate agent, using the clue in that ring, but it was too late at night and I backed out." She was pouring her heart out to me as she cried, still hiding her true pain from me. I sighed, wrapping my arms around her because it seemed like it helped her. She grabbed the sleeve of my arm. Not to push away, but to help support herself.

‘Moron.’ I wasn’t calling her one, she was perfectly allowed to be reacting like this. She was a broken girl who went through a traumatic event. I was blaming myself for feeling the feelings that I was. I noticed the way she bit the tip of her thumb when she was stressed, not because of an interrogation tactic, but because her frowning brows looked so cute. I noticed the way she lifted her glasses onto her head the second she could because she got so annoyed by them. I noticed the way she could just brush Ayumu's teasing off and how she had grown so used to all the men in the academy talking to her. She had calmed down since the beginning of the year, when she couldn't even sit down on a bed next to me.

Now that I think about it, maybe that was for a different reason as well? She was always so cautious, so willing to prove herself to everyone else, I wondered how she would react if she knew how I felt? How I thought about her at night when I finally got a moment of silence away from Four Eyes or sudden changes to my schedule.

My gaze fell to the back of her neck, exposed under the hair that floated over her shoulders and I was angry with myself that that was how I reacted in the moment. It wasn’t appropriate and not okay. And, even though I say that, I couldn't help but be happy that I was the one that could hold her. I was the one that could back her up into a wall and tease her. She wouldn't tell me off, not like she did to Ayumu when he got too personal. I was the one that knew how her outdated sense in music calmed her down. I might not have known how much she was struggling, but I knew how to help her.

~~~~~~~~~

As I stood in Kaga's arms again, I couldn't help but think how safe I felt with him. His arms were so strong and his chest was hard but soft. The heat radiating off him would otherwise be unbearable but the way his breath blew on the back of my neck as I cried into him, it was tolerable. The cigarette smell mixed in with cologne didn't bite at my nose the same way my father did, he only ever smelt like the acidic stench cigars gave him. The glares he gave me were more encouraging than anything, daring me to do better. The way he held me on missions may be temporary and full of the facade we were trying to portray, but my heart raced every time. Sure, whenever a guy got into my personal space I'm embarrassed, unused to a towering figure that could be kind and protective, but with Kaga, it was different. I didn't know how, but it just was.

However, embarrassment quickly consumed me. I'm reminded of how unprofessional this was. I was meant to be a student learning to be a detective. Not a little girl who cried every time she got in her head.

Taking a deep breath, I drew back and Kaga eased his grasp but didn't fully let me go. I looked up at him with an uneasy gaze and there was a look in his eyes that I didn't recognise. It was almost scary. He was the devil Instructor, so who's surprised? But this... This was different. It was the look he had when he pulled Noburu off me and I wanted to run away from it, too ashamed for him to see me act so deplorable.

Inching back further, he seemed to come to his senses and let me go entirely. The cool rush of loneliness almost made me miss it. Almost.

I was about to apologise for how I had been acting when the school bell rang, signally the end of our lunch break.

"Moron, don't just stand there, get moving." Kaga’s expression had turned into a scowl again and he hit the side of my head with the papers I had previously set down. The light hud reminded me of how he hadn't done that since I returned. Had he been holding off until he knew I was completely healed? And he insulted me, something he had also been easing back into. I likeed the push of encouragement and my tears dried quicker than I would have liked. It was so childish to calm down so quickly. Almost like I was having a tantrum and someone just gave me a piece of candy. With the knowledge of that, I blushed and bowed before running out of the office, having dried my face on my sleeve.

#voltage fanfic #voltage games #her love in the force #hlitf ayumu #hlitf goto #hlitf ishigami #hlitf kaga #hlitf soma #hlitf shinonome #hlitf fanfic #hlitf #crime #oc #ooc #mafia #mob #police #detectives

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faithhudson · 4 years ago

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Talk that Talk

Tagging: Fae Hudson & Evan Hummel (@evanhummel)

Date: August 5, Evening

Summary: Some much overdo conversation

Fae

When Evan had messaged her, asking to come over in the evening, Fae had accepted without hesitation. She knew the emotional wringer that she’d put everyone through as she dealt with her withdrawal symptoms, and anyone who actually still wanted to spend time with her was a valuable thing indeed. And that was leaving aside that they hadn’t actually spoken about what had gone down after their respective dinners in town, and had something worse happened to her Fae didn't want that to go without discussion. And so having her over was an easy decision. Fae was propped up in her bed with a couple of pillows, just trying to find a comfortable position. She hadn't spent so long in bed in a good while, and knowing she'd have to get up in the morning and get back to classes did nothing to improve her mood. Part of her wished she could talk the Infirmary into declaring her unfit for one more day so she could just have the weekend, but they didn't seem like the types to give her a break that way. In one hand she kept a bottle of water, one she'd been drinking from constantly during the day, and in the other Fae had her phone. Its display was filled with a picture of her father, looking younger and happier than she ever remembered him. Carole had sent it at her request, but not without a flurry of worried messages back and forth about why she needed it. When a knock sounded at her door Fae set the phone aside and looked up with a smile. "Come on in, Ev," she called softly. "It's open."

Evan

Seeing Faith in the state that she had been in hadn't been an easy thing at all. She had been so very out of it and Evan hadn't even got a moment to be with the other Switch by herself thanks to Sawyer and the appearance of Madeline, who apparently had a very important place in Faith's life. That, in Evan's mind, maybe complicated things that had happened between them even more than she had already thought they were complicated. And seeing Fae in that state had just made her even more worried that she had somehow, in some way, taken advantage of her state. Yes, they had both been drunk, but the consequences of Faith's actions worried Evan that perhaps Fae had been further gone than she'd thought. She'd mentioned Faith so see if she was free after classes for Evan to come over, even just for a little while. She wanted to check in on her and see how she'd been doing since she'd had a little while to rest and recover. Going through classes had been a bit more of a challenge than it had been since she had arrived at the institute and that was saying something; because Evan found the information they were getting to be very interesting and important. Walking into the room once given permission from Faith, she closed the door behind her and offered a slight smile. She was wearing a comfortable pair of jeans and a red tank, with a black cardigan over top. It was a very comfortable outfit that she also thought fit her well which was always a good thing. "Hey, how are you?"

Fae

"Tired of that question," Fae joked, making sure that the smile on her face would take any of the sting out of her words. "I'm okay," she promised. "It's going to be a few days before I really feel like me again, but at least I know where I am and I can carry on a conversation that'll actually make sense to both of us. Speaking of, if any of the texts I sent you yesterday were...well, complete gibberish, I'm sorry. I thought I was doing really well with them, but after talking to Sawyer I'm pretty sure I was just making random words." She hated that thought. There was a lot on the table between them, a lot to talk about and a lot to unpack. It didn't need to be done in a day, but it did need doing. "I'm sorry," she went with at last. "I know I must have worried you, all of you. Moreso than I usually do, even. But I'm grateful that everyone came by yesterday, even if I don't remember it." "Come, sit," she patted her bed. "It'll be more comfortable in here, I promise."

Evan

She winced just slightly at Faith's first words, but not as much as she would have without the smile on Faith's face. It was still going to take a lot of getting used to to have that smile be directed at her. She was conditioned to be prepared for harsh words and stinging stares and for that to, recently, not be the case was very different. She nodded her head in understanding when Fae said it would take a few days to get back into the swing of things. It certainly made sense. She bit down on her bottom lip when Fae said the words she was speaking were just gibberish and she nodded slightly, making note to delete the sweet texts. They didn't mean anything if Fae couldn't remember or hadn't meant them at all. She moved forward and claimed a spot on the bed. "You don't have to apologize to me, Fae. I'm just glad that you're okay. As okay as you can be right now, I mean." There was definitely a hesitance and a heaviness between them. There was a lot that needed to be discussed but Evan wasn't sure if she wanted to be the one to start it. Not if she had somehow done something that she needed forgiveness for, but maybe that meant she really should start the conversation. "You did worry us...but that comes with the territory of caring about someone."

Fae

Fae sighed softly. The tension in the room wasn't something that was used to - at least, she wasn't used to caring about it. Any room she'd been in had probably been tense, at least as far her family was concerned, but she was generally too angry and too drunk to care much about that. Now she had to learn how to be a person again, to be better, and it was going to take time. Setting her water between her legs she reached over to take Evan's hand in her own. It was familiar, but new - a feeling she suspected would be the same each time it happened. "Being cared about isn't something I'm used to," she admitted. "But I'll do the best I can not to make this a regular thing, because I don't think even the people who care about me could stand to keep going through it." She turned her head a little, like a curious animal. "What's on your mind, Ev? I think it's a lot like what's on mine, but I'd like to hear it."

Evan

She jumped a little bit when Faith gently grabbed her hand, but she didn't pull away, allowing the touch to comfort her as much as it could in the moment. She breathed out slowly and bit down on her bottom lip, tilting her head to the side. She shook her head slightly when Fae said that she wasn't used to being cared about. "You were always cared about, Fae. You just didn't always make it the easiest." Evan had learned a long time ago that biting words often followed any short of care. When Faith asked her what was on her mind, her eyebrows furrowed and she let out a shaky breath. She had been expecting and yet dreading that question. "Um...I guess I just...fuck." She shook her head again and swallowed against the lump in her throat. "You were really out of it, Fae. And I guess...when we...on Friday...did I take advantage of you? Were you more out of it then than I thought?"

Fae

Fae had to concede that point and she nodded agreement. "I'm sure you're right about that. I know I wasn't the kind of person that could take what was being offered. Especially from your side - there was too much anger there, and I know that it couldn't have been easy for any of you. That it still can't. I'm not saying I'm ever going to be easy to deal with, but I hope at least that I'll be less of a pain in the ass going forward. That seems only fair." Her eyes widened, and she sat up in bed. "Ev - shit, no. I drank more than I meant to, but I'm still me - I've got a hell of a tolerance. I remember every single minute of what we did, from the minute we met back up on campus, and I consented to every single one. You didn't take advantage, and you didn't take anything I wouldn't have offered. I don't know what it all means, but I know that I gave you everything you took, and I did it willingly."

Evan

She breathed out slowly when the other said that she had done everything willingly, that she remembered every moment. She lifted her free hand and rubbed her face, letting that assurance wash over her and at least ease the most troubling of the thoughts that had been following Evan since she'd found out that Fae was in withdrawal. She had hardly been able to sleep thinking things over and trying to decide if she had missed anything that should have been a clear sign. She glanced over and bit down on her bottom lip. "So you consented and you gave it willingly...but do you regret what you did?" That was the next burning question that needed to be answered. Evan didn't know what everything meant either, but she didn't regret it.

Fae

Fae hated that Evan had been worrying about that, because she'd never have allowed it to continue if she'd known - what had happened between them wasn't something she necessarily understood, not yet, but it was something that she'd been happy to participate in and had done so with the knowledge of exactly what she was doing. "I promise, Ev. At no point did you take advantage of me, in any way at all." Ev's question was a more difficult one, and Fae considered it for a moment before replying. "No. Not once. I worry...that by doing it I might have made even more of a mess between us, but if you gave me the chance to go back and not do it...I wouldn't."

Evan

"Thank you for reassuring me of that. I'm really...really glad to hear it." She nodded at Faith's answer, feeling that it was extremely similar to the way that she was feeling. "I agree." She paused and then elaborated. "It was never something that I would have imagined happening with you. Was never something that even crossed my mind until we were pressed up against each other in the hallway." Evan expressed, still wondering where the urge had come from...wondering even further how it had been returned. "But it fun...and exciting..and I wouldn't change it either. Even if given the chance to go back." Being honest was definitely important in this moment, even if it was difficult. "I guess the big question...is do you want it to happen again? Or do you want it to just be a fond memory?"

Fae

"You're welcome, Ev - I'm sorry it was weighing on you, and I wish I could have eased that burden earlier." Fae nodded agreement, glad that she wasn't the only one who'd felt that way. "I'd never thought of it either - like not even once. And then you were pressed against me and you smelled good and I just...realized how gorgeous you were in the dim light." It was a great relief to her that Evan didn't have regrets. Fae had done enough damage to the Hummels and the Hudsons both over the years that adding in a regretted sexual encounter would have seemed like a bridge too far. She worried at her lip, wanting to give Evan a serious, considered answer. "I think...if we can avoid giving this a label for now, or worrying about what it might become, then I'd like it to happen again. It was fun, and I liked it, and I'm not ready yet to try and figure out what it all means. Would that be enough for you?"

Evan

"Crazy what dim light can do for a girl." Evan joked, biting down on her bottom lip. When Faith said that she wasn't ready to put a label on it or think about what it could become as they continued, Evan smiled softly. She wasn't ready to do either of those things either. She knew eventually that would have to be a discussion, probably at a time where it was time to decide if they would continue or stop what they were doing. But for now, it was enough for Evan to know that they both wanted it to continue in some capacity. She squeezed Faith's hand and then leaned over to rest her head against her shoulder for a moment. "That's enough for me, Fae." She assured her, pulling back so that she could look into her eyes. "For now, for now we just have fun." Evan said, a smile on her face as she nodded.

Fae

"You ass," Fae smacked her arm gently. "Here I am trying to be complimentary and you go twisting my words on me." She waited patiently - which was a difficult thing for Fae - as Evan smiled. She hoped it was a good thing, that they were on the same page and able to continue having fun, at least. Learning to become more than two step-sisters who'd never gotten along. Resting her head against Evan's when she leaned over, Fae couldn't help but smile. "Perfect," she agreed. "I'm looking forward to having fun with you, Ev. And finding out whether our sober selves enjoy it as much as we did last time." The future was the future. They would figure out what they meant to each other, what any of it meant, when the time came. For now - as Evan had said - they would have fun. And they would have no regrets.

#thread: talk that talk #c: evan

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broken-clover · 5 years ago

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Goretober Day 25- Extra Limbs (Late)

Well...what can I say at this point. I’m sorry I’ve been seriously slacking with this lately, life kinda punched me in the face and midterms put a lot on my plate all at once. I wasn’t really sure how I wanted to compensate for getting behind again but I at least want to put up yesterday’s because I really liked the concept and how it turned out. This was a repeat prompt from last year so I wanted to do something more out there to make it really distinct from last year’s.

Ah, well. Today I put Sin Kiske through the wringer. And this might be apparent but warning for body horror, if that makes you uncomfortable

Sin stumbled into the dining room in an unusually sour mood, posture slouched as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Good morning, dear!” Dizzy greeted him fondly. “Did you sleep well?”

He made a little noise of discomfort. “No. My back felt really sore for some reason, I couldn’t find a way to lie down without it hurting.”

Ky put the morning paper down. “Did you strain a muscle?”

“I dunno.” Sin shrugged, only to wince in pain.

Dizzy stood up. “Is it alright if I take a look?”

“Yeah, sure.” He slipped his coat off and tossed it over a nearby chair. “I tried looking in the mirror when I woke up, but I can’t get a good look.”

She walked around to his back, and her eyes immediately widened. “Oh my…”

“What is it?”

“There’s something growing out of your back, Sin.” Dizzy very carefully put a hand near one of the objects jutting out of his skin, and she felt her son stiffen up. “Is that where it hurts?”

“Y-yes! What’s wrong with me?!”

Ky got up to join his wife, brow creasing with worry. “What could cause something like that? Has a bone grown back wrong?”

Despite their concern, Dizzy’s face broke out into a smile. “Sin, you’re growing wings!”

“What?” Sin tried to reach over his shoulders and feel. “Really? Is that what they are?”

“I didn’t realize that was even possible.” Ky shook his head in disbelief. “But I guess since you and Sol both have wings, I suppose it would make sense if Sin eventually grew some of his own.”

Dizzy murmured a little incantation, summoning a flat pane of ice polished to a mirror shine. She tried to angle it just so. “Here, can you see them?”

His excitement immediately withered when he was able to get a better look at himself in the mirror. There were no feathers, not much at all to really see aside from a pair of fleshy nubs. “They don’t look right…” Sin’s face fell. “They’re so...small and naked. Why aren’t they big and soft like yours, mom?”

“Aww, don’t worry, sweetie.” She ruffled his hair with a smile. “Just give it a few days. Mine didn’t grow in all at once, either. They’ll get bigger.”

“Perhaps they’re going to be more like Sol’s?” Offered Ky. “More dragon-like and leathery?”

The thought hadn’t occurred to him. Sin lit up immediately. “I could get cool wings like the old man? Awesome!”

“I guess this means that you’re all grown!” The pane of ice vanished in a puff of light. “So strange to imagine, my sweet little boy has grown up so quickly!”

“Mooom…” He went pink.

But nonetheless, Sin was still delighted by the concept. The ache in his back was no longer enough to put a damper on his mood. He wasted no time telling the good news to Elphelt, Ramlethal, and anybody who would listen. He smiled until his cheeks ached. How could he not be excited? He’d always loved his mother’s wings, and who wouldn’t be excited at the concept of flying?

“Do you think I’ll get a ‘drive’ like yours, mom?”

“I’m not sure, Sin.” On cue, Undine appeared out of Dizzy’s white wing to give him a fond smile. “You might. I know father doesn’t, but we’ll just have to see.”

“I can’t wait!”

He was like a little bolt of lighting, zipping from room to room out of sheer excitement. Ky and Dizzy hadn’t seen him so riled up since he was little.

“It’s going to be harder to get him to pay attention when he can just fly away…”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll just chase after him.” Dizzy fluffed her wings. “I’ve got a lot more practice. I know I’ll be faster.”

Ky smiled. “You really are amazing. The both of you. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

It took forever just to get Sin to wind down for the night. Ultimately, they had given up on trying to pull him away from where he was looking over his shoulder in the mirror, looking to see if his wings had grown any bigger.

“Just try to sleep on your stomach, alright? It should make it a bit more comfortable.”

“Okay, mom!”

“You think he’s actually going to go to bed?” Ky asked as they settled into their own.

“Oh, who knows. I can’t really blame him though. Don’t worry, dear. It’ll just be a night or two.”

He wasn’t sure if he was convinced, but he nodded anyway. “If you say so. I guess I can’t really be upset with him for being happy, can I?”

++++++

“MOOOOOM!”

Sin tore into their bedroom at two in the morning, shrieking in incoherent panic. Ky and Dizzy both awoke with a start, Ky grabbing his sword as he jumped out of bed, before realizing who it was.

“Sin?” Dizzy asked, looking at her son through the faint light. “Honey, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

His face was wrenched in panic. “I-I- I woke up an- an I can feel it wiggling mom please make it stop-”

Ky picked a lamp off of the bedside and brought it over to get a better look. “Sin, what on earth is-”

They immediately noticed the source of his concern. The small stubs of wings had grown into long, fleshy, naked limbs, the same color and thickness of his arms. That alone wasn’t disturbing, but it was what attached to it that made them catch their breath. Where the feathers would be instead sat hundreds upon hundreds of malformed fingers arranged in rows, each flexing and waving on their own volition. They varied in the same way that bird’s feathers did, some long and far too spindly to be human, others small and thick with the fingernails cutting into the sides from the lack of space to grow. A half-grown hand tipped the ends of each wing, grasping at the air uselessly.

“My god…” The sight of it made bile rise in the man’s throat. “Dizzy, did yours...do that?”

“No.” It sounded like the air was being squeezed from her lungs.

