#but since she's upset me and another friend said ok let's go at like noon and we'll eat lunch with her

[zouisexo]

.

[flightfoot]

Perspective From Another Timeline

Thanks to my betas @steelblaidd and Izzybusy!

I ADORE @buggachat new Bakery Enemies AU. This idea just kept on swirling through my head, I had to write it! This is set between parts 13 and 14, so after Adrien meets Alya and Nino but before Marinette starts sympathizing with him. AO3

---------

“You okay?”

Alya shook her head, trying to clear it. “I’ll be fine. I’ve weathered worse than that - we both have.”

Nino grinned at her. “True that.”

Alya smiled at him fondly, remembering Heroes Day. It was a bittersweet memory, with her having been turned against Nino and them both being akumatized. 

But they had fought to protect each other as best they could. She’d seen Prime Queen’s footage, how Carapace had struggled to get her to fight against Dark Cupid’s magic, how he’d only given into despair after she’d given into akumatization. 

“What did that blast do to us?” Nino wondered. “Everyone else the akuma blasted just disappeared. Why’re we still here?”

Alya’s brow furrowed. “I dunno… hold on, let me check to see whether any new info on the akuma’s been uploaded.”

Pulling out her phone, she tapped on the Akuma News Alert app.

An error message popped up, telling her that she had no internet connection.

Puzzled, Alya checked her phone’s other settings. 

No wifi - no wifi even recognized, much less connectable - no cell service, no connection to the outside world at all.

She glanced over at Nino. “Hey, you got any signal?”

Taking out his own phone, he quickly checked his connection. He shook his head. “Not a single bar.”

Frowning, Alya looked around. “Maybe all the cell towers were taken out?”

Everything looked intact though, no sign of any destruction at all.

Something else caught Alya’s eye. “Hey Nino, what time should it be?”

Nino blinked. “Well I mean lunch just started so it should be a little past noon-”

He glanced around, noticing the long shadows and the pinkish-orange of the evening sky.

“-which it clearly is not anymore,” he concluded.

Great. “Guess Ladybug and Chat Noir must’ve taken a while to defeat the akuma,” she said, putting her phone away. “Hopefully my parents aren’t too worried. They like me to text them just after an akuma attack, but right now…?” she gestured to her pocket.

“My folks aren’t as worried,” Nino said. “But they still expect me back home before the sun goes down. They’ll be getting nervous soon.”

Alya let out a small sigh. “So much for playing Super Penguino together.”

“Hmmm…” Nino’s eyes gleamed. “You know… it’s not night just yet. And I’m sure my parents would understand if I was a few minutes late because I grabbed a bite to eat.”

Grabbed a bite to eat? What was Nino hinting at…?

Alya looked around at their location more closely.

Wait… that blast seemed to have carried them to that one park, the one near-

Alya grinned. “I think my parents will forgive me for not calling in if I bring them fresh-baked treats from the best bakery in Paris.”

---

*ring ring*

The scent of freshly baked bread wafted through the store. 

Instantly Alya felt her shoulders loosen up, releasing tension she didn’t even know she’d had. There was just something so warm and comforting about the bakery.

Of course, a lot of that was due to the people running it. Good luck finding more friendly, caring people than Marinette’s parents. Sabine often checked up on anyone who seemed to be struggling or upset (and ready to protect them if they were - Alya had seen the video of the time a TV crew decided to invade Marinette’s privacy), and Tom was basically a giant teddy bear in human form.

But neither of them were manning the counter today.

Instead a young woman stared back at them.

A very familiar-looking young woman. 

“Marinette?” Alya asked cautiously.

The woman stared at her for a minute. “Alya?” she finally asked. “What happened to you?” She paled. “Did a new supervillain attack? Is that why you and Nino are younger?”

Huh. Weirdly scared reaction from Marinette. They’d all gotten used to supervillains by now. She’d expect an older Marinette to take them in stride even more than the current Marinette.

Hm… an older Marinette, a different time of day, and Marinette not seeming to know about the latest akuma attack? 

“Marinette… what year is it?” 

Marinette blinked for a moment. Her eyes widened.

Seemed Marinette understood what she was getting at.

She told Alya the date.

Her hunch was right. “We’re in the future,” Alya breathed.

A wicked grin slowly spread over her face. 

Five years was a long time. A lot of things could have happened. A lot of information could’ve come to light.

Like Hawkmoth’s identity.

Or more information on the Miraculous.

But most importantly right now-

She leaned in close to Marinette, making sure to keep her voice down, just in case someone else was around in the back. “So did you ever get together with a certain blond-haired, green-eyed model?”

“Uh… what?” Marinette asked, looking puzzled.

Alya snapped her fingers. “Adrien. Did you and Adrien finally get together? Ooooh, if you did you’ve GOTTA tell me how the confession went! Or, no, wait, don’t tell me, I want to get the deets at the time. Just let me know how long I’ve got to wait, girl!”

Marinette just stared at her, slack-jawed. “Adrien… like ADRIEN AGRESTE?!” she said, her volume rising with every word.

Alya’s eyebrows flew up. “Um… yes…?”

She’d thought that Marinette would be glowing about finally getting together with her crush, or dejected about still not being able to spit out what she wanted to say to him, downcast over him rejecting her, or maybe even infuriated because he mistreated her and they subsequently broke up.

(The last one was VERY unlikely though. After the Felix debacle, she’d learned to have a bit more faith in Adrien’s good nature.)

Shock at the concept of dating him? Not something she’d anticipated.

Footsteps echoed from behind Marinette.

So one of Marinette’s parents must’ve been in the back-

Adrien popped his head around the corner.

Seemed both he AND Marinette had aged well. 

Not that Adrien looked all that different. Taller, definitely, maybe with slightly messier hair and… were those earrings? They looked good on him.

“Hey dude!” Nino waved at his best friend. “What’s up?”

“Uh…” Adrien said, scratching the back of his neck.

“WOW those outfits really take the years off, huh?” Marinette said loudly, shoving them out the door. “Make you look smaller than usual. Well we better go talk about plans later okaybye-”

She promptly slammed the door behind them, physically pushing them away from the bakery.

After Marinette had dragged them a good distance away, Alya finally got over her shock, turning around and glaring at her. “What was that about?!” she asked Marinette indignantly, hands on her hips. “You know me, I wasn’t going to spill anything to him. That’s why I was talking so quietly! Why’d you have to do that?!”

Nino frowned, seeming more concerned than annoyed. “Adrien looked really hurt by that. Not cool.”

“There’s nothing to spill!” Marinette protested, gesticulating wildly. “I only met him for the first time two days ago!”

*record scratch*

Two-

Two DAYS ago?!

Ok, hold up.

“Adrien joined our collège class the day after I did! He sits in front of you in class! What’re you TALKING about?!”

“Uh… no…?” Marinette tilted her head to the side, befuddled. “I think I would remember that, even if it was a few years back.” 

Alya let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, no kidding. He would be uh, difficult for you to forget. Heck, even if your memory was erased, you’ve got so much stuff revolving around him, I couldn’t see that lasting long.”

Marinette blushed. “Why do you think I have a crush on him?! He’s HAWKMOTH’S SON!”

“WHAT?!” Alya and Nino yelled in unison.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated Hawkmoth a couple years ago,” Marinette explained, pulling out her phone.

A moment later she held it up, showing a blog post from the Ladyblog.

Oooh, that’s a nice graphical design. I’ll have to look into updating my site, Alya thought.

Turning her attention to the picture, she squinted. “Hey, can you enlarge the photo?” She asked.

Marinette complied, enlarging it and turning her phone sideways, letting it fill the entire screen. 

Gabriel Agreste being led away in handcuffs by the police, with Ladybug and Chat Noir in the background. Ladybug looked satisfied, with maybe a twinge of melancholy, but Chat Noir…

He stared vacantly ahead, seemingly not focused on anyone or anything, a smile on his face - but the most forced one she’d ever seen.

“What’s wrong with Chat Noir?” 

Marinette frowned, looking troubled. “I don’t know. He seemed really, really upset when Hawkmoth was defeated. It was a tough battle, bad enough that neither of them have returned since, but that doesn’t explain why-”

She trailed off, lost in thought. 

A moment later she looked up, meeting Alya’s eyes.

Immediately she waved her hands around, trying to ward off… something. “I- I mean, that’s what I read on the Ladyblog and what I could piece together from video footage, it’s not like I was there, NOPE. I was huddled in my room the entire time. Not like I have any insight into what Chat Noir was acting like during the battle, not beyond what any other civilian would know! That would be ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” she let out a few forced guffaws.

Alya’s eyebrows flew up.

O...Kay…?

Maybe Marinette had been following Ladybug and Chat Noir during the final battle and hadn’t wanted anyone to know? She’d wondered whether Marinette might have a thing for Chat Noir, but her crush on Adrien dwarfed any feelings she might have had for him. Plus it’s not like Marinette would actually know Chat Noir, unlike Adrien.

Thinking about Adrien…

“He must’ve been devastated,” she murmured. Marinette looked at her questioningly. “Adrien, I mean,” Alya clarified. “Having your father turn out to be a terrorist? I can’t even imagine.”

Marinette buried her face in her hands. “Not you TOO,” she said, her voice muffled.

Nino slowly started edging his way behind Marinette.

“What’s your problem with Adrien?” Alya asked. “Did he do something?”

Marinette glanced away. “Not… exactly… I just… I’m afraid that it might all be an act. That he might’ve been helping Hawkmoth secretly, and… and even if he wasn’t before, that he might just be biding his time, waiting until he figures out who Ladybug and Chat Noir and then BAM!” she slammed her fist down on her other hand. “He takes them out, steals all the Miraculous, frees his father and rules Paris FOREVER!”

Alya reached out towards Marinette tentatively. She collapsed into Alya’s arms. 

Hugging her tightly, she sang a soft nonsense song, rubbing small circles in Marinette’s back. 

She’d done this a few other times since she’d met Marinette, though she’d never thought she’d do it underneath these circumstances.

Whatever these circumstances actually were.

Did everyone have amnesia or…?

“Do you have any big memory gaps?” Alya asked once Marinette’s breathing had calmed down. “Especially from five years ago?” 

Marinette shook her head. 

She’d shelve that theory for now then. More likely it was…

“An alternate timeline, huh?” Alya said.

Marinette looked up at her questioningly.

“That’s what I think this is,” Alya explained. “I WAS thinking that maybe there’d been some sort of mass amnesia, but if you don’t have any memory gaps - and trust me girl, with how involved you were with Adrien, there WOULD be memory gaps - that seems unlikely. I’m betting this is some sort of alternate universe, one where Adrien never got to go to school.”

“I still don’t get why you think there’s something between me and Adrien!” Marinette said. “I mean sure, he’s pretty, but did I really fall for him just for that?” 

Alya shook her head. “Actually, you hated him at first. Chloe’d been bragging about how he was her friend, and with that on top of you catching him trying to remove the gum Chloe’d planted on your seat and mistaking it for him PLANTING the gum… well… both of us just assumed he was a spoiled rich bully, just like Chloe. Luckily that turned out not to be the case.”

“How’d that misunderstanding get cleared up?” Marinette asked. “And how did your Marinette jump from that to crushing on him?”

Alya grinned. Marinette had ranted about this moment to her SO. MANY. TIMES.

“School let out later that day. It was raining and Marinette had forgotten her umbrella, so she hung back a moment, long enough for Adrien to approach her. At first she looked away from him, not wanting to acknowledge his greeting. But then he told you - told her I mean - that he hadn’t done it, promised that he’d just been trying to take it off with such sincerity that she had no choice but to believe it. He opened up to her, even though she’d been shunning him just moments ago. And finally he gave her his umbrella, just because he could. Because it was the kind thing to do. She’s been a goner ever since.”

The Marinette in her arms looked away. “I can see why she might have developed a crush on him. But I still dunno whether I trust him.”

“I don’t know whether I have anything that could convince you on that,” Alya admitted, “especially since this is probably a different timeline, and for all I know he could be evil here. Just make sure that you’re judging him on his own merits, okay? Not who he’s associated with. Not his fault he has so many crappy people in his life.”

“I’ll… take it under consideration,” Marinette said reluctantly. 

Marinette looked from side to side. “Where’d Nino go?”

“Oh, he snuck back into the bakery several minutes ago.”

“WHAT?!”

---

Nino opened the door to the bakery, letting out a small sigh of relief. He really wanted to check in on his best friend, and judging by Marinette’s behavior, she wasn’t exactly keen on him or Alya chatting with Adrien.

Thinking back on what he’d just heard, he frowned. 

He wished he could say that he’d never have suspected that Gabriel was Hawkmoth.

That he didn’t think Adrien’s old man could ever be capable of such evil.

But he knew better.

The guy threatened to withdraw Adrien from school and isolate him from everyone else at the drop of a hat, paid little attention to his son when he was at home, and was a very negative influence on his life in general. He might have been grieving, but… so was Adrien. He needed the only parent he had left.

And instead Gabriel had chosen to respond by becoming a supervillain and terrorizing Paris, endangering his own son in the process.

He really wished he’d gotten to hit Hawkmoth with his turtle shield more. At least he got to relish the smack he got in.

“You’re back!” 

Nino looked towards the voice.

Adrien walked closer to him, a tentative grin on his face. “I didn’t think you’d return so soon!”

“I had to come back to talk to my best friend,” Nino said.

“Best friend?” Adrien asked, blank-faced.

Oh, right. According to Marinette, Adrien hadn’t joined their class. She hadn’t even met Adrien until recently. 

Had some sort of memory-wiping akuma attacked? Wouldn’t have been the first time. 

“Do you know who I am?” Nino asked, pointing at himself.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh… well I know you’re friends with the Ladyblogger and Marinette, and… sorry, that’s it.”

He looked really apologetic, like a dog who’d ripped up a bunch of toilet paper and acted guilty about it once caught.

Hm. If it had been a memory-erasing akuma, maybe he could jog Adrien’s memory…?

And even if it wasn’t, he wanted to let Adrien know that someplace, somewhere, people cared about him. If Marinette’s reaction to him was any indication, he’d need that reassurance. Being looked at with suspicion, having people run from you just because of who your dad was, thinking that you might’ve been involved in his crimes… he couldn’t imagine.

“You joined our class the day after Hawkmoth first attacked,” Nino told him, pulling out his phone.

Adrien shook his head, looking confused. “Uh… no? I wanted to, I REALLY wanted to go to school, but Father-”

He cut himself off, looking away.

“Marinette said the same thing,” Nino told him. “That you hadn’t enrolled in our class, that she’d only met you recently. I don't know what that’s about, whether everyone’s memories were wiped, or an akuma messed with the past, or what.”

Come on, come on, where was it- ah!

He clicked on a photo, one taken a few months ago, holding his phone up so his friend could get a better look.

Adrien squinted for a moment. His eyes widened. “That’s-!”

Nino nodded. “Our class photo. The official one, anyway.” He chuckled. “I liked our unofficial ones better.” Swiping to the side, he showed the new ones the class had taken at the park. 

Adrien’s jaw dropped more with every new photo. He let out an involuntary bark of laughter at the one of himself, Nino, Kim, and Juleka posing. “I- I always wanted to mess around like that at photoshoots,” Adrien said. His voice trembled slightly. “But I wouldn’t be able to get away with it. And that’s mostly fun when you can share it with friends, at least share the picture, and I- I couldn’t. Chloe wouldn’t have appreciated it, and L-”

He cut himself off, shaking his head.

“Luka?” Nino asked. 

He didn’t know why Adrien would know Luka and not anybody else, but he seemed the most likely option.

“Uh…” Adrien scratched the back of his neck, looking away.

Hm, he’d have to see if he had- ah!

“You played in Kitty Section too, with Luka, Rose, Ivan, and Juleka.” Nino explained, clicking on the video. 

Adrien’s hands shook as Nino handed him the phone, watching the mini-concert.

“I- I was allowed to- I got to-” Adrien’s voice quavered. 

“Not at first.” Nino grimaced, remembering how bummed Adrien had sounded when he called him. “Your old man said that Agrestes were soloists, and that we were all bad influences.”

“HE was the bad influence,” Adrien said. A current of anger, of venom ran through his voice that Nino had never heard before. 

“Well I already knew that, even before finding out he was Hawkmoth,” Nino said, making a face. “Dude needed to chill out.”

Adrien snorted. “If he had any ‘chill’ he wouldn’t have decided that becoming a supervillain was the best way to heal my mother.”

Oh.

So THAT was why Gabriel had done it.

He’d just thought it was standard ‘I’m an asshole and want to rule the world while being a jackass to everyone in my life’ behavior.

(He still wasn’t going to rule out that being a factor.)

Nino put a hand on Adrien’s shoulder sympathetically. “At least he’s gone now and you’re free, right?”

“Right,” Adrien said. He didn’t meet Nino’s eyes.

“Not you TOO,” Marinette had said, burying her face in her hands.

As if she found it exasperating that Alya sympathized with Adrien. As if she had expected differently. 

Those worries she’d voiced as Nino had been tiptoeing away, about Adrien helping Hawkmoth, about him lying in wait, biding his time… Marinette probably wasn’t the only one to have that concern. And with Adrien’s face being as well-known as it was...

“You AREN’T free, are you?” Nino asked, eyes wide.

Adrien sighed. “I was as surprised as everyone else when I found out who Hawkmoth was. That someone who’s caused that much harm, that much trauma to this city, lived in my own house.” He clenched his fists, digging into his jean’s fabric. “I could barely believe it… no… I didn’t WANT to believe it.”

He took a deep breath, steadying himself. “I- I only remember snippets from right after his arrest. The police chief talking to me. Riding back to the station. It’s all a blur. Everything felt like I was processing it underwater. It was all so blurry and muffled. Even- even then, though, I could feel everyone’s accusing stares.” “I understand why, don’t get me wrong,” he cut in hurriedly. “Who wouldn’t be suspicious of the son of the terrorist who’s been making everyone’s life miserable for the past four years?” Adrien almost panted with exertion, his eyes wild. “And- and it was happening in my own house! Underneath my nose! I should have KNOWN! I could’ve stopped this!” 

Reaching out, Nino pulled his friend into a hug. 

Adrien stiffened for a moment, before melting into his embrace.

“It’s his fault, not yours,” Nino murmured. “Remember that, dude. He was the adult. He was your parent. Your ONLY remaining parent. I’ve met the guy. And I’ve heard you talk about what he’s like. If you had investigated more?” Nino shuddered, thinking about the disproportionate punishments the bastard had enacted. “And knowing he was HAWKMOTH on top of that? I’m kinda glad you didn’t. Yeah, maybe you could’ve ended things sooner. Or maybe he would’ve hurt you more before you had the chance. I’m just glad you survived.”

“I-” Adrien’s throat sounded tight. “I’m- I’m glad I survived too.”

They stood there for a moment, Nino feeling Adrien’s breath go in-and-out, his heartbeat racing, until it gradually started to slow.

*ring ring*

Adrien and Nino broke up their hug just as Marinette burst through the door, Alya on her heels. She skidded to a halt in front of Adrien - but not quite in time, sending her careening towards the floor.

She never made contact.

“Woah!” Adrien shouted, catching her in his arms.

Nino detected a hint of pink to Marinette’s cheeks before she abruptly sprang to her feet.

“So, uh,” Marinette said awkwardly. “I’m guessing Nino talked to you about some stuff. I mean, of course he talked to you about stuff, because that’s what talking is about. What- what I mean is, what were you two talking about?”

“I wanted to show him how much we care about him,” Nino told her. “Especially since with this… amnesia?”

“I think it’s an alternate timeline,” Alya said. 

“Especially since in this timeline,” Nino continued, “it really doesn’t seem like he had anyone.”

“I had a couple other friends,” Adrien told him quietly, giving a melancholic smile. “But I lost contact with them right after Hawkmoth’s defeat.”

Noticing Nino’s frown, he hastily added, “they didn’t abandon me or anything! They were online friends. One moved somewhere without internet reception, and the other... we never knew each other’s names. But we talked all the time. We chatted, laughed, defeated villains together…”

“In the video games we played, of course!” he added after a moment. He chuckled fondly. “We played as a team. Together, we were unstoppable, no matter what our opponent threw at us.”

Adrien swallowed. “But in the aftermath of Hawkmoth’s defeat, with all the turmoil, with everything that happened… I lost my means of contacting her. I- I don’t know whether I’ll ever get to see her again.”

“We’d promised to meet up after Hawkmoth’s defeat,” Adrien said. His voice cracked. “That- that once it was safer in Paris, we’d finally tell our names.”

His eyes dropped to the ground. “Instead, we lost each other. Maybe for good.”

“I know what that’s like,” Marinette said. She sounded strangely distant. “I had a friend like that too. I cared about him. A lot. Maybe… maybe even as more than a friend.” She said the last part haltingly, as if she’d only just admitted it to herself. “He- he wanted to know who I was. For me to know who he was. But- but I couldn’t do that. Not in Hawkmoth’s Paris. I already cared for him so much it ached. If I was closer to him than that- if I’d accepted his rose- I’m- I’m afraid Hawkmoth might’ve used the strength of those feelings against me. That I could’ve gotten akumatized, or he might’ve, and if we knew who each other was, knew WHERE the other one was… I just… I couldn’t accept that we might be sent to hurt each other.”

“We talked while the final battle was raging,” she continued. “He seemed really upset, more angry than I’ve ever seen him before, but… also kind of sad. I wanted to know what was wrong, but there wasn’t really time to press him. And after that battle he just… disappeared. I knew there was going to be some sort of disruption, but- but I’d thought we’d have more time to talk beforehand, that we’d be able to exchange new contact information. We were cut off before we had the chance.”

“I- I think of him every day,” she said quietly. “Wondering how he’s doing. He was always so positive, no matter what life threw at us. I hope that wherever he is, whatever he’s doing, he hasn’t lost that positivity, that optimism, the ability to see the best in the world and in others.”

“I’m sure he’d be happy to know you cared for him so much,” Adrien said, giving her a warm smile.

Marinette blinked, giving herself a small shake. She turned to Alya. “I dunno whether you’ll remember any of this after the Ladybug in your time restores anything, but on the off-chance you do, is there anything you need to know?”

“Oh!” Alya pulled up some footage. “You told me who Hawkmoth was, but what about Mayura?”

“Mayura?” 

“Who?”

Alya snapped her fingers. “You know, the Peacock Miraculous wielder, the one summoning the sentimonsters! Did she not exist in this universe?”

She pulled up part of the fight against Mayura, the sentimonster Ladybug, and Hawkmoth.

The video ended, she took another glance at Marinette and Adrien.

Marinette seemed to be in shock, staring straight ahead.

Adrien frowned, thinking. “I’d wondered for a long time how Father managed to hide his supervillain activities from Nathalie, considering she was around him most of the time. I thought maybe she was just really good at never asking questions.”

He grimaced. “Looking at that? I’m betting she didn’t ask questions because she already knew the answers.”

“You think Mayura’s Nathalie?” Alya questioned.

He nodded. “Unless something’s different in your universe. My father doesn’t have a lot of associates, and the way he acted around Mayura there, how he was willing to pass up a chance to fight Ladybug for her Miraculous in exchange for catching her… the only people I can think of who he’d do that for are my mother and Nathalie, and mom…” he trailed off.

“I- I didn’t even think about that,” Marinette said guiltily. “I remember reading something about Gabriel having a secretary, but I didn’t think about her much beyond that.”

“Maybe you could ask this universe’s Alya to post something on the Ladyblog, telling Ladybug and Chat Noir she has a lead on who Mayura is?” Alya said. “I mean, I know they haven’t shown up in ages, but maybe that’s just because they haven’t had reason to.”

Marinette winced. “I… really don’t think that’s it… plus Ladybug and Chat Noir never said that someone was helping Hawkmoth. Mayura never appeared, at least in public. I don’t know what we can do about this right now, especially without proof. Maybe if Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared, but…”

She sounded doubtful. Alya was beginning to think that the final battle was even worse than Marinette had alluded to.

She hesitated a moment, before turning to Adrien. “I- I think I owe you an apology. I thought you might’ve been helping Hawkmoth, but… well… I was just judging you by who your dad was. You’ve been nothing but sweet and kind.”

Adrien smiled at her, though it was slightly strained. “It’s fine. I’m used to it. A lot of people in this city have suffered at Hawkmoth’s hands. I don’t blame them for being scared, or angry at any reminders of him.”

“That doesn’t make it RIGHT,” Marinette said heatedly.

Nino nodded. “Dude just because something’s done to you it doesn’t mean it’s justified, or that it shouldn’t be made better. Like with your old man forbidding parties. I didn’t let that stop me from bribing your bodyguard into letting me and the other guys throw a party at your place for you!”

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “It kinda escalated though. I think half the guys at Paris were partying in your room by the end!”

Alya gave Nino a sideways look. “And ONLY the guys because they ditched us girls while we were planting trees with a lame excuse. Seriously if you’d said you wanted to throw a party for Adrien while his dad was away, you could’ve just told us!”

Nino winced. “Yeah, my bad. At least we got to have fun there for a while before the akuma attack.”

“Akuma attack?” Adrien asked, eyes wide. “But I thought you said Father was gone!”

“He was- OOOOOOOH.”

“Yeeaaaah I don’t think he was actually gone,” Alya said. “You threw a ‘secret’ party in Hawkmoth’s house, WHILE he was still at home.”

Adrien gaped at Nino. “How’re you not DEAD?!”

Nino chuckled. “Lucky I guess?”

*twinkle twinkle*

A familiar red mass flew towards Alya and Nino.

Adrien’s eyes widened. 

“Behind the portrait!” he blurted out, just as the two of them were enveloped by the ladybugs, spiriting them off to whence they came.

It was silent for a moment.

“Do you think they heard?” Adrien asked Marinette.

“I hope so,” she said, looking off in the direction the ladybugs flew.

She turned to him. “I was planning on setting up some hang out time with Alya and Nino later this week. If you’re not busy… would you like to join?”

His smile told her everything she needed to know.

[elspethc22]

Let's Talk

Sciles Week Day 6: Talks we should have had

Pairing: Scott/Stiles

Word Count: 2621

The school year had finally ended, and Scott was more relieved to done with school than he ever had been before. He’d had nearly three months of freedom and the only thing on his to do list (other than work and whatever chores his mum asked him to do) was spending time with Stiles.

So that’s what he was doing – heading over to Stiles’ house to, most likely, wake his best friend up. For Stiles, summer meant sleeping in and doing absolutely nothing when he didn’t have to, which is exactly what he’d spent at least sixty percent of his summer doing. And since he knew Stiles wasn’t ‘helping out’ at the station today (also known as monitoring his dad’s eating habits up close, filing reports and trying to sneak looks at case files) chances were he would still be in bed even though it was nearly noon.

After knocking and getting no answer, Scott let himself in with the key Stiles had had made for him (he’d thought it only fair since he had one for the McCall house). Heading up the stairs, Scott made his way to Stiles’ bedroom, opening the door and walking right in.

‘Stiles. Stiles, dude. Wake up.’ Stiles stirred once, then stopped, still deep in sleep. Scott looked at him considering, then kicked off his shoes and pounced.

He landed right on Stiles, who shot up, eyes opening wide.

‘What – Scott? What the hell? Dude, what was that for? I was sleeping!’ Stiles asked, still looking around wildly, as if expecting an attack. When he found none, he flopped backwards, throwing an arm over his face. His face which was half-covered in lines from where it had been pressed into his pillow in his sleep.

‘Stiles, dude it’s already noon. We only have like two weeks left of summer, so come on, get up.’ Scott grabbed Stiles’ arm and dragged it off his face, giving him a little shove.

‘Do I have to?’ Stiles whined, and Scott laughed.

‘Yep. Unless you’d prefer… ’ Scott trailed off but lifted his hand to move his fingers against Stiles’ side, making him squirm.

‘No.’ Stiles protested, moving away.

‘Well those are you options – get up, and please shower, or I do it again.’ He wiggled his fingers threateningly, and Stiles lifted his head to glare at him.

‘I hate you.’ He said, sitting up again, keeping his eyes on Scott’s hand. He was the only person besides his dad who knew Stiles was ticklish, and unfortunately he wasn’t afraid to exploit that knowledge when he wanted to get his way.

‘You know you love me.’ Scott said, laughing and Scott thought he saw Stiles blush before he turned his head away, climbing over Scott and out of his bed.

‘Whatever. Give me ten minutes to shower.’ Scott watched Stiles head out of his room for the bathroom, and relaxed back on Stiles’ bed to wait. While he waited, he thought about Stiles reaction to his words. Why would Stiles blush from Scott telling saying Stiles loved him?

He tried to think of a reason, but while he thought, all that came to mind was a conversation with Stiles a few months ago. ‘This new-found heroism is making me very attracted to you.’ Then another conversation before that. ‘Am I not attractive to gay guys?’

He was deep in thought when Stiles came back in to his room, towel sitting low on his hips as he moved to his closet to find some clean clothes. The movement caught Scott’s attention and he propped himself up on his elbows, and found himself staring at Stiles’ back as Stiles’ words kept echoing in his mind.

‘Scott? Yo, Scotty!’ Stiles turned to look at him, letting the towel drop to the floor as he’d pulled a clean pair of boxers on underneath it, and was even now stepping into some clean sweats. Suddenly Stiles was clicking his fingers in Scott’s face and Scott blinked, leaning back.

‘What?’ He asked, blinking at Stiles who rolled his eyes.

‘Where’d you go man? I was asking you what you want to do today? Movie? Video games? More lacrosse practice?’

‘Oh, uh, I don’t know. Whatever you want.’ Stiles pulled a t-shirt over his head, narrowing his eyes at Scott as his head popped through. ‘What?’

‘Ok, what’s going on? First you were came in here, woke me up, all raring to go do something and now you’re spacing out on me and don’t care what we do? Seriously, what’s up?’

‘Do you like guys?’ Scott blurted out, then snapped his mouth shut, his eyes widening in surprise at his own words, wishing he could take them back. Stiles just stared at him, frozen in place. For nearly a minute, neither of them moved, processing the question that had just come out of Scott.

‘Um – ’

‘Oh my god, dude, forget I asked that. That was so not cool. I don’t even know – ’

‘Yes.’ Scott stopped his rambling apology, looking up at Stiles who was still standing in front of him.

‘Yes?’ Scott asked, and Stiles looked away, took a deep breath and then turned back, nodding.

‘Yes, I like guys. I mean, I still like girls, I wasn’t lying about that or anything, but… I like guys too.’ Stiles told Scott, his voice soft.

‘Wow.’ Scott could kick himself for only being able to come up with that, but his brain was apparently a little slow on the uptake in this conversation.

‘Yeah. Wow. Um… what made you ask that?’ Stiles asked, and Scott looked at him.

‘First – I’m so sorry I just like, asked you that like that, that really wasn’t cool of me. I was just… you blushed, earlier, when I said you know you love me and then that made me think, about why that would make you blush and then I remembered when you were asking me if you’re attractive to gay guys and then saying that my new heroism or whatever was making you attracted to me and we should make out and I was starting to think that maybe you weren’t joking and then I just… blurted the question out.’

Scott placed his hands in his lap, watching Stiles for a reaction as he explained his train of thought. Stiles stared at him for a moment, then sighed, running his hand through his newly grown out hair. Then he moved, sitting on the end of his bed, facing Scott.

‘It’s ok Scotty. I’m not upset you asked, I know you weren’t trying to be like… it just caught me off guard I guess. I wasn’t expecting it.’ Scott nodded, and was thankful his best friend wasn’t angry at him.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ He asked, his voice soft, and Stiles looked at him and shrugged.

‘I don’t know. It was never really like a plan to not tell you, I just… I was waiting for the right time and then, everything went crazy and I just… didn’t.’ Stiles told him, and Scott nodded even though he wished Stiles had felt he could tell him.

‘You know it doesn’t change anything, right? I mean, like, I don’t care one way or another.’ Scott tried to explain himself, trying to convey that he didn’t care who Stiles liked, they were still best friends, and Stiles just laughed.

‘I never thought it would, Scott. I know you, you’re like, the best person I know, you’d never care if I liked guys.’ Stiles told him, and Scott smiled, but there was still something nagging at him.

‘Do you… do you like me?’ Scott asked, then bit his lip when Stiles’ head shot up to look at him, eyes wide, mouth open in surprise.