As his wings continued to twitch and squirm, Sin wrapped his real arms around himself and shuddered. “Get them off get them off get them off-”

Ky couldn’t stop himself from staring. “Is this some kind of a mutation? Is it because of the mix of Gear and human genes…?”

“I don’t care! Get them off!!” Sin screamed hysterically. “I can feel them moving! Get them off of me!”

Dizzy managed to approach him, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Sin? Sin, sweetie, you’re going to be okay, just breathe-”

“Make them stop mom please MAKE THEM STOP!”

Ky felt his grip tighten on the sword in his other hand. “Dizzy, hold him still.”

“What?” Her eyes went wide. “Ky, you aren’t-”

“Sin.” He directed his attention to his son, trying to keep his voice calm despite the way it shook just slightly. “Just try and sit still, alright? I’ll try and make this hurt as little as I can.”

That was enough to get his attention. He still looked terrified, but Sin nodded slightly and pinched his eyes shut.

“Just breathe, sweetie.” Dizzy stroked the side of her son’s face, trying to keep his attention on her. “Count backwards from ten.”

“T-ten, n-ine-”

Ky took hold of one of the misshapen hands at the end, and shuddered as he felt the stubby fingers hold onto him. He pulled on the limb until it was stretched to its full width, straining slightly against the skin of Sin’s back.

His sword had never felt heavier as he lined it up, raised it, and-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

He’d spent years hacking through Gear hides with so little effort, but how could a father hurt his own child? Ky didn’t realize that he was holding back until he found his sword just barely cutting into the flesh of Sin’s back.

“I-I-...” His body felt numb. Without realizing it, Ky felt Thunderseal slide from his grasp. He couldn’t stop staring at the wound he’d made even as it healed itself, or the way the blood stained Sin’s white clothing.

Dizzy watched him slump to the ground, willing herself to say something but feeling like something was strangling her. She made a halfhearted motion to reach for her husband’s fallen sword, but she couldn’t force herself to pick it up.

“M-mom?” Sin whimpered, looking up at her with those poor, terrified eyes.

All it did was make her freeze. “I can’t-”

She felt her own wings unfurl on their own, extending until they morphed into the familiar gentle face and hooded skull.

“Necro? Undine?”

Wordlessly, Necro grabbed the boy by his arms while Undine place hands against his back. A fresh round of pained sobs left Sin’s throat as she froze the skin over, to the point of ice crystals jutting out of his blue-tinged flesh. They shared a grim expression as they swapped places, Undine gently cupping his face while Necro grabbed a half-frozen wing in each hand.

The sound of shattering ice and ripping flesh blended together into an indescribable noise, audible only for a moment before being drowned out by Sin’s scream.

It was at least enough to pull Dizzy out of her frozen terror. She wrapped her arms tightly around her son, avoiding the long, narrow gashes that ran across his shoulders, and rocked him back and forth, murmuring reassurances.

Ky, meanwhile, could only stare. The twisted lumps of flesh twitched in a puddle on the floor, fingers curling in pain until they finally went still.

#body horror #writing #goretober #goretober 2019 #guilty gear #Sin Kiske

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whiskeycherrypie · 6 years ago

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grateful (1446 words) by whiskeycherrypie

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Mary Winchester

Additional Tags: Season/Series 14 Spoilers, Episode: s14e13 Lebanon, Coda, Episode Related, Alcohol, Sharing a Bed, Suspicions, Implied/Referenced Incest, Pre-Slash, Misunderstandings, Schmoop

Summary:

John says something to Mary. Sam and Dean pass out in bed together.

The timing couldn't be worse.

Happens right after the 300th episode Lebanon, of course contains spoilers.

(ambiguous pairing, could be read both as wincest pre-slash and as gen, because the assumptions made are incorrect at the time)

After John's gone, they all get spectacularly drunk.

The first couple of drinks are needed just to tell Cas what happened and then they just don't stop and for once, even Sam doesn't feel the need to.

Something inside him is completely unraveled, he can feel that, and he kinda hopes the whiskey induced oblivion he's headed into will tide him over until he can figure out how to put himself back together.

Dean probably shouldn't drink so much, lose control that way with Michael in his head, but fuck if Sam's going to stop him. They're slumped at the library table together, bottles scattered like a little forest around them. Mom and Cas are further upfront and Mary has her head propped up on her hand, listening intently to something Cas is quietly telling her. It's some shit about time and souls and apparently it's a long story. Sam doesn't know how she can stand to hear about it, hear all about the machinery of the universe that put them in this shit spot, but it seems to be helping her, so Sam leaves them to it, too.

Minutes tick past in the dim room. Sam starts to lose focus.

“You gon' be okay?” Dean slurs next to him.

“Eventually,” is what Sam manages to squeeze out of himself in reply. He doesn't bother asking Dean, not because he doesn't care, God knows he does, but because he thinks he already knows the answer anyway.

“I think I kinda wanna go to bed,” Dean says a while later, all quiet and grudging, like he's admitting to some big secret. Sam puts some effort into making sure his legs will hold him, stands up, swaying, grabs Dean by the shoulder.

“Come on then.”

They shuffle their way out of the library quietly, their departure either unnoticed (by Mary at least) or ignored. Sam's entered a stage where he can say he is somewhat numbed to it all, but can't properly enjoy it because there's buzzing in his head and walking is really, really an annoyance.

When they make it to the bedroom door – actually, a bedroom door, Sam's a little fuzzy on where they are exactly and where they were headed – he leans on the door frame, tongue all sticky and heavy with whiskey.

“It's just... too much.”

“I know,” Dean grunts from somewhere near Sam's shoulder.

Then it's dark, a plunging mattress underneath him and a warmth all along his back, like a comfort that he has forgotten all about and sorely missed.

The first thing Mary registers when she wakes is the pounding in her head. The second thing she registers is what John had said when they were alone, asking about the boys.

It comes to her with clarity that is cruel in the face of her hangover. As though during her whiskey soaked sleep, what she didn't want and couldn't understand worked its way through her mind and handed itself to her on a silver platter.

“So, the boys. They're good, huh?”

“Yeah. Yeah, they are, they... you did well.”

“I gotta say, where I'm at, it was kinda touch and go for a while whether Dean would just hang it up and run off with Sam.”

“Really? I thought it was only when Sam's girl, Jessica...”

“I don't know. Dean wasn't doing too well. So they're like this now? This is their home? No girlfriends, normal life...?”

“Not lately as far as I know. It's the life. And there's so much going on.”

“And you don't-”

“What?”

“Are they... never mind. Tell me what you have been doing.”

She sits, stomach heaving threateningly. She blames it on the hangover.

She let that go, what John was asking, the intent in his eyes as he watched her answer his question, like he was looking for a crack, for an answer. She let it go then because she just wanted to see him, kiss him, allow herself the comfort of everything she had been so sorely missing.

But now he's gone again and she's sleeping in a cold bed and realizing what it was he wanted to find out.

She wants a shower and coffee and maybe more whiskey. It's too much.

Sam always sleeps like a log when he's really, really drunk. It's handy if he wants to knock himself out, but the mornings are a pain of full bladder and aching muscles and his head feeling like it's just a sponge that needs to be wrung out to start functioning again. Today is no different and he wakes, eyes still closed, taking stock of just how bad it is. Yeah, his right arm is pretty much numb and he needs to piss badly and that's not to mention the headache slowly creeping up into his temples.

He's also painfully aware of everything that happened the night before.

Shifting slightly, he comes to a stop and his eyes fly open, squinting into the dimness of the room. Dean's room. Huh. And the reason his arm is numb is because Dean's lying on it.

So maybe he's not aware of everything that happened. But it figures, he thinks, that seeing Dad would send him and Dean into some old habits, like sharing a bed, because that was the norm on the road until they got too big to really fit. The bunker beds aren't the smallest, but Sam still tries to catalog if he's about to fall on his ass over the edge. They're spooning, kinda, Sam's arm trapped under Dean, chest to back. They didn't make it under the covers.

Dean wakes then, grunting and lifting himself up just enough that Sam can get his arm back, then flopping onto his back.

“'Time is it?”

Sam squints at Dean's alarm clock. His headache is just getting worse. “Half past nine.”

“What are you doing here?” Dean asks, voice sleepy, like he only just noticed this isn't how they usually wake up.

“No idea,” Sam admits. “I think I just passed out.”

“How do you like the memory foam?”

Sam snorts, burying his head into the pillow, making himself comfortable. Bathroom can wait for a little while yet. It's comfortable here and not because of the mattress. It's Dean's space, smells like him, feels like him and there is still, even at his age and after everything they've been through some basic, instinctual part of Sam's brain that relaxes when Dean is near.

It's nice, having privacy. Having their own rooms. But it's also nice to be close.

“You up for breakfast?”

The trip for coffee takes her by Dean's room and she pauses when she sees the door ajar, peeking in.

They're both there. Nearly too big for the bed, dressed on top of the covers, but undeniably together, Sam draped all along Dean's back, holding him.

They don't wake.

“Oh.”

“What?”

Dean hands him a piece of paper and the words take some time to penetrate Sam's insufficiently caffeinated brain. But then they do.

Mom needs space, again. He can't say it doesn't hurt after last night, after everything, but hell, he was her husband. Seeing John put them all through the wringer and he and Dean were the ones to cause it and then come back saying John needed to disappear again or they all would.

“I thought... ” he says. Dean pours him some more coffee, dropping heavily onto the seat opposite of Sam's. “I mean, she's done this before, but I don't know, I thought this time it wouldn't be like that. I thought this time we could deal with it together, you know?”

“Yeah.” Dean's voice is all gravelly and Sam looks at him, feeling both very fond and very sad at the sight of his brother's mussed hair and puffy eyes. “Listen, this puts us back to square one on the Michael front, but do you think we could take it easy today?”

Dean, actually asking for time off. As if Sam could say no to that.

“Of course, yeah. If you want. You wanna watch a movie or go for a drive or something?”

“Maybe, yeah. Either's good. Listen, Sammy...”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks. For everything. And hey, don't look at me like that, this is not my deathbed thank you, okay? This is a normal, stayin' alive thank you.”

Sam nods, swallowing hard. He's grateful too. He's grateful for Dean most of all.

Dean doesn't need to hear it, not right now anyway, because Sam's said it before. But he will do ever better than that. He's going to show him. Get rid of Michael. Get rid of anything that comes after.

And he's going to stay.

#spn spoilers #14x13 lebanon #my fic #wincest #gencest #sam #dean #fanfiction

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wilhelmjfink · 6 years ago

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The Great Divide - Chapter 14

A/N: Sometimes I look back at the one smut piece that I’ve written and see that it has 300+ notes and then I remember this series and how there’s like 4 of us? Is it even worth it? But hey if I haven’t mentioned it lately, the like handful of you that are here are the fuckin’ best, man. I never ever in a million years would’ve thought I would ever share my fanfics anywhere at aLL EVER SO like that there’s other people that just read it and liked it?? Shit’s fuckin’ wild. Sorry, I’m drunk. Got me right in the feels. This one is LONG!

But forreal. Thanks for reading xoxoxo

“You can’t just waltz through the fuckin’ gates, pick out some random broad and just leave with her...”

Daryl eyed Warner where he sat in the grass, still tied up and unable to move, watching Daryl and his friends begin to load up their vehicles and prepare for the run. At least he was outside and able to get some fresh air. Daryl still had to violently stifle the urge to beat the shit out of him right then and there.

“’n why the hell not?”

Warner developed an attitude as if they were supposed to just know the rules; like it was a waste of his time having to explain it to them. And that was one thing the group noted of him: that he often went from one personality to the other, though there was not necessarily a dramatic difference between the personas inside of him. “Well, for one, they’ll shoot you on sight,” Warner explained flatly. His tone was getting sharper, more snarky -- Daryl was considerably proud of himself for not grabbing him by the neck and strangling the life out of him. It went unmentioned, but the others were as well.

And though Warner had learned well enough now to not poke the bear — Daryl, of course, being the bear — he genuinely offered up all the information he knew without issue, cooperating entirely likely in hopes of being freed from the ropes around his wrists and ankles. “But if you get in there, and you go get to the trade, and you just... instantly pick out the girl, they’re gonna know something’s up — ”

Rick interrupted: “So we’ll play it off -- hang around for a little bit first.”

With a slow shake of his head, Warner disagreed. No... just -- just trust me when I say that she will not last very long there. Ones like her, they -- ”

“Why do they even care?”

Warner narrowed his eyes, clearly irritated at being interrupted yet again. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you, if you would let me finish.”

Daryl glared at him and Rick remained silent, a wordless request to continue.

“The big slave trade always comes right after this big event they call The Reaping,” he explained, drawing the attention of the all four that were around within earshot loading the truck. Even before he’d told them what The Reaping was, the name alone sounded bad, and not a single one of them had a good feeling about it. “It’s where they volunteer another slave to fight against one of Asher’s best soldiers.”

Rick and Daryl exchanged glances, having remembered Warner briefly mentioning this earlier, but they’d blown over it at the suggestion of going to the slave trade as it seemed to be the easiest way to get inside The Divide. And Warner seemed to switch personalities, yet again -- this one a bit darker than the others, in the very least.

“But the thing is,” he continued lowly, as if he was telling a ghost story around a fire, “it’s never as random as they intend it to be. The oldest slave there — some old bag named Hilda or something — she always has to choose someone to fight. And there’s an agreement amongst the slaves: that she always chooses the newest addition.” He looked back and forth between the two men looming over him as they stared down at him with hooded eyes, their expressions vague, waiting impatiently for him to make his point though they undoubtedly knew where he was going.

“Alright,” Rick pushed. “And?”

“And if your girl was the newest capture, then fuckin’... Linda or whatever offered her up to fight.”

“Why are ya just tellin’ us about this now?” Daryl demanded in response, the only reasonable response that made sense inside his head at that moment was anger that he hadn’t been told earlier, as if that would make a difference.

And he only got angrier when Warner merely shrugged. “Didn’t think about it until just now.”

Fighting the fire inside of his veins, Daryl’s fists clenched at his sides while he looked over to Rick in search of answers, while also simply refusing to believe that Warner’s words were entirely true. The way that he told it, as if he was narrating a play with the way those other personas rotated who was in charge -- it was almost too practiced. There had to be a way to get into The Divide, especially if they had Warner there with them.

After a moment of silence while they all contemplated his words, Daryl spun back around toward the stranger and took a threatening step closer to him, pulse racing, breath huffing. “Listen: I don’t care if I gotta skin ya and wear ya like a god damn hat to get in. You’re gonna get us where we need to be if it’s the last fuckin’ thing ya ever do. So cut the bullshit and stop dickin’ around!”

“It’s not bullshit,” Warner replied defensively. He would’ve held up his hands in surrender if they weren’t bound together at the wrists. Every so often, a side of Daryl broke through the composed persona Rick had him putting on for his own good, and it was not very comforting for Warner. “It’s the truth -- it’s all truth.”

“Good. And ya better dig deep inside that head’a yours and figure out every truth ya wanna say to us right here, right now, ‘cause if we get there ‘n ya suddenly remember somethin’ relevant, I’m gonna put ya threw the god damn wringer ‘n y’all are gonna wish you was dead. Are we clear?”

Warner swallowed hard, struggling to remain stoic in response. “I’ve got nothing else for you.”

“For your sake, I hope ya ain’t lyin’.” Daryl clearly didn’t believe him still, but the others weren’t entirely convinced either. But considering it was the only lead they had, they knew they needed to at least take a shot because at that point, something was better than nothing.

Their plan was to go back to the original spot where Riley’d been when she disappeared — in the outskirts of the woods with the dead soldier on display as a checkpoint. They were going to strip him of his clothing and, taking into account the corpses stature and disregarding it’s abnormal, alarming outer appearance, Carol volunteered to dawn herself in the armor and join Warner in returning to the The Divide during the trade with Glenn and Michonne both posted up on adjacent buildings, with their sniper rifles trained on Warner should he decide to pull any subterfuge. Tara, Aaron, Abraham and Michonne would on standby incase things got out of hand. The less obvious it was that Carol was out too of the ordinary, the better.

If Warner was actually correct, and they could make it to witness the fight between the slave and the designated soldier, if it really was Riley, that would be even better. “We’ll leave at sunrise,” Rick said, slamming the doors of the van shut. “We’ll stop at the Hampton, grab the armor, and head north from there.”

“Why so soon?” Warner asked from where he sat on the curb of the road. Not even particularly malicious, either; he sounded genuinely apprehensive. “The trade may not even be that soon. It’s usually a week after the -- ”

“Because, if she really did get chosen for that ‘Reaping’, we wanna be there incase it goes wrong.”

“If it goes wrong, you’re better off staying out of it.” Warner looked between the group above him, finally a look of authentic concern on his features, though Daryl still wouldn’t believe it. It still took every bit of self control he was harboring to not beat him mercilessly right then and there. “There are one-hundred-and-thirty-six heavily armed Slavemasters at The Divide,” he continued, “and that’s just the main county. And no offense, but the six or seven of you guys won’t win that battle.”

Rick cocked his head in careful consideration before narrowing his eyes, a dark but familiar vengeful expression blanketing his face. “Don’t you worry about that,” he said lowly. “We’ll be just fine. Let us worry about that part.”

The drive was long and uneventful.

Warner’s directions matched the routes on the map and he sat in the back seat of the van, hands tied together still, to which he commented on several times during the trip only to be ignored.

“There’s a long underground tunnel,” he told them, alternating between staring out the window at the blur of trees and derelict buildings and his fallen comrades armor that lay stacked on the leather seat next to him, “like the Lincoln tunnel was went in and out of New York City years ago.”

“Is it clear?” Rick asked.

“Of walkers, yeah. But it’s guarded pretty heavily.”

Him and Daryl exchanged another silent glance. “How heavy is pretty heavy?”

Warner was aloof now, not tuned into the conversation and seemingly uninterested as he shrugged. “That depends on what you think you can handle.”

Rick knew that Daryl was fuming before he even looked over at him, his friend sitting next to him with narrowed eyes and audibly gritting teeth, but wordlessly a look out of the corner of Rick’s eye made him relax. Warner’s game seemed to be just that: offering insight, then shrugging it off and playing dumb. Rick was the one that cracked him in the first place; Daryl knew it was in his best interest to just listen as opposed to act.

Glancing up in the rearview mirror, Rick made sure the second vehicle was still in tow behind him, Rosita, Tara and Abraham keeping up and the third with Michonne, Aaron and Glenn close behind.

When he turned back around, focusing again on the road ahead of them, his foot went robotically to the brak at the sight of a motorcycle gang down the route, throwing a hand outside of his window to signal to the others behind to slow down as well. Ultimately, the gang roared up to them with little consideration to the racket they were making and some even left their bikes idling while they waiting for Rick and his group to exit the vehicles.

The leader was a stocky older man — not the weak and helpless kind of older, either; he had tattoos covering every inch of exposed skin they could see and his silver hair was greased back over his head, the sheen matching the chains that decorated his leather vest. He smiled, showing his yellow-stained teeth, and killed the switch on his bike. Rick had a hunch that they might’ve been related to Warner somehow, but the man spoke up from the backseat without even being prompted to confess.

“Hey!” Warner called out and Daryl stepped out of the van cautiously. “That’s Six — that’s my group — let me outta here, I can talk to them!”

Daryl hesitantly looked to Rick for confirmation and when he gave him a stiff nod in return, Daryl leaned into the back seat and grasped onto Warner’s dirty collar and just about dragged him from the vehicle. He stumbled out onto the pavement below, struggling with his bound limbs, but managed to push himself to his feet clumsily, trying to compose himself infront of his old comrades.

“Well, shit, looky here, boys! It’s fuckin’ Warner!” The man in front howled, eliciting a rumble of laughter and hoots from the gang behind him. “We was so sure that new girl you caught had killed ya, left ya for dead.”

It seemed almost too easy -- they knew instantly he was talking about Riley. It only made sense with how quickly they’d found him after her disappearance, right? Warner’s eyes were wide at the remark, looking like a deer in headlights. Daryl stepped forward, confidence wavering at the sight even though he was sure they were his crowd of people; they were not nice men and if they were anywhere as bad as Warner had been describing them as, he needed to tread lightly.

“That new girl,” he tried to remain stoic as to not show any emotional attachment and weakness though he was sure he’d failed. “She alive?”

“Alive?” Six grinned more to himself as he contemplated an answer and Daryl had to remind himself once again that these were fucked up people and that his answer was more than likely not true, whatever it may be. But he still needed to listen and, for fuck’s sake, be cautious.

Though, he was very happy to hear the answer Six gave. “She’s doin’ just fine. Real nice, actually. Feisty thing. She’s goin’ up in the Reaping tonight in the Pit — man, I can’t wait to see that broad swingin’.”

That confirmed their fears that she was the one selected to fight one of the toughest soldiers in the Divide that night. Daryl’s last few days had seemed like nothing but sadness and the constant struggle to keep a level head. And he’s accepted that they were already outnumbered at that moment, reminding him to remain calm. It was likely the only chance they were going to get. And luckily, Six continued before he could lash out even if he wanted to. “But never mind that — Warner! Where the hell ya been, man? Pit’s been searchin’ everywhere for you!”

His voice was dripping with smarmy sarcasm and he was clearly less than impressed with Warner’s appearance, though the sinister smile still haunted his features. There was nothing behind his face, a shallow mask the only thing that they could see before them.

“Well, uh... I — “

“Oh, ‘n shit, before I forget...” Six reached around his belt, searching for something in particular as he muttered to himself and both Rick and Daryl watched curiously by the sidelines, attentive to his every move in anticipation of what might happen next. “I have a message from Asher for ya...”

Warner’s eyes widened and he through a fleeting glance over his shoulder like he was searching for something or someone, afraid of being watched or tricked. “Asher? For me?” Daryl’s crossbow was tight in his grasp and he was feeling particularly trigger happy.

“Yeah... what was it? Oh, that’s right!” In the blink of an eye he’d unholstered a .357, cocking the hammer back and pulling the trigger in one swift motion that sent a bullet right between Warner’s eyes. He fell like a bag of sand, eyes still opened, blood pouring from the circular wound just above the bridge of his nose.

Silence.

Daryl and Rick both visibly flinched at the sudden action, neither having expected that response out of the strangers and only reinforcing the fear in their bodies and reminding them once more to be abnormally cautious and wary around them.

Six chuckled. Dary’s blood was boiling beneath his skin. He was furious — he was fucking livid. Even more so because he knew that, for his own safety and the safety of his friends, there wasn’t a mother fucking thing he could do about it but stand there and stare.

The one fucking piece of the puzzle that Daryl had that held any sort of possibility of leading him to Riley and the one fucking thing that gave him a glimmer of hope that he could reach her again. The one frayed, narrow thread that connected him to his girl that he was grasping onto for dear life... it was laying dead at his fucking feet.

It’s Fallout. Thanks for playing everyone. It’s the Fallout 3 DLC The Pitt. *flips table*

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calliecat93 · 6 years ago

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RWBY V6 CH5 Review: The Coming Storm

It's been roughly about a month now since Volume 6 started... and ho boy, has this volume has not held back it's punches whatsoever. Within the span of four chapters we got a train wreck, long awaited questions answered, Cinder plotting her vengeance, and Salem reminding us why she is scary as Hell. We've been put through the wringer these past for weeks, and now with Chapter 5 upon us, we are all wondering how this can get anymore intense. Well delving into the horror genre seems to be a pretty good way! What do I mean? Well lets find out!

Overview

Before we check on our heroes though, lets check in on Cinder The good news for her is that Lil' Miss Malachite has gotten the information that she wanted. She informs the Fall Maiden of the good guys heading for Argus, which causes Cinder to conclude that they're heading for Atlas next. She starts to head off... until Lil' Miss refers to her by name. As it turns out, Cinder was quite the interesting figure. So much so that it brought the information broker double the business. How you may ask? Well the camera cuts to above where we see a figure standing on a beam... and carrying with her a familiar looking parasol That's right my friends, after three volumes and a ton of teasing, Neo has made her return.

Neo wastes no time, attacking Cinder and the two villainesses begin to rumble. It's a pretty awesome hand-to-hand fight too, all as a chilling new Jeff and Casey tune plays. Did I mention that I really want the soundtrack? Between this, Lionized, Miracle, and the opening this soundtrack is gong to be morbidly awesome. Lil' Miss, while clearly enjoying the show, eventually tells the two girls to take their rumble outside. It's at this point that Cinder discovers that the Neo that she's been fighting is one of her illusions... so yeah, Neo can now cast longer, more lifelike illusions. Be afraid people. Be very afraid. But it isn't long before Cinder causes the real Neo to step forward.

Now normally, Neo has a confident, pretty cocky demeanor like her former boss, which her previous illusion also demonstrated. But here? Her clothes are slightly tattered, her expression is serious and vengeful, and most notably she is now wearing a very familiar looking hat. It takes Cinder no time to realize what the deal is: Neo wants to kill her as revenge for Torchwick's death. As they fight however, Cinder points out that they both have the same goal, which is to get revenge on Little Red Ruby. Cinder finally goes into Maiden mode, causing Neo to stop in fear, ad the Fall Maiden convinces her to knock it off and that they can work together to make Ruby pay. Neo agrees to talk... well she can't really talk, which I guess we now have conformation that Neo is indeed a mute. But you get what I mean.

Back with Team RWBY, the storm is growing worst as Ruby is confused by the state of Brunswick Farms. Most places that she's seen that were abandoned were either destroyed or unfinished, but this place is fine. The group breaks into what I assume is the mayor's house and everyone scatters to look around and find supplies. Ruby's attention goes to some portraits, showing a rather happy bunch of people. Blake goes to check on her... when the two hear Weiss scream. The gang goes to find her and Yang in a state of horror... because they just found the corpses of the home owners still int heir beds. WELL... THAT WAS SOMETHING.

A little later, Qrow confirms that all of the town is dead int he same manner. Weiss understandably doesn't want to stay there, but with the storm they have no choice. Qrow goes to see if he can find anything that can transport them out, ordering the others to go nowhere alone. Blake and Yang go to see if they can find anything in the other buildings as Ruby and Weiss look around to see if they can find any food. That leaves Oscar with Maria, who tells him to keep the fire going as she looks for a bedtime story. Did I mention that I love Abuelita Maria? Because Dear God do I love her.

Blake and Yang end up in some kind of barn/shed and look around, also wondering what it could have been that killed everyone. It's pretty clear that Yang is not handling any of the recent events well and Blake is concerned, but the blonde merely says that she's tired and wants to get out of this place. She finds a wagon that looks large enough to hold everyone, but any possible relief is killed when she has a flashback to Adam. She tells Blake of how she still flashes back to that night, her hand trembling as she asks the cat girl if she believes that Adam is still out there. Blake doesn't know, especially since despite knowing that the WF will reject him for his cowardice, he'll likely force his way anyways. She would know after all, he would use force and fear to make her feel beneath him and right into his control. But still, Blake tries to comfort Yang by assuring her that she isn't going anywhere and will be there for her. It seems to help Yang... until Blake says that if Adam comes back, she'll protect her. Yang doesn't take that comment well, heading back while saying that they'll hook the wagon to Bumblebee later. And somewhere, the Bumblebee shippers aren't sure if they should cheer, cry, or both.

Back with Ruby and Weiss, they find what looks like a bar. Ruby isn't happy with this, especially considering Qrow's current mental state, but brushes it aside as she heads for a pantry. Weiss however starts to ask Ruby if they're still heading for Atlas, much to Ruby's confusion. Weiss brings up that Salem can't be killed, so what's the point of going there now? Well that's what she claims anyways. I think that we all know the real reason why she doesn't want to go back. Ruby is clearly upset about this, but Weiss takes it back and just says that she's tired and hates this place... remember this for the review. They find more alcohol and a chained up wine cellar... and some canned shrimp flavored beans! Ugh... why would anyone make those? They take the food and leave and the episode ends with one of the cellar doors opening up...

Review

If anyone was hoping that things would get more cheery.. well sorry, you're going to be waiting awhile! Man, this episode was tense. Heck,t hat's what they should have named it! Tense: The Episode. I'm not complaining though cause man, this chapter was great! The drama continues to keep us at the edge of our sets, we got some payoffs, and plenty of nightmare fuel! Thanks for the Day 5/Until Dawn crossover CRWBY! I'll be having nightmares for weeks now!

So lets talk about the villains first! Neo is back... and I really don't care. I know that Neo is a fan favorite, and it totally baffles me as to why. Her design is cute and all, but... she hasn't done anything. I mean she's.. what? Fought Yang, broke Roman out of prison, and fought Ruby before getting Mary Poppins'd off the airship. That's it. We know nothing about her as a character and her scenes are very minor. She existed to be Roman's flunky because Monty came up with a cool design at the last possible moment. Otherwise, she could have been written out and it would have changed nothing about the series. I need more than a cool character design to care about a character, hence why I wasn't upset when Sienna got killed off, so I really wasn't all that excited to have her show up again,

That being said... this CAN turn out to be a good thing. Because with Torchwick dead, it gives Neo motivation as a character. She clearly cared about her boss and now that he's gone, all that she's left with is the desire for revenge against those who got him killed in the first place. With Cinder now wanted, it made sense to go after her first, plus it was Cinder's planning that got Torchwick put into that situation to begin with. Honestly Torchwick's death may be what allows Neo to get the character that I feel that she is lacking and while I don't expect her partnership with Cinder to stick for long, it'll be interesting to see how she operates now that she has the chance to get back at Ruby.

As for the scene itself, I loved it! The fight scene was great. Fast-paced, but not over bloated. Just a really cool hand-to-hand fight with both Cinder and Neo using their abilities to their advantage. Cinder is still a bitch, but she's showing more of the more smug persona that we're familiar with while actually being logical with her convincing Neo to work with her rather than against her. Considering her current situation and lack of any backup until she redeems herself, it makes sense for Cinder to go this route, even if her mind is still mainly on making Ruby suffer. But hey, she's not screwing up any per-conceived plans to do it this time! Oh, and Lil' Miss Malachite continues to be a delight. I freakin' love this woman.

Now onto our heroes... and boy do I worry for them. God the entire sequence from them breaking into the house to finding the bodies... it was tense. Something felt so off. Poor Weiss just seems traumatized after, and I can't blame her. I'd be traumatized too. So what was it that killed an entire town? Well I think it's pretty clearly a Grimm, but we'll go more into that in a little bit. For now, lets talk about the partner scenes.

Yang and Blake's scene just... made me sad. On the one hand, I freakin' love Blank. She's gone form my least favorite Team RWBY member and not even in my Top 5 to now being a serious contender for my second favorite alongside Weiss. Throughout this chapter, she is supportive and concerned for her teammates. She goes to see what Ruby's thinking about as she stares at the photos, gives Weiss a blanket while she's clearly still reeling from her morbid discovery, and she is trying so hard to be supportive and friendly with Yang. She tries to give Yang the chance to talk about what's bothering her, opens up about how small Adam made her feel, and tries to assure Yang that she's not going anywhere and won't let her get hurt again. It really shows how much that Blake has grown since Volume 4, an I am loving every second of it.

Sadly, Yang isn't doing that great. The recent events, from Adam to everything with her mom to the new revelations to now, have clearly weighed her down. She's downcast, bitter, and frustrated. Her PTSD is still haunting her as she still has flashback and despite being willing to face her fears, those fears still haunt her. And sadly just when it looks like Blake's making a breakthrough, Yang gets upset because Blake said that she'd protect her. It's a very sweet comment, but to Yang it make her feel like she's weak an incapable. She's supposed to be the one protecting people, not the other way around. She hates feeling weak and afraid, so while Blake's comment was nothing but well intentioned, to the blonde it felt like an insult and only reinforced all the negativity brewing inside her. Clearly she needs to let it out and she and Blake need to sort everything out, then she can start to do better. Hopefully, this arc will allow that.

Onto the Ruby and Weiss pair and... man, poor Weiss. The girl is badly shaken from finding the corpses, even as she tries to keep some kind of positive attitude after. But it's clear that both the recent events and the fear of going back to Atlas are haunting her. She's afraid to go home since it means facing her father again and the threat of once more being locked away. No one would want to go back to the place where thy were kept prisoner. But she's also concerned with the recent revelations. Salem can't be killed. Even if they lock away the Relic, all it'll do is slow her down. There seems to be no point, and Weiss is considering calling it quits even if only briefly. It shows how bad of a state shes in emotionally on top of everything else, and I really worry for her.

Then of course there's Ruby. I think that this is the most serious that we've seen her in a good while. She's very much in leader mode, and after how baldy she got the shaft last volume, this is very good to see. She's concerned about the state of the town and trying to piece it together. She tries to comfort Weiss by looking for food. When she finds the bar, she want sot immediately seal it up out of concern that Qrow will get overly drunk. Clearly a lot is weighing on Ruby, yet she still displays a helpful, positive attitude. She's really trying, and it really makes me concerned for her. IDK if all that she's holding in is going to break in this volume, but with how the other three seem ready to break, this might be the right time to do it. I do think that Ruby may have to save them all though, if my current theory about the Grimm is right.

So you may remember that both Weiss and Yang being tired, Yang even showing signs of being delirious. I don't think that's just general dialogue. Remember, they were the two who found the bodies. Bodies that were tucked in bed alongside the rest of the town. It seems that whatever the Grimm is, one that I assume the town locked up until now, it killed them in their sleep There are many different ways to interpret this, but my current thought is that this is some kind of dream walker Grimm. Think of it like Freddy Kruger form Nightmare on Elm Street. Someone who haunts and tortures you in your dreams, to the point that you end up dead in the real world. And this Grimm may cause people to feel tired in order to lull them into it' trap, hence why the entire town ended up dead.

If I had to guess, Weiss, Yang, and Qrow are going to end up asleep and end up victims of the Grimm. Maybe Blake too, but who can say? IDK about Oscar either though I think that Maria will be fine. This will probably means that while everyone is trying to fight through their nightmares. Ruby may have to go into the cellar to find and kill the Grimm, which would lead to the scene in the opening. Heck, for all I know all of them will end up in the nightmares and maybe Ruby's the first to break through or something. I'm not sure. For all I know, I'm talking completely out of my ass. What I do know however is no matter what this Grimm may be or whatever is coming next, with this episode's title being 'The Coming Storm' it's NOT gonna be pretty.

Final Thoughts

Like last week, this episode had me uncomfortable throughout, but in different ways. I am seriously worried about everyone and whatever it is that's about to happen to them. No one is in a good place right now, and that's probably about to reach a breaking point. But hey, we got a cool fight scene and a new song! That was nice of them! But yeah, really enjoyed this episode! It has plenty of character development and plenty of setup for next week. So tune in then as Nightmare Fuel Theater proudly presents RWBY: Day 5 Until Dawn!

#rwby #rwby6 #rwby reviews #callie reviews

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thegooddoctorheadcanonsarchive · 7 years ago

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Could you do Shaun and Claire?

Who is more likely to hurt the other? - Shaun is actually more likely to hurt Claire than she is him. He doesn’t mean to, but he’s so unsure about himself in their relationship that sometimes he ends up shutting her out or snapping at a situation he doesn’t know what to do with. She knows it’s not his fault most of the time, but it can still hurt when he tucks away from her or avoids her. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen very often.

Who is emotionally stronger? - Claire is the stronger one of the two, for sure. She’s very calm and collected in most situations; it takes a lot to unnerve her. Usually she’s always there when Shaun gets overwhelmed or strung-out, and she can help him calm down.

Who is physically stronger? - That’d be Shaun. Claire blames it on him being taller than her— she says if they were the same height she would be the stronger one, which totally makes sense. But in the meantime, Shaun is stronger, and he loves to pick her up around the waist and twirl her around. It makes her collapse into giggles, and Shaun adores her laugh, so he does it all the time.

Who is more likely to break a bone? - Neither of them! These two are overly careful, and let’s be honest, a broken arm isn’t too great for performing surgery. They’re both not the daredevil type anyway, so the risk isn’t really there in the first place.

Who knows best what to say to upset the other? - Shaun has the tendency to say harsher things. He’s very blunt and upfront as it is, and he’s never afraid to call anyone out when it comes down to it. This would correlate into their relationship. He regrets it afterwards, but in the moment, when it comes to fighting, he’s the one more likely to go too far.

Who is most likely to apologize first after an argument? - Shaun is always the first to apologize, and he goes all out. He’ll disappear and show up on Claire’s doorstep later with chocolates and flowers and a miserable expression on his face. He usually keeps apologizing for an hour or so after she forgives him, too, just for good measure.

Who treats who’s wounds more often? - They swap out. Whoever is hurt, the other person is there to take care of them. They’re both experts with what they know so they both trust the other 100%. And they’re both equally worried over the other when they are hurt, too.

Who is in constant need of comfort? - Shaun takes the cake, again. A lot of the time, he can’t shake the idea of him being more of a burden than anything else. It gets especially bad if he’s strung-out about other things, too— everything just pushes down on him and makes him a nervous wreck. Claire is always more than patient with him, though, and she never hesitates to offer that comfort.

Who gets more jealous? - Shaun doesn’t get very ‘jealous’ per-say. He just thinks Claire is far too good for him and he is basically always asking himself why she’s dating him. So he might see Claire talking to some handsome guy, and he might think she would be happier with him, instead. Sometimes he even goes so far as to say that out loud, or ask why she’s with him in the first place, if he’s really feeling inadequate. Her response is to always just kiss the question away, though.

Who’s most likely to walk out on the other? - They are both very committed to the other, and very honest about their feelings. Neither of them are a flight risk in any sense. However, Shaun always worries that Claire will leave him for someone ‘better’ so in his opinion it would probably be her.

Who will propose? - Honestly? Both of them kind of do. Really, it all started because Shaun was feeling so unsure about where they stood as a couple. He was always worried and always uncertain. So Claire just let it drop one day, in casual conversation. They were working the emergency room, and they had the cutest little girl in with a broken arm. As they were seeing her off, all patched up, Claire just announced: “I’d like to have a girl as cute as that when we get married.” Shaun short-circuited, basically. He looked at her and all he could really say was: “When…we get married?” She just shrugged it off, as if it was common knowledge. “Yeah, of course,” she’d said. “When we get married.” And from then on, it was always said, by both her and him. When we get married, we’ll get a house like this. We’ll set up the living room like this. We’ll do this, we’ll visit this place. It got easier for Shaun to see, and because of that he was much less wary about them being together– instead, he was just excited. Claire loved to see his eyes shine brighter with more and more certainty each time he declared it. Eventually, one day, he just turned to her and asked outright: “Would you please marry me?” She was so happy he finally felt comfortable enough to that she almost cried, but all she could really do was laugh and say: “I practically already have.”

Who has the most difficult parents? - They both have had troubled childhoods, and their fair share of bad parents. They don’t see it as a contest; when Shaun hits a bad day and can’t tear his mind away from his past, Claire is there, and when Claire’s mom tries to contact her, Shaun sits with her and listens to her vent. They understand first-hand how bad it feels, so they’re both always willing to drop everything else to support the other.

Who initiates hand-holding when they’re out in public? - Shaun. At first he wasn’t on board with hand-holding and claimed he didn’t like it. But flash forward in their relationship, and it’s like someone just super-glued their hands together. The instant they go anywhere, Shaun is all smiles, reaching for her. He’s so eager to show everyone else Claire is his girlfriend— it always makes her bubble over with affection.