‘I – I mean – of course I like you, dude, best friend forever, right?’ Stiles said, trying to bluff his way out of an answer by pretending to misunderstand the question and Scott knew.

‘I mean do you like me, Stiles.’ He repeated, changing his emphasis, moving a hand to Stiles’ wrist to keep him from standing and moving away. Stiles blinked once, twice, then looked down at Scott’s hand. When he looked back up, Scott’s heart hurt when he saw sadness in Stiles’ eyes.

‘Yes.’ Stiles breathed out. ‘I’m sorry, Scott, I – ’

Scott cut Stiles off by leaning forward and pressing his lips to Stiles’. Stiles let out a sound of surprise, but when Scott brought a hand up to cup the back of his head, tilted his own head to change the angle and make it easier, Stiles let his eyes shut and let himself sink into the kiss and enjoy it.

When Scott pulled back slowly, he let his hand slip down to settle at the base of Stiles’ neck, his thumb moving gently back and forth over Stiles’ skin just about his t-shirt.

‘Why did you do that?’ Stiles asked in a whisper. Scott took a moment before he answered, not wanting to say the wrong thing. He wasn’t completely sure why he’d done that – he couldn’t lie and say he’d wanted to do it for a while, it hadn’t occurred to him to try before today. But as soon as he’d thought about it, it was all he could think about.

‘Because I love you. And I have to be honest, I don’t know if I feel about you exactly how you feel about me, and I haven’t really thought about it before but I thought about kissing you and I just – I couldn’t notdo it.’ Scott said, hoping Stiles could make sense of his words. When Stiles didn’t say anything, he started to panic, thinking he’d just ruined things.

‘What about Allison?’ Scott was shocked that that was Stiles said next, but then he realised it made sense. This was completely out of the blue, and the last time they’d spoken about anything Scott had told him he was going to wait for her then get her back.

‘Honestly? When she broke up with me, it hurt, a lot. And I wanted to speak to her every day, try to change her mind, especially for the first few weeks. But recently?’ Scott paused, shrugged as he tried to explain it. ‘It still sucks, but now it more about how it all ended then the fact that it ended. Thinking about her, it doesn’t really hurt now, and I don’t think about her that much, not like I did right after we broke up or at the start of summer. I haven’t wanted to call her in weeks.’

Stiles was watching him closely, as if trying to pick out any lies. Scott just sat patiently, waiting for Stiles to react.

‘And what about me? I mean, you know I like you, I’m pretty sure I love you, and you just kissed me. Was it, like, a test?’

‘No, Stiles. I wouldn’t do that, especially not to you. I meant what I said, when I started thinking about it, it was like I hadto do it. And… I’m really glad I did. It was amazing. It felt like… it felt right.’

‘So you think you like guys too?’ Stiles questioned, and Scott shrugged.

‘I don’t know. It’s not really about you being a guy, it’s more about you being Stiles. Does that make sense?’ Stiles gave a small nod.

‘Kind of, I guess.’ Scott could tell Stiles didn’t really get it.

‘I mean, I know we’ve talked about girls we find attractive before, but I don’t… it usually takes me a while to really be attractedto someone. Usually, I really have to know and like someone before I feel like I want to do anything… physical. I think that’s why the idea of kissing you took so easily. Like, I know you’re an attractive person, but I never really thought about you or us in that way before, but then when I did…’ He tried to explain, knowing he sounded awkward. He’d never tried to put it into words before.

‘But what about Allison? You were like, zero to sixty with her.’ Stiles said, and Scott nodded his understanding. That had been a big surprise to him, and he’d been thinking about it a lot since they broke up.

‘I think that had more to do with the wolf. It was really weird because like, I’ve never had that instant attraction to anyone before so I didn’t recognise it at first, and then at first I thought it was cause I’d never met the right person. But I kept having these feelings like I was fighting with myself – there were times where all I wanted to do was touch her and kiss her but then I’d stop and think well, let’s just get to know her first. And obviously, then I did get to know her, and… but I think those first few weeks was not all me.’

Stiles looked at him, cocked his head.

‘So you’re saying the wolf had the hots for Allison first?’ He asked, and Scott rolled his eyes but nodded. ‘Ok. Ok, that sort of makes sense. It’s a little weird, but then, what isn’t in our lives nowadays?’

Scott laughed in agreement, and Stiles smiled.

‘What does this mean then? For us?’ Stiles asked, and Scott smiled.

‘It means… I think, I want to try this. If you do.’ Scott told him, and he could hear the hope in his voice.

‘What if it doesn’t work?’ Stiles asked, and Scott heard, and understood, the fear.

‘What if it does?’ Scott countered, and Stiles smiled fondly at the typical optimism. ‘I think we need to promise each other, if we decide to do this, that our friendship comes first. If anything goes wrong or it just doesn’t work, we can take some time, but we’re always friends.’

‘Do you think that can work?’ Stiles asked.

‘I think we’re Scott and Stiles – ask anyone, if we decide we want to do something, we’ll do it no matter how many people tell us not to, or that we can’t.’ Stiles rolled his eyes at the reminder of the many, many times they’d been told their ideas were crazy or impossible or just plain not allowed (or illegal). But it was true – anything that they’d really want to do, they’d found a way and they’d done it. And then when necessary (at least fifty percent of the time) they’d found a way back out of whatever situation they ended up in.

‘Ok.’ Stiles said, nodding. ‘Ok. We promise that no matter what happens, we’re friends first and always.’ He held out his hand, fingers curled except his pinky. Scott looked down at it, then up at Stiles and smiled.

The first time they’d made a promise to one another, Scott had held out his pinky to a very confused Stiles. When he explained what he knew about pinky swears and how they couldn’t be broken, Stiles had nodded enthusiastically and stuck his own out to complete the process. Since then, every important promise they’d made had been sealed with a pinky promise.

Scott moved his hand off Stiles’ wrist and looped his pinky around Stiles’.

‘I, Scott McCall, pinky promise that no matter what happens between Stiles Stilinski and I in our romantic relationship we will be friends first and always.’ Stiles smiled at the words romantic relationship.

‘I, Stiles Stilinski, pinky promise that no matter what happens between Scott McCall and I in our romantic relationship we will be friends first and always.’ They grinned at each other, and then Scott used the hand still on the back of Stiles’ neck to reel him in for another kiss.

[ramblingthoughtsofayoungadult]

Nev, Max, Help!-Nate Jacobs Oneshot

Requested: Yes

Warnings: aggressiveness and rudeness from Nate and a brief panic attack scene

A/N: The reader is gender neutral since the requester did not specify what they wanted and I did not want to disrespect the storyline from the show. Also, it’s a long one. 

  For once, Amy Winehouse’s low, melancholy voice did nothing to soothe my nerves as I typed what I was looking for in the designated box. “Love is a Losing Game” was definitely not the best song for the mood but I loved her voice so much; it was like a really messed up security blanket for me. My thumbs shook as I kept typing and quickly deleting my words. 

  Someone to have fun with.

  No, that’ll bring every single creep to my profile.

  Someone to watch Netflix with.

  Ew, no, they won’t want to go anywhere or do anything. 

  Someone to discuss Maya Angelou with...

  This could go one of two ways: attract a sensitive, nice person or the ultimate softboi who was really just an f-boy in a sensible cardigan.

    Okay, Y/N, just add to it.

   ...and have adventures, great conversations, and watch the best movies.

   That seemed broad enough and, potentially, weeded out all the weirdos. Patti Stanger would approve of this. I took such a deep breath that I could feel the oxygen in my feet as I pressed the green check mark. An adorable buffering sign appeared before being quickly replaced by a CONGRATULATIONS, Y/N/N, ON COMPLETING YOUR PROFILE. 

   The air came out of me slowly, like a balloon, and I tried to make myself relax as I swiped through different matches. One person was too short, the other too tall, another had way too many pictures with reptiles in his profile, and one’s bio simply read: DM and you’ll find out. 

  Serial killer much?

  “That’s part of your problem, Y/N,” Jules had chastised me a few day prior.

 “What do you mean by ‘part’?” I’d replied.

 “Well, for one, you barely leave the house anymore unless I drag you out,” Jules argued.

  “I’m busy,” I’d defended. 

  “Rewatching Breaking Bad for the eighth time does not count as being busy. Plus, you’re so picky.”

  “Am not!” 

  “You said you’d only do DiCaprio in his Great Gatsby days,” Rue had added.

  “Did you see him in that suit?” 

  Jules then shrugged. “All I’m saying is if you aren’t careful, you will end up all alone.”

  “That’s not true, Y/N might get cats.” 

  That conversation had haunted me since and had driven me to making a dating profile after the required Saturday night family dinner. While my parents and brother were downstairs watching a movie, I was holed up in my room, cringing and regretting accepting any chat requests. 

   Half an hour on the app caused the images of various male genitalia to be burned into my mind. I would need my brain soaked in holy water for it to be erased. I huffed and kept scrolling, vainly hoping and wishing for a decent guy to pop up on my radar.

  Maybe Jules and Rue were wrong. Maybe I had all the right in the world to be picky, I thought harshly to myself. 

  I dropped my phone on my nightstand and flopped against my pillows as Me and Mr. Jones began playing. I sighed and felt myself being lulled into the comforting abyss Amy created. 

   Ding!

   I jumped out and glared at the source of the noise. Another chat request, another picture to ruin my young brain? 

  “Be positive, Y/N, this might be good,” I stated as I grabbed the phone. 

  Tyler wants to chat!

   I frowned and opened up the app, only to be met with the most sculpted six-pack I had ever seen. My heart began banging against my chest and my thumbs fumbled for a moment to answer the chat request. 

  Whoosh. 

  My stomach dropped as I stared at my first chat to Tyler: Shg.ismtle

  I’m. Going. To. Die. Alone.

  I quickly typed: Please ignore that, I’m so sorry!

  Seconds later, my phone dinged.

  Tyler: Really? I thought you were trying to send me a secret code and I liked that we were that cool already.

  This was not real, this could not be happening. Tyler had to be a bot, that was why he didn’t show his face in his profile. Bots were supposed to have a hard time recognizing and creating faces, right? 

   But, on the off chance Tyler was real, it would have been rude to leave the conversation so abruptly? 

   Y/N: Who knows? Maybe it was a secret code and I’m just testing you.

   Tyler: Ok, let me guess what it means.

   Tyler: Hi? 

   Y/N: Haha, you really thought I’d use such a simple code as a first message?

   Tyler: It’s my bad for underestimating u. I should have known u were smarter since you read Maya Angelou.

  Y/N: U a fan? 

  Tyler: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” 

  He knows Angelou? He could have Googled a quote though. Still, it’s a good quote to use if he had Googled it.

   Y/N: Nice, but, doesn’t get u out of the guessing game.

   As Tyler helplessly guessed wrong for several minutes, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I used to think online dating was a last resort or a breeding ground for predators. But, maybe there were decent people looking for something (or someone) meaningful after all. 

  Tyler: I give up, you’re really good. 

  Y/N: Thx. But, I can tell you what I meant to say. 

  Tyler: The suspense is srsly kiilling me. 

  Y/N: I meant 2 say hey.

  Tyler: I guessed that!

   Y/N: No, u guessed ‘hi’, there’s a difference.

  Tyler: C’mon, barely.

   For the rest of the night, Tyler and I chatted. He told me that he plays baseball at a school across town and he doesn’t like anyone around there. He liked John Mulaney stand-up, lemon bars, going to the gym, hanging out with his friends, and reading good books. He was an only child and his parents tended to spoil him. I told him about my friends and how I liked being on the swim team at my school as well as the different YouTubers and books I enjoyed. When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed of talking to him. 

   On Monday, Jules and Rue were hanging out outside the school as other people either headed to class or relaxed on the lawn. I could not stop my feet from bouncing as I walked up to them.

   “...and that is why Sailor Mercury is the most underrated character of the whole show,” Jules affrimed. 

   Rue seemed halfway interested as her head nodded slowly underneath the hood of her burgundy hoodie. “Cool, all I asked was who’s your favorite but, cool.” 

   Jules rolled her eyes playfully and straightened up when she saw me. “Hey, Y/N, nice shirt.” 

  “Thanks.” I wore a sky blue tie dye shirt with ripped jeans and white Converse.

  Rue leaned forward and squinted at me. “You’re not wearing black, something’s wrong.” 

  “Nothing’s wrong, she’s obviously been influenced by me!” Jules teased as she wrapped a slim arm around my shoulders.

  “Yeah, you can only hang out with this literal rainbow human so long before she starts influencing your outfit choices.”

  We started heading inside, which was really just Jules and me dragging Rue into the building.

   “But I don’t wanna be here. It’s so stupid that I have to wait six more months before I can legally decide where I spend my time,” Rue muttered.

  “It’s fine, you have us!” Jules insisted.

   “Yup!” I agreed.

  “Hey, Y/N, Rue, Jules!” Cassie greeted as she sidled up next to me. 

  We all greeted her.

  “Have a good weekend?” Rue asked. 

  “Yeah, there was this great party that Nick Davis threw. I swear, everyone there was on acid.” Cassie stopped herself and bit her bottom lip. “Sorry---” 

   Rue shook her head. “It’s fine.”

  “How were yours?” Cassie asked as we continued to our lockers. 

  “Fine,” Jules said.

  Rue shrugged in response.

  I opened my mouth to reply when my phone beeped and I wrestled it out of my pocket. 

  Tyler: Is it 2 late 4 a good morning text? 

  I smiled. 

  “You’re so cheesy,” I muttered under my breath. 

  “Who’s that?” Cassie asked, peeking over my shoulder.

   I jumped and cradled my phone to my chest like it was my child. “No one.” 

   Jules pulled open her locker and cocked a bleached eyebrow. “‘No one’ does not cause huge smiles like that!” She jabbed a sparkly-manicured finger at me. 

  “Yeah, show us,” Rue said. “We are your friends.” 

  “It’s nothing,” I insisted as I weaved around them. 

  I pushed myself against my locker and managed to open it with my free hand. Rue was on one side of me and Cassie was on the other. 

  “Is it a boy?” Cassie sang.

  “Or a girl?” Rue questioned.

  “It’s none of your business,” I gritted out as I grabbed my necessary books. 

  As I shuffled the books in my arms, Jules came from behind and slipped my phone away from me. I gasped, whirled around, and watched as Rue tried to look at the phone while Cassie playfully blocked me.

  “Guys, this is not cool! This is such a serious invasion of privacy,” I argued as I tried to move around Cassie.

  “We’re besties, there’s no such thing as privacy!” Jules retorted. 

  “Wow, Y/N, these are so----” Jules cut Rue off.

  “Adorable!” Jules squealed and turned to face me.

  Cassie took the opportunity to glance at my phone and she smiled. “Aw, this Tyler guy sounds so sweet.” 

  I snatched my phone from Jules. “Well, now you know. Can we please go to class now?” 

  As the other girls grabbed their things from their lockers, I got out my phone to reply to Tyler.

  Y/N: It’s never too late...until noon technically.

   Somehow, I started wandering away from the girls until I ran into someone. I tried to jump away, but they grabbed me by the forearms.

  “I am so sorry, I should have looked where I was going---” I stopped speaking when I recognized Nate’s direct gaze on me. I was pretty tall but I always felt like he could throw me into the lockers if he wanted to.

  “Watch it, Y/N,” he muttered. 

  “Nate, let go of them,” Maddy chided, her hand resting against one of his arms. 

  She seemed to have the magic touch because he relaxed and I joined my friends. As the couple continued down the hallway, I couldn’t help but admire them. In a very messed up way, they worked. Kat had told me only a little about what Nate would do whenever Maddy upset him and I felt so bad for her, angry at him, and then conflicted. Nate just had to have that stereotypical amazing all-American look.

  “You okay, Y/N?” Cassie asked.

  “Yeah, is it weird that I can still feel his eyes on me even when he’s not looking?” I asked. 

  “No, his need for dominance permeates everyone’s sense of autonomy,” Rue assured.

  “Nice,” Jules said. 

  “And scary accurate,” Cassie added. 

  Jule looped her arm with mine and steered us in the direction of our first classes. “Anyway, if he tries anything, I’m sure Tyler would gladly kick his butt for you.” 

   Throughout the day, Tyler and I chatted and I even had to get creative with responding. In English, I kept my head down during quiet reading time and made sure my phone was positioned just right in my lap. During geometry, I told Mrs. Packer that I was having some digestive issues and spent most of the class outside the bathroom, texting Tyler. At lunch, I could barely focus on my friends’ conversation.

   “Hello, Earth to Y/N?” Lexi waved her hand in front of my face and I blinked.

   “Sorry, I was----”

   “Texting her boooyfriiiend,” Jules sang.

   “He’s not my boyfriend, we’re just talking.” I started poking at my sandwich. “What did I miss?” 

  “Oh, nothing, just the fact that I nearly blew up the school during chem,” Cassie said. 

  “Magnesium chloride isn’t an explosive,” Lexi argued. 

  “Well, the tube overflowed and everyone was freaking out,” Cassie argued.

  “Yeah, because magnesium chloride can have bad side effects,” Lexi continued.

   “I wonder what would happen if the school exploded and we weren’t all here? Would they have to give us our diplomas?” I thought outloud.

  “Ooh, and I could go to fashion school early!” Jules cheered. 

  “I’d be happy not coming here anymore,” Rue admitted. 

  It was quiet for a moment as we all ate but that quiet was broken when Maddy yelled.

  “WHO ARE YOU TEXTING?”

  I couldn’t help myself but look. Maddy was standing behind Nate, who was sitting with his teammates at the center table. Bebe and Kat flanked Maddy a little behind. Everyone stared at them. Nate’s jaw tightened. 

  “Maddy, calm down,” his relaxed, controlled voice nearly echoed in the silent cafeteria. 

  “DON’T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! YOU’VE BEEN ON YOUR PHONE ALL DAY!” she snapped. 

  “Maddy---” 

  “ARE YOU TEXTING OTHER GIRLS?” Maddy shouted.

  “Can we talk about this somewhere else?” Nate asked. 

  Maddy sighed. “Are you gonna let me see your phone?”

  “Maddy, we need to talk.” 

  “Don’t talk to me again.” 

  Before Nate could respond, Maddy dumped the contents of her lunch tray over his head and threw the tray aside. Kat and Bebe followed her as she strutted out of the cafeteria amid the shocked gasps. 

   “I’m gonna go check on her,” Cassie whispered.

  We all nodded and she quietly exited the room. As I stared at Nate, the supposed king of the school, drenched in soggy salad and fat-free milk, I wondered why he could never stay broken up with Maddy. Their relationship was not just toxic, it was volatile. Their breakups were always public and outrageous, but they always ended up back together. No one questioned it either. I never understood why people could continue to choose relationship they knew was bad over pursuing something new. I told Tyler as much that night. 

   Y/N: It’s like those dogs that get killed by electric fences because they keep walking into them.

  Tyler: U have a good point, but, that couple’s relationship is more complicated than u think. 

  Y/N: Probably, but, it doesn’t look that way. They hurt each other a lot.

  Tyler: How do u know? 

   Y/N: Bc I’ve seen it. I don’t mean 2 b judgy, but, I could never be in a relationship like that. 

  Tyler: Well, I don’t think anyone would b if they knew it would b bad. 

  Y/N: Good point. But, why would they get back together so much? 

  Tyler: Idk them, but, it could b bc it’s familiar and it’s what they know.

  Y/N: Still, it’s messed up.

 Tyler: Yeah, but I don’t wanna talk abt them anymore.

 Y/N: K, what do u wanna talk abt? 

  A few seconds later, Tyler sent me a picture so graphically beautiful that I was convinced I passed out.

 The next day, I showed Rue and Jules the picture during break time.

 “Holy crap!” Jules took my phone and leaned into it for closer inspection. 

 “Tyler is packing,” Rue agreed. 

  Jules slid my phone back to me. “You haven’t replied to him?”    “No, and he hasn’t talked to me at all today.”

  “He’s probably expecting a reply that’s similar to what he sent,” Rue said.

  My face warmed up. “I can’t send him nudes,” I hissed.

  “Why not? It’s like the greeting cards of our generation,” Jules stated.

  “Really? You’d send your grandparents a greeting card of your naked body?” I replied sarcastically.

  “Relax, if you’re uncomfortable, we can help you,” Jules assured.

  “We can?” Rue asked.

  “We can.” Jules gave her a look and Rue relaxed. 

  “It’s still weird, but, I guess you guys can come over after school.”

  “Sweet! Your mom still bakes cookies for you after school, right?” Jules asked.

  I nodded.

  “She might stop once she learns her darling favorite older child is sending nudes,” Rue snorted as she spoke.

  I recoiled in my seat, taking a second to bask in the sun’s warmth. “Don’t remind me.” 

  After swim practice, once my teammates left the locker room, I eyed my naked form in the mirror. I had nothing to be ashamed of, really, thanks to all the swimming, but, I just felt weird being naked in front of people. There was something so vulnerable about it, like, being on display in a museum or lying on a cold surgery table. But, online dating was supposed to get me out of my comfort zone and I’d found someone who’d made me feel comfortable enough to do it. With this resolve, I changed into a hoodie and some sweatpants and left the school. It was dusk and I typically walked home after practice since it wasn’t far. Plus, I’d told Jules and Rue to just go to my house after school. 

  The late breeze rippled past me and I dug my hands into my pants’ pockets as I started walking towards the parking lot. There was barely anyone around, except stoners hotboxing their cars, some couples making out, and dance team members and football players getting out of practice.

  I kept my head down as I maneuvered around the few cars and people around. It felt like someone could spot what I was about to do once I got home and it was nervewracking. All I had to do was get home, let Jules make me look even better, take these pictures, and never thinking of it again.

   “Something on your mind, Y/N?” Nate called.

   I froze and snapped my head up to look at him. He was leaning against his truck, looking like a model for Ford in only a tshirt and jeans. Ford should hire him. 

   “No, not really,” I said. 

   I started to side step the truck, eyeing the sidewalk that was only a few yards away as though it was a lifeline. 

  “Get in,” Nate ordered.

  I paused and looked at him. “Excuse me?” 

  “I see you walking home all the time, let me do you a favor, one athlete to another.” Nate was about halfway in the driver’s seat of the car and all I could do was stare.

  “We’ve...never really talked before,” I stated. 

  “We can talk during the drive.” 

   I stepped back and my eyes flittered around, like the best decision would hit me in the face. Then, I saw Maddy across the lot. She was standing with a couple of dance team girls, including Cassie. She stared me down as though daring me to do it. I glanced from her to Nate, who started the engine loudly. 

   I quickly climbed into the passenger’s seat and stared into Maddy’s reflection in the rearview mirror as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

  “How do you know where I live?” I asked.

  “You forgot that I gave you a ride before?” Nate asked.

  “When?” 

  “After Cassie’s sweet sixteen. You blacked out, your friends were panicking, and I offered to take you home. For some reason, you remembered your address,” Nate recalled.

  “Oh, thanks?” 

  “Sure.” 

  We pulled up to my house a few minutes later, Lil Wayne bragging about his conquests filling the quiet. I hopped out of the truck and grabbed my bag. 

  “Thanks for the ride, this one, I mean, I owe you,” I said.

  “Yeah, see you around, Y/N.” 

  I closed the door and headed inside.

  “I’m home!” I called.

  My mom poked her head out from the kitchen. “Y/N, how was school and practice?” 

  “Fine.” 

  “Was that Nate Jacobs outside?” 

  I hesitated. 

  How did she know what Nate’s truck looked like?  “Yeah, he gave me a ride today.” 

  “Aw, isn’t that sweet? Rue and Jules are waiting for you in your room. They took the cookies with them.”  

  I nodded and went to my room. As soon as I walked in, they bombarded me with questions.

  “Why did Nate give you a ride?” Rue asked.

  “What did you guys talk about?” Jules inquired. 

  “Don’t you hate him?” 

  “He’s kind of a dick, but, unfortunately, super good looking.”

  “Did Maddy see?” 

  “Do you think she’s gonna kill you?” 

  “Guys, I don’t know but I do know that if you do not take amazing pictures of me with no clothes on soon, I will delete my entire profile,” I interrupted. 

  They both nodded. 

  “But, we will ask for details later,” Jules insisted.

  “Okay, but, please give me a cookie, I’ll need it to get through this.” 

  Rue extended the plate towards me and I bit into the melty goodness as Jules began doing my makeup. It was simple, only bringing out my best features. I made them both turn around as I undressed. Once I had, Jules encouraged me.

  “You look amazing, I would be shocked if he didn’t jizz in his pants,” Jules said.

  “Lower your voice, Y/B/N can only play Five Nights at Freddy’s so loud,” I hissed.

  Jules held her hands up and Rue direct me to lay on the bed, my phone held up in front of her.

  “Okay, look sexy,” Rue said.

  I tried to smolder, but, by their expressions, I did not achieve it.

  “No, like, pout your lips, like, you just heard that TheOdd1sOut is not uploading for a month,” Jules directed.

  “And give the camera bedroom eyes, you know, as though it’s Tyler.”

  “Okay.”    After a few pictures, I slowly got the hang of it and even started posing a little naturally.

  “Oh my gosh, Tyra is shook!” Jules cheered. 

 “Yeah, these are pretty good if I do say so myself.” Rue handed me my phone and I flipped through the pictures. 

  She was a talented photogrpaher and I joked that maybe she should go professional.

  “Yeah, I’m sure I’d have a nice clientele.” 

  I laughed as I changed back into my hoodie and sweatpants. “Okay, help me pick one to send.” 

  Jules took my phone and she and Rue began scrolling.

  “No, the lighting’s off in this one,” Jules muttered.

  “No, it’s never off in any of these,” Rue argued. 

  “I’m not shading your talent, I’m just trying to find the best thing for Y/N to send Tyler.” 

  After a little more bickering, we all agreed on the picture and I sent it to Tyler.

  “Should I follow it up with something?” I asked.

  “Maybe say ‘Wrong person’? Guys want what other guys want,” Jules suggested.

  “Or say ‘Sorry for the late reply’,” Rue added.

  “I’ll go with Rue’s, sorry, Jules.” 

  Jules shrugged. 

  I sent everything off and my friends and I watched as Tyler typed a response.

  Tyler: It was worth the wait ;).

  We squealed so loud that my mom yelled for us to keep it down. We apologized as we descended into a fit of giggles. Through it all, I could not help but feel so bouncy and light all over. Was I...falling for this total stranger? 

  “What do you think he looks like?” Jules asked during lunch later that week.

  I shrugged. “It’s different every day, if that makes sense.” 

  “I guess that’s the nice thing about interacting with someone who doesn’t show their face,” Jules thought outloud. 

  “How do you see him now?” Lexi asked. 

  I sighed. “Right now, I think he’s tall, six feet at least. He’s got a mix of blonde and brown hair like a surfer because it’s lightened from all the time he’s spent in the sun. He has green eyes, freckles, and he dresses well.” 

  “Sounds amazing,” Jules said as she rest her chin in her hand. 

  Rue nodded slowly. “You’re not nervous or anything?” 

  “No, this is so cheesy, but, I feel like I know him, you know? He’s so easy to talk to and has so much to say.”

  “Y/N’s blushing,” Jules teased. “Do you love him?” 

  “I really, really, really, like him.” 

  “Do you think you’ll meet soon?” Lexi asked.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, neither of us has brought it up.”

  “Well, it just matters that you’re comfortable, okay?” Rue said.

  “Okay.” 

  If I was honest, I did not know if I wanted to meet Tyler. I knew that I liked him more than I liked anyone before, but, there was something strange about breaking this wall the internet provided us. It was freer to talk on the internet than it was in person. What if I said something stupid in front of him? What if he thought that I looked different in person? What if he looked different in person? 

  I managed to keep these thoughts at bay for the rest of the day until I got home. Post-dinner had been officially declared Talk to Tyler Time. None of my family knew what I was doing besides blasting Amy Winehouse in my room for about an hour. My laugh nearly overpowered her high note in “Best Friends, Right?”. I had to blink away my happy tears as I replied to him. 

  Y/N: That did not happen!  Tyler: Yes it did! Do u want 2 c the scar????

 Y/N: No, I think I’m good.

 I wiped away my tears and settled under the covers. I wondered if his friends would agree that Tyler gets into some weird situations as well. Just as I started typing, Tyler beat me.

 Tyler: I want 2 meet u.

 The speed that I launched my phone away from me almost shocked me more than the text.

  Almost.

  My heartbeat thrummed in my ears. This was it, I knew I couldn’t avoid him much longer, but, I felt like I couldn’t move. All I could do was stare at my phone like it was the most offensive object in the world. Slowly, I regained mobility and grabbed my phone. I took a deep breath.

  “Take a chance, Y/L/N,” I whispered.

  Y/N: When and where?

    “You’re meeting him tonight?” Jules squealed the next day.

  I hushed her as people in the hallway paused to look at us. “Not so loud.”   “But this is so exciting. Please let me help you decide what to wear,” Jules pleaded with a pout. 

  “Sure,” I said. 

  Jules hugged me. “This is going to be so fun. I won’t go crazy with glitter since this is the first time you’re meeting this guy.” 

 “Thanks?” 

 “Do your parents know?” Rue asked.

 “No,” I replied as I slowly pulled away from Jules. “They’re coming Senior Night tonight, though. and I’m going to meet him at Mercy Park an hour before it ends.” 

 “Are you sure you even want to do this? I know that Jules and I tease you about your love life, but, this is risky,” Rue said. 

 “You weren’t saying that when you were helping me with those pictures the other day,” I shot back.

  “That was different. You’re...you’re actually meeting him now and he could be a psychopath or a sociopath or, just, a creepy old guy who likes to look at teenagers!” Rue insisted.

  “Rue, relax, everything’s going to be fine.”

  “You don’t know that!” She turned on her heel and hurried into the bathroom with Jules and I on her tail. 

  When we entered, Rue was leaning against the wall, panting and staring up at the ceiling. Jules and I approached her slowly as the girls who were in the bathroom quickly filed out. 

  “Rue, slow down your breathing,” I said slowly.

  “I...I can’t. You-you could get hurt or something and-and I would know about it an-and I-I couldn’t live with that!” Tears burst from her eyes as Rue began pacing and Jules and I were close but gave her room. 

  “Rue, Y/N is going to be okay, we both know what time she’ll be at the park. If anything happens, we’ll know the area she could be in,” Jules assured her.

  Rue shook her head and stopped in her tracks. Then, she looked between us helplessly before bowing her head and sobbing. Jules and I carefully hugged her and let her cry.

  “I’m sorry that I’m scared and I care about you and I don’t want you to get hurt,” Rue mumbled into my shirt.

  “It’s okay, I appreciate it. I really want to meet Tyler, though, and, I promise I will let you know if something happens, okay?” 

  Rue nodded and sniffled.

   It took Jules about an hour to make me look amazing. I had no idea my hair could be so fluffy and put together until she was done with it. She used eyeliner to make eyes look bigger and rounder and added sparkly lip gloss to make my lips look plumper. After she contoured and highlighted the best places she deemed that her work was done. My outfit, a fitted forest green long-sleeve shirt and fitted black pants with Jadons, was also approved by her.

  “Tell me everything later!” she insisted.

  Rue couldn’t join us since she had “prior commitments” but I texted her that I would let her know when I head to the park and when I leave. My nerves didn’t let me focus on the soccer game my parents insisted I joined them and my brother at. I couldn’t care less that the forward on one team got a yellow card or that the goalie on the other team made illegal blocks. I was practically buzzing with excitement and fear so much that I had to give my pretzel to Y/B/N. Finally, the third quarter arrived and I told my parents that I would meet them at home since I’d promised Lexi that I would help her with some homework. 

  Lexi wouldn’t mind being used for a lie this one time; it was an emergency.

  I tried to practice some calming deep breaths as I walked over to the park. The dark night sky provided a little bit of comfort to my walk. I wondered how different Tyler would look from the picture in my mind. I wondered if he thought I would look any different. Maybe (hopefully) it wouldn’t matter to either of us.

  Finally, I reached the park. It was empty, save for the oak trees scattered throughout the lush green scenery that seemed mysterious under the mooonlight. A few benches and wooden tables were around as well, but, Tyler and I had agreed to meet at the fountain which was further in the park. The breathing exercises had to have helped because I felt much more relaxed and I hoped that everything would go all right. 

   When I got to the fountain, there was a tall person facing it. All I could make out were dark clothes and broad shoulders. I took another deep breath and kept walking.

  “This is a nice spot, you have good taste,” I commented. 

  “I could say the same for you.” I stopped in my tracks as Nate slowly turned to face me. His face was unreadable but his eyes stayed on me. 

  “What? Wh-where’s Tyler?” I asked, my voice already hoarse. 

  Nate glanced down at his shoes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know how else to talk to you.” 

  I shook my head. “No.” My vision got blurry but I could tell that Nate was looking up at me now. 

  “Just let me explain,” he requested softly. 

  He took a step towards me and I took two steps back .

 “I don’t wanna hear it. This....this is some sick joke to you or something?” 

 “No, never, Y/N, just listen to me.” 

 “I don’t want to!” The tears rolled down my cheeks and I swiped at them so hard that I thought I scratched myself. At least I could feel something because my heart felt numb. “You catfished me!” 

  “I just wanted to talk to you, I really do like you, Y/N. Tyler and I are the same, just different names,” Nate insisted, coming closer.

  For some reason, I didn’t move. I didn’t know if it was from emotional exhaustion or stress, but, I let him approach me. I kept shaking my head. 

  “No,” I hiccuped. 

  “I wanted to meet you tonight because I was tired of lying. I want to figure this, us, out,” Nate said.

  I sniffed. “Us?” 

  At that moment, I could actually see his face and Nate seemed so hopeful. There was a slight smile on his lips and his eyes seemed light for once. Maybe he wanted there to be an “us”. Maybe, despite all logic, he wanted to talk to me seriously and could not do it offline because of his reputation. Maybe, he was over the on-again-off-again situation with Maddy. Maybe, this was my chance, our chance.

  I wiped my face again, mentally cringing at how upset Jules would be for my ruining her masterpiece. 

  “Yeah, us.” Nate stepped closer to me, gently wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me into his chest.

  Gradually, my muscles relaxed and I relished in the feeling of his strong upper body and his warmth. Then, I began to feel pressure on my waist and gasped as it intensified. 

  “Nate, you’re...squeezing...too hard,” I rasped out. 

  And he started laughing, no, cackling. As he laughed, his grip tightened and I continued gasping and clawing at everything I could. 

  “Nate...stop!” 

  But he kept laughing and squeezing. When he finally released me, I looked up and saw nothing behind his eyes. Everything in me told me to run, but, I knew he could have easily caught up to me.

  “I really thought you were smarter than that, Y/N. C’mon, you couldn’t honestly think that I would do all this to be with you,” he sneered.

  “So why do it then?” I asked, my voice so small that I could have kicked myself for it. 

  Nate sighed and folded his arms. “Because you made it so easy and, to ask for a favor.” 

  “What? That makes no sense,” I argued. “I told you I owed you one that day you gave me a ride!” 

  “Yeah, well, I needed to make sure that you were available when I needed you.” 

  “Whatever, screw you,” I hissed as I pivoted on my heel. 

  “Too late for you, you’re already screwed.” Nate pulled out a folder from inside his jacket pocket. “Remember those special pictures you sent to Tyler? Well, they count as distribution of child pornography, which has a hefty fine and sentence.” 

   My mouth opened and closed several times before I faced him and responded. “But...but you held them, doesn’t that count towards possession? And, you’re extorting me!” 

  Nate glowered at me and stormed over. “Heresay, no solid evidence for your case. Plus, I’m a Jacobs, so, who are you kidding?” 

   I felt so sick to my stomach that I could have thrown up, fainted, or cried at that moment. This was not real, this could not be real.

   “What do you want?” I asked.

   “Like I said, just be available when I need you.” 

  “Fine.” 

  “Sorry, what was that?” He gripped my chin his hand and forced me to look up at him.

  “Okay,” I said softly.

  “Hmm.” His eyes scanned my face before he released me. “And if I ever hear you judging my relationship with Maddy again, these pictures are going to be the least of your concern.” 

  I nodded weakly, regretting every single thing I ever told him. Nate Jacobs was truly the devil. He wandered off into the night like a centurion leaving a victorious battle. It seemed like he always won. 

  I managed not to start crying until I was on the empty sidewalk. No, I sobbed so bad that my throat went dry. 

  How could I have been so stupid? I should have known it was him that day Maddy yelled at him for texting all day. 

  Stupid, stupid, stupid!

  My sobs continued as I grabbed my phone and texted Rue. 

  Y/N: U were right. 

[theunknowncryptid]

Part Twenty Three - The Second Task

Next

Masterlist

Yoongi x Y/n

After a horrible prank, Slytherin, Min Yoongi, is entered into the Triwizard Tournament. Y/n, feeling responsible, decides it’s her personal mission to make sure he survives the ordeal

~       ~       ~

Yoongi was forced to blink rapidly as the setting sun shone in his eyes. He stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, surrounded by hundreds of Hogwarts students cheering loudly and blowing into noise makers. On either side of him, stood Natalia Ivanov and Jacque Bisset. Like last time the three of them stood together, they all wore their champions uniforms with their last names embroidered on the back. Unlike last time, none of them were nervous. They were eager to start the task… and they were angry. Yoongi was almost fuming as he waited for the same Ministry Officials from the first task to explain the second task to the crowd in the bleachers and the champions on the ground. Before the first task, Yoongi had been so nervous he had almost been sick. This time around he was also nervous, but not for himself. He was nervous for the person he had come to need most, the person he trusted most, the person, at this point, he couldn’t imagine living without.

McGonagall, Madam Maxine, the Durmstrang Headmaster and the ministry officials stood on a raised podium in the center of the arena. Yoongi glared up at them from his place on the ground as he recalled waking up that morning.

The alarm pulled Yoongi from his dream roughly. He had gone to bed early in hopes of sleeping through the next eight hours, but woke several times throughout the night. He felt like something was wrong. Something besides the fact that he had to go stumbling through the Forbidden Forest in a few hours. He rolled over in his bed and reached beneath his pillow to grab his phone. Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows and sat up quickly.

23 messages

He opened his messages quickly and scrolled through his texts from Y/n. His stomach dropped and his breath caught in his throat.

Yoongi something’s going on

Ok so I’m definitely being taken

I think they’re taking us to the forest now

Save me, Yoongi

Yoongi felt as though someone had dropped him into the Black Lake in the middle of December. His entire body locked up and all thought left Yoongi’s mind. He spoke aloud to himself as he processed what he had read. Over and over, Yoongi mumbled, “What?... What?”

Slowly, the pieces started to come together in his head.

What you need is wrapped in silk.

The riddle for the second task was telling him to save Y/n. 

Yoongi dressed quickly and headed to breakfast. He needed to find her friends and confirm that this wasn’t some horrible misunderstanding. Y/n spoke of them constantly, so it wasn’t difficult for Yoongi to find them once he entered the Great Hall. All four boys were huddled together at the Ravenclaw table. The one Yoongi had decided was their leader, Namjoon, was talking to them all quietly. He seemed like he was trying to reassure the bunch, but no one was listening.  The one called Jimin was looking at his phone with a worried expression and the other two were whispering to each other with their heads together. The taller of the two leaned over and kissed the head of his boyfriend. The Great Hall was relatively empty, so the four noticed Yoongi’s arrival before he could reach them. They all looked at him in confusion as he stopped awkwardly in the aisle.

“Um, have you heard from Y/n?” Yoongi asked, quietly. All four stared at him in silence for a moment, then Jimin started speaking faster than Yoongi would have thought possible. 

“No! We haven’t heard from her since last night! I’m so worried!” He started flailing his arms as he spoke. Namjoon had to maneuver his tea cup so that it wouldn’t become a casualty. “She said she was being pulled into McGonagall’s office in the middle of the night and we haven’t heard from her since! Jungkook snuck into her dorm room and she wasn’t there! What if she was expelled? What if something happened to her?” Jimin looked at Yoongi with desperation. “Have you heard from her?” Yoongi had to look away from the boys as he explained the messages he had received. The more he spoke, the more upset the boys became. They made noises of disapproval and concern everytime Yoongi stopped to breathe. Yoongi finally found the courage to meet their eyes at the end of his speech. Their faces held mixed emotions of concern and anger. Jungkook looked like he was ready to punch something.  

“What happens if you don’t save her within the hour?” Namjoon asked. He was gripping his mug so that his knuckles were white. Yoongi swallowed hard.

“The riddle said that Y/n will be… no more” Yoongi’s chest clenched horribly as he said the words.The blue-haired boy let his head fall to the table and the other three groaned, loudly. Jungkook looked at him with pleading eyes.

“You have to save her” He demanded. Yoongi nodded.

“I will”

Unexpectedly, Yoongi spent the rest of the day surrounded by Y/n’s friends. Jimin insisted that he join them for breakfast and tell them everything he knew about the second task. They sat together for an hour, talking quietly. When more students started arriving, Namjoon suggested they go to the library. It was like a bond had formed between the five of them because they were all missing an important link. Around noon, Hoseok joined them. He melded quickly into the bond, feeling the loss of Y/n. When the sun began to set, Yoongi was forced to leave the library to head to the Champion’s tent. The five boys wished Yoongi luck solemnly, shaking his hand and clapping him on the back. 

Yoongi shook his head. He needed to focus.

The ministry official on stage brought his wand to his throat and Yoongi saw him mutter a spell. Then, his voice was booming through the arena. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament!” The crowd cheered wildly. The man raised his arms to call for quiet. “This task is very important and will determine who will start the Final Task.” Yoongi rolled his eyes. The ministry official became more serious as he began to explain the second task. 

“Each of our Champions have had something stolen from them. Over the last month, they were evaluated, without their knowledge. Based on our findings, we have taken the person they hold closest and hidden them in the Forbidden Forest.” Yoongi clenched his jaw painfully as he watched the Hogwarts students' eyes rake over him. Whispers buzzed in the crowd, everyone curious about which Hogwarts student had been taken as Min Yoongi’s treasure. “That person will be guarded by the creatures of the forest. To find their person will be a challenge itself, to save them is another.” Yoongi felt his blood pressure rising. 

“Each champion will be given a portkey that will transport them to a random spot in the forest. Once they have found and saved their person, the champion will use the portkey to bring their person and themselves back to the arena. Each champion will have one hour to find their person. If not found the champion is disqualified from the task, and their person will be left in grave danger.” Blood rushed in Yoongi’s ears, like fuel for his anger. The ministry officials and teachers turned to the three champions on the ground. “The champions have been given their portkeys, and if there are no objections, we will begin.” Ivanov and Bisset matched Yoongi’s cold stare at the man. Of course there were objections, they just didn’t have a choice. “Champions, please hold your portkeys.” The ministry official commanded. 

Yoongi took ahold of the chain around his neck. True to its name, Yoongi’s portkey was a simple key strung on a chain. The small object glinted as the last pieces of sun went over the horizon. 

“Champions, when you are ready.” The crowd began to roar and the man had to yell to be heard. “Good luck!” 

Yoongi took a deep breath and, without hesitation, grabbed the key. He felt his feet lifting off the ground and his vision blurred into a tunnel. Pulling behind his navel made Yoongi feel sick. Then, as soon as it had started, his feet were back on the ground. 

When Yoongi looked up, he was surrounded by trees and everything was dark. 

“Lumos” He muttered. The tip of his wand lit up the forest around him. Everything was still and quiet. With no plan in mind, Yoongi started walking in a random direction. He moved his wand back and forth as he walked through the forest, occasionally stumbling over fallen logs and tree roots. He didn’t know what to look for, what to do, what spells to cast. Yoongi just knew that he needed to get to Y/n. As he walked, Yoongi could feel himself starting to focus on Y/n instead of the task. Not knowing where she was or if she was hurt nearly crippled Yoongi with fear. He hiked faster through the forest, taking a sharp left. Yoongi tried to focus on happy memories from the last four months, to distract himself. 

Y/n glared at Yoongi playfully as she exited the portrait hole. 

“Really?” She asked. Yoongi shushed her and shoved her gently ahead so that she started walking down the corridor. “Cream puffs?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Yoongi shrugged, joining her side. “The cream is calling.” Y/n had to cover her mouth to stifle her giggle. 

“Seriously, it’s midnight. You couldn’t have waited until the morning?” Y/n asked, again. She smiled up at him as they walked together. Yoongi grinned and pulled his sweatshirt hood over his head, ignoring Y/n’s question. She laughed loudly and Yoongi shushed her again. 

The two walked quietly to the kitchens, enjoying each other's company. Neither felt the need to fill the silence with unneeded conversation. They reached the kitchens and Yoongi tickled the pear to open the portrait. The house elves were more than happy to make cream puffs and offered Yoongi and Y/n tea while they waited. They talked quietly and sipped tea, becoming sleepier. By the time the cream puffs were finally finished, Y/n had her head resting against the wall and her knees pulled up into her chair. Yoongi was leaning forward on the table with his head rested on crossed arms.

“Yoongi?” Y/n spoke in a soft voice. He hummed his response. “Do you… miss Jin?” Yoongi looked up at her without lifting his head. She was looking back at him with a cautious expression.

“Yes,” Yoongi answered. It was an easy question. “Since Hoseok is.. back it’s better, but I still miss Jin.” Y/n made a sound of understanding. “Do you know about how I grew up?” Yoongi asked suddenly. Y/n shook her head.

“I grew up with my grandma. My dad died in a car accident and my mom took off shortly after.” Yoongi waved away Y/n’s face of astonishment. “She was grieving and she couldn’t handle a two year old. I understand that.” Yoongi stared at Y/n with soulful eyes. “Anyway, I lived with my grandma and Jin lived next door. When we became friends, so did our families. When we were eight… my grandma died.”

“Oh, Yoongi..” Y/n whispered. Yoongi shook his head. 

“I ended up moving in with Jin’s family and they have taken care of me ever since. Jin is like my brother.” Yoongi finally broke his gaze away from Y/n. “I don’t feel like I’m fighting with a friend. I feel like I’ve been seperated from my family.”

“Yoongi, I’m sorry.” Y/n said. Yoongi nodded and picked at his cream puff. “Look, I know I could never replace him and I’m not trying to… but, just know that I am your friend. Okay?” Yoongi snorted.

“That’s nasty.”

“Yoongi!”

“I’m kidding!” Yoongi laughed. He smiled down at the table. “I know.”

~ ~ ~

Yoongi tapped his fingers against his leg nervously. If there was a list of things he never, ever, ever wanted to do, ballroom dancing in front of the entire student body was in the top ten. 

“You look like you’re going to pee your pants.” Y/n giggled from beside him. Yoongi glared down at her. Everytime he looked at Y/n tonight, he felt his stomach jump. She was always pretty, but tonight she was beautiful. Her blue, lacey dress brushed the floor lightly as she turned to face him. They stood side by side in a line with the other champions and their dates. Natalia Ivanov was escorted by a boy from Durmstrang and Bisset seemed to have picked a random Ravenclaw girl as his date.

“I just.. don’t dance.” Yoongi spoke in a low voice, so that the others wouldn’t hear him. Y/n chuckled. 

“There’s nothing to worry about. Didn’t you take McGonagall’s required dance class?” She asked.

“Yeah, but in front of everyone we know I don’t think I’m gonna be able to tell my left from my right.” Yoongi explained as he fidgeted with his dress robes. 

“Well then, I’ll lead.”

“What?” Yoongi laughed. Y/n looked up at him seriously. 

“Just follow my lead and I’ll dance you around the floor like the little ballerina you are.” She joked. Yoongi laughed. Suddenly, by magic, the doors to the Great Hall opened by themselves. Y/n turned to face forward and placed her hand around Yoongi’s outstretched arm. Bisset and his date lead the way into the hall with Ivanov, her date, Yoongi and Y/n in tow. The unusually well dressed students craned their necks as they walked down the aisle to the dance floor. Yoongi laughed quietly as they passed Y/n’s friends and they hollered loudly. They reached the open dance floor and the couples split into different areas of the floor. Yoongi led Y/n away from the students so that they were closer to the head table. Yoongi took Y/n’s left hand in his right and placed his other hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer. Silence filled the hall as they waited for the music to start. Yoongi nerves pulsed under his skin and he focused on looking away from the hundreds of eyes looking at him. 

“Having fun?” Y/n asked. Yoongi then realized that he was tracing the lace of the back of her dress.

“Sorry,” He muttered. Y/n shook her head.

“Don’t be nervous. At this point, you’ve faced much worse.” She smiled up at him. Looking the way she did and having her wrapped in his arms, Yoongi was starting to forget that they were merely friends. The music started and true to her word, Y/n pulled Yoongi, gently, across the dance floor in time to the orchestra. Soon enough, Yoongi learned and started to lead. Y/n giggled as he stumbled, but Yoongi just rolled his eyes and pulled her closer against him.

By the end of the night, Yoongi smelled of Y/n’s perfume and he had come to like dancing.

~ ~ ~

 What the hell?, thought Yoongi. Across the courtyard, Yoongi spotted Hoseok walking- with his arm thrown over the shoulder of a familiar girl. Their laughter could be heard echoing against the stone walls. Yoongi made a face and walked over to the pair. 

“Hi,” He said, interrupting their laughter. Both looked at him in surprise, too caught up in each other to notice his arrival. 

“Yoongi,” Y/n smiled at him. “Hi” 

Hoseok also smiled broadly, but it quickly faded. Yoongi's expression had stayed fixed in a annoyed face. Hoseok awkwardly pulled his arm away from Y/n. 

“What are you guys doing?” Yoongi asked. Y/n cocked her head as she spoke. 

“I told Hoseok I would tutor him in Arithmancy,” She elbowed Hoseok as if they were old friends. “He got a T on our last assignment.”

“It doesn’t look like you're studying.” Yoongi said in a stern voice that reminded him of Professor Binns. 

“We were just on our way to the library,” Hoseok explained, carefully. He widened his eyes at Yoongi over Y/n’s shoulder in silent communication. 

“Oh.” Y/n furrowed her eyebrows.

“Are you okay?” She asked. “You’re acting strange.” It bothered Yoongi that Y/n and Hoseok were hanging out together. He knew that they had been talking over snapchat, but that was from a distance. When their only thing in common was Yoongi. Now, they were hanging out together and touching each other freely. It made Yoongi more than uncomfortable.

“I’m fine,” Yoongi mumbled. “I actually have somewhere I need to be.. So I’ll see you guys later.” He turned and walked away in the direction he had come. Originally, he had been heading to the library himself in hope of finding Y/n to work on the Second Task. There was no point now.

Yoongi sighed and resigned himself to an early night in the Slytherin dungeons. 

“Hey!” Yoongi turned at the voice calling behind him. Y/n was running up to him. Yoongi looked past her to see Hoseok walking away by himself.

“What is it?” Yoongi asked when Y/n reached him. She tugged his sweatshirt sleeve so that they kept walking into the castle. 

“I think that helping Hoseok can wait,” She said. She stepped forward so that she was in front of him, but turned and began walking backwards. “Any chance you feel like going to the library?” Y/n smiled so that her eyes crinkled. Yoongi understood that Y/n had probably changed her plans because of his jealous behavior.. But, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Yoongi walked faster so that he was walking by Y/n’s side and threw his arm around her shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

Yoongi shook his head. He was getting distracted and he needed to focus on the task. He looked down at his wrist watch and groaned as he saw that thirty minutes had already passed. Thirty minutes left and Yoongi had accomplished nothing. Unfamiliar trees seemed to mock Yoongi as he dog-legged to the right. Yoongi increased his already fast pace. He panted from exertion and panic. 

What if I don’t find her, Yoongi thought. His breath became shaky and his hands trembled. He had become too reliant and too involved. And there was no going back now. Yoongi needed to find her. He needed Y/n.

Birds screeched and tree bark cracked loudly as Yoongi’s fist made contact with the nearest tree. Pain exploded in his knuckles and Yoongi growled in frustration. He didn’t have to lift his hanging head to know that blood was dripping down his hand. Yoongi yelled out into the empty forest.

Hopefully, Bisset and Ivanov weren’t around to hear him. Yoongi breathed heavily and tried to calm down. He was frustrated and that wasn’t going to help Y/n. He pressed his forehead against the beaten tree and stared at the ground. He couldn’t think. He needed Y/n. 

Yoongi’s mind went blank as he watched small spiders march in line on the leaf covered ground.

Sure, you guys know where you’re going, Yoongi thought, sarcastically. The spiders moved their legs in sync. Really, they looked more like one, long centipede than many different spiders. 

Yoongi squinted at the spiders as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

We move as one

Wrapped in silk

Silk

“Holy shit,” Yoongi said aloud. He crouched low toward the ground and started to follow the line of spiders leading deeper into the forest. It was completely dark now and since the only source of light was Yoongi’s wand, he lost the line of spiders more than once. The further into the forest he went, the spiders seemed to be getting bigger. Then, Yoongi realized that they weren’t getting bigger, but that more, larger spiders were joining the march. The larger spiders made it easier to follow, but that didn’t mean that Yoongi was glad to see them. More and more joined the line until Yoongi was surrounded by spiders the size of labradors. five minutes passed with Yoongi following the spiders. He looked at his watch again. There was only 20 minutes left. 

Maybe this isn’t right, Yoongi thought. He kept walking. He didn’t have another plan. This had to be right. 

The trees in the forest started to change as Yoongi walked. Instead of tall oak trees, Weeping Willow trees stood alone. The branches from the trees drooped down so that Yoongi was forced to push away the vines. The spiders leading the march started to break away from the line. They spread out and climbed the trees, but most of the spiders headed for one tree in particular. The largest willow tree in the forest that had thick vines hanging down. 

The spiders crawled under the vines into the safety of the tree. Yoongi couldn’t see through the curtain of vines, but something told him this is where he was meant to be.

Yoongi took a deep breath and pushed back the vines.

Spiders the size of small cars sat perched in gigantic, silk webs. They seemed to hiss threateningly as Yoongi entered their alcove. The small spiders from before hung from webs on branches and clung to the tree. Yoongi felt the air leave his lungs involuntarily.

A cocoon of white silk sat placed on the ground, thin enough for Yoongi to see through. Sleeping, unhurt and undisturbed, inside the pod of webbing was Y/n.

“Y/n!” Yoongi’s voice broke as he called out for her. He ran forward and fell to his knees next to Y/n. Yoongi lifted his wand to the webs and started to spell them away. Then, the enormous spiders leapt and fell down on top of him. Yoongi cried out and fell back on the dirt. They bit and pinch his exposed skin until the spiders were positioned between Yoongi and the silk covered Y/n. Once Yoongi was out of reaching distance, the spiders stopped attacking, but continued circling him and sat threateningly over Y/n’s body. 

He would have to be fast. 

Yoongi stood and gripped his wand tighter, waiting. The spiders circled him, but when Yoongi saw a clear path to Y/n, he took it. 

“Stupify!” Yoongi sent the closest spider flying in the opposite direction. It smacked against the base of the willow tree and slumped down, unmoving. “Stupify!” 

The spiders advanced quickly on Yoongi. He ran over to Y/n, again. 

“Reducio!” The nearest spiders shrunk down rapidly until Yoongi could barely see them in the darkness. Yoongi shot spell after spell at the advancing spiders. Finally, he had a gap.

Yoongi turned to Y/n, still sleeping and wrapped in silk. “Relashio!”

The white spider webs fell away and Y/n’s sleeping form slumped to the ground. Yoongi looked up. More spiders were closing in quickly. He pointed his wand at Y/n’s face. 

“Rennervate!” Yoongi said. He looked up and pointed his wand toward the advancing spiders. “Stupify!” 

“Yoongi?”

Yoongi looked down to see shiny eyes staring up at him. He leaned down, pulled Y/n into his arms and grabbed the key around his neck.

Yoongi felt his knees lift off the ground and he screwed his eyes shut. He felt an uncomfortable, strong pull behind his navel. Then, a loud fanfare and cheering filled Yoongi’s ears. Yoongi opened his eyes and bright lights blinded him. 

He was back, kneeling on the ground of the arena, surrounded by cheering Hogwarts students. 

“Yoongi?” He looked down. Y/n was laying limply in his arms. She was breathing heavily like Yoongi and was looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. Yoongi broke his self-control as her tears fell over. He pulled Y/n against him and held her tightly. He wrapped one arm around her to pull her into his lap and knotted his other hand into her hair. Y/n wrapped her arms around Yoongi’s waist and hid her tear-streaked face in the crook of his neck. She shook with the force of her sobs.

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi whispered in her ear. “I’m so sorry.” 

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” Yoongi looked up at the sound of the Ministry Official. “All our champions have returned!” More cheering and music forced Y/n and Yoongi apart. Yoongi pulled away and lifted himself and Y/n to their feet. Y/n wiped her face with her hands and gave Yoongi a small smile. Not quite willing to be separated yet, Yoongi took her hand.

“Min Yoongi is the last to arrive with his person, putting him in last place!” The ministry official said cheerfully. Yoongi now noticed the other four people standing with them in the Arena. Natalia Ivanov stood with a tall, young man with dark hair. The family resemblance was clear and Yoongi had no doubt that the man was Natalia’s brother. Jacque Bisset stood… with a dog. The french boy was petting a happy-looking golden retriever. 

“Jacque Bisset comes in second place with the rescue of his dog, and Natalia Ivanov wins first place, being the first to arrive back with her person.” Students from Hogwarts booed at the fact that their champion came in third place. “We will see you back for the Final Task where Ivanov will have an advantage!”

~      ~      ~

Yoongi watched as the clock struck midnight. An hour had come and gone since they had returned from the forest and Yoongi had blatantly refused to let Y/n more than 10 feet away from him. 

Her friends and Hoseok had stormed the field and surrounded y/n in a giant group hug. It was very sweet, but then, they had made fun of her for crying.

“It was terrifying!” She insisted as they escorted Yoongi and Y/n back to the castle. “They covered me in spider webs!”

It wasn’t terribly late, so the seven of them went to the Room of Requirement. They made themselves a large living room to sit around in and Yoongi told them all what had happened during the task. It turns out the stadium had had a live feed of Yoongi throughout the task, so they had seen everything. They laughed and jeered when they told Y/n about Yoongis tree-punching incident. Y/n then told everyone what had happened the night before and how she had been taken out to the forbidden forest to be used as Yoongi’s person.

They joked around and talked quietly. Yoongi blushed madly when Hoseok complained that Y/n was Yoongi’s person instead of himself. After more hugs and joking around, Namjoon, Taehyung, Jungkook and Jimin had excused themselves for bed. Then, at quarter to 12, Hoseok also left for bed.

Now, Yoongi sat on the couch playing with Y/n’s hand and watching the clock. Y/n was speaking quietly about something, but Yoongi wasn’t really listening. He was tired and lost in thought. 

“Yoongi?” Y/n said, louder. He looked over at her and hummed. “I said we should probably go to bed.” 

Yoongi looked down at her hand. It had bite marks from the many spiders in the Forbidden Forest. 

“You knew that I would save you, right?” Yoongi asked. 

“Of course, I did” Y/n answered immediately. “Obviously.. I am the most important person in the world to you.” She joked. Yoongi pulled on her hand, making Y/n laugh. 

Tonight had put him through a whirlwind of emotions. He felt drained and he needed to rest. But, he couldn’t and wouldn’t bring himself to separate from Y/n. After the night's events… He just couldn’t.

Yoongi looked back to Y/n. She tilted her head at him curiously.

“Will you stay with me tonight?”

[abloomntime]

A Bloom In Time Ch10 Fixing One Problem At A Time P2

The silence went on for a long time while the red headed woman laid down on the bed. Blue eyes blankly staring off at nothing, have a numb glazed over look. Her mind a complete blank as she laid upon the bed just ....staring and doing nothing. After a little bit one of the children pulled the blanket back over her to be nice, but she didn't even react when they did do and just continued to lay there. She had reacted quite strangely after Hattie told her she had been frozen to death for over a thousand years-

"W-Wha-....." The older woman blinked at the concerned looking children who looked like they were scared to continue the truth. "T-That's ridiculous! I-I couldn't-....There's NO WAY!!! I w-w-would still be dead then if that's the truth!"

"I told you! Snatcher brought everyone in the mansion back to LIFE when he broke my 'magic thingy'," she explained for probably the FIFTH time already. Even Snatcher being an old noodle, understood what she said the first time...But maybe it was just because he was out in the world for those thousand years and got to see things develope on his planet, while Poppy was a frozen statue along with a whole bunch of other people for a long, long time. So she guessed Poppy WOULDN'T know much of her surroundings after so long. But she gave up saying time piece and said magic thingy instead cuz that's what she kept calling them anyways. "You were probably a frozen statue along with everyone else. But now you're free! You're ok."

Yeah she was......But what about everyone else? Her parents. Her friends. All the adorable little children who'd come and buy flowers from her. All those innocent people in her village. Her precious little flowers. That flower stand she worked SO hard to get when she was still a teenager. She worked so many nights and days in her father's potatoe fields, and fruit trees, constantly getting sweaty and dirty, sore all over and covered in sunburns from the heat...Just to be paid a few pons at a time until she had enough to buy a small space in the square and begged her father to help her build the small stand to hold all her flowers so she could sell them. She was proud of her work, and felt liked she earnt the right to have what she always wanted.To bring the happiness to everyone giving them the gift of the beauty of flowers....And all of that was just now-....Gone. Completely utterly gone. One thousand YEARS gone. All because of one woman. Poppy didn't have any energy to cry. Maybe because it was shock. Maybe because there was too much emotions swarming in her head right now. Maybe it was because she had trouble processing this entire thing but she just laid there staring quietly at the wall. Yeah...she was ok...they didn't have a chance. The two children had been worried after almost twenty minutes of the grown woman doing this and Bow once asked after a while if she wanted more cookies. Still more silence. At one point Hattie left real quick to grab herself a cookie or two remembering she didn't get to eat breakfast at all, and came back to the same thing s before with Poppy staring at the wall blinking every few seconds, and Bow now sitting on the giant trunk at the end of the bed with her head in her hands.

"Anything?"

Bow shook her head. "No. I said her shoes were dry now, but she still didn't move." She nodded towards the now dry shoes laying a little ways from them. "I don't think this is good.''

Hattie hummed and took a bite of the chocolate chip cookie in her hands. This was a problem. She must've been upset, or maybe she was just tired?? She didn't know, she wasn't a grown up.....Her eyes widened with a sudden realization. Grown up problems required ANOTHER grown up right?? Well who was the best grown up she knew who always dealt with problems? A certain purple noodle ghost of course!! She smiled and snapped her fingers Bow jolting at the snap sound before watching as Hattie shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth and bounded over to the bed chewing said snack. The Hat wearing gal popped her head right in front of Poppy's blankly staring one and smiled widely!

"Hey! I know who can help! Snatcher can!! He's really, REALLY old too and he should what to do!! He's ALWAYS having problems!!" Poppy still remained quiet....but ever so slowly her eyes steered down to the little girl and Hattie nearly jumped back. Well at least she caught some kind of response outta her. "Come on! He had to deal with being frozen and Vanessa just like you!" .......He did? Did that mean that.....whoever this snatcher was....he was....like her? .....But then how was this ghost this child's father? Nothing was adding up. But Hattie didn't stop and only persisted by reaching over the bed and tugging on Poppy's upper arm trying to get the grown woman to budge. "COME ON!! Don't be a lazy peckneck! Grown ups are so weird!!"

.......Silently, the still blank faced woman slowly sat up startling the little girl into letting go and falling on her behind. The two children watched her as she numbly pushed herself up half way from the bed, blanket half falling off and giving Hattie a look. It wasn't too blank anymore, still dead panned but she saw some kind of spark behind them now.

"How can a ghost help me? He's already dead isn't he?," she asked in almost a whisper.

Hattie blinked and shook her head, "I just said he's really old! Maybe he can help you? I don't know. But come on! I can't help but I know he can!"

She still stared silently at her for a long time ...before sighing. She didn't see why not. She already met her queen turned into a monster, and two aliens. Why not a ghost too? It's not like her situation could get any worse either. A thousand years frozen, brought back to life, lost everything, alone.....And no way back. Whoever this snatcher ghost was, he sounded like a decent spirit at least if he took care of this child who was kind enough to rescue her.....So he couldn't be all bad right? She's never met a ghost before.