Who hogs the blankets? - Nobody! They both share the blankets equally; it’s the perfect situation. They don’t cuddle very much, because it’s not really up Shaun’s alley. So they stay on their side of the bed, and that means having no problems with space invasion.

Who gets more sad? - Shaun gets sad more frequently than Claire does. There’s a certain few topics that Claire is very sensitive over, like lost patients, or her mother, or mistakes she’s made in the past. She can get very upset over things like that. Shaun is usually more prone to getting upset about the here-and-now, or things that drag up the past with his dad or with Steve. Either way, one is always there for the other, no matter what.

Who is better at cheering the other up? - Claire is so so talented at cheering Shaun up. She’s practically an expert on it by now. Usually she can just look at him and he’ll crack a smile. But if that doesn’t work, she likes to go above and beyond. We’re talking pancakes, ice cream, relaxing walks in the park— she’ll do anything she can to get that smile she loves back on his face where it belongs.

Who’s the one that playfully slaps the other all the time after they make silly jokes? - Neither of them. This has only happened once, when they first started dating. Shaun said something that was annoyingly adorable and on an impulse, Claire reached out to push his shoulder good-naturedly. But the shove caught Shaun really off-guard, and he flinched away from her like she’d punched him. Claire scrambled to apologize, but that almost made it worse. He was quiet and stiff for the rest of the night. It’s never happened since.

Who is more streetwise? - Claire, hands-down. Shaun’s booksmart, but that’s unfortunately where it ends a lot of the time. But it’s alright because she compensates for him. Her street knowledge stretches much farther than just the Flirting Trifecta.

Who is more wise? - They’re both pretty equal. The two of them have been through the wringer and they’re both better off for it. By a slim, slim margin, it’d probably be Claire. She gives better straightforward advice Shaun can rely on, and he goes to her quite a lot because of that. But sometimes Shaun’s viewpoint is the best on a given situation. Claire never counts his wisdom out of the equation.

Who’s the shyest? - Shaun is definitely shyer. Claire could give him the tiniest compliment or the tiniest peck on the cheek and he’s beet red in less than a second. He always gets this huge grin on his face, too; it’s Claire’s absolute favorite thing to see.

Who boasts about the other more? - They are both neck-in-neck in this one. There’s no way of telling. Because, to be frank, neither of them can shut up about the other. Claire loves to go on and on about her wonderful boyfriend and how smart he is and how sweet, and every other sentence out of Shaun’s mouth is about Claire and how beautiful she is and how talented and how she’s his girlfriend, and isn’t he just the luckiest person ever? Friends of theirs have to practically put in earplugs.

Who sits on who’s lap? - It doesn’t happen often because Shaun doesn’t like the pressure, or the feeling of being held down. Claire understands that. Usually she just puts her head down on his shoulder, and leans against him. He prefers it that way, and sometimes he puts his head down on hers, too. They fell asleep like that one time at work. Carly took a picture.

#OKAY soo many people asked for Shaun and Claire and every single person that did also left the cutest little sentiment behind it #Like someone said I was brilliant and someone else told me to safe and someone else wished me good health like you guys are too sweet #The Good Doctor #Shaun Murphy #Claire Browne #ShaunxClaire #Shipping Meme #Headcanon #Made before S1E18 #Hopefully these are all passable I liked the proposal one the best idk bout u kids #Let's seeee I got ClairexJared and ShaunxMelendez and ClairexMelendez coming up so (somehow) if your ship ain't there keep 'em coming

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jeremystrele · 4 years ago

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Artist Maggie May & Musician Josh Kelly Are Parenting And Running A Business Through COVID And Cancer

Family

Ashe Davenport

Maggie May and Josh Kelly run Think Thornbury, a gift store and creative space on High Street in Thornbury. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Josh with baby Remy at Think Thornbury. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Maggie putting her special touch on the Think Thornbury space. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Little Remy with Maggie. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Maggie and Josh have been running Think Thornbury together, juggling Maggie’s art practice and Josh’s music career. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Maggie, Remy and Josh outside Think Thornbury. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Josh at home, just after Maggie cut his hair. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Maggie cutting Josh’s hair at home, before starting chemotherapy. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Maggie using the special shaver she and Josh bought for this specific purpose. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Josh, who looks REMARKABLY handsome with a shaved head! Photo – Bobby Clark.

Maggie and Josh are surprisingly upbeat. We’re chatting over Zoom, as is customary for most Melbourne interviews in the year 2020. They’re lying on their bed sharing a green juice. Behind them is a bedhead covered in soft, daisy printed fabric, like a garden from a daydream. Maggie, aka renowned macramé artist Middle Aisle, is effortlessly chic in a pale yellow jumper and slightly oversized glasses. Josh, saxophonist for bands 30/70 and JK Group, looks like he’s always had a shaved head. He doesn’t look like a sick person.

Josh was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease five weeks ago. He’s just completed his first week of chemotherapy. His doctor has predicted another six months of treatment, followed by radiation, if necessary. During that time, he and Maggie will continue to parent their one-and-a-half-year-old son Remy, and try to keep the business going.

Maggie and Josh began Think Thornbury as a space for local creatives, to sell their wares and hone their crafts. It has since grown into a passionate and dedicated community. When Maggie shared Josh’s diagnosis on Instagram, they were overwhelmed with support. A GoFundMe set up on Josh’s behalf raised $27,000 in just 24 hours (and now sits at over $50,000).

This isn’t the first time they’ve been challenged as a couple. In fact, they’ve been through the wringer. Maggie is only just recovering from severe postnatal depression, which she chats about with bracing honesty. They share their wonderful experiences, the harrowing ones and everything in between as a way to strengthen their ties with the world around them. Cancer, it seems, is no exception.

Below is an edited and condensed version of our chat.

Trigger warning : This interview contains talk of suicidal thoughts and postnatal depression.

How are you guys sharing the parenting load at the moment?

Josh Kelly: Cancer’s really flipped it.

Maggie May: Yeah. It’s put a lot of…

JK: … pressure back onto you.

MM: Yeah.

JK: We had some really frank discussions in the early days of parenthood. I thought I was being a good co-parent, but came to realise I had a fairly patriarchal gaze. There were so many things I didn’t notice Maggie was doing. She helped me see that, and we were able to figure it out. And my diagnosis has flipped it again. The doctors are like, you can’t change nappies, you can’t hold Remy when he comes back from daycare. I’m that immunocompromised. It’s put all the parenting straight back onto Maggie. I’m in bed a lot. And she’s like, making me smoothies. It’s a pretty big mental shift to be taken care of in this way.

MM: Historically, you’re the one who takes care of me. I’m the one that falls into a puddle. Not that I’m completely useless, but pregnancy was particularly hard. I had Hyperemesis.

Is that when you throw up all the time?

MM: Yeah. I had no close friends who had been pregnant, so I had no gauge for what morning sickness was. I was throwing up 20 times a day. And Josh was on tour in the UK. He got home and was like, Nah, you’re fucked mate. I’m taking you to the hospital. It was another eight months of it from there. I was still working. I still taught five star reviewed macramé workshops!

JK: You were spewing five seconds before people came upstairs.

MM: (laughing) I’d say, I’m just going to pop downstairs for a moment! Then I’d go down to the bathroom, be horrifically ill, and come back up like nothing had happened.

That sounds intense. And Maggie, you didn’t have the easiest road when Remy arrived either, right?

MM: Yeah. Particularly at the start of the year. I didn’t want to be here anymore. Postnatal depression was the pits. I had a massive breakdown.

JK: It was big.

I’m so sorry you went through that. This is the year from hell. Are you guys okay?

JK: We were talking about this last night. So, it’s Jewish New Year at the moment, right? We were saying how we’ve come through some pretty serious challenges: Maggie’s depression being as bad as it’s ever been, having a baby, having significant financial pressure, having COVID happen to our business and now me having cancer, and I feel like we’re almost starting to steer the ship around, in a weird way. There are a few things we’ve done differently in the past few months that have made a big difference.

MM: Putting Remy in childcare helped a lot. I think I tied a lot of my parenting self-worth to how much time I spent with him. I wanted more time with my parents growing up. I still do. But that’s just not who they are as people. I used to think that if I could always be there for Remy, that would mean I was doing a really good job. But since he’s been in childcare, I’ve felt lighter. It’s taken a lot of pressure off.

How much did you know about your diagnosis, Josh? Were you starting from zero?

JK: Pretty much zero. I knew what most people in Australia would know about cancer. I’ve known a few people who have been affected, but not the nuts and bolts of it. The day-to-day grind of it. Then when you factor in that there are thousands of different kinds of cancer and sub-types of cancers, and they all have slightly different treatments and slightly different chemotherapies. And every patient reacts differently. There’s a lot of unknown. But nothing beats reality. No amount of information is going to tell me everything I need to know. I need to experience things. That’s how I learn. This first week of chemo has been a big learning curve.

What does it feel like?

JK: It’s like the worst hangover ever. Times a million. You can take all this stuff to moderate the nausea, but you just feel completely fatigued. You do feel like you’re dying inside. It’s probably not a good word to use. I had three days of chemo in a row this week. Monday was the biggest day, which is when I took the most drugs, and that fucked me up until Wednesday night.

MM: It was like going to a really bad festival.

JK: Yeah. I started feeling okay, then really sick again on Thursday. I have to take a cocktail of pills, too, which wipes me out. I’ve felt a little bit better each day since. I’m still pretty out of it, but I’m feeling okay.

MM: Yeah, you’re doing way better today.

(They exchange a brief reassuring look. Suddenly they’re upsettingly young. I want to tell them how brave they are. And how proud of them I am. I remind myself to cool it).

Have you found any resources particularly helpful? Any books or movies that you’re relating to right now?

MM: Cancer movies are so sad. There are none that come to mind. Actually, there’s one movie I keep thinking about. In the Wizard of Oz when they go through the forest and Scarecrow says, “I think it’ll get darker before it gets lighter.” I just keep coming back to that and feeling it in my body and soul. It all comes back to The Wizard of Oz.

What else even is there? Ugh. You guys have a great attitude.

MM: Thanks. It doesn’t mean we don’t have moments when we really struggle. There are definitely times when I’m like: NO! What for? Why us?

JK: Friends were messaging me the night before my first round of chemo, asking me how I was feeling, and whether I was scared or nervous. I was both those things, but I was also excited. I could dwell on how awful the side effects were going to be, or how lucky I was to be able to access treatment. And the fact that it was going to help me.

MM: The morning of his first treatment I cuddled him in bed and he said, ‘Today’s the day we get better.’

Family Favourites

Date night in?

Cook an extravagant meal (the kind where you buy specialty ingredients from Casa Iberica), delicious bottle of wine, altogether too much cheese, pick different records for each other, try and have a conversation not about Think Thornbury or Remy.

Rainy day activity?

Find some puddles to jump in the Darebin parklands together. Build train tracks around the living room whilst listening to music and drinking hot chocolate. Later on we watch a movie.

Favourite cafe?

Oh Gosh, we’re spoilt for choice in Thornbury… Josh says Everyday Coffee in Collingwood (scandal!) and Maggie is indecisive which is just so typical, but agrees Everyday Coffee is excellent.

Honestly though, all the local cafes here in Thornbury & Northcote are excellent and they have been so supportive of us. We love them all equally and can’t wait till they’re all open again.

Go-to album?

This is hard for us. We have literally 300 records. You should come see us DJ when COVID lets us do it again.

A Love Supreme by John Coltrane/ Mama’s Gun by Erykah Badu

Weekend getaway (remember those)?

We like to try and get away to some kind of secluded cabin surrounded by trees, where there is quiet and the chance for us to be a little introspective and plan our next insane venture together. Preferably with a fireplace and a very comfortable place to sit. We also go for walks and point out all the animals and trees for Remy.

Follow Maggie May, Josh, and Think Thornbury to keep up with this remarkable young family’s journey. And you can support them during this difficult time, via their GoFundMe campaign here.

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fangirlshrewt97 · 4 years ago

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The Witcher Fic - Give Me One More Chance (Part 3)

Author: Fangirlshrewt97

Fandom: The Witcher (TV Series)

Pairing: Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier|Dandelion, Geralt of Rivia & Yennefer of Vengerburg, Geralt of Rivia & Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Jaskier|Dandelion & Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon

Characters: Geralt of Rivia, Jaskier|Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Yennefer of Vengerburg, Roach

Rating: Teen Audiences and Up (Swearing, Mild Gore)

Warnings: None Apply

Additional Tags: Post Episode S01E06: Rare Species, Emotionally Constipated Geralt of Rivia, Pining, Touch-Starved Geralt of Rivia, Whump, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt & Comfort, First Kiss, Getting Together, Canon-Typical Levels of Violence, Monsters, I really put Geralt through the wringer here, but I am ok with that because poor Jaskier did not deserve it, I do acknowledge though that Geralt is multiple levels of screwed up and maybe thought he was helping them both when he was actually hurting them

Summary: After the dragon hunt, Geralt tries to cope with his actions. And misses Jaskier a lot. But refuses to deal with his feeling even when it almost kills him.

Alternate title: 5 things Geralt misses about Jaskier + 1 he didn’t need to

Link to A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24389734

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

*****

Geralt did not have much time to ponder on his own cursed luck after the incident with the shapeshifter. Mere weeks later, he was in Cintra as it fell, and days later, he found his Child Surprise. He made a promise to himself as he was riding to Cintra that he would just protect her and then return her to her family after the danger had passed. But having seen the corpse of Queen Calanthe, and held Ciri’s small form against him, he knew he had a new purpose now.

Still, Ciri was a child, a princess who grew up wanting for nothing, and now she was all alone in the world stuck with a stranger destiny has assigned her. She screamed herself awake the first few nights, and Geralt did not know what to do but hold her when she sought comfort from his touch.

It had been a long time since Geralt had ever had to properly care for another human being, and he had never truly had anyone who looks to him for comfort. The last kind touch he had had, he had to pay coin for. He could hardly learn lessons on childcare based on his interactions at a brothel anyways.

He held her in his arms, ran his fingers through her hair. Those get her to stop shaking. Sometimes, he rumbled, noticing that she tucked herself closer to the vibrations. He knew a few of the lullabies and songs Jaskier had used to help comfort children they sometimes had to rescue from monster, but that was not an option. He remembered every lyric though, he just couldn't bring himself to sing Jaskier's words. His lark had never been quiet for long, and even when his scent had long faded from the memento Geralt still had inside his tunic, his melodies were forever imprinted onto Geralt’s brain. He hummed a few of the easier shanties under his breath. Ciri snuffled her nose and curled herself more tightly under his chin. After laying her out in her own bedroll, Geralt laid down nearby, still seeing the outline of her figure. The last time someone touched him to comfort him because they wanted to see if he was alright, because they genuinely cared, he payed them back by screaming that they were the cause of all his misfortunes. But each of them had led him to something invaluable had it not? He inevitably hurt all those he cared about, and the thought of somehow causing his newest charge any pain made Geralt want to vomit. His hands were made of killing not caring, how could anyone trust him to take care of such innocence?

Geralt was rarely selfish, but alone, in the dark with just the starts ad Ciri's sweet snores for company, he could admit to himself that he could no longer imagine life without Ciri. Or rather imagine it and not feel a void there. Same for Yennefer. They may not have parted with kind words, but she was still important to him, and she always would be.

///

After almost getting accustomed to the feeling of travelling alone once again, Ciri was yet another change to the routine he had established decades ago. And a welcome one, but unpracticed. She was fierce and brave, but ultimately she was still raised in a palace, her hands still smooth and without callouses earned through work done with one’s own hands. He taught her how to gather firewood, how to find a water source, how to determine if it was clean. He spoke more with her than he could remember speaking to anyone, including -.

No. Geralt would not deny himself the truth anymore. Thinking about him still hurt. Didn’t mean he would accept the pain either. Just... ignore it.

Except, he didn’t expect it to hurt even more to not think of him. Ciri asked him about his connection to her, about their destiny and how it came to be. About Yennefer. About Witcher training. About Roach. About himself.

And he told her. He told her about starting when he was a mere child, about the trials being lethal, about brothers being killed because they were not strong enough to survive. But he also told her that they were not asked to participate in the trials until they felt ready.

He told her about the purple-eyed sorceress. About the stories that had started coming out of Sodden, about a fight for the chokehold, the Nilfgardian army against a small group of mages and sorceresses. They were in a rundown inn when they hear a rumor of a witch with purple eyes who defeated an army before vanishing into smoke. Ciri tries to distract him when his face grows shuttered.

///

He didn’t tell her about Jaskier. Not about his bright clothes and merry laughter, about his endless well of impossible tales that nonetheless always made the children of any town they visited laugh. He also kept quiet about how he misses Jaskier’s fearlessness regarding touching Geralt. That was not a conversation he was prepared to have with himself even. He didn’t tell about how good a friend he was to the Witcher, and above all, he didn’t breathe a word about the guilt that eats at him a little more each day for sending the bard away.

It must be visible on him somehow though, because Ciri always wore a knowing glint when he recounted a retelling of an adventure he shared with the bard that he carefully worded to completely extract him from the story.

He told dull stories.

///

They found Yennefer six weeks into their travels. Or rather she found them. They were camping when Roach neighs at the change in the air around them, and his medallion starts to vibrate. He gathers Ciri and his swords, gives her a dagger and tells her to run in case the fight turns ugly. She had just managed to hide behind a tree when the portal opens and Yennefer steps though, looking as radiant and terrifying as always.

“Is this how you always greet friends, Witcher?” Yennefer asked, deadpan.

Geralt scented her familiar smell of lilacs and gooseberries, but the shapeshifter had a hold of his thoughts again, and he pressed his sword’s tip into her throat until he nicks her chin. She lets him.

“Satisfied?”

Still wary, he nodded. He lowered his weapon.

Then, she surprised him. Her voice was filled with genuine regret as she informed him: “Geralt. I am so sorry. Princess Cirilla was killed during the fall of Cintra. I know she was your Child Surprise, and whatever your feelings might have been about that, she was far too young to die.”

Geralt blinked at her, before snorting.

“Your informants are wrong.”

It was Yennefer’s turn to blink. This was not quite the reaction she had been expecting.

“I’m sorry?”

“Fiona! Come on out!” Geralt called out, voice just a bit louder than normal. Ciri came scrambling out of her hiding place, and plastered herself to Geralt’s side.

“Fiona, I want you to meet Yennefer of Vengerburg.” Geralt told Ciri. Then looking at Yennefer, with a far more amused twinkle in his eyes: “Yennefer, I want you to meet Fiona.”

When Yen just stared he added “Also called Princess Cirilla, the Lion Cub of Cintra.”

Yennefer’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped slightly open. But she being who she was, recovers quickly and bowed and held out a hand for the young girl. Ciri squinted at her suspiciously before hesitantly extending her own hand.

“Pleasure to meet you Princess.” Yennefer adds, voice warmer than Geralt has ever heard it. Her whole countenance was softer than he remembered.

Ciri smiled, a sight that still instilled a warmth in Geralt’s core.

“Pleasure to meet you Yennefer.”

At that time, Ciri’s stomach let out a loud growl, causing her to turn pink.

“I’m so sorry!” Ciri says embarrassed.

Yennefer laughed. “What do you say I make a meal for a change? Neither a Witcher or a songbird can ever be counted on to whip up anything anyone can actually call enjoyable food. It’s all cooked enough to not be chalk or stone.”

She did not notice Geralt stiffen. Or Ciri perk up.

The excitement in her voice felt like a blade to Geralt’s heart. “Songbird? What songbird? Geralt you had a pet?”