With another sigh she looked to the child. "I really don't have much of a choice do I?"

Instead of answering, Hattie got up and ran towards the pillow mountain where Poppy and Bow had left her umbrella laying there, they would need that if she wanted to get them both down to the Subcon Forest in one piece. Poppy sure took her time shrugging off the blanket, and putting on her now dry shoes, which Bow was nice enough to fetch for her. Hattie came back and encouraged her to hurry before running back over to the telescope. There was a reason this particular telescope was in her bedroom, and that being because it lead to her favorite place in the whole time n space places she's been. She looked through the seeing eye hole and sure enough, Subcon forest showed up right in front of her and she smiled. The trains tracks small but a little visible at least, and for a brief moment she wondered if Snatcher had actually been able to get them all to the train station yet. Sure it was at least three miles, but she was sure if they ran (Snatcher made them ran) or if he just got tired of yelling at them to run and just teleported them there(which was also very likely), he'd already be back! Which was exactly what she was hoping. Bow was sure coming this time too because the curly hair girl was already grabbing the extra umbrella and politely encouraging Poppy to numbly step off the bed and slowly follow her over to Hattie who just now looked up to them with a bright smile.

"Did you see Snatcher?," Bow asked.

Hattie shook her head. "No. This telescope isn't strong enough to see that far to the ground. We have to go look." She smiled as Poppy had finished putting on the other shoe and shuffled up to the girls who offered her hand. "We have to go down there to find him! You can hold my hand if you want."

Poppy rose a brow at her, not taking her hand. "Another transportation spell?"

The child again shook her head. "It's not a spell! My Telescope teleports me! We can teleport you too!" Without asking she grabbed Poppy's hand and tugged her right next to Bow who already posted her daker blue umbrella at the telescope that jumped a little bit, already charged up and ready to go. She pointed her umbrella at the telescope and made sure to increase her grip on Poppy's hand with her insane alien strength. Didn't want her to accidentally slip away and hurt herself. "Watch this!"

Before Poppy could protest or do anything, with a stretching lightheaded feeling they were already used too by now, the telescope teleported her down to the purple spooky part of the planet and she shot down in a beam of light. A few seconds later she landed in a random part of the subcon forest with dead trees and glowing mushrooms everywhere-....Oh wait! This was one of the dirt paths leading up to Snatcher's home. She breifly wondered if this was the same path Snatcher started marching all those people down. After a moment, a flash of white light popped in the sky above her just a little bit and a moment later a WHOOSH noise sounded out as Bow popped open the umbrella and soon the small child was floating down to the dirt path a little ways in front of her. Smiling, Hattie ran towards the spot Bow was floating down to and watched patiently as her feet landed safely on the dirt and the other girl closed her umbrella looking around the familiar forest of dead trees, fog, and lots of creepy purple colors. Very homey.

"Do you think he's here?," Bow asked blinking and looking down the path most likely towards the ghost's home.

Hattie nodded. "Yeah. I can tell." She looked around and then up towards the tops of the trees with a smile. Usually there was crows in the trees or spiders low to the ground when there wasn't anything bigger or more dangerous than them. Which the only thing it could've been was Snatcher or Moonjumper, but since it was still daytime(around maybe early noon), there was only one other person big enough to scare the spiders bigger than herself. Snatcher of course, he was already scary and it was easy to tell if he was here by the forest's aura. "Come on. I'm sure, he's really close, Poppy!" He ran a little ways down the path before slowing......and walking.....before stopping completely and turning around. Bow was still standing where she landed and was looking around too.

"......Miss Poppy?," she called out looking around the trees that silently stared back, no answers except for the spooky sounds of the wind rustling through the dead branches, and the creaking would. And maybe a frog or owl here and there. Her face immediately became worried as she glanced around more and her eyes became wide. "....MISS POPPY?!" She called louder and still received no answer as Hattie made her way back up to her and the panicked child looked at her. "Where did she go?!"

Hattie looked just as worried and confused now. "But-....She was just here!" And Snatcher's traps weren't anywhere around this area, she was just holding her hand a minute ago. "What happened?!"

"I don't know! I thought you had her!"

"But she was right behind me!"

"No she's not!!"

Hattie snapped her head back around as the creepy woods still silently mocked her back. Where did she go?! She was right here beside her! She held her hand all the way down, and she's transported people just like her and Bow to her ship and back all the time. Unless-....Space traveling was always easy when she transported Cooking Cat or Conductor, but they were the same size as her....Poppy was a full grown woman the size of Snatcher in his human form...She would've weighed more than Cookie or Donductor or herself. And transporting someone by holding her hand was different than giving her the umbrella to take her away like last time.....OH NO!! Hattie's hands suddenly gripped her hat and panicked. She must've accidentally let her slip from her and hadn't noticed because of the light and fast travel!! Immediately the worst case scenarios played in her mind. She could've gotten hurt! What if she fell into the swamp!? What if she accidentally came across the fire fox spirits or cursed headless statues?! What if she got stuck in a tree?! Or....HOLY PECK!! What if she fell into one of Snatcher's traps or ran into him and she wasn't there?! Snatcher wouldn't know Poppy would've been taken there by them!! She'd be doomed to sign his contract if she didn't find her before she did!! Or get to Snatcher and explain to him what happened first!! She hopped from foot to foot real fast before turning to Bow panicking even more!!

"W-We gotta find her come on!!"

Hattie suddenly started running down the path again but this time in a state of panick and fear shouting for Poppy. Bow following behind repeating a chorus of 'oh, peck oh, peck oh, peck'.

***************************************************************

The silence of the forest was a sign of danger. As the monster made his way back within the gloomy depths of his home. Spiders cowered as they climbed up their webs in a desperate attempt to escape any terrible fate the ruler might decide for them one day. Crows cawed and took to the air and scattered, leaving multiple black feathers floating slowly towards the black cursed dirt. Even the fire spirits would put up barriers to keep him away if they felt like it. His power great and his famous dealings more fearful. The best way to avoid him was to just not enter the forest, but for those who do they should heed the warnings of silence, alerting the prescence of the dead king. Slithering through the trees like a snake, scowl on his face. Clearly not in the mood for ANY kind of adventures. He was tired, very cranky, and wanted to not be bothered. Which was a dangerous combo if a tresspasser wondered in at that moment. Which is exactly why he told the kid to wait until he came to check on her, he wanted some time to himself and to relax after a stressful day and a half. No doubt he would be scolded by Moonjumper later anyways.

"BOSS!! YOU'RE BACK!!"

The long ghost loomed out through the tree line and towards the lit inside of his home and immediately he was swarmed by his curious minions. Looking at him and most likely confused about the entire fiasco, but he was def not in the mood to explain himself especially to his subjects.

"Did you get those fools there already?,'' one asked as they toddled after him.

Snatcher waved him off. "Nah. Found one of those owls heading there half way through. Something about being needed on set. Made him take the rest of the pecknecks there. Good riddance!" He mumbled the rest the rest of what he said and sighed at the familiar trusty tree. It was good to be home after such a scattered day. ...AND OH!! What was this? There was a small bush on his chair, the bush stretched and made a sound just like a cat before purring and rolling onto his side. Snatcher gave a smile immediately at that, and reached a hand over. His clawed hand slightly shook before it made contact with the soft leaves of the bush cat's body. He carefully placed a couple strokes against the cat's side and Rough Patch started purring, tail waving from side to side as he did so....This...it...He felt like this wasn't real almost. It'd been so long since he had done this. Had a small peace of calm like this. His own little pet. Soon the other claw came down to grab the bush cat and ever so carefully he picked Rough Patch up like a father holding his newborn baby for the first time. Smiling still prominant on his face. "Hey there, Buddy. Were you good while I was gone?"

"Mow," he replied back still purring and blinking that innocent cat face at him.

Snatcher huffed and brought the plump cat in his arms, the red collar on him standing out against his green leaves, and settled down against the dark purple arms purring happily. Happy to just being pampered not caring who did it like any other cat. Snatcher happily smiled at the peaceful scene. THIS!! This is what kind of peace of mind he wanted. He wanted to sit down and read one of those books with his faithful companion for a couple hours before dealing with the kid or anyone else. Except that plan wasn't meant to be at all. It was almost like a snap. Like a sudden feeling you would get when you KNEW something was wrong but not exactly like that. Instead a small feeling began at the back of his mind before this particular feeling grew and all of a sudden his body froze.....Before the giant ghost suddenly shivered, fluffy hair around his neck and chest fluffing up with a weird static shock kind of feeling and he slowly looked over his right shoulder(if he still had a right shoulder). The static like energy feeling like it was on the right side of his body and tugging him towards that direction.....Making the scowl return and the spirit's eyes narrow to almost slits.

"Uh...Boss?"

.....Snatcher huffed and shook his head. More work. Great. Rough Patch meowed in slight protest as Snatcher shifted him from his new comfy spot in his arms, and placed the purring pet back onto his armchair, patting his head and watching for a moment as he turned a few times in a circle and curled back into a bush. Turning back to where the magic tugging was pulling him and giving a small growl. So someone triggered one of his traps eh? Bad for them. Because he was NOT in a merciful mood at all. The annoyance building up in him as he rose up and growled in the back of his throat. Now was definately NOT a good time for anyone. The minions could only watch as their leader as soon as he arrived took off in a flash of purple in the direction of the magical tugging soon disappearing from the line of signs into the trees and shadows. He would be there in a minute or two with his speed and sure enough- Dweller, subconite, and child alike could hear the familar rumbling of the ghost coming. Crows cawing out the warning sign as the forest quaked in his wake. .......And his scream tore through the woods.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

[elejahfanfic]

Hello Love

Hello Love

Fanfiction

Part 1

Pairing: Miguel Galindo x Elena Gilbert

a tvd crossover AU story

a/n: well, here is another fluffy fanfiction crossover story. This time all human. Since I am a huge fan of the vampire diaries - kind of always do crossovers with them.

As of recent I really started to like the character of Nick Amaro from Law&Order_svu, played by Danny Pino. I also love him as Miguel Galindo in Mayans MC... and so, in this story - paired with Elena Gilbert, of course, my favourite female character.

I hope you like it. Thanks for reading. xoxo

tag @miguelsbrat​

♤♡◇♧

"The conversation ended really bad," Elena said to Caroline, "I can't breathe- I have this pain here"

The brunette put her hand on her chest.

"Elena-now you are exaggerating. You said the same thing when you broke up with Matt." Caroline was blunt with her oldest friend.

"This is different. I thought he was the one." Elena tried to make her point why she was so upset.

"Guys sleep around,you know that. Maybe not all, but -  Damon is such a guy-ok-where is your bag, your keys? Come on we need drinks. Lots of Martinis! "Caroline helped her friend put her jacket on. Elena wiped her tears off.

"Come on, get into the car" The blonde huffed a bit.

Elena could not say no to her and she didn't want to. She needed her friends beside her and she knew that, even though they could not make the heartache magically go away, they will do everything to make her feel a bit better.

They drove off to a place called Liberty Park. Elena put her sunglasses on, to hide her puffed up eyes. She felt a throbbing headache now set in.

"A walk in the park and some air will help", Caroline chatted away, "so tell me- you went to his place and she opened the door"

"Yes - and he was  like - oops, sorry - this  here - Krystal being there - it just a mistake- I love you like crazy, yadda, yadda, yadda-URGH-sure he loves me like crazy- and then sleeps with her?!" Elena inhaled sharply now and Caroline could notice that anger was taking over. It was good. Anger was the first step of starting to deal with the situation. Or maybe not. But, at least she was not crying anymore.

"Anger is good. Let it all out." Caroline said in a supportive kind of a tone, continuing, of course with questions, "And so what did you tell him? Why did you get into the fight in the first place?"

"Well, about her! Whenever she calls, he just goes over to her place. I know that they have a kid,-and now I will sound like a bitch- and I love the boy! You know me. I love kids. I want to have at least three-huh"

"Maybe, she staged everything?!" Caroline then said.

"No, he actually admitted sleeping with her!" Elena said.

"Really?" Elena nodded, "Stefan said they broke up because she wanted time off to herself. She kicked Damon out, right?!"

"I think that he has never really stopped loving her. And they have a five- year old kid - and what was I thinking?!"

"Stop that. You fell for him. And it's not the end of the world. Come on now, you need a Maritni. I know I do!" Caroline now urged her to go to their favourite bar that was not far from the park.

To give Elena much needed girly support, Caroline now called their other three friends to join them. Dialling Rebekah Mikaelson's number first.

"Rebekah?! Yes, if you can-of course we are- will call Bonnie-can you call Yemaya?-Good-Yep-See ya."

"I want pizza and and a big load of Martinis, so I can forget everything!" Elena said as they sat down at a table.

Caroline now told the waiter to keep the Martinis coming.

Elena was a sensitive creature, full of dreams, pure emotion, a sweet soul. Caroline was a very pragmatic one, strong, very opinionated, but with a heart of gold. And she would do anything for her bffs, but also for all those who suffered in any way. No wonder she got a law degree.

"Why me? I loved him" Elena now ventured into the self pity zone.

"You just fall in love- and put all heart out there!" Caroline stated, "and  usually with the wrong guys- just like me! But you will be cured. Bonnie will get the pizza. I'll give her a call."

Whenever there was a heartbreak, problems at work or family problems, the five would meet no matter what it was, they made a pact to be there for one another. But they also found time to get together to have a good time as well.

"Breathe now, Elena!" Rebekah said as she arrived a bit later, hugging her friend. "You will forget him! I promise you! Tomorrow it will be- Damon, who!?"

The waiter now served them another round of cocktails.

"Cocktails and pizza, seriously?" Bonnie said as she finally arrived.

"Elena wanted pizza?!" Caroline explained.

"Nevermind. What did you get?" Rebekah now said and  opened the pizza box.

"Extra cheese and pepperoni" Bonnie replied.

"Perfect! Caroline said taking a slice.

"It's kareoke night!" Bonnie looked at the board near the bar, adding, "Yemaya will be late. She has to finish her  article!"

"I don't know why she won't come and work for me-but I guess she likes to be a serious journalist and not write about fashion." Rebekah remarked taking a sip of her drink.

Rebekah was the editor of a fashion magazine in her family's newspaper empire. She and Caroline met in college and struck a friendship immediately. Bonnie became friends with Elena and Caroline in senior high as she moved from a small town from the north. Yemaya was Bonnie's cousin on her father's side.

The only one of them that had a steady relationship was Bonnie, dating Rebekah's brother Kol. The other women had loads of heartbreaks behind them and knew exactly how Elena felt.

A crazy fun night was starting as finally Yemaya arrived at the bar.

Rebekah, Elena and Caroline entertained everyone with their kareoke night. Letting go was just what everyone needed. Noone cared  about how they actually would feel in the  morning. But who cared about the hangover on a working day, once in a while everything needed to be let loose.

Caroline made sure Elena got home safe and sound, tucking her into bed litterally.

"You are my best bestie" Elena muttered with a drunken cheerful smile.

"Sweet dreams!" Caroline smirked at her friend before she switched off the light.

She exited Elena's tiny apartment.

The morning arrived, or better said, lunch hour was already on for most people, when she woke up and checked at her phone. There  were several missing calls with Damon's name on the display. She tossed the phone away and now tried to get up. Her head still felt woozy and she slightly regretted having way too many Martinis. She walked to the bathroom very slowly. A long shower would help as always.

Rebekah and Caroline already had met for brunch. Unlike Elena, they eased up with their drinks but were revisiting some of the scenes of the previous night.

"You could have chosen singing career. I never understood why you got into Law School." Rebekah remarked.

"My mum and dad - you she is the dective and he is the lawyer. It's good that I can let some steam out once in a while."

"Do you think she will take Damon back?! You know, Elena-she will get soft when he starts talking sweet to her"

"I don't know," Caroline said, "I really didn't get that she got into Damon. I have always thought that it would be his brother Stefan. They could talk, he was always helping her with stuff. After the break up with Matt."

"Wasn't she also going out with Tyler? He was really something.  Can I guy be so full of himself?!" Rebekah said.

"Ah, don't mention Tyler. So  wrong for her"

"Is there any right guy out there?!" Rebekah wondered, as she had a string of unhappy relationships and loads of one-night stands that she wanted to forget.

"Bonnie is the lucky one. I thought that Kol had already proposed. They are now four years together." Caroline changed the subject.

"I think that he is going to ask her to move in together. Well, they practically live together. One weekend they are inhis apartment, the next weekend in hers. Oh, I got news. Big news. Klaus is coming home. He is done building houses in Eastern Europe. Mother is preparing a great welcome party on Saturday. You guys are all invited." Rebekah said.

"Klaus is coming home?! His been like away-what-forever?!" Caroline remarked.

"Ten years. And so is Miguel. My adoptive brother. I guess they both had enough of being away from the family. Actually, Miguel has been back for a month now. Buy he is no party person, you know. His son Cristobal is so amazing."

"Cristobal?" Caroline asked.

“Yeah. I am so glad he is back. He is so much fun. Loves photography. He is so like his mother. And he definitely not going to be a surgeon."

"Oh, yeah -Miguel is a surgeon, right?"

"Yes. He is a cardiologist. Oh, when he and Kol get together, there is always talk of scientific research. Boring if you ask me"

"That Kol is an orthopedic surgeon, kind of still is so totally strange," Caroline stated,"you never talked about Miguel!? How come he went to live in Mexico?"

"It's a long story." Rebekah said with a sad huff.

"You said once that his wife died?"

"Yes. And he- kind of shut down. Thank God he had Cris." Rebekah now told her friend a little bit more about Miguel and how he was adopted by her father and mother when he was five years old.

❤️❤️❤️

Elsewhere

Elena called her shop just to let her staff know that she would be arriving late that day. Her assistant Nora told her that everything was under control and that she can take the day off.

Her phone rang again and now she swiped her call open.

"Stop calling me, Damon! I so don't want to know-I am done!!! We are done!!!!" Elena pressed the red button on the phone to click the call off.

Inhaling sharply she turned to the mirror as she was about to open the door.

"Looking good girl. You are so going to rip him out of your heart!"  She put the sunglasses on and took her bag, slamming the door shut behind her. 

She had no particular idea where she wanted to go. She just wanted to walk. And so she walked. Shopping was always a good option, hoping the hangover would slowly clear up.

Her phone rang and said, "Hey. I am fine, Bonnie. Just taking a walk. Maybe I will get to the shop later. Need to revise some recipes. Yes, he called. But I slammed the phone down on him. I don't really care. I am done crying. I am done with him. I am done dating. Yeah-ok-I will talk to you later"

She now  put the phone in her bag and being still hangover didn't look where she was going, and as she wanted to open the door to a cafe she nearly bumped into a man who was about to do the same.

"Sorry." Elena apologized immediately. 

"Oh-it's my fault- I - just-my thoughts were somewhere else. Please" the man in his forties then opened the door and let Elena get in first.

"I am usually not so distracted”

"It's fine. " the man said. 

They looked at one another as if time had stopped for a moment, and they didn't know what to do next.

"Where are my manners," he then said, "Can I offer you of coffee as an apology?"

"Yes" Elena muttered. "Shall we?"

"Yeah" Elena slipped and they found a nice available table at the window. "They have great smoothies here"

"They do? You know this place very well, then?"

"Pretty much. It's like my breakfast/lunch place- strawberry is the best" Elena recommended.

"Right. I will have a smoothie then- and coffee with skimmed milk" the dapper looking man said to the shop assistant.

Elena ordered nearly the same, adding blueberry pancakes to the order.

This was something he had not done for ages, namely, inviting a woman for a drink so casually, even if it was just a harmless cup of coffee. It was as if someone or something nudged him to do it, or maybe because he saw  certain saddnes in her eyes, or maybe it was just Cupid doing his job of getting two people together.

"I was at a party last night - and kind of had one too many-and need all this to wake up." Elena explained all the food that arrived.

"It must have been some party" the man he said politely.

"I am not usually doing this in the middle of the week- but-it was something out of the ordinary."

"You don't have to explain."

"No, I know. So-what is it that you do?" Elena now took notice that he was wearing a very expensive business suit and his whole aura gave out that he was a very professional man.

"I am a cardiologist. I work at the University hospital."

"Oh, right. I’m a pastry chef." Elena said.

"Ah, so you are very well versed in the sugar department" the man nooded watching at the brunette in a sweet way.

"Yes. I own a shop called Lena's Cookies in the the Linden street."

They chatted some more about her work until a phone call interupted them. He apologized saying that he had to take a call. But soon, Elena's phone went as well. It was Caroline. Elena now told her friend where she was, but nothing about who she was with.

"I am so sorry." the man  said as he returned to the table. "This was my son. I will have to leave now, but it was very nice meeting you-?" In all that initial confusion they had not introduced themselves to one another.

"Elena!"the brunette said.

"Mike! Nice to meet you, Elena." Miguel said with a little smile, excusing himself.

"Mike." Elena muttered to herself as she sat down at the table again and dreamily sipped down her coffee.

[strawberrymeriadoc]

Saturday morning

Merry enjoyed having a bed to himself. Peony would sometimes snuggle with him when he first lay down to sleep or in the morning. On some level, though, Merry missed the feeling of safety and belonging he got from sleeping next to someone. It had been almost a year since his girlfriend, Jamie, had broken up with him. It was funny because he had spent a decent amount of the relationship fantasizing about leaving her. But once it finally happened, he wasn’t prepared. He missed resting his head on her chest and putting his arms around her as they slept.

[To tell the truth, Merry didn’t know if he ever wanted another relationship or not. There was something about being in them that set him into fight or flight mode. For the duration of the relationship. No wonder he didn’t feel like himself during them. But doubt filled his mind: is it just because of my trauma with abusive relationships? Merry knew that he always wanted the closeness of an intense friendship marked by fierce loyalty and love. And that in the past, once he felt such a pull to a person, he’d end up feeling like the next logical step would be to enter a romantic and sexual relationship with that person. He had no choice if he wanted to be that close to someone. Or, at least, that’s what he always thought. Lately, Merry had heard rumors here and there of something called being aromantic. It had come up in passing a few times at the university’s lgbtq organization. But he didn’t want to be that. It’s bad enough I don’t want to have sex with people. Do I have to be wrong about this too?

After pondering all this, Merry felt it was high time to actually get up and start the day. It was Shabbat, so there wasn’t really anything he should do today, but eating breakfast was still a (begrudged) requirement. Merry walked quietly by Pippin’s room and came into the kitchen. For once Pippin wasn’t asleep on the couch and Merry wondered when he would get up as it was already noon. Merry silently hoped that Pippin might want to hang out with him today. He was used to feeling unwanted by Jamie and she would get upset if he suggested an outing, so his hopes weren’t very high. Regardless, it was a perfect day to sit out on the balcony and enjoy some coffee.

Once outside, Merry could hear the chirping of sparrows as well as the sounds of the city. Being Shabbat, it was much quieter than it usually would be at noon, but Merry could still hear the sounds of a plane overhead and a few cars and motorbikes which were somehow the loudest of all. Merry was thankful it was Shabbat. It had been a long week. He spent half his days in the library and the other half cleaning the apartment and just doing the necessary dirty work of making sure life ran smoothly. Merry loathed this kind of busy work most of all. He didn’t want to email his advisor, he didn’t want to get the fridge fixed, he didn’t want to go grocery shopping, he didn’t want to call the pharmacy for the fourth time to make sure his Testosterone prescription had gone through. He just wanted to read his books, write, ride horses, and hang out with his friends. Merry suddenly felt silly for mentally complaining about all these things, even though no one was around to hear it. He half worried that G-d Themself would be angry with him. For not being grateful enough for what he had. Merry didn’t love this relationship he had with G-d. He thought it seemed suspiciously like his relationship with his mother. And as far as he knew, there was nothing in the Torah or the teachings of the rabbis that would support the existence of such a relationship (or, really, for the existence of G-d all together, though that thought also filled Merry with fresh guilt and a feeling of being watched and judged).

Pippin was just waking up from a cozy dream. He half opened his eyes and saw Peony sitting before him, tail wrapped around her paws. She was staring intensely at him. “Up to our judginess early, aren’t we?” he half-scolded her. Peony flicked her tail and continued to look at him, clearly nonplussed. Pippin closed his eyes and thought about what he wanted to do today. Coming up blank, the boy reached for his phone and checked his messages. There was a sweet good morning text from Frodo. And the pictures he posted of the dinner he made last night were fairly popular. He was glad to hear from his friends even if it was just a like on one of his creations. He scrolled through and saw some pictures of lovely handwriting that Frodo often posted. Rosie and her siblings had gone for a day trip to the Sea. Even Bilbo was sharing some photos of his most recent trip to the Lonely Mountain. Pippin felt sad. He really wanted to travel. He was sick of being cooped up in boring old Minas Tirith.

Finally, the boy realized he was quite hungry and made his way to the kitchen. Merry was sitting outside on the balcony. He was looking out and seemed deep in thought and hadn’t noticed that Pippin had woken up. Pippin set to making an omelet. He didn’t hold with coffee like his roommate, but enjoyed a hot cup of green tea instead. As he ate, he thought about Gandalf, his Organic Chemistry professor. Pippin was about to enter his second year of graduate school and as such this would be his first semester assistant teaching. This was all fine with Pippin. Except he had been assigned to assist Gandalf in his Introduction to Environmental Science class. I can hardly stand one class with him, Pippin thought, how am I supposed to endure being his assistant?” Gandalf was an enigmatic figure in the Science Department. He would sometimes disappear for weeks, forcing his teaching assistants to cover for him with no notice. He also had a habit of not explaining his full thoughts to the other members of the department, but Saruman the Chair seemed to manage the department perfectly well despite the wizard’s secrecy. To make matters worse, Gandalf seemed to have a particular chip on his shoulder about Pippin. The boy was one of the finest students in the department despite being a year young for his grade. Perhaps the professor was pushing his pupil because he knew he could handle it. I wish people wouldn't do that, lamented Pippin, why when I’m already doing so well do they keep having to raise the bar? This was really all too much to Pippin. The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that he wouldn’t be able to make it through the semester, much less the year.

Suddenly the room felt very small and like it was circling rapidly around him. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. To make matters worse, his heart started pounding out of his chest. He wanted to call out to Merry for help but he couldn’t make words come out of his mouth. Pippin could move his arms though and without really knowing what he was doing he threw a pencil that was on the counter at the sliding door. It made a quiet dink sound and clattered to the floor. Merry heard the sound and turned around. He got up and went to the door. He could see Pippin holding his head in his hands. Concerned, Merry came back into the house. “You alright?” he asked. Pippin nodded his head “no”. Merry sat down next to his friend. He didn’t really know what to do but he knew Pippin needed him now. “Hey, it’s alright, it’s ok. Do you want to talk about it?” Pippin nodded his head again. Finally, Merry perceived what was going on. “Here, let’s try this breathing technique together: breathe out for 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, in 1 2 3 4, hold it 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, out 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8” Merry repeated the set several times.

Pippin started to look a little better. His face wasn’t as pale as it had been earlier and it seemed to do him good to focus on Merry’s breathing exercise. “There you go,” Merry said, smiling gently. Pippin was still not feeling well but he was feeling better. “Was having a panic attack,” he faltered. “It’s alright” Merry encouraged “They just go away with time, we just have to wait it out”. The “we” in that sentence hit Pippin. He didn’t realize before that Merry had committed to helping him with this. “Anything I can do that would help?” Merry offered (as he often did). Pippin hesitated, thinking about what he really needed in this moment. “Could you...would you mind if I held your hand?” he asked quietly. “Sure” said Merry and he stretched out his hand. Pippin took it and gave it a weak squeeze. He used his other hand to hold up his head as the room was still spinning. They sat there for a while in silence.

Merry was happy to be able to help his friend. So often it was Pippin who was helping him. Merry had had his fair share of panic attacks and had spent all of them alone. He didn’t want anyone to have to go through that, least of all Pippin.

After about twenty minutes the room stopped spinning. Pippin sat up and pulled his hand back. Merry waited for his friend to say something or indicate what he wanted to do. “Well, now I’m hungry again!” and with that Pippin stood up and began foraging around the kitchen. Merry laughed. After Pippin had eaten some yogurt with granola he was feeling much more himself again. “Thanks for helping me through that Merry!” Pippin said cheerfully “It meant a lot.” “Oh you’re-you’re welcome” Merry stammered putting his hand behind his head.

[timehealsfanfictionbka]

Time Heals.....Chapter Forty-Two

Robyn rubbed her neck as she stretched at her desk. She looked over at the clock and sighed at the time. She was trying to get ahead on reports in time for her vacation. She wasn’t sure if her and Chris were still going to Italy but she decided that she would take the time off regardless. Two weeks seemed like a long time but considering she had never spent any time completely not working since she came back from maternity leave, she earned it. Taking a sip of her tea, she started back reading and highlighting. Another 30 minutes had passed when her phone rang. She pressed the speaker button without looking over at the display, “Hello?”

“Robyn.”

She frowned at the voice. She hadn’t heard from Chris much since their argument. In fact, she hadn’t heard his voice in two weeks. He would send her a text letting her know he was home and that she could drop the girls off but that was it. She really didn’t think he’d be so sensitive about the whole gift thing but she also knew that if she didn’t nip it in the bud now, it was only gonna get worse. Like she told him, she appreciated the gestures but he was getting too comfortable making decisions for them without her input and as if he was the only important thing in her life. Chris was used to being in control and he was used to being depended on but she didn’t work that way. Every once in awhile was sweet and special but constantly made her feel like he was trying to whittle away at her independence and she wasn’t comfortable with that.

“Hello? You still there?”

“Yes, I’m here, Christopher. Hearing your voice threw me off for a second,” Robyn replied, “considering you haven’t spoken to me in two weeks.”

“I have spoken to you.”

“You have texted me and that’s not the same thing.”

“Whatever.”

“What do you want?”

“Our vacation is coming up.”

“Oh, we’re still going?”

“It’s already paid for.”

“That’s not answering my question. Are WE still going because you could decide to go by yourself?”

“Why would I do that? Italy wasn’t my choice.”

“Because you paid for it, why not get your money’s worth?”

“Are you saying that you aren’t coming with?”

“No, I’m just making a point and you still haven’t answered my question. Are we still going?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, so what do you need to talk about?””

“Are we meeting at the airport or do you still want me to pick you up?’

“It’s up to you. I’m not the one with the problem.”

“I don’t have a problem.”

“You haven’t spoken to me in two weeks. You wanna try that again?”

“I was giving you space.”

“I didn’t ask for space. In fact, I haven’t asked you for anything.”

“Well from the way you reacted to my gift, I figured you needed some time.”

“Some time to do what? I didn’t hang up on you. I didn’t catch an attitude. I simply made a request and you acted like you caught me kicking your puppy or something.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Really? You know what, I don’t even wanna go there right now. Do you want to pick me up?”

“Do you want me to pick you up?

“No, I’ll meet you at the airport. Flight departure?”

“It’s at noon.”

“Meet you at the gate at 10: 30 then. Anything else?”

“Nope.”

“Goodnight.”

Robyn hung up then ran her hands down her face, “that man is gonna be the death of me.”

                                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Chris tried his hardest not to react as he saw Robyn walking down the corridor to their gate. Her hair was curled and pulled up into a huge bun, it looked soft and inviting almost daring him to place his hands in it. She had on a pair of tan shorts with a white shirt that draped down in the front exposing a v-shaped section of bosom and one sleeve hung off her shoulder. It was the shoes that did him in, they were brown and tan colored stilettos and it did everything right for her legs. He couldn’t see her eyes because they were covered by a pair of shades but the shape of her lips let him know that she was still pretty upset with him, which was fine because he wasn’t too happy with her either. She came to a stop in front of him and slid her shades off her face to sit them on top of her head, “Christopher.”

“Robyn. You’re early.”

“Told you I’d be here by 10: 30.”

“Thought it’d take longer to get through security.”

“I always pre-check.”

“Oh.”

“How long you been here?”

“Since 10. Mom came and got the girls early to take them out for breakfast and I didn’t see any reason to just wait around the house.”

“have you eaten?”

“No.”

“Oh, well I was gonna grab something quick. You want anything?”

“I can get it.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

“Yes, but I’ll walk over with you.”

“Whatever.”

Robyn shrugged as she turned around and started walking towards the food court area where there was a Starbucks. Chris sighed and followed right behind her. They ended up standing in line next to each other. Robyn smiled at the cashier and ordered a caramel Frappuccino, bagel with cream cheese and a banana nut muffin. Chris gestured towards Robyn when the server requested his order, “I’ll have the same as her.”

The server nodded and went to make their food. As Robyn went to pay for her purchases, Chris handed the cashier his card, “it’s all together.”

Robyn looked at him over her shades with a raised brow before grabbing her stuff and leaving to a table. Chris sighed and shook his head as he grabbed his food, card and the receipt from the cashier, “thank you.”

He went and sat down across from Robyn, who had taken off her shades and was scrolling through her phone, “is it gonna be like this all the way to Italy?”

“Be like what? We don’t have anything to talk about so why force it?”

“It’s a lot of tension, Robyn.”

“Really? I didn’t notice.”

She set her phone into her bag then started preparing her bagel with cream cheese. She picked up one-half and bit into it before taking a sip of her drink.

“I’m willing to make peace, Robyn.”

“There’s nothing to make peace with, Chris. I said what I had to say. You said what you had to say. It is what it is.”

“Clearly, there’s something else going on.”

“Like what? Last I checked, I didn’t stop talking to you. I didn’t hang up on you and I didn’t go off on you. You did all of that to me and I let you. If you wanna sensitive about some gifts, that’s your prerogative but I’m not backing down about it. I said what I said and I meant it.”

“But what you said wasn’t factual.”

“What I said was based on what you’ve shown me and what I know of you. You like to provide which is cool until it feels like control. I don’t need anybody contacting my employer or doing anything for me that I didn’t ask them to do. A gift here or there is fine but assuming that my time is yours to use as you see fit is not. I’m not apologizing and I’m not taking it back. If you wanna break up with me over it, that’s on you.”

“I never said I was breaking up with you.”

“You tend to never say a lot but do a whole lot that demonstrates what you don’t say.”

“Robyn.”

“Chris, I have no need to go through the motions with you. We agreed to be adults about this relationship. We agreed to talk things through and you have not done so. I will not be chasing you. I will not be jumping through hoops nor compromising my values just so your ego can be satisfied. I know how I need to be loved and I will not settle for your generic “this is how I treat all my girlfriends” bullshit. I am not Tiana and anybody else, I do not need you to navigate my life for me. I want you to enjoy my life with me. I will hold onto my right to make my own decisions and plan my own time. I love you but my world does not revolve around you.”

“I’m not asking it to.”

“You haven’t asked me anything and that’s the problem. And to make it worse when I try to say something about it, you give me attitude and tell me that you’re not arguing with me about it like my feelings don’t mean anything.”

“That’s not what I was trying to do.”

“Then what were you trying to do?”

“Something nice for you.”

“That I did not want you to do. I am allowed to refuse a gift that I do not want, am I not?”

“Yes.”

“So why is it such a hassle for you to stop doing things for me without my input? You didn’t ask me if I wanted to go out to dinner, you just dropped shit at my house and told me we were after calling my damn boss. You have no authority to do such of anything and I would never take those kinds of liberties with you because I know you have a life outside of me and it’s not my right to invade that without your permission. Why can’t I get that kind of courtesy?”

“I never said you couldn’t.”

“But you have shown me that you believe I don’t. We have been together for months, you’ve been doing this for months and out of the sake of growing pains, I haven’t argued much especially since most of it was small, bringing me lunch is ok, ordering dinner is fine but you start inserting yourself into my workplace and bring our children into this, I start having a serious problem.”

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“What?”

“You knew it was a big deal or else everything time you did it, you wouldn’t have said you weren’t arguing with me about it. Anything that can lead to argument indicates that one or both parties are not in agreement with the present action so you knew it was a big deal but you were counting on me not wanting to rock the boat too much and therefore not say anything. Right or wrong?”

“You’re right.”

“Thank you.”

“So where do we go from here?”

“That’s up to you. I’m not the one who stopped talking to me for two weeks. You wanted your space, you took your space so you decide what you want to do. I’ve made my boundaries clear. We can get on this plane as spouses, as friends, or as enemies. It’s up to you.”

“Robyn, I love you.”

“I know that.”

“So you know what my answer is.”

“I know what I’m assuming your answer is. It’d make it easier if you said it out loud.”

“I wanna get on this plane and off the plane as spouses.”

“Ok then.”

“You done being mad at me?”

“Being done with you is not the same thing as being mad at you. Besides I wasn’t mad at you anyway.”

"Really?"

“Yes, really. You were the one who acted like a spoiled brat because I didn’t want your gifts.”

“Speaking of gifts-“

“They are still in the garment bags hanging in the hall closet. I told the girls whenever you decided to change your mind, they’d be able to wear them.”

“And yours?”

“In the same place.”

“Did you even look at it?”

“Honestly, no. After you hung up on me, I was too busy reassuring your daughters that we weren’t breaking up to be concerned about what the dresses really looked like. All I know is that they’re black.”

“Did I really upset them that bad?”

“I don’t think upset would be the right word. Worried might be more appropriate. I guess since they’ve been waiting for us to get together, they don’t want anything to mess that up.”

“Odd, they never said anything to me about it.”

“I told them not to. It’s none of their business.”

“True. We should get back to the gate, they’ll start loading-“

Just then a boarding announcement for their flight came over the intercom system. Robyn looked over at Chris and laughed, “talk about perfect timing.” They wrapped up what was left of their food, collected their bags and left to go back to their gate. They didn’t have long to wait as business class was one of the first to board.

“Babe, you want the window or aisle seat?” Chris asked as he started walking to their assigned spots.

“Window, please.”

Chris stopped and looked at the seat labels before verifying they were at the right seats. He stepped back and let Robyn step in front of him then moved to sit in the seat beside her.

“You ok?”

“I’m good, Chris. You?”

“I’m better now.”

“Now?”

“Because I don’t have to sit in tension for the next couple of hours or worry about you accidentally on purpose stabbing me with something.”

Robyn laughed, “we have children together so I can’t stab you. I can threaten but I can’t actually do it.”

“I don’t know if I believe that.”

“Oh Boy, whatever.”

Chris smiled then leaned over and kissed her cheek, “love you.”

“I love you too.”

Robyn turned and they stared at each other for a few moments before she turned to look out the window.

“Do we still have something more to discuss?”

“Yea but it can wait until we land.”

“Ok.”

[smokedstorybara]

Perchance to Dream part 4

It was a late summer evening one year, the air warm and heavy with the smell of flowers and fruit, when Joxter came to Moominvalley.

Moomin and his friends were lounging on the Moominhouse veranda, soaking up the lazy atmosphere. Snufkin sat on the railing, playing a tranquil melody on his harmonica, with the others sprawled about beneath, chatting aimlessly. Moominpappa was sat at the table, supposedly trying to write but Moomin was sure he was dozing.

A cheerful “Hullo!” brought their attention to the figure in a red hat making his way up the path to the house.

Moominpappa snapped awake and jumped up when he saw the figure.

“Joxter!” He called out.

“Moomin!” the figure responded jovially and picked up a little speed.

“It’s Moominpappa now.” Moominpappa corrected him just as he reached the veranda.

“Moominpappa?” Joxter had stopped in his tracks to gasp in mock surprise, a hand clasped dramatically over his chest. “Nobody tells me anything!”

The both of them had a good laugh at that and then he jumped up onto the veranda and they greeted each other properly as old friends do. With an enthusiastic hug, a hold at arm’s length to see how the other has changed, and a “How have you been?”

Though Moomin noticed the strange man looked a little sad behind his roguish smile.

The two seemed to forget anyone else was there as they caught up on the years since they’d last seen each other. Joxter sharing his adventures, much like Snufkin did, and Moominpappa speaking of settling down with his family and writing his memoirs.

And then Moominmamma cleared her throat as she placed a fresh pitcher of lemonade on the table and Joxter stiffened up, flinching slightly when Moominpappa turned away to send a sheepish glance toward her.

But then, as soon as Moomin had noticed the change in the man’s demeanor it was gone, and he was back to being all smile and lazy movement. And Moomin put the whole thing out of his mind. It wasn’t his business, after all, and despite his natural curiosity it felt whatever it was should stay none of his business.

“Ah,” Moominpappa gestured between Joxter and Moominmamma, “Joxter you’ve met my wife, Moominmamma.”

“I have.” Joxter responded awkwardly.

Moominpappa turned to shift his vague gestures to Moomin’s direction. “And this is our son, Moomin, and his friends. Children, this,” he patted Joxter on the shoulder, “is Joxter. He’s an old adventuring buddy from my youth, and Snufkin’s father.”

“What?”

Everyone spun to Snufkin at his soft but emotional exclamation. He was staring at Moominpappa and Joxter with wide eyes and looked about ready to fall off the veranda railing.

“I have a father?”

“Of course, everyone does.”

Snufkin slowly lowered his feet to the wooden floor of the veranda and pushed off from the railing. Moomin quickly stood up and pressed his shoulder against Snufkin’s when he saw the way he was trembling.

“You knew who my father was this whole time?”

Moominpappa nodded. “More or less, yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Snufkin’s voice broke. Moomin felt the urge to fold him into his arms and hide him away from the world, but he knew that wouldn’t help.

“Well, I assumed you knew.”

“How did you know, Moominpappa?” Snorkmaiden cut in, brow raised and arms crossed.

“Snufkin looks much like Joxter did when we were younger… with a bit of his mother in there as well.”

“You know my mother as well?”

“Why yes, the Mymble,” he looked to Joxter, “right?”

Joxter nodded.

Moominpappa continued. “They were together for a time when we were younger. She’s the only person I remember Joxter ever showing any interest in, really. So there weren’t many women your mother could’ve been.”

Moomin forced himself to ignore the way Joxter stiffened again and looked down and away. Instead he focused on Snufkin’s increased shaking and irregular breaths. Seeing his friend so distressed made something in his chest hurt.

He turned slightly toward Snufkin and quietly spoke.

“Do you need some time alone to process?”

Snufkin nodded.

“Ok.” Moomin responded. “Go. I’ll try and distract them.” He walked closer to the door and continued in a louder voice. “How about we continue this inside? It’s much too hot out for such talk. And besides which, it’s almost dinner time.”

Everyone quickly agreed. Moomin held the door open while they all shuffled in and he watched as Snufkin escaped over the bridge and into the forest.

~~

Snufkin returned a little over a day later, without much fanfare. Of course, most the inhabitants of Moominvalley were quite accustomed to Snufkin disappearing for a few days for one reason or another. And Joxter seemed content to spend his first day at the house endlessly chiding Moominpappa, in a good-natured manner, for his error.

It was as if remembering Moominpappa had flaws had snapped Joxter out of the strange mood from his arrival.

But then, like usual, Snufkin’s camp went from empty one day to quietly occupied the next.

Moomin was glad that Snufkin had returned so soon and was quite eager to talk to him about the whole thing, but then he noticed a figure in a red hat sitting by the river next to Snufkin’s camp. And he knew he should give them some space and some time to talk and get to know each other and other things along those lines.

So Moomin spent the day helping around the house and in his Mamma’s garden, keeping himself busy so he wouldn’t fret too much. He wanted so badly to make sure his friend was ok, see how he was handling everything. But he could wait. He’d let Snufkin come to him when he was ready.

And again, the next day, he helped Moominmamma with the chores after breakfast and was out weeding the garden before noon. This time he worked in one further from Moominhouse - the one they’d all made for her birthday the year before - instead of the small flower beds just in front of it.

He wasn’t out there for long when Snufkin quietly joined him.

The two worked in silence for an hour or so before Snufkin finally began to speak. Moomin waited patiently during that time; he knew Snufkin well enough to tell when he needed Moomin to talk first and when he needed to think for a bit.

When he finally did speak, Snufkin started the conversation in his usual, direct way. He stated plainly that he was still somewhat upset at Moominpappa for not saying anything. That him and Joxter had talked about it - about how if Moominpappa had said something sooner they could’ve known each other longer - and that they’d both agreed that they had a right to be upset. But they wouldn’t be angry forever and not enough to affect any friendships with the family.

It was clear to Moomin, from the last thing, that Snufkin had feared that Moomin would assume the worst about the future of their friendship. He knew that Snufkin sometimes worried about things like that, about things he said coming across wrong and Moomin thinking he hated him, about not being clear enough or there enough, about driving Moomin away or making Moomin think he’d driven Snufkin away.

“He told me,” Snufkin continued, “he told me that he’d been so excited,” he laughed a little, “and a little scared, when he heard he had a son. He said that he’s been searching all over for me since he found out I existed. He wants to… to get to know me.”

Moomin smiled, indescribably happy for his friend.

“He also told me about the Mymble. My mother. About how they met during his adventures with Moominpappa.  How she had dozens of kids all running around everywhere.”

Here he stopped and sat back to look at Moomin with wide eyes. “I suppose those would be my siblings.” He shook his head with a single laugh. “I never thought that I might have siblings.”

Moomin chuckled until Snufkin flicked some loose dirt at him and then he gestured for Snufkin to continue.

“What was she like? Did he say? Were they madly in love?”

And suddenly the atmosphere changed from lighthearted to something more weighty. Moomin had a brief moment to worry whether he’d said something wrong before the thought was interrupted by a soft reply.

“No, they weren’t.” A breath. “He tried to avoid mentioning it. But when I asked, he admitted they’d only been brief distractions to each other. Mutually beneficial and nothing more. Just a… a…”

He trailed off and Moomin’s heart ached. For the second time since Joxter’s appearance, he wished he could gather Snufkin in a soft hug, safe from anything that might hurt him. Instead he shifted over to press his shoulder against Snufkin’s and gently cover one of his paws with his own.

“I…” Snufkin let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it, honestly, or even how I should feel.”

“Well,” Moomin mused out loud, “I think it’s perfectly acceptable to be unsure in such a circumstance. And besides, even if they don’t love each other, you know your father cares about you and wants to be in your life. That’s good right?”

“Yes.” Snufkin nodded, his lips curving up into a small smile. “That is true.”

They both returned to the weeding as Snufkin detailed how him and Joxter had talked about family. What it meant to them and what they wanted it to mean going forward.

Joxter wasn’t much different from Snufkin in that he prefered to travel and didn’t much care for attachments, so for them family wasn’t going to be like the Moomins; living together in one house all year round. They would still travel and still live by themselves, but Joxter would stay in Moominvalley as long as he could stand to and would visit as often as he could, and if they crossed paths in their travels they’d take some time to catch each other up on their lives.

Moomin agreed that that plan sounded very sensible.

“And after that,” Snufkin continued with some energy, “he asked about my life so far, said he wanted to know all the important things.”

Moomin grinned over at Snufkin. His excitement was quite contagious.

“So? What all did you tell him about?!”

Snufkin gave a little giggle and Moomin found himself blushing at how adorable it was.

“Well, I told him about the orphanage I spent a part of my earlier years in, before I started traveling.” He whirled to face Moomin with a paw raised in mock outrage. “He had the gall to compare me to Moominpappa for that!”

Moomin burst into laughter at that. Snufkin feigned offense for a moment more before joining in.

Eventually, he collected himself and continued.

“Then I told him about traveling the world. Some of the more interesting things and places I’ve seen and people I’ve met.” He waved a dismissive paw through the air next to him. “And of course I told him all about meeting you and coming to Moominvalley and all the adventures we’ve had together.”

Moomin smiled down at the flowerbed. “So we’re one of the important things?” He asked, letting his smile bleed into his voice.

“Of course.” Snufkin pulled the brim of his hat down, blocking his face from Moomin’s view. “One of the most important things.”

Moomin’s breath caught in his throat and his face burned and it felt like his heart was trying to beat it’s way out of his chest. His smile widened uncontrollably and he bent further over the flowers to hide it.

~~

The Moomin family invited Joxter over for his last meal at Moominhouse before leaving the valley. It was planned to be a fairly intimate celebration; just Joxter, Snufkin, the Moomin family, Little My, and the rest of Moomin’s friends - Sniff and Snorkmaiden.

Snufkin was late. Moomin knew that this was because he didn’t feel ready to say goodbye to his father just yet, but also that he didn’t want to admit it. So everyone else was under the assumption that he’d gotten distracted while out fishing.

Everyone else was already there, however. And they figured that Snufkin would arrive whenever he arrived and that he wouldn’t want them to put the whole thing on hold just for him.

They all socialized while they waited and Moominmamma cooked up a storm in the kitchen with Moomin and Snorkmaiden helping set the table. They talked about this and that - how Moominpappa’s writing was going, where Joxter might go on his travels, Sniff’s latest money-making scheme.

Eventually the topic turned to Moomin and Snorkmaiden’s relationship.

“They’ve been together for a few years now,” Moominmamma explained from the doorway, “since just after the comet, I believe.” She lifted a paw up to her cheek. “Isn’t it just lovely?”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” Joxter responded. “Though I assumed it was expected for soulmates to stay together for very long.”

Everyone went quiet.

“Oh.” Moominmamma breathed.

“We…” Moomin started, before having to try again. “We aren’t soulmates. I… I don’t have a soulmate.”

“But I thought all Moomintrolls have soulmates.” Joxter frowned. “Or have you been lying to me all these years Moominpappa?”

There was pain in Joxter’s voice. Moomin heard it. Felt it. It deepened the inner wound caused by the conversation. Talking about his soulmate had grown easier with Snufkin, but the pain had never truly gone away.

It added to and mixed with the guilt over using Snorkmaiden as a distraction, still, after so many years.

It ate at him. Always there at the edges of his thoughts.

It wasn’t fair to her. It wasn’t like Joxter and the Mymble who both knew and understood that their relationship was just a distraction.

He found himself wishing, as he sometimes did, that Snufkin was his soulmate. Everything was simple and easy with Snufkin.

But that wasn’t fair to Snorkmaiden either. If anyone, It should be her he was wishing to be his soulmate. And it wasn’t fair to Snufkin, who wasn’t much different from Moomin’s soulmate after all, and who a soulbond would likely hurt in the ways it ties one to another.

And it very much wasn’t fair to Moomin’s soulmate. He hadn’t chosen to be bound to him, and Moomin had been the one to decide to take the herbs to end their dreams.

None of this was fair to any of them.

Moomin was just being selfish.

But it hurt so much.

It swirled and built and tore him down again and again in a never ending spiral.

He couldn’t handle it.

He took one last wild glance around the room before bolting up the stairs.

[lifewithsehun]

Those Eyes I

Note: Ok.. I finally was able to get the Chapter up, hope you all like it!🙂

Characters: Exo, Y/N, Kang Mina

Pairing: Sehun & Y/N

Genre: Fluff (future angst & smut)

"Donde estas? Te dije que no tomaras!" (*Where are you? I told you to not drink!*), you whisper yelled into your phone. Whenever upset you'd speak to her in another language in hope that no one around you knew what you were saying, especially if you were yelling like a crazy person and right now Spanish was what came out. Your life long friend/secretary, Mina, was barely waking up, leaving her 30 minutes to get ready and arrive at a very important meeting with a client. You were an interior designer, who works for an international company and currently working in Korea with a very important company that was redesigning one of their buildings and designing some of their new apartments. Your secretary was supposed to be ready by now and accompanying you to get some coffee before the meeting, but she slept in. "OMG, I'll be ready in 10", she replied with panic. You grunted and hung up. As you were putting away your phone, you walked towards the cafe, but didn't make it far without accidentally bumping into someone's chest, which you assumed belonged to a guy because of how hard it was. You totally hadn't seen him standing there in the middle of the way, why was he blocking the way anyway?!. "I'm sorry", you heard him say in a deep voice. You looked up at him, but only saw his eyes, because he was wearing a face mask. He had nice eyes though and.. wait you've seen these eyes somewhere. You stared and tried to remember, but you heard him cough awkwardly taking you out of your thoughts. "Oh no.. it's my fault, I wasn't looking up, I'm sorry", you said. "It's fine, I was in the way and it seems like you're having a tough morning", he replied with an eye smile. It was cute the way his eyes turned into little moons. "I.. uh yeah.. wait how'd you know", you asked with wide eyes. "I kind of heard you talking, well, yelling on the phone as you were walking over here", he chuckled. "Oh", you replied as you looked somewhere else. "Don't worry, I dont know what you were saying though, what language was that?", he replied immediately. "Spanish", you replied with a small smile. "Oh that's ho.. cool", he responded. "Umm.. well I have to go..", you responded with a tight lipped smile. "Yeah.. me too… hopefully the rest of your day goes better", he replied. "Thanks, uhh…", you started, but realized you didn't even know his name. "Hun, you can call me Hun..", he said and reached to shake your hand. "Y/N", you replied as you shook his hand, wow it was big and soft. "Bye Hun", you said and walked away, while he waved goodbye to you.

You rushed into the cafe and thank God, there was no line, because now you had 20 minutes to get to the location of the meeting, which was luckily only a 5 minute drive away. You got yours and Mina's coffee and headed to the meeting arriving 8 minutes before the start. You were nervous and Mina still wasn't here. "My boss will be running a little late, he's really sorry", you heard Mr. Lee's secretary say as you sat in the conference room. "That's fine don't worry", you responded with a smile. 'It's actually perfect', you thought as you saw Mina rushing into the conference room. "Where's everyone", she said breathlessly. "Gone, you took too long", you said seriously. "What", she whisper yelled. You shrugged your shoulders and she let her head fall onto the table with a grunt. You tried not to laugh, but failed and she looked at you confused. "I'm kidding, they're running a little late", you laughed. "Evil, you evil thing", she pouted. The CEO walked in about ten minutes later and the meeting went smoothly. You felt a big weight lift of your shoulders when Mr. Lee said the design was perfect and that you could start next week. "My day is going well", you whispered as you got into your car with Mina. "What?", she asked with a frown. You shook your head and smiled as you remembered your interaction with Hun. Mina just shrugged and asked what you were both going to eat. "You're always hungry", you chuckled with a roll of your eyes. "I'm hungover", she replied with a pout. "Let's go eat", you said.

The week had passed by quickly and now you were currently standing in front of SM entertainment. You had heard a couple of things about this company and their artists, but you weren't that into them like Mina was. Maybe it's because she's Korean, but honestly right now you were surprised at how calm she looked, although deep down she's probably freaking out. You had decided it was best to work on the building first and one of the apartments and then move onto the rest of the apartments, which were a total of 7 and each idol had different ideas and preferences. You tried to keep their ideas incorporated with your ideas, so that they felt more comfortable in their new homes. Your team had already designed Minseok's apartment with a design that you created, but you hadn't been able to come personally at that time. You had seen pictures and he had emailed you about how happy he was with his new home thanks to you and your team. "Let's get started", you cheered to your crew and Mina. As you were working on the building, you encountered several of idols and wow, now you knew why Mina was so into them, they were beautiful/handsome. They would bow each time they saw you, and you felt kind of weird at first because you knew most were older than you and although you've traveled a lot, most people wouldn't mind you enough to greet you. "They're very respectful", you whispered to Mina as you bowed back. "Yes, they are and so cute", she whispered back. "I wonder where Exo is tho", she pouted. "That's Minseok's group right?.. the one with what's his name… oh um Lay in China and Kyungsoo, who's also enlisting in less than a month?", you questioned. "Yes", she replied with a fake sob. "Right in the wound?", you chuckled. "Yes… thanks a lot..", she pouted causing you to laugh until you saw her eyes freeze at something behind you. "What", you asked as you turned around. Exo was walking up to you both and you felt your self freeze like Mina. "Hello, I'm Kim Junmyeon", you heard one of them say as they all bowed lightly at you. "Hello, I'm Y/N L/N and this is Kang Mina", you replied as you both bowed back. Junmyeon pointed to the other 6 guys and introduced them as they each smiled at you. You smiled back to each of them, but froze once you made eye contact with one of the taller members. He was really handsome, but what caught your attention were his eyes.. they had a familiarity to them that you couldn't pinpoint. He locked eyes with you and you shifted your eyes back to Junmyeon nervously. 'Why am I nervous', you thought. 'What was his name.. Sehun?'.., you continued to think. "Umm well, we just wanted to introduce ourselves because you'll be working on our new homes, you'll actually be working on Kyungsoo's first", Junmyeon spoke up taking you out of your thoughts. You turned to look at a handsome man, with plump lips and big eyes, who apparently was Kyungsoo. You smiled at him and he smiled back as he said, "I look forward to working with you and your team". "Yes, we look forward to working with all of you", you replied with a grin.

They left and you heard Mina take a big breath. "Wow", she whispered. 'Wow indeed', you thought. You kept thinking about Sehun's eyes, they were so similar. They kind of reminded you of Hun's eyes. 'Could it be him and Hun is just short for Sehun? They are the same height and all, but Hun couldn't be Sehun could he? You were in Korea anyways, so there were many other tall Korean males around, it'd be too much of a coincidence. Why would he even talk to you in the first place anyways?', you thought. "Hmm", you hummed. "What", Mina asked. "No, nothing sorry, let's continue our work", you replied. You're team continued to remove all the old materials, hoping you'd get it all out within two days so the painters and flooring installers could start and then your team could continue redesigning with the new items/furniture as soon as possible. After a couple of hours of removing stuff from the bottom and top floors, you told your team that they could continue tomorrow with what was left. As you were barely going to leave, you saw Kyungsoo and Sehun walking towards Mina and you. "Hello again Miss L/N", Kyungsoo greeted with a small bow while Sehun just stared. "Hello Mr. Do, just Y/N is fine", you bowed back. 'Do I always have to bow', you thought and you heard Sehun chuckle. You turned to look at with a questioning look and he shrugged his shoulders while saying, "You don't look very comfortable with the bowing and don't call him Mr. Do, he hates it. Just call us by our first names". You nodded with a small smile. "They informed me that you wanted to look at the apartment tomorrow in person. I'll be available at noon, if you have time.", Kyungsoo spoke up. "Ah yes, that would be perfect Kyungsoo, I'll see you tomorrow at noon. Here's my business card, it has Mine and Mina's work numbers on it, just in case you need something", you responded. You heard someone clear their throat and you turned to Sehun, who was just looking at you and then your business card. "Sehun since I'll be working on your apartment too, you'll need my contact information. Can you actually give these to the rest.", you said as you handed him some extra cards. He frowned slightly, but took them anyways. "Well, we should get going and it seems like you were leaving also. I'll see you both tomorrow", Kyungsoo said and almost bowed but stopped himself and smiled instead. "Bye, I'll see you tomorrow", you smiled back. "Bye Y/N, I'll see you around", Sehun said. "Bye Sehun", you said and walked off with Mina, who was just staring the whole time. "You need to stop staring and talk", you whispered. "They make me nervous and Kyungsoo omg Kyungsoo kills me", she whispered back causing you to laugh out loud. You covered your mouth and turned to look hoping Kyungsoo and Sehun had left already, but they were still standing there. You looked at Sehun, who seemed to be staring at you and he winked at you. You turned away immediately and walked faster, pulling Mina with you. 'What was that… did he wink at me?!', you thought as you walked to your car.

The next day, you stopped by at SM to check up on the work before you headed to Kyungsoo's place and everything was going smoothly. "I can't believe I'm going to Kyungsoo's home", Mina squealed once you were on your way. Apparently Kyungsoo was her favorite and she had this platonic crush on him. "Don't make it obvious", you said with a roll of your eyes. "I can't even talk or breathe when I'm around him, do you think he has noticed?", she questioned with wide eyes. You chuckled and shrugged as you parked the car. Once you were in front of Kyungsoo's door you rang the door bell and you could hear Mina whispering, "Breathe, breathe, breathe..". You were about to tell her to stop when the door opened and you saw Sehun standing there with a smile. "Sehun?… Am I at the wrong place?", you questioned as you looked at the apartment number again. "No.. you're at the right place.. I'm just hanging with Kyungsoo hyung", he chuckled. "Come in", he added. Mina walked in with you following her and Sehun right behind you. You were about to ask where you should go as you saw that the hall split into two areas, but you felt Sehun's hand on your back guiding you as he told Mina to take the left side. His hand felt big and warm on your back, it was actually comforting. The three of you stepped into what was supposed to be the living room area and Sehun let go off you. You almost let out a whine at the loss of his touch, but you bit your tongue. 'What the hell is wrong with me, I don't even know him!', you thought. "Hyung, Mina and Y/N are here", Sehun called out and Kyungsoo came out of the what was probably the bedroom on the other side of the hall with some blankets in hand. He greeted you both and apologized about not having anywhere to sit yet and placed the blankets on the floor. You nodded and sat down. You showed him the plans of your ideas and asked what he thought. He liked most of your plan, with only a couple of changes here and there. He knew what he wanted and you were glad, because it made your job much easier. "Ok, so that's done, I have the appliances and furniture ready, now we just have to look into purchasing the paint for the walls and the extra items that you want. I have some places listed where I prefer to buy from", you said as you looked through your portfolio for the list. "Mina did you take out the list?", you asked when you couldn't find it. "Ah yes, I did, but it should be saved on the work laptop..", she replied. "I have my personal laptop..", you replied with a frown. "I have some in mind, but not the whole list for every item", you looked over at Kyungsoo. "I can go get it at the office", Mina spoke up. "Actually yes that would be best because we need to order them as soon as possible in order to finish everything on time", you replied. "I can take you..that way we can get some food on the way back..", Kyungsoo offered. "Ok.. thank you", Mina answered shyly.  They left, leaving Sehun and you alone. You sat there silently as you pretended to do something on your laptop to avoid his intense stare. You felt nervous about being alone with Sehun and he seemed to be enjoying it because when you looked at him, he simply smirked at you. You shifted your eyes back down, but he leaned in to close your laptop. You glared at him and he just laughed. "Why did you do that?", you asked. "I know you're not doing anything darling", he shrugged. "Darling?", you asked with an eyebrow raised. "Can I call you that?", he asked with a small smile. You laughed and rolled your eyes. "You don't even know me,", you responded. "But I want to know you..", he replied as he sat next to you. "We've only seen each other like what 3 times...and I need to use the restroom", you chuckled nervously. He made a bitch face at you, a literal bitch face and pointed to other side of the hall and said,"Second door to the right". You rushed to the restroom in a hurry and locked the door behind you. You didn't even need to use the restroom, but he was making you very nervous with those eyes and his handsome face all close to you. You washed your hands, but couldn't find any towel to dry them, so you walked out to ask for a napkin. As you were walking to the living room, you looked down to get your ringing phone out of your pocket and you bumped into someone's chest. "Again", you heard Sehun chuckle. "What?", you asked as you looked up. "You're distracted by your phone and crashing into me again", he chuckled. You frowned and then it clicked. You dried your hand on your pants and placed it in front of Sehun's face, so that only his eyes were visible.

"Omg… you're Hun?", you said with wide eyes.

"Yes I am", he replied with a smile.

[taekookieah]

Memories (3)

Chapter 3

 Riley felt antsy since she started work, not being able to sit still or properly concentrate which resulted in a few awkward moments when she had to ask her clients to repeat themselves when she was zoning out. Luckily it was Sunday which meant that she finished at noon but it felt like an eternity to Riley.

One more and then I can go.

Riley walks out to the waiting area but finds it empty. Danielle looks over at Riley and waves her over as she’s clutching the work phone to her ear. She quickly scribbles a note down and hands it over to Riley who slumps physically and looks genuinely upset.

“Ok Mrs. Cheah, we will see you tomorrow at 11am, bye bye” Danielle finishes chirpily, quickly finishing the call and leaning over to Riley.

“Why all the doom and gloom, I thought you would have liked a little break?”

“I have plans this afternoon and I don’t want to be late” Riley bites the inside of her cheek as she looks at the time. She knew that if her last client didn’t come in the next 10 minutes she would really be late.

“Oh my GOD, Riley why didn’t you tell me you have a date?!” Danielle leans over the counter with the biggest smile on her face.

“It’s not a date Danny” Riley denies but she can’t help the blush that forms on her cheeks.

“It. So. Is!” Danielle rushes around her desk and starts hassling Riley for more answers.

“Who is he? What’s his name? Where did you meet him?” Danielle prodded asking question after question as she followed Riley who tried her best to dodge her.

“I’m meeting a friend, sort of I think” Riley purses her lips as she doesn’t really know what to call what her and Jungkook have. Could she really call him a friend yet?