Yennefer pauseed, frowning confusedly between them before she looks around the campground.

“Where is your songbird shadow Geralt?” Yennefer asked.

Geralt would swear his teeth were being grinded to dust in his mouth.

“Not with me anymore.”

“Geralt!” Ciri whined.

He makes the mistake of glancing at her and being caught in her doe-like gaze, stripped to his core and made to feel ashamed.

“Ciri drop it!” Geralt growled. She jumped away from him, abruptly leaving him feeling unbalanced. She looked close to tears.

“Yennefer, watch her. I am going to get us some food.” Geralt rumbled before grabbing his steel sword and dagger, and disappearing into the forest.

As he walked into the forest, he feels the dagger Ciri unintentionally embedded in his chest pierce deeper. He had not noticed until she pointed it out, but the world did seem to be getting duller.

///

The girls were resting inside Yennefer’s magic tent, on a comfortable feather bed surrounded by warmth and furs. Geralt laid outside the tent opening on his bedroll, the fabric just barely hiding the discomfort of the pebbles beneath him. He has stripped his armor, and a ways away, loosely tied to a tree, Roach was resting. He could faintly make out Yen and Ciri’s heartbeats from inside the tent.

He was tired. He has been pushing himself harder than probably advisable, even for a Witcher, but honestly, his thinking has been compromised and all his instincts were screaming at him to get his Child Surprise home to Kaer Morhen.

He told himself the cold he felt was because of the oncoming winter, and not the small loss of Ciri inside the tent instead of beside him. He had not realized how much he missed the presence of another person in his camp until he was all alone. That what he was missing wasn't the fur cloak he had given to Ciri to protect against the bitter cold, and not the other human who used to steal the very same coat and stick his cold nose into Geralt’s bedroll when he allowed it.

///

Yennefer declared she would travel with them for a while as they made their way northward toward Kaer Morhen. Geralt believeed her but also knows that Yennefer would not stay long. She was too used to luxury for life on the road. After the first two days, Ciri warmed immensely to Yennefer, happy for another female presence after only Geralt. And one who could talk in more than grunts and stilted sentences.

It was as he was coming back from one of his hunts that he heard them talking and decided to hide when he heard his name being mentioned.

“What was that?�� Yennefer asked from where she was reading a book and adding something to a pot.

“What was the songbird?”

“Songbird?”

“When you first joined us. You asked Geralt where his songbird was. And he yelled at me?”

“Oh Ciri I don’t-”

“Please Yennefer.”

Yennefer sighed.

“There was a bard before you joined Geralt. Jaskier.”

“Jaskier? That name sounds familiar.”

“Have you heard the song ‘Toss a Coin to Your Witcher’?”

“Yes! I loved that song. Back in Cintra, this bard used to come, his name was Dandelion. He would always sing that song for me, but never in front of Grandmother. She did not like that song at all.”

“Figures.”

“What?”

“Jaskier was the bard who wrote that song. He was a good friend of Geralt’s. I guess he was the reason we met.”

“Oh?”

“Jaskier- He was injured. A Djinn attacked him. Geralt brought him to me to be healed.”

“You were friends then?”

“I wouldn’t say friends. The bard was annoying, and could not shut up. He would get involved with everyone, did not know what discretion meant. Had no sense of self-preservation.” Yennefer paused. Then she smiled sadly. “But he wasn’t all bad. He was kind. For all his insults and pettiness, Jaskier never did anything to hurt. He was loyal. To Geralt above everything.”

“He was Geralt’s friend?”

“Bestest friend in the whole world if I remember correctly.” Yennefer's voice was almost nostalgic.

“What happened?” Ciri asked, before her voice lowered to a whisper Geralt had to strain to hear. “Did he die?”

“I- I don’t know Ciri. The bastard had terrible luck of always getting into life-threatening situations, but he also had a gift to talk himself out of nearly anything.”

“Then why isn’t he with Geralt?” Ciri asked, endearingly earnest in her curiosity.

“You are going to have to take it up with him. Now come on. This stew is almost done. Help me finish up and we can cook whatever Geralt brings back.”

Ciri thankfully dropped the subject. Geralt waited another minute before making himself walk noisily back to camp.

///

They were walking through a small town in Aerdinn, just like all the other small towns they had walked through in their journey. Completely unremarkable. But it was the first town they have come across in nearly a week without even a hint of war in the air. The population was made primarily of farmers and peasants, and though a few glanced at the peculiar group, no one stopped them. They made their way through town, and were planning on leaving after dinner when Ciri heard the sound of music coming from a tavern close by. Before either he or Yennefer could stop her, she split off from them and entered the building.

Geralt ran into the tavern behind her. The place was crowded, raucous. Ciri’s eyes were glowing, and she was practically vibrating with excitement. Yennefer came in behind him, face twisting when a couple of drunk locals bumped into her on their way out. But Geralt did not notice any of this. No. His eyes were on the troubador playing music for the crowd.

His doublet was a light green, just shiny enough to reflect the candlelight in the room. He was singing at the top of his voice, his feet leading the beat the villagers accompanied. His hair was longer, and his face had more wrinkles. His voice was more hollow that Geralt has ever heard it, despite the cheer the bard projected. Yet there he was.

His songbird. His little lark.

His Jaskier.

“Dandelion!”

The world seemed to freeze around them as electric blue eyes met ancient amber.

#the witcher #my fic #the witcher fic #jaskier #geralt #geraskier #geraskier fic #yennefer of vengerberg #cirilla fiona elen riannon #part 3 #I'll be updating daily #please let me know what you think #i'm done with this fic

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thong-in-the-twist · 7 years ago

Text

Arabica and Robusta: breve

Summary: not your usual Coffee Shop!AU

Arabica and Robusta espresso lungo doppio breve cortado

Your hand shakes a little while you are pouring foamed milk into latte glass, and it dribbles down the side of the glass.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” You mumble as you reach for a tissue to clean it up. Great, now you screw up the easiest shit. Angry at yourself you set the glass aside, and move to prepare espresso shot.

“Are you going somewhere?” You hear Wonjae behind you, and you turn around a little bit surprised, because no, you are not going anywhere, but you see him facing Jongdae, who has just arrived. You immediately turn back to the coffee machine, but you do manage to spot sports bag thrown over Jongdae’s shoulder.

“Nah, mate.” You hear him say, and then you turn on the grinder, wishing it to drawn out Jongdae’s voice. You don’t know if he speaks up louder, but unfortunately you still hear him over the roar.” I just decided to start going to the gym. Break a little sweat for a girl I like.”

You turn around with a handle in your hand just as he says the last word, and your eyes lock, and he sends you a bright smile. Yup, there it is, another little thumbtack in your heart. You ignore him, and put more force than necessary into tamping coffee and putting handle into socket.

“Dude. Just cut it.” Says Wonjae disapprovingly. You watch espresso dribble down into jug, sighing internally. So now he wants to make himself even more handsome? Maybe it’s your time to hand in your notice.

“Don’t wanna.” Jongdae says playfully, and you hear him walk to the backroom doors.

“You are a dick, you know?” Calls Wonjae after him. Well, your mind is ready to agree with that statement, but your heart… Your heart isn’t.

It’s been a week. It’s been a long, infuriating week. After your night out Jongdae started behaving as if the two of you had a secret, something like personal joke, and he’d mention the girl he likes every time he could get away with it.

That was hard. That was horrible, that was painful.

But him being extra nice and extra gentleman to you – that was torture. It was as if he decided to try out your advices on you – and with you already head over heels for him, it was just pushing you deeper into your misery.

You actually stared to wish for him to get the girl. You wished she would reciprocate his feelings, so he would stop pestering you, so he would leave you alone and focus on that mysterious other girl.

You knew nothing about her, and yet you hated her, despised her, and yet you wished she’d do what you couldn’t – have him.

Wonjae takes latte from in front of your face, giving you a weird look, and you realize you’ve been staring at it, without moving. Those kinds of pauses started happening to you more and more, and you couldn’t even tell anyone why were you so down.

“Soon it will be better.” Says Wonjae quietly, and pats your back, and you look up at him surprised. What is he talking about? He smiles at you apologetically, and gives your shoulder a squeeze, and goes to deliver latte with tiramisu cake to waiting client.

“Do I see flirting in a work place?” Asks Jongdae who just came back, buttoning up his uniform shirt. Wonjae kicks him, latte shaking on his tray. Once again you ignore them, and walk over to the lift, to drag carton of milk boxes and put it away. There are quick steps behind you and suddenly Jongdae is there, and he is taking the box out of your hands.

“I got it, Champ.” He says with a wink, and your heart sinks. You wish he didn’t. You wish he wouldn’t, but you still notice how his arms flex when he secures his hold on the box and walks to unpack it into refrigerated drawer under coffee machine. “How is life?”

“Great.” You say plainly.

“Is it because I am in it?”

“Sure.” Him being in your life makes you miserable. But you can’t say that.

Especially now, when he follows you like a love-sick puppy. Whenever you need something he brings it, whenever you have to move something heavy, he is there to do it in your place, when you serve ice-cream, and it’s really frozen and you have hard time scooping it, he magically appears at your side and scoops it for you, putting it directly into a cone you are holding.

Which is so sweet. But painful.

He stands up, and dismantles carton, throwing it away.

“Coffee?” He asks, grabbing handle, and you shake your head.

“No, I will go to wash the dishes.”

It’s your haven. There is only one person needed at the washing station, and there is not enough space for a second one either way, and machines are too loud to comfortably talk. So you escape, leaving two boys to take care of the store.

Dish washing is quite calming, albeit can be quite disgusting. But you don on protective gloves and go on with work. It’s strictly mechanical, you don’t need to think about what you are doing, washing dishes and putting them into steamer. Wonjae brings you dirty glasses, and strikes up a quick conversation, which you can hold, because steamer is not yet on.

When you see Jongdae coming through your little window, you turn the steamer on. He does seem amused, but you don’t care. This way you can stop him from sputtering any more nonsense. Or mentioning that girl.

You dread the moment when steamer ends its cycle, but it’s Wonjae who comes to retrieve the dishes (but you hear a loud whine when Jongdae realizes he was beat). Wonjae says nothing as he silently puts dishes on the tray, and you thank him for that.

When steamer is empty, you put second load in, and go out to cool yourself down – it’s always hot and humid next to the steamer, no wonder there though.

Jongdae is on the cash register and you see a new order waiting, so you grab it. It’s two sundaes – you consider this nice and easy order, so you grab two sundae glasses, pour icing on their sides and go to fill them with whipped cream, but machine is empty.

You sigh, and turn to open refrigerated drawer where you store heavy cream. You store it in 3l containers, so it can be considered heavy, and you are not surprised when male hands grab it out of your arms.

You are surprised when you see Wonjae instead of Jongdae, though. And when you see Jongdae with a blank face over Wonjae’s shoulder.

Wonjae pours cream into machine, and stuffs container back in the drawer.

“Here you go.” He says indifferently, and walks away, being glared at by Jongdae.

“Thanks.” You say weakly, and grab glass to finish order.

It happens again later, when you have problem with scooping out mint-chocolate (damn mint-chocolate always frozen!) and Wonjae comes to your aid. With Jongdae being a step behind, and clearly unhappy.

It rubs you the wrong way, you don’t like a thought of being a tool in their games. You are suffering enough with Jongdae only.

That’s why when pancake order comes in you send Jongdae to do it. This way, you don’t have to be around Jongdae, and you don’t leave the two of them together to do devil knows what. Jongdae salutes you lazily, and it’s an epitome of sexiness, and you need a drink.

You realize Wonjae is observing you, and you turn questioning gaze to him. He shrugs.

“I will probably never understand women.” He says, shaking his head, and leaves you alone behind the counter, as he cleans customer’s area.

You are dumbfounded – what is happening lately with those two?

“My whole body hurts.” Whines Jongdae and you are tempted to ignore him, but he knows you are here, and he knows you can hear him.

At least you can roll your eyes, and he won’t see it.

Today both of you start your shift at the same hour, and right now you are in the lockers’ room. There is no different rooms for men and women, but as a general rule girls have lockers on one side of the room, boys on the other, and there is row of the lockers in the middle of the room, separating two sides. Another general rule is no-peeping.

“What were you doing?” You ask to be polite, taking off your shirt. You can hear him hustling on the other side of lockers’.

“My coach wasn’t in, and his replacement was this mad girl, and man, she pulled me through a wringer.” You smile – a thought of another girl giving Jongdae hell is appealing. You put on your uniform shirt as you answer.

“Maybe you deserved it.” There is silence, and soft steps, and you turn your head around, and there is shirtless Jongdae leaning from behind the lockers’ row, staring at you blankly. You have your back to him, so he can’t see anything, and you get to see his chest, which is a really nice thing to see, but still.

“Do you mind?” You ask pointedly, your fingers working to button your shirt.

“As a matter of fact, I do.” He says, pursing his lips, and walking out from his side, to lean against the drawers, folding his hands on his chest.

You feel attacked. His deltoids are nice and round, and they pop out in this position, and once again it hits you that all of that is for another girl.

Your mood falls.

“Can you go and dress yourself?” You ask, turning away from the sight, angry and annoyed. At yourself. As always at yourself.

“How could you say I deserved that?” He answers your question with his own, and man, he has no empathy. This time you ignore him, pushing your things into your locker, and walking past him, even as he calls after you.

He tries to flirt with you, while half naked, after asking you to help him with getting a girl? You are not going to be part of this shit anymore, he can go and fuck himself.

You won’t allow him to hurt you anymore than he did.

It’s Friday afternoon, and it’s a busy time for your shop, so there is already Gayeon, Wonjae and Hyun in, and you know that in an hour Jeongeun will come. Thankfully so, because as soon as you walk in you see Hyun on the cash register with at least eight orders pending and long queue, Wonjae doing his best at the ice-cream cabinet, and Gayeon working two coffee machines at the same time. You tap her, and take the one that faces customer area, and you assess it, as you check what should you start making. You see only two tables empty, but there are covered with dishes and trash, probably gathered from the other tables.

You grab cups and turn the grinder on, smiling to Wonjae when you catch his eye. He does a quick pantomime of dying, and you snicker, focusing back on the grinder. You tamp coffee, as you clean socket of coffee residue.

“Milk.” Calls Gayeon from behind you, and you kick drawer under your coffee machine open, and blindly hand it to her. Two handles are in the sockets and espressos are pulling, and you are spreading dishes on the tray, to serve ordered cakes along coffees.

Jongdae comes in, and now he is not a bane of your existence – he is just colleague that needs to be immediately sent to clean the tables.

“Jongdae, tables…” You don’t need to say anything more, he is out from behind a counter and goes to work.

You actually like that – when everybody does their job, and they do it efficiently. The worst thing to have is a new worker on busy day. It’s just infuriating.

Orders don’t stop. Both you and Gayeon don’t move from your posts for the whole hour, until Jeongeun comes, and then Gayeon disappears to wash dishes, Jeongeun taking her place behind you. Jongdae spends most of his time taking care of the customers area, bringing orders to awaiting clients and bringing back dirty dishes. Later he changes with Wonjae, who relieves Hyun at the cash register, and Hyun takes Jongdae’s place on the customer’s area.

“Milk!” Calls Jeongeun, and once again you open the drawer, and take out last box of milk. You hand it to her, as you scan area thinking who could you send down for more milk. Hyun comes back to take two cappuccinos to older couple.

“I will take it, can you go down for milk?” You ask urgently, and you nod.

“Send also paper cups! 400ml and 300ml!” Chips in Jeongeun.

“We need napkins and plastic spoons.” Calls Jongdae. You don’t stay to hear more orders, grabbing the tray and pushing past Hyun. As you come back from delivering the order, you clean empty table and bring dishes to Gayeon, who smiles at you brightly – her work is the easiest now. You give her a stinky eye, and hurry back to your station. Hyun is still gathering orders, looking quite overwhelmed, and Jeongeun looks annoyed as she tries to go out with a tray filled with coffee orders.

In retrospect you should have know. In retrospect, you were looking at her tray, and your intuition told you it’s not smart nor safe. But you kept coming closer.

She pushes past Hyun, just when he tries to turn around and go down stairs – they collide, tray falling forward, showering you in coffee and glass and ceramics. Suddenly store falls silent at the horrible ruckus that falling dishes make. The first splatter of liquid on your is hot, but fabrics of your clothes is made to protect you, and you all wear aprons from waist down, so your legs were protected. And Jeongeun knows how to make coffee, so her milk is not hotter than 70°C, and it’s all good, but it still sends you into a shock.

“Are you alright?” Is the question that falls from every throat around you, and you have no answer to that. You look down dumbfounded.

“I don’t have spare shirt.” You say slowly, and look up lost, your brain not yet connecting what is happening around you. Gayeon emerges from backroom armed with mop and bucket, and it wakes you up.

“I have a spare shirt to borrow,” offers Jongdae, and you look up at him, and nod. You take a deep breath, and even though coffee starts to cool down on your body, and you can feel mild burns on your hands, you get your shit together.

Queue is still waiting.

“Wonjae, for a moment you have to work both cash register and ice-cream cabinet, Jongdae run for the shirt so I can change, Hyun, can you please clean it up, and Gayeon and Jeongeun, take coffee.” It’s not like you are shift manager, but when you talk people tend to listen, so you quite naturally find yourself in the leading position. And everybody listens. “I will go to send the list up, and Jongdae bring me the shirt to the kitchen.”

And just like that everybody is working, and you grab the list and go down, Jongdae holding doors for you, and fabrics of your clothes are sticking to your skin and that’s horrible, but you have to get through it.

Thirty seconds later Jongdae hands you the shirt and runs back upstairs to relieve Wonjae at ice-cream cabinet. You change, using kitchen’s sink to wash yourself, throw away your coffee-soaked apron, and you don on Jongdae’s shirt.

It’s too big. And it smells of him. And the buttons are on the wrong side of it, and it’s all wrong, and you are getting all emotional, but it still has a logo on your store on it, and it’s still an uniform, and you have a job to do.

Your hands hurt, but it’s manageable, so you work your way through the list, packing all into the lift (starting from milk, which was the most urgent). As the lift goes up and down between you and upstairs, you keep getting other orders through intercom, and there is also a pancake order, and you don’t think about how your arms burn, and how your hands shake – you just work.

You don’t know how long it takes before someone comes down to check up on you. You’ve already managed to make three different orders of pancakes and sent another carton of milk, and coffee beans two times, and you are strung out and tired.

And of course it has to be Jongdae, who comes down to check up on you. You are mixing heavy cream with powdered sugar, so later it can be whipped into whipped cream in the machine upstairs.

“Are you ok?” He asks, and suddenly you feel how not ok are you. It just all comes to you, a tsunami that sweeps through your nerve system, and you have to blink your tears away.

“Yeah.” You say, hearing how your voice wavers, and you hate yourself for this weakness. You hear his steps, and he takes whisk out of your hand, and gently pushes you away.

“I got it.” He says, and you let him, hanging your head low, biting your lip. “It has calmed down upstairs, so I can do it, and you can rest.”

They are falling. Your tears are slowly falling down your cheeks, and there is nothing you can do about it. You are hurt, both physically and emotionally, and he had to come and relieve you, and give you a chance to feel how badly you are hurt, now that you don’t have to focus on your work, and it’s just flooding you, and you don’t have enough strength to fight it.

“What’s wrong?” Says Jongdae suddenly, and you look up at him, and you purse your lips together not to sob and he is looking at you, without his playful or mocking face, without the mask he is usually wearing, he just looks worried, and it is a last straw.

You hiccup, now tears earnestly going down your face, and you don’t remember whether you used water-proof mascara today, knowing your luck you probably have black lines on your cheeks, and you look horrible – and it doesn’t make you feel better.

“Hey, hey, what is wrong?” He repeats softly, letting the whisk go, and turning to you, and he is so handsome and nice and gentle and stupid, and you love him and it hurts so much.

“Don’t be nice to me!” You sob and it takes him by surprise.

“What?”

“Don’t be nice to me!” You sob again, and then your words are flowing just as your tears are, and there is nothing that can stop you.” When you are nice to me it hurts, because I know that you have another girl that you like, and I know that I helped you to get her, and I know that you have feelings for her, and we are just co-workers, and we are friendly, but I can’t go on like this, because when you are nice to me I think that maybe, but no, and then I just…” Violent sobbing breaks up your not-so-coherent-speech, and you cover your face with your hands, and you shake, and you try to calm yourself down, but you can’t, and oh god, you just said that to him, and you nearly confessed, and fuck it – you are not going a better chance.” You can’t be nice to me, because I am falling for you, and that’s cruel, and…”