“I’m sure he is” Danielle gives Riley a wink but stops her assault as the door opens. The man walks through the door but stops when he sees the two standing in the middle of the room frozen as they look his way.

“Jesse Walker?” Riley asks as she steps away from Danielle straightening herself out. The man just nods as he takes a step inside, the door swinging closed.

“Welcome back, right this way please” Riley doesn’t wait and whips around quickly making her way down the hall and into her office. Danielle gives Jesse a shy smile and one that he reciprocates before he goes to follow Riley down the hall.

 --

   Jungkook looked down at his phone as he followed the directions through google maps. He wasn’t familiar with the suburban areas as most of his work was either in the city or out in the country side. Flicking his eyes up every few steps to make sure he didn’t bump into anyone he turned a corner to find a strip of café’s and restaurants. Mumbling to himself as he walked down the pathway reading the signs Jungkook laid his eyes on the entrance where he had agreed to meet Riley.

“Found you” Jungkook locks his phone as he steps inside and was greeted by a girl behind the counter.

“Good afternoon, are you dining in or taking away?” Jungkook walks over to the counter and reads her name tag as he pulls out his wallet.

“I’m meeting up with someone, can I just grab a bottle of water for now please?” He pulls out some money and hands it to the cashier.

“Still or sparkling?” she takes the money from Jungkook and taps at the screen in front of her.

“Still is fine” Jungkook smiles as he looks around the shop.

“Here you go, and your change sir” she hands over the bottle along with the money.

“Thanks Ellen” Jungkook smiles at her and walks over to a table that was in the corner by the window. Taking a seat he opens the bottle taking a sip before placing it down letting himself relax a little. The morning had been a little harsh since he woke up an hour ago, his headache still prominent but the Panadol he took was helping to ease the pain.  

“I gotta stop smoking weed” Jungkook mumbles to himself as he rubs his fingers over his temples. Jungkook sits back stretching his arms over his head his body feeling stiff and his neck cramping slightly. Jungkook hears the little bell tinkle as the door opens. He looks over to see Riley standing at the entrance waving at the barista and spots him in the corner.

Jungkook can’t help the breath that leaves his lungs as he watches Riley make her way over. She was wearing a dark blue and white stripped woollen jumper that was oversized for her frame and flowed in the breeze but it looked incredible on her. Jungkook couldn’t help but look down at her pants that were a simple pair of denim jeans but it hugged her strong thighs so well that Jungkook had to flick his eyes back up to Riley’s face or else he wouldn’t be able to stop staring.

“Sorry I kept you waiting, my last client was a little late” Riley says as she pulls out her purse from her bag.

“What would you like, I’m buying” Riley looks at Jungkook but he shakes his head as he goes to stand.

“It’s ok I can pay for myself” Jungkook tries but Riley pushes him back down not taking no for an answer.

“I invited you out it’s my treat. Plus, it’s a way to say thank you for last night and all” Riley stands her ground and normally Jungkook would protest but he couldn’t say no to her.

“I’ll have a long black” Jungkook says sitting back into his chair.

“Coming right up” Riley then heads to the counter ordering their drinks and comes back with a table number in hand.

“I hope you weren’t waiting too long” Riley takes her seat and slings her bag on the back of the chair.

“Just got here, I thought you didn’t have to work today?” Jungkook asks.

“My co-worker needs to take some time off and he usually takes clients Sunday mornings so I’m covering for him until he returns” Riley shrugs her shoulders as she plays with the silver necklace around her neck.

“So” Jungkook purses his lips suddenly feeling very self-conscious with everything he was doing. He fiddled with his fingers under the table not knowing what to say or do. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to be here, on the contrary, he wanted to spend as much time as possible with the girl sitting in front of him, but he didn’t really know what to say.

“I’m sorry about last night and the day we met, I haven’t really been myself around you and it’s not your fault” Riley blurts out. Jungkook’s taken aback as he watches Riley trying to sort through her choice of words as she nibbles on her bottom lip.

Jungkook just shakes his head as he leans his elbows on the table giving Riley his undivided attention. Riley opens her mouth but quickly closes it when the barista walks over with their drinks. She places the coffee in front of Jungkook and the pot of tea in front of Riley asking if they would like anything else. They politely decline as the lady takes the wooden plank with their table number on it telling them to ask if they would like anything else. Riley supresses her smile as she pours herself a cup of tea giving it time to cool down a little giving Jungkook the opportunity to take a sip of his coffee making him sighing at the taste of the bitter beverage he loved so much.

“I wanted to tell you why I’ve acted the way I have” Riley stares down at her tea not lifting her eyes.

“You don’t have to explain anything if you really don’t want to” Jungkook can tell that Riley is having a hard time trying to talk and he doesn’t want her to feel like she has to tell him anything. Riley just shakes her head as she looks up.

“I want to” Riley says looking back up.  

“I,” Riley sighs harshly trying to get herself to just tell Jungkook. “My last relationship ended because he cheated on me” Riley says deflating finally letting the words leave. She hadn’t said it in so long that it took a lot of courage to bring it up again.

Hearing those words leave Riley’s lips made Jungkook inhale sharply. How could someone do something so horrible to Riley? She was so kind, precious, and absolutely stunning that anyone would be a fool to do that to her. Jungkook’s insides twisted into loathing and anger knowing all too well how she was feeling and he hated seeing the pain so clear on her face.  

“It became a blessing in disguise, I never truly noticed how toxic the relationship was. He was kind to me but he was also very manipulative, always using me for his benefit and never really taking into consideration my feelings even though I tried to voice them.”

“He took so much from me and I blindly gave so much of myself to him but he never returned it and it took a toll on me. It made me realise how much I’ve let others use and abuse me through the years and I can see it happening again and again when people try to “befriend” me.” Riley takes a sip of her tea and gently places the cup down keeping her hands around the porcelain cup.

“It’s been a year since we broke up but every now and then I get these moments where a memory just hits me from something someone says or does and I freeze up. That’s why I ran after the art class the other day, and well why I froze last night from…you know” Riley circles her hand around not wanting to bring up last nights events.

“I’m so sorry” Jungkook looks down at his coffee upset that Riley had been hurt so badly that she couldn’t trust anyone around her.

“I’m sorry about the whole tequila thing, that was uncalled for” Jungkook covers his eyes with his hand scolding himself for his actions.

“Shit I’m so sorry” Jungkook then runs his hand through his hair tugging at the roots but seeing Riley with a gentle smile on her face made him stop.

“You really shouldn’t have to worry about something like that Jungkook” Riley says as she takes another sip finishing her cup before pouring herself another.

“But—” Jungkook opens his mouth but Riley shuts him down.

“I appreciate the fact that you’re worried and I thank you for looking out for me but you don’t need to walk on egg shells when you’re around me” Riley states.

“Look I’ve gone through these situations for a reason. Sure, they suck and hurt but I’ve learned from them and I’m trying to learn how to be somewhat normal again, so please stop looking like a kicked puppy” Riley leans over the table and pokes a finger in between Jungkook’s eyebrows drawing his attention to his facial expressions.

“Frowning doesn’t suit you” Riley sits back down genuinely smiling and Jungkook couldn’t help but mirror her.

“You’re one interesting person Riley” Jungkook says as he picks up his cup bringing it to his lips taking another sip, the aroma of the caffeine slowly picking up his energy levels.

“I’m just me” Riley shrugs as she takes another sip but jumps as she burns the tip of her tongue.

“Frickin…I keep doing that” Riley sticks her tongue out waving her hands at herself trying to cool it down but knowing it won’t really do anything to help. Jungkook chuckles at how cute Riley looks.

“Shut up” Riley frowns.

“So, miss Riley, what would you like to do?” Jungkook finishes off his drink and pushes the cup off to the side.

“I um didn’t think we were really going to do anything after this” Riley blinked in surprise as she thought that after their little chat they would go their separate ways.

“We came out all this way we may as well have some fun, common” Jungkook stands to his feet waving Riley to follow.

“Hey wait up!” Riley quickly downs the rest of her drink and grabs her bag as she rushes after him.

“Thank you!” Riley calls out as she leaves the café following Jungkook’s large strides.

“Slow down! Geez you’re as bad as Taehyung” Riley grabs the back of Jungkook’s shirt pulling him to slow down.

“Sorry, not used to walking with midgets” Jungkook teases and continues his fast pace.

“Wow now you’re just being mean” Riley scrunches her face plotting a way to get back at him.

“I remember you were talking about axe throwing last night” Jungkook looks over to Riley as he suddenly stops, pulling his keys out but Riley can’t see any cars around.

“I really want to try it and whaaaaaat are you doing?” Riley watches as Jungkook steps off the curb and grabs a helmet off a motorbike.

Oh hell no.

“Oh hell no!” Riley exclaims as Jungkook walks over with the helmet in his hands.

“It’s not that bad” Jungkook smiles as Riley dodges his attempt at trying to put the protective gear over her head.

“I’m not getting on that death machine” Riley stomps her foot as she crosses her arms making Jungkook internally coo at how adorable she was acting.

“I’m a safe driver and I won’t put you in any danger” Jungkook walks to Riley slowly whose resolve was dissolving.

“Here” Jungkook puts the helmet back onto the bike and starts pulling at his jacket’s sleeves letting it slide off his broad shoulders and swinging it around Riley.

“It’s padded” Jungkook slips Riley’s arms into the sleeves and pulls it tight around her.

“I feel ridiculous” Riley mumbles making Jungkook giggle.

“But you’re protected, that’s the important thing” Jungkook skips over to grab the helmet and try once more, this time Riley doesn’t move.

“Hold on it’s a bit of a tight squeeze” Jungkook pushes a little none to gently to get the helmet on Riley’s head. It was heavy and her hearing was muffled, her cheeks felt like they were being constantly squished.

“Ok?” Jungkook brings his thumbs up flipping them up and down to get Riley’s reply. She gives him a thumbs up making him smile widely.

“Good” Jungkook makes quick work of adjusting the strap under Riley’s chin securing it and taking a step back admiring his work.

“Alright let’s go” Jungkook walks over to his bike but Riley calls out.

“What about you?” Jungkook looks to see Riley pointing to her head signalling about his own safety.

“I’ve got an extra” Jungkook flips the seat of the motorbike up revealing a compartment where another helmet was stored. Riley watches as Jungkook lifts it over his head securing it tightly but what really catches her attention is the man’s now exposed arms that flex with every movement. Today he was wearing a white muscle shirt that showed off his sides revealing his tiny waste once more that Riley had completely forgotten about. His pants were a loose pair of black cargo pants and he was wearing black and white converse shoes.  

“You coming or what?” Jungkook raises a brow through his visor making Riley take a step forward slinging her bag over her shoulder and securing it as close to herself as possible.

“How do I?” Riley watches as Jungkook holds onto the handles and hooks a leg over the bike sitting comfortably in the seat.

“Just hop on” Jungkook offers a hand to which Riley hesitantly takes but tries to logically think about how she was going to climb onto this beast. Riley grunts as she gives herself a little hop as she swings her leg over with Jungkook pulling on her hand to help her up. Riley squealed as she sat upright, hands digging into Jungkook’s shoulders trying to create some space between them. Riley could see Jungkook’s body bounce as he laughed giving her leg a pat.

“Good job you made it to the summit, how does it feel being this high up?” Jungkook twists his torso around to give Riley a cheeky smile to which she just punches his back but winces at how solid it felt.

“You can either hold onto the rails on the back there,” Jungkook points to the two tiny metal bars that were sticking out the backside of the vehicle to which Riley deemed not a good idea. “Or you can wrap your arms around and hold on tight” Jungkook twists back as he kicks the bike to life, the roar of the engine making Riley jump and immediately wrapping her arms around Jungkook’s middle.

“I’ve got you” Jungkook says as he places a hand over Riley’s trembling hands but he knows she can’t hear him. Riley scoots herself as close as she possibly could to Jungkook too scared to care about personal space. Riley tensed as Jungkook kicks off taking his time to manoeuvre down the street letting Riley adjust to the feeling of being on a motorbike. Riley had her eyes closed shut but soon fluttered them open watching the scenery around her.

Jungkook pulls onto the street making sure to check that it was all clear and using his signals. He could feel Riley’s grip easing up a little but still clinging onto him tightly. They stop at a set of lights making Jungkook extend a leg out to keep them propped up. Jungkook looked over his shoulder to check in on Riley who just nodded her head showing that she was ok.

As the lights turn green Jungkook starts accelerating quickly bringing his leg back in place. He has years of experience driving his bike but the realization that he hasn’t had anyone else join him for a long time made him smile. He missed the feeling of something warm cling to him from behind, trusting him completely as he zoomed past traffic.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the freeway and Jungkook took his time when merging to join the moving vehicles. He knows that people are never fond of motorbikes whizzing between them so he decided to behave today since he was carrying precious cargo. It wasn’t long until they took the exit towards the city making their way through the busy streets. Luckily Jungkook had looked up the address of the establishment and he was very familiar with the streets of Perth so it didn’t take him long to find a parking spot outside the warehouse.

Jungkook parked the bike letting the engine rumble to a stop. His heart was beating fast but that’s why he loved driving his precious bike so much, the feeling was exhilarating. Jungkook went to check on Riley but she was already swinging her legs around and jumping off as her hands came up to unbuckle her helmet. Jungkook quickly swung his legs over and unbuckled his helmet easily and placing it on the bike to go help Riley. Jungkook steps closer and takes over Riley’s fumbling fingers as she didn’t know how it worked. Once it was loose Jungkook took a step back to let Riley take the helmet off herself expecting her to start kicking him and yelling but he got the complete opposite.

Jungkook was greeted with the biggest smile he’s ever seen on Riley’s face, her cheeks had a couple red marks from the helmet and her hair was a mess but she looked so happy as she jumped around flapping her arms.

“That was incredible! Oh my god my heart!” Riley bent over clutching her chest as she laughed breathlessly. Jungkook sighed in relief as he walked over and patted her on the back giving her time to catch her breath.

“I told you” Jungkook laughed alongside Riley who stood up tall letting her hands rest on her hips as she shook her head making her hair fall in front of her face.

“Common let’s go throw some axes!” Riley takes hold of Jungkook’s hand dragging him towards the door. Riley was clearly still high off the adrenaline rush as she pushed the door open her whole body completely buzzing.

“Ok ok calm down” Jungkook squeezes Riley’s hand that was intertwined with his own but she wasn’t listening.

The place was huge, there were rows of fenced off lanes with big wooden targets at the end. There were a few groups already in session, the sounds of the wood cracking as the axes landed made Riley jump up and down like a little child.

“Hey guys, you here to throw some axes?” a lady walks over holding a clipboard in one hand and waving the other.

“Yes!” Riley stands still as she watched the employee walk in front of them giving them both big smiles. She had tattoos covering her arms and neck and piercings that covered her ears, eyebrows and lip.

“Alright well first I’m going to need you guys to read through our forms and sign them at the bottom and then we’ll go through safety and rules” she hands over the clipboard and a pen to Riley and walks off. Riley takes her time reading the given paper, running her fingers over the printed words and reading them quietly to herself. Jungkook stands there watching her fingers barely poke out from the end of his leather jacket that almost swallowed her whole.

“God you’re adorable” Jungkook sighed out but looked away as soon as Riley looked his way.

“Did you say something?” Riley asks.

“Hmm what? No, I didn’t say anything” Jungkook plays dumb knowing he was never good at acting but Riley just shrugs her shoulder bringing her attention back to the form. Once Riley was finished signing her form she hands the clipboard over to Jungkook who flips to a new page underneath hers not bothering to read the terms and conditions as he scribbles his name down and signs below.

“I read them online” Jungkook states as he walks over to the counter chatting to the lady who greeted them earlier.

“Two please” Jungkook nods her way as she punches the numbers in taking the card offered to her.

“Wait let me pay for my myself” Riley complains but is stopped by Jungkook’s glare.

“You paid for coffee earlier, now it’s my turn to shout” Jungkook takes the card back and puts it back into his wallet.

“That’s hardly anything compared to this—” Jungkook hushes Riley’s complaints by pressing a finger to her lips.

“Nuhuh, I will hear no protests. Just enjoy yourself and have fun” Riley pushes Jungkook’s hand away and sighs heavily. She never liked it when people bought things for her, always feeling guilty and thinking that she didn’t deserve it but she knew it was pointless trying to convince Jungkook otherwise.

“Fine, but prepare yourself I’m going to whoop your ass” Riley takes off Jungkook’s jacket and shoves it into his stomach making him stumble from the force he did not expect from such a little body.

“Bring it on” Jungkook challenges as they follow the lady who walks around the counter and brings them to an opening that holds two targets.

“Alright before I go through the basics introductions are in order. My name is Rebecca and I’ll be helping you throughout your session. You’ll be here for an hour but I’ll let you guys stay longer if it stays quiet” Rebecca winks at them making Riley smile in appreciation.

“And who might you be missy?” Rebecca looks over to Riley first.

“Riley”

“Lovely, and you my good sir?”

“Jungkook”

“Excellent. Apologies if I misspell your names it’s never been a strong suit of mine” Rebecca types in their names into a little tablet and sets up a new game for them.

“Alright, you can come over and choose your icon” Rebecca stands off to the side and Jungkook rushes in first quickly flipping through the logos that were a mixture of Marvel and DC superheroes.

“Dibs on Ironman!” Jungkook calls out as he selects his icon that flashes above his name.

“Rookie mistake, should’ve gone for Thor” Riley taps Jungkook’s shoulder with the back of her hand as she chooses the Iron Hammer with the lightning bolt running through it.

“Thor ain’t got shit on Ironman” Jungkook says smugly.

“Oh yeah, what does Ironman have that our Australian icon Chris Hemsworth doesn’t?” Riley crosses her arms ready to defend her precious Thor with everything she’s got.

“Let’s see. Tony Stark is a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist to name a few” Jungkook lists off with his fingers giving Riley a wink.

“I know guys with none of that worth ten of you” Riley quotes back making Jungkook blink down at her.

“Did you just…”

“Let’s go sweetie we don’t have all day” Riley calls out as she follows Rebecca into the fighting ring ready to throw down.

“I think I love you” Jungkook says under his breath as he follows.

“Alright this is how it works so pay attention!” Rebecca walks over to the target pointing to the different parts of the target explaining the points system. Jungkook and Riley listen carefully watching as Rebecca pulls out one of the axes showing its grip and how to properly hold it. She shows different techniques on how to throw the axe and Riley takes mental notes wanting to make sure that she knows how to execute it properly without potentially injuring herself or anyone around her. Once Rebecca was done she walks out of the court and stands at the panel.

“We’ll have a practice round before we start the real game so go and get yourself an axe and start throwing” Jungkook walks over to where the axes were neatly stored. He picks one up with ease and walks over to his marker waiting for Riley to collect her own.

“Take is slow Jungkook, you don’t want to miss your target” Riley smack talks as she picks up her own axe surprised that it’s lighter than she expected but still held a good weight to it.

Jungkook watches as Riley makes it to her side and gets herself into position but was waiting for him to throw first. Jungkook smirks as he raises the axe with one arm above his shoulder and throws it with all his might, the axe landing a few centimetres away from the bullseye.

“I think I’m good” Jungkook looks over to Riley who gaped widely. Riley tightens her grip on her axe, shuffling her feet into a good position as she raised the axe over her head and tossed it at her target but it bounces off landing flat on the ground.

“Hah! I think you should be worrying about yourself more than me” Jungkook laughs as he walks over to his target and rips his weapon out with ease. Riley curses to herself as she jogs over to collect her own, mentally slapping herself for not landing it on the first go.

“Ladies first” Jungkook gestures to Riley who gives him a blank look before setting herself up once again.

“One foot in front of the other. One hand gripping the end of the axe, the other a fist above. Lift it above your head and—” Riley throws the axe but once again was met with it bouncing off the board and landing on the ground.

“Oh common I had it that time!” Riley looks in disbelief wondering how she was still struggling. Jungkook then raises his axe throwing it with frightening speed but lands higher than last time.

“Hey come here for a sec” Rebecca calls out from behind the wired fence and curls her finger to beckon Riley to her. Riley huffs as she walks over and leans her side against the fence.

“I don’t know what I’m going wrong” Riley looks over to Jungkook who had pulled his axe out. Riley was starting to hate how muscular Jungkook really was.

“Listen. He has strength on his side but he doesn’t have great technique. He’s relying on brute force to land his targets but it’s sloppy. You on the other hand have great technique, you just need to put more oomph into it. Try to get more spin on it too, you’ll hit the target and land it” Riley listened carefully nodding her head in understanding. Riley looks over to Jungkook who was standing ready in position, one hand holding his axe while the other was on his hip.

“You ready princess?” Jungkook teases but Riley ignores him as she walks over to collect her axe. She bends over to slowly pick her axe off the floor deliberately taking her time as she had seen the way Jungkook had looked at her when she walked into the café earlier. Turning around she caught him staring straight at her ass and she gave Jungkook a knowing look who just blinked owlishly as he swallowed unconsciously.

Riley made her way back to her mark letting Jungkook go first. He rolls his shoulders cockily and throws his axe with all his might, the loud crack reverberated around them but his aim was off making Jungkook curse. Riley readies herself just like she did before, getting herself into position and raises the axe above her head. She leans back slightly putting her weight more on her back leg and pushes off, a little yell escaping her lips as she lets go and watches the axe spin landing a clear bullseye. Riley cheers raising her arms above her head in triumph and pokes her tongue out to Jungkook who looks stunned. Riley walked over to her target and yanks her axe out, walking back and giving Jungkook a peace sign.

“The battle hasn’t started yet Kook” Riley says as she walks back getting ready to throw again. Jungkook grabs his own and moves back to his spot now starting to get riled up, his competitive nature slowly showing.

“Alright you love birds let’s move onto the real fight!” Rebecca calls out quickly tapping at her screen bringing up a new round. She doesn’t notice how the pair stutter about trying to explain that they aren’t an item but it falls on deaf ears.

“Yeah, yeah whatever you say. Jungkook you’re up first” Rebecca winks at Jungkook who’s flicking his eyes nervously at Riley but her gaze was looking down as she kicked at the ground.

“Let’s make a bet” Jungkook walks over to Riley who takes a step back as she wasn’t expecting Jungkook to suddenly crowd her.

“W-what did you have in mind” Riley is backed into the fence, her sweaty palms almost losing her grip on the axe.

“Loser has to be the winner’s slave for a day” Jungkook leans in close knowing full well that being this close makes Riley nervous with him but he doesn’t push any further not wanting to make her uncomfortable to the point where she will back down. Jungkook can see Riley mull it over in her head and locks eyes determined.

“Deal” Riley pushes herself off the fence making Jungkook back up with a big smirk on his face.

“Deal” Jungkook offers his hand which Riley takes giving each other a firm squeeze.

“Best of three?” Jungkook looks over to Rebecca who gives him a thumbs up.

“Ladies first” Riley gestures to Jungkook who rolls his eyes. Jungkook looks down to his target shifting on his feet from side to side. He raises his arm and throws sending the axe spinning and landing close to the middle.

“Aw almost there” Riley says as she lines herself up like she had and throws landing another perfect bullseye.

“Yes” Riley pumps her arm and skips over to her target where Jungkook furrows his eyebrows at Riley. Jungkook collects his axe and heads back and makes quick work of throwing his axe but his aim seems to be getting worse making him draw his lips into a thin line. Jungkook then watches Riley, eyes glued to the way he’s holding the grip and how she rocks onto her back leg before pushing off sending the axe towards her target with precision.

“Got it” Jungkook talks to himself as he pulls on his axe and gets back to start throwing again.

Jungkook licks his lips as he places one foot in front of the other and grips the axe the same way Riley was. He had listened to the lady’s instructions but had opted for the one handed grip however it was becoming increasingly obvious that it wasn’t as accurate. Raising the axe over his head Jungkook throws it hard but it bounces off the board landing on the ground with a clink. Riley takes this opportunity to throw hers landing on the board but just shy off scoring perfect.

Riley can see that Jungkook is changing his tactics and after a few more throws and misses on his end he was finally starting to score.

“Alright round one goes to the all might THOR!” Rebecca calls out letting them know that round one was over.

Riley whoops in glee making Jungkook smile even though he lost the first round. His pride may be a little wounded but what truly mattered was that Riley was having a good time.

“I gotta say I didn’t think it would be this physically taxing geez” Riley massages her shoulder already feeling the burn.

“Gotta get that pump” Jungkook flexes his arms making Riley laugh and covers her mouth to stop herself from snorting. Jungkook just giggles as he swaps sides with Riley getting ready for the next round.

“Nervous?” Riley walks past Jungkook already itching to start.

“Psh you wish” Jungkook calls back as he sets himself up.

“It’s time for Round Two! Players ready?” Rebecca calls out as she sets up the round.

“Ready!” Jungkook and Riley call out in unison.

“Riley you’re up” Rebecca calls out.

Riley jumps up and down on the spot shaking her free arm to get rid of any jitters. Riley starts off strong getting a clear 6 points while Jungkook scrapes with a measly 2-point start. Jungkook was starting to sweat as his heart was beating fast not wanting to lose. He had to win this round if he had a chance at winning this competition. As time passed on Jungkook’s accuracy improved dramatically almost hitting perfect shots with every throw. Riley groaned as she misses the target completely hitting high on the board.

“Round Two goes to Iroooonmaaaan!” Rebecca cups her mouth shouting out in excitement. There was now a little gathering forming around them making Riley look over nervously.

“You got this” Riley mutters to herself as she walks over to collect her axe but has a hard time reaching it as it was just out of reach. Riley tries jumping a few times to get it but falls short. Suddenly she feels Jungkook stand behind her reaching above her and gripping firmly on the handle.

“Careful, don’t want to hurt yourself” Jungkook whispers into Riley’s ear seductively in a low voice making her breath hitch. Jungkook pulls on the axe freeing it from the wood and offers it to Riley who takes it with both hands.

“Thanks” Riley mumbles but doesn’t turn. Jungkook hums in response and then he’s gone. Riley could still feel Jungkook pressed to her back but she shakes it off turning around to get ready. She quickly puts down her axe on the wrack and exits the ring to pull off her jumper as she was overheating. Her black top was sticking to her body from the sweat that was accumulating the longer they played but she honestly didn’t care, she was ready to fight to the end.

“Last round, winner takes all” Rebecca looks between Jungkook and Riley who were giving each other a stare down.

“Let’s go” Riley offers Jungkook her fist to which he bumps his knuckles against her own.

It was an intense game, axes were thrown, targets were hit and missed, the spectators genuinely invested in their competitive game. Some cheered when Jungkook landed a solid blow but everyone applauded louder when Riley scored.

“The score is tied, you’ve got one more shot left” Rebecca told them as they started panting, their energy slowly depleting from the taxing game.

Riley takes a long slow breath as she lines herself up, eyes looking down at the target and locking on. She leans back and throws with all her might, her axe landing front and centre. Riley yells out in triumph and so does everyone around her, all clapping and cheering. Riley looks over to Jungkook but stops as she watches him paying no attention to her, his full undivided attention looking down at his own target.

“Clutch!” Jungkook shouts as he throws his axe and it lands perfectly on the small green dot above the target. Everyone goes quiet as they look over to Rebecca who walks in to check that it had indeed landed on target. She inspects the board and turns around with a nod of her head.

“It’s a clutch!” She calls out. Jungkook jumps high in the air pumping his arms as he turns and everyone goes ballistic.

“Holy crap” Riley can only gape astonished that he had managed to pull that off. A clutch was risky, if you missed you were left with nothing but if you land it and yell out clutch it’s worth 10 points. Riley sighs knowing she was beaten. She walks over to Jungkook and offers her hand to which Jungkook looks down at her with a big smile.

“Good game Jungkook” Riley smiles up at him genuinely proud that he had won.

“Good game Riley. Hey about the bet don’t worry about it I was just messing with you” Jungkook shakes Riley’s hand gently.

“A deal is a deal, I will honour it” Riley places her hands on her hips. She was devastated that she had lost but she doesn’t back down from her word.

“This was the most fun I’ve had in a long time” Riley said as she wipes the sweat from her face which scrunched up seeing how much perspiration came off.

“That’s a bit sad that losing is your definition of fun” Jungkook jests earning a punch to the gut.

“Ass” Riley retorts as she makes her way out of the arena and grabs her things making her way over to the bar in desperate need of some water. Jungkook just chuckles as he follows Riley close behind as he snatches his own jacket.

“Water please I’m dying” Riley pleads to the bar tender as she flops down onto a chair letting her head flop onto the counter.

“Make that two” Jungkook lifts two fingers up and gentleman makes quick work of filling up two glasses with ice and water and slides them their way. Riley takes her glass and gulps it down as soon as it arrives asking for a refill.

“Someone’s thirsty” Jungkook sits down as he takes a few big sips himself enjoying the cooling feeling fill his body.

“Let me sulk in peace” Riley feigns pain and suffering by dramatically acting like she was upset by the loss.

“Really though thank you for this, I didn’t realise I needed it” Riley sits up and grabs her now filled glass taking a few more sips as she face Jungkook.

“Me too, this is a great stress reliever” Jungkook swings his chair around and rests an elbow on the counter as he swivels his chair left to right and takes a few more sips as he looks around the room. Riley can’t help but admire the ink on Jungkook’s arms, the urge to touch them were growing stronger by the second.

“I love you tattoos” Riley blurts out making Jungkook whip his head back to Riley who was staring at his arms, the look of adoration clear on her features.

“Oh um thanks, people aren’t usually fond of them” Jungkook rubs a hand over his arm suddenly feeling a little self-conscious.

“Really?” Riley looks up at Jungkook quizzically making him nod his head.

“’You know they’re permanent right?’ ‘Such a shame you have such pretty skin’ ‘You look like a thug’ ‘Tattoos aren’t attractive’ is what I usually get” Jungkook uses a high-pitched voice which he assumes are old ladies telling him off.

“I’m never ashamed of the decisions I made, these are symbols of my life and one’s that I cherish” Jungkook looks over the art that covers his skin with a gentle smile.

“Have you ever thought of getting one yourself?” Jungkook looks up at Riley who continues to look at Jungkook’s arm.

“I’ve thought about it but I’m still not entirely sure what I would get, but I’m not completely shutting the idea down” Riley places her glass down and then pats her neck but freezes.

“What’s wrong?” Jungkook picks up on Riley’s sudden change and jumps up when Riley starts patting down her body frantically looking around.

“My necklace, it’s gone!” Riley looks visibly distraught, eyes flicking around to see where it had dropped.

“I’ll look over here” Jungkook walks over to Rebecca who greets him with a bright smile but it faulters when she sees his expression.

“What’s wrong?” Rebecca asks and looks around Jungkook to see Riley crouching down to the floor.

“She lost her necklace, do you mind?” Jungkook gestures to the area where they had just played a game.

“Of course of course” Rebecca rushes to open the fence letting Jungkook in.

Jungkook looks thoroughly trying to find the silver chain he vaguely remembers. After a few minutes he finds something shining in the light and bends down to find the necklace.

“Got it!” Jungkook calls out as he picks up the delicate jewellery and brings it up to his face to inspect it closely. It was a pair of feathers that clinked together with every small movement, the little details were impressive.

“Thank god!” Riley runs over to Jungkook almost tripping on her way over.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I lost it” Riley visibly relaxes seeing her precious necklace safe and sound. Jungkook goes to hand it over but decided to walk behind Riley and clips it around her neck.

“There” Jungkook secures it safely and walks back around to admire it.

“It’s beautiful” Jungkook says as Riley touches it taking a big breath.

“My mother gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago, I wear it almost every day” Riley says as she looks down to the floor trying not to start crying.

“It must be very special then” Jungkook places a hand over his left shoulder, his fingers gently pressing over the roman numerals.

“It is” Riley sniffles and rubs her thumb under her nose. Jungkook wanted to give her a hug but wasn’t sure if they were at that stage yet with their friendship. The realisation that Jungkook could safely say that he and Riley were friends was nice, it made him feeling warm and content. Quickly checking the time and seeing it was later in the afternoon than he had expected Jungkook’s mind panicked, he didn’t want this to finish.

“Do you want to grab something to eat?” Jungkook blurts out suddenly. Riley just giggles as she grabs her belongings and heads for the door.