Once again violent sob stops you, and you know you look ugly, and sound ugly, and suddenly, there is a hand on the back of your head, and there is a hand on your back, and Jongdae brings you to him, and you have to take a step forward, and he is warm, and he smells like himself and his sweat, and your face is in his chest, and he is slowly patting your head.

Your hands grab the fabrics on his back, and you are embarrassed and hurt, but it’s amazing being in his arms, and it might be worth it. You don’t want to look up, content with crying into his chest, and he doesn’t seem hurried, so you take your time, letting yourself cry your eyes out, while he hums quietly, never ceasing in caressing your head.

When your sobs finally quiet down, you find yourself breathing into his chest, reluctant to let go.

“I am truly sorry.” He says and it’s unexpected, and you lean back to look at him. Little shit is smiling. In your face. His hand on your back is still there, but the hand from your head move to wipe the tears off your cheek (and probably smear mascara around).

“What?” You rasp, throat dry.

He does seem to be fighting his smile.

“I never thought that this would have hit you like that.”

“This?” You repeat, and he bites his lips, but you can see the corner of his mouth going up.

“I have feelings for you. This girl I like is you.” He says, as if he was stating the most obvious thing in the world.” I wanted to confess back in the bar, but you were so out of it and so anxious that I decided it will be better to let you realize how I feel about you, but man… You never did.”

You are staring at him blankly, disbelieving. Now he is blatantly smiling, brushing strands of hair out of your face. There is something happening in your stomach, it’s big and warm and bubbling, and you are not sure whether it’s happiness, or anger. Probably both.

You take the liberty to hide your face in his chest once more, feeling how quickly it warms up, and he laughs, and his arms around you tighten, and you are happy. But you still can’t believe. And you can’t believe that he put you through whole this shit.

“I hate you.” You mumble into his chest, and he laughs again, and you hear how it rumbles in his body. “I fucking hate you.”

“I know.” He says cheerfully, and his hand splays on the back of your head, as he holds you close.

You are the girl he likes. You are the girl he started going to gym for. You are the girl he changed his hairstyle for. He likes you.

You allow yourself a little smile, since you are hidden from his stare. Right now you don’t even care that your hands are a little burned, although the feeling starts to fade already.

“By the way.” He says. “Since we are already dating, can I kiss you?”

Your heart does a somersault, and once again you lean back to look at him.

“Are we dating?”

“Uhm.” He hums, and leans down. “From today it’s a day one.”

I wanted to make you suffer a little longer, but I just had to post their confessions, and yeah. I am weak.

#chen scenario #chen scenarios #chen #chen imagine #jongdae imagine #jongdae scenarios #jongdae scenario #Jongdae #exo scenarios #exo scenario #exo imagine #exo imagines #exo

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losille2000 · 7 years ago

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Home, Chapter 20

TITLE: Home CHAPTER NUMBER: 20/? AUTHOR: Losille2000 WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: Actor!Tom GENRE: Romance/Drama FIC SUMMARY: Tom returns home grouchy and exhausted from a cramped flight after four months on the road for work. Unfortunately, there’s already someone sleeping in his bed. RATING: M (sex, language) WARNINGS: There’s some sex. AUTHORS NOTES: Thank you, one and all. You are amazing!

Previous Chapter - Also available on Archive of Our Own!

Chapter 20

Marigold came awake when the bed beside her dipped down far enough that she rolled forward on the mattress, straight into the warm and hard person sitting on the edge. She cracked open an eye to look at him, just to make sure it wasn’t some scary intruder and actually the person she had fallen asleep beside the night before. It was Tom, but he was freshly showered and dressed, carrying with him two paper coffee cups. Meaning he’d left the house and been back.

“Coffee,” he offered, “two sugars, and a ton of cream.”

It did something funny to her heart knowing that he had already learned how she took her coffee.

“You can be really observant when you want to be.” Marigold mumbled as she turned her face into the pillow and shut her eyes again.

She felt like she’d been put through the wringer after last night, or chewed up by some mythical beast and spit back out to suffer the pain. Emotionally, she was drained. And on top of that, she’d expended a lot of energy in her magic in the last twenty-four hours without refilling it. Frankly, she just wanted to curl back up and go back to sleep for a few more hours. But she could tell, from the light coming in through the gauzy curtains, that her day was wasting and she needed to get back to work. Besides, gardening would help her feel better. It was just a matter of convincing herself to leave the comfort of her bed.

“What time is it?” she asked, pulling herself up by her hands and resting back against the headboard.

“Seven-thirty.”

Marigold grabbed the coffee and tipped it back into her mouth, enjoying the searing heat flooding her throat and stomach. The bitter jolt made her shiver. “Thank you.”

He grinned and leaned in. His lips brushed across hers lightly, sending a warming thrill through her, no matter how chaste he’d made it seem. Certainly, it was nothing like last night’s exchange, but this—a simple peck good morning—was a bit alarming. How was she ever going to do anything if every time he so much as got near her she wanted to pin him to the ground and ride him until they were both sore?

“I didn’t hear you get up,” she said.

“I’ve been up, gone, and done,” he replied, sipping his own coffee. “You sleep like the dead.”

Marigold laughed. “I thought you already knew that… that’s why you got so far into your bed without me hearing you the first night we met. Well, re-met.”

He scratched the beard on his jaw he hadn’t bothered to shave this morning. Marigold licked her lips, wondering what it would feel like as it rasped against her skin. As tempted as she was to try it out, she knew she had to be good. There were too many things to do before tonight and not enough time to do them, and that was if she could convince Tom to cooperate by leaving her alone to prepare for her solo bonfire rituals.

“Now that you mention it,” he said, grinning, “I was bumping into a lot of things in the dark. Making so much noise.”

“Probably better that I was still sleeping, though,” she said. “Or else I would have had enough time to secure a weapon.”

He laughed loudly at that. “Oh, yes, I seem to remember you threatened me with your judicious use of kick boxing.”

The rush of heat on her face was impossible to hide as that night replayed in her head. At least they could laugh about it now. A mere two days ago, they would have gotten into another argument over her intentions and whatever else Tom could drudge up. But now, it seemed, like a weight had been lifted. She thought that once the spell was lifted, everything would go back to the way it was supposed to be. That all the negative things wouldn’t be negative anymore.

She forgot, though, that humans were a sum of their experiences and no amount of magic could take those away, they simply masked or hid them. The bad arguments and attitude they’d directed at each other were still going to be there—they had still happened. And that was going to take some time to overcome if they were ever going to make this work.

At least, he seemed to be willing to give it a try after their lengthy conversation in bed. She felt that he had at least warmed up to the idea of magic and curses a little more by the end of their conversation, especially when he started sharing his own experiences of odd occurrences. It seemed to finally make sense to him. How much sense? Marigold could scarcely know, but she figured it was enough that he’d stayed with her, held her through the night, and brought her coffee this morning.

And anyone who plied her with coffee first thing without attempting to speak to her about anything of import was a winner in her books.

“I also picked up some danishes,” he said. “They’re downstairs.”

“Awesome.”

He nodded. “And I called in reinforcements.”

“What?”

“Olly and Jess are coming up,” he said, glancing at his watch. “They should be here in a little bit.”

Marigold frowned. “Why’d you do that? We were perfectly fine on our own.”

Tom laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “See, I’m still paying Olly whether he’s actually doing anything for me or not. He should do anything I ask him to do. That’s part of being a personal assistant.”

“Tom, what were you thinking? It’s Sunday morning. You couldn’t possibly have interrupted their weekend for something this inconsequential,” she moaned, setting the coffee on the table beside her. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up to face him.

“I thought you’d be relieved? There’s no way we’re going to get done what you had planned today with the two of us,” he said.

She rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air. “Yeah, but I don’t want Olly and Jess to hate me for this!”

“Trust me,” he said, getting up from his seat, “all I had to say to him was that I was at your cottage and I swear he was already jumping in his car. Probably so he can take the piss out of us.”

“Christ,” she muttered, raking her fingers through her hair.

Tom held his hands out, palms up in a defensive pose. “I only did it so we could get some help. Because I thought if we finished faster, then there was more time later for…”

“For… what?” She stared at him, daring him to say it. She had a pretty good idea as to why he’d already gone on a shopping trip this morning, and it wasn’t because he was super romantic and wanted to ply her with coffee and danishes. “You are such a man.”

“Hey!” he exclaimed. “That’s not fair. Quit putting words in my mouth.”

“But you thought it. Don’t tell me you didn’t grab a box of condoms while you were out.”

He frowned and lifted his hand, holding two fingers up. “Two, actually.”

“Two?!” She couldn’t help but laugh. “You think awfully well of your stamina. I’d like to point out that you wouldn’t be feeling this spry today if I hadn’t healed you after moving a few boxes yesterday. You really think you can manage working out in the garden all day and then go at it like rabbits?”

Tom scoffed, advancing on her, trying to crowd her. Probably to give her a mollifying kiss, to force her to stop talking, but she zigged away and stepped around him. He sighed. “I’d at least like to be given the opportunity to try.”

Marigold giggled. “I’m going to need a lot more attention than a ‘wham bam thank you ma’am’, sir.”

“Well, of course,” he grinned, stepping toward her again.

This time she stepped back, but found herself blocked by the bed. She knew where this was headed when her calves hit the bed frame. It wasn’t exactly a full football tackle that he executed next, but somehow, someway, she ended up on top of the bed with a hard, warm body deliciously hovering over her.

She giggled. “Okay, I’ll give you credit for that move. That was pretty smooth.”

“See, the trick is all in the misdirection,” he murmured and leaned down to pepper feather kisses along her jaw while he tickled her sides in the dip above her waist and higher near her breasts.

“Your magic tricks aren’t as subtle as mine.”

Marigold reached for him, clasping her hands on either side of his face, feeling the roughness of his day-old beard against her palms as she pulled him down to her lips. He started slow, resting his mouth on hers, breathing her in, licking the contour of her lips and nipping at the corner of her mouth and bottom lip.

Warmth flooded her body and pooled between her legs, and no matter how much she tried to quell the furious rhythm of her heart, it refused to listen to her. Not that she wanted it to listen, she only wished it weren’t so brutal, like nothing else she’d ever felt before. No man had ever made her feel this way, and though she knew why he was different, it still did nothing to prepare her for just how powerful her reaction was to him.

“We don’t have time,” she murmured against his lips, but it didn’t halt the downward trek of his right hand over her hip, or his long fingers playfully sweeping under the elastic band on the waist of her pajamas.

A rumbling chuckle worked its way up his throat and vibrated her lips as he kissed her. “We have plenty of time.”

“They could show up any minute.”

His lips curved in a smirk against her, dipping further down her chin until they landed on the crease between her throat and head. He sucked gently on the soft flesh. “Quit worrying about it, Ree.”

“You don’t understand just how easy it would be to not worry,” she said.

“Then just let go,” he replied. “Let me make you feel half as good as you made me feel last night.”

Gods, she knew shouldn’t trust him about this. There was no way they were going to be done in time to meet their guests—didn’t he know once this started, she wasn’t going to be able to stop? That she had no intention of letting him out of bed?

Her worries were stolen from her, obliterated in an instant when Tom’s hand plunged deep into her pajamas, past the cotton knickers she wore, and stilled against her center. The searing feeling of his fingers dancing across and groping, searching for her clit pulled a long, low moan from her mouth. She arched into him, digging her fingers into his biceps.

Bright white sparks of pleasure shot through every nerve in her body, setting her on fire. Fuck. She hadn’t realized…

Ten years had been too long taking care of her own needs. She’d forgotten how amazing it was to have someone else worrying about her pleasure. Taking from her and giving back without orchestrating everything herself. Of course, this was different. More than anything that she’d felt even before she’d stopped ten years ago. Still, though, she wasn’t prepared for this. For him.

“Fuck. You’re wet,” he growled against her throat, in the hollow between her clavicles. His tongue darted against her, then his teeth grazed the boney protrusion, tasting her skin and drawing a pleasurable tremor from her body. His fingers were very persuasive as they dipped further between her folds, teasing the hot flesh and slipping inside her, one long digit, then a second.

He didn’t let her relax or allow her to get used to his breath-stealing intrusion, rather setting up a rhythm that alternated between maddeningly slow, deliberately pounding, and fast feather-like caresses.

Marigold mewled against him, shutting her eyes and pressing her head back into the bed. Yes, she was wet. Dripping. She needed him in all ways, right this moment, and yet, a part of her wanted to string it out. Take their time discovering every little thing that made the other person’s toes curl. After all, there would only be this one first time together. Everything after wouldn’t be the same. Would it? That was impossible. The first discoveries were always the most exciting.

It felt delectably sinful, though, doing this, like they were some silly teenagers, not daring to take their clothes off and get to the point. They were like two kids fooling around in the backseat of a car in a dark parking lot, him fumbling along—okay, maybe not quite fumbling, he was so very determined and purposeful in his caresses—with her unable to control her reactions. Both rushing toward a release because they couldn’t wait and do it properly like adults with years of experience under their belts.

Thank goodness he wasn’t some unskilled teenager, she thought absently. He knew exactly where to find her sweetest, most sensitive spots, and all without a compass or a map. Each movement meant something, forced her body to climb higher toward the peak. Nothing was wasted in novice uncertainty; everything was gained in his complete confidence.

And damn, was it sexy.

She wanted to feel him, all of him, the soft skin she’d had a chance to have underneath her hands last night, and squeeze the roping and corded sinew of his body. Perhaps rake her short nails across his chest to mark him as hers. But it was almost impossible to mobilize her brain, to work her limbs to pull at the offending garments stuck between them. Instead, she settled for grasping at his shirt, and then twining her fingers in his soft curls as he dipped further, biting her pebbled nipples through her camisole as he flicked his thumb repeatedly across her clit.

“Jesus,” she whimpered, rising, her hips moving in time with him, searching for more friction as the spring deep within her tightened and tightened, stretching and tensing every muscle in her body like a rubber band. She was so close. So very, very close…

He left her breasts and kissed up her neck, landing on her lips before he hovered over her again. Was he watching her? Marigold opened her eyes. Yes, he was. With the intent look of a scientist executing an experiment, or a witch performing a spell, he studied her, pupils blown in intense blue eyes. She had his full concentration, and nothing—nothing—had ever made her feel sexier.

Tom rested on a bent arm at her side, slowing his attention, effectively halting the careening locomotive screaming through every nerve ending in her body. She groaned in frustration, sensing, knowing what he was about to do. “Don’t do this to me, Tom.”

“What?” he teased, bending down and nipping at her earlobe.

“I need you,” she whined, writhing closer to him, trying to urge his wonderful, dexterous hand to continue its glorious assault on her sex.

He chuckled lowly. “This is payback for doubting me.”

“Mmm… payback?” she muttered, aware that the pressure on her clit was growing lighter and lighter and she felt more and more unsatisfied. Empty. Fuck, she needed to come.

“Mm-hmm,” he said. “You don’t think I can go all night?”

Marigold frowned. “Not to the tune of two boxes of condoms. You’d have to be… I don’t know… a god or something.”

He laughed, his head thrown back in delight. Then he looked down at her, eyes trained intently on hers, the corner of his lips curving in a debonair smirk. “Well, you know…”

She playfully smacked his shoulder, grabbing for the hand in her pajama bottoms as he made infinitesimal movements to leave her sex. Marigold clamped her thighs around him, wishing she spent more time in a gym… well, any gym, for that matter… to make it more difficult for him to extract his limb. But he was stronger. And it was gone.

She was, all at once, completely bereft.

“Don’t go,” she cried. “Please.”

He shook his head, drawing his hand up to his lips, sucking a finger into his mouth. “Perfect,” he moaned.

Marigold grabbed for him, setting a hand over the hard bulge in his jeans. She squeezed, delighting in the way the muscles in his jaw tensed and his eyelids fluttered. “Do you really want to do this? Choose wisely, Thomas.”

He took hold of her questing hand, entwining his fingers with his. Then he deliberately—slowly—dragged her hand up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “I’ll be in just as much pain as you.”

She groaned. “You’ve clearly been put on this earth to torment me. Now you’ve just found a new way. I hope you’re happy.”

“This is so much more fun, though,” he said.

“I hope you know two can play at this game,” she warned.

He grinned. “Do your worst.”

“I’d also like you to remember you’re playing with fire,” she said. “I am a witch. I know things. I can make your life a living hell.”

Tom drew a finger, the same finger that only minutes before had been driving her toward ecstasy, from her forehead, around the shell of her ear, down her cheek, to settled under her chin, lifting it to align their mouths. She shivered under his light stroking. “You keep threatening hell, but all I’m seeing is heaven.”

“I don’t know whether to kick you out of my bed for a line that trite or to hold you down and fuck you senseless.”

His eyes darkened at her words. He opened his mouth to reply, but the words died on his lips when they heard the front door open and slam shut.

“REE!”

Asha!

“Oh no!” Marigold said, sitting straight up, nearly bumping Tom’s head. Tom fell back on the bed, looking up at her in question. Here she was giving him a hard time about not having enough time before Olly and Jess showed up, and Asha was here before either of them. “We’ve gotta get up. It’s Asha. I completely forgot she was coming over this morning, too… we were…”

“Are you still in bed?” Asha yelled, her feet on the stairs. “You told me to be here at eight in the morning. I dragged myself out of bed on Sunday for you, and you’re having a lie-in? Seriously, what I do for—”

Asha froze in the doorway, the master bedroom situated as it was at the top of the staircase. Then she looked back and forth between them, her face burning bright red before she turned away.

“Uh,” she said shakily, “yeah, I’ll just be downstairs. When you’re, um, ready…”

Marigold looked at Tom, who had a satisfied smirk on his face. He cleared his throat and yelled after her, “There’s danishes in the kitchen, Asha. Feel free to have some!”

“Right! Thanks,” she squeaked, bustling the rest of the way downstairs.

“And you were worried about Olly and Jess.”

“Shut up,” she said, jumping out of bed, making a mad dash to the bathroom. “Can you go heat up the coffee for me? It’s got to be tepid by now.”

He laughed. She heard the springs on the bed shift and his feet on the ground. “Sure thing.”

Marigold grabbed an old pair of cutoff shorts and a shirt from her closet, setting them on her sink while she hopped out of her pajama bottoms and camisole. He wasn’t gone when she came back to her bedroom to fish through her chest of drawers for knickers and a bra. When she realized he wasn’t moving, she looked over her shoulder at him.

“What?”

“You’re, uh,” he said, motioning at her nakedness except for the exceedingly wet knickers covering her lower parts.

“You had your chance, buddy boy. You passed it up.” Marigold laughed, teasing him by tweaking a nipple. She delighted in his aggrieved moan.

“You play dirty,” he said.

Marigold shrugged. Not really. She hadn’t really thought about her state of undress when she went out for her clothing. She simply didn’t have any problem with her nudity. But what he didn’t know at the moment wouldn’t kill him.

“Consider it a preview, for later,” she said, walking over to him. She stood on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips and stepped away.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back against his chest when she tried to leave. “Don’t you dare do anything that will result in an orgasm without me.”

Marigold’s face warmed. “Never.”

With that, he released her with a playful pat on her arse and shove toward the bathroom. He grabbed her coffee cup and left with one more hungry look in her direction.

Marigold sighed and sagged against the bathroom door frame. How was she ever going to get through the day now?

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston fan fic #tom hiddleston fan fiction #home #actor!tom

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fiction-in-my-blood · 4 years ago

Text

Switching Sides: Part 4 (HLITF)

if anyone possibly wants to get on a tag list I’d be happy to make one

👉 @theshove 👈

If you wanna catch up, Part 3 is right here! Happy reading :)

Warnings: Language, Reference to sexual activity, Forceful nature.