“Thought you’d never ask” Jungkook smiles as he follows after Riley quickly stepping outside and making his way over to his bike.

“Where would you like to go?” Jungkook asks as he hands over his jacket. Riley takes the item of clothing and puts it on as she hums.

“I know this is sort of stereotypical for you but I’m really craving Korean barbeque” Riley takes the helmet that’s given to her and fixes it faster as she knows what she’s doing this time.

“I’m always down for samgyeopsal” Jungkook throws on his own helmet before jumping on his bike and helping Riley onto the back. She doesn’t hesitate this time to scoot close to Jungkook and wraps her arms around him snuggling in.

“Let’s goooooo” Riley’s muffled voice calls out and Jungkook complies, starting the engine and kicking off. There was a place that was famous for its meats that Jungkook had always wanted to try so he makes his way through the streets trying to remember where he had seen it. Luck seemed to be on their side as Jungkook spots the establishment down the street. He made quick work of finding a free spot to park his bike letting Riley hop off before him.

After turning off the bike and arguing for longer than necessary over who would pay for the parking ticket Riley won saying that Jungkook was driving so it was a way to cover for some of the fuel to which Jungkook rolls his eyes. He was more than fine to pay but he told himself that no matter what he would pay for their meal.

The pair make their way up a flight of stairs that looked a little dodgy at first but coming to the second story they came across a clean and well decorated restaurant that was already buzzing with life. Riley felt a little out of her comfort zone as she looked around and noticed that there were no Caucasians in sight besides herself. Just as Jungkook was going to ask for a table for two a buff looking fellow marched his way over waving at them.

“Jungkook! My good man what are you doing here?” the gentleman brings Jungkook in for a bone crushing hug making Riley cringing at the cracks she could hear from Jungkook’s back popping due to the sheer force of the hug.

“Hey uncle, long time no see” Jungkook wheezes out as he’s put back down.

“I’ll say! I’ve been meaning to call you for some work if you’re interested. Ah where are my manners I shouldn’t be talking about business when you’re clearly here to eat. Oh, and who might this lovely lady be?” the man looks over to Riley who had been silent the entire time.

“Jun this is Riley, Riley Jun” Jungkook steps aside letting Riley say hello.

“My apologies I don’t know if I should call you uncle or not” Riley offers her hand and bows as the man takes it and reciprocates.

“Jun is fine my dear. Come come I’ve got a table just special for you two, follow me” Jun waves them over as he weaves his way through the throng of people and brings them to a table where there seems to be a generous amount of space away the other tables that all seem to be squished together in the small space.

“Sit sit, someone will come over and take care of you guys, I should really get back to work” just as he finishes talking someone calls out his name and he yells back letting them know he’s on his way. He quickly whispers something to Jungkook who opens his mouth to protest but Jun leaves before he could say a word.

“What did he say?” Riley asks as she gives Jungkook back his jacket and takes a seat, trying her best to avoid the beady eyes looking their way.

“He said everything’s on the house” Jungkook shakes his head as he sits down looking around to find many prying eyes looking at his arms. He quickly puts his jacket back on despite it being quite warm inside. Jungkook can see the worried look Riley gives him but he shakes his head.

“It’s better to do this rather than start an argument, I’m used to it so don’t worry” Jungkook says but that doesn’t help Riley feel guilty.

“That’s unfair” Riley looks over to the people who are still staring at them and watches as they flinch their eyes away. Riley huffs as she pulls her jumper over her head and gently folds it in her lap.

“Aw are you worried for me?” Jungkook coos as he teases Riley but she doesn’t bite back with a snarky remark like she usually does. She gives him a serious look when she speaks.

“Yes” Jungkook blinks back in surprise at the simple answer.  

“Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting that answer from you” Jungkook looks away as he rubs the back of his neck.

“Umm Jungkook? I can’t read the menu” Riley looks down face scrunched up adorably as she tries reading the hangul but failing miserably.

“Well lucky for you I can be your personal translator” Jungkook beams as he picks up the menu and quickly reads through it. There wasn’t much to choose from but they were more of a specialty restaurant than offering multiple options and Jungkook appreciates that knowing whatever they order will taste amazing.

“What do you like?” Jungkook asks.

“Anything meat and I’m a happy girl” Riley pats her tummy as it rumbles hungrily.

“I’m not a big seafood person so probably avoid that, oh I’m lactose intolerant so I can’t have dairy” Jungkook gasps upon hearing this news.

“You poor soul how do you live?” Jungkook fake cries for Riley who just laughs.

“It’s not that bad”

“But cheese is the essence of life!” Jungkook retorts.

“Unless you want me to possibly vomit and smell like farts I think the safest bet is avoiding it at all costs” Riley pouts her lips to which Jungkook pretends to gag.

“Ok you got me there” Jungkook calls out to the waiter in passing who rushes over pulling out a pen and paper. Jungkook quickly talks in Korean and Riley realizes this is the first time she’s heard the man speak in his mother’s tongue. She’s heard Jimin and Taehyung talk to each other in Korean, their tone of voice sounding different compared to when they speak in English and the same goes for Jungkook. His voice was lower and had more power behind it and Riley realized she didn’t want him to stop. The waiter repeated the order and Jungkook nodded his head along with the list of dishes being ticked off. Jungkook thanked the waiter and brought his attention back to Riley who was still watching him in delight.

“What?”

“I like listening to you talk Korean” Riley blurted out.

“I mean, I just like seeing this side of you, is all” Riley mumbled to herself wishing she had kept her mouth shut. Jungkook leans over trying to catch Riley’s eyes but she kept avoiding him.

“I can teach you if you want?” Jungkook says making Riley perk up.

“You would?” Riley seemed genuinely interested to which Jungkook nodded his head eagerly.

“Jimin and Taehyung tried teaching me but they would constantly argue over who was a better teacher, it didn’t work… I would love to learn from you but only if you have the time”

I’ll give you all the time I have.

Jungkook’s mind races at the thought of teaching Riley but his mind stops as food is being brought to their table. A waitress comes over holding a basket of coal with tongs warning them that it’s hot as she places it in the middle of the table setting the plate on top where they can cook their food. A platter of freshly cut meat is set to the side along with different kinds of leaves and side dishes. A bowl of stew is placed to their other side that’s still bubbling hot alongside a tray of assorted savoury pancakes.

“Jesus Jungkook how much did you order?” Riley gapes at the food but politely thanks the staff for their service.

“What’s wrong with this?” Jungkook goes to pick up the tongs but stops.

“Um this might be an odd question but how old are you?” Jungkook feels stupid for not knowing. He knows that it’s unusual to ask such a question to Riley but she doesn’t seem offended.

“I’m 24, and you?” Riley asks.

“22” Jungkook smiles as he then grabs the utensils quickly checking the temperature of the plate before picking up a piece of meat and placing it on, the sizzling sound is like music to their ears.

“Here” Riley cuts off a piece of the Kimchi Jeon and offers it to Jungkook who shakes his head.

“You’re older, you get to eat first” Jungkook says but Riley doesn’t give up.

“And you’re a growing boy, eat up!” Riley presses the tender piece of pancake to Jungkook’s lips and he can’t help but open his mouth enjoying the taste as he chews.  

“Oh man that’s so good” Jungkook hums as he closes his eyes and swallows.

“I’m a bit overwhelmed by choice, where do I start?” Riley wiggles in her chair as she looks around the plethora of food.

“Try the jjigae, I’ve heard it’s one of their specialties” Jungkook looks over to the soup, his mouth drooling at the sight. Riley picks up her spoon and dips it into the pot and brings it up to her lips. She blows on it a few times making sure not to burn herself and takes a sip physically sinking further into her seat.

“I never thought food could taste this good” Riley almost cries as she goes in for another spoonful.

“Let me try” Jungkook grabs his own spoon and scoops up a generous amount of the broth along with some tofu and kimchi and gently blowing on it before slurping it down. Jungkook just moans as he puts his cutlery down shocked at how delicious it was.

“I think I’m going to cry” Jungkook slides a hand over his face as he tries to compose himself.

“Told you!” Riley tears off a piece of the pancake that she had fed Jungkook earlier and has a taste herself to which she hums happily.

“I think I can die happy now” Riley does a little dance with all the delicious food she was tasting.

“You haven’t even had the meat yet” Jungkook gasps as he turns the meat over and grabs the scissors to start cutting it into bite size pieces.

“You got me there. Fine I’ll stay alive for the meat”

The evening continues as the pair eat everything given to them. Jungkook takes care to not overcook the meat and Riley continues to spoon feed Jungkook so he doesn’t miss out on anything. Jungkook points to the food laid out and tells Riley the Korean names for them to which she repeats back almost perfectly, tongue tripping on a few of the harder pronunciations. Jungkook then teaches Riley how to make the perfect wrap giving her the inside tricks and secrets of making the perfect bite. Riley watches closely and follows Jungkook’s instructions making sure to treat hers with care not wanting to destroy it.

“Alright now you just one shot it” Jungkook says and then proceeds to shove his entire wrap into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out from how much he had managed to pack in it. Riley looks down at her own wrap and hesitates.

“I don’t think it’ll fit” Riley says making Jungkook choke a little.

“Oh shut up, you’re just as bad as Taehyung and Jimin” Riley blushes but brings her attention back to her wrap.

“Sorry” Jungkook covers his mouth trying not to gross Riley out but he just laughs again when Riley shoots him a look. Riley takes a big breath and then shoves the wrap into her mouth but struggles with the last bit. She pushes the rest into her mouth and quickly covers her mouth as she tried not to dribble everywhere.

“Mmftommch” Riley tries to mumble out as she chews her food but hums in contempt at the taste enjoying the mixture of texture and flavours.

“Good?” Jungkook swallows wiping his mouth as he watches Riley nod her head happily.

Jungkook and Riley continue their meal, completely oblivious to the two pair of eyes watching them from the corner of the restaurant. Taehyung and Jimin watch in awe as they witness Jungkook and Riley making easy conversation with another, even seeing them feed each other food was enough to make Jimin’s heart squeeze.

“Ok that’s official, I ship them so hard” Jimin puts down his chopsticks as he chews on his meat, eyes still locked onto the pair.

“I shipped them day one, get with the program” Taehyung looks over his shoulder to watch them but turns his eyes back to Jimin.

Since Taehyung knew Riley was going to spend time with Jungkook today he wanted to take Jimin out just so they could spend some time together, just the two of them, but luck seemed to be on their side when they say Jungkook walk in with Riley.

“Didn’t think we’d get the chance to spy on them, I just hope they don’t see us” Taehyung wiggles his eyebrows at Jimin.

“We get a meal and a free show, kinda wish I had some popcorn” Jimin giggles as he makes a wrap but gestures for Taehyung to have it.

“Open up” Jimin says as he watches Taehyung settle his eyes on him. Taehyung opens his mouth wide letting Jimin slowly feed him, not once did he blink as he closes his mouth almost biting Jimin’s tiny fingers but pulls away in time.

“This is nice,” Jimin says as he rests his chin on his hands. “We don’t do this enough”  

“Well since our little Riley is growing up maybe we should go out more often” Taehyung swallows licking his lips.

“We should,” Jimin agrees. “You’ve got a little something on your face” Jimin points to the corner of Taehyung’s lips and he tries to lick it away but Jimin just rolls his eyes and leans over the table to gently wipe away the sauce. Taehyung stays still as he watches Jimin suck it off his thumb and hums making Taehyung silently groan at the lewd thoughts invading his mind.

“You ok?” Jimin tilts his head at Taehyung who jumps and starts shoving food into his mouth avoiding all eye contact. Jimin eyes him suspicious but leaves the boy be too hungry to pry any further.

Jimin then sees Jungkook stand up and help Riley to her feet. Jimin quickly taps Taehyung on the shoulder and nod his head their way not wanting to draw attention to themselves. Taehyung looks over and watching the pair leave noticing how close they were walking with the other.

 Jungkook holds the door open for Riley who thanks him as she makes her way down the stairs. They walk into the open-air noticing that the sun is just starting to dip in the horizon showering them in the evening glow before night starts to take over.

“I better take you back, wouldn’t want the hyung’s to yell at me for keeping you out so late” Jungkook throws his jacket at Riley but she doesn’t put it on straight away stopping in her tracks.

Do we really have to leave?

Jungkook notices Riley’s hesitance and walks back to her placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, is everything ok?” Jungkook look into Riley’s eyes who looks back.

“You should wear this, it’s getting cold” Riley tries to give Jungkook his jacket back but he refuses.

“I’ll be fine” Riley tries again but Jungkook pushes it back.

“Jungkook…” Riley tries but Jungkook takes the jacket and wraps it around her not taking no for an answer.

“The faster you put this on the faster you can give it back” Jungkook offers to which Riley scrunches her nose not liking the idea that Jungkook was cold already seeing the goose bumps forming on his skin.

“I still don’t agree with this” Riley says reluctantly as Jungkook hands her helmet over.  

They do their little routine, Jungkook putting on his helmet securing it tightly, Riley climbing on behind and wrapping her arms safely around Jungkook and then they take off. The streets were starting to bubble with life, nightclubs and bars already forming lines despite it being a Sunday evening. Riley watched on silently as they made their way back to where they had met seeing the familiar streets and shops as they pull up to where Riley had parked her car. Jungkook turns off the motor giving Riley time to get off but she takes her time as she swings her leg over and hops down onto the ground safely.

I don’t want to go.

Riley takes off her helmet and looks over to Jungkook who was taking off his own, shaking his hair out and brushing his fingers through his dark strands. Riley steps forward and opens her mouth but nothing comes out not sure what to say. Jungkook was in the same predicament not wanting to leave, he wanted to spend more time with her but he knew they should part ways for the day.

“Thank you for today, I had a great time” Riley hands the helmet to Jungkook who takes it into his hands letting his thumb brush over the shiny gear.

“Likewise,” Jungkook smiles sadly as he puts down the helmet and gets off the bike.

“Oh here” Riley takes Jungkook’s jacket off and hands it back a little sad that she wasn’t going to be wearing it again.

“Thanks” Jungkook puts the jacket on grateful for the warmth it provided but now with Riley’s added scent of her vanilla perfume filled his senses making him purr deep in his throat. They stayed there for a while not knowing what to do next.  

“I just—”

“You—”

They look at each other and laugh nervously.

“You go” Riley lets Jungkook talk as she brings her hands behind her back trying her best not to show her nerves.

“I just wanted to say that…despite everything you’ve gone through you’re an incredible person and I admire how strong you are. I’ll try my best not to make you feel uncomfortable around me or have to second guess my intentions because I’m not here to hurt you” Jungkook speaks slowly choosing his words carefully. He doesn’t want it to seem like he’s confessing his undying love to her, but he wants to make sure his message is clear.

“For the first time,” Riley takes a step closer taking Jungkook’s hand into her own. “in a long time,” she looks up at Jungkook with a gentle smile. “Not once did I second guess you. I had so much fun and I can see that you are treating me the way you have because you like me for me and not because you want something out of this” Riley shakes Jungkook by the wrist her eyes starting to water up.

“It means more than you know” Riley curses as she lets go of Jungkook and takes a step back having to turn her back as she wipes her tears away.

“Sorry, I’m an emotional mess” Riley laughs lightly as she looks back to Jungkook.

“I’m sorry if I did something—” Jungkook took a step back but Riley stepped forward.

“No, no, it’s not you really I’m just a little over the place, I’m not used to being treated this way from someone I just met” Riley huffs.

“That’s a bit sad” Jungkook admits making Riley laugh.

“Well I’m happy to say that you’re officially my first new friend, congratulations” Riley beams up at Jungkook.

“Wow I’m so honoured, thank you for this opportunity. I would like to thank my sponsors for getting me here” Jungkook starts an award-winning speech making Riley slap his arm.

“You’re such a goof” Riley stops suddenly giving Jungkook a serious look.

“Can I give you something?” Riley asks shyly making Jungkook stand up seriously.

“Sure” Jungkook waits patiently as he watches Riley look around seeing that no one was around before reaching up onto her tippy toes and wrapping her arms around his neck bringing him in for a tight hug. Jungkook stands still in surprise, his arms hovering in mid air as his mind goes blank but eventually he mentally kicks himself and gently wraps his arms around her lower back reciprocating the hug. They stand there for a while, slightly swinging from side to side as they enjoy each other’s embrace. Riley was the first to move as she slowly loosened her grip lowering herself back down. Jungkook whines but complies already missing the feeling of Riley held against him.

“I’ll see you later yeah?” Riley takes a step back and then another before turning around and making her way to her car.

“Don’t forget you owe me one day as being my slave” Jungkook calls out making Riley groan.

“I’m going to regret agreeing to that aren’t I?” Riley teases as she unlocks her car.

“I’ll be nice I promise” Jungkook says as he watches Riley open the car door.

“I’ll hold you to that!” Riley points at Jungkook before waving her tiny hand as she steps into her car, starting up the engine turning on her lights and pulling out of the parking lot leaving Jungkook behind.

Once Riley was out of sight and no one else was around Jungkook jumped in the air, skipping down the pathway and twirling around on a ticket pole. He had never felt so light and happy in years and he wanted to make their next meeting even better. Jungkook quickly made his way back to his bike wanting to get home as soon as possible. He zoomed down the streets making his way back into the heart of the city where he pulled up into the parking lot of an apartment complex.

Jungkook locked up his bike and made his way inside with a skip in his step deciding to take the stairs. He took the steps two at a time feeling as light as a feather, the memory of the hug they shared still fresh in his mind.

“You’re acting like a teenager Jungkook calm down” Jungkook talks to himself as he pushes the door to his floor open making his way down the hall and turning the corner but his smile falls as soon as he seems a familiar figure standing outside his door.

“Jenny?” Jungkook furrows his brows sharply as he sees the girl turn seeing Jungkook walking towards her.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jungkook whispers angrily.

“Am I not allowed to see my boyfriend?” Jenny flutters her eyelashes as she twirls her dark curls around her finger.

“I told you we’re not together anymore, how many times do I have to repeat myself?” Jungkook can feel his anger rising, his fingers curling into fists trying his best not to punch her right then and there.

“Please we know you’re still in love with me” Jenny flips her hair as she steps closer, running her fingers up his chest but Jungkook grabs them before she could continue.

“I told you I never wanted to see you again” Jungkook’s voice was louder than he wanted making him look around hoping that his neighbours couldn’t hear them.

“And I left you alone for 2 years, don’t you think that’s long enough?” Jenny pouts her plush lips as she pushes her body into Jungkook’s. Jungkook pushes her off far enough to pull out his keys and open his door, dragging Jenny in behind him and slamming the door shut.

“You were the one who cheated on me” Jungkook walks past her not wanting to look her. Jenny sighs heavily as she follows Jungkook further into the apartment.

“Thought you would have been over that by now” Jenny’s tuts when she sees how empty the place looked, her belongings long gone.

“You got rid of our stuff” Jenny stands in the hallway watching as her ex-partner busies himself by cleaning up the place.

“What are you doing here Jenny?” Jungkook throws his jacket onto the couch angrily.  

“I told you, I wanted to see you” Jenny walks over to Jungkook seductively who just stands there shaking his head and looks away.

“I want you back baby” Jenny whispers into his ear as she gently brushes her fingers down Jungkook’s neck and smiling triumphantly to herself as Jungkook shivers at her touch.

“Why did you have to come back?” Jungkook closes his eyes letting his head hang low as his shoulders trembled.

“Because I love you” Jenny continues to run her hands down the familiar path towards his crotch but was stopped by Jungkook’s larger hands grabbing her and shoving her back against the wall to stop her from continuing. Jenny laughs happily as she enjoys the feeling of Jungkook handling her around like he used to.

“Mmmm harder” Jenny teases making Jungkook shout.

“Shut up!”

For the first time she stills, genuinely scared by Jungkook’s booming voice. She had expected Jungkook to crumble to her advances like he did when they were together but this was different.

“You still have them, thought you said you were going to get them removed” Jenny looks at the butterflies on Jungkook’s inner bicep, the same ones she watched being inked into his skin all those years ago, all for her.

“I never want to forget” Jungkook rests his forehead on the wall by her head, grip still strong on her wrists.

“I never want to forget what you did, how you hurt me, and how I will never let you manipulate me. You will never have me back Jenny. You have to let go.” Jungkook lets Jenny’s wrists lose as he takes a step back looking deep into her eyes.

“Leave” Jungkook says looking so tired.

Jenny doesn’t say anything as she slips away from Jungkook wanting to try but the way Jungkook looked at her made her stop. She nodded her head as she made her way out but convinced herself that she would try another day. Jungkook watched as his ex closed the door behind her leaving him alone. Jungkook couldn’t help the sob that left him as he turned and leaned against the wall sliding down to the floor. Jungkook brought his knees up to his chest and rested his face on them as he wrapped his arms around his knees letting his hands tug fiercely at his roots.  

 Author’s Note:  I know this gif below is Christian Yu and not Jungkook but this is how I imagine Jungkook looks in my head so enjoy anyway 

[the-resident-imagines]

Jealousy

Summary: Another anonymous Resident requested this ages ago, and I didn’t realize that it was finished until this afternoon, oops. 

Can you do one where Conrad is in a friends with benefits relationship with the reader and he gets jealous? 

Pairings: (Relationships - Conradx(y/n)) (Friendships - Nic/(y/n))

Warnings: Nothing really besides some suggestive language suggesting some adult stuff. :D

Word Count: 1037

A/N: Hey, so if y’all are still around, thats fucking awesome. I’ve been going through quite a few changes in my personal life, and it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. I also received quite a bit of hate back in December, so I decided to scale back all of my writing (because even if the stuff said wasn’t true, that shit still hurts to hear.) But I do have two and a half imagines done, which I will be posting within the next day or so, so enjoy, and who knows, maybe I’ll eventually be able to do these properly. 

(buy me a coffee following this link. If you’d like to support me via a follow, follow this link!)

"Hey (y/n), how was that concert last night?" Conrad's voice rang throughout your small apartment, as you rolled over and back into cocoon of blankets. He was perky, and obviously had one too many of those damn energy drinks. You close your eyes, trying to ignore the headache that could have been from the drinking from the night before or the music that's still ringing in your ears.

"Ugh, god Conrad, what time is it?" You murmur, your brain begging you for more sleep.

A light chuckle fills the space, and you can't help but smile at the sound. Conrad's been your best friend for some time now, you met in med school and been pretty inseparable since. You've been spending nights relieving stress together for almost as long. After years of sleeping together though, and only ever remaining as friends, you've begun to become frustrated with him. So last night, for the first time in years, you spent the night with another man.

Or at least, you spent the concert with him. He was an ass, and you quickly ditched him once the concert was over. The large crowd easy for losing anybody in. But she realized, on the bus ride home last night, that she only had gone out with him to try and make Conrad jealous. To try and spur him to want and desire something more from yourself. "Its, uh, noon."

"Noon? Seriously?" You groaned rolling from you cacoon again to snatch your phone from your nightstand. You have to get ready. Your phone lights up as another face pops up in the user ID. "Crap, I gotta go, someone else is calling me."

"Oh is it Nic, she has a question for you." Conrad replies, still sounding chirpy.

"No, it's the guy I went to the concert with last night." You reply, irritated that the moron didn't get the message last night.

"Wait, is he a friend of yours or-" He sounds confused. Good.

"I'll talk to you later Conrad," You sat up in your bed. "Ok google, hang up!"

Conrad's response was cut off as your home automation system hung up on the call.

You don't bother answering the other guy, Thomas's call. Instead you shoot him a text telling him exactly what you thought of him before getting ready for your shift.

You arrive at the hospital, and don't run into Conrad for a couple of hours, which is odd. When you finally see him-and he sees you-he takes off in the other direction before you can even wave. Eventually you find Nic, once things in Peds has calmed down. "What the hell is Conrad's problem?"

Nic shrugs sympathetically. "I don't know, he was fine this morning, and then around noon he started acting like an ass. He's even managed to yell at Bell three times today. Which is a record."

"Oh yikes, he completely ignored me earlier." You complain, leaning against the nurses desk as Nic rounds it to join you.

"Lucky you, he's been incredibly short tempered with me today." Nic crosses her arms in front of her chest as you thought about your earlier conversation, and how upset Conrad seemed to feel about the idea of you seeing other guys. "Jessica even told him he needed to go take a walk. He was shocked enough to actually do it." Nic recounted. "Any ideas what its about?"

You purse your lips and look over to meet Nic's questioning gaze. "Yea, I think I have an idea. I'm gonna go find him."

Nic knows, she has to, based off the way her eyes widen and she opens her mouth to speak, before closing it and shrugging her shoulders.

"Thanks for the encouragement. I'll see you in a bit."

"I hope it goes well." Nic responds casually as you and her split up and head in opposite directions.

"Me too." You mutter to yourself as you begin your journey to find the mythical Conrad.

You find him, right where you had left Nic earlier, about an hour later. He doesn't see you coming until it's too late and you already have an arm around his shoulders. You feel him tense beneath your arm and you pull him close.

"Hey buddy, how's it going?"

"Fine." Not only is his response short, but so is his tone.

“Whats up, why are you mad?” You ask, tired of not just talking through any problems between the two of them.

“Listen, it’s nothing. Why don’t you go call your new boyfriend-”

“That's what this is about?” You knew exactly what this is about, but hearing him say it, hearing the jealousy, and seeing it in person made your heart race.

“Yes, (y/n), that's what this is about.” He places his clenched fists on the counter as he looks everywhere but at you, his jaw clenched. You dropped your arm from his shoulder then rested a hand on his fist. Once again, you felt him tense beneath you, so you drop your head against his shoulder.

“Why don’t you and I go talk?” It's silent for a moment, before he looks down at your smiling face. His face switches from anger to confusion.

“What?”

“Conrad, you’re the one I want to be with. The only one I want to be with. If you’ll let me.”

He pulls you into a nearby, empty patients room so quickly that your heads spinning. He slams your back up against the wall before he cups your face and plants a strong kiss against your lips and your knees are weak as he lets his hands begin to linger downwards. He’s panting as he pulls away and your hearts hammering in your chest as your own chest heaves. “Hey (y/n), would you like to go on a date with me, tonight?”

You lean in and steal another kiss before you pull away, dragging his hands down to your hips and pulling yourself against his chest. “Does that mean what I-”

“Will you be my girlfriend?” He asks, stealing another kiss as his hands began to caress your back and hips.

You answer with another kiss, as the two of you thrust yourself into the throes of passion.

TAG LIST - (if you would like to be tagged, anytime I post any of my The Resident imagines, send me an ask or message.) @ivvitm1109 @harvestleaves

[elejah-verse]

Always/11

Fanfiction

Part 11

Elijah Mikaelson x reader/Elena Gilbert

ft. Klaroline 

AU TVD/TO story

a/n: and so another story is wrapping up. I thought I write an extra  happy chapter for all the characters. They all suffered a lot in this story.

 Thanks so much for reading. I really hope you have enjoyed it. xoxo

Spring is in the air and I feel all romantic. LOL 

warning: fluff and the Mikaelson family happiness 

tags @rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @cassienoble2000 @captainshurley @goddessofthunder112 @elejahforever @idkhaylijah @hides2000

__________________

A month later

Elijah and Y/N/E laid in bed looking at the first baby scan-

"Tiny little fusion of you and me"- Y/N/E said.

"Our little sweetheart"- Elijah said.

"I feel happy - and maybe it's crazy to think this way but I feel like him or her we lost sent us this baby"- -Y/N/E said tearing up.

"Him or her will always be in our hearts'- Elijah said.

"Yes, always, now dancing with the angels."- Y/N/E said then turning to Elijah looking at him seriously-

"Last night- I went through one of my drawers in the walk-in and found this key"

Y/N/E got up and now showed Elijah the unusual key.

"This is from a deposit box"- Elijah said.

"Do I have a deposit box? Probably, ha? Can't remember. You know that still have bits missing in my head"- Y/N/E continued-"but why would I keep it in a drawer full of sports socks? Completely at the back of it?"

"I really don't know"- Elijah then said-"it really doesn't makes sense-"

"We can find out, can't we?"- Y/N/E said.

"Of course. I will get one of my friends tell me what bank it is"- Elijah took the key.

"Ok. Do that first thing tomorrow, now kiss me - us- and let's get some sleep. Rebekah is coming over and we are going through the whole ideas  she has done for the vows-renewal ceremony"

"Good luck"- Elijah joked a little bit.

"I know."- Y/N/E smiled kissing him.

Flashback

A week or so previously

Rebekah met Y/N/E for lunch

"Elijah told me that you two are renewing your vows. How come I didn't get this from you?"- Rebekah shot at Y/N/E as she sat down at the table.

"Because- ahm- we don't want anything big- just family"- Y/N/E to be diplomatic and cursed Elijah a tiny little bit for having slipped it to his sister.

"Oh no. Last time you eloped. This time you have to give us a bit more."

"Ok. Semi-big then, but really just family and closest friends. Deal?"- Y/N/E said.

"Hm-"- Rebekah let out and she knew that Y/N/E made sense-" we have a deal!"

"Anyway you'll get to have a grand thing yourself"- Y/N/E then said.

"What? Me? Please, like that is ever going to happen-"- Rebekah sighed a bit.

"I thought that things between Stefan and you are really going good."

"They are- but we are like thousand years from a proposal. Not everyone is like you and Elijah."

"I've seen the way he looks at you. He is a keeper"- Y/N/E said.

"Really- he looks at me dreamy?"- Rebekah asked as if she was a fifteen year old girl not really sure if her boyfriend was that into her.

"Duh"- Y/N/E replied.

"You're not just telling me to make me feel better"- Rebekah carried on with her insecurities. She was only like that when love was the topic.

"Please! I am serious about stuff like that. Now, show me what you got."

"Right."- Rebekah said filled with special energy-"you have got to have a designer dress. Here are some suggestions. Don't look at me like that. It will be three months after you give birth. You will fit in easily with all the yoga you are doing and healthy food you're eating" **** After Kol was released from the hospital, he and Sophie moved in with his father and mother, as he still had not recovered fully. Everyone was proud of his decision even though they have scolded him a bit since it was a dangerous thing. Jeremy's killers were charged and they had enough evidence to put them away for a long time. Mikael and Esther, as well as the others were ecstatic to find out that there was another Mikaelson baby on the way. 

The Mikaelsons had officially invited the Gilberts to a dinner to something that resembled a miniture peace conference that had Y/N/E and Elijah as mediators and the uniting force with a little help of their now joint therapist Camille. Another huge revelation came a day before the dinner as Miranda needed Y/N/E to know that she was her and Greyson's adoptive child. Camille found that Y/N/E had the strength to face all and it was important as the process of putting the past where it belonged.

"We don't know who your father was."- Miranda said-"I couldn't get pregnant and so we decided to adopt. The only thing we knew was that your mother was a sixteen year old girl, who was a runaway."

Y/N/E would lie if she said that it didn't matter, but with Elijah by her side and Camille's excellent guidance, she had all the support to process everything. And she poured a lot of her 'processing stuff' into her art, which was also a great theraputic vessel.

She had also changed the location of her attelier. Only a block away from their home, an celler apartment was transformed into her attelier. As Elijah asked what it was going to be she only said that she was inspired by Alice's adventures.

*** The last puzzle to solve was the key of a deposit box.

Flashback

A few days before Jeremy's death

Y/N/E rang Jeremy to come to her house to talk. It was her zillionth attempt to get through him even though she knew that she might not succeed. She prepared lunch for them.

"Hey sis, something really smells good, but will it taste good"- Jeremy snarked a bit as he got in.

"Stuffed tomatoes- the way you like them"- Y/N/E replied.

"Right. What is this about?"- Jeremy asked as they got in the kitchen.

"Does it have to be about anything? I haven't seen you properly in ages. I thought I'd see you at mom and dad's anniversary party- but you bailed. Mom was really sad"

"Please- with all those hypocrites hanging about I really was not in the mood. I got them a present and saw them two days after  - and no biggy"- Jeremy said.

"But still. Anyway, I need to  finish the sauce. Can you pass the wine - the south- american merlot."

"Ok. I need to swing to the bathroom"- Jeremy said,  got the wine and went out the kitchen. But, before the bathroom he went to Y/N/E’s walk-in wardrobe and hid the key in the drawer.