~~~~~~

A few days after my monstrous task of intensive filing, I was carrying Kaga's documents to class with him.

"Is this all?" I asked, begging really with all the weigth ripping my arms out of their sockets. I was struggling as it was.

"You can't carry enough. You'll have to make more trips." He frowned down at me and my seemingly weak for. I certainly wasn’t carrying a light load, but that still didn’t seem to be enough for him.

"I can't, I'll be late for the lecture," I explained, used to his mentality of his jobs being more important than my education. I had settled pretty well into life at the academy. As I thought, most of my aide work was Kaga's grunt work. Filing, organising and documenting investigations. It was pretty interesting to read about what he did in his day to day life.

"You learn more with practice rather than lectures and whatever." Kaga sighed as I hurried to keep up with him. His long legs propelled him further than my shorter ones, so most of the time I was jogging to keep up. I had also gotten accustomed to hearing him say stuff like that. Appreciating that I would rather practice in real-life situations, how was I supposed to practice something I hadn't even learned? Besides, it wasn't like he actually took me out to learn to things! It was infuriating!

As we walked behind the school, Kaga's phone rung. "Ayumu?.. What for?" The call was for an investigation, of course, Kaga wouldn't pick up and continue a conversation if it was for any other reason. Although, it looked like something was wrong by the way the Instructor's brows furrowed. "A stupid screw up like that... you're gonna have to clean up after his ass." Kaga's tone became more agitated the more he spoke. "Yeah, axe that moron. The rest is up to you." The instructor ordered as we neared the building.

"Whoa, yikes. Got it." I could hear Ayumu on the other end of the call, much more relaxed than Kaga's tone was.

‘He's going to fire some guy?’ Forgetting that the man beside me would have the authority to do something like that, I began to pity the guy who screwed up.

Kaga then ended the call and glanced at me as if just noticing my presence. "Looks like you want to say something." He grunted as we continued walking.

"Just curious what a guy has to do to piss you off." Jokingly implying he was a whimsical and fun person, the instructor frowned down at me.

"Guys who can't do anything without causing trouble; get cut." The statement reminded me of my father when he would send his henchmen to ‘cut something loose’. I knew that was code for killing or making sure that no one ever found the trouble maker again. It was difficult to imagine Kaga handling situations in any other way.

"No second chances, huh? What if they could learn from that mistake? I'm sure you've had your fair share of trials." I chatted informally, not meaning any offense by what I said or having a hidden meaning behind it at all, but Kaga seemed to grow a little more tense than he already was. I couldn't help but speak my mind, even if I had the memory of getting punched in the face everytime I did that in my childhood, I did want to know more about him and how his mind worked. I wanted to be able to distinguish this detective from my mob boss of a father. So far, it had been hard to spot the difference.

"And what if that one mistake gets someone killed?" Not realising the guy's mistake was that disastrous, I was a little thrown off by the gritting of Kaga's teeth. I hadn't ever thought of making a catastrophic mistake like that, I never had that much influence. I looked down in embarrassment as Kaga stared me down.

"That naivety is fatal." He sighed once again. "If you're chasing credit for school, I have no need for you. You can just disappear." His statement was harsh and unforgiving, brushing me off like I was some lint from the dryer. The collection of insults snowballing through the past few days helped me get used to his constantly sour mood and I had somehow come to enjoy our conversations- usually. Even though he called me moron every other sentence.

Although, I never thought he could think I was just chasing credit. I frowned, having not earned the trust I thought I was building with the detective as he walked away.

~~~~~~

A few days later, after a night lecture from Instructor Kaga, I headed over to a common room with Naruko.

"Wow, it's already this late?" My gaze wandered up to the clock on the wall.

"I'm tired today too..." Naruko sighed out as she collapsed on a couch. "Oh, did you hear? Someone saw Kaga at the entrance!" Naruko’s insistent gossiping finally caught my ear the second she perked up so suddenly.

"Why's he in the dorms?" I questioned, having never seen him anywhere near the building before.

"Maybe he's staying for the night? He had the lecture and all." Naruko thought aloud and it seemed as good a reason as any. Even though Instructors were allowed to live in their own homes, they had dorms reserved for them if it was too late for them to return home.

"Kaga staying here... I feel kinda tense." Our classmates fretted around us as we all sat as leisurely as we could with this new information.

"We could hear his private conversations!" Our other friend gasped, excited to hear something personal about the captain.

"Wow! I want to listen too! Come on, Atsuko!" Naruko grabbed my hand, pulling me off the comfortable couch. I had started to feel drowsy and a little homesick.

Not from my home, but from my twin sister. Overnight, I had read somewhere that the name she had undertaken in our new lives had quit the orchestra she worked so hard to be a part of, which is not like her- at all. She's a cellist and only ever wanted to perform in front of the masses. I warned her how dangerous it was to be a public face when we were basically on the run, but she was so stubborn, she said she'd be fine. As we had no way of getting in contact, I couldn't call her and ask if she was okay. The eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach hadn't gone away since I read the article just 24 hours ago.

"Why me?" I panicked as Naruko started dragging me out the door.

"Aren't you his servant, Motomori?" Our classmate spoke up again and I frowned.

"Yeah, that's what everyone says."

"Come on, guys, stop it with the rumours! It's not true!" I pouted at their persistent teasing. However, at this point, it was hard to tell. They all seemed to take fiction as fact if the story was juicy enough.

"But Instructor Kaga is sexy. He may be scary, but that's still a good thing." Naruko finally let go of my hand as we began walking to the cafeteria.

"Of course you would say that, Sasaki." Our classmen sighed nervously at her preferences in men.

"Well, he is the most dignified instructor." Trying to deviate our conversation, our other classmate brought the instructor back up.

‘But he thinks we're all morons’. I frowned to myself, not wanting to dishearten my classmates as they continue to gossip about the captain.

~~~~~~

In the cafeteria, I'm about to line up with my friends when the kind voice of the lunch lady called my name.

"Could you deliver this midnight snack to Kaga?" She asked, pushing a tray into my hands.

"Midnight snack..?" I pouted at more servant work I seemed to be doing.

"His room is on the top floor." Ignoring my frustration, the lunch lady encouraged me to go before I could even decline.

"You're going to be alone with him behind closed doors... at night." Naruko's suggestive comment made me jump as she appeared beside me.

"Naruko." I sighed loudly at her ability to just appear places. It was good for her detective work, but not so good for my heart. She made me more on-edge than I usually always was.

"You may have to do chores, but you're his favourite and now... you become a woman."

‘I can't tell if she's being serious or teasing me’, but either way, the comment put me in a higher state of unease. I was already starving and tired, I didn't need this extra work.

"A forbidden relationship between student and teacher!" She gasped dramatically, one hand flying to her mouth like she had just witnessed something completely shocking.

"Naruko! Get your head out the gutter, please!" I beg her, not wanting to draw more unwanted attention to the strange relationship I have with the instructor.

"Good luck, Atsuko!" Ignoring my complaining, she ushered me in the direction of the door.

‘This little excursion is more dangerous than forbidden’. I sulked that I would likely be reprimanded for disturbing my instructor in his private time as I leave the cafeteria.

~~~~~~

Nervously, I approached the instructor's room with his tray of food in hand.

‘This is his room’. I sighed before knocking on the door, balancing the tray on my other palm.

‘Hurry up! I'm hungry.’ Once he doesn't respond through several knockings, I start to wonder what I'm supposed to do. ‘The food's gonna get cold, you slow ass!’ Not having the will power to insult him fully, I looked around for any instructor that might be able to help me. With a heavy sigh, I decided opening the door would be my best option, while announcing my presence again.

Inside the chic apartment, I find no sign of the captain. ‘Oh, thank you, god.’ I sighed in relief of not having to explain myself, setting the tray on the coffee table in the centre of the room. As I stood straight again, I felt a looming presence behind me.

"What're you doing here?" A scarily familiar voice echoed from that presence and I hesitantly turned around.

"The lunch lady w-." Before I could explain myself, I saw Instructor Kaga, topless and dressed only in a towel. My heart stopped and I felt my face pale.

"I-I'm sorry, sir. The door was unlocked and-." As I directed my eyes away from his perfectly sculpted body, I gulped.

‘Wait, I sound like Naruko!’ I complained to myself as I couldn't get the image of Kaga's torso out of my mind. As I had a mini-mental breakdown, Kaga just stared at me. He had clearly just come out of the shower, his hair was still wet. ‘Naruko would be so jealous right now...’

Still shirtless, my instructor passed by me: standing to attention like a soldier in front of a drill sergeant. He then fell to the sofa and began reading documents that had been left on the table.

‘What do I do? I've never been in a man's room like this? And have him basically naked.’ I continued to freak as I just stood there. ‘He is hot thou- Atsuko! No! Now is not the time.’ I reminded myself as I watched him reading the same type of documents he always reads.

"So?" Pulling me back to earth, Kaga doesn't even bother looking up at me as he continued reading. My throat felt dry, so I cleared it, and the extra attention made my face redden.

"The, er, the lunch lady in the cafeteria asked me to bring you this." I gestured to the food on the table. He finally looked up at me and nods towards the sofa.

"Sit." He commanded, but I couldn’t help but want to reject him.

‘I'm too tired to keep my cool right now.’ With my heart beating fast for some strange reason, I was ordered to sit for a second time.

I hurriedly sat down and took half of the documents still sitting on the coffee table. It was strange I could somehow read his mind, and was so ready to help him. "Sort them by year." He added to my task and I couldn't help but want to cry.

‘Why God? Is this because of what Naruko said?’ I judged my inappropriate thoughts on Naruko's forbidden-relationship talk and made a silent prayer that I could make it out of here alive.

"I swear, that damn four eyes should have someone else do this grunt work," Kaga complained to himself, but he keeps doing the work nonetheless.

"You're not good at sorting documents?" Trying to calm myself down by acting like nothing was different, I decided it might be nice to know a bit more about my instructor.

"Do you think it's my forte?" He didn't seem very amused by my question, the sarcasm evident in his voice.

"I guess not." I laughed sheepishly, hoping I wouldn't offend him like I had the last time I got a little too inquisitive for his liking. That look of pure irritation was ingrained in my memory.

"I don't do desk work." He smirked as if it was some sort of achievement to not do half of what your job requires.

"I thought as much," I replied, too tired to think about what I'm saying. When I saw him scowl at me, I clamed my mouth shut with wide eyes.

Concentrating on sorting the documents, I occasionally watch him grab a piece of food. When I look over, I find he's only eaten the meat. I stifle a chuckle when I realise what a childish action it is to leave his vegetables. I was always reminding my sister to eat well to keep strong. Well, when we were fed vegetables.

"What?" He frowned. Obviously, I wasn't so good at hiding my amusement.

"Sorry, sir. But do you not like vegetables?" I showed a nervous smile, worried I've pissed him off beyond return.

"It's not like I'll die if I don't eat them." He responded nonchalantly and I couldn't help but smile at the vegetables pushed to the edges on the tray.

Having put down his documents, Kaga reached for his dessert. A mousse. Once I realised there are two on the tray, he snapped at me for being so nosey. As he wolfed the food down, I couldn't help but stare.

"Right, you can leave now." He announced once he was done. To say the least, I was confused with his sudden demand.

"What? Did you come here expecting more?" He smirked, leaning forward to impose himself on me. The blood rushed to my face as I worried about how stable that towel around his waist was.

"The lunch lady asked me to bring your food! I wouldn't have come to a man's room otherwise!" I began to panic as he neared.

"Yeah, you don't seem all that comfortable around men." He sighed, leaning back.

‘Have you ever thought that it's you I'm not comfortable around?’ I complained in my head, too scared of what he would say if I voiced my opinion. But, he wasn't wrong. Every man I've ever been close to, with a select two, have literally almost killed me. I was still uneasy around the guys I used to patrol with when I lived in Nagano.

"I don't see how that's an issue?" Arguing to save my confidence, I raised a brow. Growing up, I never even wanted to look at a man's face, more specifically the men I had seen doing horrible things. I won't say that it has made a prejudice against all, but the men that are more forward don't catch my favour much.

"No good. If we need someone to use seduction for a mission, you'd probably be helpful to that end."

‘There he goes again, talking about my body like it's a chunk of meat to distract some dragon in a den of gold.’ I couldn't help but get annoyed.

"What're you going to do?" Referring to if that situation ever came up, he glanced over his shoulder to his bed in the corner of the room. Wih me frozen into silence, he lit up a cigarette and sunk back into his sofa.

The moment he does, I heard a phone ringing. I jumped to pick it up, not looking at the caller ID and thanking that I had a distraction. I quickly pulled my flip phone out of my back pocket. Yes, I had a low tech cell phone. It may seem suspicious, but it doesn't have any tracking software like GPS, which smartphones do. Besides, if I needed to ditch it, I wouldn't worry too much about how much it costed to replace.

Flipping the phone open and listening for a few seconds, I pull it away from my ear to see an unknown number pop up on the screen. I'm usually wary of answering unknown, and not to mention blocked, numbers, but with the news of my sister quitting her job, I thought it'd be best if I continue listening.

"Hello?" I questioned the caller, my stomach tossing and turning. I gulped, not hearing anyone on the other end but a shallow breathing. "Hello?" I called out again, nervousness building higher and higher as I listened for any clue as to who it could have been.

After a few seconds, a voice spoke up. "I was told to call you if my friend went missing." The caller announced and my breathing hitched the same way theirs did when I spoke up. Could this have been my sister trying to send a message? Had she enlisted one of her friends to warn me if anything bad happened to her?

"What are you talking about?" I lowered my voice so that the captain didn't hear me.

"My friend, she's a cellist. We're meant to go on tour soon, but she suddenly quit and no one's seen her since. She said if anything ever happened, to go to this payphone. Your number was scratched on the bottom of it." The man on the other end, voice shaking with worry, explained. I felt my heart break as reality was thrown right in my face.

"Sir, you need to forget about this number," I commanded, trying to sound annoyed so that my instructor wouldn't get suspicious.

"Please, she needs help!" The man began to shout, getting angry as well. It broke my heart to abandon someone like this, but if they were connected to my sister, close enough for her to trust them, I didn't need the contact. Who knows who could be tailing him in an effort to somehow find me?

"Sir, I can't do anything for you. Please, leave me alone." Without another word, I cold-heartedly ended the call. My heart shattered as I realised what had happened. My sister had been discovered and was likely kidnapped. She was either dead, or close to it, and there was nothing I could do. ‘

This is why I told you we had to cut ties.’ I gritted my teeth, trying to steal my nerves and not run to her aid. What could I do? I knew no one in the gang and had no way of knowing if she was okay enough to save.

"Hey, moron, you have a job to do," Kaga spoke up behind me, having finished all the food he wanted to eat. I clenched my fist around the folded phone, trying to remind myself that he could have no idea what was going on. I took a deep breath and turned.

"Sorry, Instructor." I tried my best to smile and slid my phone back in my pocket.

"You don't have a smartphone?" His brows furrowed at my communication device and I forced out a laugh.

"Old habits die hard I guess. I'm too clumsy for all the screens." I made up a quick lie that made me out as the idiot he thought I was before walking back to the table, having completely forgotten about the most recent confrontation between the two of us.

"If there's nothing else, Instructor. I'm going to take this back to the cafeteria." I picked up the tray, vegetables rolling back and forth with my sharp movements.

"I see. If you're in the mood later, come by." I could see the smirk on his face as I walked towards the door.

"Don't count on it!" I called back before slamming the door shut behind me.

~~~~~~

Walking back to my room after returning the tray, I forgot to even buy my own food. I was too worried about my sister.

‘What do I do? The plan was to never get in contact again, but what if he's hurting her? What if there's still a chance...’ I can't stop my thoughts from wandering from one bad scenario to the next. I bit my thumb so hard it was probably bruising and I wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on around me.

‘Why couldn't you have been more careful?’ I frowned at my sister's face that I pictured in my brain, exactly the same as mine but smiling the way she used to in our hardest times.

"Motomori, what're you doing up this late?" I heard a familiar voice speak up in front of me, but I didn't take much notice.

"Sorry, Instructor." Not looking up at the owner of the cheery-toned man, I kept walking towards my dorm room.

"Atsuko, are you okay?" The voice asked as someone grabbed my arm. I threw it back in panic to see Instructor Soma; whose arm I've slapped away.

"O-Oh, Instructor, I-I'm so sorry." I bowed deeply as I became embarrassed for assaulting my superior. I looked up to see Soma looking at me with a confused smile.

"Are you okay, Atsuko?" He asked and my eyes darted around the room. I didn't want him knowing, I'd rather everyone leave me alone with my thoughts so I could at least plan something. Spending all my time with Kaga, who has the most hectic schedule I've ever seen, I wanted to see solace in my private time.

"It's fine, Instructor Soma. I... I'm just tired." I quickly made up a lie as I forced myself to smile at him.

"Well, I'm the night-watch tonight, so if you need anything, I'll be on the top floor." He greeted me with his own cheery grin as the memory of what happened moments ago flashed through my mind.

"Thank you, sir. Excuse me." Before I could get myself riled up in front of the unsuspecting detective, I turned on my heel and disappeared into my room.

~~~~~~

Days later, I was sent from one instructor to deliver some documents to Kaga. I had planned to forget about the phone call, telling myself it was a prank, hallucination, anything to convince myself it wasn't real so I could just concentrate on my own life. There was nothing I could do for my sister anyway, I had no one to help me and no clear evidence that she had actually gone missing. Well, I knew my father could make it seem like everything was fine for the public, but I didn't want to think about what he could do or was doing to interfere with our lives.

As I approached the Instructor's Staff Room, I remembered the incident between Kaga and I. He has had me pretty busy over the past few days, which helped to distract me, although he didn't know he was helping me. But, I felt so rushed, it was hard to relax when I did clock-off. All I could do was sleep, and even that was restless.

Thinking about what happened, I sighed, clutching the documents in my hand and knocking on the door. "Excuse me. I was asked to deliver-." Before I could finish my announcement, I stopped myself, realising how many more people were in the staff common room than usual.

"That's why it's your role." Kaga, talking to Ishigami, had a frustrated expression, which wasn't anything entirely out of the ordinary.

"You can't decide that on your own. You're making teamwork pointless." Ishigami gritted his teeth to somehow hold himself back, but he wasn’t doing a very good job at it.

"Well..." Soma interrupted with a smile as gentle as the one I had seen that night. There were people around the three that I had never seen before, which likely meant they were Public Safety detectives.

When I stopped in the doorway, Kaga noticed me. He ignored me, but I knew now that was a sign to continue with what I came here to do. I moved silently so I didn't interrupt the meeting and handed over the files. As I'm about to leave, Kaga grabbed my arm to keep me in the tense office.

‘Is he going to give me one of his ridiculous orders in front of all these people?’ I looked out at the group of men dressed in smart suits. It almost looked like a gathering of businessmen, if it wasn't for the badges pinned to various places depending on the person.

"This training will be the biggest one yet. Naturally, cooperation is a must." Ishigami began to try and negotiate with my mentor again. With all the confrontations I've seen the two have, I've never seen logic prevail.

"Give it up." Kaga sighed, tired of the mere discussion of getting on well together.

"That's what I'd like to say to you. If you run in on your own, you'll get us in trouble." Ishigami matched my mentor's negative expression.

"Shut up. Don't take credit then start complaining about it."

"There'll be no problems if Hyogo has my information," Ayumu spokle up for Kaga's side of the argument; being on the same team together. The other detectives I didn't know contemplated the superior skills of Kaga and Ayumu against the likelihood of a lone mission being a success.

"The target is Takeda, a politician accused of corruption," Soma explained and I could have sworen I had heard the name before. And not from the news or the academy. "He's quite the big shot, so this will be difficult." It seemed like Soma was backing up Ishigami's debate, but his calming smile was hard to not see as neutral.

"Isn't it a mistake to use a dangerous target like him for training in the first place?" Ayumu retorted.

"If the trainees can't pass this, they're not needed." It was clear what side Goto was on as he piped up as well, although probably for a different reason than Ishigami.

"I agree with that much. We can weed out the morons who can't do it." Kaga's statement confused me, however, since the beginning he's been against any student interference, even when it came to training us.

"In any case, Goto's team will assist those who go undercover to contact Takeda," Ishigami explained, which seemed to put an end to any disagreement.

"We can't do this like always... We need to catch him off guard..." Kaga looked around the room. "Ah, right, a woman." His eyes finally landed on me and my eyes grew wide with confusion. Ishigami was also confused by his statement. "Me and this one." Kaga gave my arm a sharp tug as if showing off his latest catch.

"What?" Not even having a clue what they are talking about in the first place, I was more than hesitant to sign up.

"If we're working as a man and woman, he won't even notice us," Kaga explained to everyone but me.

"Will it be alright? This might be a little much for Motomori." Shinonome glared at me and I so wanted to talk back. With the previous couple days being a little rough, I was more... temperamental with his obvious passes or him trying to coax me into quitting.

"I already told you, we cut morons who can't do it." Kaga's statement pulled me from my daydream of throwing daggers at a pinned up Shinonome. "Hey," he got my attention by tugging my arm again.

"Ye-Yeah?" I looked down at him as he was sitting.

"You wanna do it, right?" I wa left speechless at Kaga's first-ever offer that I had a chance to refuse. Obviously, I wasn’t going to, it sounded like a mission, which I could learn from. But, not knowing everything about the situation did make me a little uneasy. Instead of speaking, I nodded sharply, not wanting to sound unsure if I spoke aloud.

"You and this team will be support. Information analysis is your forte." Kaga smirked over at Ishigami as it seemed all the pieces of his puzzle were falling into place.

"How many times do I have to tell you? You rely too much on your intuition-." Ishigami began a lecture I had seen many times in the Staff Room, but I was surprised he would say this in front of so many of their subordinates.

"Yeah, yeah. There's too much of a risk. I can't give my approval, right?" Kaga grumbled the same words he's heard time and time again. "You say the same thing every time. But how many times has my intuition failed us?" It seemed like Kaga was trying to plead his case, no matter how indifferent he sounded.

"It's not about failing. It's just about you doing things differently. I've told you. Alternatively, your intuition always-." Ishigami was, once again, interrupted.

"You still spouting off?" Kaga complained, having ignored most of what he just said. He then pushed me towards Ishigami like a wall, as if sick of dealing with him. I stumbled a little but quickly regained my composure. "Then use her to infiltrate or as a decoy, whatever." Kaga seemed so indifferent about what I could possibly offer to the investigation. As I questioned his alternatives, he started degrading me again. "This is my faithful servant. She's well trained."

Ishigami was left silent, as if contemplating my worth as well. Sparks flew between the two during their silence, then Ishigami looked away. "There's no end to this." He complained under his breath. "Goto and Soma; decide on the organisation of your teams." Ishigami started directing the room and the other detectives gathered around him.

"Atsuko, things have gotten difficult for you, haven't they?" Soma approached me. I wasn't sure if he was referring to what happened the other night, or just now, but he had no idea about the extent of it. I sighed, wondering what I had gotten myself into when I was just here to deliver documents. "But, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing you two cooperate." Soma flashed me a smile, looking at Kaga who's still sitting in his chair.

"Cooperate?" I questioned whether that was even possible for a man like Kaga and looked at him. Then, realising I heard a chuckle, I find that Soma must have found this funny. I pouted, about to bring that fact up, when Shinonome walked over.

"Yeah. I'm sure you two going undercover together will be interesting." As Shinonome judged me from head to toe, I wondered how well the Captain and I could actually interact well. It seemed how unsure I was was shown on my face as the two looked very amused. "To put it simple, you'll be pretending to be a couple, right?" Ayumu showed his innocent smile and I almost felt ill at the statement. "There are lots of places only a man and a woman can sneak into together."

At Shinonome's words, I remembered when Kaga brought me to the love hotel. "It's just a mission." I shrugged, growing used to the fact I would have to start using my qualities men wouldn't be able to use.

"Right, but..." A sly grin appeared on Ayumu's face. "You might get eaten up by Hyogo." Those words made me think back to the time I was locked in an interrogation room with the instructor. Kaga could be forceful and push the sexual harassment laws a little too far, but surely he wouldn't force me to fail this mission?

"Ayumu, if you've got time to flap your lips, get to work." Kaga is suddenly in our circle, staring the youngest detective down.

"Sure thing!" Acting like nothing had happened, Shinonome left without another word.

"Move." Kaga then turned to me with his blunt order before leaving, I question whether I heard it or not.

"O-Okay?" I rush after him, not wanting to get the bad end of the stick by delaying his orders.

~~~~~~

Following Kaga up to the roof to find him leaning against the railing with a cigarette between his lips, I gulped, watching the sun's rays light up his features. Cursing all of Naruko's fanciful jabberings, I approached him.

"What did you wan-?" Before I could finish speaking, Kaga had his arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me exceedingly close. My eyes widened in surprise at the sudden move.

"What?" I asked surprisingly calmly, not knowing how else to act in a situation like this. He remained silent as he stared down at me. "Can I help you with something?" I asked again, wondering if he had heard me the first time.

"Come to my room tonight." He smirked down at my face, my brows furrowing in worry. "I'll love you all night long." His voice was low in a raspy whisper and his breath tickled my ear. I instantly started panicking, wondering where the sudden request came from.

"You're not serious, right?" I spoke low in return, afraid I'd stutter under his handsome glaring.

"Geez, of course not." He sighed, letting me go. I gulped to try and wet my throat, which had run dry with my shock.

"Don't you realise that we'll have to go at least this far?" He complained as any type of gentleness he was going to show me was gone from his features.

"This far..?" I blushed, never having done that with anyone. I didn't realise being as inexperienced as I was would hold me back here of all places.

"We have to look like a real couple when we're undercover. If you give us away, it will all have been for nothing." I felt an oncoming lecture as he glared at me.

‘How can he switch that quickly?’ I stared right back at him, fascinated with his seemingly bipolar attitude.

"Well, what do you think will happen if we do it more?" He cornered me to a barrier, pressing my back into the railing and slowly bringing his face closer to mine. I was stricken into silence, watching him near. "What do you want? I'll do whatever you desire." His smirk was back, but his eyes were empty once again.

As he read my expression, I could feel my face redden. "Continue what happened earlier? Well then..." He paused, thinking back to our time in his dorm room at the school. "Yeah, it wouldn't be so bad to do that outdoors." He looked down at my body. As it had been after school hours, I had untucked my blue shirt and undone the top buttons, only because it was so hot. I didn't think I would have to hide myself from his predatory glances.

With my silence, trying to judge what he'll do next, his expression turned from looking like he was enjoying himself, to despising me. "You ruin this and I will get rid of you instantly." His threat was cold and severe and I had to gulp to make sure I could still breath.

"I won't," I announced, although I could feel my fear in my toes.

"I have no need for useless pawns." He repeated and took his hands off the railing either side of me, leaving as quickly as ever.

Desperately trying to calm my flaming blush, I can't help but feel defeated by his insult.

‘I'll show him I'm not just some piece.’ I clenched my fist triumphantly, watching the roof door shut slowly.

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