At the bank as they finally found out what deposit box it was for, they also found out it was Jeremy's.  After getting the approval to open the deposit box they found large amounts of money.

Y/N/E looked at it as if hypnotized, at first not saying anything. Elijah was fuming inside of him, but had to keep his cool as he didn't want to upset Y/N/E further.

"You know - huh- I can't believe it. Why? Huh- why was he like that? We have done nothing but love him. He had everything. Good education. A good beginning. And he just didn't care about anything or anyone"- and Y/N/E threw the box full of the dirty money up in the air, and the dollar bills flew all over the place.

Elijah jumped immediately down to her as she was sitting in the chair gently taking her by the arms- "Darling, look at me."

Y/N/E was crying-" Why?"- she muttered.

"There is no plausible answer. Some people get consumed with the darkness and - just can't get out of it - unfortunately. "

Y/N/E knew it. She tried to understand it so many times and had always hit the dead end. Elijah gave her a comforting hug.

At home Y/N/E wrote in her diary-

"Walking through Wonderland sometimes feels like you will get squashed by a giant pumpkin or open a door and slip into abyss and think you will never stop falling and hit something hard, but then you have a cat appear out of the woods bandiging your wound. There are days of colorful charades and dreamy Balls or at the turn of the clock they become a place of the darkest horror as everyone turns into zombies or leeching vampires. And then the clock strikes twelve and a prince grabs your hand or in my case a very handsome viking and kisses me like noone before making my heart accelerate to cloud eleven. Why eleven, I don't know. But I bet there is cloud eleven. Just like magic I am flying free.

And no matter what the weather we can do it better, with you and me together forever and ever... with clear heart and courage. Always."

××× In the weeks tha followed Y/N/E had her first exhibition after the accident,  She called it Walking through Wonderland. 

__________

Three months later

"Rebekah, can you please pick the cake up and take to the penthouse. I am still at the gallery. I've just spoken to him and he is mad that he had to stay longer at work."- Y/N/E said to her sister-in-law.

"I can't believe we made my father in on the whole surprise party thing. So, Elijah still thinks we are just meeting for drinks?"- Rebekah said.

"Yeah. I will then call him and say that I need picking up from the house. "- Y/N/E said-"I got to go- see you there in an hour." 

Flashback 

Couple of weeks ago

Rebekah met Y/N/E in her studio- "What's so urgent? Don't tell me you scraping the whole thing- cos I will not let you. The designer dresses are ordered"

"I called you about something else"- Y/N/E said-"I want to do something special for Elijah's birthday. He doesn't want anything particular. But I want to do something a little bit particular. It is his 40th."

"You want to do a surprise party!"- Rebekah said.

"Yeah, let's. He has been so wonderful throughout it all. I want to make it memorable.  Let's do his favourite food, his favourite everything, music, cheese-cake."

"You-"- Rebekah added.

Y/N/E chuckled a bit to the comment-"so, will you help me?"

"What are you talking about, of course, I will help you, duh! My company just won best party organizers of the decade!"

"I know, but you got so much work plus Stefan"- Y/N/E said.

"Talk about Stefan, I need to cancel our trip to New Orleans"

"Why? Not because of this? Don't."

"He will understand. I am helping a pregnant woman."- Rebekah said.

"No. This is your week away with a guy that you will marry- don't. I will manage."

"What do you mean - marry? Do you know something?"

"Oh, shoot"- Y/N/E said spoiling the surprise Stefan had installed for Rebekah.

"He is going to propose?"- Rebekah was out of her breath.

"Well, Bonnie heard him talk to Damon about - how you're the one!"- Y/N/E tried to wriggle her way out of it.

"But that doesn't mean he is going to propose? It's mad anyway, we've been together three months! This can't be right!"

"It is!"- Y/N/E said-"ok, Bonnie said he got a ring. So, don't go spoiling it. And act surprised."

Y/N/E finally caved in.

"Really?"- Rebekah was completely taken.

"Promise to be surprised"- Y/N/E said.

Days that followed, Rebekah was exercising patience, but it was the hardest thing to do. She even succumbed to look into the chest of drawers one night she stayed over at Stefan's while he was in the shower. but she didn't find it.

A day before the trip as she had breakfast with Y/N/E and Elijah, her brother asked her why she was on edge joking -

"Taking a whole week of work- how will you survive?"

"It's not that."- Rebekah blasted.

Elijah was surprised at her explosive reaction -" Am I missing something here? You are going on a romantic get-away and it's like you're going for torture?"

Rebekah sighed now telling him about Stefan's probable proposal.

"Oh?"- Elijah looked at Y/N/E who nodded and then told him how the whole probable thing came about.

"And you're a wreck cos you don't want to marry him?"- Elijah was confused.

"I do. I just can't wait for the thing happening- the proposal, I mean. And what if he doesn't do it there. You shouldn't have told me"- Rebekah said getting up-"got to go. Later-"

Rebekah left and Elijah remarked- "I've never seen her so stressed- and this is supposed to be about a good thing?"

"She is really in love with him. And yeah, I shouldn't have told her anything. It just slipped. Bonnie and I just talked and we got to the topic of true love and how she and Damon started off bickering when they met in college and turned to be OTL and Stefan could not find anyone, going from one relationship to another, just like Rebekah."

"I am glad for Rebekah. Yeah, she is really in love. Acting like a teenager. What's OTL?"- Elijah now asked .

"One true love"- Elena explained-"you're my OTL"- she came around the hub to him and kissed him. "You're my OTL, too"- Elijah said caressing her hair as he now kissed her back.

And Stefan did propose. Rebekah was bursting with happiness sending a photo to everyone in the family. 

___                       

Y/N/E got to the apartment carrying a little box. Everyone had already been there. Except for Elijah and his father.

As she got to the living room, she saw Rebekah telling everyone where they should stand.

Y/N/E greeted her guests putting her present on the sideboard.

Rebekah now turned to her-

"Ah, you're here. Ok. Will you go and change? I will help you. Father just called and they will soon be on their way"- Rebekah said to Y/N/E, who nodded and they went up to her walk-in together.

As she had a quick shower and changed, she made a call to Elijah.

"Hey, baby-" -Y/N/E said-"I just got in, and I need to change. Could you please come and get me. I don't really want to get a taxi"

Elijah would never refuse her, especially now that she was pregnant. And so they were on their way to the apartment.

To make the ruse complete, Mikael said he would wait for them in the car.

Elijah went up and got into the apartment.

"Y/N/E?"- he called  putting his bag on the chair and heard her say -"living room"

Elijah walked in and everyone shouted -"Happy birthday" - together with Y/N/E, who walked over to him smiling happily.

He was taken aback just looking at everyone wide-eyed. Mikael was there then as well.

"Happy birthday!"- Y/N/E said once again.

"Wow- I- "

Rebekah now passed on a glass of champagne to him and a non-alcoholic cocktail to Sophie and Y/N/E then let her take center stage.

Y/N/E now stood in front of Elijah, her gleaming eyes looking at him, watering a little-

"Elijah - my love - you have been there for all of us at one time or the other and you have been giving and giving and we wanted- I wanted you to know that you are so appreciated and loved- so just wanted to do something special - to always remember"

They all raised a glass to him.

"What can I say- thank you- so much. This is great- really is"

Y/N/E then gave him the gift. He unwrapped it and there was a watch with the engraving 

                       He embraced her dearly and kissed her.

Then there was cake cutting, buffet, more cocktails, music and dance.

I can hear her heartbeat for a thousand miles And the heavens open every time she smiles When I come to her That's where I belong

She gives me love love love Crazy love 

_____________

Time passed by, as it does, and they all continued with their lives in a positive way, never to forget the difficulties of the past supporting one another as best as they could.

This whole ordeal Y/N/E, Elijah, Kol went through made them appreciate so much more what they had, the people that were around them, old friends and new, especially their loved ones.

"So, what are you doing today?"- Elijah asked his wife as he brought the breakfast at the terrace where Y/N/E tried to make herself comfortable on the lounge sofa. She was now in her ninth month and her delivery date was just a few days ahead. Sophie was no better. Kol was as much as Elijah, a dotting father-to-be, fulfilling any craving Sophie had.

"Rebekah, Sophie, Bonnie and Caroline are coming over for late lunch and the double baby shower. There is nothing much I can do. My feet are swollen, my back hurts, I am big as a whale. I need a distraction."

"I thought you will not do the baby shower till after the baby comes-"- Elijah said helping Y/N/E sit more comfortably.

"I need something happening- so I told Rebekah yes to the baby shower and only the six of us. We will make a huge party for both our and Kolphie’s baby after."- Y/N/E explained.

"You are really getting into the party thing-"- Elijah remarked.

"Yeah- after everything we've all been through- why not? Why shouldn't we party? Let's celebrate life"

"You're right"- Elijah said smiling at her and now offered to give her a foot massage.

"Oh, thank you"- Y/N/E said happily-"I knew now why I married you"

"Now you know?"- Elijah teased her a little.

"You are the best foot massager  in the world"- Y/N/E said-"I mean- it is your hands that are just -oh- this soo gooood"

Elijah was happy seeing her relaxing. His soul whispered a little thanks  to the Universe for giving him precious moments like these, moments that at one time he thought would might never be.

"Did I tell you lately how happy I am?"- Elijah then said.

"No. But you don't have to tell me"- Y/N/E said-"I see it. Feel it"

"Well, I think I should say it anyway. "

"Of course, you should. We deserve a little happy"- Y/N/E remarked.

"We do, don't we?"

The way he said underlined a little bit of scared to be really happy and Y/N/E now reached to him with stretching his hand out to him to come closer to her.

Elijah immediately moved to assist her as he thought she needed him to help her get up or something and she pulled him towards her pouting a little, which meant she wanted  a kiss. And he kissed her dearly.  

"It will all be fine"- she said to him-" we deserve more than just a little happy."

He nodded and now kissed her again. 

"Anyone home?"- they heard Rebekah shout out all of a sudden.

They both moved as if they were caught in an inappropriate moment with Elijah shouting back that they are up on the terrace. 

"She has to return the key"- Elijah then said and Y/N/E nodded saying in a whisper- "You will tell her!"

Elijah made a face like can you not do it?- and Y/N/E shook her head saying in a very low voice- "You will have to- "

What it was they both felt like they would be hurting her feelings, as Rebekah has been there for both of them whenever they needed her and she had this exclusive right to come and go as she pleased. 

"Hi. Ok. I know I am early, but I got here with all the stuff ready and well, wanted to sit down with you, too for a little chat."

Both Y/N/E and Elijah knew that there was some kind of drama coming out and they were not wrong-

"Right. I will say it - Stefan has asked me to move in with him"

"And that is bad because?"- Elijah reacted immediately.

Rebekah now sighed-"It is bad because- well- I love my place- and- you know-"- Rebekah now looked at Y/N/E for a comment and support.

"And you don't like his place? And here goes tricky- how to tell him you want to but not really, but he should move into your place!"- Y/N/E said and Elijah was now looking at both of them like- I don't see a problem or drama here.

"You wouldn't get it anyway"- Rebekah shot at her brother-"you two never had this problem- you got together- got engaged- eloped and got to - well- you started living here like it was a normal thing."

"It was easy"- Y/N/E said-"Elijah's bachelor pad was too bachelor and had loads of bachelor history- plus- I never brought anyone here, except for him."

"You're not making it easier"- Rebekah moaned.

"You will either have to tell him you don't wanna move with him or ask him to move in with you!"- Elijah then said.

"What if he says no and then everything gets awkward and I lose him?"- Rebekah went on.

This was a cue for Elijah to leave as he knew Rebekah was going to grind about this particular thing forever.

He kissed Y/N/E goodbye and told his sister that she should not overthink too much.

"He doesn't get anything"- Rebekah remarked as Elijah walked away.

"Ok. Do you want to hear what I think"- Y/N/E then said.

"Yes. Shoot"- Rebekah said.

Y/N/E then laid out her thoughts in a very diplomatic way. 

__

Elsewhere, Caroline and Klaus were on the phone to one another as Caroline slipped very early out of his apartment as she had to go to her place to change and then to the studio to meet the new co-anchor and talk about how they would do the show.

"I think it's time you brought some stuff over to my apartment"- Klaus said.

"How romantic"- Caroline remarked.

"I thought you were a very pragmatic person. You told me to do any extravagant- no crazy gifts. I am just being practical. How many times did you have to get up at five to get to go to your place etc"- Klaus retorted.

"I don't know how we always wind up in your place, so, I have no other choice"

"Let's make a choice then"- Klaus said.

"What would that be?"- Caroline asked chuckling a bit.

"Marry me and everything is solved."- Klaus said.

"What did you just say?"- Caroline was stunned.

"What part?"- Klaus played innocent.

"The marry me part!"- Caroline said.

"Ah, that. Yes. Marry me"- he said.

"You are not serious?"

"I am very serious."- Klaus said and by the tone of his voice it was clear to Caroline that he really meant it.

She went quiet- in her head a little trailer rushed through beginning with their first meeting and to that very phone call.    

"Caroline?"- she could hear Klaus now on the other line bringing her back to reality- and she replied-

"I- did you have to ask me over the phone?"- Caroline was miffed.

Klaus now knew that he had messed up. But, as always knew way out of it- "Well- you hate all OTT stuff, so I thought if I do it in a casual way - this 8s the way to go"

"Seriously?"- Caroline said slightly annoyed.

"No"- Klaus admitted-"it just came out"

"It came out?"

"Yes. I had no plan, but I want to marry you. You are the one for me, my southern belle. You have been from day one!"

Caroline was left speechless, and that was a rare thing.

"I have to go. I'll see you later"- Caroline eventually said and hang up.

_____________________________________

[averyrogers83]

Straight From The Heart pt3

Title: Straight From The Heart

Author: @averyrogers83

Summary: You had been hurt so many times throughout your life that eventually you closed yourself off to all possibilities of ever finding true love, but a man like Chris change all that and convince you to take a chance on him or will you close off your heart forever.

Warnings: Fluff filled story with some angst, bad language. Chris x Reader

Word Count:  1,740

Author’s Notes: This is written for @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan#star’smarvelplaylist. I don’t normally do RPF’s but I’m trying my hand at it. I don’t know these people personally so none of this is true nor do I perceive to know how they think.  This is purely from my imagination and is not intended for anything more than personal entertainment. And my writing is s**t. Sorry for any grammar errors.

Prompt:  “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” by Bryan Adams song prompt

You begrudgingly get ready for work, it being Friday you get to go in later becauseyou always tend to stay late during the week to get everything done before the weekend and by Friday the boss is actually decent and allows for casual Fridays which means as long as we are completely caught up we can leave before five pm.  One of the perks of working in IT.  The day goes like any other, you getting through all the stupid questions, fixing issues that should have never happened if anyone with half a brain knew what they were doing and avoiding Casey.  

He knew it was your birthday so he tried to make an extra effort to come by and make amends with you, but you made sure you were too busy to give him a second to try and worm his way back into your life.  You had learned your lesson and there was no way you were ever getting back together with him.

By noon you had already gotten half the work orders on your desk out of the way when Sandy stopped by your office so the two of you took a short break in the mess hall and grabbed a quick bite since you were too preoccupied to eat anything earlier.  By three pm you were all caught up and ready to head home.  You headed off to Sandy’s office, but apparently she was already gone for the day, which was odd because the two of you always left work at the same time.  You shrugged it off and headed out of the building, if you didn’t leave now someone would find a reason to stop you and keep you there so you opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

You made a couple stops along the way home, grabbing a couple of books from your favorite bookstore and a pint of ice cream at the corner grocer before entering your building.  Frank the doorman always there greets you with a smile and birthday wishes and you make your way to your apartment.  At least the day wasn’t completely awful.  You exit the elevator and go to open the door before coming to a screeching halt,  “that’s funny” you think Sandy had left before you so she should be home, usually if she has plans for the evening she tells you so know you’d have the house alone.  The only other time she locks the door is when she has a guy over and she wants to make sure she has plenty of time to hustle off to her bedroom if they are in a precarious position in the living room.

You fumble around in your bag and finally find your keys and slip it into the keyhole, the place is in complete darkness but you think nothing of it and turn on a few lights and that’s when they decide to attack.  Your friends and neighbors jump out of whatever hiding place they were in and scream “Surprise” making you jump and already melting Half Baked Ben and Jerry’s splat on the floor.  You normally hated surprises, but seeing how it was your birthday and the one guy that somehow made it home just in time to help you celebrate it just happened to be there, you were willing to let this one slide.

You made pleasantries with everyone that was there, thanking them for the birthday wishes and being there to celebrate with you as you made your way through the room, there was one person you couldn’t wait to see, but every time you would get close someone else was there trying to monopolize your attention.  When your boss Stephen starting in on some tirade about the idiots in accounting you had to excuse yourself and head to the balcony to get some air.  The last thing you needed was to talk about work when you were trying to have fun.

The cool air immediately assaulted you when you slid the door open and walked out onto the balcony taking a deep breath of the fresh air thankful to be away from the crowd of people, stale air and blaring music.

“Hey stranger.”

Startled you turn, you hadn’t realized that anyone was out there with you.

“Casey, how did you get in?”

“One of your neighbors let me in.”

“Why the hell are you here?

“You didn’t let me wish you a happy birthday at work, and I wanted to talk to you.”

“Casey there is nothing to talk about. We are done and nothing you can do or say will make me change my mind. You’ve wished me a happy birthday now kindly leave.”

“No! Not till I’ve had my say.”

“Casey, please all I want to do is spend my day with my friends and the people that I care about.”

“I want you back. I made a mistake and I know that now. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and…”

“Stop, I don’t want to hear it.  You cheated on me and there’s no coming back from that.”

“Funny, you’re one to talk.” Casey scoffs

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean you’re the one that cheated first.”

“You’re insane you know that right” you laugh “I have never cheated on you.”

“You may not have slept with anyone else, but you have been emotionally unavailable to me for months before Jasmine and I ever hooked up.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” your voice escalates two octaves, you’re thankful that the music is still blaring on the other side of the door so no one could hear your heated exchange.

“Every time I tried to take our relationship to the next level you shot me down.”

“NO I didn’t!”

“Really, how about when I asked you to move in with me. You made some excuse as to why you couldn’t leave Sandy all alone in this apartment.”

“You know Sandy and how co-dependent she is. I can’t leave her by herself..”

“Sandy is a grown adult who can take care of herself. You’re not her mother.”

“What does it matter anymore anyhow, you still cheated and therefore we are still done. Now if you don’t mind kindly leave before I have your ass thrown out.”

“FINE! I’ve said what I’ve come to say. You can’t blame me for what happened. You’re just as much at fault.”

You hear the glass door slam shut behind you as your turn your attention back to the bright lights of the city.  You couldn’t believe that bastard for just showing up, you were fuming, tears began to stream down your face.  How dare he blame you for his cheating.

You couldn’t think straight and your buzz was quickly wearing off from the cool night air and the heated exchange, your mind preoccupied with what transpired that you didn’t notice the door slide open and shut.

“Everything ok?”

You quickly wipe away the stray tear “yeah, I’m fine” you say shakily

“Hey, you’re not supposed to be crying on your special day.”

“I know I just am so mad right now.”

“Well I say you forget about that asshole, and you and I go back inside where it’s warm.”

You nod in agreement and let Chris wrap his arms around you as you walk back inside.  You hadn’t realized how cold it had gotten until you got back inside and a shiver ran over your body.  You were thankful Chris had gotten you before you had turned into an icicle.

The music was still blaring and the party was still in full swing and you were bound to make the most of it.  Casey was gone and god willing nothing else was going to ruin this night.  The two of you made your way back to the bar and grabbed another drink until the music suddenly changed tempo and a familiar song came over the speakers and before you knew it Chris had pulled you into the middle of the room and took you into his arms.  Your bodies slowly swaying to the music as you try and let everything that transpired over the past hour dissipate.

“So what happened out on the balcony, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Doesn’t really matter now does it?”

“No, but I just hate seeing you upset over that asshole.”

“Well we don’t have to worry about that asshat anymore. I think he’s finally out of my life for good.”

“Good, he doesn’t deserve you anyway.”

“I know right.  However one thing he did say really pisses me off.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“He blamed me for his cheating.”

“What?! That’s ridiculous.”

“He said that I have been emotionally unavailable to him for months and that’s why he cheated on me.”

“That’s stupid. You want me to kick his ass?”

You can’t help but laugh so hard you let out a snort, “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course, I’d do anything for you.”

“No, but thanks for the offer.”

“You know everything I do, I do it for you. You’re my girl.”

“You’re funny, what would I do without you.”

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out either.  Look, I’m not going to lie, I’m glad you’re single again.”

“Oh yeah, why’s that?”

“Because maybe now I can have a shot at being your boyfriend.  I’ve been in love with you ever since I became your neighbor six years ago, but the timing never seemed right.  Not till now, I made the mistake of letting you slip through my fingers before and I’m not going to let that happen again.”

He looked at you with concern in his eyes, you hadn’t said a word since he professed his feelings for you, your brain still trying to comprehend what he was saying making sure you were hearing him right.  You had always had feelings for Chris, but never acted on them for fear of rejection, but to hear that he felt the same way about you made you giddy inside.  Before he could say another word your lips crashed against his.  You longed for this moment for so long you didn’t want to ruin it by saying something stupid so you let your lips do the talking for you.

This has to be the best birthday present you could have ever asked for.

@star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @sarahp879

[mysteryofjotun]

My Destiny — prologue

summary: making a mistake after having way too many drinks can change everything

pairing: ceo!tom x female reader

warnings: maybe a bit of angst, smut, shitty writing

word count: 2221

a/n: I rewrote this a million times, but I finally came to a point where I'm kind of satisfied?? I'm using the plot of a Taiwanese/Korean drama. But I'm not entirely sure I will follow the plot to the letter, so there will still be surprises for the one who watched it. And it’s my first smut ever, so it probably sucks. Feedback is always welcome, feel free to ask me/tell me anything. As always, I'm sorry for the mistakes!

prologue | chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4 | chapter 5 | chapter 6 | chapter 7 | chapter 8 | chapter 9 | chapter 10

“Careful!” you said running, your hands full of coffees,“sorry, get out of the way!”

You walked around the hall of the building, avoiding people so you wouldn’t run into them.

“That's super hot, sorry!” you apologized.

You hurried when you saw the door of the elevator closing. You were able to make you a path into the flood of people. Once inside, everyone was packed tightly, stamping on each other. Suddenly someone patted on your shoulder, you turned your head and came face to face with a handsome man.

“Give it to me,” he said pointing at the coffees.

“Ah, thank you!” you smiled.

When the elevator reached the 30 floor, you fought your way out. “Excuse me,” you said taking the coffee and thanking him. “You… Do you want one?” you asked walking next to him.

“Is it okay if I drink it?” he asked taking one of the pack. “By the way, why it’s always you who does things like this?” he said still walking.

“Actually, I was on my way out here,” you explained shyly. “Thank you,” you said again.

“Have a good day!” he said smiling before leaving.

Lost in your thoughts about this stranger, you completely forgot you had still things to do.

"I'm sorry!” you screamed running towards the office. "Get out of the way!"

"You just get here?" a man shouted angrily. "I have a meeting in 2 minutes, how should I drink that?"

"I'm so sorry," you apologized.

"It's on me," you added embarrassed.

"Elizabeth, latte, without sugars," you said.

"Thank you," your colleague responded.

There was always a person like this around. The person was already busy with her own work but couldn't say no. Even if they didn't thank her, the person still listened to everyone’s requests. And even if it wasn't fair for her, nobody seemed to care.

"Can you stop by the copy machine?" someone asked. "I need it at noon."

"Y/N did you clean the desk yet?"

"Y/N get me a cup of coffee!"

“Y/N, here is today’s to-do list,” someone said putting a post-it on your shoulder.

If you looked at this post-it, it was like you. Although needed by everyone, no one really thought it was precious. It’s comfortable and easy to throw away.

"Marzia, your coffee," you said wearing your best smile.

"Why are you so slow?" she declared annoyed. "We asked you to bring coffee and you take this as an excuse to take a little walk. Hurry, you still have work to do," she added angrily.

You just nodded before returning to your job. “Didn’t I tell you to stop doing this?” said a voice behind you. “Every time you do this, it upset me so much.”

“I have to do it, they asked me, Lizzie,” you explained to your friend.

“You’re not a servant, you don’t have to run errands!” your friend said angrily. She was tired of seeing you getting pushed around.

“What can I do? I can’t say no Lizzie!” you said. “You know that!”

“You're too nice,” she said. “From now on, every day you’ll say to yourself ‘no! no! no!’ you need to practice.”

You laughed and went back to work. But everything changed from the very moment you met your handsome stranger. The same night, as you were alone in the open plan, Harold – that’s your stranger’s name – came to ask you out. It's was the first time somebody genuinely noticed you and seemed to like you. Therefore, to celebrate your now 5 month anniversary, you wanted to make something special. So you had booked a room in a four-star hotel in London.

——

"Harrison," said Tom. "You took care of the thing I asked you?"

"Ah," Harrison responded. "Don't worry. I've painstakingly prepared your proposal. Your room is booked and the flowers were sent to Leah."

"Good," Tom said moving some files around. "Thanks, mate."

"The car is ready to take you to the hotel and then you just have to wait for Leah," he said smiling.

Tom smiled back at him and opened a drawer of his desk. He took a ring box and stared at it.

"Well," Harrison started.

"I'll leave you alone. Good luck, mate," he said smiling before leaving the office.

Tom arrived in the hotel lobby earlier than expected, he was splendid. He was wearing a black suit matched with a white shirt. He headed to the reception, all eyes on him.

“Sir, we were waiting for you,” the receptionist said politely.

“Here’s your key and spare key as you asked. The bellboy will take your luggage and escort you to your room. Enjoy your stay, sir,” she smiled slightly at the young man.

Tom nodded and took the keys. The bellboy quickly approached him and Tom gave him his bag.

“Room 2006,” the bellboy announced in front of the room.

Tom thanked him by giving him a generous tip. The latter accepted it willingly and left. Tom entered the suite and gazed at the room. He would explore the suite, later on, because what he needed was a drink to loosen up. He poured himself a drink and was about to sit when his phone rang. He sighed but smiled when he saw the name on the screen.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said grinning as he sat on the lounge coffee table.

“Hey, how you're doing baby?” Leah asked in a quavering voice.

“Everything’s alright?” he asked. “You seem a little off?”

“Well…” she breathed but Tom cut her off.

“You can’t come, huh?” he exhaled feeling the anger increased.

“You know it’s not my fault,” she said,“but I got the role baby!”

“You know how much time I prepared this night?” he asked angrily.

“Baby, don’t-” she started.

“No, don’t ‘baby’ me,” Tom said. “I heard enough,” he added before hung up on her and thrown the phone away. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It wasn’t the first time she bailed on him. Each time it was the same, Tom made every effort he could for her, for them and she just called and cancelled everything like it was nothing. He couldn’t do it any more. So he finished his drink in one go and decided that since he was already here, he could at least have some fun. He put his jacket on and headed to the hotel’s bar.

——

“That’s beautiful,”

You said amazed entering the hotel lobby. You looked all around you and headed towards the reception. You turned around expecting to see Harold, but nobody was behind you. You saw him leant against a chair talking with a tall brunette. You sighed and turned around not wanting to see any more. Sadness shook you, you were used to his flirty behaviour but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“Miss?” the receptionist said startling you. “Here’s your key. Call the reception if you need anything. Enjoy your stay.” she smiled.

“Thank you,” you answered smiling in return and took the key. You headed towards your flirty boyfriend and patted his shoulder. He turned around and flinched when he saw you. He dismissed the brunette and made her a ‘call me’ sign before she left. “I don’t disturb you, do I?” you asked ironically.

He rolled his eyes and sighed annoyed. “That’s nothing,” he said defending himself. “I only have eyes for you, ok?” he said kissing you slowly. He knew that it would make your knees weak and that you wouldn’t argue more.

“Let’s go upstairs, would you?”

“Yeah, of course,” he answered smiling and guiding you towards the elevator.

You walked around the hallways, looking at everything. It was sublime.  

“We’re almost here,” he said.

“Oh, it’s here!” he declared as you reached your door.

“Room 2009” you read on the door.

“It isn’t famous for nothing. It’s pretty great,” he said opening the curtains and looking at the windows.

You nodded and gazed at the suite. There was a spacious living room, a large room and bathroom with golden tones that gave a touch of elegance.

“Wow, this is great,” you said as you sat on the bed.

“What should we do now?” Harold said as he sat with you on the bed. “Huh?” you asked not understanding what he had in mind. “Do you have somewhere you want to go?” he asked.

“I saw the brochure… there is a lot of stuff to do. Where should we go first?” you asked not wanting to force something on him.

“I’m going to take a look, maybe you can rest,” he said.

“Oh, huh, okay,” you replied looking down at your hands.  

——

You slept about an hour and when you woke up Harold wasn’t here. You tried to find him but without success. On top of that, you felt so bad, you were one hundred per cent sure you’d caught a cold. You couldn’t stop shivering and as you stumbled in the hotel’s hallways you almost fell at every turn. You constantly banged into the walls, using them as support to reach your room. “Room 2009,” you stuttered pointing at the number on the door. “It’s there. Slide the key,” you said to yourself leant on the door. You fought several minutes to open the door. As soon as your body touched the covers you wrapped yourself in it. “I will close my eyes one second before he came back...” Y/N muttered. 

——

“Another one, please,” Tom mumbled sprawling on the bar. “I think it would be better if you stop here, sir…” the barman started. “I said another,” Tom responded angrily.

Tom tried to stand but almost felt. At this sight, the barman made a call. A few minutes later, two burly men appeared, taking Tom and bringing him back to his suite. The two men opened the door with their master key. They entered the room filled with blackness but Tom stopped them when they reached the bed.

“I can handle this myself,” mumbled Tom as he used the wall as support. When he finally found the bed, he took off his clothes and then threw himself on the bed. He stirred when he felt a body. “Princess… you came…” he said placing himself on top of her. “Hum...” you muttered sleepily.

“I thought I lost you,” he said kissing you slowly.

Tom felt your mouth opening against his and decided that he would let you lead the way. Your hands moved to Tom’s neck, pulling at the roots. Tom let escaped a moan at your action. Your lips moved together, in unison. It was passionately but yet still gentle.

“How do you want this, baby?” Tom whispered huskily. “Just.. you. Now,” you said closing your eyes and biting your lips.

Tom hummed slowly, tracing a cool path of kisses from your neck to your breasts. Tom smirked as he sucked and moved his tongue around each nipple. You tilted your head to the side and sighed of pleasure. Then he kissed his way down your belly, making you shiver as your breath get caught in your throat. Tom lowered his fingers, teasing your clit. You moaned gripping the sheets before clenching Tom’s long curls. Tom smirked when he felt your hands in his hair and softly he slipped his fingers inside you. Tom smirked when he felt your hands in his hair and softly slipped his fingers inside you. You tighten your grip on her hair and it was the signal for Tom to stop. He moved your hips for better access and lined his erection with her entrance, pushing in slowly. 

“Oh my god,” you shuddered as he filled you.

Tom smirked at your comment and pushed himself further until his entire length was in. He began to thrust in and out slowly. You gasped and your eyes shut with pleasure. He went faster and changed his angle to go deeper. He pounded into you, both coming close to the end. 

“I’m… I’m gonna...” she stuttered.

“Come on baby girl,”

Tom replied as he was kissing her neck.

Tom felt your walls tighten around him and you both met your release together. He pulled out and collapsed next to you. You let out a breath of contentment. Tom wrapped his arm around you, spooning you as you both fell asleep.

——

You woke up feeling two strong arms around you. You gasped when you recalled the events of the night. I really did it you thought, and couldn’t stop smiling. As you tried to move, Tom secured you against him. “Let’s stay like this for a little bit more,” he said holding you tighter. Maybe because it was the morning but his voice sounded a bit different for you.

“I’m so sorry,” he said out of the blue. “I didn’t even realise when you came in.”

“No, it’s ok,” you replied reassuring him. “I’m sorry I came late.” “When did you come?” he asked sleepily. “We came together, silly,” you laughed.

“We came together?”

he asked frowning and thinking of what you just said. Automatically he looked down.

You gasped simultaneously, putting space between you and screaming when you realised that it wasn’t the person you thought.